Ki Tavo 5773

The Perspective that only Time can Offer

This past summer, Janet and I had the privilege of spending a few weeks in Israel. It was a glorious experience. On one of the Friday nights we walked to the Kotel, stood in the plaza and watched as the area pulsated with the full spectrum of the Jewish people.  Young and old, representative of every religious stripe, and location were bringing in the Sabbath today.  Janet and I stood together and sang the Kabbalat Shabbat service and then went and offered our own personal prayers standing before the Wall.   The emotions that were generated and the sense of gratitude that we both felt in that moment touched us more deeply than words can adequately describe.

How different was my first visit to the Kotel in 1976.  That summer I traveled to Israel to begin my Rabbinical studies as part of a group of students.  When we landed in Israel the first place that we were taken was to the Kotel.  I remember standing in that very holy place somewhat bleary eyed from the trip and feeling nothing.  Getting back on the bus and hearing some of the other students talk about the power of the experience made me feel even worse.

There is a verse in this week’s Torah reading that speaks to my experience at the Kotel 37 years ago.   The people are preparing to enter the land and Moses was preparing them to go forward.  At one point Moses was reflecting on the miracles that accompanied the Israelites as they left Egypt and added these words: Yet until this day, the Lord has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear (Deut. 29:3). In other words, while the people witnessed the signs and wonders that God performed in Egypt, they could not fully appreciate what had happened to them.  There are times when we can only fully grasp an event after the fact.  Time offers us the perspective that is needed for our “hearts to know, our eyes to see and our ears to hear”.  Certainly that was the case for me at the Kotel.

As we prepare for a New Year we are given the opportunity to reflect on the happenings of the past year.  All of us would do well to take Moses’ words to heart and reflect on our experiences since last Rosh Hashanah so that we might fully appreciate their meaning for our lives.  Often times we can only gain that “heart to know” with time and experience.  May we all have the wisdom to gain a deeper appreciation of the past so that might gain a fuller appreciation of our present and future. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Michael Siegel

Ki Teitzei 5773

A Complicated Inheritance

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, contains dozens of mitzvot – but the second law in our parshah presents a difficult problem:

If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his (Deut. 21:15-17).

On its own, this seems like a rather unexceptional mitzvah, a push for fairness in families in order to promote harmony and peace in the home.  But a sensitive reader of Torah will notice that these verses, while dealing in abstract categories, are a near-perfect description of our patriarch Jacob and his family: If a man has two wives, the one loved – Rachel – and the other unloved – Leah – and the firstborn son belongs to the unloved – Reuben – he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved – just as Jacob did by favoring Joseph, Rachel’s son, over his brothers!

How should we understand the tension between Jacob’s story and the law as presented in parashat Ki Teitzei? It is possible to read the rules of inheritance, as presented here, as a direct response to Jacob’s conduct so many generations earlier. Yes, it is true, our ancestor did this; but we recognize the unfairness of his behavior and the consequences it brought on his family, and as we prepare to end our journeys in the wilderness and set up a society in the Promised Land, we want to ensure fairness for all. Even as we look to Jacob as an ancestor and role model, the Torah is still willing to think critically about his behavior and, when necessary, make changes.

As we approach the season of repentance, we would all do well to follow in the path laid out by the Torah in its laws of inheritance: to take stock of our past actions, assess them critically, and make changes as necessary.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Abe Friedman

Shoftim 5773

Summertime Thoughts on the Pursuit of Justice

Although we are now in August and have just ushered in the month of Elul it is still summer.  Like so many others I become nostalgic for summer camp – and in my case for Camp Ramah in the Berkshires where I spent nearly 20 summers as both camper and staff member.  Camp remains a special place because I learned so many important life lessons in camp.  During my first summer as a “madrikh” (counselor) I remember disciplining a camper by threatening to dock him from canteen.  My advisor overheard my “conversation” and asked if I was familiar with the verse from this week’s parasha, Shoftim:  “Tzedek tzedek tirdof!” (usually translated as: “Justice, justice you shall surely pursue!”).

He asked me the same question which commentators have been asking for centuries, namely, why does the verse repeat the word “tzedek/justice”?  Why not simply command that we pursue justice?  The answer we agreed upon was that this is the basis for our understanding that God not only expects us to pursue justice, but to think ethically and behave justly at all times.  The lesson:  even in camp the punishment has to fit the crime and if there is no connection between the misbehavior of the camper and docking him from canteen then that is not a “just” response.  Even rewards and punishments in summer camp have to be consistent with that part of our mission as Jews that demands justice in every situation.

Our sages have pointed out that we read this parasha and its teachings (e.g. -that we seriously pursue justice and that we creating a working and functioning system of government that guarantees fairness and justice for all) just as we begin the countdown to Rosh Hashana and the new year.

This means that our pursuit of justice and our efforts at “heshbon nefesh” (our taking stock of our deeds during the past year) will not only intersect but are interwoven.  This is underscored by the opening words of the parasha:  “Shoftim v’shotrim titen lekha.. / You shall establish judges and officers in all your gates” (Devarim 16:18)  The commentators teach that the words “titen lekha/you shall establish” signify that before we call upon judges and officers to deal with the actions of others we must judge and make an accounting for our own actions.

This echoes the teaching found in Pirkei Avot (The Teachings of the Fathers): "Do not judge your fellow until you have stood in his place." (2:5)  These are excellent guidelines for us to consider as we begin the process of “heshbon nefesh” in preparation for the new year and we seriously consider what each of us needs to do to bring justice into the world rather than criticize others.

Shabat Shalom,

Rabbi Matt Futterman
Senior Educator

Re'eh 5773

Re'eh 5773

I would like introduce you to a translation of the Torah that you may not have heard of before, by Dr. Everett Fox. Dr. Fox seeks to provide a translation of the Torah that sounds as close to the original Hebrew as possible. Here is an example from this week’s parsha, Devarim 15:7-8:

“When there is among you a needy-person from any-one of your brothers within one of your gates, in the land that God is giving you, you are not to toughen your heart, you are not to shut your hand to your brother, the needy-one. Rather, you are to open, yes, open your hand to him…”

Where most translators would translate the original Hebrew  as: “open your hand,” or “you shall surely open your hand,” Fox strives to translate in a fashion similar to the original Hebrew, “open, yes, open your hand.” Here he is emphasizing a phrase that grammarians call this the “infinitive absolute,” where the verb is repeated in order to emphasize the critical nature of this Biblical imperative.

In these verses, we are commanded not to toughen our hearts and shut our hands. The parsha continues as if we did not listen the first time, by repeating this in verse 11:

For the needy will never be-gone from amid the land; therefore I command you, saying: You are to open, yes, open your hand to your brother, to your afflicted-one, and to your needy-one in your land!

There are times when I, and I am guessing many of you, wonder, when can this tzedaka work end? Is it worth doing this if we will never be able to solve issues of poverty in our world?

The Torah emphasizes this harsh reality, while also encouraging us – yes, it is overwhelming. Yes, there is a lot of poverty, hunger, homelessness, around us. And no, it is not going away. But, still, patoach tiftach, open your hand, keep working at it, for we must support our neighbors who need help.

It is around this time of year that we ask for your help. In the end of August, we pack and deliver food for the holidays for Jews in our community who otherwise may not be able to have festive meals. We also have a food drive during the High Holy Days to support the Ark. And, we are in high gear, with our Na’aseh, our social justice committee, leading the charge in coordinating volunteers for the Uptown Café and the Night Ministry. But we need your help. Please feel free to contact me or Ashley Kain (ashleykain15@gmail.com). Because if more of us are opening our hands, we can be the people who, even though we don’t solve all of the world’s issues of poverty, can still make a difference for those in our community who need help.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David Russo