Aug 11, 2016 | Torat Devorah
This week is known as Shabbat Hazon, the Sabbath of Vision, and the vision offered by our prophets is that of a city that has gone astray, abandoning the path of righteousness. In our haftarah, the book of Isaiah opens with the chilling depiction of a “faithful city” (kiryah ne’emanah) that has become distorted into harlotry. What sins does Isaiah associate with such faithlessness? It is not ritual error but ethical failure that he decries. If so, then what would a righteous city look like? Is such a vision within our grasp?
Shabbat Hazon leads into the black fast of Tish’ah Be’Av in various ways. The opening chapters of Deuteronomy and Isaiah, which we read this week, set the stage for the calamity that will be described in horrific detail by the book of Lamentations. In Midrash Eikhah Rabbah, we read that three prophets used the language of Eikhah (how?!) to describe the sorrows of Israel. Moses, who saw the people in its glory, asked, “How can I bear their burden alone?” Isaiah, who saw Israel in its fallen state asked, “How did the faithful city become a harlot?” And the book of Lamentations, traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, saw Jerusalem destroyed and asked, “How did the great city become like a widow?”
Rabbi Daniel Nevins of the JTS comments: “These three questions are all phrased with the Hebrew word for how (eikhah). In the same text, Rabbi Nechemiah says that the word eikhah indicates lament (kinah). Rabbi Yehudah says that it indicates reproach (tokhecha). Reproach and lament go together of course. The destruction of Jerusalem is exceptionally lamentable because it is viewed as a self-inflicted wound. From Moses to Isaiah to Jeremiah, we can trace Israel’s descent from arrogant power to dissolute immorality and then on to utter destruction…Isaiah’s words are chilling. He tells the people not to rely on ritual alone. They may have been meticulous about prayer and sacrifice, but they have oppressed the poor and ignored the cries of those who suffer. Zion will be rebuilt through righteousness, he says in the closing line of the haftarah. There will be righteous judges and the city will once again be faithful. Only a just society can survive. This is the repentance envisioned by our great prophets. How does it square up with our own reality? Despite the challenges of our current economy, we Jews continue to live in a position of great privilege. In North America, we have large and prosperous communities with great synagogues, day schools, and other impressive organizations. In Israel, we have an entire State with its impressive apparatus of government, military, education, health, and industry. Individuals struggle economically and many institutions are fiscally challenged, but the Jewish communities of Israel and the Diaspora still have unprecedented resources. We can be described aptly by the Eikhah of Moses—the Jewish People is large, powerful, and prosperous—what is it doing with its might? It is the second Eikhah of Isaiah that ought to grab our attention however. How are our communities perceived? Have we fostered righteous conduct within and without, or are our communities viewed as selfish and materialistic? We can all point to examples of excess, but it seems to me that a growing number of our congregations have indeed embraced social justice as a standard feature of religious life. Some host homeless shelters and soup kitchens; some support sustainable farming; some have taken great efforts to make their communities inclusive and welcoming to people who previously felt excluded… Shabbat Hazon is the beginning of our long season of repentance. This week, we will end the book of Eikhah with the famous line, “Turn us, Lord, to You, and we shall return; renew our days as of old.” May we embrace this mission of return both individually and communally so that our cities become known, once again, as faithful towns filled with justice and compassion.”
Aug 5, 2016 | Torat Devorah
In commemoration of the 6th Yahrzeit of our father and Zaidie, Cecil A. Labow- Zisse Alexander ben Yisrael Meir HaLevi Z”L on the 3rd of Av
Martin S. Labow and Devorah Bat Sheva Abenhaim
The Book of Bamidbar(Numbers) concludes this week, with the reading of two Parshiot. We read of the circumstances when vows can be made, and when and how they may be annulled. We learn of the guile of the Midianites, and the price that they paid for their sins against G-d and the Israelites. The settlement of the land of Israel is discussed in detail, with the stipulation that tribes of Reuven, Gad, and the half-tribe of Menashe would first have to help their brethren with the conquest of the West side of the Jordan, before they themselves could settle on the Eastern side. We are instructed as to how, and why Cities of Refuge are to be set up, and the difference on how we treat manslaughter and murder .We conclude the Parshiot with the interesting tale of “Bnot Tzelophad”, which was unique in that era, when women had virtually no say in the inheritance of their families properties.
This article is being written on May 5, 2016, when we solemnly observe Yom Hashoah. This past week, Aug 2, marked the 74thanniversary of a day, that began a shameful, and obscene rewrite of our history, and of world history. The book, Strange Gods, A Secular History of Conversion, by Susan Jacoby(Pantheon 2016) details how individuals were persuaded, threatened, and coerced into conversion, beginning from the period of the Roman Empire to the modern day.
Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross began her life as Edith Stein, born on October 12, 1891 (which happened to be Yom Kippur). She was the youngest of eleven children. She studied in Breslau under Edmund Husserl, and later Max Scheler, both of whom converted out of Judaism. She was also influenced by the mystical writings of Teresa of Avila (1815-1882)whose father was a Converso. Stein’s family was moderately observant. They observed the High Holy days, and Passover, but she herself states in her unfinished autobiography that she became an atheist at the age of fifteen. Although she turned to Catholicism on January 1, 1922, she remained empathetic and sympathetic to her roots, which she still valued immensely. She wrote: “Most Christians are unaware that the Feast of The Unleavened Bread, in remembrance of the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt, continues to be celebrated today in the identical manner in which it was celebrated by our Lord with his disciples when he instituted the Blessed Sacrament, and took leave of his followers”. She trued to correct the theological past where she, along with Jews throughout Europe, including her Germany, experienced the barbarism of the Christian Holy Week, where the fact that the Last Supper, which was in fact a Seder, was lost to the unruly, blood –thirsty mobs. In April 1933, she wrote a letter pleading directly to Pope Pius XI, begging him to speak out against the Nazi persecution of the Jews. The Pope’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who himself became Pope Pius XII in 1939 did nothing, and said absolutely nothing. In 1938, she became a Carmelite Nun, and was transferred for reasons of safety to a convent in Echt Holland.On August 2, 1942, Edith Teresa Hedwig Stein was arrested “FOR REASONS OF RACE AND SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF JEWISH DESCENT-The capital letters are printed on the Red Cross document. In the Book ‘Papal Sin’ by Gary Wills (New York, 2000) he observes, that the Vatican made the “ludicrous case” that Stein was killed for being a Catholic. Both Edith and her sister Rosa were sent to, and perished in Auschwitz, as the Nazi’s did not differentiate between Jews, and baptized Jews- even in convents. Her beatification on May 1, 1987 remains an affront and insult by the Church to Jews everywhere. In the words of Daniel Polish, the beatification seemed “to carry the tacit message encouraging conversion activities because official discussion of the beatification seemed to make a point of conjoining Steins’s Catholic faith with her death with fellow Jews in Auschwitz”. As Susan Jacoby writes: “The lie that Edith Stein, or any other convert to Christianity in Nazi Occupied Europe, died in a concentration camp, not because she was a Jew, but because she was a Christian is imprinted on the history of modern Catholicism”.
Prepared by: Martin S. Labow and Devorah Abenhaim
Jul 22, 2016 | Torat Devorah
Balaam arose in the morning and saddled his ass (22:21)
Tasha explains that from this verse we see how hatred causes a person to break from convention. Balaam had many servants at his disposal; yet in his eagerness to go curse Israel, he saddled his ass himself. Said the Almighty: “Evil one! Their father Abraham has already preempted you when, to fulfill My will, he ‘rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey’ (Genesis 22:3).”
The Lubavitcher Rebbe comments: In order to place before man the “free choice” that is essential to his mission in life, G d so ordered His world that every positive force has its negative counterpart. Were there to exist a good element which cannot be put to corrupt use, then man’s potential for evil would be disadvantaged and would not present the equal challenge which makes for the choice factor in life. In the words of King Solomon (Ecclesiastes 7:14), “One corresponding to the other, G d created.” But this “equality” between good and evil extends only to the most superficial level of reality. When a person learns to look beyond the surface of things to their inherent purpose, he will see that only the good in the world is real and substantial. Good is an existence in its own right, while evil exists merely to provide the tension which imbues the positive acts of man with meaning and significance. Hence there cannot be anything “original” to evil, which is but a shallow, corrupted refraction of the good in the world. If Balaam was able to transcend the norm with the intensity of his hate, this was only because, centuries earlier, Abraham had done the same out of love of his Creator.
The people began to go astray after the daughters of Moab (25:1) MIdrash Rabba asks: how do we know that one who causes a man to sin is even worse than one who kills him? . . . Two nations advanced against Israel with the sword, and two with transgression. The Egyptians and the Edomites advanced against them with the sword, as is proven by the texts, “The enemy said: I will pursue, I will overtake . . . I will draw my sword” (Exodus 15:9), and “Edom said unto him: You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you” (Numbers 20:18). Two advanced against them with transgression, namely the Moabites and the Ammonites. Of those who had advanced against them with the sword it is written, “You shall not abhor an Edomite . . . you shall not abhor an Egyptian” (Deuteronomy 23:8). Of those, however, who had advanced against them with transgression, endeavoring to make Israel sin, it says, “An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of G d . . . even to the tenth generation shall none of them enter . . . forever” (ibid. v. 4)
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
Jun 30, 2016 | Torat Devorah
The spies returned from their tour of the Land of Israel, and ten of them
delivered a negative report — saying that the nation would not be able to
go in and conquer the inhabitants. Only Calev and Yehoshua returned with
encouraging reports.
Rashi quotes from the Talmud [Sotah 35a] which says that Calev yelled out,
“is this the only thing which [Moshe] the son of Amram did to us?” Since
Calev started by sounding as if he intended to criticize, and the people
had turned against Moshe, they quieted down to hear what he would add.
Calev then said: “he took us out of Egypt, and he parted the Sea of Reeds
for us, and brought the Manna down to us…” Moshe was G-d’s agent, and
many life-saving miracles had already happened for the Jewish people
through him. “Let us surely go up,” said Calev, meaning anywhere Moshe
tells us to go.
Studying the story of the spies Rabbi Moshe Feinstein teaches a profound
lesson in the nature of spiritual growth, regarding how we must act if we
hope to grow. He asks how is it conceivable that the generation of the
desert, which witnessed countless miracles, could even contemplate a
rebellion like this? They were called the “Dor De’ah,” the Generation of
Knowledge. How could they fall so far, so soon thereafter?
Rabbi Yaakov Menken explains: ‘We don’t take “leaps of faith” in Judaism.
Buildings which last for years are built upon solid foundations. The Jews
in Egypt were thoroughly immersed in a hedonistic and immoral society, and
had gone through “49 Gates of Impurity.” Suddenly they were pulled out, and
50 days later they were through the “50 Gates of Holiness,” speaking with
G-d Himself. Reb Moshe says that in such a short span of time, the Children
of Israel were not able to internalise all that they had seen and
experienced. They did not understand that if G-d promised to lead them to
the Land of Israel, then obviously He would also provide them with all the
necessary means to get there and to occupy the Land. We must do our part
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
Jun 23, 2016 | Torat Devorah
When you raise light in the lamps . . . toward the face of the menorah (8:2)
It is written, “Nor does darkness obscure for You; the night shines as the day, darkness is as light” (Psalms 139:12). Yet to us He says: “When you raise light in the lamps”!
Midrash Rabbah asks: To what may the matter be compared? To the case of a king who had a friend. The king said to him: “I want you to know that I shall dine with you. Go then and make preparations for me.” His friend went and prepared a common couch, a common candelabra and a common table. When the king arrived, there came with him ministers who encompassed him on this side and that, and a golden candlestick preceded him. His friend, seeing all this pomp, felt ashamed and put away all that he had prepared for him, as it was all common. Said the king to him: “Did I not tell you that I would dine with you? Why did you not prepare anything for me?” His friend answered him: “Seeing all the pomp that accompanied you, I felt ashamed, and put away all that I had prepared for you, because they were common utensils.” “By your life!” said the king to him, “I shall set aside all the utensils that I have brought, and for love of you I shall use none but yours!” So in our case. The Holy One, blessed be He, is all light; as it says, “The light dwells with Him” (Daniel 2:22). Yet He said to Israel: “Prepare for Me a candelabra and lamps…
The Lubavitcher rebbe explains: The menorah represents the people of Israel, G‑d’s “light unto the nations.” Its many components attest to the fact that the Jewish nation is comprised of different tribes, and includes individuals from all walks of life. But even as the menorah’s form expresses the diversity within Israel, there are two laws which point to the menorah’s integrity. One law concerns the making of the menorah; the second law, the manner of its lighting. An artifact of the menorah’s complexity is usually fashioned by first molding each of its parts on its own and then welding them together. The menorah, however, was hammered out of a single piece of gold, originating as a single object and remaining a single object through the various stages of its construction, until the finished product. This represents the fact that while there are nations that are a coalition of variant groups, each formed by its own ancestry and experience but welded together by common interest and habitat, this is not the case with the Jewish people: all souls of Israel are of a single essence, and their division into distinct individuals is merely their investment into different bodies and physical lives. The second law is that although the menorah sheds its light with seven lamps, they must all be turned toward the central stem, in keeping with G‑d’s instruction to Aaron that “the seven lamps shall give light toward the face of the menorah.” This expresses the truth that although the soul of Israel shines not with a single light, but by means of a seven-lamp menorah representing the various prototypes of human character (the seven sefirot), at the same time all lamps of the menorah face the body from which they extend, emphasizing their singular origin and their singular goal. In other words: we all come from the same place, and we are all oriented toward the same goal. The differences are only in order to better express our Source and to more completely achieve our goal. Which makes them not differences, but the ultimate expression of oneness.
And this was the work of the menorah . . . from its shaft to its flowers (8:4) Divrei Noam explains that the menorah also represents the Torah, the source of Divine light in the world. This is alluded to in the menorah’s design, which is detailed in the 25th chapter of Exodus. The menorah had 7 branches, 11 knobs, 9 flowers and 22 goblets, and was 17 handbreadths in height. These numbers represent the five books of the Written Torah: the first verse in the book of Genesis has 7 words, the first verse of Exodus has 11 words, the first verse of Leviticus has 9 words, the first verse of Numbers has 17 words, and the first verse of Deuteronomy—22 words.
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
Jun 10, 2016 | Torat Devorah
This Shabbat we read Parshat Bamidbar, the start of the fourth book of the Torah. We find the Jewish people wandering through the desert, starting their epic 40-year journey. But first, Moses and Aaron take a census of the Jewish people. This is the reason that the English name for this book is Numbers.
According to rabbinic commentary, the way in which the census is taken, head by head, instills a feeling of self-worth and pride in each individual person. Moses could have instructed the heads of each family to report their number to him. Instead Moses counted each of the 603,550 Israelite men. This method certainly does not seem to be the most effective means of counting. And yet we can see that it was an important way for Moses to connect with each individual in a personal way.
Rabbi Lerner of Hillel Wisconsin explains: ‘Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr., in their book, In Search of Excellence, wrote, “Treat people as adults. Treat them as partners; treat them with dignity; treat them with respect. Treat not capital spending and automation as the primary source of productivity gains. These are the fundamental lessons from excellent companies…” In other words, “If you want productivity and the financial reward that goes with it, you must treat your workers as your most important asset.” (A Torah Commentary For Our Times, p. 13, edited by Harvey J. Fields) Not only is this sound business advice, it is a very Jewish way to treat other people. So when we are involved in other people’s lives, let’s make sure our actions count.’
The Torah says,” These are the offspring of Aaron and Moshe on the day Hashem spoke to Moshe at Sinai: These are the names of the sons of Aaron…” Event though the verse begins by saying “These are the offspring of Aaron and Moshe” it only enumerates and identifies the offspring of Aaron. Rashi cites the Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin which says that because Moshe taught Torah to the sons of Aaron they are counted as his children also. As it states, “If a person teaches Torah to his friend’s child it is as if he fathered that child.” Teaching Torah in this context means that the majority of the child’s Torah knowledge comes from his teacher and that the teacher is also the child’s mentor. Rabbi Kalatsky asks: “The question is why is this principle so important for us to know that the Torah needs to teach us it from the verse dealing with the offspring of Aaron and Moshe? The answer is that the only way that Torah itself can be transmitted and internalized is through a rebbe. Just as the sons of Aaron became the sons of Moshe only through the transmission of Torah from Moshe so too the student becomes the son and the extension of his rebbe through is teaching and mentoring. It is only through this transmission that Torah can impact the individual and transform his essence. Therefore the verse in Pirkei Avos, “Make for yourself a rebbe and acquire a friend” is more than just “good advice”. It is a fundamental aspect of Judaism and the transmission of Torah from generation to generation. ”
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
