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, July 22, 2008

Parashat Vaetchanan

Parasha: Vaetchanan – Deuteronomy 3:23 -7:11
Haftara: Isaiah 40:1-26
Reading Date: 16th August 2008 – 15th Av 5768


Both this week’s Torah and Haftarah reading are full of issues of faith which stand at the centre of our lives. In addition to the Ten Utterances (commandments), we find concepts such as d'veykut- clinging to YHVH, and u'vikashetem- the quest for connection with the Divine from the lowest places. The Haftarah from Isaiah 40 not only provides comfort in the face of terrible tragedies, but also it inspires us to reach the lofty ideals of the parasha in the real world.
How do we do that? How can we, in our broken state, relate to the eternal? Like so many of our traditional texts, we are told to look at nature- to the deserts, the valleys and mountains, the grasses and the fields, the immeasurable waters, the wind and the storms, and then the climax: look up!


"Lift up your eyes and see who created all these- who numbers the heavenly forces and calls all of them by name.." (Isiaih 40:26).
Why is each star having a name considered to be such a personally inspiring phenomenon? Rabbi A.Y. Kook z"l (Chief Rabbi early 20C) answers in his commentary 'Olat R"ayh on the prayer from Psalm 147 that each of us has a particular purpose just as each star has a role. We may be grouped in family constellations and national galaxies but ultimately we all have individual roles as sparkling lights in this sometimes "dark" world. Each of us has a name means each of us has a purpose.


Hannah Senesh (a young Jewish poet who heroically died during WWII) wrote: "There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for mankind."
The main principles of Torah – the prohibition of idolatry, the principles of the unity, love and fear of YHVH – all are given an honorable mention in this parasha. It also constantly emphasizes the obligation to actually carry out and faithfully observe all the precepts contained in the Torah.
Now, O Israel listen to the statutes and judgments Which I am teaching you for the purpose of practice (4, 1)
See, I have taught you statutes… For you to practice in the land you are going to possess. (4, 5)
Then again as a concluding refrain to the account of the Giving of the Torah:
Stray not to the right or left. (5, 29)


After these numerous exhortations to put the commandments, statutes and judgments into practice in their daily lives, the Torah once again calls upon us to diligently observe the commandments of the YHVH your God, His testimonies and statutes which He commanded you and do what is right and good in the eyes of YHVH.


The question that immediately springs to mind is: Surely this exhortation to do what is right and good is already implied in all the numerous injunctions already enjoined in the Torah. Surely one who strictly obeys all the positive and negative commands in the Torah ipso facto fulfils the command to do what is “right and good in the eyes of YHVH”! What new obligation then does this command imply? Or is it perhaps merely a summary of all that has been stated previously? We must, of course, assume that the Torah does not multiply injunctions merely for rhetorical effect. We have, therefore, to seek the specific contribution of this verse to the whole, one which we could not have deduced from any other verse in the Torah.


Both Rashi and Ramban explain that this verse implies a further divine injunction not included in what has been recorded previously: That which is right and good” – this implies a compromise beyond the letter of the law. (Rashi)


Ramban this time agreeing with Rashi elaborates on his explanation: The idea behind this command is as follows: At beginning He asked us to observe “his statutes and testimonies which He had commanded you” and now He wished to add that you should do that which is upright and good in His eyes, even in regard to those things where no specific divine command applies, since He loves that which is good and upright. This is a very important principle since it is impossible to record every detail of human behavior in the Torah embracing man’s relations with his neighbors and friends, his business affairs, national and local welfare. But after He had made reference to many aspects such as “you shall not bear false witness”, “you shall not take vengeance nor bear a grudge”, “you shall not stand by the blood of your neighbor”, “you shall not curse the deaf”, “thou shall rise up before the hoary head”, etc., He included a general injunction to do that which is good and upright in every matter, accepting where necessary even a compromise in a legal dispute and going beyond the letter of the law.


The Ramban’s words will become clearer if we compare them with another precept occurring in the Torah, mentioning the most sublime principle of divinely ordained conduct.


Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel… Ye shall be holy; for I YHVH your God, am holy. (Leviticus 19, 2)


But one question still remains for us to clarify. Surely he who observes all the precepts in the Torah will find himself, of necessity, fulfilling the highest principles of holiness mentioned in the above citation. Holiness and righteousness are surely the logical noncomitants of a total observance of the divine precepts. Is it conceivable that one who observes loyally all the moral and ritual observances of the Torah should fall short of the standards of holiness and uprightness implied in the quotations already referred to of: “you shall be holy” and “you shall do that which is upright and good?”


According to Ramban such a state of affairs is indeed conceivable. Commenting on the above verse from Leviticus he states: “Separate yourselves from immorality…For whenever you find safeguards against immorality, you find holiness.” This is Rashi’s interpretation but Talmudic comment on this same text limits itself to the following general phrase: “you shall be separate”.
Since the Torah warns us against immorality and forbidden foods but permits marital relations and the partaking of meat and wine, the immoderate person might abuse theses, overindulging in permitted sexual relations and in eating and drinking, maintaining in common with all foolish people that this was not specifically prohibited by the Torah. He would be a fool by authorization of the Torah (naval bi-reshut ha-torah). For this reason the Torah adds to its list of explicit prohibitions and injunctions a general admonition to be holy, to sanctify oneself through minimizing his indulgence in even permitted enjoyments, in food and drink and sex. The Nazirite abstainer is called “holy” by the Torah. Similarly every man should sanctify himself till he attains a higher state of holiness and separation.


Ramban thus shows how is possible for a man to keep to the letter of the Torah and yet violate its spirit. Often in everyday life there are cases to which no direct and explicit injunction of the Torah applies. But we are called upon to act in these circumstances in accordance with the general principle of holiness and righteousness. This is the implication of those two admonitions “you shall be holy” and “you shall do that which is upright and good”. We may note that, in the former, Ramban confines his examples to precepts governing relations between man and man. Our Rabbis explained the verse in our parasha to refer to relations between man and man in which the individual is called upon not always to stand upon his rights but rather to agree to a compromise in the interests of a higher morality.


The practical legal implications of general moral injunctions may be seen from the following restatement of rabbinic rulings in Maimonides’ Code. These admonitions to be holy and deal uprightly were not intended to be merely high-sounding phrases: He who sells his land to another is obliged to give his neighbor who has an adjoining field precedence in any sale. Even if the purchaser is a scholar, a neighbor and a kinsman of the vendor the adjoining landowner an ignorant man and complete stranger, the latter takes precedence and may evict the purchase. This is in accordance with the principle stated in Scriptures “and thou shall do that which is right and good”. Our Sages said that since it is all one sale it is only right and good that the adjoining landowner should have prior right of purchase over the one whose fields are far away. (Code Shekhenim, 12, 5, see Bava Mezia 108a-108b)


A court that has made an order for the creditor to take the actual property of the debtor or property under mortgage in the hands of a purchaser and subsequently the debtor or the purchaser or their heirs acquire enough means and bring the money to the creditor, the property may be discharged and such a seizure for debt is always returnable to the original owner in accordance with the principle “and thou shall do that which is right and good”. (Loveh U-malveh 22, 16, see Bava Mezia 16b)


Although by law it would seem that a man can sell his land to anyone he wishes the Torah demands the exercise of the maximum moral consideration.

Shabbat Shalom

Parashat Devarim

Parasha: Devarim – Deuteronomy 1:1 – 3:22
Haftara: Isaiah 1:1 - 27
Reading Date: 9th August 2008 – 8th Av 5768



These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan, in the desert, in the Arava, opposite Suf, between Paran, and Tofel, and Lavan, and Hazerot, and Di-Zahav.


It is eleven days' journey from Horeb (Sinai) by the way of Mount Se'ir to Kadesh-Barnea.
This poses a huge question as to the position of Mount Sinai as all archeologists and scholars are in agreement as to the location of Kadesh Barnea (where we live –Boaz) as it would be impossible for nearly 3,000,000 people to have moved that sort of distance, from the proposed Santa Katarina, in 11 days! There is a very viable location near Kadesh Barnea that would be within the walking distance as described.


And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the fìrst day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that YHVH had given him in commandment to them.


-- after he had slain Sichon the king of the Emori, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtarot in Edre'i --


Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this Torah, saying:
The YHVH spoke to us in Horeb, saying: "You have long enough surrounded this mountain.
"Turn away, and take your journey, and go to the mountain of the Emori, and to all the places near it, in the plain, in the hills, and in the lowland, and in the Negev, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and the Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which YHVH swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them."
Moses Delegates the Leadership of Israel.


And I spoke to you at that time, saying: "I am not able to bear you myself alone.
"YHVH your YHVH has multiplied you, and, behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven for multitude. (May YHVH, the YHVH of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as you are, and bless you, as he has promised you!) --
"How can I myself alone bear your care, and your burden, and your strife?
"Bring wise and understanding men, known among your tribes, and I will place them at your head."


And you answered me, and said: "It is good, this thing which you have spoken, to do."
So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.


And I charged your judges at that time, saying: "Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Do not give anyone special recognition when rendering judgment; hear the small as well as the great; fear no man; for the judgment is YHVH's. And the thing that is too hard for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it."


And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.


The Sending of the Spies
We departed from Horeb, and we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which you saw, by the way of the mountain of the Emori, as YHVH our G-d commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-Barnea.


And I said to you: "You are come to the mountain of the Emori, which YHVH our G-d gives to us. Behold, YHVH your G-d has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as YHVH, the G-d of your fathers has said to you; fear not, nor be discouraged."
And you all approached me, and said: "We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us back word by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come."



And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one for a tribe. And they turned and went up to the mountain, and came to the wadi of Eshkol (this area is also the area where Boaz and Rina live!), and searched it out.


And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us back word, and said: It is a good land which YHVH our G-d gives us.


Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of YHVH your G-d.
And you murmured in your tents, and said: "Because YHVH hates us, He has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Emori, to destroy us. Why shall we go up? Our brethren have made our heart faint, saying: The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the giants there."


Then I said to you: "Fear not, and do not be afraid of them. YHVH your G-d who goes before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes; and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that YHVH your G-d carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place!"


Yet in this thing you did not believe YHVH your G-d, Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in a cloud by day.


YHVH Decrees that Moses' Generation Shall Not Enter the Land
And YHVH heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying: "Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land, which I swore to give to your fathers. Save Caleb the son of Yefunne; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he has trodden upon, and to his children, because he has wholly followed YHVH"


Also with me was YHVH angry for your sakes, saying: "You, too, shall not enter there.
"Rather, Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.


"And your little ones, concerning whom you said they should be a prey, and your children who in that day had no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it.


"But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Suf."
The Attempt to Storm the Land


Then you answered and said to me: "We have sinned against YHVH; we will go up and fight, according to all that YHVH our G-d commanded us." And you girded on every man his weapons of war, and ventured to go up into the hill.


And YHVH said to me: "Say to them: Neither go up, nor fight; for I am not among you; lest you be smitten before your enemies."


So I spoke to you; and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of YHVH, and went presumptuously up into the hill.


And the Emori, who dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Se'ir, as far as Horma.


And you returned and wept before YHVH; but YHVH would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear to you. So you dwelled in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you abode there. Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Suf, as YHVH spoke to me; and we went about mount Se'ir many days.


After Forty Years in the Desert
YHVH spoke to me, saying: "You have compassed this mountain long enough. Turn northwards.
"And command the people, saying: You are to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Se'ir; and they shall be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves. Do not provoke them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Se'ir to Esau for a possession.


"You shall buy food of them for money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water of them for money, that you may drink.


"For YHVH your G-d has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He knows your walking through this great wilderness: these forty years YHVH your G-d has been with you, you have lacked nothing."


And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Se'ir, through the way of the Arava from Elat and from Etzyon-Gever, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.


Bypassing Moab
And YHVH said to me: "Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.
(The Emim dwelt there in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, like the Anaqim; who also were considered Refa'im as the Anaqim; but the Moabim call them Emim. The Horim also dwelt in Se'ir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, and they destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their place; as Israel did to the land of his possession, which YHVH gave to them.)


"Now rise up, and get you over the wadi Zered." And we went over the wadi Zered.
And the days in which we came from Kadesh-Barnea, until we were come over the wadi Zered, were thirty eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as YHVH swore to them. For indeed the hand of YHVH was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed. So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people.


Bypassing Ammon
And, that YHVH spoke to me, saying: "You are to pass over through Ar, the border of Moab, this day.


"And when you come near, opposite the children of Ammon, harass them not, nor contend with them; for I will not give you of the land of the children of Ammon any possession, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.


(That also was considered a land of Refa'im: Refa'im dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonim call them Zamzumim. A people great, and many, and tall, like the Anaqim; but YHVH destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their place; as He did to the children of Esau, who dwelt in Se'ir, when he destroyed the Horim from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead until this very day. And the Avvim who dwelt in Hazerim, as far as 'Azza; Kaftorirn who came from Kaftor, destroyed them and dwelt in their stead.)


War with the Emori
"Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the wadi Arnon; behold, I have given into your hand Sichon the Emorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.


"This day will I begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of you, and shall tremble, and quake because of you."
And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemot to Sichon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying:
"Let me pass through your land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left. You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through with those who follow me (as the children of Esau who dwell in Se'ir, and the Moabim who dwell in Ar, did to me) until I shall pass over the Jordan into the land which YHVH our G-d gives us."


But Sichon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for YHVH your G-d hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as is apparent this day.


And YHVH said to me: "Behold, I have begun to give Sichon and his land before you; begin to possess, that you may inherit his land."


Then Sichon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Yahaz.
And YHVH our G-d delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and devoted to destruction every city, the men, and the women, and the little ones; we left none remaining; only the cattle we took for a prey to ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.


From Aro'er, which is by the edge of the wadi of Arnon, and from the city that is by the wadi, as far as Gilaad, there was not one city too strong for us: YHVH our G-d delivered all to us:
Only to the land of the children of Ammon you did not come, nor to any place of the torrent of Yabbok, nor to the cities in the mountains, nor to whatever place YHVH our G-d forbade us.


The Battle at Bashan
Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edre'i.


And YHVH said to me: "Fear him not; for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into your hand; and you shall do to him as you did to Sichon king of the Emori, who dwelt at Heshbon."


So YHVH our G-d delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people; and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, sixty cities, all the region of Argov, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides unwalled towns a great many. And we devoted them to destruction, as we did to Sichon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city. But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.


And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Emori the land that was on this side of the Jordan, from the wadi of Arnon to mount Hermon; (which Hermon the Zidonim call Siryon; and the Emori call it Senir;) all the cities of the plain, and all Gilaad, and all Bashan, as far as Salkha and Edre'i, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.


For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Refa'im; behold, his bed is a bed of iron; is it not in Rabba of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits is the length of it, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.


Two and a Half Tribes Receive the Lands East of the Jordan
And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aro'er, which is by the wadi Arnon, and half mount Gilaad, and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gaddites.
And the rest of Gilaad, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half tribe of Menasseh; all the region of Argov, with all Bashan, which was called the land of Refa'im. Ya'ir the son of Menasseh took all the country of Argov as far as the border of the Geshuri and the Ma'akhati; and called them (that is the Bashan) after his name, Havvot-Ya'ir, to this day. And I gave Gil'ad to Machìr.


And to the the Reubenites and to the Gaddites I gave from Gil'ad to the wadi Arnon, the middle of the wadi as a border, as far as the torrent of Yabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; the Arava also and the Jordan, as a border, from Kinneret as far as the Sea of the Arava, even the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisga eastward.


And I commanded you at that time, saying: "YHVH your G-d has given you this land to possess it; [but first you must] pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are fit for the war. Only your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that you have much cattle), shall abide in your cities which I have given you. Until YHVH gives rest to your brethren, as well as to you, and until they also possess the land which YHVH our G-d has given them beyond the Jordan; then shall you return every man to his possession, which I have given you.


And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying: "Your eyes have seen all that YHVH your G-d has done to these two kings; so shall YHVH do to all the kingdoms into which you will pass. You shall not fear them: for YHVH your G-d, He shall fight for you."


Shabbat Shalom

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Parashat Ma'asei

Parasha: Ma'asei – Numbers 33:1 – 36:13
Haftara: Jeremiah 2:4-24; 4:1-2
Reading Date: 2nd August 2008 – 1st Av 5768



"These are the journeys of the children of Israel going out of the land of Egypt with their hosts, under the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of YHVH; and these are their journeys according to their goings out."


These are the journeys of the children of Israel going out of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt)... (33:1)


It would seem that there was only one journey which took the children of Israel out of Egypt--their journey from Raamses to Sukkot. The other "journeys" listed in our Parasha were between points outside of the geographical borders of Egypt. Why, then, does the Torah speak of "the journeys" -- in the plural -- "of the children of Israel going out of the land of Mitzrayim"?
Mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for "Egypt," means "borders" and "narrows." Spiritually the, the journey from Egypt is a journey from the boundaries that limit us--an Exodus from the narrow straits of habit, convention and ego to the "good broad land" of the infinite potential of YHVH.
And the journey from Mitzrayim is never ending: what is expansive and uninhibited by yesterdays standards, is narrow and confining in light of the added wisdom and new possibilities of today’s situations. Thus, each of life’s "journeys" is an Exodus from the land of Mitzrayim: having transcended yesterday’s limitations, we must again journey from the Mitzrayim that our present norm represents relative to our newly-uncovered potential.(Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi)


And they journeyed from... and they camped at... (33:1-49)
Our chapter opens, "These are the journeys of the children of Israel." However, it then proceeds to recount not the journeys but the forty-two encampments at which they stopped during their sojourn in the Sinai Desert!


Yet these encampments were not ends unto themselves--only way-stations and stepping stones to advance the nation of Israel in their goal of attaining the Promised Land. So the stops themselves are referred to as "journeys".


The same is true of the journey of life. Pauses, interruptions and setbacks are an inadvertent part of a person's sojourn on earth. But when everything a person does is toward the goal of attaining the "Holy Land" -- the sanctification of the material world -- these, too, are "journeys". Ultimately, they are shown to have been the true motors of progression, each an impetus to the realization of one's mission and purpose in life. (Rabbi M. Schneerson)


Thus begins the Torah reading of Massei, the tenth and last parasha in the Book of Numbers.
The parasha goes on to recount the 42 stations from the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land:


Warning
"Speak to the children of Israel," says YHVH to Moses, "and say to them:"
When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you; and you shall destroy all their figured pavements, and destroy all their molten images, and devastate all their high places.


And you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell in it; for I have given you the land to possess it...
But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come to pass, that those whom you allow to remain of them shall be as thorns in your eyes, and stings in your sides, and shall harass you in the land wherein you dwell.


The Boundaries of the Land
This is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan with its borders:
Your south border shall be the outmost coast of the Dead Sea eastward... to Ma'aleh-Akrabbim... to Kadesh-Barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-Addar, and pass on to Atzmon; the border shall turn about from Atzmon to the wadi of Egypt, and its limits shall be at the Sea.
And as for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your west border.


And this shall be your north border: from the Great Sea you shall mark out your frontier at Hor HaHar... to the entrance of Hamat... to Zedad... to Zifron, and its limits shall be at Hatzar Einan...
And you shall point out your east border from Hatzar Eienan to Shefam... to Rivlah... and shall reach the eastward projection of the Sea of Kinneret... down to the Jordan, and its limits shall be at the Dead Sea.


This shall be your land with its borders round about.
The tribe of Levi, who will not be allotted a portion of the land, should be given 48 cities in which to dwell.


Cities of Refuge
Six cities--three on each side of the Jordan--should be set aside as havens for "one who slays a soul unawares."


Anyone who causes the death of a fellow--intentionally or not--must find his way immediately to one of the Cities of Refuge, "so that the killer shall not die before he stand before the congregation in judgment." Only there is he safe from the "redeemer of the blood"--the relative of the slain person who comes to avenge the death. For if the avenging relative kills the killer outside of a city of refuge, "he shall not be guilty of blood."


The killer is then brought before the court. If he is convicted of intentional murder, he is executed. "The redeemer of the blood himself shall slay the murderer; where he meets him, he shall slay him."


If he is found guilty only of causing a death through his negligence, but without intent to kill,
The congregation shall save the slayer from the hand of the redeemer of the blood; and the congregation shall send him back to the city of his refuge... and he shall dwell in it until the death of the High Priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.


Again, only there does the law protect him from the vengeance of the slain man's relatives.
And these laws shall be for a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings:


Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the testimony of [two] witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
You shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death... For blood pollutes the land; and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.


And you shall not defile the land which you shall inhabit, in which I dwell; for I, YHVH, dwell among the children of Israel. Six cities of refuge shall they be for you (35:13). The Torah includes six hundred and thirteen mitzvot (commandments).... Of these, the mitzvot that can be observed today [following the destruction of the Holy Temple and our exile from the Holy Land] number, altogether, three hundred and thirty-nine. Among these are mitzvot for which a person becomes obligated only under certain circumstances, so that it is possible that never in his lifetime will these circumstances come about and he will never have the opportunity to do them--e.g., the mitzvah to pay an employee on time... The number of mitzvot that every person is obligated in is two hundred and seventy... Many of these, however, are binding only on certain days of the year or certain times of the day.


There are six mitzvot whose obligation is constant, and does not depart from the person for a single moment throughout his lifetime. These are: to believe in YHVH, to avow His oneness, to renounce idolatry, to love YHVH, to fear Him, and to avoid temptation to sin. They are symbolized by the verse, "Six cities of refuge shall they be for you." (Sefer HaChinuch)


Marriage Restrictions
The five daughters of Tzlofchad, whose father had died without sons, had petitioned for a share in the Land (as recounted last week in the Parasha of Pinchas). Now, the leaders of their tribe, Menasseh, approached Moses with a petition of their own. If any of these women will marry someone from another tribe, they argued, this would mean that their sons, who will inherit their land, will likewise be of another tribe. The result would be that, "their portion... and shall be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they are joined, and the lot of our inheritance will be diminished."


The following law is therefore decreed by Moses, in the name of YHVH:
Any daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall marry a man of the family of the tribe of her father... So that the inheritance shall not remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.


"These are the commandments and the judgments," concludes the Parasha of Massei and the Book of Numbers, "which YHVH commanded by the hand of Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab by the Jordan near Jericho."


Shabbat Shalom

Parashat Mattot

Parasha: Mattot – Numbers 30:2 – 32:42
Haftara: Jeremiah 1:1-2:3
Reading Date: 26th July 2008 – 23rd Tamuz 5768



Parashat Mattot begins with a detailed presentation of the laws pertaining to vows and oaths. Next, Moses is instructed to "take revenge" against the Midianites, and there is a long report on Israel's terrible battle against Midian. In the aftermath of the war, Moses reminds the soldiers about tumah--the laws of ritual impurity--and deals with the division of booty between the soldiers, community, and the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Next, Moses is approached by the tribes of Reuven and Gad, asking to be apportioned some land on the east side of the Jordan River. At first, Moses is annoyed by this request, but he then relents as long as they agree to continue to fight with the rest of Israel to conquer the land of Israel.


If a man makes a vow to YHVHl or takes an oath imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips (Numbers 30:3).


This seems pretty straightforward: If you make a promise, you must keep it. However, the text uses two very different terms here to make its point. Neder, translated as "vow," is generally used to represent a promise to do something ("I vow to give $1000 to charity"). Shevu'ah, on the other hand, is generally translated as "oath," implying a promise to abstain from doing something ("I swear to stop smoking"). In each case, as soon as it is uttered, the promise is considered binding. A man must carry through what ever he states. And the text does refer to men here!


The passage continues to discuss what happens when a woman makes a vow or an oath. In that case, an unmarried woman's father or a married woman's husband can annul her vow if they object to it as soon as they hear about it. If they do not object, then it is binding as stated, just as with a man.


The Torah considers oaths and vows to be serious business. As our passage stipulates, this is especially true since an oath or vow is a pledge to YHVH. As it states in Ecclesiastes 5:4, "It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and fail to fulfill." The Rabbis also took oaths as a matter of great concern. An entire tractate of the Talmud, called Nedarim, is devoted to the discussion of oaths and the implications of making oaths.

Vows are taken so seriously because in the Torah no provision is made for them to be absolved. In the passage above, which comprises the heart of the Torah's teachings about vows, only vows made by a woman can be revoked. In that case, it is the father of an unmarried woman or the husband of a married woman who can annul the stated vow; the woman herself cannot. Therefore, anyone, male or female, who swears an oath or a vow must be fully prepared to go through with their pledge.


However, vows are not considered bad, just serious. We have many examples of approval of vows undertaken by people of the Torah, such as the vow of Jacob at Beth El (Genesis 31:13). Even the Brit itself--the Covenant between YHVH and Israel--is considered a vow. The Torah does not even seem to consider that one would make a pledge to YHVH and then default on it. This is especially true since vows are undertaken voluntarily; one is never obligated to make a vow or an oath.


However, by the time of the later Biblical books and certainly by the time of the rabbinic literature, there seems to have developed a problem with people defaulting on oaths. We see two new trends developing. First, people are discouraged from making any vows in general. Second, provisions are developed for the dissolution of certain vows that are made. There is, however, little agreement on these issues.


In the Talmud, (Tractate Hullin 2a) Rabbi Judah states, "better is he who vows and pays," while Rabbi Meir states, "better is he who does not vow at all." In the Midrash (Leviticus Rabbah 37:1), it states, "he who vows and pays receives the reward for both his vow and its fulfillment" while in another part of the Talmud (BT Tractate Nedarim 77b) Samuel (the Sage, not the Prophet) is recorded as saying, "even when one fulfills his vow he is called wicked." The Sages even went so far as to say that the punishment for taking a vow of any kind is that one's children will die young (BT Shabbat 32b).


The rabbis performed elaborate legal gymnastics to provide for the absolution of vows, called hattarat nedarim, which means "release from vows." The results of these efforts include the Kol Nidrei chanted on Erev Yom Kippur and other formulas for the nullification of vows stated under coercion or distress. But, in the end they admitted, "the rules about the absolution of vows hover in the air and have nothing in the Torah to support them" (Tractate Hagigah 1:8). We rely entirely upon the grace and mercy of YHVH and the atoning blood of Yeshua for our absolution.
So we know that we should avoid vows if possible, but we still don't know why. What is so bad about a vow? Well, Rashi, in his commentary on this passage, notes that the word for "break"--yakhel--is etymologically related to yekhallel--meaning to secularize or make ordinary. Expanding on this idea, the Gerer Rebbe, Yehudah Aryeh Leib, suggested that from this linguistic link we may infer that the power of the spoken word is holy.


To break a pledge is to take something that is sacred and make it secular, or even profane. We are to guard our words carefully, always being aware of their power. If we are to be holy, then we must keep our words holy. One way to do that, our sages suggest, is to avoid making vows.
To swear is a serious sin, even if one intends to uphold what one has sworn. King Yannai had one thousand cities, and all were destroyed because their inhabitants continually swore, even on true things. This occurred because they mentioned YHVH's name for no reason. How much worse, then, is it when one swears falsely; he shall most certainly be punished!


But if a person makes a vow because he is afraid lest his evil inclination dissuade him from a righteous action, that is permitted. In fact, YHVH ordered that one should make a vow in the case where a person went on an evil path, and a vow will rein him in, to ensure that he no longer returns to that way. As King David said: "I have sworn, and shall fulfill, to heed Your righteous judgments" (Psalm 199:106). We see from this that it is permissible to swear in order to fulfill the commandments. (Tze'enah Ur'enah)


Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Pinchas

Parasha: Pinchas – Numbers 25:10 – 30:1
Haftara: 1Kings 18:46 19:21
Reading Date: 19th July 2008 – 16th Tamuz 5768

25:11 For his zeal – the word uses the same root (koof, nun, aleph) as the word for jealousy - Interesting comparison.
The sages interpret that had Pinchas not killed Zimri and Kozbi all of Israel would have been destroyed. (Pinchas 2:2)

25:13 And it shall be to him, and his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood (25:13)

Although the priesthood had already been given to the descendants of Aaron, it was given only to Aaron, and his [four] sons who were anointed together with him, and to the children they would father after their anointing. Pinchas, however, who was born before that time and was not himself anointed, did not enter the priesthood until now. Thus we have learned in the Talmudic tractate of Zevachim (101b): "Pinchas did not attain the priesthood until he slew Zimri." (Rashi)

26:1-65 The census of the Nation of Israel.
Before taking vengeance upon the Midianites, as they had been commanded, the Israelites were to be mustered as the army of YHVH, by means of a new census, since the generation that was counted at Sinai (Ch.1-4) had died out in the wilderness, with the sole exception of Caleb and Joshua (Num.26:64,65). “After the plague,” YHVH issued an order for a fresh census and muster. For with the plague the last of those who came out of Egypt, and were not to enter Canaan, had been swept away, and thus the sentence had been completely executed. - The object of the fresh numbering, however, was not merely to muster Israel for the war with the Midianites, and in the approaching conquest of the promised land with the Canaanites also, but was intended to serve at the same time as a preparation for their settlement in Canaan, viz., for the division of the conquered land among the tribes and families of Israel. For this reason (Num 26) the families of the different tribes are enumerated here, which was not the case in Ch.1; and generally instructions are also given in Num.1:52-56, with reference to the division of Canaan. - The numbering was simply extended, as before, to the male population of the age of 20 years and upwards, and was no doubt carried out, like the previous census at Sinai, by Moses and the high priest (Eleazar), with the assistance of the heads of the tribes, although the latter are not expressly mentioned here. - The names of the families correspond, - with very few exceptions, - to the grandsons and great-grandsons of Jacob mentioned in Gen 46. - With regard to the total number of the people, and the number of the different tribes.

And it came to pass after the plague, that YHVH spoke to Moses... "Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel..." (26:1)

To what is this comparable? To a shepherd into whose flock there entered a wolf and killed many of them, so he counts them to know how many remain.

Another explanation: It is like the case of a shepherd to whom an owner entrusted his flock by number; when the shepherd came to the end of his time, on returning them, he had to number them again. When Israel went out of Egypt G-d entrusted them to Moses by number (as per Exodus 12:37 and Numbers 1:1); now that Moses was about to depart from the world in the plain of Moab, he returned them by number. (Midrash Rabbah; Rashi)

27:1 The singular case of the daughters of Zelofchad caused an additional law to be added to the Torah. This civil code applies until today in Israel. It satisfactorily ascertains and amply secures the right of succession in cases of inheritance. The law, which is as reasonable as it is just, stands thus:
1. On the demise of the father the estate goes to the sons;
2. If there be no son, the daughters succeed;
3. If there be no daughter, the brothers of the deceased inherit;
4. If there be no brothers or paternal uncles, the estate goes to the brothers of his father;
5. If there be no grand uncles or brothers of the father of the deceased, then the nearest akin succeeds to the inheritance.

Beyond the fifth degree the law does not proceed, because as the families of the Nation of Israel were kept distinct in their respective tribes, there must always be some who could be called a kinsman, having descended without interruption from the patriarch of the tribe.

27:12 With Moses’ death foretold it is interesting to note the name of the mountain. It is called ‘Har haAvirim’ which uses the same root (ayin, bet, nun) as the word for Hebrew. I see a full circle as the word ‘ever’ means one who has crossed over. Although Moses did not get to cross over and knew that he would not, he was faithful to his calling to the end.

27:13 Although YHVH does not permit Moses to enter the Promised Land. I see his ‘seeing’ as not only a physical but more so a spiritual insight into the Land and the future of the people.

28:2 This chapter begins with the description of the ‘Tamid’ offering, the daily continual offering, then continues through chapter 29 with the description of the ‘Mussaf’, additional offerings that were brought to the Tabernacle of Shabbat, the New Moon and the Festivals.
29:35-38 ‘Shmeni Aseret’ This is the last day of the Sukkot festival which is combined with Simchat Torah. Other than the traditional celebrations this is the day when we realize that Messiah did not return in that year (as we believe that He will return at Sukkot – living outside looking toward the heavens for His return) and pray for His return in the next.


In addition I would like to add an analysis of the two counts of the Nation of Israel.
Lots and Numbers

In the opening chapters of the book of Numbers, back in the Parasha of Bamidbar, we read of the census of Israel conducted one year after the Exodus. It is now 39 years later; that entire generation (i.e., those over the age of 20 at the time) has died out, and a new generation has grown up to enter the Promised Land in their stead. In the wake of the plague which Pinchas stopped, YHVH instructs Moses and Elazar to conduct another count.
The total number of those counted -- men between the ages of 20 and 60, not counting the tribe of Levi -- was 601,730 (1,820 less than the previous census, which tallied 603,550).

The breakdown by tribes was as follows:
The tribe of Reuven, comprising the families Chanochi, Palu'i, Hetzroni and Carmi (descendent of Reuben's four sons -- Chanoch, Phalu, Hetzron and Carmi), numbered 43,730. (In the previous census, the tribe of Reuven numbered 46,500).
Shimon's sons generated the Nemueli, Yamini, Yachini, Zarchi and Shauli families, and the tribe totaled 22,200 (a loss of 37,100 from the previous count of 59,300).
The tribe of Gad (families: Zefoni, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eiri, Arodi and Areli) = 40,500 (previous census, 45,650).
Judah (Sheilani, Partzi, Zarchi, Hetzroni, Chamuli) = 76,500 (previous census, 74,600).
Issachar (Tola'i, Puni, Yashuvi, Shimroni) = 64,300 (up from 54,400).
Zebulun (Sardi, Eloni, Yachle'eli) = 60,500 (previous census, 57,400).
The tribe of Menasseh included the Machiri, Giladi, E'ezri, Chelki, Asrieli, Shicmi, Shmida'i and Chefri; the verse also mentions here that, "Tzlofchad, the son of Chefer, had no sons, but only daughters; and the names of the daughters of Tzlofchad were: Machlah, Noah, Chaglah, Milkah and Tirtzah." Menasseh's population count was 52,700 (previous census, 32,200).
Ephraim (Shuthalchi, Bachri, Tachani, Eirani) = 32,500 (previous census, 40,500).
Benjamin (Bal'i, Ashbeli, Achirami, Shufami, Chufami, Ardi, Naami) = 45,600 (previous census, 35,400).
Dan (the father of the tribe, Dan, had only one son, Chushim, so that the entire tribe consisted of one family -- the Shuchami) = 64,400 (previous census, 62,700).
Asher (Yimnah, Yshvi, Bri'i, Chevri, Malkieli; "and the name of Asher's daughter was Serach") -- 53,400 (up from 41, 500).
Naphtali's descendents divided themselves into the Yachtzeli, Guni, Yitzri and Shileimi clans, and their number in this census was 45,400 (previous census, 53,400).
"Among these shall the Land be apportioned as an inheritance," said YHVH to Moses, "according to the number of names."
To the more numerous you shall increase their inheritance, and to the fewer you shall lessen their inheritance...
Nevertheless the land shall be divided by lot... according to the lot shall their inheritance be divided, whether many or few.
The tribe of Levi, which did not receive a share in the Land, was counted separately; they numbered 23,000 (in the previous census, they numbered 22,300).
The Torah concludes the census by stating:
Among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest had numbered when they counted the children of Israel in the Sinai Desert. For YHVH had said of them: They shall surely die in the wilderness.
"There was not left a man of them, except for Calev the son of Yefuneh, and Joshua the son of Nun."

Friday, July 11, 2008

Parashat Balak

Parasha: Balak – Numbers 22:2 – 25:9
Haftara: Micah 5:6 – 6:8
Reading Date: 12th July 2008 – 9th Tamuz 5768


This week’s portion can be divided into three sections which aptly describe where we find ourselves as the en of times approaches.
Part One: Yalkut Shimoni - Iran will destroy the world
Part Two: Avraham's DisciplesPart
Three: Building Walls, Closing Doors

Part One: Yalkut Shimoni, "Iran will destroy the world"YHVH appoints strange messengers to speak on His behalf. At times it is a talking donkey or an arch-evil anti-Semite, like Bilam, who knows the true value of the Nation of Israel, yet desires to destroy it - the only link between humanity and its Creator.YHVH speaks through the foul mouth and evil thoughts of Bilam as a way of letting the world know that they can never destroy Am Israel, despite their intentions and manipulative, misguided, hypocritical condemnations.

At one point Bilam calls out (Bamidbar 23:9): “From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart (am le’vadad yishkon) and do not consider themselves one of the nations.”

Dictators and murderous regimes the world over are celebrated the adoption of the UN Human Rights Council’s reform package that dropped them all from a blacklist, while Israel is placed under permanent indictment. The UN has targeted Israel for permanent indictment under a special agenda item: "Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories," which includes "Human rights violations and implications of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other occupied Arab territories"; and "Right to self-determination of the Palestinian people."
No other situation in the world is singled out – not genocide in Sudan, not child slavery in China and Arab countries, nor the persecution of democracy dissidents in many places in the world. The decision eliminates the experts charged with reporting on violations by Cuba and Belarus, despite the latest reports of massive violations by both regimes. As for the experts on other countries - on Burundi, Cambodia, North Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Burma, Somalia and Sudan - all of these will soon be eliminated.

Bilam prophesied that we will not consider ourselves "one of the nations." It has come to pass in our times as a reaction to the United Nations tacit rejection of the right of the Nation of Israel to exist.

This whole situation is likened to a passage in the Gemara, Avoda Zara 3a which states, that in the future YHVH will mete out to each nation and individual his just punishment and earned reward.The rewards which will be showered upon Am Israel will evoke jealousy among the nations and YHVH will explain that the Nation of Isarel who struggled with keeping the Torah against all odds deserve these benefits, whereas the nations who did not, will not benefit from them.The nations will reply that had YHVH given them the Torah they too would have kept it. In order to prove that they were, and still are, incapable of keeping the Torah, YHVH will test them with a mitzvah kala (easy mitzvah) and if they succeed they too will receive handsome rewards - it will be the mitzvah of suka.The nations will run to build succoth on their roofs. YHVH will then bring out the full heat of the sun as in the hottest summer day. The Nation of Israel and the gentiles will have to vacate the succoth. The Children of Israel will walk away in sadness, while the gentiles will degrade the succoth by hastily exiting them, without feelings of remorse and disappointment for not being able to perform this beautiful mitzvah.The sages in this Gemara, through their choice of words are telling us how the final scenes in history will play out, as follows:

After the close of the Second World War the world’s major nations established the United Nation. This organization, arising from the shambles of the League of Nations, adopted resolutions intended to guide member states in their relations with fellow member states. Foremost among these resolutions is the rule that no nation shall threaten a fellow nation.The UN is the "mitzvah kala" which the Gemara in Avoda Zara refers to, because a succa is defined as "durat arei" - a temporary dwelling as opposed to a permanent one. For the permanent one is the individual states in their geographical area and the temporary one is their presence twice a year in the New York building.YHVH will "expose the heat of the sun," which is the great moral dilemmas the member states will have to contend with. The "hottest" of which repeats itself when Iran continues to threaten to "erase the State of Israel from the maps of the world". The UN did not eject Iran from membership because, on the one hand they have oil and will soon possess atomic weapons and who did they threaten anyway - Israel. The UN escaped their moral responsibilities (once again) and the end of the world order can be measured to have begun.

In the end, whatever occurs, the safest place to be when it happens will be in Eretz Yisrael, the "Noah’s Ark" of the end of time.

Brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, those of you waiting to return home, if you think that this is a political issue which has no implications on your private lives, you are very mistaken! The mind set of the many nations as expressed in UN resolutions is the very same mind set of your non-Torah observant neighbor across the fence. Bilam spoke for all gentiles as long as we continue to be loyal to our claim that we are YHVH’s chosen people.

Eventually, the in gathering of the whole House of Israel to Eretz Israel will transform from being a matter of choice to one of dire necessity.

Bilam then calls out (Bamidbar 23:10): Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs. "And may my end be like theirs." What is this "end" which is uniquely reserved for the Nation of Israel and eternally inaccessible to Bilam, but to which he so desperately aspires? How will this "end" manifest itself; who are its major players?

Much of the information appears in our classic Torah literature, and the following are just three sources gleaned from them.
1) The first Rashi in the Torah;
2) Malbim’s commentary on the Book of Yechezkel chapter 32;
3) Zohar, end of parashat Va’ayra.

1) The first Rashi in the Torah quotes the question posed by the midrash Tanchuma that, since the Torah is the book of mitzvot of the Nation of Israe, should it not begin with the first mitzva which YHVH commanded us – the calculation and declaration of new months and years, which appears in the book of Shemot - rather than the story of creation?The midrash explains that YHVH began the Torah with the story of creation in order to refute the future claim of the nations that the Nation of Israel illegally seized Eretz Israel. Therefore, the nations shall know that since YHVH is the Creator of all that exists, He has the right to give Eretz Israel to the Nation at the expense of all others.This midrash is problematic, because it leaves us suspended between heaven and earth. Indeed, we are informed that the nations will accuse us of imperialistic motives associated with evil regimes, and we will answer them with verses quoting Torah based principles; but we are not told how it will end.Will the nations be convinced by our presentations? Will they cast our claims aside and mete out their idea of justice through war or other sanctions against us?

What comes next is cited in another midrash in Yalkut Shimoni at the end of sefer Yeshayahu (#499), which quotes a parable which states that, in time, Paras (Persia-Iran) will be the fear of the entire world. "Iran," says the rabbi, "will destroy the world."The world leaders will "go back and forth" frustrated in their attempts to save what they can, but to no avail. And the Nation of Isarel will also be petrified by the pending disaster. YHVH will say to us, "Why are you afraid? All of this I have done in order to bring you the long-awaited redemption. This redemption will not be like the redemption from Egypt, which was followed by suffering; this redemption will usher in a world of peace."

It is intriguing to note that the rabbi whom Rashi quotes in the beginning of the Torah and leaves us suspended, not knowing how the final scenario of the world will develop, is Rabbi Yitzchak - the same Rabbi Yitzchak of the Yalkut Shimoni who spells it out: Israel, Paras - Iran, the nations of the world. It is all there.

When Rashi chose the midrash Tanchuma, he knew what Rabbi Yitzchak said in the midrash Shimoni; but Rashi purposely let us "hang in mid air", because when discussing the creation of the world it makes no sense to discuss its finale.Part of the "end" which Bilam was referring to is the great miracle which YHVH will perform against our present enemy, Iran.

2) The Malbim (Meir Laibish ben Yechiel Michal) in his commentary on Yechezkel 32,17:It will come to pass in the end of days, after the Nation of Israel will return to the land of Israel, that the nations will come together in order to capture Yerushalayim. The prophet names the nations who will come. Gog, the king of Meshech and Tuval from the north and west who are uncircumcised and called "Edom", who are the descendants of Yefet living now in Europe. And Paras, Kush, and the House of Turgama who are all circumcised and adhering to the belief of Ishmael, will join with the children of Edom to attempt to capture the Land of Israel from the Nation of Israel.

But when they arrive, they will create chaos among themselves and make war on each other. That is, Edom will make war on Ishmael because their beliefs are different.And there, YHVH will judge them in sword and blood as stated by the prophet Zecharia, chapter 14. Here the prophet (Yechezkel) relates how they all will be lost; and singles out Egypt, Ashur and Elam who adhere to the religon of Ishmael and are today circumcised. He then mentions Meshech, Tuval and Edom, their kings and princes from the north who are all uncircumcised. And between them there will be a war. The first to be utterly destroyed will be the Egyptians, who are the closest to the Land of Israel and will come forward first and fall. Then the Assyrians and Persians will come to avenge their ally and they all will be destroyed.

If the Malbim lived today, he would have been more specific: It will come to pass in the end of the exile and the Nation of Israel people will return to the Land, that many nations will come together in order to attempt to capture Yerushalayim. The nations who will come are from the north and west and include the European Union and the nations which comprised the former Soviet Union who are all uncircumcised and called "Edom", the descendants of Yefet living now in Europe and adhere to the Christian faith. Iran, the Arab peoples, and the House of Saud who are all circumcised adhering to the faith of Ishmael, will join with the children of Edom to attempt to capture the Land of Israel from the Children of Israel.But when they arrive, they will create chaos among themselves and make war on each other. That is, the Christians from Europe will make war on the Muslims, because their beliefs are different. There, YHVH will judge them in sword and blood as stated by the prophet Zecharia, Ch.14.

Here the prophet (Yechezkel) describes how they will be lost. He singles out Egypt, Syria and Iran who adhere to the religion of Ishmael and are circumcised. Then Meshech, Tuval and Edom, their kings and princes from the north, who are uncircumcised, and between them will be a war. The first to be utterly destroyed will be the Egyptians who are the closest to the Land of Israel who will come forward first and fall; then the Syrians and Iranians will come to avenge their fallen ally and they all will be destroyed.

We cannot blame the Malbim for generalizing, because he wrote his commentary in the 19th century when the return of the Israel to the Land was not even a dream. Quite the contrary, he was graced with the Ruach when he so rightly explained Yechezkel’s words as accurately as he did.

We could fill in some missing details:The Iranians will soon achieve nuclear capability.The West and Islam, on a collision course towards mutual destruction, will meet in order to discuss ways of defusing the ticking time-bomb. They will be utterly frustrated in their attempts to find mutual grounds for understanding, except in one area - their mutual enmity and hostility towards Israel in general, and specifically the Whole House of Israel.

The need of the nations to function together will give rise to the mutual goal of ridding the world of the maverick, renegade State of Israel and its archaic, heretical beliefs.Here, in the Land, bewilderment will share the stage with dread. Many will try to leave, but there will be nowhere to go. The emergency "hotline" request to Washington will go unheeded. The President will inform the Prime Minister that the US has no choice but to be neutral in this situation, since the decision was taken by the UN General Assembly where we have no veto power.

The sky will become clouded by the ascending dust caused by the multitudes making their way to the Land, with each person filled with ardor, ecstasy and zealousness to do the will of their god.

At this point the two chapters of Yechezkel come together - chapter 1 which we read on Shavuot with its description of the fiery Serafim, Ofanim and Chayot Hakodesh, and Ch. 32 which describes the multitude of nations on their way to destroy what YHVH has blessed.

This is what the Gemara, at the end of the first chapter of Berachot, is referring to when it predicts that the miracles of the future will outshine the unbelievable miracles of the Egyptian exodus. We might be apprehensive at the unfolding of current events, but for the Prophet Yechezkel and the Malbim it is just a matter of time before these events become reality.

However, it is a postulate in world events - those of our time and of times past - that they are all intended by YHVH for the ultimate redemption of the Nation of Israel. So there is no reason to fear, no matter what might seem to be the perils - because hakol b’ye’day shamayim - it is all in YHVH’s hands.

Bilam saw the great salvation which YHVH will bring about for His people Israel at the total expense and annihilation of Bilam’s own nation.

3) The Zohar at the end of parashat Va’ayra reveals that YHVH will grant Ishmael the privilege of controlling the Land of Israel until the time when the Nation returns from the Diaspora.
Ishmael will refuse to relinquish the land and will cause three major wars against Edom (European peoples): one on the sea, one on land and one near Yerushalayim. At that time, a great nation will come from the east (China?) to make war upon Edom for three months and will cause a world war. Ishmael will be totally vanquished. The Nation of Israel will then be supreme when the remnant of humanity will accept the worship of YHVH.

Part Two: Avraham's DisciplesPirkei Avot Ch.5:19:"What is the difference between the disciples of Avraham Avinu and the disciples of Bilam harasha?"1) Why do our sages compare the disciples of Avraham and of Bilam but not the mentors themselves?2) In the amida prayer (shmoneh esray), the first blessing begins by citing the forefathers of the Jewish nation - Elokay Avraham, Elokay Yitzchak Va'elokay Ya’akov. Yet, in the concluding blessing, we say "Baruch ata Hashem Magen Avraham" omitting Yitzchak and Yaakov?3) Why is the ending "Magen Avraham" in the present tense when it should be in the past tense "miegayn Avraham"?
The suggestion is:When we scan the life of Avraham Avinu, we can discern a pattern. At the beginning of Avraham’s recognition of the one GOD, a choice is put before him in Ur Kasdeem - to renounce his belief in monotheism or be thrown into a fiery furnace.After successfully enduring this test, Avraham is told by YHVH to leave his land, his birthplace and his father’s home to take up residence in a land which YHVH will identify later.

One should note that, at that time, Europe was desolate, as were major parts of Africa and Asia, not to speak of the Americas. But instead of sending Avraham to establish a State in some unpopulated area where there would be no one to protest, Avraham is directed to the most populous area in the world, a sliver of land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea populated by seven different ethnic peoples with 31 city states.Avraham wages war against four kings in order to save his nephew Lot. He is later directed to offer up his beloved son Yitzchak as a sacrifice to YHVH. He has to send away his son Ishmael by his maid-servant Hagar into the desert, and more.

The pattern which reappears in Avraham’s life is that YHVH repeatedly provokes Avraham into no-hope, mission-impossible situations. The tests which Avraham constantly faced were never the minor irritants of life, but ones where there was no chance of survival in human terms. One does not enter a fiery furnace and live to tell how hot it was, nor does one enter the land which was the seat of idolatry in the world, (according to our sages) and remain unharmed, despite the open and public rejection of society’s accepted beliefs of olden days’ fanatical Islamists.
A single leader with 318 men wages war on four kingdoms and wins. Ask President Bush how far he could have gotten with only 318 soldiers in Iraq.The knife’s blade was a centimeter from Yitzchak when the angel called out, "Avraham, Avraham, Do not lay your hand on the youth."
In contrast, our sages in Pirkey Avot (ibid) describe Bilam as egotistical, with a passion to fulfill his physical needs, whose highest ideal was to fill his coffers with gold and willing to sell his soul to the highest bidder. To get a vivid idea who Bilam was, one need not look further than the Saudi princes and the sheiks of Bahrain or any other Arab leader who succeeds in getting his oily hands on money. Pirkey Avot directs us to examine the disciples of Avraham and of Bilam but not the teachers themselves, because one can better learn the nature of the "master" by his teachings as passed on through the ages.

The rabbis established the first blessing of the "Amida" to be "Baruch ata Hashem Magen Avraham", and in the present tense, because our lives throughout the ages are a macrocosm of Avraham’s personal life. He was led by YHVH into impossible situations only to be invariably saved by YHVH’s intervention. We too, in our journey through time and history, have found ourselves in impossible situations. Yet, invariably, YHVH intervened to bring about our salvation. We, the disciples and children of Avraham and Sarah, have met the disciples of Bilam in every age and land. These disciples of Bilam were and still are loyal devotees to their spiritual mentor, who find no peace as long as one child of the House of Israel remains in the worldWe, on the other hand, will always merit YHVH’s salvation - but on condition that we live according to the teachings of Avraham. Avraham never attempted to escape the difficult tests placed before him by YHVH, because Avraham was aware that they were all necessary for the ultimate creation of a unique chosen people to be called "Am Israel" – the Nation of Israel. YHVH will not waver on his promise to "magen Avraham" - to protect the “Avrahams” of every generation against the curses and devices of the “Bilams”, when we stand firm as agents of YHVH in this world.

In our generation, the necessary test for the future of Am Israel is our return home to the land where Avraham was sent 3500 years ago. Today, as in his time, the land is filled with enemies who will persevere in their efforts to eradicate the descendants of Avraham. Those who will remain steadfast in their efforts to hallow the holy name of YHVH in the world by returning home to the land YHVH promised Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov, will merit the miraculous salvation by YHVH; those who escape from the task put before us will unfortunately earn for themselves a vastly different fate.

"Escape" from being an "Avraham" in our time takes many forms, all of which only YHVH can know by reading the deepest thoughts of each individual. It can take the form of eluding the draft call, or cloistering oneself in intellectual pursuits, or barking out that the time for ge’ula, redemption, has not yet arrived.

The people in Eretz Israel, who have taken upon themselves to be YHVH’s partners in the future salvation of our people, are the true disciples of Avraham and Sarah.
Part Three: Building Walls, Closing DoorsBilam at one point sees the entire Israelite encampment and calls out."How goodly are your tents (the children of) Ya’akov, the sanctuaries of Yisrael"

The gemara in Bava Batra 60a explains what aroused this outburst of enthusiasm on the part of Bilam. He saw that the entrance of every tent was positioned in such a way so that no one could see into the neighbor’s tent.

Tznee’ut, - modesty, respect for the privacy of others; all good things. This explanation of Bilam’s words are very appropriate for the tractate of Bava Batra.The first mishna of the tractate deals with someone who wishes to construct a wall to bisect a yard owned jointly with a neighbor and his request that the court order the neighbor to participate in the costs. The claimant demands the privacy and the freedom to use the yard being denied him by the presence of his neighbor. The Mishnah establishes the conditions whereby the neighbor must agree to dissolve joint ownership of the yard and participate in the construction costs of a wall. Rav Ashi, the editor of the Talmud Bavli, incorporated three major subjects into the first chapter of the tractate: 1) Elaboration on the first mishna, which, as stated above, deals with the right of every person to privacy; 2) numerous matters dealing with tzedaka (charity) and ge’milut chasadim (acts of kindness); and 3) the background and life of the long suffering Eeyov (Job).Why did Rav Ashi structure the chapter in this way?

The suggestion is: Tznee’ut and privacy are essential values in defining one’s quality of life. Absence of "walls" between neighbors can often turn one’s life into a succession of frustrations and paralysis.

However, tznee’ut and privacy, while creating a more comfortable life environment, can sever one from his surroundings when taken to the extreme. If your neighbor cannot see into your windows, you cannot see into his; neither at his moments of pleasure, nor in his moments of need and sorrow. His cries cannot reach your ears, and his suffering remains unknown to those who could offer help and consolation.

Rav Ashi incorporated the laws of tzedaka right after the laws defining the rights of privacy in order to deliver a message: Privacy, tznee’ut - YES - but hiding behind the high walls of privacy, and thinking that ignorance of life’s realities exempts one from responsibility to society, is a perversion of the Torah and its moral demands.Rav Ashi concludes the chapter with the terrible suffering of Eeyov (Job).

Who was this Eeyov, and why was he chosen to be the personification of human suffering? The gemara in Sota 11a relates that Paro had three advisors: Bilam, Yitro and Eeyov. Bilam encouraged Paro to subjugate the Children of Israel and was killed by the Israelites in the desert; Yitro ran away rather than object to the slavery, and Eeyov kept silent. Eeyov was no Bilam and was essentially a good man, so why didn't he protest? Rav Ashi is providing the answer by incorporating the matter of Eeyov in this chapter. Eeyov built a high wall behind which he was able to ignore what was transpiring right in front of him. He lived his life as a good citizen, never doing bad but never doing good. For disregarding his responsibilities to his fellow man, and justifying it by claiming ignorance, Eeyov lost everything dear to him in his life.
Our homes must be established on the values of tznee'ut and modesty. The door must never be closed to the needs of others. A pane of glass is transparent; but when the back is coated with even a thin veneer of silver, it becomes a mirror which is no longer transparent and in which one can see only himself.

In these days, when families are packing for summer vacation and sending their children off to summer camp for eight weeks of fun and sun, remember, there are hundreds of thousands of young people in the Land of Israel who will also spend their summer (and winter) in camp - army camp.

Their bungalows are pup tents or fox holes waiting for the murderers to come. Just remind your teenagers that when they get the keys to the family car to ride around the hallowed towns of the USA, that other young people in the Land are also riding around in vehicles - jeeps, humvies, troop carriers. When your children fly off to California and Florida, let them look out the windows of the plane and remember that our children in Israel also fly - F16s.

Even the evil Bilam saw that the doors of an authentic Godly home possess the quality of tznee’ut but are also open to the needs of our fellow men.

Shabbat Shalom
This article was compiled from articles by:
J.Luxembourg, N.Kahana and with my own additional personal comment

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Parashat Chukat

Parasha: Chukat – Numbers 19:1 – 21:35
Haftara: Judges 11:1-33
Reading Date: 5th July 2008 – 2nd Tamuz 5768


Parshat Chukat brings one of the most famous of biblical stories: Moses strikes the rock and is thereafter barred from entering the land of Canaan. The outline of the story is spare. Toward the end of the Israelites’ 40-year journey through the wilderness, the people begin to whine and grumble (once again) about their thirst. In response, Moses and his brother Aaron consult with YHVH, who tells them to speak to a stone and it will bring forth water. Moses, instead, berates the people – “Listen up, you rebels!” – and strikes the rock. Water comes forth and the people drink, but YHVH punishes Moses and Aaron, saying, “Because you did not trust in Me enough to make Me holy before the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” Everlastingly holy as YHVH may be, Moses and Aaron fail to demonstrate God’s holiness to the people and for this they are chastised and severely punished.
For over 2000 years, rabbinic commentators have struggled to understand the nature of Moses’ sin – and, thus, to understand what Moses failed to do in order to make God holy before the Israelites. The commentators have diverged significantly. Rashi, for example, says that Moses’ sin is that he struck the stone, whereas Maimonides says it is that he lost his temper. Ramban, with a third interpretation, teaches that Moses’ sin was in claiming too much power for himself.
Like Moses, we have had occasion to hear others’ grievances and identified them as affronts against us, as greed, or perhaps we have turned away unwilling or unable to face their needs with an open hand.
Our own needs and thirsts should not be denied. Still, our responsibility to make YHVH holy in the eyes of others (and in our own eyes as well) makes it incumbent upon us not to deny the thirsts of those who turn to us for help. It is upon us to see and correctly identify the rightful claims that others bring. Perhaps through this we learn that we can indeed bring YHVH’s holiness to all people. On our narrow path through this world we are bound to err, but we must keep trying to walk that road through the wilderness by recognizing the full humanity of those who journey with us.

Three Dimensions of Torah
This is a lesson adapted from a teaching by of the late Rabbi Menachen M. Scheerson The Lubavitch Rebbe.
This week's Sidra, Chukat, tells of the death of Aaron, Moses' brother, in whose merit the miraculous "Clouds of Glory" used to accompany the Children of Israel in their journey through the desert. When Aaron died the "clouds" disappeared, later reappearing in the merit of Moses. Two other outstanding miracles that accompanied the Israelites were the Manna that fell daily and the "Well of Miriam" which supplied them with water.
What were the essential characteristics of the three miracles of the well, the Manna and the Clouds of Glory?
The Clouds of Glory protected the People externally. The protected them from harsh winds, they exterminated the snakes and serpents that infested the wilderness, they smoothed out the mountains, and they cleaned and "pressed" the Israelites' clothes as the Torah relates, "Your clothes did not wear upon you." All of these are external functions.
The Manna was a wonderful food in which one could experience any taste one desired. Food is something that is absorbed internally and provides nourishment and sustenance.
The Well of Miriam was a source of water - which is not, in itself, a nourishment. The principal function of water is to act as a medium to carry food to all parts of the body.
Three different aspects of "dimensions" of Torah are signified and paralleled by the Clouds, the Manna and the Well. Three is an aspect of Torah which is absorbed internally like Manna; there is aspect that provides external protection, like the Clouds of Glory, and there is that aspect of Torah that carries the "external protection" and the "nourishment" to all Jews - like the water of Miriam's Well.

MANNA IN TORAH: Torah comes form the Hebrew word Hora'ah, teaching, signifying that Torah provides a code and guide for our conduct in life. This guidance must be thoroughly understood an absorbed, so that each person may know exactly how to guide his own conduct as well as that of his family and household. Just as the Manna was presented in different ways to those of different spiritual levels - the righteous finding it ready to eat while others had to grind it, etc. - so is Torah "ingested" in different ways according to the absorptive capacity of the individual. There are some who fulfill their obligation of Torah-study by reading the Shema prayer - if more is impossible for them, whereas others have the obligation to study Torah all day!

CLOUDS OF GLORY IN THE TORAH: When we step out into the parched wilderness of the everyday world, where evil forces abound like the snakes and scorpions in the Sinai desert of old, we are protected by the force of Mesirat Nefesh (self-sacrifice) which each and every Child of Israel possesses by virtue of his intrinsic connection and link with Torah. Just as a Torah-scroll is complete and wholly sacred only when all its letters are complete, so all of the Nation together - from the one who is on the very lowest spiritual level - have the "Torah-common-denominator" of Mesirat Nefesh, the potential to give his life for YHVH.
This dimension is the "Clouds of Glory" of the Torah. The Clouds encompassed and protected all the Children of Israel - even those few who still clung to idolatry - from the crossing of the Red Sea till their entry into Israel. In a similar way this aspect of Torah encompasses each and every one of our people from the greatest to the smallest; it gives us the strength to go through the awful wilderness. Not to fear the snakes and serpent, and to be constantly imbued with a spirit of self-sacrifice.
The previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneershon of blessed memory, told how he was once standing with a large motley group of Jews taking a shelter from the Nazi bombardment of Warsaw. In the group were such a wide range of spiritual personalities as the Rebbe, middle-of-the road Jews, simple Jews, and those who were not even aware that they had any connection with Judaism. But when a bomb exploded not far from them, the entire group cried out in unison, "Shema Israel".

"WATER OF MIRIAM'S WELL" IN TORAH: Water has the essential characteristic that it descends from high places to low places. The Torah, too, descended from the heights of lofty, Divine, profound wisdom to become clothed in the actual letters and words of the Written Torah, which thereby become "available" to everyone. Whoever recites the word of the Written Torah (even if he does not understand what the words mean) even if he understands no more than the simple explanation, receives the nourishment (Manna) and protection (Clouds of Glory) of Torah.

Shabbat Shalom