Rabbi's Corner

Last Sunday night following the horrific tragedy that occurred during Shabbat services being held at  Eitz Chayim-Ohr L'Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh, there was many gatherings of interfaith communities across America both to mourn the senseless loss of life and to express solidarity in the wake of this hate crime committed against Jews, specifically American Jews.  Congregations of Shaare Shamayim was invited to attend and participate with The Old York Road Kehillah and The Cheltenham Multi Faith Council in the service held at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park.  At that service a special reading authored by Rabbi Paul Kipnes was read by myself and Rabbi Robert Leib of Old York Road Temple-Beth Am.  As victims are being buried and mourned by their families, friends, and community, I offer for your consideration the words of this prayer entitled "A Kaddish After Gun Violence, for When Humanity Fails Itself":

Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'may rabba...Exalted and holy be Your great name....  Yet little feels holy today.  Another mass shooting, an incomprehensible horror, too many dead and too many wounded.  And we are left to mourn the dead, to heal the wounded, to wonder "why?"  B'alma di v'ra chirutei...in the world which You God created, according to plan....  But is this part of Your plan: that death and destruction emerges from the free will You entrusted to us, that automatic gunfire rains down unceasingly, that people kill people using weapons we designed and created with the hands you accorded us?  V'yamlich malchutei, bayeichon uv'yomeichom...may Your majestic love be revealed in the days of our lifetime....  In Your Torah we are taught that when Moses and the Israelites stood praying at the shores of the Red Sea while the Egyptian army was bearing down on them, You called out to us saying: "Why are you crying out to Me?  Tell the Israelites to move on!"  (Exodus 14:15)  So help us to move on, not by forgetting this terror, not by explaining it away, not by blaming easy targets.  But by having the courage to mourn the dead, to heal the victims, to bless the first responders, to lead with love, to change the laws, and to save lives.  Y'hei sh'lama raba min sh'maya, v'chayim aleinu...may there (soon) be abundant peace from heaven, and life for us....Peace that comes because we did not become inured to the continual violence in our houses of worship, in our concert venues, in our schools, in our malls, and in our neighborhoods.  And because we did not allow the calls for prayers to turn us away from the actions we must take to end mass shootings.  But because we did have the courage to stand up, to speak up, and to act out.  Oseh shalom bimromav, Hu yaaseh shalom aleinu...May the One who creates harmony on high, bring peace to us....v'al kol Yisrael, v'al kol yoshvei teivel...to all Israel and all the world....  So that one day Your world, free from this violence, will finally reflect Your exaltedness and holiness.  V'imru...And we all say...Amen!

In this week's Torah reading, Parashat Lech Lecha, we find HaShem's "calling" for Avraham to leave the land of his birth and his father's household and journey to the land that HaShem will show him.  The Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 5:3) states that Avraham Avinu, Abraham our Father, passed all ten nisyonot (tests/challenges) that were posed to him by HaShem.  The command of "Lech Lecha" was one of those nisyonot.  An even more important test is one which we will read about found in next week's parashah: "Akeidat Yitzchak," the Binding of Isaac.  Rav Simcha Zissel Broide, the Rosh Yeshivah of Chevron Yeshiva, tells us that there are two types nisyonot: one that defines who we are and one that we face on a day-to-day basis.  When you face a big nisayon that may involve serious self-sacrifice, you can often reach deep down and find the courage and determination to make the proper decision and do the right thing.  But there are also those "little" nisyonot that you face each and every day that do not require such strength and fortitude.  Such, says Rav Broide, is the nisayon of "Lech Lecha."

 A "Lech Lecha" nisayon is having to decide whether or not to get up in time for morning minyan.  It's coming home from work exhausted and deciding whether to learn with your child or grandchild and help with homework or sit in front of the T.V. or computer.  While no one classifies such nisyonot as those which define a moment in one's life, they are nevertheless vitally important in life.  HaShem told Avraham Avinu that his reward for undertaking the nisayon of "Lech Lecha"would be wealth and offspring upon his arrival in Eretz Yisrael.  Did he get his "just desserts?"  No, he did not.  Instead he encountered severe famine, a famine which caused him to go down to Egypt in order to survive.  It is because he accepted this nisayon without question, without comment, without protest that Avraham Avinu becomes a hero.

A "Lech Lecha" nisayon deals with the issues of everyday life, issues such as health, childrearing, and financial problems.  There is no glamor, there is no excitement in dealing with these types of issues, but they are no less challenging.  And while the "Akeidat Yitzchak" type of nisayon is more noteworthy because it stands out from the rest, the true indication of how heroic a person is may indeed be how one deals with the many daily "Lech Lecha" nisyonot that are handled with faith and trust in HaShem.  May all of us become true heroes each and every day of our lives.

There is a short story written by Joseph Epstein entitled "Felix Emeritus."  The story is about two residents of a retirement community, both all alone in this world, who engage in a conversation.  One is a bitter, divorced man who lost his business in a lawsuit.  The other is a retired English professor who keeps secret the fact that he is a Holocaust survivor.  The divorced man shares his written life's story with the English professor.  After reading the story, the professor asks, "You have very, very dark thoughts about life...Does life seem so bleak to you?"  The divorced man replies, "Only when I think about it."

In this day and age we seem to be surrounded by darkness, and it more and more appears to be similar to that thick, "touchable" darkness that made up the "Choshech Afaylah," the "Darkness of Blackness," that lasted for three days throughout the entire Land of Egypt causing the Egyptians to remain in place, not being able to move or live their normal lives.  In our own time, we seem to have gotten lost in the middle of this "darkness" as it engulfs our society.  We especially see this with religion and how it is "used" as a "kardom lachpor bo," "an axe with which to gore," resulting in Hashem and everything about H-m being associated with all that is bad.  As we begin Parashat Bereshit this week, we see that the very beginning of the Creation Story speaks of darkness: "In the beginning of G-d's creating of the heavens and the earth, the earth was wondrously void, and [there was] darkness upon the face of the deep...."  We see that darkness when we hear the so-called leaders of religion telling people that they are wicked sinners, that they are infidels, and that they are the cause of disease and disaster in this world.  How do we combat this illusion of darkness that seems to control our lives at this time?

We read further on in the parashah: "...and the spirit of G-d was hovering over the surface of the waters.  And G-d said, "Let there be light,  and there was light.  And G-d saw the light - that it was good, and G-d separated the light and the darkness."  And a little further on we read, "And G-d created the man in H-s image - in the Image of G-d did He create him...."  It is our duty to reflect the Image of G-d in all that we do in this world.  We cannot reflect that image in darkness - it must be done in light.  After all, we are commanded to be "a light unto the nations."

As we proceed into the year 5779, let your light shine unto yourself, your family, your friends, your Synagogue, and the world.

This week's parashah, Parashat Ha'azinu, is a magnificent piece of poetry which is Moshe's final song to B'Nei Yisrael before he leaves them to pass on to the World-To-Come.  One would think that this song would be a song of love and triumph based upon Yetziat Mitzrayim, the Exodus from Egypt, the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and the successful arrival at the edge of the Eretz Kena'an, the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land.  But it is not. The fact of the matter is that a great deal of the song consists of Moshe's admonition to B'Nei Yisrael as to how they will break the covenant made with HaShem at Mount Sinai as well as its consequences.

We find the following verse in this parashah: "The Rock Who bore you --- you will forget, and you will disregard the Power Who birthed you."  (Devarim 32:18)  An explanation of this verse is given by the Dubner Maggid by way of the following story: Reuven owed Shimon a large sum of money and lacked the funds needed to repay his debt.  Since Shimon was hounding him to "pay up," Reuven approached his close friend Levi and asked for advice.  Levi instructed him to act as if he were totally insane each time Shimon would approach him for the money.  In that way, said Levi, Shimon would leave him alone.  Sure enough, when Shimon approached Reuven for his money, Reuven did exactly what Levi had told him to do.  And just as Levi said, Shimon left Reuven alone from that day on.  The very next day, Reuven asked Levi to lend him a large sum of money for just a few days, and Levi lent him the money.  One week later when Levi asked Shimon to repay him for the loan, Shimon began to act insane again.  Levi became furious at him and shouted: "I am the one who gave you the idea to use this method.  It is chutzpah for you to use it against me!"

Hashem created forgetfulness for those who have suffered in the past.  If we would clearly remember every bit of suffering that occurred to us in this life, we would never be able to cope with this life.  We would never be able to enjoy the good things in this life because we would always be remembering the pain of the past.  By forgetting the misfortune's of our lives, we can live a happy life in spite of our past sufferings.  But one thing that we should never forget: we should never forget HaShem and our obligations to H-m.  The Dubner Maggid stated that this is the message of this verse.

Every trait and attribute we possess has been given to us by HaShem and can be used for good or for bad.  It is up to us to utilize all that we have been given for only the good.

In this week's parashah, Parashat Nitzavim, we read: "See, I have given you today life and good, and death and evil...I call the heavens and the earth today to testify upon you that I have given you life and death, blessing and curse; and you should choose life in order that you and your descendents live.  To love HaShem your G-d, to listen to H-s voice and to cling to H-m, for He is your life and the length of your days to dwell in the land that HaShem swore to your forefathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya'akov, to give you..." (Devarim 30: 19-20)  A remarkable thing happens in the final six verses of this week's parashah, and it is found nowhere else in either the Torah or the Tanakh.  What we find in this passage is the fact that Moshe is conveying Hashem's willingness to allow the Children of Israel the ability to have free will.  Our tradition teaches that all is determined in Heaven, that Hashem controls everything that happens...except for free will.  But how can this be?  If HaShem is all-powerful and all-knowing, then how could we human beings have the ability to do anything independent of H-m?  If HaShem controls nature, life, death, and the destiny of this world, then how could we human beings have the power to choose what HaShem has not chosen?  How can this be?

The latest findings in neuroscience claim human beings make choices through the physical properties of the brain and not by something called the "soul" or the "spirit."  But even the scientists themselves who make this observation are at odds with it when it comes to the human experience.  We like to think that we have choices to make, and we sense that the choices we make matter in our lives and in the lives of those whom we love.  And it because of the choices we make that we matter in this world.  As human beings, we believe that life itself is precious, and that it has great significance.  To claim otherwise strikes us as being both inhumane and just plain wrong.

Each of us has the ability to make choices. The Torah tells us this is so.  We even have the free will to either make choices or not make choices.  This ability, this "gift" comes from Hashem.  Our moral and spiritual fate lies in our own hands - not in the "hands" of HaShem nor in the forces of nature.  The Torah states the truth: We have free will.  We have the ability to choose.  At this time, in this season, let us choose life!

Matanya Robinson was the son of dear friends of a colleague of mine.  Matanya died at the age of 21 in April of 2002 while his IDF unit was going door-to-door in Jenin searching for terrorists.  One of the reasons Matanya died was because of the IDF policy to risk the lives of its own soldiers in searching for terrorists rather than merely bombing a building that might be housing terrorists.  This policy is meant to eliminate the risk of taking the lives of innocent people when searching for known terrorists.  It is, in fact, the most moral way to deal with a terrible situation.  there is no doubt that we, the People Israel, regard every life as precious.  That is why we mourn for the loss of those Egyptian lives that took place as we were taken out slavery by the "hand" of HaShem.  Because terrorists who have already committed horrible murders must be held accountable for their actions, the IDF goes "the extra mile" to try to ensure that innocent civilians are protected.  But what is the origin of this policy?  We find it in this week's parashah, Parashat Ki Teitzei.

Parashat Ki Teitzei begins with the law that speaks of the case of the soldier who goes out to war, captures a beautiful woman, and takes her home to be his wife.  Our Torah commands this soldier to shave this woman's head, let her finger nails grow long, and allow her to remain in his home crying for the entire month following the death of her parents who have perished in the war.  Please remember that at this time in the history of our people as well as those of all the other ancient Middle Eastern countries, the laws of war included the elimination of entire populations who were conquered, this being carried out by the conquering army.  To be sure, prisoners were taken, and, as was often the case, these included women who were taken by members of the conquering army to become wives.  While it may be hard to understand, our Torah was actually legislating something that was unheard of in ancient warfare: showing compassion to captives.  How, you may ask, is this woman who has been taken captive being shown compassion by shaving her head, letting her fingernails grow long, and sitting there crying for a month?

We look to Maimonides (Rambam) who states that this time period of a "hands-off" approach regarding the woman captive allowed her time to decide if she wanted to become a part of the People Israel.  According to Rambam, she was under no circumstances to be forced to convert to Judaism (something that Nachmanides [Ramban] stated was supposed to happen).  Her captor could attempt to convince her to do so, but at the end of the 30-day waiting period, it became the woman's decision to either convert or not convert.  Obviously she had to convert in order for the soldier who captured her to take her as his wife.  But if she did not wish to covert, she then had to be set free.  She could not be treated as or sold as a slave.  Our Torah forced the soldier who captured this woman to treat her in such a way that he had to view her as a person and treat her accordingly.

To be sure, the law of the captive woman as stated in our Torah does not present an ideal situation.  But neither does war.  At times, war becomes a violent, horrible, but necessary part of life.  Because we are the People Israel, we can be proud of our long tradition of conducting ourselves in a moral manner when faced with the horrors of war.  And we can certainly be proud of the way the IDF conducts itself in this day and age.

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It is interesting that our parashah this week is the first parashah of Sefer Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy.  In fact, the Book's Hebrew name is derived from its first verse.  The Hebrew word "devarim" is usually translated to mean "words."  This fifth and final book of the Torah is Moshe's summary of all that has happened to B'Nei Yisrael, the Children of Israel, since he became their leader.  In one particular passage, Moshe recounts how, when B'Nei Yisrael asked Moshe to send out spies to assess the land that HaShem intended to bring them to, he concluded "And the matter was good in my eyes."  The result was that Moshe sent out spies from each tribe.  However, it must be noted that in the Talmud Bavli, the Babylonian Talmud, in Masekhet Sotah 34b, our Sages state that HaShem did not agree with Moshe.  Rabbi Yissocher Frand notes the difficulty of such a conclusion.  If it is really true that HaShem opposed the idea of sending out the spies, why did He not merely tell Moshe that it was not to be done?  Why did He allow B'Nei Yisrael to do something of which He did not approve?  Why did not Hashem just say "No!"  Well, as is usually the case when a Rabbi asks a question, the answer is provided by that very same person.

Rabbi Frand answers his own question by citing a comment made by the late Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Telz in Cleveland, Ohio.  Rabbi Mottel Katz noted that sometimes children wish to do something that their parents consider inappropriate.  More often than not what is the parents' reaction?  It used to be that they would "put their foot down" and forbid their children from doing what they wished to do.  I remember such reactions from my parents, especially my father.  When he said "No!", he meant "No!"  What did I do?  I stopped dead in my tracks and followed his dictum.  However, it turns out that sometimes this is not always the best reaction.  Sometimes we need to concede and give in to our children.  How do we know this to be true.  We know this because of the lesson learned from the episode of the spies as found in the Torah.

In the episode of the spies, HaShem understood that B'Nei Yisrael were not at all ready to accept H-s denial of their request.  He therefore conceded to their request and let them go their own way.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  In the case of our children,as long as there is no danger to their lives involved, there may be times that they may simply not be able to accept our total refusal at the moment.  And it is at such a time that it might be best for us to concede with the understanding that other opportunities will arise to bring our point across more effectively in order to bring about our desired results.

The major news event that took place this week has centered around "devarim," "words."  What was said?  What was not said?  What should have been said?  At what moment should it have been said?  At what moment should it have not been said?  The words that have been spoken have been spun and "respun" in ways that those speaking them each appear to be "right."  Sometimes, more often than we care to admit, even if the action taken is not right, it is better to be smart and concede to its performance.  Why?  Because, as HaShem taught us in the episode of the spies, it is better to be smart than to be right...for the greater good in the long run.

Shabbat Shalom!