tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184519072024-03-13T20:57:02.236+02:00Sedra ShortsIdeas and commentaries on the weekly Torah readings.Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-6855164828525293802010-03-26T15:27:00.001+03:002010-03-26T15:30:00.926+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat Tzav</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br />There are four Sedra Shorts on Parshat Tzav:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Korban Todah and Chametz</span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Understanding Karet</span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">More on Sacrifices and Offerings</span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">Eating the Blood</span></span></b></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">The Korban Todah and Chametz</span></b></span></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B">Last week we saw that it was forbidden to burn chametz on the altar (VaYikra 2:11). Indeed, Chametz cannot be brought with any of the korbanot, aside from two: The Shtei Halechem (ibid 23:17) and the Korban Todah, the thanksgiving sacrifice (ibid 7:13), which is in this week's parsha.<br /><br />Aside from the Chametz aspect, the Korban Todah and the Korban Pesach are very similar sacrifices:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); ">They are the only korbanot that are brought with bread/matzah (ibid and Shemot 12:8).</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); ">They are the only korbanot that must be eaten by the morning after their sacrifices (VaYikra 7:15 & Shemot 12:10).</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); ">Both korbanot can be eaten by non-kohanim.</span></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); ">Indeed, these korbanot are very similar in their essence. The Chizkuni explains the reason that the Korban Todah must be consumed by the morning. It is impossible for one person to eat an entire animal by himself. This law forces the person to invite a large group of people to join him in eating the Korban Todah. He is therefore, required to supply them with bread in order to make a seudat mitzvah. During the course of this meal they would naturally discuss the reason why the person brought this thanksgiving sacrifice. Indeed, the person would explain "Know that the Lord He is God; it is He that has made us" (Tehillim 100 – Mizmor LeTodah, which is not recited on Passover, because it could not be sacrificed then because of the chametz).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Thereby, a large group of people would be made aware of the miracle that God had done for this man.<br /><br />This is the essence of the Korban Pesach. A large group of people must sit together to enjoy the meal and they have the duty to discuss the Exodus from Egypt, the miracle that God performed for the entire Jewish people, and the reason why the Korban Pessach is being brought. This is the mitzvah of "Maggid" and Jews today fulfill this mitzvah by reciting the Hagadah on Seder Night, the first night of Pessach.<br /><br />It turns out that the Korban Pessach is a national Korban Todah and hence their similarities.<br /><br />Of course, while a regular Korban Todah needed chametz bread, this was not possible for the Korban Pessach, as chametz is forbidden for the whole of Passover.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Understanding Karet</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week's parsha brings to our attention an interesting punishment:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"A person who eats the flesh of a peace offering of the Lord, while his uncleanness is upon him, that soul shall be cut off from its people" (VaYikra 7:20).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This punishment of one's "soul being cut off from its people" (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B">וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>), called "Karet", also applies to males who are not circumcised (Bereshit 17:14), someone who eats chametz on Pesach (Shemot 12:15, 19), someone who breaks Shabbat (ibid 31:14), someone who does any of the actions described in VaYikra Chapter 18 (see passuk 29) and for a host of other sins.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The commentaries have trouble understanding what "Karet" actually entails. Most commentators understand it as a form of heavenly punishment despite the fact that Bamidbar 15:31 implies that it is to be applied by humans. Some say that Karet is childlessness. This would fit in with the concept of "being cut off from the people", if the sinner is young and has no children. Others understand it as death before the age of 50 or between the ages of 50 and <st1:metricconverter productid="60. In" st="on">60. In</st1:metricconverter> these cases it is difficult to understand what makes this death: "cut off from the people".</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We can perhaps suggest two alternatives by looking at the antonym of this expression. It appears at the deaths of Avraham, Yitschak, Yishmael, Aharon and Moshe. We will examine the expression with Avraham:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Avraham expired and died in a good old age, old and satisfied, and</span><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">he was gathered to his people.</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b> </b></span><span class="apple-style-span">Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Cave</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Machpelah</st1:placename></st1:place>" (Bereshit 25:8-9).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Now, we must understand what "gathered to his people" (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">וַיֵּאָסֶף אֶל עַמָּיו</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">) means. </span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Note how the "gathering to his people" occurred after death but before burial. There are two ways to understand this.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Firstly, in ancient <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, there were two stages in burying a person. First the body was buried. A year later, the grave was re-opened and the bones were then gathered and buried in a family tomb. Therefore, if the "gathering to his people" means the gathering of the bones and the re-internment in a family tomb, then we can understand "Karet" as a procedure that would mean that the sinner's bones were not re-interred in the family tomb - effectively he is cut off from his people.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, it is difficult to apply this explanation to the deaths of Aharon and Moshe as their bones were not re-interred in the family tomb.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Other commentators suggest that this expression is a reference to the world to come. The Tenach does not talk about life after death, but it is possible that this expression hints at it. Therefore, if "being gathered unto one's people" implies being granted a place in the world to come, then "being cut off from one's people" means being denied a place in the world to come.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">More on Sacrifices and Offerings</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week's parsha is pretty similar to last week's. Not only do they discuss how the sacrifices, they discuss exactly the same sacrifices! Whether they be burnt offerings, sin offerings or peace offerings, all are repeated in this week's parsha.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Why?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The answer lies in the second passuk of each parsha.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">VaYikra begins with: "When a man from [among] you brings a sacrifice to the Lord…" (VaYikra 1:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">While Tzav begins with: "Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering…" (ibid 6:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The essential difference between these two parshiyot are the words "when" and "command".</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Parshat VaYikra begins with the word "When". Essentially, no obligation is placed on the individual to bring a sacrifice. Yet, when a person feels the urge to bring a korban, he has a list of alternatives to choose from.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, Tzav begins with "command". If no one feels the urge to bring korbanot to God, the priests still have an obligation to bring them.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Once again, we are faced with the need to worship God from inner desire and the ritual obligations of worship that are incumbent on all Jews.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">That is the way the world is. There are moments when we eel the inner motive to do what is right. However, often we neglect our duties and obligations, necessitating rules and ceremonies to regulate us to ensure that we do what is right.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The challenge for the Jew is to take the extremes of these two parshiyot and to synthesize our essence to make our duties and obligations into inner felt desires.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><b>Eating the Blood</b></span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week's parsha reminds us that we may not eat blood: "Any person who eats any blood, soul shall be cut off from its people" (VaYikra 7:27).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Why is it wrong to eat blood?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">To help answer this question, we must look at the first time that the Torah forbids it; after the Deluge: "Every moving thing that lives shall be yours to eat; like the green vegetation, I have given you everything. But, flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat" (Bereshit 9:3-4).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah considers blood to be "flesh with its soul". It is not entirely clear what this concept actually means, nevertheless, it seems that blood is more than just a liquid, it is the lifeblood, life itself.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, this should not change why it should be forbidden to eat blood. If one can eat an animal i.e., a living creature, than why can one not eat the blood?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">At creation, humanity was only permitted to eat vegetation: "God said, 'Behold, I have given you every seed bearing herb, which is upon the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed bearing fruit; it will be yours for food'" (ibid 1:29).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet, after the Flood, God permitted them to eat meat. Many commentaries explain that this new rule was in concession to humanity's aggressive nature. Allowing people to kill animals for food would curve their nature from being aggressive to fellow humans.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nonetheless, it was still forbidden for humanity to eat the blood. Eating blood would be one step too far. Rather than releasing the aggression, thereby protecting humanity, eating blood, i.e. eating the soul, would lead Man to be callous about life. It would lead to further cruelty to others. And so it remains off limits.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-56077071089834527432010-03-19T13:45:00.001+02:002010-03-19T13:46:55.670+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat VaYikra<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">There are four Sedra Shorts in Parshat VaYikra </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Moshe's Calling</span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">Korbanot, Honey and Chametz</span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">Sacrifice and Offering</span></span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Pleasant Fragrance</span></b></span></span></span></b></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Moshe's Calling</span></b></span></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">Sefer VaYikra begins with God calling Moshe into the Ohel Moed:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"He called to Moshe, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying:" (VaYikra 1:1).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, the Torah's standard formula for the introduction of a new subject is:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"The Lord spoke to Moshe, saying".</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In order to understand this instance of Moshe needing an invitation from God, we need to examine the other instances when God called upon Moshe:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">1. At the Burning Bush:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"The Lord saw that he had turned to see, and God</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><b> </b></span><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">called to him</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">from within the thorn bush, and He said, "Moshe, Moshe!" ... "Do not draw near here. Take your shoes off your feet, for the land upon which you are standing is holy" (Shemot 3:4-5).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">2. Three times at Maamad Har Sinai:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Moshe ascended to God, and the Lord</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">called to him</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">from the mountain, saying:" (ibid 19:3).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"The Lord descended upon <st1:place st="on">Mount Sinai</st1:place>, to the peak of the mountain, and the Lord</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">called Moshe to the peak</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">of the mountain, and Moses ascended" (ibid 20).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">He called to Moshe</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">on the seventh day from within the cloud" (ibid 24:16).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The difference between the Burning Bush and the <st1:place st="on">Mount Sinai</st1:place> episodes, is that at the Burning Bush, Moshe wanted to approach and God called upon him not to. While at <st1:place st="on">Mount Sinai</st1:place>, Moshe did not approach God, so God called upon him in order to approach.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Why did God stop Moshe from approaching Him at the Burning Bush and why did Moshe not automatically approach God at <st1:place st="on">Mount Sinai</st1:place>?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Solving this problem will help us understand why Moshe was called in this week's parsha.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">At the burning Bush, God actually tells Moshe why he could not approach: "...the land upon which you are standing is holy". Moshe was not in a fitting state to have an extremely close encounter with God. Unprepared close encounters with God leads to death: "... for no one can see me and live" (Shemot 33:20).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, Yaakov was surprised that he survived his encounter with the celestial being (Bereshit 32:20) as were Gidon (Shoftim 6: 22-23) and Manoach (ibid 13:22).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">At <st1:place st="on">Mount Sinai</st1:place>, God's glory was resting in a cloud at the peak of the mountain. Moshe could not approach Him so God needed to call upon him. Once invited, Moshe could enter the cloud and have communion with God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">So too, in the this week's parsha. As the Rashbam explains (on Vayikra 1:1), Parshat VaYikra is an immediate continuation of Sefer Shemot. Thre, the Mishkan had just been completed and God's presence was resting on it. Therefore, "Moshe could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud rested upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Mishkan" (Shemot 40:35).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">So, "He called to Moshe" to give him permission to enter the Ohel Moed.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Incidentally, the kohanim at the consecration of the first Temple were unfortunately excluded from this communion: "It came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord" (I Melachim 8:10-11).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Kohanim did not receive the calling and remained outside.</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Korbanot, Honey and Chametz</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah gives long, detailed explanations as to the items that can be offered as korbanot, in this week's parsha. They include certain animals and foods. However, the Torah adds that: "No meal offering that you sacrifice to the Lord shall be made out of chametz. For you shall not cause to [go up in] smoke any chametz or any honey, as a fire offering to the Lord" (VaYikra 2:11).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah does not explain why, but neither chametz nor honey (probably the nectar that comes from dates and figs, as opposed to that of bees) can bed offered up as a korban to God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We can only theorize as to why these foodstuffs were forbidden in the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>. A popular explanation as to why chametz cannot be offered includes the idea that chametz is grain that has risen, i.e. puffed up, showing evidence of pride. This would counter the purpose of a korban, whose essence is to show humility before God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Another idea is that unleavened grain, just like salt, which is a requirement of every offering, never decays and becomes moldy. This would symbolize God's covenant with <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>; it is eternal and will never decay.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is far more difficult to understand why honey was forbidden as an offering to God. Rambam suggests that honey was a main ingredient used in the pagan worship of gods, and was therefore excluded from <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s rituals. While modern scholarship suggests that Rambam was correct, it does not explain why wine and other foods also used in pagan worship, were permitted.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, we have a biblical source which shows that this stricture was upheld.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">While castigating the inhabitants of Shechem who had anointed Avimlech as king, enabling him to murder his seventy brothers, Yotam, the only surviving brother, tells a story predicting their doom (see Shoftim Ch. 9). The story tells of the trees seeking a king. They approach, the olive, the vine and the fig trees. All three reject the position. The olive tree states: "Should I leave my fatness, seeing that by me they honor God and man" (ibid 9), showing that that olives (or the oil produced from it) were used in the worship of God. The vine states: "Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man" (ibid 13), showing that it was also used in worship. However, the fig tree states: "Should I leave my sweetness and my good fruitage" (ibid 11). It does not mention God, showing <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, in this regard at least, did not copy its pagan neighbors and use honey in the worship of God.</span><br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Sacrifice and Offering</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Rabbis call Sefer Vayikra the Laws of Priests. Indeed, most of Sefer VaYikra is a priestly book, dealing with the subject attaining holiness, purifying impurities and the cleansing of sin. To be sure, Sefer VaYikra lists ritual upon ritual, which are mostly animal sacrifices, on how <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> can attain this level of holiness.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The modern world, including myself, finds it difficult to understand how the sacrificing of animals, the sprinkling of their blood and the smoldering of their ashes could possibly accomplish these goals.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We will try to understand this another time.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">For now, let's try to understand the concept of the korbannot. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that we normally use two words to translate korban: Sacrifice and Offering.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">These words are antonyms.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">A sacrifice is done unwillingly, when one has no choice, while an offering is given willingly, with an open heart. There actually two types of sacrifices, some are requirements, sacrifices; while others are voluntary, offerings.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Both types of kobanot, nevertheless, have the same purpose, that is, to bring the sacrificer / offerer, closer to God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, as Rabbi Hirsch explains that is the actual meaning of the words: korban. It comes from the Hebrew root, krv (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">קרב</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>), which means: to come close.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We aim to come closer to God. Judaism is an organized religion that can help us to achieve that goal. Its rituals are considered practices to help us achieve that. The problem is that the rituals become routine and we therefore, sometime miss the point.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Our challenge is to turn our obligations into offerings.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Through uniting our sacrifices and our offerings we create a korban and turn our rituals into meaningful ceremonies that can bring us closer to God.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Pleasant Fragrance</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week's parsha is all about the korbanot, sacrifices and offerings brought by <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> for various occasions.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Thee concept seems strange to the modern person. God has a house. His house is similar to a human house with a table, lights, cupboard, wash basin, altar (aka oven) and implements.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">And then it seems that God is being fed. He is given an offering. It is put on the altar and then it vanishes in smoke, with the smoke going up to heaven, as if God us dining on the animal. Sometimes, He even shares the meal with others.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah then writes: "It is a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord: (VaYikra 1:17).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This phrase implies that God has literally enjoyed the offering. Even though many primitive people understood the concept in this manner, we of course, understand that all these ideas are anthropomorphic, the description of God in human terms, so that we can understand it.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This was not the first time, however, that God found a koban to be a "pleasing fragrance." After the flood, Noach also made sacrifice to God: "Noah built an altar to the Lord, and he took of all the clean animals and of all the clean fowl and brought up burnt offerings on the altar. The Lord smelled the pleasant aroma, and the Lord said to Himself" (Bereshit 8:20-21).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">From this episode, we learn that the sacrifice was not to provide food for God. How?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In the parallel Gilgamesh epic, once the gods brought the flood to the world, they realized that they had made a grave mistake, for they no longer had any food or drink and were starving. Indeed, when the hero of the flood makes a sacrifice, he provides them with wine as well, and all the gods crowded around like flies into to get some food.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, Noach does not provide any drink, for God was not thirsty, and neither does God crowd around the sacrifice, for He was not hungry. He just finds the odor pleasing. This, therefore means that He accepted the offering.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This idea can also be proved from another text in Sefer VaYikra. There God threatens <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> with numerous admonitions should they be unfaithful. The passuk writes: "I will lay your cities waste and make your holy places desolate, and I will not smell of your pleasant fragrances" (VaYikra 26:31).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There God does not seem to be worried about going hungry. He is simply that He will not smell the pleasant aroma, i.e. He will reject the offering.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore, the term "smelling" the pleasant aroma, is merely a term that means, accepting the sacrifice, that the person offering the sacrifice has been accepted.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-42415134296982540972010-03-12T13:33:00.000+02:002010-03-12T13:34:25.815+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat VaYakhel-Pikudei</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><b>There are five Sedra Shorts for Parshat VaYakhel-Pikudei</b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Mishkan's Dual Purpose</span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The People's Mishkan</span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Cost of the Mishkan</span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Raising the Cash</span></b></li><li><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">The Mishkan Again</span></span></b></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Mishkan's Dual Purpose</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">God appointed two men to supervise the building of the Mishkan:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"The Lord has called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Yehuda...and Oholiav, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan" (Shemot 35:30-34).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Both these names and the callings of these people have always fascinated me. I believe that their names and abilities are connected to the dual purpose of the Mishkan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah gives Mishkan two names: The Mishkan (<st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Dwelling Place</st1:address></st1:street>) and the Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting). Each name represents a different aspect of the Mishkan: Mishkan - the place where God's spirit rests and lives amongst <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>; and Ohel Moed - the place where God meets with Moshe to proclaim His teachings.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Depending on the context, the Torah uses the relevant name. It generally does not use both names together, apart from in this week's parsha:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"All the work of the Mishkan, the Tent of Meeting was completed; the children of Israel had done [it]; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they had done" (ibid 39:32).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In completing the Mishkan, the children of <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> had created a structure that served a dual purpose: To protect <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> (Mishkan) and to bring God to the world (Ohel Moed).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">These ideas are echoed in the names of the master craftsmen:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Bezalel ben Uri ben Hur - The image of God, from light, from emptiness.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This name represents Creation and God proclaimimg His word when previously it had not been heard.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Bezalel would therefore, represent the name and purpose of Ohel Moed.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Oholiav ben Ahisamach -The Tent is my Father (i.e. "Protection"), my Brother is my Support.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This name represents the family of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the presence of God dwelling in the Mishkan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore, Oholiav would represent the name and purpose of Mishkan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Note also the tribes of both craftsmen. Bezalel is from Yehuda and Oholiav is from Dan. Yehuda means "thanks" or "graciousness" while Dan is "justice".</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Perhaps this is hinting at God's traits of mercy and justice, the middot by which He runs the Universe, and thus indicates another aspect of the Mishkan/Ohel Moed in its totality.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The People's Mishkan</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br /></span></b><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">In this week's parsha, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> begins building the Mishkan.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It begins with a call for donations and then proceeds with its construction.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">While two people, Bezalel and Oholiav, with exceptional artistic and creative skills were selected to oversee the Mishkan's construction, it is clear that the whole nation felt a aprt of it and that it was not the reserve of the elite.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">To begin with the call goes out to everybody:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Moshe called the whole community of the children of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> to assemble" (Shemot 35:1).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Usually the Torah write: Moshe spoke to the children of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>". However, in this case, everyone was to be present. Indeed, the Hebrew word: "VaYakhel" (he gathered) reminds us of the mitzvah of "hakhel" the gathering of all <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> every seven years.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Moshe asks for the people to be generous: "'Take from yourselves an offering for the Lord; every generous hearted person shall bring it" (ibid 5), but the extent of the people's munificence surprises him: "The people are bringing very much, more than is enough for the labor of the articles which the Lord had commanded to do" (ibid 36:5).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Rashi observes that the community elite, the Nesi'im, are subtly criticized by the Torah for being the last people to donate, as they believed that they would have to complete the people's shortfall (see Rashi on ibid 35"27 where the Hebrew word nesi'sm is spelt without the Hebrew letter "yod" </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">נשאם</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>).</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Even the act of construction was open to the entire people. Again Rashi comments that the two supervisors came from the tribes Yehuda, a leading tribe, and Dan, a "minor" tribe. This was to indicate that all levels of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s society should be involved in the construction.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore, the construction was even open to women: "Every wise hearted woman spun with her hands, and they brought spun material: blue, purple, and crimson wool, and linen.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a name="12238"></a><span class="apple-style-span">All the women whose hearts uplifted them with wisdom, spun the goat hair" (ibid 35 25-26).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Additionally, the labor was not only done by the artists: "He made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the mirrors of the serving women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting" (ibid 38:8).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Who were these women "that did service". The term used to describe their work is "lisvo tseva" (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">לצבוא צבא</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>). This term is used twice more in the Torah (Bemidbar 38:4 and 8:24).</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In both instances, it refers to the menial tasks performed by the Levites in the Mishkan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It seems that the women referred to here (and in I Shmuel 2:22), were menial laborers who worked in the Mishkan. Even women at the bottom of the occupational and special scale were involved in the building of the Mishkan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God's house is not to be the preserve of the wealthy, but a sanctuary so that all <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> knows that God dwells amongst them.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><b>The Cost of the Mishkan</b></span><b><br /></b><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"All the gold that had been used for the work in all the work of the Holy the gold of the waving was twenty nine talents, seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the holy shekel" (Shemot 38:24).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In one of favorite all time comments, Chief Rabbi Hertz estimates that the Mishkan cost £170,000 – today one would have trouble finding accommodation in any western capital with that sum.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Sephorno points out the beauty of the Mishkan was diminished in relation to the <st1:placename st="on">First</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Temple</st1:placetype>, which was even further diminished by Herod's <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, we know that chef wood used to make the Mishkan was acacia wood, while Solomon's <st1:city st="on">Temple</st1:city> was crafted with <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s finest cedar wood. Those who have visited the <st1:place st="on">Negev</st1:place> desert, will note that the acacia tree is not an exceptionally fine tree. Nevertheless, that is what ancient <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> had available, so that as what they used.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nonetheless, what the Mishkan lacked in wealth in splendor, it had spirituality and God's presence in abundance.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"For the cloud of the Lord was upon the Mishkan by day, and there was fire within it at night" (ibid 40:38). God's presence never left the Mishkan; His glory filled the Mishkan throughout.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is in contradistinction to Solomon's <st1:city st="on">Temple</st1:city> that fell into disrepair in Hezekiah's day and needed to be repaired and Herod's <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> that lacked the Aron HaKodesh (Holy Ark) and other important vessels.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore, while the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temples</st1:place></st1:city> were both destroyed, the Mishkan never was.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What was it that made the Mishkan unique?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The answer lies in this week's parsha:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"These are the numbers of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony, which were counted at Moses' command (ibid 38:21)</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"they made …..as the Lord had commanded Moshe" (ibid 39:1 + a further 9 times).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Now they brought the Mishkan to Moshe…Moses saw the entire work, and lo! they had done it-as the Lord had commanded, so had they done. So Moses blessed them" (ibid 33-43).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There was complete transparency in everything that Moshe did. All the gold, silver, metals and other items were accounted for. All the work was inspected and checked to see that it was done correctly and lo and behold, everything was done to the letter according to the word of God.</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Moshe did not hide any of riches that were collected nor did he feel that he did not need to account to the people for all the resources they spent.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Moshe understood that he was dealing with public money. Therefore, he had a duty to ensure that all of it was used correctly, and that the workers had abused their position. He therefore, made an inventory of every item used.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; "> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Raising the Cash</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The children of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> begin and complete the building of the Mishakan in this week's parsha.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, before they built it, they needed the raw materials that would become the Mishkan. Therefore at the outset, Moshe makes a call for donations: "Take from yourselves an offering for the Lord; every generous hearted person shall bring it" (Shemot 35:5).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The people were so generous that Moshe was told that "the people are bringing very much, more than is enough for the labor of the articles which the Lord had commanded to do" (ibid 36:5) and so Moshe calls them to stop bringing things.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This type of donation is in contradistinction to what the Torah had called for in last week's parsha: "everyone who goes through the counting shall give half a shekel…The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less than half a shekel (ibid 30:13-13).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In our parsha each person could give how much or how little they wanted to do, while in the previous parsha, there was no choice; each person was required to give the same amount.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We find a similar thing in the next two parshiyot. Sefer VaYikra begins by describing the different sacrifices a person could bring should they feel the urge to sacrifice – the whole parsha is described in a voluntary manner. While the following parsha, Tzav, describes obligatory sacrifices.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What is the Torah trying to teach by describing voluntary and obligatory features in the same aspects of worship?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">These two features recognize the reality of the human spirit. There are times when we feel deep religious conviction and do not need any prompting in our worship or in our desire to give, while at other times we need prompting and direction, as we do not always feel the urge.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The same rules regulate our prayers. Jews are required to pray three times a day, whether or not they feel the urge to pray. At the same time one can pray at any time of any day for any reason.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We recognize that we need regulation in our lives. Our spiritual yearnings cause us to codify our religion, and yet that codification automatically stunts our desire and often even removes the spiritual urge.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The challenge is to find the medium, to somehow bring spirituality into our regulations, to treat our obligatory duties as if they were voluntary.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Mishkan Again</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We spent two weeks in Teruma and Tetzaveh, learning about the Mishkan. There the Torah discussed in detail, the precise measurements of its items.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week we read another two parshiyot VaYakhel and Pekudei. It contains a repetition of the Mishkan – the difference being that the first two parshiyot are God's instructions to Moshe, while the second two is Moshe's instructions to the people and their fulfillment of that command.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">These parshiyot are so repetitive that Rashi does not repeat his comments. So why are all the details repeated in such depth? This question is strengthened when we consider another issue.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The parsha begins with the commandment to keep the Shabbat. Now even though the commandment about Shabbat appears in a number of places throughout the Torah, the Torah does not actually provide many details as to what keeping the Shabbat entails. I does tell us that we must do any melacha, normally translated as work, however it does not actually define the term. In deed, it is left up to the Oral Law to describe in detail, the many different melachot that are forbidden on the Sabbath.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">So, why does the Torah spend so much time describing the details of the Mishkan, when it would only ever be built once in history and which Judaism has survived for thousands of years without, while it is vague about Shabbat, which is kept week in week in week out?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Some commentaries have explained that the Torah wanted us to understand how much the building of the Mishkan was a labor of love for the whole people. However, surely the Sabbath is also a day of love and deserves its details.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The answer lies in the question itself. Judaism is passed on through the family. Most religious Jews know the laws of Shabbat, not because they have studied them in books, but because they keep them week in week out. The laws therefore, do not need to be recorded in detail. The Torah wants us to learn His ways through our parents and for us to pass it on to our children. And the Shabbat has survived.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet, the Mishkan is lost to us. No one has seen it since it was dismantled in Solomon's days. We even have no idea as to how Herod's <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> appeared from the inside.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet, that is not the case about the Mishkan. It has survived because it was so lovingly recorded in the Torah. Without all this detail, a major piece of ancient <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> would be lost for us; and when the time comes to re-build it, we would have no idea how to even begin.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-784686114409083372010-03-05T14:03:00.000+02:002010-03-05T14:04:16.178+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat Ki Tissa</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /> <br /> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">There are four Sedra Shorts on Pashat Ki Tissa:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><b>Blood Money</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span"><b></b></span><b><span class="apple-style-span">The Other Golden Calves</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Counting the People</span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">The Golden Calf</span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Blood Money</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week's parsha begins with a very strange rule:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"When you take the sum of the children of Israel according to their numbers, let each one give to the Lord a ransom (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">כֹּפֶר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>) for his soul when they are counted; so that there will be no plague among them when they are counted" Shemot 30:12. This is a strange concept. To begin with, why should a person have to pay a ransom just because he is being counted? Why does he need ransoming, what is he being held accountable for? Secondly, why should a plague result from the ransom not being paid? To answer this question, we will look at the word </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">כֹּפֶר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (ransom) by looking at its other appearances in the Torah.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In this form, it appears only a further three times in the Torah. Each case involves a homicide: 1. The owner of a habitually goring bull (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">שור מועד</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>) that has killed a person must pay a ransom (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">כֹּפֶר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>) in order to redeem his own life. “Insofar as ransom (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">כֹּפֶר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>) shall be levied upon him, he shall give the redemption of his soul according to all that is levied upon him" Ibid 21:30.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The owner of the bull really deserves to forfeit his life because of the life that his bull had taken. He knew his bull was dangerous, but did not take enough precautions. Nevertheless, the Torah allows him to ransom his life with a cash payment. 2. On the other hand, a murderer cannot save his life by paying the ransom: “You shall not accept ransom (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">כֹּפֶר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>) for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, for he shall be put be put to death” (Bemidbar 35:31).</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">On no account can a murderer forfeit execution by paying a ransom.</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span">3. Neither can an accidental killer save himself from exile by paying a ransom: “You shall not accept ransom (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">כֹּפֶר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>) for one who has fled to his city of refuge, to allow him to return to live in the Land” (ibid 32).</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In each of these cases, a ransom can or cannot be paid in lieu of the lost life of another.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It seems that it was common practice for people who had caused the death of another to forfeit execution or punishment by paying blood money, a ransom. The Torah forbids this procedure in the case of homicide, but permits it in the case of habitually goring bull.</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Now let's return to this week's parsha.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The standard motive for a census was to prepare men for battle. Soldiers in combat are expected to kill. The Torah insists that as part of their conscription, the soldiers must pay a ransom for those they are destined to slay. The soldier enrolling for war must recognize that the taking of life, even that of an enemy in battle, is something that must never come easy. For their lives, he must gain atonement. He does it by paying the ransom. Failure to pay the ransom is equivalent to devaluing human life and would lead to God's wrath being vented against them.</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Other Golden Calves</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week's parsha sees the ultimate betrayal. Only a few months previously, God had brought <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> out of <st1:country-region st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region> with tremendous miracles, culminating with the splitting of the <st1:place st="on">Red Sea</st1:place>. Seven weeks later, God revealed Himself to the entire people and gave them the Ten Commandments. They began with the words: "I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Egypt</st1:placename></st1:place>" (Shemot 20:1).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet, when <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> created the Golden Calf they proclaimed: "This is your god O Israel, who has brought you up from the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Egypt</st1:placename></st1:place>" (ibid 32:4).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What is interesting is that <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> makes this very same proclamation just over 400 years later.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The northern tribes had just broken away from the rule of Rechavam, the Davidic king. Yeravam, the Northern Kingdom's newly crowned king, is worried that his secession would be short lived as his people's spiritual center continued to be <st1:city st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>. Therefore, he created his own spiritual centers: "The king took counsel and made two golden calves, and he said to them, saying, 'It is far for you to go up to Jerusalem; here are your gods, O Israel, that have brought you up from the land of Egypt'" (I Melachim 12:28).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Once cannot help but notice this parallel. For the second time in history, <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> has created golden calves and they make the same declaration about them being the gods who brought <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> out of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The Soncono commentary on Melachim asks whether it is possible that this formula was peculiar to calf-worship. However, surely these words would remind <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> of their previous apostasy and would teach them that these gods that Yeravam created were false and calamitous?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Perhaps however, these words were not actually said by Yeravam. What does this mean?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When the Tanach records conversations, it does not normally quote the exact words. Conversations were likely to be much longer, but the Torah just brings the summary, or the main points it wants us to learn. Indeed, the Daat Mikra commentary writes that only when the Torah uses the Hebrew word "</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">לאמר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>" - "saying", is it giving an exact quote. Otherwise the, Torah just brings the main ideas.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore, rather than asking why Yeravam said what he said, we should be asking why the author of Sefer Melachim quotes Yeravam as saying: "Here are your gods, O Israel, that have brought you up from the land of Egypt."</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is possible that Yeravam did not say those words. Indeed, he would have been very foolish to say so. However, the prophet wants us to realize that Yeravam understood that he was not merely making a political decision to stabilize his own rule. The prophet wants us to know that Yeravam and the people fully appreciated that he was turning <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> into apostates on the same degree as the Golden calf apostasy.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">If the Prophet would have quoted Yeravam's actual words, we, the reader would not have understood that Yeravam and the people were making a huge apostasy. We would have thought that he was just making a political decision. However, by bringing the quote from our parsha, we, the reader, now understand that Yeravam was fully aware of the great evil that he was doing.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Counting the People</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Moshe made a number of population censuses during <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s wandering in the wilderness. Indeed, throughout the Tanach, especially before battles, the people are counted. Nevertheless, counting the people could lead to disaster and therefore the Torah says that a donation of half shekel should be made as part of the census. This will be considered as atonement for their souls so that "there will be no plague among them when they are counted" (Shemot 30:12).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There was one instance when the disaster struck <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> as the direct outcome of a census.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In the final chapter of Sefer Shmuel, King David tells Yoav: "Go now to and fro throughout all the tribes of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, from Dan to Beer-Sheva, and count the people, that I may know the sum of the people" (II Shmuel 24:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yoav's response is one of caution: "May the Lord your God increase the number of the people many hundreds of times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king desire this thing?" (ibid 3).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is clear that Yoav was against the mission and saw it as asking for trouble.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, being a loyal servant, Yoav traverse the country and counts the people. After nine months and twenty days he reports his conclusions (1,300,000 fighters) back to the king. David immediately recognizes his mistake and his "heart smote him after that he had numbered the people" and he admits he has "been very foolish" (ibid 10).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">70,000 people die as a result of a plague, a punishment that David chose, as a result of the census.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What is so bad about a census and why can it be catastrophic?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The answer is nothing; as long as there is a purpose to the census. The fact is that in order to prepare a country for the future, governments need to know its population tally, both nationally regionally and the projected growth in the different areas.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet, David's only desire was to "know the sum of the people", i.e. to know how powerful his kingdom was. So Yoav tries to dissuade him telling him that that he should be even greater but that he doesn't really need to know the exact figure.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, when Moshe and others count the people, it is because they need to know how many fighters they have at their disposal, as they are preparing for battle.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">That is why the actual counting is dangerous. The minute the people (AKA men of military age) are being counted, fear sets in that war (and possibly even a new taxation) is imminent. When will they see their families again, who will tend to the farm and ensure that their families are safe and looked after, and will they even be returning? The effect on the morale, the economy and other aspects of family and national life can be devastating.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore, counting the people for no purpose is not just pointless, it's counter-productive.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In order to offset the breakdown in morale, the Torah asks that everyone counted submit a half shekel donation to the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>. The people, who are confident in God's protective powers, will then have the assurance that "there will be no plague among them when they are counted". They and their families will be safe.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Golden Calf</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="apple-style-span">Israel</span></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"> witnessed frightening events when God revealed Himself to <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> at Sinai (See Shemot Chapter 20). They then saw Moshe go up the mountain into the eye of the storm, without any food or provisions. He had not been seen since.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Israel's reaction was "Make us a god (elohim) that will go before us, because this man Moses, who brought us up from the land of Egypt we don't know what has become of him".</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is strange, because if they wanted a replacement for god, Moshe's disappearance is irrelevant.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We have therefore to alternatives to understanding the people's requests:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The people thought the Moshe was a god</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The people wanted a replacement for Moshe</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is easy to understand why the people may have thought that Moshe was a divine being. The people had seen Moshe perform signs, the ten plagues to <st1:country-region st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>, the splitting of the <st1:place st="on">Red Sea</st1:place>, the falling of the Manna and the water from the rock. Despite Moshe's insistence that they worship God, the people, with a primitive understanding of religion, may have still believed that he was a god.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, even if the people did not think that Moshe we can still understand their request as a seeking a replacement for Moshe. If so, then why do the people ask for a</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Within, Sefer Shemot, we have numerous examples where the word elohim, does not necessarily mean, God, but leader:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Then his master shall bring him to the judges (elohim), and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post" (21:6).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"The plea[s] of both parties shall come to the judges (elohim), [and] whoever the judges (elohim) declare guilty shall pay twofold to his neighbor (22:8).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, the most telling is:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"The Lord said to Moses, "See! I have made you a lord (elohim) over Pharaoh, and Aaron, your brother, will be your speaker" (7:1).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">While it is also possible that Pharaoh also saw Moshe as a god, it is clear that God did not. Therefore, the word elohim does not necessarily mean God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore, by calling for the Golden Calf, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> did not seek to replace God Himself, only Moshe. The problem, however, is that once the calf was created, the people forgot that it was merely a medium, but a god itself.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-73271638157358252772010-02-19T13:55:00.000+02:002010-02-19T13:56:08.645+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat Teruma<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">There are four Sedra Shorts on Parshat Teruma. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Keruvim</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">A Home for God</span></b></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">Living With God</span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Ark of the Covenant</span></b></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Keruvim</span><br /><br /></span></b><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">The Keruvim (Cherubs) were two images that sat on the kapporet, the cover, on the Ark of the Covenant.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah tells Moshe to: "<a name="11896"></a>The cherubim shall have their wings spread upwards, shielding the ark cover with their wings, with their faces toward one another" (Shemot 25:20).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Essentially, the keruvim faced each other with their wings held over their heads,</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Surprisingly, when Shlomo built the <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Temple</st1:city></st1:place>, he placed the keruvim slightly differently.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"He (Shlomo) set the cherubim within the inner house; and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubim, and the wing of the one touched the wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings in the midst of the house touched one another" (I Melachim 6:27).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Shlomo's Keruvim did not face each other – they stood side by side. One wing of each keruv touched a wall, while the second touched the wing of the other. They, therefore looked out of the Holy of Holies.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What is the significance of this difference?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">I have heard in the name of Rabbi Menachem Liebtag that this difference epitomizes the difference between the Mishkan and the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> and symbolizes a change in the relationship of God and the Jewish people.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> built the Mishkan, it was a young nation, discovering its identity and beginning to figure out its relationship with God. It was insecure and needed God's reassurance and guidance. Hence, the Keruvim looked at each other, like a newly wed married couple – they only had eyes for each other. With the Mishkan and this relationship with <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">God</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> became a "holy nation" (See Shemot 19:6).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> had a second mission; to become a "kingdom of priests" (ibid). <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> could only begin fulfilling that mission once it was secure in its own identity. At the time of <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Shlomo</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> became an empire. It had no wars and no troubles with its neighbors. On the contrary, it began to develop a healthy relationship with its surrounding nations and trade flourished.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It was a kind of messianic era. It was time for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> to stop looking inwards and to begin looking outwards. It was time for a <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Symbolic of this new stage in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s development, the keruvim no longer needed to look at each other. They still need each other; indeed, they held hands. However, they no longer needed to look at each other – they needed to start looking out for others and to begin their destiny of being a "kingdom of priests".</span><br /> <br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">A Home for God</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God told Moshe to seek donations from the children of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> so that: "They shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them" (Shemot 25:8). God then proceeds to describe its design and its furniture.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When we examine description of the Mishkan, we are surprised that the home God demands for Himself was quite similar to a regular human home, only a little more grander.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">To begin with, it was to have an Aron (cupboard), Shulchan (table), Menorah (lighting), mizbeach (furnace), and fire pans (cooking utensils). Furthermore, certain foods to be regularly brought to the Mishkan, whether, they were animal sacrifices, baked goods such as the showbread and matzot, wine and even spices.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Of course, as we are talking about God, all the furniture and fittings had to be made of the finest materials such as gold, accacia wood, linen etc. All the animals had to be perfect and unblemished and the flour had to be the finest quality available.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Moreover, all the attendents, had to wear special uniforms and had ritualised protocols as to where they could be and how to behave, just as any human king would have.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When Israel finally settles in the promised land and establishes a rich and mighty kingdom, David bemoans the fact that God's home was still portable: "'See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtains" (II Shmuel 7:2) and discusses building Him a palace (aka Temple). God declines the invitation at this juncture.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What's going on here? Was God homeless that He needed somewhere to live? Is He homeless now that the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> has been destroyed.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">If we look closely at the original passuk we quoted, we see that is not the case.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"They shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them" (Shemot 25:8). God does not say build Me a sanctuary that I will dwell "in it", but "among them". The purpose of the Mishkan is not for God's benefit but for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s. It is not a medium for God to live in, but a medium that enables us to get close to God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is impossible to see God for "no man can see Me and live" (ibid 33:20). Nevertheless, with relevant precautions, we can approach God. <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> could not climb <st1:place st="on">Mount Sinai</st1:place> when God gave the Torah lest: "the Lord wreak destruction upon them" (ibid 19:22), but from behind the boundary they could be close to Him. The Mishkan was to act in the same manner. God would descend onto the Mishkan in a cloud (see 40:34) enabling His presence to exist among the people.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Without the Mishkan and Bet HaMikdash, it is not God who suffers the lack of an abode, but us who suffer the absence of His presence.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">With the Mishkan, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> had a place to go to where they could be close to God's presence</span><b>.</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><b><br /></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Living With God</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /></span></b><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">In accepting the Torah, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> agreed to be a "holy nation" (Shemot 19:6). Following their acceptance, came a long list of rules that would help them attain that holiness. The attainment of holiness would then prepare the ground for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> "to build Me a sanctuary, so that I can live among them" (ibid 25:7).</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">With God living among us much can be achieved. As well as being victorious in battle, God promises that "there will be no bereaved or barren woman in your land; I will fill the number of your days" (ibid 23:26). With God living among us, we would feel no suffering, no lack of security and would live long and fulfilling lives.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, with it, comes many dangers.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">To begin with there are uncomfortable situations. If someone becomes impure, they must leave the city until their purity is restored. If a person sins, they can be inflicted with tsaraat and again, be forced to live outside of the camp. The slightest deviation from holiness is incompatible with God's presence.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When God first approached Moshe, "Moshe turned his face aside, for he was afraid of looking at God" (ibid 3:6), Yaakov was surprised that he had survived an encounter with a celestial being, "I saw a celestial being face to face, and my soul was saved" (Bereshit 32:30). So too were Gideon and Manoach, when they encountered an angel (See Shoftim 6:32-33 & 13:22).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, after Israel's apostasy with the Golden Calf, God said that it would be best if He did not live among the people: "I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites…because I will not go up in your midst since you are a stiff necked people, lest I destroy you on the way (Shemot 33:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God says that He does not want to depart from <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>, but if He does not, He will end up destroying them, because <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> is stiff necked, and will surely sin again. It would better if He kept a distance from <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> and sent an intermediary in His place.</span><br /><br /><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="apple-style-span">Israel</span></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"> mourned that fact and it seemed that God relented for the Mishkan was built and God's presence did reside among <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. However, it came at a price.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The first to suffer were Nadav and Avihu, two of Aharon's sons, "fire came out and consumed them" (VaYikra 10:2). Others soon followed, the Mitonenim (Bemidbar 11:1), the 250 followers of Korach (ibid 16:35), the rebels that came in their wake (ibid 17:11) and the apostates of Baal Peor (ibid 25:9).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Incidents continued in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Israel</st1:placename></st1:place>. First the Philistines suffered when they captured the Ark of the Covenant, and then the people of Bet Shemesh, when it was returned (see I Shmuel Ch. 6). Indeed, even David's first attempt to bring it to <st1:city st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city> was accompanied with death (II Shmuel 6:6).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Jews pray regularly for God's house to be rebuilt in <st1:city st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>. However, before we do that, we must first ensure that we are ready. Otherwise, the consequences will be fatal.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Ark of the Covenant</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.<a name="11887"></a>You shall overlay it with pure gold; from inside and from outside you shall overlay it, and you shall make upon it a golden crown all around" (Shemot 25:10-11).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Ark of the Covenant was the first item in the Mishkn that God commanded Isael to make. That is because it was the most important and holiest part of the Mishkan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It was only piece of furniture that was in the Holy of the Holies, the Mishkan's inner sanctum, and it was the place from which: "I will arrange My meetings with you there, and I will speak with you from atop the ark" (ibid 22).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Amazingly enough, this holiest of items had on it two images, two golden cherubs "wings spread upwards, shielding the ark cover with their wings, with their faces toward one another" (ibid 20), in total violation of the Ten Commandments: "You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness which is in the heavens above, which is on the earth below, or which is in the water beneath the earth.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a name="11740"></a><span class="apple-style-span">You shall neither prostrate yourself before them nor worship them" (ibid 20:4-5).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">How was it possible that <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s holiest object contained two images?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Interestingly enough, the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark</st1:place></st1:state> and the cherubs on it, were never meant to be seen. As we noted earlier, the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark</st1:place></st1:state> was placed in the Holy of Holies. No one was ever allowed in there, save the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, on Yom Kippur. Yet even then, he never actually saw the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark</st1:place></st1:state> because before he went it "he shall place the incense upon the fire, before the Lord, so that the cloud of the incense shall envelope the ark cover that is over the [tablets of] Testimony, so that he shall not die" (VaYikra 16:13). The smoke from the incense was to envelop the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark</st1:place></st1:state> before, the Kohen Gadol went in, so he never actually aw it.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Even when the people traveled it was never seen, because: "Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the dividing screen; with it, they shall cover the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark</st1:place></st1:state> of the Testimony" (Bemidbar 4:5). Therefore, the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark</st1:place></st1:state> was always covered with the parochet when it was not in the Holy of Holies.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore, while the Ark may have been used to lead in Israel in battle in Israel's infancy, it is clear from the Sefer Shmuel, when Israel decided to bring the Ark to battle, and the Philistines shouted in woe: "was nothing like this yesterday and before yesterday" (1 Shmuel 4:7) that this practice soon stopped.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Even more interesting is the fact that despite the <st1:state st="on">Ark</st1:state> being the most important item, it did not feature at all during the <st1:placename st="on">Second</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Temple</st1:placetype> yet the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> functioned well without it. Indeed, it is now The Lost Ark, and it is unlikely that it will ever be re-discovered.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore, it is possible to understand the <st1:state st="on">Ark</st1:state> and its cherubs as a concession to ancient <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s evolution from idolatry to monotheism. The young nation, brought up on <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s plethora of gods, found the concept of an imageless God an impossible concept to comprehend. In the circumstances, they were given an image, but they could never see it. Overtime, the <st1:state st="on">Ark</st1:state> itself became lost; as <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> developed an no longer even needed a hidden image.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /></span></span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-71047128513113946662010-02-12T11:48:00.000+02:002010-02-12T11:49:08.246+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat Mishpatim</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">There are four Sedra Shorts on Parshat Mishpatim. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The New Covenant</span></b></span></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; "><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Law</span></b></span></span></b></span></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"> The Kid and the Mother's Milk<span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Slavery and the Law</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><b>The New Covenant</b></span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">I have been approached on numerous occasions by Christian missionaries, telling me that if I was a sincere Jew who really believed in the Bible, I had no choice but to adopt Christianity, because it was a fulfillment of Judaism.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">One of the sources they would bring to my attention is from Sefer Yirmiyahu:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"I will make a</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">new covenant</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">(</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B">ברית חדשה</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>) with the house of Israel…; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant…But this is the covenant…I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying: 'Know the Lord'; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them." (Yirmiyahu 31:30-33)</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">I was able to show the missionaries the next pesukim which basically say that God will never reject <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> (see ibid 34-35), so if they believed the previous pesukim they should also believe these ones. Therefore, rather than me converting to Christianity, they should be converting to Judaism!!</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, how do we explain the first set of pesukim that basically state that because <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> rejected the old covenant, God will make a new one, one inscribed on their hearts? Is the "old" Torah, given when we left <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>, no longer valid?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The answer to this question can be found in this week's parsha. As part of the giving of the Torah, Moshe performs an elaborate ceremony, building altars, offering sacrifices and sprinkling blood over the altars and the people. "Moshe wrote all the words of the Lord and all the people answered in unison saying, 'All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do'…and he took the Book of the Covenant and read it within the hearing of the people, and they said, 'All that the Lord spoke we will do and we will hear'" (Shemot 24:4-7).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This ceremony ratifies <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s acceptance of the Torah. Moshe first writes the terms of the agreement and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> accepted it. Moshe then performs the ceremony, signifying the union between God and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Finally, Moshe reads the agreement, now called "the book of the covenant" and the people ratify it once more.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What is "the book of the covenant"?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">I would like to suggest that this "book of the covenant" is the "old" covenant, made "on the day…I took them…out of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>". It describes God's commitment to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, that He chooses them and promises them to be His people. It then describes <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s commitment to be kingdom of priests and a holy nation and to keep the Torah. Moshe read it to the people and they accepted it.</span><br /><br /><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="apple-style-span">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"> was unfaithful to it. This covenant therefore, needs to be renewed. God promises that He will renew the covenant. This time, however, it will not be written on stone; it will be written on <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s hearts. It will be no longer necessary to teach about God. His existence will be so obvious, that all will know the Lord, from the greatest to the smallest.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah itself will never be abrogated, but our commitment to it will be renewed.</span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span"></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Law</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God gave <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> the Torah in last week's parsha. This week, He proceeds to give Moshe a long list of laws. They include laws concerning the treatment of slaves, how to resolve conflicts between people and on returning lost animals of adversaries.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">These laws appear to be pretty mundane compared to what <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> had just experienced. They stood at Sinai and G0d revealed Himself to them. He gave them the 10 Commandments and they experienced unprecedented events. <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> understood that there were to become a "kingdom of priests and a holy people".</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Surely the next step for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> should have been to receive guidelines on how to achieve an even closer communion with God, how to concentrate on their spiritual sides to attain even greater holiness and how to sanctify their very existence.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet instead, God gives them a series of laws about petty human relationships, which have little or no religious content to them. These laws could have been, and probably were, similar to the laws of other societies.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, this is precisely the Torah's point. Communion with God and achieving holiness is not to be attained through seclusion in the Bet Midrash, lengthy meditation in our prayers or through the punctilious observation of rituals. On the contrary, it can only be attained through complete interaction with society; through our day to day relationships.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah wants <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> to create a society that is a: "kingdom of priests and a holy nation". However, as with any human interaction, conflict will occur. The Torah wants us to resolve the conflicts fairly and justly, to work towards social justice at all levels of society.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It can be no coincidence that the laws begin with our duties towards slaves. <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> themselves, had just been freed from "the house of bondage" and fully understood the unjust lot of the slave. The lowest echelon of society had to be treated with justice and to be given dignity and respect.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">So too, when people argued. Their conflict needs to be resolved honestly by a principled judge. We even have duties to the animals of people we dislike, never mind the stranger, widow and orphan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The roadmap to holiness is not in exclusion from society, but in our inclusion in our relationships with others. It is only when we learn to treat our fellow man, the way we would like to be treated, i.e. with honesty and respect, that we will have accomplished our mission at Sinai and become a true kingdom of priests and a holy nation.</span></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">The Kid and the Mother's Milk</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br />Following on from the Ten Commandments of last week's parsha, this week's parsha sees the introduction of many laws.<br /><br />They include: "You shall not cook a kid (goat) in its mother's milk" (Shemot 23:19).<br /><br />From this the Rabbi's teach us that we may not mix milk and meaty foods. We must ask the question as to ho the Rabbis made this jump. The passuk is talking specifically about goats. While we might possibly understand that it could be referring to all animals, how do they get from that to all milk?<br /><br />Avraham Ibn Ezra notes that has two other mitzvot, that are similar to the mitzvah we just saw:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:0in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;vertical-align:top;direction:ltr; unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">a)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">You shall not slaughter an ox or sheep, it and its offspring on the same day. (VaYikra 22:28)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:0in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">b)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">If you come across a bird's nest on the road, on any tree, or on the ground, and [it contains] chicken or eggs, if the mother is sitting upon the chicks or upon the eggs, you shall not take the young in front of the mother (Devarim 22:6-7)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Note that each case is slightly different than the other. In one case the mother and offspring are being killed on the same day, in another the offspring are being taken in front of the mother, while in our case, the mother's milk, a symbol of her fertility, is being used to marinate her offspring.<br /><br />The main point is that each case involves an action that is permitted. It is permitted to slaughter a young calf. It is also permitted to slaughter the mother (on a different day). It is also permitted to take young chicks or eggs and it is also permitted to cook a young kid goat.<br /><br />However, all three of these mitzvot draw their inspiration from a single idea: killing a mother and its children at the same time, taking young chicks in the sight of the mother or boiling a kid in its mother's milk, all reflects a lack of sensitivity to animal life. Therefore, when the Torah forbade the mixing of milk together, it used an example that would teach us sensitivity to animals and their feelings.<br /><br />Now that we have examined why the Torah uses an example of an animal in its mother's milk, we must understand why it highlights goats and not other animals.<br /><br />The answer to this lies in Mishlei (Proverbs). There the scribe sepks of a time when <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> will have abundance. He states: "enough goat milk for your food, for the food of your household, and sustenance for your maidens" (Mishlei 27:27).<br /><br />It appears that the staple milk that people drank in biblical times was goat's milk, not cow's milk. Therefore, the Torah uses an example that ancient <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> could relate to.<br />Nevertheless, the Rabbis explain that this example was applicable to all types of meats and milk.<br /><br />Therefore, it we can now understand how "You shall not cook a kid (goat) in its mother's milk" (Shemot 23:19), applies to all animals and all types of milk.<br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Slavery and the Law</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In last week's parsha God gave the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people. This week's parsha then lists a more detailed description of God's law. It begins with:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall work [for] six years, and in the seventh [year], he shall go out to freedom without charge " (Shemot 21:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is incredible. The very first law is about slavery. However, if we look carefully, it's not about actually the laws of slavery, but about freeing slaves. In fact, ver little is stated about the actual treatment and buying and selling of slaves. The very first law is about freeing slaves. It then goes on: "But if the slave says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go free" (ibid 5) – the slave does not want to go free!!</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The next law is about the female slave: "If a man sells his daughter as a maidservant, she shall not go free as the slaves go free" (ibid 7). The female slave does not go free. Why? The master or his son must marry her and provide her with "sustenance, her clothing, and her marital relations" (ibid 10). If he refuses to provide her this, then: she shall go free" (ibid 11).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The next law then talks about murder.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">So as we can see, the Torah is not really talking to us about the laws of slavery. In fact, it is not really talking to us about laws at all. It is talking to us about a principle. People should not be enslaved, they should be free. The natural state of a person is to be free and not beholden to others.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Interestingly, this exactly how the Ten Commandments begin: "I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (ibid 20:2). God's first act for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> was to free them from slavery. Their first act, therefore, should be to free slaves.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah, therefore, while permitting slavery, clearly wants it abolished, for the sanctity of humanity is primary to all laws, as is implied by the fact that the serious punishment for murder and manslaughter immediately follow.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-23651584647941031632010-01-15T13:43:00.001+02:002010-01-15T13:43:59.510+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">There are four Sedra Shorts on Pashat VaEra:<br /> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Hashem and the Avot<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Moshe's Reluctance to Lead<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Knowing God</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Discovering God</span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br />Scroll down for each Dvar Torah<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Hashem and the Avot</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">This week's parsha begins with an incredible statement:<br /><br />"I appeared to Avraham, to Yitschak, and Yaakov with [the name] Almighty God (El Shadai), but My name Hashem (the Lord) I did not become known to them" (Shemot 6:3).<br /><br />Can this really be true, that the Patriarchs were unaware of God's name Hashem? We actually know that this is not the case. Indeed, Avraham says to the King of Sedom: "I raise my hand to Hashem, the Most High God, Who possesses heaven and earth" Bereshit 14:22).<br /><br />In order to solve this problem we must examine 3 issues:</span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">What does the name El Shadai represent?</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">What does the name Hashem represent?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">What does Hashem mean when He says that the Avot did not know Him with this name?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;mso-line-height-alt: 9.5pt;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">When God made a covenant with the Fathers, promising their descendants the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Canaan</st1:placename></st1:place>, He did it with the name El Shadai.<br /><br />We see this firstly with Avraham: at the Brit Millah: " At the Brit Milla: "I am El Shadai; walk before Me and be perfect" (Bereshit 17:1).<br /><br />When Yitschak passed the blessing onto Yaakov he said: "May El Shadai bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and you shall become an assembly of peoples. May He give you the blessing of Avraham" (ibid 28:3-4).<br /><br />God then confirmed this promise to Yaakov: "I am El Shadai; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a multitude of nations shall come into existence from you, and kings shall come forth from your loins" (ibid 35:11).<br /><br />Therefore, the name El Shadai represents God's attribute of power to make this promise.<br /><br />Therefore, when God tells Moshe: "I am El Shadai", He is saying that He is the God of the covenant. However, by adding that He is also Hashem, God is adding a new dimension, i.e. that this promise is about to be fulfilled. The name Hashem represents God's power to fulfil the promise.<br /><br />Therefore, God reveals Himself to Moshe with both the name El Shadai and Hashem, because He has chosen Moshe to be the person to fulfill the promise.<br /><br />Therefore, The avot may have intellectually known about God's power to fulfill the promise, i.e., they knew that he had a name called: Hashem. However, they did have any experience of this name. Indeed, they were always strangers in the the land. It was never theirs.<br /><br />The Hebrew word: "</span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">לדעת</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>", "to know" does not refer to intellectual capability. "The man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived" (Bereshit 5:1). Eve did not conceive because Adam knew her intellectually, but because he knew her intimately, he had a relationship with her.<br /><br />So too, God not let the Avot experience Hashem, i.e. they remained strangers in the Land. Now, however, was the time for <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> and the world, to experience God as Hashem. It was the time for redemption.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;mso-line-height-alt: 9.5pt;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Moshe's Reluctance to Lead</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br />In this week's parsha, Moshe tries to get out of the mission that God gave him.<br /><br />E already saw that at the Burning Bush, Moshe gave God a number of reasons why he could not go to <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region></st1:place> to deliver His Message. His excuses included:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh...?" (Shemot 3:11)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">"They say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" (ibid 13)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">"Behold they will not believe me" (4:1)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">"I beseech You, O Lord. I am not a man of words, neither from yesterday nor from the day before yesterday" (ibid 10)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;mso-line-height-alt: 9.5pt;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">God did not get angry with Moshe over these questions, but instead, answered each and every point. However, when Moshe again tried to get out of the mission, God finally got angry with him:<br /><br />"He (Moshe) said, "I beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send." <a name="11299"></a>And the Lord's wrath was kindled against Moshe, and He said, "Is there not Aharon your brother…<a name="11301"></a>And he will speak for you to the people, and it will be that he will be your speaker, and you will be his leader" (ibid 13-16).<br /><br />God had no problem with Moshe questioning Him. On the contrary, he expects us to question Him and to not accept His orders blindly. Therefore, He does not get angry with Moshe in the beginning.<br /><br />However, when Moshe stopped the questions and simply said that he did not want to do it, God got angry. We have the right to question, but we do not have the right to shirk our responsibilities.<br /><br />Moshe is therefore, punished. By trying to do get out of the mission, God reduced Moshe's role and promoted Aharaon in his place. Aharon would now speak to the people on His behalf.<br /><br />Last week's parsha ends with Pharaoh worsening <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s conditions of slavery. Moshe felt that it was God's fault and said so to him, again questioning his role.<br /><br />"O Lord! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me?<a name="11339"></a>Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people" (5:22-23).<br /><br />Again, God does not get angry, for Moshe's claim is legitimate. He simply tells him, at the beginning of this week's parsha, that He will soon redeem <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>. He then tells Moshe to go again to Pharaoh and ask him to free <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Moshe responds:<br /><br />"Behold, the children of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> did not hearken to me. How then will Pharaoh hearken to me, seeing that I am of closed lips? (ibid 6:12)."<br /><br />It's unclear if Moshe is making excuses again. We had just been told that <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> would not listen to Moshe "because of [their] shortness of breath and because of [their] hard labor (ibid 6:9).<br /><br />Moshe might be saying that he thinks that the reason they did not listen to him is simply because he's not a good speaker and therefore, God should send someone else.<br /><br />The passuk does not say whether God was angry or not with him, but what is clear is that God demotes him again. God tells him: "See! I have made you a lord over Pharaoh, and Aaron, your brother, will be your speaker. <a name="11371"></a>You shall speak all that I command you, and Aaron, your brother, shall speak to Pharaoh" (ibid 7:1-2).<br /><br />Aharon will now be the one to speak to Pharaoh.<br /><br />The Torah is trying to teach us that we do have a right to question as long as our questions are a search for the truth, rather than an excuse to refuse God's law.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL"><span lang="HE"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Knowing God</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Before the Exodus from <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>, no one seemed to know God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Pharaoh did not know God: "Who is the Lord that I should heed His voice to let <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> out? I do not know the Lord, neither will I let Israel out" (Shemot 5:2)</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Moshe and the children of Israel also did not know God: "Behold I come to the children of Israel, and I say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" (ibid 3:13).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Not even the Avot knew God: "I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak and to Yakov as E-l Shaddai, but My name </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">הויה</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> I made not known to them" (ibid 6:2).</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore God does a series of acts so that <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> would know Him: "Therefore, say to the children of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, 'I am the Lord, and I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians ... and you will know that I am the Lord" (ibid 6-7).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">He also does a series of acts so that <st1:country-region st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region> would know Him: "The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch forth My hand over <st1:country-region st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>, and I will take the children of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> out of their midst" (ibid 7:5).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, this lesson was taught to them in stages. First <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> was to learn that: "I am the Lord" (ibid 7:17) - the first three plagues proved that God controls nature. Then they were to learn that: "I am the Lord in the midst of the earth" (ibid 8:18) - the second group of plagues showed that God was active justly in the world. Finally, the Egyptians had to discover that: "there is none like Me in the entire earth" (ibid 9:14) - the final group of plagues showed that God is all powerful and that He cannot be subordinated.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Previously, the world had only experienced God as: "E-l Shaddai" – the Almighty God of creation, i.e. the God who had done mighty deeds in the past. Yet now, God wanted humanity to learn His other name, namely He wanted to renew His relationship with mankind in a way that they had not yet experienced.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The world was to now experience God as "</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">הויה</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>" – the ever present and ever involved God. Humanity was to learn that God is involved in all aspects of the human present and its destiny.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Our relationship with God is still lacking and is to be upgraded in the future: "On that day the Lord will be one and His name will be one" (Zechariah 14:9).</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:left;mso-line-height-alt: 9.5pt;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Discovering God</span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br />When Moshe first ordered Pharaoh: “So says the Lord (Hashem) God of Israel, Let My people go...” (Shemot 5:1-2), Pharaoh gave three responses:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .25in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">“Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice…” – essentially Hashem had never proven Himself in the pantheon of gods and so didn’t need to be obeyed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .25in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">“I do not know the Lord” – essentially Hashem is not involved with humanity, He does not have a relationship with any people on earth<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .25in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">“neither will I let <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> out" – finally, Pharaoh declares that he alone is the supreme authority and that no god can order him to free <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;mso-line-height-alt: 9.5pt;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><o:p>Pharaoh needs a lesson in theology, so God sends him three series of plagues; each series is a response to a different point that Pharaoh made.</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;mso-line-height-alt: 9.5pt;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br />Series 1 begins with a declaration: “So that you will know that I am the Lord” (ibid 7:17). And so God pollutes <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s main water source, the frogs leave the water and when they die, lice attack the Egyptians. Pharaoh’s magicians cannot replicate the third plague and so concede defeat declaring: “It is the finger of God” (ibid 8:15). Pharaoh’s first question has been answered as his own magicians acknowledge God. Round 1 to God.<br /><br />Series 2 begins with the declaration: “So that you know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth” (ibid 18), i.e. that God exists on earth and has a relationship with humanity. God does this by bringing three plagues that “separate on that day the <st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Goshen</st1:placename>, upon which My people stand” (ibid), i.e. <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> does not suffer from these three plagues. Pharaoh even checks that that has been the case: “Pharaoh sent, and behold, not even one of the livestock of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> died” (ibid 9:7). Pharaoh’s servants again concede defeat after the third plague as they “could not stand before Moshe because of the boils” (ibid 11). Pharaoh’s second question has been answered; God is involved in humanity’s fortunes. Round 2 to God.<br /><br />Series 3 begins with the declaration: “So that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth” (ibid 14), i.e. that God, not Pharaoh, is the supreme authority. God does this by bringing three plagues “the likes of which has never been in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> from the day of its being founded until now” (ibid 19). Pharaoh’s servants acknowledge defeat after the warning about the second plague, locusts, when they tell Pharaoh: “Don't you yet know that <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> is lost?” (ibid 10:7). Pharaoh himself acknowledges partial defeat when he promises for the first time that he will allow <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>’s males to leave <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> (ibid 10). However, Pharaoh is too stubborn to acknowledge total defeat and so while God does win Round 3 on points, only a knockout will cause Pharaoh to fully concede and recognize the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-44367695196972237592009-12-04T13:33:00.001+02:002009-12-04T13:33:37.708+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat VaYishlach</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There are four Sedra Shorts on Parshat</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> VaYishlach</span><span class="apple-style-span">. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Reuven and Bilha</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Wrestling with the Present</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Israel</span></b></span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"> and Shechem – a Varied Relationship</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Seeing the Face of God</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Reuven and Bilha</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Upon his return to Canaan, Yaakov managed ward off all his threats, to successfully settle in <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> and to pay his dues to God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">He had paid off Esav (Bereshit 33:11), bought a field near Shechem (ibid 19), “the fear of God was upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue Yaakov's sons” (ibid 35:5) after the incident with Dina, and Yaakov built an altar in Bet El (ibid 6-7), keeping the promise he had made to God over 21 years earlier when he had fled (ibid 28:20-22).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However out of the blue, we have strange, barely reported incident: “It came to pass when Israel sojourned in that land, that Reuven went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard…(ibid 35:22).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What is going on here? What is Reuven trying to do? Is he merely succumbing to his lust like Shechem did with Dina and Amnon with Tamar, or is there something greater going on?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In order to answer this question we have to examine similar incidents of people taking the concubines of others.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avner and Ishboshet</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">After Sha’ul’s death there was a civil war between Yehuda, led by David, and the rest of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, led by Ishboshet, Sha’ul’s only surviving son. Ishboshet was a weak man. The real power lay with his general, Avner ben Ner. Avner decided to take Sha’ul’s concubine, Rizpa.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Ishboshet challenged him saying: “Why have you gone unto my father's concubine?' Avner was furious over Ishboshet’s words” and threatened to defect to David, thereby handing over the kingdom to David. Ishboshet “could not answer Avner another word, because he feared him (II Shmuel 3:6-11).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avshalom and David</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">After having forced David, his father, to flee <st1:city st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>, Avshalom seeks Achitophel’s advice on how to secure the kingdom. Achitophel responds: “'Go unto your father's concubines… the hands of all your supporters will be strong.' So they pitched a tent for Avshalom on the roof of the house; and Absalom went unto his father's concubines in the sight of all <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> (ibid 16:21-22).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Adoniya and Shlomo</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Shlomo had previously spared the life of his half-brother, Adoniya, when he had crowned himself king. However, he warned him that should he attempt to usurp him, he would execute him.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Some time later Adoniya approached Batsheva, the Queen Mother. He asked her if she would ask Shlomo “for a small thing”; if he could give Avishag the Shunamite, David’s companion in his final years, to him as a wife. Shlomo responds angrily to Batsheva saying that is not a small request. She might as well “ask for him the throne” (I Melachim 2:22). Shlomo subsequently orders Adoniya’s execution.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">From all these sources it is clear that taking a person’s concubines is tantamount to declaring oneself their successor. Avner was positioning himself as the real successor to Sha’ul, Avshalom was declaring himself as David’s successor and Adoniya was trying to assert himself as the true heir to David’s throne.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">So too, Re’uven. He had already seen how two younger brothers, Shimon and Levi, had seized the initiative regarding Shechem. He is also aware of the impending challenge of Yoseph, the oldest of Yaakov’s favorite wife, and he knows that both Yishmael and Esav were overlooked in favor of the younger brother. He tries a desperate act in order to establish his rights over the brothers. He takes Bilha, his father’s concubine.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, it was this act that actually cost him the leadership: “The sons of Reuven the first-born of <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>, for he was the first-born; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>…” (I Divrei Hayamim 5:1).</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Wrestling with the Present</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Shortly before Yaakov's reunion with Esav, the Torah presents us with a strange episode: "He was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn" (Bereshit 32:25). The man then dislocates Yaakov's hip, and Yaakov forces him to bless him. The blessing he received was that his name would become Yisrael. What is going on here?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov was the father of Galut - the prototype of the Jew in exile. He flees from <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place>, to an unknown future, and encounters darkness and fear. He is cheated countless times by Lavan and has no recourse but to accept his predicament. Lavan's sons blame him from usurping their father's wealth and Yaakov flees once more. Yet throughout all, Yaakov succeeds and grows into a rich and powerful dynasty: "for with my staff I crossed this <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Jordan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and now I have become two camps" (Bereshit 32:11).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet even upon return, Yaakov remains with his exilic mentality. He is panicked when facing Esav (ibid 8). He tries to pay him off with a huge tribute and even hints at returning the blessing he had decieved him out of: "Now take my blessing" (ibid 33:11), after repeatedly stating that he is Esav's servant.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov needed to change. The man stops Yaakov from fleeing. He does this by holding him back and eventually dislocating his hip, forcing him to limp. Yaakov can no longer flee. Yet more than that, he changes Yaakov's name, i.e, he gives him a new identity.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov means "heel" (i.e. low see 25:26), and "crooked" (i.e. cheat - see 27:26) - identities appropiate for exile. Yisrael means "prince" (sar [</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">שר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>] - high) and "straight"(yashar [</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B">ישר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>]). Furthermore, the man blesses Yaakov implying that rather than fleeing (being on his heels), Yaakov should face up to his problems and struggle [</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B">שרית</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>] with them. The process may injure him but he will at least he would be in control of his own destiny. This blessing was a process for Yaakov to develop. Yaakov still remains Yaakov but begins to adopt Yisrael capabilities.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Perhaps this metamorphis is a process that the Jews of Israel have begun, but have not yet completed.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Israel</span></b></span></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"> and Shechem – a Varied Relationship</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week's parsha brings two explanations as to how Shechem became a possession of ancient <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Yaakov came safely [to] the city of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Shechem</st1:place></st1:city>…He encamped near the city. He bought the part of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitas" (Bereshit 33:18-19). <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> took control of the area peacefully when Yaakov purchased the city from a noble Shechemite family.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, in the next chapter, we see a different explanation: "Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that Yaakov's two sons, Shimon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, and they came upon the city with confidence, and they slew every male. They slew Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword" (ibid 34:25-26).</span><br /><br /><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="apple-style-span">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"> became masters of the city through violent conquest, in the aftermath of Shechem's violation of Dinah, Yaakov's daughter.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This was the beginning of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s strange relationship with this Canaanite city.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Historically, Shechem was different to other Canaanite cities. Regular Canaanite cities were city states, i.e. they were ruled by a king. <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place>'s topography effectively allowed each city to remain self-sufficient and independent from each other. Indeed, Yehoshua conquers 31 kings (see Yehoshua Ch.12) in a tiny country barely the size of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">New Jersey</st1:place></st1:state>. Indeed at least eight distinct nations lived in this land. Interestingly enough, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> was the first nation to unite the land into one country.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, Shechem's status was different. It was not ruled by a king: "Chamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city, and they spoke to the people of their city, saying, 'These men are peaceful with us'" (ibid 20:21). Note how Shechem and his father Chamor, have to persuade the inhabitants of Shechem to accept the agreement they had made with Yaakov's sons. Shechem might have been a leader of Shechem but he did not have ultimate power.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Interestingly enough, Shechem does not appear in the list of cities that Yehoshua captured. In fact, no conquest of Shechem is ever noted. Yehoshua even took all the people to make a covenant there (Yehoshua 8:30-35), and yet he does not fight with it. Moreover, from the Sefer Shoftim, it is clear that the people of Shechem were Israelite citizens, even though they were not Israelites.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There, Gaal Ben Eved inadvertently causes an uprising against Avimelech, Gidon's son and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s leader, saying: "'Who is Avimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Yerubbaal (Gidon)? … serve the men of Chamor the father of Shechem" (Shoftim 9:28). From this source it is clear that the inhabitants of Shechem were clearly descendents of Shechem's original inhabitants, and yet they were Israelite citizens.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">How did this happen? It is unclear. I would like to suggest two possible explanations that are linked..</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Firstly, we have already seen how <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> in Yaakov's day became the legal masters of Shechem. It is possible therefore, that Shechem already saw itself as loyal servants of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> at the time of Yehoshua's conquest, and hence, there was no need to conquer it.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Secondly, I would like to suggest that the Shechemites were part of the Givon alliance, the people who tricked <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> into making a non-aggression pact: "The men of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> said unto the Hivites…" (Yehoshua 9:7). The Givonites were Hivites. So was Shechem: "Shechem the son of Hamor, the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her" (Bereshit 34:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Simon and Levi tricked Shechem and took advantage of them. The Hivites then turned the tables and tricked <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> by making a treaty with Yehoshua. These people then caused havoc in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> during the period of the Judges.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Perhaps the seeds to this incident were planted in this week's parsha.</span><br /> <br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Seeing the Face of God</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The night before meeting Esav, Yaakov struggles with a man at Nachal Yabbok. As it turns out, the man is a divine being. He gives Yakov a new name: Yisrael. We have discussed why a divine being was fighting Yaakov in the first place and the significance of Yaakov's additional name in a previous Sedra Short (see<a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/parshat-vayishlach-wrestling-with.html"><span style="color:#473624">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/parshat-vayishlach-wrestling-with.html</span></a>).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week, I would like to discus Yaakov's reaction. "Yaakov named the place Peniel (lit. the face of God), for [he said,] "I saw an angel face to face, and my soul was saved" (Bereshit 32:30).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is clear from this statement that Yaakov expected to die. Seeing divine beings is meant to be beyond the human narrative and so when he saw the angel, Yaakov should not have continued living.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, Moshe asks God "show me your glory" (Shemot 33:18), God responds that "you cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live (ibid 20)."</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In fact, the first time that Moshe encountered God, he almost died. Moshe sees a burning bush in the wilderness and is surprised that the bush is not being consumed. He decides to have a better look. "The Lord saw that he had turned to see" and so quickly calls out saying "Do not come close" (Shemot 3:4-5). To be sure, as soon as Moshe realizes that God is within the bush, he "hid his face because he was afraid to look toward God (ibid 6).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Gidon also saw an angel and thought he was going to die. At first, Gidon thought that the angel giving him the mission to save <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> was an ordinary person and so Giodn refused to accept the mission. The angel decides that Gidon needs to understand that his mission is from God and so he reveals himself by performing a supernatural act and then disappearing.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Gidon then realized that he was an angel and said: "Alas, O Lord God! Because I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face" (Shoftim 6:22). He assumed he was going to die, so</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a name="17409"></a><span class="apple-style-span">"the Lord said to him, "Peace be to you, fear not, you shall not die (ibid 23)".</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Manoach and his wife, Shimshon's parents, also met an angel. Manoach also did not believe that he was an angel until the angel revealed himself.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Manoach (then) knew that he was an angel of the Lord.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a name="17638"></a><span class="apple-style-span">Manoach said to his wife, 'We shall surely die, because we have seen God" (ibid 13:22). However, his wife seemed to be more intelligent than him. "<a name="17639"></a>But his wife said to him, "If the Lord wanted to kill us, He would not have received from our hand a burnt-offering and a meal-offering, and He would not have shown us all these things; and at this time He would not let us hear (such things) as these (ibid 23)".</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">While seeing only God himself would lead to death, as happened with Aharon's two sons, Nadav and Avihu (see Shemot 34:10-11 and VaYikra 10:1-2), seeing angels would not lead o death.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, as is clear from the episodes recorded here, people, including Yaakov, were frightened about seeing all divine beings.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Perhaps the Torah is trying to give us a monotheistic message. Only God is truly a Divine Being. Everything else, including angels, is just his tools. They are not worthy of worship.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-5085142647307051242009-11-27T13:19:00.001+02:002009-11-27T13:19:49.204+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat VaYetzeh</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="apple-style-span">There are four Sedra Shorts on Parshat </span><span class="apple-converted-space">VaYetseh</span><span class="apple-style-span">. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah:</span></span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="apple-style-span"></span></span>Yaakov's Many Wives<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Yaakov and Lavan's Working Relationship<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Yaakov's Guilt <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Dust of the Earth</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Yaakov's Many Wives</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p>In this week's parsha, Yaakov Avinu, marries two sisters, Rachel and Leah. He then takes their maidservants, Bilha and Zilpa, as concubines. It is possible that they, in particular Bilha, also became his wives at a later stage.</o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov was not the only one of our forefathers who had more than one wife. Avraham himself married not only Sarah, but also Hagar and Keturah. In fact, Yitschak was the only one of the Patriarchs to have one wife.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is however, interesting, that polygamy does not seem to be the natural Biblical ideal. To begin with when God created Man, He said: "It is not good that man is alone" (Bereshit 2:18) and so He creates a partner for him. After having created a soul-mate for him, the Torah states: "a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (ibid 24). Adam and Eave are the archetype human beings and their relationship is totally monogamous and complete when they found each other.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, the Rabbis even suggest that the original human being was a hermaphrodite, that God split them and therefore, when they found each other, they were actually finding themselves.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore, if we examine the Biblical examples when a man had more than one wife, we will find cases of suffering and strife.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The first person to have more than one wife was Lemech: "Lemech took himself two wives; one was named Adah, and the other was named Zillah…'incline your ears to my words, for I have slain a man by wounding (him) and a child by bruising (him)'" (ibid 3:23). While we cannot attribute Lemech's murderous actions directly to the fact that he had one wife, the Torah does imply that in Lemech's time, humanity took a turn for the worse.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The next person who had more than one wife was Avraham: "Sarai said to Avram, 'Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing; please come to my handmaid'" ibid 16:2). Sarah makes an ultimate sacrifice. She knew her husband was promised an heir, however, she did not know that she was to be the mother. So after years of childlessness, she gave Avram the opportunity of having that child. However, it turned out that it was a challenge she found impossible to cope with: "Sarai said to Avram, 'May my injustice be upon you! I gave my handmaid into your bosom…and I became unimportant in her eyes. May the Lord judge between me and you'" (ibid 5).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, Avram is eventually forced to send his son Yishmael away as Sarah was concerned about him impeaching Yitschak's inheritance. Avraham is even forced to send away his other sons from Keturah, in order to protect Yitschak: "To the sons of Abraham's concubines, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from his son Isaac while he [Abraham] was still alive" (ibid 25.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Rachel and Leah, both of Yaakov's wives, also did not get on, even though they were sisters. Indeed "The Lord saw that Leah was hated" (ibid 29:31). Leah felt hated and second best. Rachel herself is so jealous of her sister's childbearing that she's prepared to give Bilha to Yaakov. Leah promptly follows suit and gives him Zilpa. The episode with the dudaim, the mandrakes that Reuven had gathered for Leah, also shows the tenseness and deep jealousy of their relationship.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is therefore, no surprise that this mutual jealousy was transferred to their sons with Yoseph, eventually being sold into slavery by his half-brothers.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The relationship between Hannah and Penina, the wives of Elkana, was also hostile: "Her rival (Penina) would frequently anger her (Hanna), in order to make her complain" (I Shmuel 1:6).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Certainly Adoniah and Shlomo, two sons of David from different wives, did not get on and were rivals for the throne. Adoniah plots against Shlomo who has him executed (see I Kings 3:13-25).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Shlomo himself had many wives: "He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned away his heart.<a name="19760"></a>It was at the time of Solomon's old age, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not whole with the Lord" (ibid 11:3-4).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Every single case that the Torah reports of a man having more than one wife led to problems.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is therefore, clear, especially if we consider Adam and Eve's harmony in the Garden of Eden, that while the Torah tolerated the concept of polygamy, it seems to consider monogamy to be the ideal.</span><br /> <br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Yaakov and Lavan's Working Relationship</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When Lavan first met Yaakov, he embraced him, welcomed him into his house and declared: "Indeed, you are my bone and my flesh" (Bereshit 29:14), signifying a warm relationship.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, it's very clear that Lavan often chose his words carefully, allowing them to be understood in a number of ways, so that he could take advantage of the situation. A prime example occurs after Yaakov has been with Lavan for a month. Lavan says:</span><br /><br /></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">הֲכִי אָחִי אַתָּה וַעֲבַדְתַּנִי חִנָּם הַגִּידָה לִּי מַה מַּשְׂכֻּרְתֶּךָ</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There are two ways to translate and understand this passuk (ibid 15):</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Because you are my kinsman, should you work for me for free? Tell me what your wages shall be."</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This translation implies that up until now Yaakov had been working for Lavan without pay. This put him on the level of a slave who does not get paid, but lives on the meals provided for him in return for his labor. Lavan seems to be saying to Yaakov that as he is family, he should be paid. Sounds good.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, there is another way to understand the passuk:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Are you my kinsman that you should work for me for free? Tell me what your wages shall be."</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Slaves are not the only people that do not get paid a wage; the family members also do not get regular pay. They share a portion of the profits. Note that previously Yaakov had "stayed with him a full month" (ibid 14). Lavan, it appears, is therefore angry with Yaakov and is saying to him that he is not a clansman who does not have to pull his weight and yet share the profits. Lavan tells Yaakov that from now on he is a mere hired hand who must work hard to earn his keep.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, it is clear that Yaakov is considered to be a slave, for when his second set of seven years is over, Yaakov asks Lavan: "Send me away, and I will go to my place and to my land" (ibid 30:25).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov asks to be sent away – this an expression of being released from servitude. Furthermore, Yaakov also says: "Give [me] my wives and my children for whom I worked for you, and I will go, for you know my work, which I have worked for you" (ibid 26). A master has the right to keep the wives and children of a slave when he sets the salve free. Yaakov is therefore saying that he is not a slave for he worked for his wives – but the underlying theme is that he is treated as a slave.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, once Yaakov flees, in a further sign that he was not a free man, he explains to Lavan: "Because I was afraid, because I said, 'Lest you steal your daughters from me" (ibid 31:31). Yaakov is afraid that Lavan will insist on keeping his wives and children.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Lavan even says this implicitly claiming that by secretly fleeing Yakkov had: "led away my daughters like prisoners of war" (ibid 26). Lavan even claims that he has: "the power to inflict harm upon you" (ibid 29), i.e. the legal right to punish Yaakov for fleeing.</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, by this time Yaakov has had enough: "What is my transgression? What is my sin, that you have pursued me?" (ibid 36). Yaakov is saying that he is an independent unit and has no need to seek permission to leave.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore, Yaakov calls for an independent tribunal to judge between them and to clarify this. "Put it here, in the presence of my kinsmen and your kinsmen, and let them decide between the two of us" (ibid 37).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Lavan is rocked by this tribunal and feebly responds: "The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the animals are my animals, and all that you see is mine. Now, what would I do to these daughters of mine today, or to their children, whom they have borne?" (ibid 43). I.e. all he really, meant was that he would never harm his daughters, not that he would actually take them away.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Lavan clearly loses this tribunal as he is forced to make a pact with Yaakov as equals acknowledging that Yaakov is his own separate clan over which he has no rights.</span><br /> <br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Yaakov's Guilt</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov is constantly cheated by Lavan. First he works for him for a month without being paid (Bereshit 29:14-15). He is then given Leah instead of Rachel and is forced to work another seven years for Rachel.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">After the fourteen years were over Yaakov then made a deal with Lavan that: "every speckled and spotted kid, and every brown lamb among the sheep, and [every] spotted and speckled [one from] among the goats" (ibid 30:32), would be his wages.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Rather then being satisfied with this good deal, Lavan "removed on that day the ringed and the spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, whichever had white on it, and all the brown [from] among the sheep, and he gave [them] into the hands of his sons" (ibid 35).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">He wanted to ensure that Yaakov would not have any of those types of sheep and goats in his flock to breed. It would therefore be unlikely that Yaakov would be able to earn any wages. Lavan even "set three days' journey between himself and Yaakov" (ibid 35) so that there could not even be accidental contact with those sheep and goats.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When Lavan saw that Yaakov had nevertheless succeeded, Yakkov claims that he: "mocked me and changed my wages ten times...If he would say thus, 'Speckled ones shall be your wages,' all the animals would bear speckled ones, and if he would say thus, 'Ringed ones shall be your wages,' all the animals would bear ringed ones" (Bereshit 31:7-8).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Slowly but surely, Lavan enslaved Yaakov to such an extent that when Yaakov asked for his freedom, he used the language of a slave being released from his master: "Send me away, and I will go to my place and to my land" (ibid 25 and compare to Shemot 5:1).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Why did Yaakov allow this to happen?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">On one occasion Yaakov did confront Lavan, when he switched Rachel with Leah. However, even then his response was minimal and when Lavan said: "It is not done so in our place to give the younger one before the firstborn" (Bereshit 29:26), which appears to be a poor response to a major fraud, Yaakov remains silent. Why?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The answer lies in the events of Parshat VaYetsh and Parshat VaYishlach.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov was not a willing partner to the snatching of the berachot from Esav. Rivka insisted he do it. She waived away his protests saying that she would be responsible for the repercussions; she cooked the food, put it into Yaakov's hands and even dressed him in Esav's clothes (see ibid 27:13-17). Yaakov was a reluctant partner in this treachery, barely succeeding in disguising his voice.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless he is duly punished. He is exiled from his home and comes into darkness. The man that dwelt in tents found himself sleeping in the open air, all alone. He is actually shocked that God hadn't forgotten him (ibid 28:16). Perhaps he thinks that he is getting all he deserved.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Lavan did not give a feeble excuse to Yaakov; he chose his words well: "…in our place to give the younger one before the firstborn" (ibid 29:26). Lavan is playing on Yaakov's conscience for he, the younger son, had pushed himself ahead of Esav, his older brother. Yaakov is stunned into silence. He cannot respond to Lavan's simple defense and proceeds to accept all of Lavan's further frauds, asking nothing of substance for himself.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov's deeds linger so much on his conscience that when he finally returns to <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place>, he humbles himself before Esav, describing himself as a slave to Esav, his master. He is trying to say that the blessing that he would be his master was nonsense. Yakov says that he was promised: "dew of the heavens and the fatness of the earth and an abundance of corn and wine" (ibid 27:28) but in reality all he got was exile with Lavan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov finds the guilt of his actions all consuming and eventually begs Esav: "to take my blessing" (ibid 33:7), which Esav reluctantly does.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Perhaps Yaakov's taking of the Yitzchak's blessing was not such a good thing.</span><br /> <br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Dust of the Earth</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God promised Avraham, Yitschak and Yaakov individually that they would have countless descendants. However, He used a different expression with each forefather:</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">Avraham</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b> </b></span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"I will make your seed like the dust of the earth, so that if a man will be able to count the dust of the earth, so will your seed be counted" (Bereshit 13:16).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So will be your seed" (ibid 15:5).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the seashore" (ibid 22:17).</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">Yitschak</span></strong><b><br /></b><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens" (ibid 26:4).</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">Yaakov</span></strong><b><br /></b><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Your seed shall be as the dust of the earth" (ibid 28:14).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">All three expressions imply that their descendants would be countless. But are these expressions merely expressions or do they have extra meaning?</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">Stars in the sky</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">– each star is bright and untouchable. Even as individuals the star is special.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">Sand on the shore</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">– sand is forged through the waves crashing against the shore. It takes many millennia for the sand to form and comes through hardship.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Georgia">Dust on the earth</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">– one treads on dust; being a piece of dirt is nothing to be proud of.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Perhaps these expressions represent different phases in the Patriarchs' and the Jewish people's lives.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Abraham made the move to the <st1:place st="on">Holy Land</st1:place>, but he also experienced exile and much hardship in his life. All three expressions are appropriate for him.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yitschak remained in <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> his whole life. He was prosperous and had stability. The expression of stars is appropriate for him.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov begins this Parsha with the sun setting. He is left in darkness and insecurity as he begins his life in exile. There he will find himself repeatedly cheated with no rights. Even though he flourishes and becomes a large family, he must still resort to subterfuge to escape from Lavan. He may have become numerous, but he is no star, nor is he as sand: He is "as the dust of the earth" - trodden on, frightened and homeless.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yaakov represents the Jew in exile: worried, defenseless, yet still flourishing. However, Yaakov does not remain in exile, he returns, as will all his progeny.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-61696093483467032742009-11-20T12:31:00.002+02:002009-11-20T12:35:44.904+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">Parshat Toldot</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There are four Sedra Shorts on Parshat Toldot</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; font-family:Georgia;">Twins in Her Womb</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; font-family:Georgia;">Yitchack Avinu – Action Man</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; font-family:Georgia;">Yitschak's Vision</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; font-family:Georgia;">More Peace with Avimelech – Whatever Happened to It?</span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"> <span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">Twins in Her Womb</span></b><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /><br />Rivka is privy to much information that logically she should not have known:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">Whil<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; ">st pregnant, God tells her the destiny of her prodigy (Bereshit 25:23)</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 24px; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">She overhears Yitschok's intention to bless Esav (ibid 27:5)</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 24px; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">She is told of Esav's intention to kill Yaakov (ibid 41)</span></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">However, there's also much she didn't know:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">S<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; ">he knew she had two nations in her womb, but is surprised that she had twins – "her days to give birth were completed, and behold, there were twins in her womb" (ibid 25:24)</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 24px; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">She was concerned about Yaakov being cursed by Yitschak, but did not anticipate Esav's reaction to Yaakov taking the berachot (ibid 27:12-13)</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 24px; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">In sending Yaakov to Lavan, she thought he would only be gone: "for a few days" (ibid 44). She did not know that he would be there for 21 years and that she would never see him again</span></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p> In acting on her foreknowledge, Rivka alters her family's dynamics:</o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .25in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">She favors her younger son (ibid 25:28)S</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">She decieves her older son (ibid 27:6-13)</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-family:Georgia;">She misleads her husband (ibid 46)</span></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p> The result is that her family is split apart with Yaakov forced to flee (ibid 43).</o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">Should Rivka had intervened? Maybe she should have allowed God to worry about His masterplan? The conflict btween Yaakov and Esav and history might have been very differen<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p>Yitchack Avinu – Action Man</o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><span class="apple-style-span">Yitzchak appears to be a passive, weak and even pitiful character. We so how he needed protection from Yishmael’s influence, how Avraham almost offered him up as a sacrifice (Bereshit 21:9-10), how Avraham needed to find a wife for him (the only time someone did not find their own wife in the Tanach) (ibid Ch.22), his son Yaakov tricked him into giving him the Berachot (ibid 27:19-28) and even his wife Rivka twice manipulates the situation to circumvent him from making what in her opinion, was a mistake (ibid 5-12 & 46). Indeed, Yitschak is blind, not just literally, but also to reality in that he does not recognize Esav’s true character and he does not see the hostility between his two sons in the way Rivka does.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore, Yitzchak’s life seems to be a carbon copy of Avraham’s: His wife was sterile, just like Avraham’s; he said that Rivka was his sister when he entered hostile territory, just like Avraham; he made a peace treaty with Avimelech and Phichol, just like Avraham; and he even named a place Be’er Sheva, just like Avraham.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, in the only episode with which we see Yitzchak on his own, i.e. without Avraham or his sons, he is simply re-opening wells that Avraham had previously dug. They had become blocked. He struggles to unblock and eventually succeeds. He then gives them the same names that Avraham had given them.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Who was Yitzchak? Was he merely the link between Avraham and Yaakov or is there something unique about him in his own right that entitles to the title of Patriarch of the Jewish people, or was he just a poor copy of Avraham.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The answer to this question lies in the episode of the wells. Avraham took the <st1:place st="on">Middle East</st1:place> by storm. He acquired a following in Charan, (see Rashi on ibid 12:5), the Canaanite locals recognized him as a holy man (ibid 14:20) and a “prince of God” (ibid 23:6). He defeated kings in battle (ibid Ch14) and kings came to him to make treaties (ibid 14: 22 & 21:22-34).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avraham dug new wells and found fresh water, however, by the end of his life the wells became blocked, his ideas were no longer new and exciting. What happened to all “the souls he had acquired in Charan”, to the altars he had built and the treaties he had made?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">New fads and fashions often become popular very quickly but they soon lose their staying power. Keeping them going is a difficult. That is where Yitschak comes in. He is totally different to both Avraham and Yaakov.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Unlike Avraham and Yaakov, he never leaves <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place>, he never had his name changed, he was named by God and he only had one wife. Yitzchak is the epitome of stability.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yitzchak does not try and copy Avraham. He does not start anything new, he keeps what was already existed going and, despite the opposition to him telling him that Avraham’s ideas were old, that his wells had dried up, Yitzchak actually succeeds.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Without Yitzchak, everything that Avraham had built would have been lost and there would have been no Jewish people.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yitzchak’s decisive actions and his attempts to gain stability gave new life to Avraham’s work and gives us good reason to stand in awe at our glorious progenitor.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">Yitschak's Vision</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"It came to pass when Yitschak was old, and his eyes were too dim to see" (Bereshit 27:1).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yitschak was blind. Therefore, Yaakov was able to deceive him by announcing that he was Esav, thereby gaining the blessing that Yitschak had intended to give Esav.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Many seem to think Yitschak blindness was not just limited to his vision, he was also blind to Esav's true personality. Had he been aware of who Esav really was, he would never have intended to give him the blessing.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, upon closer examination we will see that Yitschak was indeed aware of his son's abilities and personality. He was aware that Yaakov was to be the inheritor of the blessings God had given Avraham and had passed down to him. However, he also wanted to ensure that Esav had a future; that he wouldn't be left out.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is clear from Esav's moving plea to Yitschak immediately after Yaakov's deception was revealed.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"When Esav heard his father's words, he cried out a great and bitter cry, and he said to his father, 'Bless me too, O my father!...Have you not reserved a blessing for me?'… Yitschak answered and said to Esau, 'Behold, I made him a master over you,' …Esav said to his father, 'Have you [but] one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father.' Esav raised his voice and wept" (ibid 34-35).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Three times Esav asks his father for a blessing and each time Yitschak responds that he does not have one. However, this is not true.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When Yitschak sends Yaakov to Padan Aram to find a wife, immediately after this incident, the Yitschak again blesses Yaakov saying: "May the Almighty God bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and you shall become an assembly of peoples. May He give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you, that you may inherit the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Avraham" (ibid 28:3-4).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yitschak blesses Yaakov that he will be Avraham's inheritor, that he will receive the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Canaan</st1:placename></st1:place> and that God'ds blessings to Avraham would continue through him.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is not the blessing that Yitschak intended to give Esav. That (ibid 27:28-29). That was a blessing about material wealth and power, it was not about Avraham's destiny.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yitschak always intended to pass that onto Yaakov, he was aware that only Yaakov and not Esav, was worthy of it. However, he loved Esav, and just like Avraham with Yishmael, he did not want to leave him empty handed; he wanted to secure his future knowing fully well that Esav was not his inheritor.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, this was not to be because of Rivka's interference.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The real question therefore, remains, whether Rivka knew that her husband did understand his children. Did she know which blessing Yitschak had intended to give Esav? Would she have reacted differently had she known that Yitschak did not intend to give Esav the inheritance of Avraham?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">More Peace with Avimelech – Whatever Happened to It?</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In Parshat VaYera, Avimelech had made a non-aggression pact with Avraham. In this week's parsha, Avimelech or possibly his son, as the name is generic for "ruler", renews the pact, this time with Yitzchak: "If you do [not] harm us, as we have not touched you, and as we have done with you only good, and we sent you away in peace, [so do] you now, blessed of the Lord (Bereshit 26:29).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Whatever, happened to this treaty? Was it ever used?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">We recall that when Avimelech made the original agreement, he said that it would be between "me or to my son or to my grandson" (ibid 21:23).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">One could argue, therefore, that the pact was intended to only last three generations. This would explain how Avraham could agree to relinquish part of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Israel</st1:placename></st1:place>, as God had promised him that "the fourth generation will return here" (ibid 15:16). Therefore, the treaty merely passed by its "use by" date and then became null and void.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, one could also argue that the term that Avimelech was used was generic to refer to forever. If so, our question remains, what happened to the treaty?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In order to answer this question, we must look at two episodes in Sefer Shmuel. There we see David, the future king of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, living in Gat, a Philistine city.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is very strange. We must remember that David slew the Philistine champion, Goliath. More than that, he has freed <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> from Philistine control. Indeed, the Israelite maidens would sing about him that "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (I Shmuel 18:7). He has won many battles against the Philistines.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet when Sha'ul, the king considers David a traitor and tries to kill him, David flees to Achish, the Philistine ruler of Gat, for refuge. You would think that he would be the last person to help David. Not only that, David even took the sword of Goliath with him to Gat! Yet Achish still gave him sanctuary.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">David soon had a problem: "The bondsmen of Achish said to him, "Is this not David, the king of the land? Was it not of this one that they would sing out with musical instruments, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?'" (ibid 21:12).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In order to feign internment, David feigned madness: "He changed his speech before their eyes, and he feigned insanity before them. He scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down upon his beard" (ibid 14).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Unbelievably, Achish fell for it! "Achish said to his bondsmen, "Behold, you see a man who is mad. Why do you bring him to me?</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a name="18435"></a><span class="apple-style-span">Do I lack lunatics, that you have brought this one to rave in my presence?" (ibid 15-16).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Well, maybe Achish was fooled and really believed David to be a madman. If that is the case, how do we explain the episode a few chapters later?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">David is still on the run from Sha'ul and he is not safe in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, so he returns to Gat. "David arose. He and the six hundred men who were with him, crossed over to Achish the son of Maoch, the king of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Gath</st1:place></st1:city> (ibid 27:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Is it possible that Achish had no idea that he was there? No, not really: "David said to Achish, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the country towns, and I shall dwell there, for why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?"<a name="18584"></a>So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day; therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Judah</st1:place></st1:country-region> until this day" (ibid 5-6).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Achish gave David a city!! More than that, when Sha'ul fought his last battle, David was Achish's personal bodyguard (see ibid 28:1-2). How was it possible that David, the slayer of Goliath, the tormentor of the Philistines and someone who had feigned madness to Achish previously, become such a trusted aide of his?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Rabbi Benyamin Lau suggests that Achish was a descendant of Avimelech and that he still cherished the treaty that Avraham and Yitschak made with his ancestor. Rabbi Lau even suggests that Gerar is Gat, pointing out that the numerical value of the names of the cities are the same.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore, Achish, as a descendant of the philistine king from this week's parsha, had a duty to uphold the treaty, and therefore, protect David.</span><br /><br /></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-16628666605192302202009-11-13T13:27:00.001+02:002009-11-13T13:28:49.825+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat Chayei Sarah</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There are for Sedra Shorts on Parshat Chayei Sarah</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah</span>:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; ">Listen to Us!!</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; ">The Other Sons of Avraham</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; ">The Missing God</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; ">The Legacy of Terach</span></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Listen to US</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">!!</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">Despite being promised by God: “all the land that you see I will give to you…” (Bereshit 13:15), Avraham is a “stranger and a sojourner “ (ibid 23:4) and has no place to bury his wife. Therefore, he begins negotiations with the Hittites in order to secure a burial plot.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The first two negotiations end with Avraham bowing low (ibid 7 & 12), the modern equivalent of a handshake and partial success. The third rounds ends with complete success. We will examine these negotiations:</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The root</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">Shema</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">(“listen” or “understand”) appears 6 times in this short narrative. The Hittites were not listening to Avraham or at least they misunderstood him</span><br /><br /><strong><i><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-weight:normal">The First Negotiation</span></i></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">(ibid 3-7)</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avraham asks to buy a burial plot. The Hittites respect Avraham and consider him to be “Prince of God” (ibid 6), a spiritual leader of the highest pedigree. Is he really interested in owning land or does he merely need a place to bury his wife? They think the latter.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore, rather than requiring him to purchase land they tell him “in the most desired of our tombs you can bury your dead. None of us will withhold his tomb from you” (ibid). The Hittites misunderstood Avraham’s need to own the plot. Instead, they offer him a space wherever he so desires. Avraham thanks them; he has been partially successful.</span><br /><br /><strong><i><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-weight:normal">The Second Negotiation</span></i></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">(ibid 8-12)</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avraham requests a meeting with Ephron ben Zochar, so that he can purchase a specific plot: The Meorat HaMachpela. Ephron, tells Avraham: “Listen to me. I have given you the field, and the cave that is in it… bury your dead" (ibid 11). He too, does not seem to understand Avraham’s need to own the land. Avraham thanks him He has now secured the actual plot, but is still not satisfied: he wants unreserved ownership.</span><br /><br /><strong><i><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-weight:normal">The Third Negotiation</span></i></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">(ibid 13-16)</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avraham is well aware that a gift of land would have a questionable legal status and so he continues negotiating, insisting on a purchase: “Listen to me, I am giving money for the field” (ibid 13). Ephron then names his price: “four hundred shekels of silver, what is it between me and you?” (ibid 15) and Avraham makes the remuneration.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avraham ensures that all was done “before the eyes (or ears) of the Hittites” (ibid 10, 11, 16 & 18) and at the gates of the city, the commercial and legal center. The deed of sale is then recorded and witnessed (ibid 17-18). The ownership of the plot could never be contested.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Religions are often considered to be the realm of the spirit. Material assets such as land should not be of concern to the truly spiritual person. Judaism however, is different; it is not an ascetic religion. It believes in nourishing the body. So too, the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Israel</st1:placename></st1:place> is an integral part of its identity. They cannot be separated.</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Other Sons of Avraham</span></b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Most of the stories of Avraham revolve around his yearning and God's promise that he will bear a son. That finally occurs when he was 100 years old.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is therefore, most surprising, to learn at the end of the parsha that Avraham not only did Avraham have another son, Yishamael, but that he had a further six sons!!</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Abraham took another wife and her name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Medan</st1:place></st1:city>, Midian, Jishbak and Shuah" (Bereshit 25:1-2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, God had previously promised Avraham that only "Yitschak will be called your seed" (ibid 21:12).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, it is very common for brothers to fight among themselves for the leadership and inheritance. David's sons had a number of conflicts be fore David formally and publicly declared that Shlomo, not Adoniyahu, would be his successor (I Melachim 1:34). Even after this declaration, it was clear that Adoniyahu harboured dreams of claiming the monarchy (ibid 2:22).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The fact that the seven other sons were "sons of Avraham's concubines" (Bereshit 25:6), is irrelevant to their claims of inheritance. The four sons of Bilha and Zilpa equally inherited Yaakov with their brother, as did Avimelech, one of Gidon's seventy sons (see Shoftim Ch.8-9). Yiftach was also supposed to inherit with his brothers, but they drove him away (ibid 11:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, ancient law states that sons of concubines and slaves have an equal right of inheritance with legitimate heirs. However, there is one proviso. The father can disinherit "illegitimate" children by publicly proclaiming who his heirs are and by releasing them from slavery.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is exactly what Avraham does. First of all he publicly states that Yitschak is his sole heir: "Avraham gave all that he possessed to Yitschak" (Bereshit 25:5). This is confirmed by his servant who tells Lavan and Betuel: "Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master after she had become old, and he gave him all that he possesses" (ibid 24:36).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, Avraham performs a further two acts to ensure that Yitschak will be protected from any uprising by his more numerous brothers.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Firstly, "to the sons of Avraham's concubines, Avraham gave gifts" (ibid 25:6). Avraham ensured that his other sons were well provided for materially and that they would have no material claims against Yitschak.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore: "and he sent them away from his son Isaac while he [Abraham] was still alive, eastward to the land of the East" (ibid). The words "to send away" is the same word used for "divorce", i.e. Avraham releases them from his servitude. We had previously seen how Avraham had done this to one son, Yishmael (ibid 21:14). The Torah now states that Avraham did the same treatment to his other sons. Note, that Avraham was not leaving them destitute, he was merely securing Yitschak's claim over the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Canaan</st1:placename></st1:place>.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Moreover, when Avraham died, note how the Torah states: "Yitschak and Yishmael his sons buried him" (ibid 25:9), with Yitschak's name being written first. Furthermore, we see that "after Avraham's death… Isaac settled near Be'er Lachai Ro'i" (ibid 11). This is where Hagar had fled to after she was freed from Avraham's household (ibid 16:14). Yitschak is clearly asserting his claim over this area.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Notice finally, at the list of Yishmael's</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">toldot</span></em><span class="apple-style-span">, he is described as: "these are the toldot of Yishmael the son of Abraham, whom Hagar the Egyptian, the maidservant of Sarah, bore to Abraham" (ibid 25:12), i.e. Yishmael was the son of Hagar who just happened to have been born to Avraham. Just a few pesukim later, while stating Yitschak's</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">toldot</span></em><span class="apple-style-span">, the passuk writes: "these are the generations of Yitschak the son of Avraham; Avraham begot Yitschak" (ibid 19).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avraham may have had eight sons, but he only had one heir.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Missing God</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This week's parsha is unique in the Torah – it is the only one in which God does not talk to humanity. He remains silent.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">That does not mean that He is ignored. On the contrary He is mentioned throughout. To begin with, Avraham makes his servant swear an oath in the name of God: "I will adjure you by the Lord, the God of the heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites" (Bereshit 24:3).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore, the servant makes a prayer to God, saying: "O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please cause to happen to me today" (ibid 12). He also refers to God in his speech with Lavan and Betuel a number of times.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Additionally, when Rivka met Yitschak for the first time, he "went out to meditate in the field", the Rabbis explain that he was praying.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God's actions are also very visible in the parsha. Avraham had promised his servant that God "will send His angel before you" (ibid 7), meaning that he would succeed in his mission. The way in which the servant succeeded was even more impressive. He asked God for a sign. The servant received that sign instantaneously and the first girl that he met was Avraham's cousin's daughter, Rivka. The test that he set her was also passed with success. Everything went exactly to plan.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet the lack of prophetic communication from God is still conspicuous by its absence. Why is He silent?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The parsha can be divided up into two parts: Firstly, Avraham's attempts to bury Sarah. Secondly, Avraham's search for a wife for Yitschak. We could put these episodes into one category: The Avot without the Imahaot, The Patriarchs without the Matriarchs.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Sarah is dead and Avraham is alone. Yitchak has no partner and he is alone. Furthermore, after three years, Yitschak is still morning his mother as he was only: "comforted for [the loss of] his mother" after he married Rivka (ibid 67).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Under these conditions, the word of God cannot be heard. The fathers without the mothers are incomplete; it is only when they are together and that there is joy and that word of God can be spoken.</span></span><br /> <br /> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Legacy of Terach</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">After Sarah's death, Avraham sent his servant to "go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son" (Bereshit 24:38). The servant found Rivka and she followed him to <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> to marry Yitschak.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yitschak was not the only one to marry within Terach's, Avraham's father, family. Yitschak also told Yaakov to marry within the family: "Go to Padan Aram, to the house of Betuel, your mother's father, and take yourself from there a wife of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother" (ibid 28:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">So did Avraham. Sarah was Terach's daughter, as Avraham explained to Avimelech: "Also, indeed, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife" (ibid 28:12).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, the Torah seems to have genuine concern for all of Terach's descendents. Twice the Torah departs from its story line to tell us how <st1:place st="on">Lot</st1:place> was saved from danger (see ibid Ch 14 & Ch.19). It also lists all twelve of Nahor's descendants (ibid 22:20-24), all twelve of Yishmael's descendents (ibid 25:12-18), all twelve of Esav's descendents (ibid Ch.36) as well as all twelve of Yaakov's descendents.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Furthermore, while the Torah records all the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">toldot</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">(legacies) of all the above mentioned patriarchs as well as the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">toldot</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">of Yitschak, there is no toldot of Avraham. Yet, there is a</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">toldot</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">of Terach: "These are the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">toldot</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">of Terach: Terach begot Avram, Nachor, and Caran, and Charan begot <st1:place st="on">Lot</st1:place>" (ibid 11:27).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Finally, in Yehoshua's final address to the Jewish people before his death, he begins with origins of the Jewish people. However he does not begin with Avraham. He begins with Terach: "Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terach, the father of Avraham, and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods" (Yehoshua 24:2).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">What was Terach's legacy? What was it about him that caused Avraham to follow a special path that made Avraham ensure that his children only marry from within his own family?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is a hard question to answer as the Torah tells us very little, in fact only one sentence, about him: "Terach took Avram his son and Lot the son of Charan, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter in law, the wife of Abram his son, and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees to go to the land of Canaan, and they came as far as Charan and settled there" (Bereshit 11:31).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avraham's mission to move to <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> actually began with Terach. Terach may have been Avraham's inspiration and the one who set him on the path of his glorious journey.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">For some reason, Terach was not able to follow through. Rabbi Menachem Liebtag suggest that like many Jewish parents, Terach taught his children the importance of Eretz Yisrael without himself being willing to make the final leap of moving there. Nevertheless, Avraham learned enough in order to complete the mission. It is reasonable to assume that Nachor, Avraham's only surviving brother, may also have had sympathies with living in Eretz Yisrael and possibly even taught Rivka about it.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, Avraham gives Rivka exactly the same test that God gave him. Could she leave her homeland, her birthplace, her father's house and go to a land she had never seen? Rivka did not hesitate. When Lavan and his mother asked her "Will you go with this man?" Rivka did not waver. She responded: "I will go" (ibid 24:54).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">How was it that Rivka could be so decisive that she could move to <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> without any hesitation, at a moments notice in the same manner that Avraham did? Perhaps she had inspiration from the same man that Avraham had. Perhaps the union of Yitschak and Rivka was part of Terach's legacy.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-30973210074731306592009-11-06T11:26:00.001+02:002009-11-06T11:27:52.555+02:00<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#29303B;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:HE"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Parshat VaYera</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br />There are for Sedra Shorts on Parshat Vayera. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah</span> </span><span style="color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia">The Fate of Mrs. <st1:place st="on">Lot</st1:place> </span><span style="font-family:Georgia"><o:p></o:p></span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia">She's my Sister – Again!!</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia">Yishmael the Impersonator</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia"><o:p></o:p></span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia">Avimelch's Pact with Avraham</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>The Fate of Mrs. Lot</b><br /></span> </span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />You can't say she wasn't warned: "Flee for your life, do not look behind you, and do not stand in the entire plain. Flee to the mountain, lest you perish" (Bereshit 19:17). Essentially, Sedom was going to be destroyed. "Brimstone and fire" was going to rain down onto it turning into "soil devastated by sulfur and salt" (Devarim 29:22). The local bitumen pits would ignite and everything nearby would be destroyed. Therefore, the angel advised them to flee to the mountains, the high lands. There they would be safe.<br /><br /></span> <st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Lot</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">'s wife fled but "she looked behind him, and she became a pillar of salt" (Bereshit 19:26). The angel warned her not turn around, she did and so faced instantaneous retribution. Or did she?<br /><br />The Hizkuni would give low marks for this translation. He offers an alternative interpretation. The words" "</span> </span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">ותהי ניצב מלח</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="LTR"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="LTR"></span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="LTR"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="LTR"></span>" do not refer to Mrs. Lot, but to the site that she saw. "It (i.e. the city) was being turning into a block of salt."<br /><br />This explanation is strange because:</span> </span><span style="color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The angel warned her not turn round and she did – surely she deserves punishment.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">It implies that she survived the destruction, but she does not appear again in the story.</span></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Indeed, it would be hard to argue that she survived, for </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Lot</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">'s daughters end up seducing their father. It is unlikely that they would have been able to do that had she been alive..<br /><br />Nevertheless, is the legend that she was instantaneously turned into a pillar of salt correct? Well, it appears that none of the medieval exegetes actually say that.<br /><br />The Rashbam explains that the reason the angel told them not to look back was because it would slow them down. You recall that Lot kept on delaying: "He tarried, so the men took hold of his hand and his wife's hand, and the hand of his two daughters, out of the Lord's pity for him, and they took him out and placed him outside the city" (ibid 16).</span> </span><span style="color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The angels had to physically remove </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Lot</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> from the city as he wasn't leaving. Even after that, he kept on delaying despite the fact that the angels were urging him to leave.<br /><br /></span> <st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Lot</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> wasted so much time, that by the time he fled, he no longer had a second despair. Any further delay, if they slowed down even an instant, they would be swept up and covered by the fire and brimstone and then by salt, just like everyone else.<br /><br />Therefore, when </span> <st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Lot</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">'s wife, who was already some distance behindLot, turned around, she gazed and witnessed the destruction that was taking place. After a few minutes of gazing, she decided to continue her climb, but by then it was too late. The exploding bitumen pits and the rising sulfur eventually caught up with her. Perhaps earth tremors even he caused her to stumble and fall.<br /><br />Her final fate therefore, was to become a pile of salt, just like everyone else in Sedom. However, it wasn't instantaneous – God rarely works like that.</span> </span><span style="color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">She's my Sister – Again!!</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span> </span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">For the second time, Avraham describes Sarah as his sister and for the second time, a foreign ruler, this time Avimelech, King of Gerar, takes Sarah to his harem (Bereshit 20:2).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Avraham seems to be compromising Sarah in order protect himself. First time round this action was an uncomfortable read for us, the fact that it occured again is additionally puzzling. There's obviously more going on than meets the eye.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">To help us get better insight into the events, we should note that Avraham deliberately chose to describe the relationship between himself and Sarah as that of brother and sister. This description is not coincidental.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">In the ancient world, when a girl's father was absent, the brother becomes responsible for finding a suitor for her (NB: it is striking how Lavan takes over Rivka's matrimonial negotiations from his father, Betuel – ibid 24:50-55).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">By describing her as his sister, rather than compromising her, Avraham automatically protects Sarah from anyone who desired her. Had Avraham admitted that he was her husband, he might have been killed and Sarah would have been taken. However, as her brother, there was another course of action for potential mates to take. They could legally approach Avraham and negotiate over her. Avraham could then have entered into endless and protacted negotiations, giving them time to plan their escape. At the same time, Avraham has a valid excuse for keeping Sarah out of sight.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Seen in this light, this was a good tactic designed in order to equally protect Sarah and Avraham.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Unfortunately, Avraham's plan became unstuck, when the totally unexpected happened. Pharaoh and Avimelech, monarchs who Avraham had no reason to suspect he would ever meet, wanted Sarah. With them there could be no drawn out negotiations. They lay down their price leaving Avraham with no choice but to accept it without delay.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Note, however, that this tactic actually succeeded for Yitzchak. He also claimed that Rivka was his sister. While Avimelech claims that someone might have taken her, no one actually did and Rivka remained under Yitzchak's protection (ibid 26:10).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Therefore, rather than putting Sarah into a compromising position, Avraham's was actually trying to protect her from unwanted advances. Unfortunately, his plan failed.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Yishmael the Impersonator</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span> </span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">We have seen previously how Hagar attempted to usurp Sarah and become Avraham’s wife, in an attempt for God to fulfill His promise to Avraham through her and her progeny. The attempt failed when Avraham told Sarah: “Here is your handmaid in your hand; do to her that which is proper in your eyes” (Bereshit 16:6). Hagar tried to stake her freedom by fleeing, but an angel told her to return to he mistress, to accept that she was only a servant.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Hagar accepted her fate and returned to Sarah, but nevertheless, Yishmael’s fate was not yet determined. Indeed, Avraham begs God: “If only Ishmael will live before You” (ibid 17:18). God accedes to this reques: “regarding Ishmael, I have heard you; behold I have blessed him” (ibid 20). Nevertheless, Avraham’s special destiny was only with the progeny of Sarah: “My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year” (ibid 20).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">It seems that Yishmael did not accept his fate. In this week’s parsha we see that Sarah saw a threat: “Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, metsachek” (ibid 21:9).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Rashi brings three alternative explanations to Yishmel’s behavior, all based on other appearances of the word: “metsachek”. Yishmael committed either murder, adultery and murder or all three (See Rashi on ibid).</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This explanation is difficult to understand. Could Yishmael be really doing any of theses activities in front of Yitschak and it only bother Sarah?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">A friend of mine, Yisrael Sapperstein, showed me that the Torah deliberately chooses the root: “Tshk” in explaining Yishmael’s offensive behavior. This root makes up Yitschak’s name. Yishmael was “metschek”, i.e. he was attempting to be Yitschak. He was claiming the inheritance for himself appointing himself the true Yitschak.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Under these circumstances we can understand Sarah’s fear that her son might be usurped. While Avraham, and possibly us as well, might find it hard to understand Sarah’s instruction to: “Drive out this handmaid and her son”, we can now understand her fear: “for the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son, with Isaac” (ibid 10).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">We can also now understand God’s agreement with Sarah: “whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her voice, for in Isaac will be called your seed” (ibid 12).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Yishmael was not only claiming the inheritance for himself, he saying that he was the true Yitschak. He had to be shown that his impersonation was unsuccessful that he remained outside of Avraham destiny.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">While Yishmael got the message, his descendants are yet to get it.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">It was Yitschak not Yshmael who was bound up on </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Mount</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Moriah</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> and it is only Yitschak who has inherited the blessings of Avraham.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Avimelch's Pact with Avraham</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span> </span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">We have another strange episode in this week's parsha.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Avraham is an old man of one hundred years old. He is landless and wandering all over </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Canaan</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. Suddenly, out of the blue, Avimelech, king of Pelishtim comes to him with his general Phichol, and says: "God is with you in all that you do.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a name="10479"></a></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Now, swear to me here by God, that you will not lie to me or to my son or to my grandson; according to the kindness that I have done with you, you shall do with me, and with the land wherein you have sojourned" (Bereshit 21:22-23).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Avimelech then proceeds to make a non-aggression pact with Avraham.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Why does Avimelech, a king with an army, want a non-aggression pact with Avraham, a nomad? What is he afraid of?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">We could answer by saying that Avimlech recognizes Avraham's greatness especially the fact that God is with him in all that he does, and therefore, its logical for him to want to be in his good books.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">However, if that is the case, then we must ask, why now? Avimelech already knew this. In fact, Avimelech and Avraham had already met some time earlier when Avimelech had taken Sarah his wife. Then God appeared to Avimelech in a dream saying that Avraham: "is a prophet" (ibid 20:7) and warning him not to hurt him.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Surely that would have been a more opportune moment for Avimelech to seek a pact with Avraham.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The answer lies in the timing. The episode begins with the words: "Now it came to pass at that time" (ibid 21:22). Something important had just happened. Avraham had just had son; he now had an heir. So what?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">For many years, this old man Avraham had been travelling the length and breadth of </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Canaan</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> preaching monotheism and that one day he would inherit this land.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Most people would not have taken him seriously; for he had no son. However, now he had that son. Suddenly Avraham is a threat to Avimelech. Avimelech knows first hand that God is with Avraham, but now that Avraham has finally had a son, he fears that Avraham's prophecy will come true. This means that his kingdom is not safe. Avraham's descendants will take it away from his. Therefore, Avimelech, comes with his top general and seeks a multi generational non-aggression pact.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">With this pact Avraham now has now outside confirmation that his whole life's mission will succeed, and he uses it to his advantage.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">First "he planted an eishel tree", signifying his ownership of the land, as well as planting something for his future descendants to enjoy. Then he "dwelt in the land of the Philistines for many days" and "called there in the name of the Lord, the everlasting God", (ibid 21:33-34) i.e. he spends the rest of his life travelling the land of the Pelishtim and preaching about God. But now he is able to use the pact with Avimelech, the Philistine king, as proof that even he now believes in God – shouldn't they?</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><br /></p></span></b>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-7973025393178892612009-10-30T11:25:00.000+02:002009-10-30T11:26:38.628+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat Lech Lecha</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">There are for Sedra Shoorts on Parshat Lech Lecha. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah</span></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;direction: ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia">The Cannanites Were Then in the Land<o:p></o:p></span></b></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;direction: ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia">Sarah, Wife of Avraham</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia"><br /> <span class="apple-style-span">The Repeated Promise</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#29303B;margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in; text-align:left;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in;direction: ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia">The Double Edge of Circumcision<br /> </span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia"> <br /> <o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.1in;text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt; direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">The Cannanites Were Then in the Land<br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br />God told Avraham to go "to the land that I will show you" (Bereshit 12:1). When he arrived there, the passuk tells us that "the Canaanites were then in the land" (ibid 6). The word "then" – "</span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B">אז</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>" in Hebrew, has troubled traditional Jewish commentaries for it implies that at the time Sefer Bereshit was written, the Canaanites were no longer in the land. Orthodox Jews believe that Sefer Bereshit was written by Moshe. That makes the word "then" problematic, for the Canaanites were the unchallenged rulers of <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> in Moshe's day.<br /><br />Rashi states that Avraham's time marked the beginning of the Cannanite conquest. The word "then" then implies that the Canannites were then taking control of the land, as opposed to today, Moshe's day, when the Cananites had supreme control.<br /><br />This interpretation is difficult to accept for it cannot be historically justified. The Canannites were firmly in control of <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> well before Avraham arrived on the scene.<br /><br />The Chizkuni therefore, explains that the word "then" was included for later generations, such as ours, so that we should understand that when Avraham first arrived in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, it was actually a strong holding of the Canaanites.<br /><br />Ibn Ezra however, has real trouble with world and hints, though he doesn't say it openly, that the word was added at a later date.<br /><br />I would like to add an alternative suggestion that will make the traditionalists more comfortable. But before I do I would like to ask, why God repeats His promise to Abraham numerous times throughout the parsha, God had already told Avraham that he would become a great nation in the land. Why does God then repeat "To your descendants I will give this land," (ibid 7)?<br /><br />If we recall, Avraham was not told specifically what land he was directed to go to and that he had never been to <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> before. It is possible that Avraham assumed that he would arrive in a sparsely populated region, a place that he could claim and inherit to his children.<br /><br />However, when he arrived in <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place> he was shocked. This land was already full of people, not just any people, but the Canaanites; a highly developed people with a distinct culture and strong army. Could this be the land where he was to become a great nation?<br /><br />Therefore Avraham may have assumed that he was at the wrong place. God immediately appears to him therefore and says: "To your descendants I will give this land". God explains that the promise is to be fulfilled in the future. Avraham's immediate reaction is to build an altar and show his trust in God. The word "then" therefore, expresses to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> four hundred years later, Avraham's shock and surprise.<br /><br />Moshe explains that they should not think that when Avraham arrived in the land it was unoccupied and that he was claiming it for them. No, even in Avraham's day, the land was fully occupied and controlled by <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place>.<br /><br />Therefore, the pesukim can be understood as follows: "Avram passed through the land, until the place of Shechem, until the plain of Moreh, and [found that] the Canaanites were [already] then [firmly entrenched] in the land. [In order to allay Avram's doubts] the Lord appeared to Avram, and He said, 'To your descendants I will give this land'. There [showing his faith and new understanding of God's promise] he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him" (ibid 6-7).<br /><br />Therefore, the word "then" need not be a post-Mosaic addition to the text, but merely a tool to teach us and ancient <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .25in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">That Avraham had problems understanding God's promise in light of the facts<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .25in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Why God repeated his promise to Avraham<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-align:left;text-indent:-.25in; line-height:18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .25in;vertical-align: top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;color:#29303B"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Why Avraham did not build the altar immediately upon arriving in the land.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Sarah, Wife of Avraham</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God had promised Avraham that he would have a son. However Sarah was never promised that she would have a son. Being sterile, she gave Hagar her maidservant to Avraham. She would no longer hold Avraham back and Avraham could now fulfill his destiny.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, when Hagar becomes pregnant, Sarah became furious with her husband, saying: “May my injustice be upon you! I gave my handmaid into your bosom, and she saw that she had become pregnant and I became unimportant in her eyes” (Bereshit 16:5).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Why was Sarah angry with Avraham? Wasn’t that why she gave her to him? What else did she expect would happen?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It seems that while Sarah accepted the need for Avraham to have a son, she did not feel that she needed replacing. It seems that she felt that Hagar was taking over her role? When Sarah gave Hagar to Avraham she said: “perhaps I will be built up from her” (ibid 2). What did she mean?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">There are two possible explanations: 1. Hagar’s pregnancy would affect Sarah psychologically, causing her to become pregnant (a common belief in the ancient world), 2. Hagar’s child would automatically be Sarah’s since being her maidservant, everything Hagar possessed, including her children, actually belonged to Sarah, her mistress.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Sarah never gave up hope of being part of Avraham’s future. She would either bear him a son, or she would be the legal mother of his son.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, Hagar did not see it that way. Sarah was now “unimportant in her eyes”. Hagar was claiming the destiny and partnership with Avraham, for herself. Sarah blames Avraham for this, for allowing Hagar to elevate herself to the status of wife.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Avraham accepted Sarah’s claim and tells her: “Here is your handmaid in your hand; do to her that which is proper in your eyes” (ibid 6), i.e. he tells her to ensure that Hagar understands her rightful place. He accepts only Sarah as his true wife.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Sarah does as he says. However, Hagar refuses to accept her fate and flees in order to secure her freedom. However, an angel reminds her who she really is. He calls her: “Hagar, Sarai's servant, where are you coming from?” Hagar realizes who she really is and responds: “From before Sarai my mistress I flee”(ibid 9).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Throughout the episode, the Torah describes Sarah as the “wife of Avram”, and Hagar as the: “maidservant of Sarai”. Indeed, the angel tells Hagar “Return to your mistress, and allow yourself to be afflicted under her hands” (ibid). Sarah is Avraham’s one and true wife.</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Possibly as a result of Hagar’s actions, Sarah did not adopt Yishmael. He remained a slave and had no part to play in the blessings of Avraham.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Repeated Promise</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">At the age of 70, Avraham Avinu begins a new chapter in his life.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God speaks to him for the first time and tells him to go to the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Canaan</st1:placename></st1:place> and that He will make him a great nation there.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">All this is fine, apart from the fact that this promise is repeated a further four times.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The first time: "Go forth from your land … to the land that I will show you.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a name="10243"></a><span class="apple-style-span">I will make you into a great nation…" (Bereshit 12:1-2)</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The second time: Avram passed through the land…and the Canaanites were then in the land.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a name="10248"></a><span class="apple-style-span">The Lord appeared to Avram, and He said, "To your seed I will give this land" (ibid 6-7).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The third time: "The Lord said to Avram after <st1:place st="on">Lot</st1:place> had parted from him, "Raise your eyes and see...</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a name="10276"></a><span class="apple-style-span">For all the land that you see I will give to you and to your seed to eternity" (13:14-15).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The fourth time: "On that day, the Lord formed a covenant with Avram, saying, "To your seed I have given this land" (ibid 15:18).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The fifth time: "I will give you and your seed after you the land of your sojournings, the entire <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Canaan</st1:placename></st1:place> for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them for a God" (ibid 17:8).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When the word of God was so precious, when God only spoke with Avraham five times over these 29 years, why did He give Avraham exactly the same message each time? Why was it necessary for God to repeat His message four times?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The answer can be found in a close reading of the text.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God had promised Avraham Canaan and that he would become a great nation there. However, when Avraham got there, he had a great shock: "The Canaanites were then in the land". This land was not an empty land waiting for a master. It was already fully inhabited by a strong and mighty nation.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This must have come to Avraham as a great surprise and must have given him doubts. Therefore, God immediately reassured him saying: "To your seed I will give this land". He adds that His promise was not going to be fulfilled immediately, but only in the future. Avraham "built an altar to the Lord" (ibid 12:8), showing that He trusted God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">That reaffirmation satisfied Avraham until he had another major crisis. Avraham had no children. His heir was <st1:place st="on">Lot</st1:place>, his nephew, the man he brought up as his own son. He must have been satisfied that God would maintain his promise through <st1:place st="on">Lot</st1:place>. However, <st1:place st="on">Lot</st1:place> left him. His successor was gone. Therefore, God again reassured Avraham: "All the land that you see I will give to you and to your seed to eternity". God then tells Avraham to: "walk in the land, to its length and to its breadth" signifying his ownership of it. Avraham again shows his faith as "he built an altar to the Lord" (ibid 13:17-18).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Yet some years later, Avraham experienced another crisis. He had defeated a military super-power and was now worried about revenge. God tells Avraham "Fear not, Avram; I am your Shield" (ibid 15:1). At this point Avraham asks what was the point of all this protection when "I am going childless" and "You have given me no seed, and behold, one of my household (Eliezer) will inherit me" (ibid 2-3).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God therefore tells him that Eliezer, the head of his household " will not inherit you, but the one who will spring from your innards-he will inherit you" (ibid 4). But He also goes when one step further than just making a promise; He makes a covenant with Avraham – the "Covenant Between the Pieces", committing Himself to this pact. Avraham once again "believed in the Lord" (ibid 6).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The final time that God makes the promise to Avraham is not the result of any fears that Avraham had expressed. Simply, the time had come for the promise to begin to be fulfilled. Sarah, Avraham's wife was about to conceive. However, before that could happen, Avraham had to have his name changed from Avram to Avraham, signifying his acceptance of his new role, and he had to enter the covenant of circumcision - the Brit Milla.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Just like Avraham had to wait for the promise to be fulfilled, so too his descendants, the Jewish people, had to wait. Just like Avraham had to have blood spilt before he could take possession of the land, so too the Jewish people have experienced blood shed. Nevertheless, God has been faithful and the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Israel</st1:placename></st1:place> is now our "everlasting possession" (ibid 8).</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; "> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt;direction:ltr; unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Double Edge of Circumcision<br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br />God made a double edged promise to Avraham if he would leave his homeland and "go to the land that I will show you". God would: "...make of you a great nation…and through you all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Bereshit 12:1-4).<br /><br />This promise was reaffirmed to Yitschak: "I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and will give to your seed all these lands; and by your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (ibid 26:4) and to Yaakov: "The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed…And through you and your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed (ibid 28:13-14).<br /><br />On the one hand, God promises Avraham exclusivity – he will become a great nation in his own distinct land. Yet on the other hand, he is also promised universality: he will become the father of humanity, that through him all humanity will attain blessing. By becoming a nation dedicated to God's values, Avraham's descendants would then positively influence the rest of humankind so that they too, would attain God's blessing.<br /><br />Furthermore, before accepting the Torah, the children of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> were required to accept both these national and universal roles: "you will be unto Me a kingdom of priests (universal), and a holy nation (national)" (Shemot 19:6).<br /><br />God also placed these roles as the centerpiece of the Brit Mila, He made with Avraham. Firstly, Avraham's name was changed from Avram to Avraham, signifying that "the father of a multitude of nations have I made you" (Bereshit 17:5). Secondly, "This is My covenant, which you … and your seed after you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised" (ibid 10). Through, circumcision, Avraham and his descendents became unique, physically different and set apart from all other nations, signifying His exclusive relationship with them.<br /><br />These two ideas still exist in the circumcision ceremony of Jewish males: The Circumcision and the Naming. The circumcision signifies the child's acceptance of the Jewish people's national role and the naming signifies his acceptance of the universal role.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt;direction:ltr; unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Perhaps this is why two blessings are recited at the ceremony: The first "</span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia;color:#29303B">על מצות מילה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>" – "on the act of circumcision" representing the national role, and "</span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">להכניסו בבריתו של אברהם אבינו</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>" – "on entering him into the covenant of Avraham, our forefather", representing the child's acceptance of his universal role.</span></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;line-height:14.25pt;direction:ltr; unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br />This is indeed the task of the Jewish people. May we merit to accomplish both these roles.</span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-56041830530347003452009-10-23T12:08:00.002+02:002009-10-23T12:12:48.018+02:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">Parshat Noach</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p>There are for Sedra Shoorts on Parshat Nooach. Scroll down for each Dvar Torah</o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; ">Why an ark?</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; ">The <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Tower</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Bavel</st1:placename></st1:placename></st1:place></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; ">The Tower and Language</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: bold; ">The Raven and the Dove</span></li></ul><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span"><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Why</st1:placename></st1:place> an ark?</span></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In order to save Noach and his family from the impending Flood, God told Noach: "Make for yourself an ark (</span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">tevah</span></em><span class="apple-style-span">) of gopher wood" (Bereshit 6:14).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Why an ark and not a boat or a ship? To help answer this question we must first find out what an ark is and how it differs to a boat or a ship.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The only other instance of an ark in the Bible, is the ark built by Yocheved for her son Moshe, when she placed him on the River Nile. (NB. We cannot compare this ark to the Ark of the Covenant as the Hebrew word for <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark</st1:place></st1:state> in that instance is</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">aron</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">not</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family:Georgia">tevah</span></em><span class="apple-style-span">).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The common feature between both Noach's and Moshe's arks was that they were intended for refuge and not travel. They were not built to get them from point A to point B, but only to give them protection from the waters. Therefore, neither ark had any sails, oars, rudders or any navigational system whatsoever.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In essence, Noach had no control of the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark.</st1:place></st1:state> The <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ark</st1:place></st1:state> went wherever the waters took it. "When the waters increased, they picked up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth" (ibid 17:7). "When the waters strengthened and increased upon the earth, the ark travelled along the face of the water" (ibid 18). "...The waters decreased and the ark rested...on the mountains of Ararat" (ibid 8:3-4).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Unlike the hero recorded in other traditons such as the Gilgamesh Flood epic, Noach could not steer the ark. He did not decide when to leave, in which direction to go and where to land the ark. He had an ark not a boat. Noach and humanity itself, was totally dependent on God for his security, safety and survival. By building an ark and not a boat, Noach submitted himself into God's care and trusted in His salvation.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Incidentally, Noach unlike the survivor from other flood traditions, is saved not because he was strong and wise, or because he was a descendent of a god and neither because of a fortunate chance. He is saved because: "Noach was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted; Noach walked with God" (ibid 6:9).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Once again, the Bible is introducing the revolutionary idea of Ethical monotheism in a pagan world that lives by the survival of the fittest.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Tower</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Bavel</st1:placename></st1:place></span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Towards the end of this week’s Torah reading, a brief episode, merely nine verses long, is recorded. The people of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Shinar</st1:country-region></st1:place>, also known as Bavel, build a tower whose “top is in the heavens” in order to “make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered upon the face of the entire earth" (Bereshit 11:4).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">It is difficult to decipher the precise crime of the ancient Babylonians. Jewish tradition brings many different opinions as to their intentions.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Modern scholarship has also enabled us to understand the issue a little better. The people of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Shinar</st1:country-region></st1:place> built many tall towers, called ziggurats. The remains of many are scattered over modern <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region></st1:place>. We will examine why they built them.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Psalmist writes: “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth He has given to the children of men” (Tehillim 115:16). Essentially, the ancient world took this idea literally. God dwelt in the heavens while humanity dwelt upon the earth. If man wanted communion with God, he had to go to the place where heaven and earth meet, i.e. the mountains. Up in the clouds, heaven and earth meet and man can be at one with God. This idea exists within Judaism; after all, the Torah was given on <st1:place st="on">Mount Sinai</st1:place>, with the cloud of God resting on the mountain after Moshe had ascended. So too, the Temple was built on Mount Moriah, the highest mountain in Jerusalem, Eliyahu Hanavi held his competition with Baal at the peak of Mount Carmel, and even the unofficial sanctuaries were known as the Bamot, the High Places.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This concept still has echoes in Christianity and Islam where churches and mosques are generally built on a village’s highest point.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However the people of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Shinar</st1:country-region></st1:place> had a problem. They had traveled “from the east” from the mountainous region of Ararat, and had “found a valley in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Shinar</st1:placename></st1:place>” (Bereshit 11:2). Their new home was a large, flat valley; there were no mountains and so, no place to have communion with God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">They solved the problem by building artificial mountains, i.e. very tall towers whose tops were in heaven, the ziggurats. Therefore, these towers, as the Sephorno writes, were actually temples. Hence, the name “Bavel”. “Bava” means “Gate” and “El” means “God”. The ancient Babylonians believed that “Bavel” was the gate of God, the place where heaven and earth connected.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah mocks this idea saying that Bavel was more a place of confusion than the gate of God. As the Sephorno explains, Bavel’s leaders exploited religion to control the masses and to persecute humankind. They aimed to maintain power for themselves (”make ourselves a name”) and to keep a tight control of the people (“lest we be scattered”). God will not allow such ideas to endure and so the ziggurats crumbled. True worship of God calls for the freedom of humanity, not its persecution and enslavement.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Tower and Language</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The nine pesukim that make up the story of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Tower</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Bavel</st1:placename></st1:place> are very cryptic and brief.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered upon the face of the entire earth" (Bereshit 11:4)</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Is there anything really wrong with this? So they want to build a tall tower. Are skyscrapers forbidden?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God then confuses their languages and scatters them. Did people really start speaking whole new languages overnight? What's really going on in this story?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">In last week's Sedra Short, we saw that God gave humanity a mission: to fill and conquer the earth, i.e. to develop the world and continue the Creation that God began.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The beginning of the story starts well. "They traveled from the east, and they found a valley in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Shinar</st1:placename></st1:place> and settled there" (ibid 1).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Noach's arc had rested in the Ararat mountain range. The people left that region and settled in a valley later known as <st1:city st="on">Babylon</st1:city> and nowadays, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is good, humanity are again beginning to fill the earth. But now they have a problem. Previously they were in mountains, with plenty of natural shelter and large boulders with which to build. Now, however, they are in a valley. Valleys have no natural shelters. Furthermore, the soil in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Babylon</st1:place></st1:city> is clay. There are no boulders with which to build. So what do they do?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">They invent bricks and building materials! "'Come, let us make bricks and fire them in a furnace'; so the bricks were to them for stones, and the clay was to them for mortar" (ibid 3). How did do they do this? They noticed that when the clay is heated it becomes hard. So they built furnaces and created artificial stones: bricks.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">All this again is wonderful. Humanity has made an incredible technological leap and is now conquering the earth as well as filling it.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However, they soon make a dreadful mistake: "Let us build ourselves a city (good) and a tower (also good)… lest we be scattered upon the face of the entire earth (very bad)" (ibid 4).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The leaders of this society are worried that the people are growing too quickly – if they are not careful, they will lose control over them. So what do they do? They try to stunt their development. They do not want to fill the earth. The tower acts as humanity's physical and technological prison.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God cannot allow this to succeed as it breaks the basic principles of Creation, so God acts. He "scattered them upon the face of the entire earth" (ibid 9), ensuring that humanity continued to fill the earth.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">He did this by confusing their language. What does this mean?</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">With a close reading of the Hebrew text of passuk 3, you will notice that the technological developments were accompanied by a language development.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Hebrew word "livna" (build) grew to "leven" (brick). The word "saraf" (fire) grew to "serefa" (furnace) and the word "hemar" (clay) grew to "homer" (mortar). The new inventions led to new words being invented, in the same manner that the inventions of the internet, cellular phones, flash drives etc has also led to new words being invented.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Now, even though I am fluent in English, I find it very hard to follow and join in a conversation with a group of information technologists, in pretty much the same way that I did not understand a word my physics teachers spoke.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">This is what happened to the people of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Babel</st1:place></st1:city>. With all the major technological breakthroughs, different groups found it hard to communicate with each other. As Rashi explains, it led to misunderstandings, frustration, violence and separation. The different groups could no longer live with each other and they were forced to part and establish new communities. Over time these new communities developed their own distinct languages.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">(Note: Rashi does not say that the people started speaking new languages overnight – only that they no longer understood each other – even though they understood the individual words being spoken, they could not understand the concept, e.g. if someone asked for a brick, his friend could not understand his need for a brick – surely he needed mortar. When the mortar was brought, his friend was frustrated and became violent.)</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah describes this process in one passuk: "the Lord confused the language of the entire earth, and from there the Lord scattered them upon the face of the entire earth", but as the Ibn Ezra explains, this process took hundreds of years.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The message of this story is now clear. Humans cannot be eternally enslaved. Its development and creativity cannot be stopped. God instilled the need to fill and conquer the earth into humanity's DNA. The <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Tower</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Bavel</st1:placename></st1:place> was built to stunt humanity's growth. It was doomed to fail.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B">The Raven and the Dove</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The Torah is full of doublets – stories that are told more than once from different perspectives. The episode of the Flood in this week's paraha, is undoubtedly two accounts of the same story, interwoven into one story. Let's see an example of this.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"The Lord saw that the evil of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that He had made man upon the earth, and He became grieved in His heart. The Lord said, 'I will blot out man, whom I created, from upon the face of the earth, from man to cattle to creeping thing, to the fowl of the heavens, for I regret that I made them.' But Noach found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (Bereshit 6:5-8).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Essentially, humanity, save one man, Noach, had become corrupted so God decided to destroy it. Let's now read the next few pesukim.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"These are the generations of Noach, Noah was a righteous man he was perfect in his generations; Noach walked with God…Now the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth became full of corrupion. God saw the earth, and behold it had become corrupted, for all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth. So God said to Noach, "The end of all flesh has come before Me…and behold I am destroying them from the earth'" (ibid 9-13).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Essentially, humanity, save one man, Noach, had become corrupted so God decided to destroy it!!</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Bible critics concluded that each account was written by a separate author, probably in the two separate ancient Israelite kingdoms. Each recorded different traditions of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s history. A redactor later, interwove the accounts. The critics call one account "J" as it uses the Hebrew "J" name of God, translated here as "The Lord". The second account they call "E" as it uses the Hebrew "E" name for God, translated here as "God". I will show why I am not convinced by their arguments.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The two accounts continue throughout the parsha, and conclude with Noach sending a bird to see if the waters had receded. In Account E, Noach "sent forth the raven. It went out, back and forth until the waters dried up off the earth" (Ibid 8:7).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">While the raven circled the ark, Noach understood that the earth was still flooded, and once the raven flew off, he understood that the waters had receded. Let's see what he does in the next pesukim.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">"He sent forth the dove from with him, to see whether the waters had abated from upon the surface of the earth. But the dove found no resting place for the sole of its foot; so it returned to him to the ark because there was water upon the entire surface of the earth; so he stretched forth his hand and took it, and he brought it to him to the ark. He waited again another seven days, and he again sent forth the dove from the ark. The dove returned to him at eventide, and behold it had plucked an olive leaf in its mouth; so Noah knew that the water had abated from upon the earth" (ibid 8-11).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">When the dove returned, Noach understood that the earth was still flooded. When the dove returned with the olive branch, Noach understood that the land was now visible.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Note, however, how the two accounts differ. In "J", God is grieved by humanity's plight and by His own actions. He cares for Noach. Noach cares about the dove and the dove cares about him. The "E" account, however, is cold and factual, devoid of relationship.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Also note how opposite the raven and the dove are. The raven is a predator, while the dove is an herbivore. The Raven is a symbol of aggression while the dove is a symbol of peace. The raven is black, while the dove is white.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">These two accounts could not have been written independently, they are two sides of the same coin.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">So why then are two accounts recorded? The ancient rabbis have explained that God's "J" name represents His trait of mercy while His "E" name represents His trait of justice.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Ancient <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> had a problem: If God was merciful, how could He punish them and if He was just, how could He ever be merciful? This interwoven story attempts to solve this problem. God's mercy and His justice work side by side, complementing each other. While God was acting with justice when He flooded the world, He was also acting with compassion. As every parent knows, trying to juggle mercy and justice with our children is a difficult task. Perhaps we should try to imitate God and act in both manner, at the same time.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-72050133542015775772009-10-15T22:46:00.003+02:002009-10-15T22:52:58.601+02:00<div>Parshat Bereshit</div><div><br /></div>Below are three Sedra Shorts on Parshat Bereshit:<div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: bold; font-family:Georgia;">The Pre-History of Bereshit</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: 800; font-family:Georgia;">The Good the Bad and the Woman</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-weight: 800; font-family:Georgia;">Shattering Ancient Creation Myths</span></li></ul><span style="font-family:Georgia;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:HEfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;color:#29303B;"><span style="font-family:Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: HEfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;color:#29303B;"> Scroll down for each Dvar Torah.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:black;">1. The Pre-History of Bereshit</span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:black;"><br /><br />Apart from the creation of the entire universe, this week's parsha contains around 1,000 years of human history in just 5 chapters. Even though we can learn a surprisingly large amount about the pre-ancient world from these few words, there are still many gaps. So what is the purpose of this potted history?<br /><br />The first idea that people jump to is the first words that Rashi wrote over a thousand years ago. He wrote that the purpose of this information is for the future generations to know that if ever the world claims that Israel are thieves, for they stole the land of Israel from another people (they would never do that, would they?!!), than Israel could respond that it is not true as God created the world and He gave Israel that land.<br /><br />There is no doubt that the Torah is rushing through pre-ancient history in order to get to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> and to show how they emerged, but it is also saying a lot more. It is saying why <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> emerged.<br /><br />When God created the universe, He gave humanity a three-fold mission:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right: 0in;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi: embedcolor:black;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth<o:p></o:p></span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right: 0in;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi: embedcolor:black;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">and conquer it,<o:p></o:p></span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right: 0in;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi: embedcolor:black;"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">and rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the sky and over all the beasts that tread upon the earth " (Bereshit 1:28).<o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:black;">Essentially, humanity was created in the image of God (ibid 27) and its purpose was to continue God's work. Just as God created life, so too humanity were to create life ("be fruitful and multiply), just as God created the earth, humanity are to continue developing it ("conquer" the earth, i.e. use its resources to further creation) and just as God mastered the animal kingdom, so too were humanity ("rule over…").<br /><br />The next four chapters show just how humanity attempted to, but yet ultimately failed, to fulfill this mission.<br /><br />To begin with: "Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, and she said, "I have acquired a man with the Lord." <a name="10024"></a>She bore again his brother Abel, and Abel was a shepherd of flocks, and Cain was a tiller of the soil" (ibid 4:1-2).<br /><br />Essentially, these pesukim show how Adam and Eve procreated, i.e. they were fruitful and multiplied and began filling the earth. So far, so good. And things get better! Abel was a shepherd, ruling over the animal kingdom, and Cain was a farmer, conquering the earth.<br /><br />Man is beginning to fulfill its destiny and its only fitting that "Cain brought of the fruit of the soil an offering to the Lord" and that <a name="10026"></a>Abel "brought of the firstborn of his flocks" (ibid 3-4). They are now showing thanks to God.<br /><br />However, things suddenly go rotten. Cain kills Abel, over a difference of religion (nothing new there either!!).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:black;">However, the world continued to develop. "Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch, and he was building a city" (ibid 17). Humanity is growing so fast that it now needs cities.<br /><br />"Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle" (ibid 20). A Bedouin way of life and the breeding of cattle has now developed.<br /><br />"His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who grasp a lyre and a flute" (ibid 21). We now have the development of music.<br /><br />"She too bore Tubal Cain, who sharpened all tools that cut copper and iron" (ibid 22). We now have the mining of metals and the invention of tools, as well as a lot more filling the earth.<br /><br />Things seem to be going well, but then Lemech takes the invention of metal and rather than using it for the benefit of Creation, he creates a weapon and kills: "I have slain a man by wounding (him) and a child by bruising (him) (ibid 23). Lemech is also the first person to have two wives – another break with the order of creation.<br /><br />There are still some positives along the way, however, humanity begins a descent that makes this parsha end on a depressing note: "The Lord said, "I will blot out man, whom I created, from upon the face of the earth, from man to cattle to creeping thing, to the fowl of the heavens, for I regret that I made them" (ibid 6:7).<br /><br />Nevertheless, there was still some hope as: "Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (ibid 8).<br /><br />As we will see next week, God starts again with Noach, but eventually decides that humanity needs some teachers, that eventually leads to the emergence of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. We will discuss this at a future date.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">2. The Good the Bad and the Woman</span></b></span><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">God created the world in six days and six times the Torah declares: “God saw that it was good”</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">However there was one thing that was not good. “The Lord God said, "It is not good that man is alone; I shall make him an Ezer Kenegdo” (Bereshit 2:18).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Unlike the animal kingdom, which was created “according to their kind” (ibid 1:21), humanity was created “male and female He created them” (ibid 27). Obviously there were male and female animals, nevertheless the Torah points that the creation of the two sexes was an integral part of humanity’s being.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Indeed, “God created humanity in His image; in the image of God He created it”. According to this understanding it is only when the man and the woman were together that they are in the image of God. Independently, they were not a complete image of God.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Without each other they are incomplete, but when they get together they become one and restore the image of God, or as the Torah puts it: “a man shall…cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (ibid 2:24).</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Therefore it was not good for the man to be alone.</span><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Being godly requires partnership, someone to share with and to care for. Choosing to be a hermit, alone and a celibate is not the way of the Torah. It is choosing to be an incomplete image of God.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:left;line-height: 14.25pt;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>3. Shattering Ancient Creation Myths<br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br />The ancient world had many myths about the creation of the world and the power of the gods. The children of <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> leaving <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>, were well versed in these myths. Therefore the the first few chapters of the Book of Bereshit deal with shattering those myths. The new nation had to discard those myths. Here's a few of many examples of Torah attempts to shatter those myths:<br /><br />Myth 1 - There is a pantheon of gods<br /><br /></span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ - בראשית א:א</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /><b>In the beginning God created the universe - Genesis 1:1 .</b><br /><br />There is no pantheon of gods, only one God.<br /><br />Myth 2 - The gods struggled with each other and with other powers in order to create the universe<br /><br /></span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים... - שם ג</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br />"<b>God said...</b>" (or "<b>God willed...</b>") - ibid 3<br /><br />There was no epic struggle between different gods or powers. God's creation was effortless and unopposed.<br /><br />Myth 3 - Nature is a force that needs to be worshipped so that it continues to generate its produce.<br /><br /></span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים תַּדְשֵׁא הָאָרֶץ דֶּשֶׁא עֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַע עֵץ פְּרִי עֹשֶׂה פְּרִי לְמִינו, אֲשֶׁר זַרְעו בוֹ עַל הָאָרֶץ וַיְהִי כֵן - שם י"א</span><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /><b>God said: 'Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.' And it was so.</b> - ibid 11<br /><br />God alone has bestowed the earth with generative powers. Nature reproduces soley on account of God's will. God, and not fertility cults, must be worshipped in order for this cycle to continue. On the same realm, the sun, another creation of God, was created on the fourth day after the vegetation, to shatter the myth that it is the source of life.<br /><br />Myth 4 - Ancient Kings are desecendents of gods and have dominion over other humans - note the name: Tutenkhamen (an Egyptian Pharaoh) - it means "in the image of Amun (an ancient Egyptian God".<br /><br /></span><span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="mso-ascii-font-family:Georgia;mso-hansi-font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ, בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ - שם כ"ז</span><span style=" ;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><br /><b>God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him</b> - ibid 27<br /><br />This radical concept taught that all humans are in the image of God - all are equal regardless of status. No human has the right to subdue or harm another - doing so would be an affront to God.<br /><br />Other shattered myths include:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:left;line-height: 14.25pt;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-.25in;text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">The Serpent - Partially because it sheds its skin, the ancients venerated it as a symbol of health and longevity; and its unblinking eys and its sudden venomous bite, gave it a demonic dread. Yet it was merely, "... the shrewdest of the wild creatures that the Lord had created" (ibid 3:i), and so undeserving of any worship.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-.25in;text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">Evil - believed to be a metaphysical primordial creation, existing on its own to destroy all the good the gods had done; was caused by human action. Calamity and hardship was not the result of a haphazard power that did evil in accordance with its own will, but due to the immoral actions of humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-.25in;text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:-.25in;text-align:left;line-height:18.0pt; vertical-align:top;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B;">Thereby, the purpose of the first few chapters of Sefer Bereshit are not necessarily to teach us the history of creation, but are in order to bring the world of ethical monotheism to a humanity steeped in unethical polytheism.</span></p></span></div>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-77379068245170921692009-09-25T10:09:00.001+03:002009-09-25T10:11:38.858+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Sefer Yonah</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The Quest for Mercy over Justice</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">On Yom Kippur, we read the Book of Jonah. This short book is a gripping struggle between the prophet and God over the extent of God's nature.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">To begin with God gives Yonah a mission: "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">Go to <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Nineveh</st1:city></st1:place>, the great city, and proclaim against it, for their evil has come before Me</span></span>" (Yonah 1:2).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Basically, Yonah has to persuade the people of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nineveh</st1:place></st1:city> to repent or they will be doomed, Yonah refuses to carry out his orders. He is against the mission. He wants <st1:city st="on">Nineveh</st1:city> to be doomed; and so, he flees to Tarshsih, the opposite direction of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nineveh</st1:place></st1:city>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">But God has not given up on Yonah. He sends him a message by casting a "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">mighty wind into the sea</span></span>" (ibid 4) so that the ship cannot get to Tarshish.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Yonah sees this storm but continues his fight with God by going "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">down to the ship's hold, lay down, and fell fast asleep</span>" (ibid 5). He</span> believes that the storm will not affect him if he is in a deep sleep.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">So God sends the captain to wake him (note how Yonah was in "yarketei hasefina" – the edge of the boat – a place he did not expect to be found). The captain tells Yonah to pray to his god, but he refuses. He will not surrender in his fight with God.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The sailors cast many lots to discover who is responsible for the storm. Each lot falls on Yonah – another clear message to him. Yet, Yonah still does not surrender. "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">Pick me up and cast me into the sea</span></span>" (ibid 12). Yonah would rather die than follow God's instructions. It is the ultimate rebellion.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Even once Yonah is released from the fish, he still does not obey his command. God has to command him again. At that point, Yonah surrenders begrudgingly. He does the minimum he needs to do: "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">In another forty days <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Nineveh</st1:city></st1:place> shall be overturned!</span>" (ibid 3:4). He doesn't even tell them to repent!!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">As soon as he has finished, he goes out of the city and "made himself a hut and sat under it in the shade until he would see what would happen in the city</span>" (ibid 4:5). He does not know that God has forgiven <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nineveh</st1:place></st1:city>. He wants to see if <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nineveh</st1:place></st1:city> will yet be destroyed. In fact, he is hoping it will be.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Why? What is Yonah's problem?</p> <table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100.0%;mso-cellspacing:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in 0in"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-irow:0;mso-yfti-firstrow:yes;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes"> <td valign="top" style="padding:3.75pt 0in 7.5pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Yonah himself answers this question, but in order to help us understand his answer, we need to look at another mission he once had.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">In Sefer Melachim, we see that Yonah is ministering to King Yeravam II of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Yeravam was an evil king who was successful. "He restored the boundary of Israel from the approach to Hamath until the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel which He spoke through his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet...For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel becoming increasingly severe, with neither stored property nor free property, and no one to help Israel. And the Lord did not speak to eradicate the name of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> from under the heavens, and He saved them through Jeroboam the son of Joash. (II Melachim 25-27)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Essentially, even though <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> was evil, God still had mercy on them. The result: they continued to be evil.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Yonah had already seen evil rewarded. He wasn't prepared to see it again. "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">This is the <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>reason I had hastened to flee to Tarshish, for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, with much kindness, and relenting of evil</span></span> (Yonahh 4:20).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Yonah knew that God was merciful and would therefore, forgive <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nineveh</st1:place></st1:city>. He did not want that to happen, because the people needed to learn their lesson. In Yonah's eyes, God is a sucker who always ends up forgiving. Yonah wants God to be just, to give <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nineveh</st1:place></st1:city> what they really deserve, and then people would be faithful to Him.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Notice that when Yonah lists God's traits, he misses out one: Emmet – truth or justice. In Yonah's eyes, God is not just. He is merciful. If God was just, He would give <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nineveh</st1:place></st1:city> what they deserve. Indeed, Yonah is "ben Amittai", a person of justice.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">In the end, Yonah gives up on God: "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">take now my soul from me, for my death is better than my life</span></span>" (ibid 3). Yonah would rather die than live in this unjust world.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">But God still had not given up on Yonah. He tries to teach Yonah him by sending him the kikayon, the fast growing plant that gave shade and relief from the heat. God then sends the worm that attacks the kikayon's roots, causing it to wither. God explains to Yonah that just as Yonah cared for the kikayon, that he did not work for and existed for just one day, how much more so does God care for <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Nineveh</st1:city></st1:place> a city of more than one hundred and twenty thousand people.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">In the fight between Justice and Mercy, God always wants mercy to succeed. We just have to show Him that we are worthy of that mercy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">That's Sefer Yonah's message for Yom Kippur. </p> </td> </tr></tbody></table>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-91658596373289355222009-09-10T23:18:00.002+03:002009-09-10T23:28:14.943+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The Truth That is <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">After all the trials and tribulations of last week's parsha, this week's parsha promises the Jewish people redemption:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">"<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;">The Lord, your God, will bring back your exiles, and He will have mercy upon you. He will once again gather you from all the nations, where the Lord, your God, had dispersed you" (Devarim 30:3)</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">As someone who was brought up as and remains an orthodox Jew, I was taught from a very young age that the Torah, the five Books of Moses, were the direct word of God, dictated by God to Moshe during the forty years that Israel through the wilderness.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">As a student of Bible, I can see many textual problems with this theology, some of which we have discussed in previous Sedra Shorts. These issues can be very challenging for the believing Jew.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Nevertheless, all those issues are resolved by the pesukim we have just quoted. The impossible has happened. After 2,000 years of forced exile, the Jewish people have returned to their land. Indeed, after only 61 years since the birth of the Jewish state, more Jews now live there than in any other country.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Together with this unparalleled event, Hebrew, a language that had remained dormant for an even longer period than the exile, has been reborn as a modern spoken language.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;">I cannot resolve all the textual analysis that casts doubt on the concept of Torat Moshe MiSinai, but I can say </span></span>that those words show that even though God sometimes "hides His face" (ibid 31:17), the Torah made an incredible and highly improbable prediction that has come true.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Nonetheless, many don't see God's hand in the return of the Jewish people to their land. Indeed, much of this return is due to the hard work of many individuals.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This issue can be resolved by another passuk in this week's parsha.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">God tells Moshe that he will not cross over the <st1:country-region st="on">Jordan</st1:country-region> into <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place>. Yehoshua will take over from him and lead the people into the Promised Land:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;">"The Lord, your God He will cross before you; He will destroy these nations from before you so that you will possess them. Joshua he will cross before you" (31:3)</span></span>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The passuk begins by saying that God will cross over into the land before <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> yet ends with the fact that Yehoshua will actually be doing that..</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">There is no contradiction here. Yehoshua was God's agent on earth. The people did not see a presence of God fighting for them. They saw Yehoshua. Yet, God was there. It was for the people to see that Yehoshua's success came because God was with him. In the Bible, God doing something and people doing something are almost always he same thing; because people are God's agents on earth.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">So too, the individuals who made (and still make) a superhuman effort to help bring home Jews from the four corners of the earth can be seen as being the agents of God. That does not mean that they do not deserve the credit for their efforts, but it does mean, that if we look carefully at the workings of the world, we can see God's hand in action.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Nitzavim entitled "Not In Heaven</span>" appears at <a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/parshat-nitzavim-not-in-heaven-this.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/parshat-nitzavim-not-in-heaven-this.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat VaYelech entitled "The Lantern Shines On</span>" appears at <a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/10/parshat-vayelech-lantern-shines-on.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/10/parshat-vayelech-lantern-shines-on.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#29303B">Another Sedra Short on Parshat Nitsavim-VaYelech, entitled: "Alone in a Crowd" appears at </span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/09/parshat-nitsavim-vayelech-alone-in.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/09/parshat-nitsavim-vayelech-alone-in.html</a></p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:#29303B;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:HE">Another Sedra Short on Parshat Nitsavim-VaYelech entiled: "The Hidden" appears at <a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/09/parshat-nitzavim-vayelech-this-weeks.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: none;">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/09/parshat-nitzavim-vayelech-this-weeks.html</span></span></a></span><p></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-25332189582658967842009-09-03T23:08:00.001+03:002009-09-03T23:10:21.160+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Ki Tavo</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Feeding the Dead</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The beginning of this week's parsha deals with the bringing of the Bikkurim, the first fruits, to the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The Bikkurim were holy products and like all sacrifices, they would be illegible if they became defiled. Therefore, the Israelite farmer who brought the Bikkurim, had to make a declaration that the fruits were acceptable.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Part of the statement that he had to make included: "<span class="coversetext"><span style="color:black">I did not eat any of it [second tithe] while in my mourning, nor did I consume any of it while unclean; neither did I not give of it to the dead. I obeyed the Lord, my God</span></span>" (Devarim 26:14).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Most of the statement makes sense, but it is hard to understand the concept of not giving of it to the dead.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Modern scholars argue that this practice was a throwback from <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>'s sojourn in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s religion was obsessed with death. Kings and important officials spent their entire lives preparing for their death. They built splendid tombs that contained all that they would need in their after-life, including their slaves and wealth. They also provided with food.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The ancient world believed that the living could assist the spirits of the dead on their journey if they provided them with food. Therefore, it is claimed that the Israelites would make holes in tombs and would regularly lower food down into them. They would then re-use the food later.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This food is defiled and even though it amy be consumed, it is illegible for holy use.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Some modern scholars even claim that these foods were used as sacrifices to the dead.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">However, Judaism vehemently opposes the cult of the dead. Indeed, the dead are considered to be defiled and as we saw in the declaration, even a mourner's food is ineligible for God. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Therefore, the classical Jewish commentators, such as Rashi and Sephorno, argue that this produce was used in the burial of the dead, perhaps to provide clothing for the dead or as wreath on a coffin.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Judaism is a religion of life – and sees no glory in death. Death is the height of defilement. Whilst there are times that we must sacrifice ourselves for a greater cause, these occasions are few and far between. We do not train our children to martyr themselves nor do we promise them glorious rewards for giving up their lives. On the contrary, we do our outmost to protect them and ensure that they survive.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">We believe in life. This is our strength and this is why the Jewish people still live.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Ki Tavo entiled: "The <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Mountain</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Curse</st1:placename></st1:place></span>", appears at</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"> </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/parshat-ki-tavo-mountain-of-curse-moshe.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/parshat-ki-tavo-mountain-of-curse-moshe.html</a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-size: 13px; ">Another Sedra Short on Parshat Ki Tavo entiled: "The Return to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>", appears at<a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ki-tavo-return-to-egypt-as-well.html"><span style="color:#473624">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ki-tavo-return-to-egypt-as-well.html</span></a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">A further Sedra Short on Parshat Ki Tavo entiled: "The Tochecha", appears at</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/09/parshat-ki-tavo-tochecha-these-are.html"><span style="color:#473624">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/09/parshat-ki-tavo-tochecha-these-are.html</span></a>.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-3369189531648640352009-08-27T22:42:00.002+03:002009-08-27T22:45:44.427+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Ki Tetzeh</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Defending the Indefensible </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This week's parsha has many actions that are forbidden on moral grounds. We have discussed two of them in previous Sedra Shorts (see The Beautiful captive Woman and The Stubborn and Rebellious Son, below).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This week I would like to discuss the following three cases: </p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi: embed">If a man has two sons from two different wives, he may not give the younger one the first-born rights, even though he may be the first-born of the favorite wife.</li></ul> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi: embed">Girls may not be used in religious prostitution ceremonies (kedesha).</li></ul> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi: embed">A person should marry wife of a deceased brother if she had no children (yibum).</li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">I bring these three cases because we see Biblical heroes of the Jewish people actually doing these things.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Firstly, Yaakov had two main wives: Rachel and Leah. He loved Rachel while Leah was hated (See Bereshit 29:31). Leah was the first to give birth (Reuven). Rachel eventually had Yoseph. So while Yoseph was the first-born for Rachel, Reuven was Yaakov's first born.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Yet, Reuven did not receive the double portion of tribes that he should have inherited. Shortly before his death, Yaakov took Yoseph's two sons, Ephraim and Menashe, and said: "they are my sons" (ibid 48:8). Essentially, Yoseph became two tribes. He was given the rights of the first born and Reuven was disinherited.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">A number of years earlier, we see Yehuda, the father of the tribe that brought <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> its kings, violating the rules of yibum. Two of his sons, Er and Onan died childless. According to the laws of yibum, Tamar, their wife, should have married his third son, Shela. However, Yehuda refused this relationship (See ibid 38:11)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This led to a violation of the third law. In order to induce a child, Tamar dressed herself up as holy prostitute and tempted Yehuda to be intimate with her (ibid 21).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">How do we handle these violations of basic moral laws by our heroes? The same way the Bible does.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The Torah does not shy away from difficult decisions our ancestors took – whether it was the ones we just mentioned or Avraham calling Sarah his sister to protect himself, or whether it is King David's adultery and his committing of murder.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">We accept that our heroes were human with human failings who sometimes made major mistakes. They were not angels or demi-gods who were flawless. Indeed they achieved greatness despite their flaws – that is what makes them great.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>This message is a comforting message for us. We all are human. We all have weaknesses. We all make mistakes. Despite this, we can overcome this and we can achieve greatness.</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; white-space: pre; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">Ki Tetseh<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; white-space: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"> entitled: "The Beautiful Captive Woman</span>" appears at</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"> </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/parshat-ki-tetsei-beautiful-captive.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/parshat-ki-tetsei-beautiful-captive.html</a>.</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-size: 13px; ">Another Sedra Short on Parshat <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; white-space: pre; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">Ki Tetseh <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; white-space: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); ">entitled: "The Stubborn and Rebellious Son" appears at<a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ki-tetseh-stubborn-and.html"><span style="color:#716E6C">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ki-tetseh-stubborn-and.html</span></a>.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><span class="apple-style-span">A further Sedra Short on Parshat <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; white-space: pre; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; ">Ki Tetseh <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; white-space: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(41, 48, 59); "><span class="apple-style-span">entitled: "The Impaled Criminal" appears at</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/parshat-ki-tetseh-impaled-criminal-in.html"><span style="color:#716E6C">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/parshat-ki-tetseh-impaled-criminal-in.html</span></a>.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p> </o:p></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-81202999215351704792009-08-21T11:59:00.003+03:002009-08-21T12:12:27.216+03:00Parshat Shoftim<br /><br />The King: A Biblical Argument<br /><br />We have discussed in previous Sedra Shorts whether having a king, as brought in this week’s parsha, is an ideal (see below). This week we will see that this discussion was an ancient one, going as far back as the prophets.<br /><br />Sefer Shoftm (Judges) teaches about the biblical era before Israel was governed by kings. While a quick survey of that period seems to suggest that it was dark and difficult, a more close reading will show that that the long periods of peace and quiet far outnumbered those of despair. The author of Sefer Shoftim does not dwell on the peaceful periods as it does not fit in with his aims. Yet, Israel’s tranquil lifestyle during the rule of the Judges, as recounted in the Book of Ruth, highlights the quiet of the period.<br /><br />What is interesting is that throughout the book, Sefer Shoftim follows a cycle. Israel sins. This leads to a nation conquering them. This leads to Israel repenting which in turn leads to a judge (another name for a leader) saving them (See Shoftim 2:11-19). The cycle then begins again.<br /><br />The prophet suggests that Israel’s difficulties and success has nothing to do with the lack of a strong leader, i.e., a king. It is all down to their loyalty to God. If Israel was loyal to God, the people flourished, however, if they were unfaithful, they suffered. Indeed, that is the main message of Sefer Shoftim.<br /><br />However, Sefer Shoftim contains five chapters at the end of the book which give a different picture. There the statement: “It came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, each man did what was right in his own eyes”, appears a number of times. The author is stressing that these terrible events occurred simply because Israel had no king and the people were therefore, lawless. The suggestion is clear: Israel needs a king.<br /><br />How do we reconcile this contradiction within one book?<br /><br />The final chapters of Sefer Shoftim do not fit in with the general style of the book. The first 16 chapters all focus on the different judges who ruled Israel in the pre-monarchial era. The last five chapters do not fit in with this style. They are simply two terrible stories that occurred in that time period.<br /><br />Many modern scholars suggest that these two sections were written by different authors, but that since they dealt with the same era they were put together into one book, the final chapters acting as an appendix to the main part.<br /><br />On the same line, we can suggest that the Rabbis combined these books to act as a debate into the benefits and the drawbacks of the monarchy. The first section arguing that Israel does not need a king; all it needs is to be loyal to God. While the second part argues that Israel needs a king for without a strong leader, everyone will do what is fitting in their eyes, leading to unfaithfulness to God.<br /><br />Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Shoftim entiled: "Why Not a King Now?" appears at <a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/parshat-shoftim-why-not-king-now-this.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/09/parshat-shoftim-why-not-king-now-this.html</a>.<br /><br />Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Shoftim entiled: "The King and Sha'ul" appears at <a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-shoftim-king-and-shaul-sefer.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-shoftim-king-and-shaul-sefer.html</a>.<br /><br />Another Sedra Short on Parshat Shoftim entiled: "The King" appears at <a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/parshat-shoftim-king-this-weeks-parsha.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/parshat-shoftim-king-this-weeks-parsha.html</a>.Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-25845856609182545602009-08-14T11:55:00.001+03:002009-08-14T11:57:02.340+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Re'ay</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>The Power of the Curse</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Moshe begins this week's parsha by telling <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> that they have<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>choice: "a blessing or a curse". "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">You shall place those blessing upon <st1:placetype st="on">Mount</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Gerizim</st1:placename>, and those cursing upon <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Mount</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Eval</st1:placename></st1:place></span></span>" (Devarim 11:29).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This ceremony is not performed until <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> crosses over the <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Jordan</st1:country-region></st1:place>, as described in Yehoshua chapter 8.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The concept of a curse is strange concept for the modern world. However, the ancient world believed that the spoken word took on a power of its own, and curses therefore, could wreak havoc.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>We can see this concept from a strange story that appears towards the end of Sefer Shoftim. A young man from the Ephraim hill country, called Michayahu, stole eleven hundred silver pieces from his mother. His mother, not knowing that her son was the thief, put a curse on him. This shocks him into confession: "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">Behold the silver is with me, I took it (Shoftim 17:2)."</span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">His mother immediately responds: "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">Blessed be my son to the Lord."</span></span> Learning this as a child, I wasn't sure what to make of this response. However, if we put ourselves into her mindset, we can understand that the power of her curse frightened her now that she realized that it would be utilized against her son. She could not cancel the curse as it already existed. Her only option was to counteract it, by immediately blessing him.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>This mindset can also help us understand the son. He had no problem stealing, not even from his own mother, but it was the fear of the curse that made him retract.</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The story continues. Michayahu' s mother decides to dedicate the money to God and to build a shrine to him: "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">I have dedicated the silver before the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten one</span></span>" (ibid 3).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Once again, they were still frightened of the curse and so they dedicate it to God in order to counteract it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">He then employs a wandering Levite to act as his priest, and his house becomes a place of worship to the local populace. "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">Micah said, 'Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because I had a Levite as my priest (ibid 13).'</span></span>"</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Micha's success makes him think that the curse had been lifted. However, note that the author has changed his name from Michayahu to Micha. The removal of God's name is a stunning criticism by the author…and the story ends with Micha being betrayed.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">While we must be careful with our words, God's law is not a system of superstition and incantation, it is our actions that count, and no amount of prayer can counteract our lot if we are morally repugnant. Moshe teaches us that we have to chosse blessing, not a prayer, but a way of life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Re'ay entiled: " The Empty-Handed Slave</span>" appears at </span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-reay-empty-handed-slave-torah.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-reay-empty-handed-slave-torah.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(41, 48, 59); font-size: 13px; ">Another Sedra Short on Parshat Re'ay entiled: " Doing the What Seems Right " appears at<a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-reay-doing-what-seem-right.html"><span style="color:#956839">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-reay-doing-what-seem-right.html</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">A further Sedra Short on Parshat Ekev entiled: " The Place " appears at<a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/parshat-reei-place-in-this-weeks.html"><span style="color:#473624">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/parshat-reei-place-in-this-weeks.html</span></a></span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-9545447159246275722009-08-06T23:46:00.002+03:002009-08-06T23:49:10.999+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Ekev</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">My Strength and the Might of My Hand</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">In this week's parsha, Moshe continues his penultimate address to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> before his death. He encourages <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> not to be daunted by the difficult task of conquest. The God that brought them out of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">The Lord, your God, will deliver them to you, and He will confound them with great confusion, until they are destroyed</span>"</span> (Devarim 7:23).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Moshe then warns <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> not to think that all their success is due to their strength and bravery.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">We often consider that the ancient world was a time of miracles – that our ancestors had undeniable evidence to God's existence. Moshe's words, however, show that the ancient world was not that much different to the world we live in today.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>We will examine this issue by examining an example of when God "confused" the enemy, the same verb that that Moshe used to encourage <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> not be frightened of its enemies.</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Shamgar an early Israelite leader, fought his enemy with ox-goads, an agricultural tool (Shoftim 3:31). In that era, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> did not have a proper army or weaponry and had to rely on the people, generally farmers, to volunteer for the cause. When they came they had to bing their own weapons, i.e. their work tools. Nevertheless, he succeeded. However, one generation later, when Sisera persecuted <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> with the 900 war-chariots he had at his disposal, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> folded. "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">Caravans ceased, and travelers walked on crooked paths</span></span>" (ibid 5:6). The country could not defend itself against mighty onslaught.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">So Devorah, the new judge, developed a cunning plan. She tells Barak to "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">Go and draw towards <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Mount</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Tabor</st1:placename></st1:place>, and take with you ten thousand men</span>"</span> (ibid 4:6). She aimed to neutralize Sisera's weapons advantage by fighting in the mountains. Sisera's chariots would be useless in the mountainous region, making the fight more even. She also moved other troops further south to stop Canaanite reinforcements from reaching Sisera (see ibid 5:19).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Everything was set for an even fight. But when the moment of battle came: "T<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">he Lord confused Sisera and all the chariots and all of the camp with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot, and fled on foot" (ibid 4:15).</span></span> Chapter 4 of Shoftim says nothing else about the actual battle.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">So what was the point of all the preparations that Devorah made? If God was simply going to "confuse" the enemy with the edge of sword why did they have to bother?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">If we examine the story with a more careful eye, particularly the victory song (Chapter 5) that Devorah and Barak saing, we can find out what God "confusing" the actual enemy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Devorah deliberately chose <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Mount</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Tavor</st1:placename></st1:place> as the only way for Sisera to get to her was through Nachal (wadi) Kishon. Once Sisrea got there, it rained. "Lord… when You marched out … the earth trembled, the heavens also dripped; also the clouds dripped water.<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black"> The mountains melted</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:black">…</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">From heaven they fought; the stars from their courses fought against Sisera</span>. The wadi Kishon swept them away</span>"<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:black"> </span></span>(ibid 5:4-20).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Wadi Kishon became a flash flood sweeping many enemy soldiers away. Those that survived found their war-chariots immobilized by the wet soil. Indeed Sisera was forced to flee on foot – his horse and chariot were useless.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This was God "confusing" the enemy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Those warriors had a choice in deciphering their victory. They could have said that Devorah had a great tactical plan, that she chose the right season to strike and that Sisera fell into her trap – perhaps she also had a bit of luck. "My power and my strength has brought us this valor" (Devarim 11:18).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Alternatively, they could have said that Devorah's planning and their struggle went hand in hand with God's help. They saw God's role in the victory in the way things panned out. They had to choose to see the miracle.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Interestingly, there was no third group who believed that God does everything – that we can rely on Him and that we do not have to do anything.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The ancient world was only a world of miracles and Godliness to those who chose to see it that way. Our world is like that too. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Ekev entiled: "The Mountainous Country</span>" appears at</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"> </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-ekev-mountainous-country-in.html" style="text-decoration: none;">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-ekev-mountainous-country-in.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Another <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Sedra Short on Parshat Ekev entiled: "The Two Arks" appears at</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B"> </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ekev-two-arks-when-god.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ekev-two-arks-when-god.html</a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"><br /><br /><span class="apple-style-span">A further Sedra Short on Parshat Ekev entiled: "Shema 1 and Shema 2" appears at</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/parshat-ekev-shema-1-and-shema-2-in.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/parshat-ekev-shema-1-and-shema-2-in.html</a></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-70722627577024139192009-07-23T21:52:00.000+03:002009-07-23T21:53:51.349+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Devarim</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>A Re-reading of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Devarim is always the Shabbat before Tisha Be'Av, the anniversary of the destruction of our <st1:city st="on">Temple</st1:city> and <st1:city st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>, the most horrific day in the Jewish calendar.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">We have noted in a previous Sedra Short the connection between the parsha and Tisha Be'Av (see below from 2006).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This week I would to like to offer a re-reading of the story of Kamtza and bar Kamtza, the story behind the destruction of the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>, as it appears in Gittin . </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">It begins with Rabbi Yochanan stating that <st1:city st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city> was destroyed because of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. Essentially a wealthy man wants to invite his good friend Kamtza to a feast, but a mix up occurs and his enemy Bar Kamtza comes instead. The man is furious and ejects Bar Kamtza from the feast, despite long pleas, in which Bar Kamtza offers to pay for the whole feast but not suffer the humiliation of being evicted. Bar Kamtza decides that since the rabbis who attended the feast did not intervene to save him from embarrassment, he would slander the Jews to the Romans. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Bar Kamtza persuades Caesar to send a sacrifice to the <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Temple</st1:city></st1:place> to test the loyalty of the Jews. He then makes a minor blemish on the animal, in order to make it unfit for sacrifice. The rabbis at the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city> debate what they should do, after all the animal came from Caesar. Some rabbis suggested that they should make the sacrifice regardless, but Rabbi ben Zecharia Avkulos objected as people would then think that it was permitted to sacrifice animals with blemishes. It was suggested that Bar Kamtza be executed so that he could not report back to Caesar. Again Rabi Zecharia ben Avkolus objected as people would say that someone who offers a blemished sacrifice is liable for execution.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The animal was therefore not sacrificed and Caesar considered this a rebellion and sent his troops to destroy the city. The story ends with Rabbi Yochanan blaming the scrupulousness of Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkolus for destroying the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">There are two questions we must ask:</p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi: embed">Is this story actually true? Were there really two men with similar names with one being a close friend and the other an enemy of a wealthy man?</li></ul> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi: embed">Rabbi Yochanan first blames Kamtza and Bar Kamtza and then at the end of the story blames Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkolus. Whose fault was it really?</li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Firstly, I think it is likely that the story is a metaphor for the state of the Jewish people at the time. Two people, Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, were pretty much the same. The only difference between them was the "Bar" – a minor difference. Yet, that very small difference, possibly in ideology, was enough for him to be hated by the other side. And despite the fact that it was only a minor difference, there could be no rapprochement whatsoever.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The Jews of Judea had so much in common with each other. Yet the minor differences between the groups became positions of such stiff hatred. They could only focus on what was different and could not see that they were one people with the same goals.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Secondly, we should note that both course of actions suggested to Rabbi Yochanan Ben Avkilus were permitted as it was an exreme situation. He was only concerned as to what people might think and was therefore, machmir, strict.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Rabbi Yochanan, therefore, is making a stunning indictment of the rabbis of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Second</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Temple</st1:placetype></st1:place>. They were so worried about what people might think regarding ritual that they were overtly strict in keeping to the letter of the law when it came to Caesar's sacrifice. However, when it came to the feelings of Bar Kamtza, they were silent, and were unconcerned as to what others might think. Rabbi Yochanan is saying that the rabbis were not careful when it came to social laws, "Bein Adam le'Havero", yet overtly strict when it came to ritual laws, "bein Adam laMakom". It should have been the other way around.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Unfortunately, this story sounds too familiar. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Devarim, entitled: "A 38 Year Perspective</span>" appears at </span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-devarim-38-year-perspective-in.html" style="text-decoration: none;">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-devarim-38-year-perspective-in.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Another Sedra Short on Parshat Devarim, entitled: " Fighting in the Mountains" appears at </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/07/parshat-devarim-fighting-in-mountains.html" style="text-decoration: none;">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/07/parshat-devarim-fighting-in-mountains.html</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia;color:#29303B"> <span class="apple-style-span">A further Sedra Short on Parshat Devarim, entitled: "Devarim, Chazon and Tisha Be'Av" appears </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/07/parshat-devarim-devarim-chazon-and.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/07/parshat-devarim-devarim-chazon-and.html</a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">.</span></span></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-45609306302571996582009-07-17T00:24:00.001+03:002009-07-17T00:25:49.519+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Mattot-Massei</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The Blood Avenger and Cities of Refuge</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Moshe is commanded by God to set aside six cities of refuge. "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">These cities shall serve you as a refuge from an avenger, so that the murderer shall not die until he stands in judgment before the congregation</span></span>" (Bemidbar 35:12).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">These two concepts, that of the avenger and that of the city of refuge, are strange concepts for us to understand. What are they about?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">In order to understand these concepts we must try to understand ancient near eastern culture.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Family honor is still today, a very important concept. In the ancient world it was everything. To such an extent that if someone was killed, it was incumbent on a family member to avenge that person's death by killing the killer – an honor killing.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">This phenomenon still exists in some eastern cultures. It was the norm in ancient <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. However, the Torah did not approve of this form of ex-judicial justice. It believed that only the courts could decide to execute someone. However, it could not forbid it as the phenomenon was so engrained in the society. So the Torah permitted it, but put some limitations onto it that would essentially, nullify it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The first thing it did was to say: "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">the murderer shall not die until he stands in judgment before the congregation</span>" (ibid). When a person killed, street justice could not be performed. The person must be taken to a court. The court will decide if it was murder or accidental killing.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">If it was murder then "the murderer shall be put to death</span></span>" (ibid 18). However, if it was accidental killing, then the killer should flee to a city of refuge. There, he has protection from the blood avenger. If the killer does not flee, or does not flee quickly enough, then the avenger is given the legal right to take his vengeance. Once however, the killer reaches the city of refuge, the avenger must leave him be.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>The Torah is therefore, permitting blood vengeance, but puts it into the judicial realm and then tries to avoid it by putting a limitation on it that makes it unworkable. This is a similar method that the Torah uses to prevent honor killings with the family (see <a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ki-tetseh-stubborn-and.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/parshat-ki-tetseh-stubborn-and.html</a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Arial; color:black">).</span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">In this manner the Torah tries to wean <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> away from this ugly phenomenon.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Massei, entitled: "Zelofchad's Daughters Part 2</span> " appears a at </span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-massei-zelofchads-daughters.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-massei-zelofchads-daughters.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Mattot, entitled: "The Combatant's Tax " appears a at </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/07/parhat-mattot-combatants-tax-after-war.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/07/parhat-mattot-combatants-tax-after-war.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Another Sedra Short on Parshat Mattot- Massei, entitled: " Moshe and the <st1:place st="on">Transjordan</st1:place></span>" appears at </span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/07/parshat-mattot-massei-moshe-and.html" style="text-decoration: none;">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/07/parshat-mattot-massei-moshe-and.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Another Sedra Short on Parshat Massei, entitled: "Tribe and Tribalism" appears at </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/07/parshat-matot-massei-tribe-and.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/07/parshat-matot-massei-tribe-and.html</a></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18451907.post-37306713879441251562009-07-09T21:52:00.000+03:002009-07-09T21:53:29.777+03:00<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Parshat Pinchas</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">The Rise of Yehoshua</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>In this week's parsha, we see two leaders emerge. First there is Pinchas who, despite showing decisive political leadership when he killed Zimri, is appointed a priest and eventually becomes the Kohen Gadol.</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Later on the parsha, Moshe is informed that his death is near. "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">Go up to this <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">mount</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Avarim</st1:placename></st1:place> and look at the land</span>…when you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people</span>" (Bemidbar 27:12-13).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Moshe accepts God's decree but pleads with him to appoint a successor "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd</span></span>" (ibid 17). God tells him to appoint Yehoshua "…<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">lay your hand upon him</span>…before the entire congregation</span>…You shall bestow some of your majesty upon him so that all the congregation of the children of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place> will take heed" (ibid 18:20)<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:black">.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>Sefer Yehoshua shows how Moshe's majesty was bestowed up Yehoshua. The book begins by describing Moshe as "the servant of Lord" and Yehoshua as "Moshe's attendant" (Yehoshua 1:1). Yet by the time of his death, Yehoshua receives the epitaph "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">the servant of the Lord</span>" (ibid 24:29).</span> How did his occur?</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">When Moshe died, the whole people looked upon Yehoshua to see whether he could fill the leadership void.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">He begins by asserting his authority on the people. He reminds the eastern tribes of Reuven, Gad and half-Menashe of their commitment to lead the military campaign in <st1:place st="on">Canaan</st1:place>. They respond: "All that you have commanded us we shall do and wherever you send us we shall go. Just as we obeyed Moses in everything, so shall we obey you. Only that the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses" (ibid 1:16-17).</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><o:p>However, he was aware that a strong display of leadership was not enough. The people needed a sign that he was indeed the true heir of Moshe. Therefore, God tells him: "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black">This day I will begin to make you great in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so will I be with you</span></span>" (ibid 3:7).</o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Moshe's greatest miracle was the splitting of the <st1:place st="on">Red Sea</st1:place>. God therefore, does a similar miracle for Yehoshua. To cross the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Jordan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the people do not need a miracle. They could build a bridge or they could choose a narrow crossing and wade across. They had no enemy chasing them and there were crossing points at the river.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Yet God wanted to show the people that Moshe's majesty had indeed been bestowed upon Yehoshua – so He split the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Jordan</st1:place></st1:country-region> for him.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">Of course, the splitting of sea is a far greater miracle than the splitting of a river, as Yehoshua is not Moshe, but he is clearly his successor, he does have his majesty.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Pinchas, entitled: " It was After the Plague</span>” appears at </span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/07/parshat-pinchas-it-was-after-plague.html">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/07/parshat-pinchas-it-was-after-plague.html</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Georgia; color:#29303B">Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Pinchas, entitled: "Zelafchad's Daughters and Feminism” appears at </span></span><a href="http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/07/parshat-pinchas-zelafchads-daughters.html" style="text-decoration: none;">http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/07/parshat-pinchas-zelafchads-daughters.html</a></p>Moshe Abeleszhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02413694565434107258noreply@blogger.com0