Aug 20, 2015 | Torat Devorah
You shall not plant for yourselves an idolatrous tree any tree near the Altar of G-d.” (16:21)
In this week’s Torah portion we learn that it is forbidden to plant trees in the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple. What is the reason for this prohibition? Wouldn’t trees have been a wonderful way to enhance the beauty of the Holy Temple? At one time, it was the custom of idolaters to plant beautiful trees, called asheirot, at the entrance of their temples. These trees would be venerated as holy. In the Book of Shoftim G-d commanded the Judge Gidon to “Destroy the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the asheira next to it.”
The Torah prohibited the planting of any tree in the BeitHamikdash or its forecourt. The Torah Masters then extended the prohibition to include the entire Temple Mount.
However, apart from the connection to idol worship, there is a more subtle problem here.
When something is very beautiful, it’s always a challenge to place that thing in its correct perspective. Whether it’s a beautiful person or a beautiful view, or a beautiful tree, the nature of beauty is to say, “Look at me! I’m so beautiful” It’s difficult to look beyond the surface of the beauty. In Hebrew, one of the words for beauty is shapir. The name Shifra comes from this root, as does the common Jewish surname Shapiro. In the Book of Iyov it says, “By His breath the Heavens are spread (shifra)” (Iyov 26:13). Iyov describes how G-d’s breath spreads aside the cloud cover to reveal the Heavens beyond. The word to spread aside, to reveal is from that same root, shifra. In Jewish thought, something is only beautiful to the extent that it reveals what is beyond, what is inside. The part of the body where the personality of a person, his inside, is revealed is the face. In Hebrew the word for face and inside is the same – pnim/panim.
In Jewish thought, a beauty that reveals nothing more than itself cannot be called beautiful. “Art for Art’s sake” has no place in the lexicon of Jewish thought. Jewish beauty is the revelation of the inner.
On Friday night, a Jewish husband sings a song of praise to wife called Aishet Chayil – a Woman of Valor. Towards the end of the poem it says, “Charm is false and beauty empty. A woman who fears G-d, she should be praised.” When charm and beauty don’t reveal their source, their pnim, then they are false and empty. Charm and beauty by themselves are false and empty, but when they are ennobled and animated by an interior life of holiness and spirituality they radiate the purpose of their gift.
Similarly in the Holy Temple, the beauty of a tree can lead the mind in one of two ways: It can either lead to thoughts of the kindness of the Creator of the tree, how He brought into being such a beautiful thing, or it can stop at the surface: “Wow! That’s beautiful!” Mother Nature is so beautiful that it’s easy to forget that Mother Nature has a Father.
Prepared by: Devorah Abenhaim
Aug 13, 2015 | Torat Devorah
Moshe presents to the nation the blessing of a spiritually oriented life, and the curse of becoming disconnected from Hashem. When the nation enters the Land of Israel they must burn down any trees that had been used for idol-worship, and destroy all idolatrous statues. Hashem will choose only one place where the Divine Presence will dwell. Offerings may be brought only there; not to a private altar. Moshe repeatedly warns against eating animal blood. In the desert, all meat was slaughtered in the Mishkan, but in Israel meat may be slaughtered anywhere. Moshe lists the categories of food that may only be eaten in Jerusalem. He warns the nation against copying ways of the other nations. Since the Torah is complete and perfect, nothing may be added or subtracted from it. If a “prophet” tells the people to permanently abandon a Torah law or indulge in idol worship, he is to be put to death. One who entices others to worship idols is to be put to death. A city of idolatry must be razed. It is prohibited to show excessive signs of mourning, such as marking the skin or making a bald spot. Moshe reiterates the classifications of kosher and non-kosher food and the prohibition of cooking meat and milk. Produce of the second tithe must be eaten in Jerusalem, and if the amount is too large to carry, it may be exchanged for money with which food is bought in Jerusalem. In certain years this tithe is given to the poor. Bnei Yisrael is instructed to always be open-hearted, and in the seventh year any loans must be discounted — Hashem will bless the person in all ways. A Jewish bondsman is released after six years, and must be sent away with generous provisions. If he refuses to leave, his ear is pierced with an awl at the door post and he remains a bondsman until the Jubilee year. The Parsha ends with a description of the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Succot.
“The blessing – that you listen to the commandments… And the curse – that you do not listen and turn aside from the way…” (11:27-8) Rabbi Jacob Asher Sinclair relates the following story with regard to this verse: I remember being the grateful father of a newborn son. There are very few occasions that compare with the joy of a brit mila, the spiritual rite of passage when a Jewish boy is brought into the covenant of Abraham on the eighth day of his life. A feeling of expectancy filled the house. Relatives came from thousands of miles away. The sage and the saintly were duly informed of the time and the place. Everything was set. However, as happens quite often, the baby decided to develop non-threatening infant jaundice. It cleared up within a couple of weeks and, with great joy, I brought our young son into the Covenant of Abraham. By that time, however, the eighth day had already been and gone. In a certain sense, however, I really had brought my son into the brit on that eighth day.
At the beginning of this week’s Torah reading, when describing the blessings that come from following the Torah path of spirituality, it writes “… that you will listen…” However, when speaking about the devastation caused by not listening to the Torah, it adds the phrase “and you will turn aside from the way…”
Why the additional phrase? Sometimes we want to do a mitzvah, like bringing our son into the covenant on the eighth day as the Torah mandates, but circumstances beyond our control prevent us. However, G-d, in His infinite kindness, fuses our ‘desire to do’ with the ‘doing,’ and considers the mitzvah as though it was actually done. The mere thought of doing a mitzvah — “that you will listen” — is itself a mitzvah. However, when a person thinks about doing a sin, until he actualizes his thought; until he “turns aside from the way” it doesn’t get marked down on his scorecard against him.
Prepared by: Devorah Abenhaim
Aug 6, 2015 | Torat Devorah
The Torah commands us to love three entities: God, our neighbor, and the “ger.” The term “ger” is usually translated to mean “convert” or “proselyte,” but it literally means “stranger.” In the context in which love of the “ger” is commanded, the Torah (Devarim 10:19) uses a play on words: “Love the ‘ger’ because you were ‘gerim’ in the land of Egypt.” Ibn Ezra (Shmot 20:1) categorizes this latter commandment in the group of commands which are given along with a simple reason which does not require extra deliberation or a sought explanation. On the simplest level, the correct translation of the term “ger” in this context would be “stranger,” for the Israelites were strangers in Egypt, not converts to Egyptian religion and society. They were, in effect, outsiders.
Rashi invokes this verse when he describes how the Jews will view Moshe’s (not Jewish) father-in-law if he travels with them in the desert (Bamidbar 10:31). Others imply that the verse does refer to converts. The midrash (Bamidbar Rabba 8:2) records the following parable in describing the plight of a “ger.” A king has flocks of sheep, but one day a gazelle comes and joins them. The gazelle goes out with them to pasture and returns with them at night. When his shepherds tell him of this gazelle, the king takes great delight in watching the gazelle, seeing that it eats, that his shepherds don’t hit it to stay in the assigned areas, that it drinks first when the animals return. They ask him, “You have thousands of sheep over which you make no fuss. So why do you care so much about this one gazelle?” The king answers, “The sheep does what it wants. It goes out and comes back in the evening to sleep, as is its nature. But a gazelle is wild and does not normally live a domesticated life in the presence of sheep or humans. Shouldn’t we give tremendous credit and special attention to this one, who gave up an expansive wilderness and life among all the wild creatures to come and live in our yard?” The midrash concludes, “Shouldn’t we also give tremendous credit to the ‘ger’ who has chosen to leave his family and his people [the nations of the world] to join our ranks? This is why we must be very sensitive so as not to harm the ‘ger’ in any way.”
For the land… is not as the land of Egypt.. where you did sow your seed, and did water it by foot, like a vegetable garden… [rather] it drinks water of the rain of heaven (11:10-11)
“Rain” represents the reciprocal relationship between heaven and earth. “A vapor rises from the earth” to the heavens, and the heavens return it as rain which “quenches the face of the land” (Genesis 2:6). This represents the spiritual truth that “an arousal from below evokes an arousal from above” — that G-d responds to the efforts of man, reciprocating our prayers, yearnings and deeds with nurture from Above.
The Chassidic masters explain that this is the doctrine of the rain-watered land. Egypt, however, was nourished not by descending rain but by the overflow of the Nile, which would periodically flood the land. The spiritual “Egyptian” is one who does not recognize the Heavenly source of the blessings of life. He believes that all is generated from below — that everything he has and has achieved is of his own making. The people of Israel had been subjected to the Egyptian mentality for four generations. Thus they had to spend forty years in the desert during which they were subjected to a diametrically opposite set of circumstance, in which one’s daily bread descends from heaven and one’s own efforts have no effect on the result. Only after this lesson in the true source of life could they enter the Land that “drinks water of the rain of heaven” — where man’s efforts are crucial and significant, yet are permeated with a recognition of, and dependence upon, the true Source of All.
Prepared by: Devorah Abenhaim
Jul 28, 2015 | Torat Devorah
In most congregations, it is customary to stand when the Ten Commandments are read. We also stand during the reading of the Song at the Sea (Shirat Hayam – Exodus 15:1-19), but the custom to do so during the reading of the Ten Commandments inspired much debate.
During the Temple period the Ten Commandments were read daily in the Temple (Mishnah Tamid 5,1) and as Rabbi Ovadia of Bertinoro explains: “Since they are the essence of the Torah; and it would have been proper to read them each day, everywhere, but (this reading) was eliminated because of the claims of the heretics who said that they alone were given at Sinai and not the remainder of the Torah”. In Berachot 12a Rashi explains ‘heretics’ to mean ‘gentiles’. Rabbi Simchah of Vitry adds, “So that the disciples (of Jesus) would not say the remainder of the Torah is untrue” (Machzor Vitri, p.12). In contrast to Christian belief which believes that the Ten Commandments alone were given at Sinai, and in order to emphasize that the entire Torah was given at Sinai, we do not single out one portion of the Torah to read in the prayers.
Professor Eliezer Bashan explains that the question of the daily recitation of the Ten Commandments arose again in Babylonia during the Gaonic period and also in Spain, where there was an initiative to re-instate their public reading. The Rashba (Rabbi Shlomo Ben Aderet) prohibits reciting the Ten Commandments, as did later halachic authorities (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim, 1,5; Be’er Hetev and Mishnah Berurah: “because of the heretics of Israel who would say – only this is the Torah”). Rising for the reading of the Ten Commandments first appears, to the best of our knowledge, in a responsum of Maimonides which relates a dispute over this issue. Maimonides states: …”That which the late rabbi instituted, to sit, is proper and his proofs are correct… and there is nothing to add to them. And it would be proper to do this in every place where they are accustomed to stand; one should prevent them from doing so because of the possible damage to belief, as some people may imagine that there are various levels of Torah and that only some parts are exalted, and that is a very bad thing…” But despite Maimonides’ unequivocal answer, popular custom prevailed and people continued to stand during the reading of the Ten Commandments. For example, Rabbi Shmuel Abohav ( 1610 – 1694) was asked by the community in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, if it is correct to observe the custom of standing during the reading of the Ten Commandments. In his reply he states: “We rule to observe this custom which has spread over most of the congregations of Israel” . He justifies standing as an expression of honor and reverence, “As if we were welcoming the Holy Presence(Shechina) on this great and awesome occasion(of Matan Torah). In his opinion “there no longer exists the fear that the claims of heretics would affect believers the sons of believers”. In other words, past objections to standing were no longer relevant. He sums up: “Wherever this custom is observed let people cling to the customs of their fathers since their intention is for the sake of Heaven” (D’var Shmuel, Venice, 1702).
Prepared by: Devorah Abenhaim
Jul 23, 2015 | Torat Devorah, Uncategorized
Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the nations that are under the whole Heaven …” (Devarim 2:25)
“It was taught: Just as the sun stopped for Yehoshua, so too did it stop for Moshe … How do we know about this for Moshe? From the comparison of the words “I will begin” [in Yehoshua 3:7] and “I will begin” [in our parshah] … ” (Avodah Zara 25a)
Many people are familiar with the miracle of the sun standing still for Yehoshua in his famous battle against the kings of Canaan who had attacked Givon (Yehoshua 10:1-20). Far fewer are aware that the same miracle had happened previously for Moshe in his battle against Sichon (Bamidbar 21:21). Even the Torah didn’t publicize Moshe’s miracle forcing the Talmud to look for an allusion for such a spectacular event! Why? The answer comes from understanding the nature of a plant. Rabbi Pesach Winston explains: Just as Moshe and Yehoshua can be compared to the sun and the moon, so too can they be compared to the revealed part of a flower, and the roots that lie below the ground. Though the revealed part of the flower seems to be the essence of the plant, in truth, it is just the revealed expression of all that is rooted in the ground, hidden from the eye. However, all that grows above ground must have some root in that which grows below ground. Moshe had been more than just a great leader; he was the “root” of all that Yisroel was and would ever be. All the greatness the Jewish people would ever flower into would be rooted in Moshe, in accomplishments he himself achieved. This is why he was asked to climb the mountain and look at Eretz Yisroel; according to the Pri Tzaddik, this was G-d’s way of having Moshe spiritually imbue the land with his potential and greatness, to benefit the Jewish people long after his death.
Hence, the Talmud’s question becomes: If we see that Yehoshua was able to cause the sun to remain in the sky longer than normal, where was this rooted in Moshe’s lifetime? For this the Talmud reveals a “hidden” source and root, and underlying message: Though Moshe has physically left the world, his spiritual greatness continues to act as the root for all the “flowers” that have blossomed, and continue to blossom, throughout Jewish history.
Prepared by: Devorah Abenhaim
Jul 15, 2015 | Torat Devorah
In commemoration of the 5th 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
Chapter 36 concludes the Book of Bamidbar. We are told that “the heads of the fathers of the family of the children of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, of the families of the children of Joseph, approached and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the heads of the fathers of the Children of Israel”. A very long and detailed description which will set the tone for a discussion which we were first introduced to when learning about the laws of inheritance in chapter 27 of Parshat Pinchas. We were told of Zelophehad was the son of Hefer, who was a descendant of Manasseh, and who died in the wilderness without male issue(Bamidbar 26:33) “Lo hayoo lo banim, ki im banot”. His daughters requested of Moses that they be recognized as female heirs, and granted their father’s inheritance of the land. After all, they said, although he died in the wilderness, he was not “among the assembly that was gathering against Hashem in the assembly of Korach”(27:3). In fact Sifrei 133 explains that not only did he distance himself from “Adat-Korach”, he was not guilty of any other sin which caused others to sin. Mose’s did not have an answer….that it why we read “And Moses’s brought their case before Hashem”(27:5). Rashi tells us that this is a rare instance in which Moses had to actually ask Hashem for an answer before the halachah was revealed to him. The fact that he had to do so here indicates that the law had purposely been concealed from him(Gur Aryeh). Aggadah tells us that that the question of inheritance was very complex in that both Zelophehad and his father were among those who Moses had led out of Egypt. As the first born , Zelophehad was entitled, not to two portions, but to THREE, two as the first born, and one in his own right. This is probably why he had to defer to Hashem’s Divine decree, not knowing whether or not the daughters were entitled to the three portions! “And Moses’s commanded the Children of Israel according to the word of Hashem, saying “the tribe of the children of Joseph speaks properly”(36:5). The daughters of Zelophehad were given freedom of choice within their own tribe, to ensure that “an inheritance of the Children of Israel should not be redirected from tribe to tribe, rather the Children of Israel shall cleave every man to the inheritance of the tribes of his fathers”(36:7) We read that they, namely Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah became wives to the sons of their uncles. “To cousins from the families of the children of Manasseh, son of Joseph, did they become wives, and their inheritance remained with the tribe of the family of their father”(37:12)
Chazak! Chazak! Venitchazeik- Be strong! Be strong! And may we be strengthened!
Prepared by: Martin S. Labow and Devorah Abenhaim
