Parasha for the Stranger

III-10 Bechukotai Creating A Personal Environment

2005-05-26T01:48:00.000-07:00

26 May III-10 Bechukotai CREATING A PERSONAL ENVIRONMENT
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/116109

Torah: Lv 26:3-27:34 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/behukkotai.shtml

Haftorah: Jer 16:19-17:19 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/behukkotai_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
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1. Lv 26:3-5
2. Lv 26:6-9
3. Lv 26:10-46
4. Lv 27:1-15
5. Lv 27:16:21
6. Lv 27:22-28
7. Lv 27:29-34

OVERVIEW:
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Bechukotai contains a renewal of the Covenant with Israel with its conditions: a Blessing if the Israelites walk in the way of the Lord and a curse, if they do not follow the decrees and commandments. The blessing of Israel appears short (v4-11) in comparison to the Tochacha (v 14-45) or warning; but this is illusive for the blessing includes peaceful habitation, plentitude harvest, political independence and superiority over enemies and national development with sufficient base for future population growth with the assurance of God's presence in the midst. God warns that if Israel despises the statues and breaks the commandments, thereby breaking the covenant made at Sinai, the negative consequences. The positive and negative are paired in polarity, reflecting the dual nature of mankind and his personal determination of his own destiny beginning with his decision in the Garden of Eden.

IN FOCUS
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"If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant your rains in their seasons, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit.." Lv 26:3-4

"I will establish My abode in your midst, and I will not spurn you. I will be ever present in your midst, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people." Lv 26:11-12

"If you break My laws and spurn Mr rules, so that you do not observe all My commandments and break My covenant, I will in turn do this to you..." Lv 26:15

CREATING A PERSONAL ENVIRONMENT
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The Tochacha is read twice a year: once during the forty-nine days of counting the Omer leading to Shavuot which commemorates the giving of the Torah and in the month of Elul before the High Holy Days, calling us to repentance, to reconsider our paths. We are accountable for our actions in the garden that we plant. God calls, "Where are you? What is this that you have done?" From the earliest of times, God warns, "But if you do not do right, sin crouches at the door; its urge is towards you, yet you can be the master."
(Gn 4:7)

The Tochacha of Bechuchotai warns against:

"keri/casualness". (26:27) "If despite this you will not heed Me, and you behave toward Me with casualness... " Rashi explains "casualness" to mean that your performance of the mitzvos will be haphazard and inconsistent. Rather than treating the mitzvos with reverence and esteem, you treat them as a matter of convenience (or inconvenience). "I too," says Hashem, "will treat you casually."

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos: Casualness and Consistency
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5758/behar.html

The words of the Shma call us to action:

"Hear O Israel... You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might... Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign upon your hand and let them serve as a symbol on, your forehead, inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Dt 6:4-9 JPS

The command offers no latitude for indifference or negligence. Coordination is demanded between what is known to be right and what must be done. Our actions influence not only or own lives, but also those around us. Evil seems so much greater than good in the world, reflecting the split of positive and negative mitzvot. Of 613 mitzvot, 365 are negative-- one for each day of the year. The negatives seem always to outweigh the positive. After three weeks of grueling study, the essay is tightly written, substantiated with good references, formatted and cleanly printed or hyperlinked to the ends of the internet, but the critic finds the only pair of crossed letters or absent comma, ignoring the content and depth that the author presents. We can focus on the negative and overwhelm ourselves with it or do the positive.

The negative has immediate visible results. A student walks into a classroom and shoots the teacher. The reaction is immediate. Police arrive, students are traumatized, parents are shocked, the world responds as the consequences of the student's actions ripple across society. The pain spreads like an icy tidal wave over the area. The pain cannot be undone, the life cannot be brought back. The agony rolls outward through lives upon lives as the loss and terror is felt. The headlines flash across the newspapers and media, only to be recalled years later during criminal proceedings.

The fear of the negative freezes us to inaction. We feel helpless in the wake of natural disaster warnings, ozone holes, whale beachings, prisoner abuse scandals, political corruption. A Mormon missionary told me that she felt helpless as a teenager because of the continual barrage of environmental warnings regarding the environment. Coming from Colorado, a state environmentally conscientious, psychological pressure created a state of constant anxiety as she was inundated daily with dire predictions of hot house effects, deforestation and vanishing species. Fear cripples. Only personal action breaks the crippling grip of anxiety. By joining with others, planting flowers in public places and taking part in recycling projects, she was able to achieve the positive. Her life was changed, but not without influencing those around her. In doing the positive, the immediate results are not always seen. A teacher may never know the ultimate influence he has had upon a student, but the effects stretch beyond our immediate understanding into the future. Planting a seed may be a small thing, but it may thrive and blossom in the future bringing blessings upon others.

Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld explains that for every positive mitzvot done, there is a defending angel to testify on behalf of the person before the Almighty; but for each transgression, there is also an accusing angel eager to denounce. Our actions are our witness and reflect our relationship to God, whether we sanctify or profane the name of God.

Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, Pirkei Avos
Chapter 4, Mishna 13(a): Creating Angels
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter4-13a.html
"Rabbi Eliezer ben (son of) Yaakov said, one who fulfills one mitzvah
(commandment) acquires himself a single defending angel. One who commits
one transgression acquires one accusing angel. Repentance and good deeds
serve as a shield before retribution."

Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, Pirkei Avos
Chapter 4, Mishna 13(b): Repentance and a World of Love
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter4-13b.html
"Rabbi Eliezer ben (son of) Yaakov said, one who fulfills one mitzvah
(commandment) acquires himself a single defending angel. One who commits
one transgression acquires one accusing angel. Repentance and good deeds
serve as a shield before retribution."

Khazak, Khazak, V'nithazek!

FOOTPRINTS:
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"If then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving the Lord your God and serving him with allow your heart and soul, I will grant the rain for your land in season, the early rain and late." V-4 Re-eh Dt 11:13-25

"And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them."
II-7 Terumah Ex 25:8

10 Febr II-7 Terumah Making a Sanctuary
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113635

FURTHERMORE
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Rabbi Shlomo Katz, Hamaayan Behar 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/hamaayan/5761/behar.html
look down page for Pirkei Avos 5:23:

"Yehuda ben Tema said: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and strong as a lion to carry out the will of your Father in Heaven."

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Bechukotai 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5757/bechukosai.html

Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, Pirkei Avos: Playing God
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter5-16.html
four kinds of Charity

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Bechukotai 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5758/behar.html

has story of Baal Shem Tov and the two friends

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Bechukotai 5760
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5760/bechukosai.html

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos: Casualness and Consistency
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5758/behar.html

Rabbi Label Lam, Parsha Insight Emor 5765: A Kiddush HASHEM
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5765/emor.html
"The Sefas Emes writes, “When HASHEM took us out from Egypt with wondrous
signs and by changing nature so the souls of the Children of Israel went
out from their natural realm. Therefore they are capable of giving
themselves over entirely to sanctify the Name of HASHEM in a way that goes
beyond human nature.

This by itself is a sanctification of His Name, as it is written, “You are
My witnesses, so says HASHEM!” (Isaiah 43:10) This testimony is not only
verbally transmitted but rather the Children of Israel are themselves the
living sign and testimony about HASHEM may his Name be blessed that He
renews the world and conducts the natural universe since the Children of
Israel cleave to him and they are able to transcend natural limits.”"

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, Drash-Emor: Mitzvah Vigilanté
13 May 2005 – 4 Iyar, 5765 Vol. 9 Issue 23
http://www.torah.org/learning/drasha/5765/emor.html
story of Reb Zissel and Rabbi Zelman of Chicago: Sharing a newspaper
how quietly the positive speads beyond our immediate understanding

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline, Terumah 5760
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5760/terumah.html
"And they shall make a Temple for Me, and I will dwell among them..." Ex 25:8

RELATED SUITE PARASHA
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6 May III-7 Kedoshim Love Your Neighbor
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115201

5 May III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/05/ii-7-kedoshim-love-your-neighbor.html

5 May III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115200

5 May III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/05/iii-7-kedoshim-be-ye-holy.html

24 Febr II-9 Ki Thisa A Golden Opportunity
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113825

24 Febr II-9 Ki Thisa A Golden Opportunity
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/02/ii-9-ki-thisa-golden-opportunity.html

II-7 Terumah Making a Sanctuary From Scratch 10 February 2005
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113635

II-7 Terumah Making a Sanctuary From Scratch 10 February 2005
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/02/ii-7-terumah-making-sanctuary-from.html

III-9 Behar SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL NEIGHBOR

2005-05-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

21 May 2005 III-9 Behar SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL NEIGHBOR
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115952

Torah: Lv 25-26:2 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/behar.shtml

Haftorah: Jer 32:6-27 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/behar_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
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1. Lv 25:1-13
2. Lv 25:14-18
3. Lv 25:19-24
4. Lv 25:25-28
5. Lv 25:29-38
6. Lv 25:39-46
7. Lv 25:47-26:2

OVERVIEW:
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Behar institutes the Sabbatical and Jubilee Years, respectively the seventh and fiftieth years. Six years the Israelites may tend their fields and vineyards, but the seventh the land lays fallow. The harvest is left to the poor and needy, but not gathered for commerical means. The Jubilee year falls on the seventh interval of Sabbatical Years (7 x 7 + 1) on the eighth year. Eight is the number of redemption, dedication and renewal. Brit milah/circumscision is made on the Eighth Day. The Metzora is purified on the Eighth Day just as the dedication of the temple and consecration of Aaron's sons happened on the Eighth day. During the Eighth, properties are returned to original owners and debts absolved. Indentured servants are freed.

IN FOCUS:
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"Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather the yield. But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest..." Lv 25:3-4 JPS

"If your kinsman is in straits and as to sell part of his holding, his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his kinsman has sold." Lv 25:25

"If your kinsman, being in straits, comes under your authority, and you hold him as a resident alien, let him live by your side." Lv 25:35

"If your kinsman under you continues in straits and must give himself over to you, do not subject him to the treatment of a slave." Lv 25:39

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL NEIGHBOR
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Under the mountain, the Israelites became a nation, freed from slavery. Mishpatim opens with the protection of the lowest of the working classes, establishing restrictions concerning slaves. Strange, is it not? A time of celebrating newly found freedom, social laws are instituted regarding slavery, providing protections for human rights. Subservience should be spurned, for no man truly owns another. All men are fashioned in the image of God. Should a person become so impoverished that he sell himself, he can serve only for six years-- on the seventh, he must be freed.

If the person desired to remain with his master, his ear was bored to the door. Commentary explains that the ear suffers punishment for ignoring the message at Sinai, reflecting the blood smeaed on the doorposts on the night of the Passover. Behar intoduces the Jubilee Year, bringing freedom and financial release for those sliding into the pit of poverty and despair. Intervention is needed to protect a person from destitution or demoralization before he falls into dire circumstances.

The relationship of man with his fellow man reflects our own relationship with God. Are we slaves to those around us? Do we confront life as a partnership of human and divine elements? Do we see God as the slave-master? Is God the hidden partner of the firm? If God is our hidden partner with a balanced contract, we must also view our relationships with those around us in the same terms. We can be the hidden partner for someone struggling to survive.

Rabbi Moshe of Kobrin writes:

"Do not give your silver for interest. . . . this is the continuation of the previous verse, which tells us that "your brother shall live with you," a reference to the need to give tzedakah. The word for interest used here is neshech, which is related to the word neshichah, which means "biting." When you give tzedakah to a poor person, do not use the opportunity to "bite" him by reprimanding him and telling him to mend his ways. Instead, give the tzedakah cheerfully."

In addition, Ex 22:24 and Dt 15:3 set a fence around the poor, defending them from the wolves, seeking self interest and exploitation through loans or unbearable debts. Debt consolidation is big business. Credit cards extends the debts and losses of those whose eyes are generally bigger than their pockets. Unscrupulous social mores justify minimum wages for heavy manual labor or extended hours with few benefits by arguing cutting expenses or providing a job for the otherwise unemployed. However, when managers and administrators of the company are lounging in leather-padded seats and plying themselves with dividends and company benefits, it is unacceptable to tell the janitor or butcher their work is not worthy of company investment into welfare. Boardroom champagne brunches with personal take-homes of company stock is objectionable so long as anyone struggles with daily survival providing for himself or his family. Each person, working within in a company invests his time and skills, should be recognized for his inherent value. The megastore stockboy presents a more intimate image of the company than the men hidden behind the conference table up in Valhalla. His response more directly influences the client than the slick advertising circulars stuffed into mailboxes. Without his skills, his ability to function in a chaotic environment or his sensitivity to the customer, the company would suffer greater losses. Moreover, the person stocking the shelves is born with similar gifts and abilities as those above, but has not been provided the environment or opportunity to "get ahead."

Consider the visonary who innovated TicTac. Turn one over in your hand. How many billions must be sold for the coffers of internatiional revenue? Consider the paperclip? However humble either product may be, they are frequently sought. Each contributes to the welfare and profit of the company.

Human life should not be discarded like a styrofoam cup. Life should be drunk fully, indulged, savored until a person's basic needs are sated and the joy of living is like the aroma of a fine tea or spice.

The Jubilee Year reminds us of our interdependency. Each of us is susceptible to that beyond our control. Sudden disaster overtakes anyone: the tsunami in South East Asia, a catastrophic buiness venture or terrible car accident. No one is impervious to disaster. We must intervene for our kinsman, our brother, our neighbor when the walls of his house cracks before the carpets are rolled up and sold in the bazaar. Poverty is the hardest enslavement to bear when a person has nowhere to turn for external resources: medical care, education, training, food, clothes...

"You shall proclaim liberty (release) throughout the land for all its inhabitants. " Lv 25:10

Rashi says the release of the Jubilee Year is especially for those enslaved. Although slavery is not enacted today by nailing an ear to the door, ever-present debts and hardship bends the back under the yoke of drudgery. Tzedakah is not merely giving, but granting dignity to each man to walk erectly. Give so that the person can have respect for himself, regardless whether it is encouragement or financial support. As much as you dislike condescension, so does the other.

FOOTPRINTS:
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"When you acquire a Hebrew slave, he shall serve you six years and in the seventh year, he shall go free... II-6 Mishpatim Ex 21:2 JPS (see passage 1-11)

II-6 Mishpatim The Value of Life
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/02/ii-6-mishpatim-value-of-life.html

When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him." II-6 Mishpatim Ex 23:5 JPS

"Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow. let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat." II-6 Mishpatim Ex 23:10 JPS

FURTHRMORE:
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Kolel Beha Behukotai 5761
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5761/behar.html

Kolel, Behar Behuchotai 5762
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5762/behar_behukotai.html
story of the rabbi and cleaning maid

Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, JTSA: Behar 5755
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5755/behar.shtml
"the world rests on three things: on Torah, service to God, and deeds of love"
regarding the obligation to assist in time financial need and privation

Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett, Letting our People Go: Bringing us all out of Egypt
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/mishpatim_socialaction2000.htm

Yanki Tauber, The Myth of the Self-Made Man
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=83612

Yanki Tauber, Mishpatim: The Criminal, the Litigant and the Partner
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2795

Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler, The Ear that Heard 5764
http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/parsha/chrysler/archives/mishpatim64.htm

Rabbi Shimon Felix, Bo: Equal before God
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bo_bronfman.htm

Rabbi Avraham Fischer, Bo: Defining the Service of God
h ttp://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bo_ou5762.htm
My Jewish Learning

Yanki Tauber, Behar-Bechukotai: Whose Life is it Anyway?
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=78305
explanation of the four Guardians: Unpaid and Paid Guardian, Borrower and Renter

Yanki Tauber, Doing Business with God
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2907

Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, Pirkei Avos 3:20
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter3-20.html
doing business with God

Rabbi Joshua Heller, JTSA 5763
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5763/behar.shtml
dealing with economic justice

Rabbi Shimon Felix, Behar Responding Quickly to Need
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bhar_bronfman.htm
FEMA vs Behar

Judith Ovadia, Behar: Sowing Seeds of Redemption
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bhar_uahc.htm

Charity
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Maimonides, The Eight Levels of Charity
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=45907

Yanki Tauber, Charity: An Anthology
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=3056

Charity from The Path of the Righteous Gentile
translated by Chaim Clorfene and Yakov Rogalsky
http://www.moshiach.com/action/morality/charity.php

On Sabbatical Years and Year of Jubilee:
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Yrachmiel Tilles, The Seventh Year
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=77210

regarding the agricultural settlement, Komemiyut

Yanki Tauber, The Fiftieth Year
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2908

Kolel Behar 5763
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5763/behar.html

Kolel, Behar 5760
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5760/behar.html
examining different translations and interpretations of Lv 25: 35

STORIES:
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Nissan Mindel, The First Rothschild
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=111747

Yrachmiel Tilles, The Loan
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=111751

Yrachmiel Tilles, Fifty Year Old Honey
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=111745
Chabad. org A case of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev on the compensation of widows and orphans and lost things

Yanki Tauber, The Prodigy Under the Bed
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=42969

Related Suite Parasha
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II-6 Mishpatim The Value of Life
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113449

II-6 Mishpatim The Value of Life
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/02/ii-6-mishpatim-value-of-life.html

14 May 2005 III-8 Emor Say FRATERNITY, EGALITY, CHARITY AND GREAT WHALES
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115325

14 May 2005 III-8 Emor Say FRATERNITY, EGALITY, CHARITY AND GREAT WHALES
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/05/ii-8-emor-say-fraternity-egality.html

6 May III-7 Kedoshim Love Your Neighbor
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115201

6 May III-7 Kedoshim Love Your Neighbor
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/05/ii-7-kedoshim-love-your-neighbor.html

5 May III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115200

5 May III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/05/iii-7-kedoshim-be-ye-holy.html

II-8 Emor Say FRATERNITY, EGALITY, CHARITY AND GREAT WHALES

2005-05-14T00:41:00.000-07:00

14 May 2005 III-8 Emor Say FRATERNITY, EGALITY, CHARITY AND GREAT WHALES
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115325

Torah: Lv 21-24:23
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/emor.shtml

Haftorah: Ez 44:15-31 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/emor_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
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1. Lv 21:1-15
2. Lv 21:16-22:16
3. Lv 22:17-33
4. Lv 23:1-22
5. Lv 23:23-32
6. Lv 23:33-44
7. Lv 24:1-23

OVERVIEW:
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Emor defines restrictions for the Kohanim regarding physical attributes, marriage and death. Elevated to serve the nation in holiness, they were separated from the general society. Emor includes the calendar of the major festivals: Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. The mitzvah of pe'ah, corners of the field, is repeated from Kedoshim. Injunctions concerning restitution, similar to those in Mishpatim, appear at the end.

IN FOCUS:
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"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them fo the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God." Lv 23:22 JPS

"You shall have one standard for stranger and citizen alike: for I am the Lord your God." Lv 24:27 JPS

O Lord, how manifold thy works:
in wisdom thou hast made them all; the earth is full of thy riches.
So is the great and wide sea also:
wherein are things creeping innumerable,
both small and great beasts.
There go the ships, and there is that leviathan:
whom thou hast made to take his pastime therein.
These wait all upon thee: that thou mayest give them meat in due season.
When thou givest it them they gather it:
and when thou openest thy hand they are filled with good.

Ps 104: 24-28
Psalter, Book of Common Prayer

FRATERNITY, EGALITY, CHARITY AND GREAT WHALES
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Kedoshim introduces the mitzvot of pe'ah, repeated in Emor. In Kedoshim, it is sandwiched between a partial repetition of the Decalogue after an injunction regarding the consumption of sacrifices and before social laws: thou shalt not steal, swear falsely, defraud your neighbor, commit robbery...

Curious? Indeed. Look again:

19:2 you shall be holy as I am holy.
3. revere mother and father, keep sabbaths...
4. Do not turn to idols or make molten gods...
5. sacrifice of well-being to the Lord... (must be eaten in two days and remainder is destroyed on third)
9-10 pe'ah
11. you shall not steal, deal deceitfully
12. swear falsely, profane God's name

continuing with social laws governing interpersonal relations

Verses 9-10, Corners of the Field, acts as a pivot between the individual and society. Personal behavior influences the whole society, just as parental behavior inflences how children perceive God. The experience or understanding of God is not an other-worldly, transcendental thing, but a practical experience we discover through our parents, created in the image of God.

Sacrificing was not a purely personal thing, but a community engagement, including the slaughter of a ritually pure animal and its consumption. How quickly can you eat a side of beef?

Although we wish to think that our sins are ours alone, they are not. If we steal, the theft affects the victim, possibly extending well beyond. Consider Enron and the massive loss of jobs, health insurance and pensions. If payment is not timely, workers suffer greatly through the loss of food, shelter or other immeasurable financial or psychological ramifications. Consider today's complicated credit system: Guy Mann misses a deadline, his credit is suspended— Nightmares of debt collecting wolves and foxes start gnawing at his guts. Perhaps the amount is negligible to the employer, but it represents labor hours and hardship to the employee. Wal-Mart exploits unprotected laborers for the supplier as well as workers under its roof. Moreover, exploitation spills over into broader society. Because employees cannot earn sufficient income to support their families, they must work additional jobs or hours or find financial support through other means—including government programs. Faced with insufficient income for healthy living, their lives become a cycle of dehumanizing hardship, subsisting on the charity and benevolence of others. Such treatment effaces the image of God, destroying the spark of divine life within. The corporation reaps wealth, but sows misery and spiritual poverty.

The mitzvot of pe'ah interrupts the cycle of merciless exploitation. Pe'ah cannot reverse injuries imposed on the poor, but it provides them with a way of helping themselves. Pe'ah can be applied as conceptual mitzvot to any situation where resources of an individual, business or corporation are set aside: a medical clinic opening for ten hours a week; unwanted or unsold foodstuffs donated from a store; mechanic teaching the basic car maintenance.

Holiness is not esoteric, but the practical expression of God's love for humanity.

In Emor, pe'ah follows the description of the Festival of First Fruits/ Shavuot, preceding the Day of Atonement.

OOooppps—got that?

Pe'ah is sandwiched between the Festival of Thanksgiving of the Haves and the Day of Atonement. Who celebrates Shavuot? Landowners reaping their first harvest of wheat. More precisely, landowners, having sufficient means to partake in the holidays in Jerusalem. If you have no harvest, you have nothing to bring to the Temple. There is a definite split between the Haves and Have-nots. What is Yom Kippur all about? Confessing and repenting the sins made against man and God. However, one cannot confess sins before God unless restitution is first made. In the weeks leading to Yom Kippur, there is time to right the wrongs and heal the injuries of interpersonal relationships. This is the time to repay the debt: hurry across the street and compensate the unpaid worker and clear the book of old wrongs.

Moreover, sacrifices and gifts for the Temple, gained through unethical means, are inacceptable to God. A corporation, contributing to United Way or AIDS relief, cannot claim to be doing God's work, healing the world, while simultaneously exploiting the workforce for cheap goods and cheap labor. This is not sanctioned, nor do such "acts of charity" sanctify God's name, but rather blot it. Who believes in a loving God if life is a continual struggle for daily bread and unrelenting misery of economic hardship? Such a company, institution or individual desecrates God's name.

More ominously, the placement reveals a warning: how we treat and exploit those in need is how we ourselves shalll be judged.

Capitalism works for a very limited time for someone, never considering that he stands in the antechamber of the World-to-Be. Capitalism is man's way of exploiting everything possible and driving his gas-guzzling SUV down the freeway while plastering a bumpersticker, SAVE THE WHALES, on his rear windshield without considering the consequences. In the Pacific, an island of plastic sacks over ten miles long exists --a death trap to sea-life. Moreover, plastic like sins, only multiplies and never disappears. Presently, there is more plastic than plankton in the sea.

Pe'ah is the commitment to the neighbor: the holy obligation of the Haves to provide for the Have-nots. Pe'ah is the portion of ground on which we stand, confronted with our own lives and stewardship of the things of this world.

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of the harvest. You shall not pick your vineyards bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard, you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger." Lv 19: 9-10 JPS

"Love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord." Lv 19:19 JPS

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Kolel: Emor 5760
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5760/emor.html
corners of the field

Rav Kook, Kedoshim: "Peah" and Lessons in Tzedakah
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/KEDOSHIM60.htm
a concise explanation of Peah and its significance as a model of charitable acts

Rav Kook, Kedoshim: Love your Neighbor
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/KDOSHM62.htm

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Emor: The Pursuit of Happiness
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/emor_artson5762.htm

Steve Greenberg, Behar: Fairness in the Marketplace
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bhar_clal.htm

Charity from The Path of the Righteous Gentile translated by Chaim Clorfene and Yakov Rogalsky
http://www.moshiach.com/action/morality/charity.php

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline-Terumah 5763
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5763/terumah.html

Rabbi Avraham Fischer, Terumah: On the Way to Sanctity
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/terumah_ou5762.htm

Erasmus on wealth:

"What wealth brings is a host of evils...St Jerome says that a rich man must be either dishonest himself or the heir to a dishonest man. You can neither keep nor get get riches without sin. Wealth robs one of a sense of value. St Paul tells us that avarice and idolatry are the same things..."

from "The Handbook of the Militant Christian" in
The Essential Erasmus edited by John Dolan, Mentor: New American Library 1964 p87

(you can tell Erasmus had no easy time of it, but never ceased to be outspoken against Church or State. Highly recommended read and good weapon of defense. Withering criticism of hypocrisy within Christianity.)

RELATED SUITE PARASHA
&&&&&&&&

II-7 Terumah An offering Making a Sanctuary From Scratch 10 February 2005
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113635

II-7 Terumah Making a Sanctuary From Scratch 10 February 2005
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/02/ii-7-terumah-making-sanctuary-from.html

6 May III-7 Kedoshim Love Your Neighbor
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115201

6 May III-7 Kedoshim Love Your Neighbor
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/05/ii-7-kedoshim-love-your-neighbor.html

5 May III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115200

5 May III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/05/iii-7-kedoshim-be-ye-holy.html

21 III-6 AchareiMot Blame it on the Scapegoat
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115141

21 III-6 AchareiMot Blame it on the Scapegoat
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/04/iii-6-achareimot-blame-it-on-scapegoat.html

II-7 Kedoshim Love Your Neighbor

2005-05-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

6 May III-7 Kedoshim Love Your Neighbor
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115201

Torah: Lv 19-20:27
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/kedoshim.shtml

Haftorah: Is 66:1-24, 23
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/kedoshim_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&
1. Lv 19:1-14
2. Lv 19:15-22
3. Lv 19:23-32
4. Lv 19:33-37
5. Lv 20:1-7
6. Lv 20:8-22
7. Lv 20:23-27

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&&&

Kedoshim calls us to holiness. Holiness is not an other-world concept of fasting aescetics meditating in a desert, but that of applicable relationships and deeds between man and man, and man and God. Be ye holy. How? Love your neighbor as yourself. Don't steal or cheat you fellow man; pay wages on time, assist those in need and provide for those without—dedicate the corners of your field so gleaners can provide for themselves. Your relationships with your fellow man can either honor of defame God through your example.

IN FOCUS:
&&&&&&&&&&

"You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy." Lv 19:2

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of the harvest. You shall not pick your vineyards bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard, you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger." Lv 19: 9-10

"Love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord." Lv 19:19

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Oftentimes, I think that I will not write another article for this page. There's so much bitterness in this world that I feel I have no influence at all. Often, I confess no belief in God. He seems more hidden than revealed, more absent than present.

In 2000, I was attacked by my landlord with two other men after returning from the Spanish Synagogue.They broke into my flat, awaiting my return. I owed no debt, offering to pay legal fees on the landlord's behalf to process the necessary documentation. I escaped, but having nowhere to go I tried to call for help. The first was the leader of the Jewish community that I had just left. He said, "Sorry, I'm busy...' and hung up. Another promised that he would standby to call the police if anything happened. Yet another, a friend who didn't want to be bothered because she was drinking wine. Frantically I went through my entire list at the local telephone box when the thug caught me on the street. Springing on me, he squatted on my chest. Grabbing my head in his hands, he beat it against the pavement until I released the binder in my hands, containing all my legal documentation. I sustained severe concussions. Being Saturday, procuring a lawyer to open the flat or hire a moving van was not easy, but incredibly expensive. The movers could demand whatever price they wanted. The lawyer appeared, but did nothing to establish order or take evidence. She provided no defense, but demanded payment.

I was active then in three communities: Catholic, Anglican and Jewish. None of them showed compassion or provided assistance to sustain me through the catastrophe destroying my life. I lost everything of value. Six years work and two thousand pages of manuscript. Wine, jewelry, computer, diskettes, walkmans, students' exams. Even my eyeglasses were taken. While I was locked out on the street, they vandalized the flat, searching through the already packed boxes. They tried to kill my cat in my oven.

Seeing me shaking from shock, the Catholic priest berated me harshly for feeling sorry for myself. Later I begged assistance, going to the chief priest. He told me:

"Really Mary, the Church is not for that. It is not the mission of the Church to help people."

"But couldn't you at least announce it to the congregation? There are so many people who could help me."

"No, I really can't do that. If I did it for you; I would have to do it for everyone else—and that is not the purpose of the Church."

So I learned that Jesus preached in vain. Instead, I hear invidious polemics: Jews wash only their left hands, Jews executed people by burying them alive, Jesus was the first man to call God his father, the first to preach that God was a God of love ... on and on, twisting the teachings of Torah and Talmud to suit their own devious schemes of riling contempt for God's people. So John Paul lived and died in vain.

What good is it if you blather theology, rant tirades on Sunday morning, if your hand and mouth do not perform the mitzvos decreed within the Torah.

And so I object, but cannot stop the swirling tide of baseless prejudice.

Yet these very same people preach God's love to a congregation on Sunday. Who can believe in such a religion? I can't.

I received little besides sardonic moralizing, abusing me for tears when I was in great pain. There seems to be no relationship between the teachings of Jesus the Jew to the priestly behavior. I cannot justify it, nor can I justify the deaths of so many people in concentration camps. They died of moral cowardice; the refusal to care for others. How many profited from stolen goods? How many were glad to see their neighbors proscribed so they could steal their pets, confiscate their houses and have grand pianos?

How many tergisversated, refused assistance just as they did the night I was attacked. Since then I have survived four attacks. Each is brutally senseless, but renews the nightmares, my spiraling debts and helplessness.

The police did nothing. Even with the license plates and vivid description, they turned a blind eye. People accused me of wrongdoing. They made jokes at my expense, they moralized; but did little to help my recovery. I sought help on both sides, Jews and Catholics alike. The Catholic priests were just abusive, adding more hardship through their insufferable moralizing. And having a foot within the Jewish community, made me more a victim of prejudice and indifference. Nobody wants responsibility to help a neighbor, yet both sides preach it as a holy obligation.

Telling someone, "Don't worry, be happy," just doesn't work.

Truly, it is difficult for me to believe. Each day is a struggle. I am in the pit. My life is only a bad apology for my existence, yet I am taught that all men are made in the image of God.

Why then do we abandon those in great need? Why do we debase those among the walking dead? Ignore the cry for help in the eyes of others?

What I lost, I cannot replace. I cannot restore the person I was before I was attacked. Previously, I had no fear to be alone; but now I am intimidated, afraid to ask for help when I most need it. When my shoulder was fractured, I endured scathing remarks from those pumping my arm as I restrained myself from wincing pain. "Oh, you're so weak..."

Well, no, really I am not. Have you been beaten? Attacked and escaped to talk about it? Have you taught twelve hours without a break after being tossed by a car? Have you seen your lower body trapped between the doors under the train? Each incident bears scars I cannot heal on my body and spirit and in my life, but the greatest is the inhumane indifference. They are the same who would turn aside, close the blinds, cover their ears and not see the anguish of their neighbor and the immolation of their brother.

Too often Christianity perverts Jesus' words, declaring "take up your bed and walk" as a way to revile those crippled, rather than showing compassion commanded of us through mitzvot.

I can walk. Despite the polemical remarks, I remain adamantly loyal to what I believe is right. I overstep the line, the baseless hatred and prejudice... and granted in my old age, learning Torah is more blotchy than writing on recycled paper with a cheap, drippy pen.

"Contemplate three things, and you will not come to the hands of transgression: Know what is above from you: a seeing eye, a listening ear, and all your deeds being inscribed in a book." Pirkei Avos 2:1

FOOTPRINTS:
&&a&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"When you encounter your enemy's ox or ass wandering, you must take it back to him. When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him." II-6 Mishpatim Ex 23:4-5

Yanki Tauber, Mishpatim: The Criminal, the Litigant, and the Partner
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2795

Rav Kook, Vayishlach: The Clash Between Jacob and Esau
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/VAYISH64.htm
a study of conflicting temperaments and disparate views on legacy

Rav Kook, Kedoshim: "Peah" and Lessons in Tzedakah
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/KEDOSHIM60.htm
a concise explanation of Peah and its significance as a model of charitable acts

Rav Kook, Kedoshim: Love your Neighbor
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/KDOSHM62.htm

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Rav Frand, AchareiMos / Kedoshim 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5757/achareimos.html
succinct explanation of Lv 18:5

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos- AchareiMos / Kedoshim: "For I am Holy"
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5759/achareimos.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insight-AchareiMos / Kekdoshim 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5761/achareimos.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insight-AchareiMos / Kekdoshim 5762
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5762/achareimos.html

Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, Kolel: Kedoshim: A New Look at Philanthropy
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/kedoshim_kolel5761.htm

Rabbi David Ehrenkranz, Kedoshim: Nobility on Endless Trial
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/kedoshim_hillel2001.htm

Stuart Binder, Kedoshim: The Nature of Holiness
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/kedoshim_uahc.htm

Rabbi Pinchas Avruch, Kol Hakollel- AchareiMos / Kedoshim: Giving for a Good Cause
http://www.torah.org/learning/kolhakollel/5762/achareimos.html

Rabbi Pinchas Avruch, Kol Hakollel-Kedoshim: More Power to You
http://www.torah.org/learning/kolhakollel/5763/kedoshim.html

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline – AchareiMos / Kedoshim 5759
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5759/achareimos.html

Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, JTSA Kedoshim 5755
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5755/kedoshim.shtml
biting criticism regarding political neighbors...

Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, JTSA Kedoshim 5760
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5760/kedoshim.shtml
regarding the corners of the field and Ruth
please note that Ruth was a Moabite--

Related Suite Parasha:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
II-6 Mishpatim Laws 3 February 2005
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113449
Torah: Ex 21-24:18

II-6 Mishpatim Laws 3 February 2005
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/02/ii-6-mishpatim-value-of-life.html

III-6 Acharei Mot
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115141

III-6 Acharei Mot
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/04/iii-6-achareimot-blame-it-on-scapegoat.html

III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy

2005-05-05T00:11:00.000-07:00

5 May III-7 Kedoshim Be Ye Holy
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115200

Torah: Lv 19-20:27
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/kedoshim.shtml

Haftorah: Is 66:1-24, 23
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/kedoshim_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&
1. Lv 19:1-14
2. Lv 19:15-22
3. Lv 19:23-32
4. Lv 19:33-37
5. Lv 20:1-7
6. Lv 20:8-22
7. Lv 20:23-27

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&&&
Kedoshim calls us to holiness. Holiness is not an other-world concept of fasting aescetics meditating in a desert, but that of applicable relationships and deeds between man and man, and man and God. Be ye holy. How? Love your neighbor as yourself. Don't steal or cheat you fellow man; pay wages on time, assist those in need and provide for those without—dedicate the corners of your field so gleaners can provide for themselves. Your relationships with your fellow man can either honor of defame God through your example.

IN FOCUS:
&&&&&&&&&&
"You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy." Lv 19:2

"Love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord." Lv 19:19

BE YE HOLY
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
In religious art, holiness is often depicted by the glowing halo circling a head or the martyrdom of some saint. Walk into a Catholic church to find a saint, looking more prickly like a pin-cushion with arrows or a marble statute enduring the last agonies. This is not what Kedoshim relates regarding holiness. Holiness and martyrdom can be very disparate things. We all die, so we choose carefully. Dying on behalf of self-indulgence, obesity or drunken behavior is ignominous. We are commanded to live in the image of God. Rav Frand explains that there are only three exceptional situations for martyrdom: idol worship (avoda zarah); murder (shfichas damim); and illicit sexual relationships (giluy arayus).

It is better to sin or neglect a mitzvot than be killed. Talmud teaches us that we are witnesses of God through performing mitzvot. Sins can be forgiven through repentance, but a dead man can't make teshuvah or do mitzvot. As King David writes:

"What is to be gained from my death,
from my descent into the Pit?
Can dust praise You?
Can it declare your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me."
Ps 30: 10 JPS

Mitzvot are a lamp for others struggling in darkness. How we live witnesses to the Divine Presence among us. How we relate action with word establishes the model for others. Rabbi Simcha Meir of Dvinsk explains that the relationship between man and man is a hechser mitzvah, reflecting our relationship with our Creator. A mitzvah used in preparing for another mitzvot is a "hechser mitzvah," acting as a conduit for another purpose: building a synagogue or donating money to charity. Not an end in themselves, they further a higher cause. How we interact with each other should not be an end in itself, but a hechser mitzvot, establishing the model of a loving relationship between God and his people.

Just as God sent angels to Abraham to warn of impending danger, we should warn others. Just as Abraham interceded in the War of Kings and on the behalf of his wayward nephew; so we too, should intercede. We must stand as Moses stood on the mountain, arguing on behalf of the errant assembly below.

Too frequently charity involves social condescension. We clean the closets of the things we desire no longer, those that no longer fit, those that have tears in the pockets, stains in the collar and minus a few buttons, to dump on some faceless recipient on the the other side of the impersonal wall of charity. Sensitivity to the poor is imperative to avoid debasing them. Through offering the corners of the field, they were not only given a chance to provide for themselves, but also a chance to retain their dignity through self-support. We imagine ourselves as benefactors. In reality, we do little to assauge the despair and anguish of their lives. We do not sit in the dirt of the street to hear about the trials of the week, the ordeal of surviving a night in subzero temperatures.

We do not stop to hear the anxiety lurking in our co-worker's heart: the unpaid mortgage or his children's dental bills. We do not hear the waitress, bustling about with an armful of dirty trays and smudges on her sweaty face. She should wait on us; not the reverse.

We turn aside whenever an altercation arises. Someone screams beneath our window. We close the blinds to shut out the attacker. Calling the police complicates our life—we might be called to be a witness. After all, isn't a man's destiny decreed? Aren't the very hairs on a man's head numbered by God?

Our actions consecrate or defame the image of God implanted within us. It's not dependent on being Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, or Conservative. It's downright personal.

Yanki Tauber, Mishpatim: The Criminal, the Litigant, and the Partner
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2795

Rav Kook, Vayishlach: The Clash Between Jacob and Esau
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/VAYISH64.htm
a study of conflicting temperaments and disparate views on legacy

Rav Kook, Kedoshim: "Peah" and Lessons in Tzedakah
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/KEDOSHIM60.htm
a concise explanation of Peah and its significance as a model of charitable acts

Rav Kook, Kedoshim: Love your Neighbor
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/KDOSHM62.htm

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Rav Frand, AchareiMos / Kedoshim 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5757/achareimos.html
succinct explanation of Lv 18:5

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos- AchareiMos / Kedoshim: "For I am Holy"
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5759/achareimos.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insight-AchareiMos / Kekdoshim 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5761/achareimos.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insight-AchareiMos / Kekdoshim 5762
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5762/achareimos.html

Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, Kolel: Kedoshim: A New Look at Philanthropy
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/kedoshim_kolel5761.htm

Rabbi David Ehrenkranz, Kedoshim: Nobility on Endless Trial
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/kedoshim_hillel2001.htm

Stuart Binder, Kedoshim: The Nature of Holiness
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/kedoshim_uahc.htm

Rabbi Pinchas Avruch, Kol Hakollel- AchareiMos / Kedoshim: Giving for a Good Cause
http://www.torah.org/learning/kolhakollel/5762/achareimos.html

Rabbi Pinchas Avruch, Kol Hakollel-Kedoshim: More Power to You
http://www.torah.org/learning/kolhakollel/5763/kedoshim.html

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline – AchareiMos / Kedoshim 5759
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5759/achareimos.html

Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, JTSA Kedoshim 5755
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5755/kedoshim.shtml
biting criticism regarding political neighbors...

Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, JTSA Kedoshim 5760
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5760/kedoshim.shtml
regarding the corners of the field and Ruth
please note that Ruth was a Moabite--

Related Suite Parasha:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
II-6 Mishpatim Laws 3 February 2005
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113449
Torah: Ex 21-24:18

II-6 Mishpatim Laws 3 February 2005
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/02/ii-6-mishpatim-value-of-life.html

III-6 Acharei Mot
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115141

III-6 Acharei Mot
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/04/iii-6-achareimot-blame-it-on-scapegoat.html

III-6 AchareiMot Blame it on the Scapegoat

2005-04-21T23:17:00.000-07:00

21 April III-6 AchareiMot Blame it on the Scapegoat
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115141

Torah: Lv 16-18:30 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/ahareimot.shtml

Haftorah: Ez 22:1-19 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/ahareimot_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&
1. Lv 16:1-17
2. Lv 16:18-24
3. Lv 16:25-35
4. Lv 17:1-7
5. Lv 17:8-18:5
6. Lv 18:6-21
7. Lv 18:22-30

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&&&
Acherei Mos insitutes the Day of Atonement referring to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. The High Priest received two he-goats. One was sacrificed; the other was released into the wilderness--similar to the rite of purification and return of the leper into society found in Metzora. After repentance, sins are forgiven. The parasha continues with prohibitions regarding eating blood representing the essence of life and closes with the prohibition against Moloch Worship with the list of prohibited sexual relationships. The parasha is strongly linked to the story of the Golden Calf (Ki Thissa) and Metzora the Leper. Repentance and redemption are main themes. Regardless of how bad you are, you can always turn and take a step closer to God.

IN FOCUS:
&&&&&&&&&&
"Aaron shall take the two he-goats and let them stand before the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting; and he shall place lots upon the two goats, one marked for the Lord and the other marked for Azazel. Aaron shall bring forward the goat designated by lot for the Lord, which he is to offer as a sin offering; while the goat designated by lot for Azazel shall be left standing alive before the Lord, to make expiation with it and to send it off to the wilderness for Azazel." Lv 16:7-10 JPS Transl

"And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the ehad of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated man. Thus the goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness." Lv 16:21-22 JPS

BLAME IT ON THE SCAPEGOAT
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Daily, headlines greet us with CEO's, political leaders, military authorites, and government officials, confronted with their negligence or corruption, instantly refuting the allegations by asserting that they are innocent. The CEO of World.com didn't know about the falsified accounts; Enron executives had no idea of their corruption; the DOD had no inkling of the abuses in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba, but certainly all those of Arab descent rounded up in the witch-hunt of Ashcroft were guilty of terrorism by genetics. After all there's always a scapegoat to shove over the edge.

In Metzora, the Kohen Gadol goes to examine the metzora outside of the camp. Through the ritual of purification, he is declared clean on the eighth day. The metzora brings two doves. One will be sacrificed and the other set free. In Acharei Mot, two identical he-goats are brought before the Kohen Gadol. Goats have a long history symbolizing the man's wilder nature. Pan the goat-footed god, represents pantheism; when the hedonistic nature of man is out of control, he represents bacchic orgies and sexual excesses. The goat appears on a Czech beer label brewed in Velke Popovice with obvious implications. A goat is also a lecherous old man.

What about these two goats? In Metzora, one bird is sacrificed; the other set free. During the days of the Second Temple, the second goat was led outside of the city to a high cliff and then shoved off.

They represent two ways of living: one, dedicated to God, consumed by the fire burning within us; the other, led astray and often pushed over the edge through reckless living.

They symbolize the relationship of Jacob and Esau, the twins, whose lives were irrevocably altered by an altercation over a bowl of porridge. They represent two diverse elements within each of us. Esau was red and hairy, a man of the field and a hunter. He stalked game, living a earthly life. He had few spiritual aspirations with his heels dug in the earth.

Jacob, we are told, spent his time in the tents studying. He wrestled with an angel. He was not content to be limited to the physical restraints of this earth, but struggled to overcome them and conquer the divine.

"By way of explanation the Midrash offers the following idea:

This goat [the scapegoat, called sair in Hebrew] refers to Esau, as it is written: "but my brother Esau is a hairy [written as soir in Hebrew] man" (Genesis 27:11) [The Hebrew words sair, "goat," and soir, "hairy" are spelled identically.]

[It is further written]: "The goat will bear upon itself all their inequities (avonotam)." In Hebrew the word avonotam can be split into two words avonot tam, meaning "the inequities of the innocent." This is a reference to Jacob about whom it is written: "Jacob was a wholesome (tam) man" (Genesis 25:27). The word tam in Hebrew means wholesome or innocent. (Bereishis Rabba 65:15)"

AISH: Acharei Mot The Scapegoat
http://www.aish.com/torahportion/mayanot/The_Scapegoat.asp

The two goats symbolize of the two-part process of repentance. First, recognize and confess errors with the willingness to sacrifice them. Reject them. Confessing evils is not true teshuvah; it can be another form of sin through vanity. Joyce the Obese sits in the bakery, eating whipped cream while lamenting the levels of blood sugar. Bewailing the doctor's warnings does nothing to control the appetite and illness. It becomes a flag, opportunely waved to announce the scourge of diabetes and short breath, while Joyce indulges in personal suffering and false remorse. If Joyce wanted to lose weight or control diabetes, the warnings would be applied. Moreover, rather than moaning about lugging the extra tonnage, Joyce would be charting daily exercise. Sins become a vanity of our lives like the thief bragging about the Mona Lisa in his bedroom. We become enamoured by our own corruption, wallowing in it narcisstically, using it to control others. We become the god of our lives, vaunting our personal vanities and shunning the Eternal Judge.

Secondly, repentance requires turning away from the sins and not indulging them again. We must immolate the past to free ourselves for the future.

God's judgment is not like man's. A crime on earth makes the person accountable. Murder requires redress—a prison sentence, or in some cases, a death penalty. Claiming innocence doesn't alter the process and many innocent spend time in prison. With God, judgment is different. When a person confesses his sins and changes his life, he is a new man. God does not punish the new man for what the old one did..

Don't mouth prayers. Examine yourself. Make the required internal changes. We see only the superficial levels of human existence, but God examines all that is hidden.

Each of us is made in the image of God with a spark from the Etermal Being. Whether we tend that spark to burn within us or live for the moment, a person with clay feet, depends on us.

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&
"the priest shall go outside the camp. If the priest see that the leper has been healed of his scaly affliction, the priest shall order two live clean birds...The priest shall order one of the birds to be slaughtered...and he shall set the live bird free in the open country."

III-5 Metzora Lv 14: 3-4, 7 JPS

"The next day Moses said to the people, "You have been guilty of a great sin. Yet I will now go up to the Lord; perhaps I may win forgiveness for your sin." Moses went back to the Lord and said, "Alas, thes people is guilty of a great sin in making for themeselves a god of gold. Now if You will forgive their sin [well and good]; but if not, erase me from the record that You have written!" II-9 Ki Tissa Ex 32:30-32 JPS

Yanki Tauber, Ki Tisa Good as Gold
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=70814

Rev Samuel Rapaport, Tales and Maxims from the Midrash, Exodus Rabbah
http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/tmm/tmm08.htm
"Moses, in pleading for the Israelites against their projected destruction for making the golden calf, had recourse to all sorts of, excuses in order to avert the threatened punishment." See page 107-108 Exodus Rabbah 43 -44

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Tazria: The Leprosy of Irresponsible Speech
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tazria_artson5758.htm

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Metzora: Is it Basphemous to Heal People?
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/metzora_artson5762.htm

Rabbi Yehudah Prero, Repentance: A Story
h ttp://torah.org/learning/yomtov/yomkippur/vol1no41.html

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&
Aish Acharei Mot The Scapegoat
http://www.aish.com/torahportion/mayanot/The_Scapegoat.asp

Rav Kook: Acharei Mos: Ox and Goat
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/ACHAREI60.htm

Rabbi Yehuda Prero, Yom Kippur: A Lesson For life
http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/yomkippur/vol1no43.html

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook-Acherei Mos/Kedoshim: In Bounds
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5762/achareimos.html

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook-AchereiMos/Kekdoshim: Of Demons and Goats
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5759/achareimos.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights-Acharei Mos 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5758/achareimos.html

Kolel, I-6 Toldot 5765
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5765/toldot.html
regarding the contrasting temperaments of Jacob and Esau

Yanki Tauber, Toldot: Jacob and Esau
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=15573
based on the Lubavitcher rebbe Schneerson's teachings
gives a contrasting picture of the twins

Kolel, Acharei Mos 5762
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5762/aharei_mot.html

Kolel Acharei Mos 5763
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5763/acharemot.html

Yanki Tauber, Withdrawal and Return
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=42633
based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. regarding Nadav and Avihu in relationship to Yom Kippur

Rabbi Shimon Felix, Acharei Mot: The Sanctity of Elemental Relationships
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/aharemot_bronfman.htm
My Jewish Learning

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook 5764 : Of Death, Selfishness and Service
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5764/achareimos.html

Jewish Encyclopedia:
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Azazel
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=2203&letter=A&search=Azazel

Yoma
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=77&letter=Y&search=Azazel

Fall of Angels
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=24&letter=F&search=Azazel

Day of Atonement
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=2093&letter=A&search=Azazel

Demonology
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=245&letter=D&search=Azazel

Images
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=245&letter=D&imgid=719

Sin Offering
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=815&letter=S&search=Azazel

Related Suite Parasha
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

II-4 Beshellach In Over My Head
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113190
going through the Ein Sof, transformation

II-4 Beshellach In Over my Head
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/01/ii-4-beshelach-in-over-my-head.html

II-9 Ki Thissa A Golden Opportunity
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115034

II-9 Ki Thissa A Golden Opportunity
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/02/ii-9-ki-thisa-golden-opportunity.html

III-5 Metzora The Kohen and the Metzora
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115034

III-5 Metzora The Kohen and the Metzora
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/04/iii-5-metzora-kohen-and-metzora.html

III-3 Shemini
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/intro_parasha_for_the_stranger/114573
regarding Nadab and Abihu

III-3 Shemini When Tragedy Strikes
http://parasha4stranger.blogspot.com/2005/04/iii-5-metzora-kohen-and-metzora.html

III-5 Metzora: The Kohen and the Metzora

2005-04-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

14 April III-5 Metzora: The Kohen and the Metzora
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115034

Torah: Lv 14-15:32 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/metsora.shtml

Haftorah: Mal 5:4-24 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/metsora_haft.shtml

Aliyot
&&&&&&&&&&
1. Lv 14:1-12
2. Lv 14:13-20
3. Lv 14:21-32
4. Lv 14:33-53
5. Lv 14:54-15:15
6. Lv 15:16-28
7. Lv 15:29-33

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&&
The parasha continues with the themes of Tazria, examining the Metzora exiled outside the community. The Kohen is to go to the Metzora for an examination after the seventh day. If he is healed he is to make a sacrifice and return on the eighth day—the same day as brit milah or circumcision, symbolizing spiritual rebirth and re-entry into the covenant of God. The Eighth Day then is a day of redemption, of renewed commitment to God. The ritual for purificaiton of the Metzora mirrors the ritual of the consecration of the priests with the acknowledgement of rededication of life to God's laws. Man made in the image of God, reaffirms his desire to live in God's image.

IN FOCUS:
&&&&&&&&&&

" When it has been reported to the priest, the priest shall go outside the camp. If the priest sees that the leper has been healed of his scaly affection, the priest shall order two live clean birds, cedar wood, crimson stuff, and hyssop to be brought for him who is to be cleansed." Lv 14:1-4 JPS

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed: "The Lord! the Lord! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin..." Ex 34:6-7 JPS

"Moses took some of its blood and put it on the ridge of Aaron's right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toes of his right foot." Lv 8:23 JPS

THE KOHEN and THE METZORA
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The Kohen will go to the metzora (leper) who has been banned outside the camp. The word metzora is related to "motzi-ra" which means, "one spews evil from his mouth," therefore the parashas of Tazria and Metzora do not refer to the physical illness of leprousy, but a spiritual ailment associated with lashon hara. Lashon hara is generally described as evil speech or gossip. A person who goes about slandering everyone is indeed a social leper, easy to spot and shun. Equally so is a person who always find the negative in all things. No matter what happens, there is the negative slant and feedback. The child comes running home, excited that he got an 89% on his spelling test, but the parent slaps him with the deprecating remark, that 89% isn't 100%. The child, squashed by the sharp remark, no longer has any reason for pursuing success. It becomes senseless to do things well when the response is so devastating. It's true that the father probably would also have missed spelling, "athlete" or "pronunciation," but the difference is that when he sends out his emails, he hits the key for the spell-check rather than learn it correctly.

The representative of the highest level of spirituality must seek out the lowest. How many times does tht happen in life, where the mayor of the city goes along the backstreets of the town to find the most notorious offenders in an attempt to draw them back into society? Not too often.

When the metzora is declared healed, he offers two doves. One is sacrificed while the other is set free. The rite of purification is similar to that of the installation of priests. "The priest shall some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the ridge of the right ear of him who is being cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot." (Lv 14:14)

Why? Through our ears we are tempted. We hear something and we run to follow it. We are educated and indoctrinated through what we hear. Each day, we should remember that we are called to be children of God, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is One..." The exhortation is not for passive listening such as our response to schmaltzy elevator music or the din that accompanies each foray into the local Carre Four hypermarket; but demands our attention. Mhy neighbor had a rule for calling her wayward children home. After the third halooing, the switch came out as she stalked the alley. Appalled, I often watched, but she reassured me that the switch meant business. They had basic rules and protocals established for the kids which they regularly discussed with them. One of them was arriving home at dinner time and the punishment for not heeding the parental voice.

Simplistic? Yes, for a three year old, it is an immediate lesson learned by a loud swishing noise and smack, but no extended punishment. The chief purpose was to make a loud noise and instill a bit of fear for the consequences of heedless behavior. In adult life, nobody is going to bring the swatter along behind a person, but the warning still remains. When a person becomes heedless of God, the consequences occur naturally. Listening is meaningless unless we do something. We must not only hear, but do-- with our feet walking in the right direction.

Moreover, the pairing of the Kohen with the Metzora reflects the personal dilemma within each person, torn between our Yetzer HaTov and Yetzer Hara, our Good and Evil Inclinations. Our Good Intent often goes and begs with our Bad Bear when we are pouting in a snit at the world or contemplating doing something unethical or prohibited. Each person has the potential to reach a higher level of spirituality; but it's often easier to be the loser, the person who gives in to wrongdoing and comment, "the Devil made me do it." So much easier to equivocate rather than take responsibility for one's own actions.

Moreover, the pairing of the Kohen and the Metzora is comparable to the Tzaddik and the Baal Teshuva—the saint and the penitant. A tzaddik focuses exclusively on resources which he emlists for the service of God. He looks up and sees the glory of God in the universe. Everything else is kind of background fuzz in his vision of life. He instinctively sees and seeks the good to live in the image of God. The Baal Teshuvah looks down and sees his feet are made of clay and knows that his name is frequently spelt as Mud. He struggles with the obstacles of life to overcome them, wrestling like Jacob wrestled with the angel. We are made of conflicting interests, desires and actions. We make choices, often based on incomplete information, emotional responses or sensory perceptions. We hear and we follow. We see and we desire. Our hands reach for what we should not touch and our feet go in the direction that we should shun. We too, are invited back into the social milieu, into the community when the time of our spiritual cleansing is past, and it is God who seeks us, just as He called after Adam in the Garden. What is our response? Do we answer honestly or cover ourselves and cower. God is always in search of man, but man so often avoids the confrontation.

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&

"Slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put it upon the ridge of Aaron's right ear and on the ridges of his sons' right ears, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet..." Ex 29:20 JPS

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Tzav: Ears, Thumbs, and Toes
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tzav_artson5762.htm

Yanki Tauber, I-7 Vayeitzei A Day in the Life of a Jew
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2655
based on the writings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Schneerson
gives good explanation and contrast of tzaddik and baal teshuvah

Yanki Tauber, II-9 Ki Tisa: Sin and Sanctity
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=1329
regarding the Tzaddik, the Baal Teshuvah and the Sinner
see halfway down the page

FURTHRMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rav Frand, Tazria 5761: Two Birds: One For 'Evil Speech' and One For 'Good Speech'
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5761/tazria.html
"Adam had the best situation imaginable. He was sitting in the Garden of Eden. Angels fed him. Nothing could be better! But then the Snake came and argued - "Nah! It's not so perfect. You do not have the Tree of Knowledge; you are not god-like!" The Snake looks at a situation that is virtually perfect and finds fault with it. He focuses on the flaw.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Tazria: The Leprosy of Irresponsible Speech
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tazria_artson5758.htm

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Metzora: Is it Basphemous to Heal People?
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/metzora_artson5762.htm

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos Tzav 5762: The Olah Offering: Minding Our Own Business
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5762/tzav.html

Rashi: "Eyes and heart are the two major agents for sin. The eyes see and the heart desires until one ultimately goes ahead and sins."
III-2 p55

Nr 15:39 Do not stray after your thoughts and after your eyes.
III-2 p 55

Andrea C London, Living Torah-Torah Hayim TazriaMetzora 5764:Healing is More Than Skin Deep URJ
http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=2966&pge_prg_id=14094&pge_id=3452

Yanki Tauber, Knowledge and Naught
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=36445

Rabbi Label Lam, Dvar Torah Tzria-Metzora 5764: The Eye of the Microscope
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvar-torah/5764

Rabbi Rosenfeld, Pirkei Avos 1:6
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter1-6a.html

Pirkei Avos 1: 6
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter1-6b.html
torah.org

Pirkei Avos 1: 6 Joshua the son of Perachia and Nitai the Arbelite received from them. Joshua the son of Perachia would say: Assume for yourself a master, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge every man to the side of merit. (transl Chabad.org)

Rabbi Aaron L Raskin, Tzaddik-The Baal Teshuvah from Letters of Light
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=137090
"When a child is born, he is administered an oath, “Be a tzaddik and do not be wicked.”20 From birth, every individual has the ability to become a tzaddik.21 If one constantly recalls the existence of this oath, he or she can undoubtedly bring it from potential into reality."

Yanki Tauber, Yom Kippur: Inner Dimensions- Sin in Four Dimensions
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template.asp?AID=4558
based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rabbi

III-4 Tazria: Social Leprosy with a Jaundiced Eye

2005-04-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

7 April III-4 Tazria: Social Leprosy with a Jaundiced Eye
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/115033

Torah: Lv 12-13:59 JPS transl
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/tazria.shtml

Haftorah: 2Kgs 4:42-5:19 JPS transl
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/tazria_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&
1. Lv 12:1-13:5
2. Lv 13:6-13:17
3. Lv 13:18-23
4. Lv 13:24-28
5. Lv 13:29-39
6. Lv 13:40-54
7. Lv 13: 55-59

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Tazria is concerned with the laws governing childbirth,"brit milah"-circumcison and tzar'as-"leprosy" with its associated physical and spiritual impurities. Tazria balances birth with its hope of new life and creativity with warnings of degenerative disease that corrupt the person, physically and spiritually, appearing in the clothes and home and extending to society. Tzara'as or "leprosy" is a spiritual and physical illness, corrupting the life of a person. Only the Kohen administered diagnosis. Rabbinical interpretion explores the passage metaphorically, acknowledging that spiritual corruption is contagious and, unless isolated, is a malignant cancer in society. Isolation is imposed on contagious diseases: scarlet fever or diptheria. Such plagues fall on the good and the bad, the innocent and the guilty, but "tzara'at", frequently translated as leprosy, is asssociated to "lashon hara" –slander. Slander and gossip corrupt society, defacing it as a degenerative disease that mutilates the body while robbing it of its functions.

IN FOCUS:
%%%%%%%%%%%

"As for the person with a leprous affection, his clothes shall be rent, his head shall be left bare, and he shall cover over his upper lip; and he shall call out, "Unclean! Unclean!" He shall be unclean as long as the disease is on him. Being unclean, he shall dwell apart; his dwelling shall be outside the camp." Lv 13: 45-46 JPS

"He who guards his mouth and tongue
Guards himself from trouble" Prv 21:23 JPS

Social Leprosy with a Jaundiced Eye
&&&&&&&&&&&&
The punishment seems injust. Contemporary readers exclaim, "How barbaric!" presuming the Kohen to be a witch doctor attending a physical ailment, conducting a magical ritual. Misconception arises from inaccurate translation, relating the malady to the known physical disease, associated with noses and fingers rotting away and people dying in putrid conditions of leper colonies.

This is not tzara'as. Year after year, preachers spout polemical diatribes, regarding the cruelty of Judaism and the compassion of Jesus with the leper, exacerberating the conflict. This is not leprosy, the dreaded physical illness; but a spiritual rot formenting in the hidden depths of the soul and emerging in the superficial appearance of a person's house, clothes and ultimately his body. Ostracism occurs only after every other precaution has been taken, with exacting detail, in the forty-third verse. The rabbis, concerned with the well-being of the individual, expanded these passages, preserving discussion in the Talmud and adding further commentary throughout the centuries.

Tzara'as is a spiritual ailment afflicting the person and his environment. Tzara'as is related to "metzora" derived from "motzi ra" -- to bring out evil-- specifically the sin of "lashon hara." What is "lashon hara"? Speaking evil, uttering the negative, spreading gossip. Rabbi Tendler advises us to learn about a particular problem in Torah, look for the first appearance. Lashon hara first appears in Genesis 3:1-5, "Did God really say you shall not eat of any tree of the Garden?" The snake incites doubts, questioning the authority of Eve's understanding. Other appearances of "leprosy" and pestilence/ plague are related to speaking evil or thinking or formenting the negative: Ex 4: 6-7 (Moses protests that the Israelites will not heed him); Ex 32:35 (aftermath of Golden Calf); Nr 12:10 (Miriam speaking against the Cushite); and Nr 13:32, 14:11-12 (in response to the negative reports of the ten spies).

Tzara'as is declared impure, "tamai / tumah" since the condition is unwholesome and associated with death, rather than life. Destructive and corruptive, it brings spiritual death.

Rabbi Frand explains that there is a second meaning hidden in the text of Lv 13:55, providing further enlightenment, "the Kohen shall look, after the affliction has been washed, and behold (if) the affliction has not changed its appearance (lo hafach es eino) and the affliction has not spread, it is contaminated, you shall burn it in fire..." * Frand explains, "lo hafach es eino," means the appearance shall not change, but the text contains a wordplay: the eye has not changed . Talmud teaches there is a tzara'as associated to "tzoras ha-ayin"-narrowness of eye or an evil eye. This interpretation provides deeper understanding of the entire passage. A jaundiced eye does indeed bring death and makes all things impure. What was good, becomes twisted and corrupt. A person's perception can distort their vision of life, corrupting and tainting their actions.

Tzara'as was a supernatural condition in ancient times after the Israelites entered into Canaan to the time of the temple. The Kohen were trained to detect particular signs to assist the person correct his way of life. Tzara'as appeared in three forms: dwelling, clothes and body. The most superficial level was discovered in the walls of a house, but as the plague intensified, it appeared in the clothing until ultimately in the person's body. Each level allowed the person to make teshuvah, to change his ways. At the most intense level of physical affliction, change becomes virtually impossible. Someone, addicted to alcohol or drugs, goes through an intensive program not only to purify the body of the accumulated poisons, but to reprogram psychology. Going into dry-dock does not cure the problem of addiction. Afterwards, the person must alter his entire lifestyle. He must change destructive habits to constructive; a negative environment to positive; corruptive buddies to supportive friends. He must change the external influences as well as his internal. Both are requisite to make a full recovery.

A sufferer of moral tzar'as need look inside himself for the cause destroying his life and examine his environment to make productive changes. Changing the environment is relatively easy, but each person is a turtle, carrying his shell on his back. Ultimately, we must live with ourselves. It's very difficult to be friendly with a porcupine, although they say the porcupine has a very soft heart.

The progression of tzara'as from the superficial to the innate isolates the person, not the Kohen or the society. Do you sit by the squalid drunk on the metro? The stench of his clothes repels company. The condition did not happen overnight, but resulted from a progressive disease eventually destroying his life. At different times, opportunities of reversal existed until finally, it became an irreversible loss of a once valuable life. At each level of tzara'as, the Kohen visits the person. With each visitation, recovery is possible; but recovery depends on the person to change his life. Just as an alcoholic must recognize the destructiveness of his condition, someone suffering tzara'as, involved with lashon hara or having a jaundiced eye, must acknowledge it before healing occurs.

Obstinancy in pursuing a destructive life results with the person becoming an anathema to the community. Ostracism then happens.

In Vienna, a diplomat suffered discoloration and swelling in his feet. He went to the doctor for diagnosis. The diplomat ate large amounts of Danish butter. In fact, his refrigerators were packed. The doctor prescribed a diet and proscribed Danish butter. The diplomat continued his way of life. The toes turned black, swelling increased until extreme gangrene. Ultimately, the diplomat flew to Canada where his leg was amputated. It's easy to blame the doctor, but he did his job conscientiously. Who created the condition? Who refused to reform? Is the doctor culpable? No. We are responsible not only for what we ingest, but what we produce: physically and spiritually.

* Rav Frand, Tazria 5762
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5762/tazria.html
contains the Medrash of rabbi Yannai and the peddler

An Evil Eye- Pirkei Avos 2:16
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter2-16.html

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"But Moses spoke up and said, "What if they do not believe me and do not listen to me, but say: The Lord did not appear to you?"...The Lord said to him further, "Put your hand into your bosom." He put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, his hand was encrusted with snowy scales!" Ex 4: 1, 6-7 JPS

"As the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam stricken with snow-white scales! When Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she was stricken with scales. And Aaron said to Moses, "O my lord, account not to us the sin which we committed in our folly. Let her not be as one dead, who emerges from his mother's womb with half his flesh eaten away." Nr. 12: 10-12 JPS

FURTHERMORE:
%%%%%%%%%%%
Rabbi Loevinger, Kolel 5760, Tazria
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5760/tazria.html
" Thus the Talmud interprets this verse as teaching that the afflicted person's publicizing of his plight was not to bring him shame, but to bring him the prayers and compassion of the community. (Moed Katan 5a; Sotah 32b)"

Rabbi Roderick Young, Tazria: A Gay Perspective on Persopective and Disease
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tazria_socialaction2000.htm
"Tzara'at was interpreted by the Rabbis of the Talmud as being the manifestation of a very particular sin. A person with tzara'at is called a metzora (usually translated as "leper"). To the rabbinic ear, this sounded like the words "motzi ra," ("bring about evil") which in the phrase "motzi shaym ra" means "to spread slander about someone." Tzara'at was therefore understood to be a specific warning against gossip and slander."

Rabbi Andrea Lerner, Tazria: Clean Up Your Act
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tazria_hillel2000.htm
""Rashi: And (he) shall cry, "Unclean! Unclean!" announcing that he is unclean, so that (people) should withdraw from him.
He shall dwell alone, "(Other) unclean people shall not dwell with him. And our Rabbis have said, 'Why is he different from other unclean people to dwell alone?' Since he caused a separation through evil talk (lashon hara) between husband and wife, or between a man and his friend, (therefore) he also should be separated (isolated).""

Yanki Tauber, Tazria Metzora: The Runaway Soul
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=74985
on creating a balance between "ratzo"-escape and "shove" settling down

Kolel, Tazria-Metzora 2002/5762
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5762/tazria_metzora.html
the story of rabbi Yannai and the peddler hawking the Elixir of Life

Rabbi Loevinger, Kolel 5760, Tazria
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5760/tazria.html

Rav Frand, Tazria 5757 Learning A Lesson From G-d Through Punishment
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5757/tazria.html
" When a person speaks Lashon Horah, the first sign from G-d is "Look at the wall". If a person reacts at that point, realizes that he has spoken Lashon Horah, and decides to repent and take corrective action...But what happens if the person doesn't react and doesn't take the suffering as an instructive lesson from G-d? Then things get worse and worse. ...

Happy is the person who has the foresight and the insight, the perception and the honesty, to react in the correct fashion when something like this happens. "

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Tazria: The Leprosy of Irresponsible Speech
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tazria_artson5758.htm

Rabbi Lauren Berkun Eichler, Tazria 5763
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5763/tazria.shtml

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos Tazria 5760: Getting Beneath the Skin
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5760/tazria.html

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos Tazria 5759: Not in Heaven!
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5759/tazria.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Tazria 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5761/tazria.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5758/tazria.html

ON MIKVEH
%%%%%%%%%%
Rav Kook, Shemini: Purity by Immersion
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/SHMINI59.htm

Rivkah Slonim, Tazria-Metzora:The Mikvah
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=74986
The greneral how, what and why of a Mikvah and its significance for Jewish community and family life

Mikveh Org
http://www.mikvah.org/

The Laws of Family Purity
http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=1457
a collection of links

Ritual Purity
http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=2195
a collection of links

III-3 Shemini When Tragedy Strikes

2005-03-30T18:27:00.000-08:00

30 March III-3 Shemini When Tragedy Strikes
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/114573

Torah: Lv 9-11:47 JPS transl
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/shemini.shtml

Haftorah: 2 Sam 6:1-7:17 / Ez 45:18-46:15 JPS transl
h ttp://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/shemini_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&
1. Lv 9:1-16
2. Lv 9:17-23
3. Lv 9:24-10:11
4. Lv 10:12-15
5. Lv 10:16-20
6. Lv 11:1-32
7. Lv 11:33-47

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&
Shemini continues with the dedication of the Mishkan, the Sanctuary or Tent of Meeting. The priests are secluded seven days during their ordination. During the procession of sacrifices, disaster suddenly strikes. Moses supervises Aaron and his sons in the sacrifices. Aaron brought a goat, as a sin offering on behalf of the people, followed by an ox and a ram for the people's well-being. Lifting his hands, he blessed the people before entering the Tent of Meeting with Moses. When they came out, they again blessed the people and the Divine Presence appeared. Fire issued from the Lord, consuming the burnt offering. Aaron's two sons, Nadav and Avihu, presented their fire pans containing incense., but they were struck dead. The parsha continues with the differentiation of kosher and nonkosher animals and the laws of purity and impurity, distinguishing between kashrut and purity. All animals are clean, but not all acceptable for eating. Extensive discussions of kashrut belong within the domain of halakha with rabbinic authority. Separation of kosher/nonkosher animals reflects the need to conserve the world entrusted to us from creation.

IN FOCUS:
%%%%%%%%

"Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the Presence of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted, and fell on their faces" Lv 9:23-24

"Now Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the Lord alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from the Lord and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord meant when He said:

Through those near to Me I show Myself holy,
And gain glory before all the people."

And Aaron was silent. " Lv 10:1-3

"Then Moses inquired about the goat of sin offering, and it had already been burned! He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and said, "Why did you not eat the sin offering in the sacred area? For it is most holy, and He has given it to you to remove the guilt of the community and to make expiation for them before the Lord."
Lv 10:16-19

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
For seven days, the newly ordained priests have rehearsed the rituals of their office and endured intense self-examination before the final presentation. They are in the last stage, just minutes before becoming publicly dedicated priests. The last seconds before the Presidential Inaugural Address, the last breath before the ski-jumper slides off the bench in the World Cup Finals to speed down the hill into space. There is no turning back, but only the future consequences of personal decision brought into public attention.

As spectators, we view the record as film devoid of the sound track. We see the procession, but suddenly a fireball clouds the lens. Two men lay lifeless on the ground. Incomprehensible, tragedy strikes at the high point of life. The gymnast flies off the high bar, but catches his feet on descent and lays broken on the floor. Horrified, we see buildings collapsing from the plane's impact. We seek for the rationale, for justification to explain the overwhelming tragedies of our lives-- often there are none. Desperatel, we try to console ourselves with hollow words; yet the grief, the loss is unspeakable. Why did it happen?

Tragedy is easier to accept when we can point the finger and rationalize it. The high school student on her way to the graduation ceremony, but never arrives in the parking lot in her car. The young soldier finally on the way home after months overseas, suddenly shot down days before his departure. Grief intensifies with its meaninglessness.. Coming into confrontation with our limitations and mortality, we feel bitter injustice.

Rabbis argue over the passage. They knew what to do. They were trained. The punishment seems so grossly injust. Risks were limited through proper indoctrination and yet the incomprehensible happened. Midrash and commentary reflect a myriad of interpretations, all trying to explain the inexplicable.

When tragedy strikes, we recoil with anxiety, questioning "Why me? Why?" The personal reactions of Moses and Aaron are contrasted in the passage. Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord meant when He said: Through those near Me I show Myself holy." (Lv 10:3)

A bit much to swallow for a father in shock, but Aaron continues leading the people through the public ceremony without rebutting. He is silent. Later Moses upbraids him regarding the sin offering inadvertantly left on the altar and completely consumed by fire. "Why did you not eat the sin offering in the sacred area? For it is most holy, and He has given it to you to remove the guilt of the community and to make expiation for them before the Lord." (Lv 10:17)

Oftentimes we must fulfill our public obligations despite personal tragedy. Instinctively, we yearn for escape to relieve our distress privately, but responsibilities demand our presence. Aaron fulfills his duty despite a father's grief. He leads the show. Torn between his public obligations as the High Priest and those of a bereaved father, he has no appetite for eating or celebration. No words assauge his loss. Often, well-intentioned people offer hollow consolation, "He was a good man. He lived next to God." Falling like loose change, the words clatter on the ground.

Moses instructs the uncles regarding the disposal of the bodies, continuing the ceremonies without interruption. He seems inhuman, dedicated only to law and protocol. Moses, the dutiful policeman, instructs the paramedics how to clean up after a terrible accident with the mask of rigid action, more dedicated to legalities and ritual than given to human compassion. We never see his internal turmoil, but hear only the response and instructions. Likewise we rarely hear or see the personal reactions of those so dedicated in our society to the restitution of order after a tragedy. We do not know the pain of the fatigued doctor or the anguish of the policeman, arriving on the scene after a grisly accident. We assure ourselves that they are in their element. They are professionals. They know how to react and they know what they are doing—yet we sympathize with the victims' families, weeping with them.

In truth, we need both sides to survive the inexplicable tragedies besetting us. We can identify crib death, but often we cannot truly avoid it. In everything we do, even when we know the exact protocols and procedures, risk remains. After a tragedy happens, there are questions and investigation and explainations—they offered a "strange fire" to the altar of the Lord; but the explanation falls short of human comprehension.

FOOTPRINTS:
%%%%%%%%%
Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently... The Lord said to Moses, "Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Lord to gaze, lest many of them perish. II-5 Yisro Ex 19:18-21

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Tzav: Ears, Thumbs, and Toes
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tzav_artson5762.htm
My Jewish Learning
"Philo (1st Century Egypt), perceived that, "The fully consecrated must be pure in words and actions and in life; for words are judged by hearing, the hand is the symbol of action, and the foot of the pilgrimage of life.""

FURTHERMORE:
%%%%%%%%%%
Rabbi Cary Kozberg, Shemini: Boundaries Sanctity and Silence
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/shemini_uahc.htm
provides commentaries on the deaths of Nadav and Avihu
" Perhaps one of the hard lessons to be learned here is that affirming sanctity is ultimately about maintaining limits and boundaries. If Nadab and Abihu were indeed too zealous in their devotion by bringing to the altar that which God had not commanded, perhaps their sin was that they "broke through" those boundaries and thus compromised the sanctity of the moment and the Sanctuary itself."

Beth Freishstat, Shemini: Death Grief and Consolation
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/shemini_ujafedny5762.htm

Kolel, Shemini 5762
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5762/shemini.html
four different interpretations of the deaths of Nadab and Avihu

Rabbi Pinchas Avruch, HaKollel Shemini 5763: Safety in Numbers
http://www.torah.org/learning/kolhakollel/5763/shemini.html

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos 5761: Un-influenced Service
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5761/shemini.html

Rabbi Robert S. Leib Tzav: Lost and Found: From Obsolete Ritual to Personal Responsibility
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tzav_uahc.htm
My Jewish Learning

Rabbi Levi said: It is a praiseworthy enactment that a person who behaves boastfully should be punished by fire, as it is said, "This is the law regarding a person striving to be high: It is that it goes up on its burning place." [Note: The burnt offering (ha-olah) is linguistically related to the verb, alah, "to go up," "rise," "ascend," and is midrashically taken here to mean climbing to pretentious heights, assuming an insolent and overbearing attitude.] (Leviticus Rabbah 7:6 on Leviticus 6:2)

Yanki Tauber, Chabad, Shemini: Consumed
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2869

Chabad, Keeping in Touch: Shemini
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=91235

Rav Kook, Shemini: The Error of Nadav and Avihu
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/SHMINI64.htm
a cabalist explanation

II-5 Yisro
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/intro_parasha_for_the_stranger/113448

III-2 Tzav keep the Fires Burning

2005-03-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

25 March III-2 Tzav keep the Fires Burning
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/114519

Torah: Lv 6-8:36 JPS transl
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/tsav.shtml

Haftorah: Jer 7:21-8:3, 9:22-23 / Ez 36:16-38 JPS transl
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/tsav_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&
1. Lv 6:1-11
2. Lv 6:12-7:10
3. Lv 7:11-38
4. Lv 8:1-13
5. Lv 8:14-21
6. Lv 8:22-29
7. Lv 8:30-36

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&&&

In Vayikra, Moses addresses the general public regarding sacrifices: what and how sacrifices should be made, but in Tzav, the audience is restricted to the priests, regarding the particularities of sacrifice. Moreover, the instruction of sacrifice seems countered by the prophets whon rail against empty ritual. Tzav frequently falls on Shabbat HaGadol, the last shabbat before Pesach when the haftorah is read from Malachi regarding God's enduring love for Israel and the warning of final judgment and messianic age heralded by the return of Elijah. Tzav reiterates the importance of maintaining the perpetual fire on the altar which is interpreted as man's need of sustaining a passion for God's commandments and maintaining faith in God. Instructions on clearing the ashes from the altar and the institution of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood fall within the parasha.

IN FOCUS:
%%%%%%%%%%%

"A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out" (Lv 6:6).

"All meal offerings brought before Hashem shuld not be prepared leavened for you shall not cause to go up in smoke from any lavening or any honey as a fire." III-1 Vayikra, Lv 2:11

"You must not bring an abhorrent thing into your home..." Dt 7:26

"Every haughty person is an abomination to the Lord." Prv 16:5

"Hear, O Israel! the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shlal love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down nd when you get up. Bind them as a sign upon your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead, inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." V-2 Voeshenan Dt 6:4-9

KEEP THE FIRES BURNING
&&&&&&&&
Fire can be productive or destructive. A fire warms the chilled room, renewing the use of numbed fingers. Fire glows in the fireplace after a brisk day outside in subzero weather. We sit by the pot-bellied stove, thinking how lovely the warmth is, but warn the children about falling against it. We know equally well that fire is dangerous, able to consume our lives and houses, leaving scars for life.

Fire is the symbol of passion. passion can consume the person utterly, so that his life becomes self-destructive. The stalker who is obsessed with possession of another person, the perfectionist who can not yield to human faults or minor imperfections in his art. The singer who becomes obsessed with having total control over the voice and in the end becomes trapped by her own fear and anxiety of not performing well.

The Ner Tamid, the eternal light that hangs in the synagogue represents the perpetual fire on the altar in the Beit HaMikdash. Do not let the fire go out. There are two reading of the words, "in the altar" and "on the altar," which are interpreted that we should not only give with the burning love of our hearts whenever we commit a sacrifice to god, but we, ourselves should be the altar in which the love of God burns. Our lives should be such lights that burn perpetually so that others see that God exists. But there are restrictions on the offerings—there shall be no honey or leaven.

Why? Honey is a sweetener. Whernever something is bitter, such as baking chocolate, we add sugar to make the cake. We don't want to taste the bitterness. We add sugar into the yogurt or in the tea, making something that might be somewhat acidic palatable. We want the sweet things in lfie and we don't particularly like sharing the bitter or accepting the bitter. Sugar alters the flavor and the chemical reaction. Put too much sugar into the brownies and you get glazed bricks. Maybe a work of love, but indigestible.

Simularly, no leaven was added to the flour offering. Leaven is a symbol of vanity, pride or self-importance. When you make a quickbread with baking powder, mixing it into the melted butter, the dough swells rapidly. It poofs up suddenly and sizzles and then collapses. This can later cause a problem in the actual baking, because the leaven has lost its effectiveness and the sweetbread comes out soggy in the middle or lopsided, just as baking in too hot or too cold an oven can cause problems.

We are something like this.Vanity can fizzle good intents just as self-importance can bloat into nothingness like a puff pastry without any filling. Flaky? Okay, but really what God wants are the basic ingredients straight. No flattery, no artifice and no pomposity. It's very difficult to love someone who is full of himself, but so easy to enjoy the convivial warmth of modest living, of a humble dwelling.

We are burned by scams, bad love affairs and through ill-use. We know the scorched fingers that got licked by the flames, the singed feeling on the edges of our heart after being inexplicably jilted or exploited for our kindness. We refrain from getting too close from those whose passions boil over, afraid of getting scalded in the process. Consider this in your daily actions. It only takes a small spark to combust a major forest fire, but the hearth of our hearts should be a warm inviting place for anyone left outside in the cold winters of life. By inviting a person into the warmth of our homes, we offer oftentimes encouragement to live and hope for those who struggle through the blizzards of catastrophe and and despair.

A quick fire burns rapidly, leaving the room still chilled by the frosty dampness of the stone walls, but slow-burning embers will cut the chill, dry the walls and make the home a healthy place to live.

FOOTPRINTS:
%%%%%%%%%%%
Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Tzav 5760
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5760/tzav.html
story of the shepherd and the king

Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, Pirkei Avos 4:4 Dust and Ashes
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter4-4.html
"The arrogant person, however, focuses on himself alone. He has robbed G-d, so to speak, of the talents he was blessed with. He is thus missing the most fundamental component for building a relationship with G-d. In fact, the good deeds he does perform may be doing no more than increasing his pride and haughtiness -- further *distancing* himself from G-d, rather than bringing him closer"

Rav Frand Mincha Offering: Leavening Agents and Honey: No. Salt: Yes
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5764/vayikra.html

FURTHERMORE:
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, JTSA Tzav 5760
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5760/tsav.shtml

Chabad, Tetzaveh: Oil, Wick, Vessel and Flame
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=39591
Based on the writings of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch (1773-1827), and the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Kolel Tzav 5762
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5762/tzav.html
Kolel: The Adult Center for Liberal Jewish Learning
story of the Dubno Maggid and the bellows

Kolel Tzav 5763
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5763/tzav.html
Kolel: The Adult Center for Liberal Jewish Learning
Pinchas Peli, discussion of Ner Tamid and significans of "burning on the altar" (al ha-mizbeach) and "burning in the altar" (tukad bo)

Kolel Tzav 5764
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5764/tzav.html
Kolel: The Adult Center for Liberal Jewish Learning

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights: Tzav 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5758/tzav.html
story of the wonderful etrog

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos Tzav 5760: Ashes-Separate and Remove
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5760/tzav.html

Gilah Langner, Tending Flames, Seeing Faces
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tzav_socialaction2001.htm
My Jewish Learning, Tzav

Rabbi Moshe Peretz Gilden, HaKollel Tzav 5763 Relentless Struggle
http://www.torah.org/learning/kolhakollel/5763/tzav.html

Rabbi Pinchas Avruch, HaKollel, Tzav 5764: Dressing the Part
http://www.torah.org/learning/kolhakollel/5764/tzav.html

Kolel: Tzav 5760
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5760/tzav.html
The Adult Center for Liberal Jewish Learning
"Contained within R. Twerski's interpretation of our verse is a challenge, a challenge to become more "zealously" generous and truly altruistic"

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook, Tzav 5760: The Price of Special
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5760/tzav.html

REGARDING OFFERINGS:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook, Tzav 5762 : Closing the Gap
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5762/tzav.html
offers a description of the purpose of each type of sacrifice

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos, Tzav 5762: The Olah Offering: 'Minding' Our Own Business
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5762/tzav.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsah Insights: Tzav 5762
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5762/tzav.html
Korban Todah-thank offering

Moschiach Online: Rogalsky, The Path of the Righteous Gentile
http://www.moshiach.com/action/morality/in-depth.php

Chapter 13: Charity
http://www.moshiach.com/action/morality/charity.php
How to give from the heart

Chapter 14: Sacrifies
http://www.moshiach.com/action/morality/sacrifices.php
2. During the times when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, a Noahite was permitted to bring a korban olah, a burnt offering wholly consumed by fire.5

III-1 Vayikra Coming Close

2005-03-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

19 Mar III-1 Vayikra Coming Close
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/114266

Torah: Lv 1-5:26
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/vayikra.shtml

Haftorah: Is 43:21-44:23
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/vayikra_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&
1. Lv 1: 1-13
2. Lv 1:14-2:6
3. Lv 2:7-16
4. Lv 3:1-17
5. Lv 4:1-26
6. Lv 4:27-5:10
7. Lv 5:11-26

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&&&

Vayikra, referred as the Torat Kohanim., is concerned with the pratical application in temple worship and ritual. After the destruction of the Temple in 70CE, prayer and synagogue worship came to replace the temple ritual and sacrifices. Instead of sacrifices, we pray for forgiveness. We are not excused from the mitzvot of reparation for the losses we cause others. Anyone could bring sacrifices to the Temple. God is accessible to everyone. "Korbanot" means to bring close. Sacrifice drew people to God, reconciling the disparity of the physical and spiritual worlds and allowing an introspective encounter with the Creator of the Universe. Unlike heathen offerings, the sacrificial animal was not consumed by fire to be a heavenly banquet. A small portion of the fat was sacrificed, parts given for the priests and the remainder eaten by the person bringing it. Sacrifice involved community participation as well as personal reconciliation with fellow man.

IN FOCUS:
&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Or when a person utters an oath to bad or good purpose--whatever a man may utter in an oath--and, though he has known it, the fact has escaped him, but later he realizes his guilt in any of these matters... he shall confess that wherein he has sinned. And he shall bring as his penalty to the Lord, for the sin of which he is guilty...." Lv 5:1, 4-6 JPS transl

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: When a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by dealing deceitfully with his fellow in the matter of a deposit or a pledge, or through robbery, or by defrauding his fellow, or by finding something lost and lying about it; if he swears falsely regarding any one of the various things that one may do and sin thereby-- when one has thus sinned and, realizing his guilt, would restore that which he got.... he shall repay the principal amount and add a fifth part to it. He shall pay it to its owner when he realizes his guilt. Then he shall bring to the priest, as his penalty to the Lord... The priest shall make expiation on his behalf before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for whatever he may have done to draw blame thereby. " Lv 5:20-25 JPS transl

COMING CLOSE
&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Vayikra follows Shemos, providing the instructions for temple service and sacrifices. In Shemos/Exodus, Moses leads the Israelites from enslavement in Egypt into freedom. Freedom has no meaning without social structures and laws; chaos quickly ensues. Moses ascends Mount Sinai; God reaches down. The Ten Commandments consititute a new covenant further elaborated in Mishpatim. Becoming a holy nation is not a matter of ritual, but of action, dependent on the relationships between man and man.

God instructs Moses to take up a collection of free-will gifts for the construction of the Mishkan. The gifts could not be cast-offs or the result of illicit behavior. You cannot steal something and offer it to God. Similarly offerings, brought before the priests, must be from the heart. Before giving a sin offering, restitution must be made to anyone wronged. Personal relationships must be reconciled before bringing the sacrifice to the priests. Emphasis was not on the slaughter on the animals, but on retrospection and teshuvah—repentance. "Korban" means to come close. In bringing sacrifices, anyone could enter into God's presence to make an atonement for his sins or to give a thank offering.

Many types of korbanot existed. The Olah was an ascending offerng, wholly consumed on the altar. Minchah was a flour offering made with olive oil and frankinscense. Shelamim was a peace offering that was eaten by the person bringing the offering after certain parts were consumed on the altar and others given for the Kohanim. Chatat, was a sin offering to atone for a wrong whether the King, High Priest or ordinary person. All people make mistakes. Asham was the guilt offering for someone who has doubts whether or not he has betrayed God or broken commitments by making false promises or vows.

Although many shudder at the thought of slaughter, consider how different this world would be, if we ate meat with full awareness of the life we destroyed to fill our stomachs. Today, animals have little value. A quick trip to the grocery store retrieves a frozen chicken or steak from the deep freezer. Headless, legless and formless, it imparts no impression on us as being a creation of God. We stick it in the pan and later devour it without thought to the value of life. There is no relation between body and soul.

Through sacrifices, people were constantly reminded of life's values. The meat was not wasted by massive recall by a FDA botulism warning or tossed into the garbage container at the local diner. Each person was confronted with his own transgressions and mortality, recognizing the irreplaceable value of life, whether human or animal. Which animals? Cattle, sheep, goat and dove—those that are domesticated.

The very poor could bring a flour offering. It was treated no differently than if it had been the blue rbbon bull of the local county fair. The significance of the sacrifice was not so much the gift, but how it was given. Just as Moses counted every little ring and hook for the Mishkan, so God accepts the smallest sacrifice as if it were the biggest.

Each sacrifice was salted. (Lv 2:11-13) A preservative, salt symbolizes the covenant made on Mt Sinai.God's love is everlasting. Salt heightens the flavor. Honey and leavening were forbidden additions. They change the nature of the sacrifice. So it is with spirituality, we need to develop our own qualities rather than adding superficialities or mingling strange elements. We need to bring out the hidden qualities rather than trying to be something different than ourselves.

Moreover, the opening of Vayikra begins, "Vayikra el Moshe" and God called to Moses... Midrash explains that the aleph at the end is reduced because of Moses' humility. Moses wanted to write "vayikir" which denotes happenstance such as the calling of Balaam, not the divine calling of the angels to one another, declaiming "holy, holy, holy." God was no hallucination to Moshe, but he made a compromise with God. "Vayikra" is written with the final aleph was reduced. Moshe didn't want others to feel excluded because he was personally called; the call extends to us also.

"Rav Naftali Amsterdam was a disciple of Rav Yisrael Salanter. He once came to his teacher and said, "Rebbi, if I had the head of the Shagas Aryeh and if I had the soul of the author of the Yesod v'Shoresh haAvodah and if I had your personality traits (midos) -- then I could truly be a Servant of G-d." Rav Yisrael responded to him, "Naftali -- with your head and with your heart and with your personality traits you can be Naftali Amsterdam. That is all you have to be. You do not need to be the Shagas Aryeh or Reb Yisroel Salanter or anybody else."

Rav Frand, Vayikra 5764: Mincha Offering: Leavening Agents and Honey: No. Salt: Yes
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5764/vayikra.html

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&&
Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline, Terumah 5763 re: gifts
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5763/terumah.html

"G-d spoke to Moshe, saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me; from every man whose heart desires [to give], take my offering.'" [Ex. 25:1-2]

Yanki Tauber, Terumah: Anatomy of a Dwelling
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=1314

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos, Terumah: It's the Thought That Counts
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5759/teruma.html

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, The Spirituality of Business Ethics
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/vayikra_kolel5760.htm

Rabbi Melissa Crespy, Fellow, JTSA Vayikra 5762
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5762f/vayikra.shtml
regarding sin offering and reparation

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights, Vayikra 5762
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5762/vayikra.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights: Vayikra 5763
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5763/vayikra.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights, Vayikra 5768
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5758/vayikra.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Vayikra 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5757/vayikra.html

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline, Vayikra: Lesson from Sacrifices
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5764/vayikra.html

Tzvi Freeman, Vayikra Animal Sacrifices
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=71709

Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, JTSA Vayikra 5762
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5762/vayikra.shtml

Rabbi Melissa Crespy, JTSA, Vayikra 5763
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5763/vayikra.shtml

Yechmiel Telles, Vayika: The Gift
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=69475

II-11 Pekudei Bride''s Homecoming

2005-03-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

10 March II-11 Pekudei Bride''s Homecoming
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/114012

Torah: Ex 38:21-40:38
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/pekudey.shtml

Haftorah: 1 Kgs 7:51-8:21
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/pekudey_haft.shtml

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 38:21-39:1
2. Ex 39:2-21
3. Ex 39:22-32
4. Ex 39:33-43
5. Ex 40:1-16
6. Ex 40:17-27
7. Ex 40:28-40:38

OVERVIEW:
%%%%%%%%%%

Pekudei closes Exodus with the accounting of materials used for the Mishkan. The Torah is parsimonious, but the Mishkan and its construction takes up nearly five parashas in comparison to the very short section in Yisro for the the Ten Commandments or its applications in Mishpatim. "Why?" ask the rabbis, "why the repitition?" Consider if you planned and built a house from raw materials that you gathered together or collected from donations. Would it just be a five minute comment to your co-workers? "Oh, incidentally, we built our house.." or does every detail count? How many times does a company proof the prototype of a new airplane before placing it into production? Does it celebrate the first one off the line? Is it held accountable for ever screw and seam that makes it fly? "Oh, George, we forgot the screws in the carbines..." Does it really that the communication systems and auto-pilot function?

IN FOCUS:
&&&&&&&&&

"These are the records of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Pact, which were drawn up at Moses' bidding--the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest... The silver of those of the community who were recorded came to 100 talents and 1,775 shekels by the sanctuary weight: a half-shekel a head, half a shekel by the sanctuary weight, for each one who was entered in the records, from the age of twenty years up, 603,550 men. " Ex 38:21, 25-26

"Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites had done all the work. And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks--as the Lord had commanded, so they had done--Moses blessed them." Ex 39:42-43

When Moses had finished the work, the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Ex 40:34

The Bride's Homecoming
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Pekudei seems repeat the previous parashas, but with small differences. When the Mishkan was finished, Moses gave a public accounting of all the donations. Consider all the organizations in this world where the money goes in, but never given public accounting. The latest inflationary presidential budget giving little or no benefit to its citizens. Moses learned quickly about the grumblings and discontent of a people fresh out of an oppressive government. They gave, he took. In return they need not only to see the completed Mishkan, but also how their contributions were utilized.

How often have you given something to watch it disappear? Later, you ask timorously, "Whatever happened to that scarf..." "What scarf? Oh that scarf. You know I never did like it and so one day, I gave it to the women's bazaar." The sinking feeling lands like the high speed elevator in your toenails: nothing worse than giving an unappreciated gift or finding it parked in the garbage outside a week later.

The Israelites, too, wanted to see their gifts appreciated and utilized. Each thing they gave, they gave a part of themselves, anticipating the day the building would be standing in its splendor according to the building plans. They stopped by the workshops, inspecting the various preparations for months now, they sniffed with curiosity whether the completed project would somewhat resemble the original instructions. Does the cake on the table resemble the one in Julia Child's cookbook?

The Mishkan was a special: a dwelling place for God's Pressence among them. Each person invested in it through donations or assisting in weaving and spinning or other forms of craftsmanship. It wasn't a prefab dwelling or something rented on borrowed money where the bathtub was falling through the floor and blackrot on the walls. It was the first community project made from heartfelt donations. Like any major construction site, the public had its critics and inspectors daily investigating its progress. The various bits scattered about the camp were nearly like putting together a three dimensional puzzle.

Beyond that, the Mishkan was a portable palace for the Shekinah, the bride of Shabbat, the Divine Presence of God. In rural villages, weddings are big events. Marriage isn't made in an hour under the canopy or before the altar, but requires long-term commitment. Once, a young man loved a lass, so he went to ask the father's permission. Being a small community, naturally many people knew of his intent and their romance. He wasn't rich, but came from a hard-working family. The future father-in-law's stern temperament had a reputation for the strict upbringing of his family. They were plain folks living in the back dingles of the town with their own cow. The young man, put together his courage in his pocket and went to to plead his cause. Shortly thereafter he reappeared relatively glum. Curiosity asks even when it shouldn't, particularly from the young and impertinent, "Well," we said, "What happened?" John looked up, face filled with darkness, "He said Jacob labored seven years for Rachel and received Leah, but he was more honest than that. If I would wait seven years, then I could have my bride."

Seven years seems an eternity, but maybe the father-in-law knew something that we didn't. A test, but seemingly a cruel one. In those seven years, the young man had many things to do. He needed gainful employment to provide for his wife; he needed a house and the things to go in it. More than stardust in the eyes and warm feelings over hot chocolate, the real preparations for the wedding aren't all the frills of a dress or the gilded invitations to guests, but the work involved in building a new home. Everything counts for a bride—the gifts have to be opened, the inventory made, the letters of gratitude sent and a place to put everything when the door finally opens. The community floods in to inspect it and sound their approval.

Years later, couples still remember their wedding day. They take out the photographs, tell their grandkids of their first house and remember how amazing it was when the house rose out of the sawn timber and scattered nails: the home made from love.

The Mishkan became the unifying force of the community, belonging to each of them. As they stood before it, they knew that the bride had arrived. A thick cloud of God's glory covered it. In awe they awaited the Shekinah to descend and dwell with them.

And the final product – well, it came out better than the cake.

"Khazak, Khazak, V'Nitkhazek!"

to say upon the closing of a book of Torah: from strength to strength, let us be strengthened (let us strengthen one another)

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&

"The man, meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently wondering whether the Lord had made his errand successful or not. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two gold bands for her arms, ten shekels in weight." I-5 Sora: Gn 24: 21-22 on Rebekah's betrothal

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook, Vayakhel: Vayakhel & Shekalim - Intent Speaks Louder Than Action
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5763/vayakhel.html

Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, JTS, Terumah 5765 2005
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5765/terumah.shtml
on the Shekhinah

Yanki Tauber, Terumah Good Morning
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=1167

"The Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud by day, to guide them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, that they might travel day and night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people." II-4 Beshelach: Ex 13:21

"And when Moses entered the Tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the Tent, while He spoke with Moses." II-9 Ki Thisa: Ex 33:9

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&

Tanki Tauber, Vayakhel Partner
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=70405

Yanki Tauber, Community, Individuality, and Why It's Frustrating to Have a Brain
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=70395

Irwin Kula, Pekudei: Role of Tabernacle
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/pekudei_clal.htm
two drash regarding purpose of Tabernacle

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook, Pekudei 5760: Mirror of God
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5760/pekudei.html

Gilah Langner, Pekudei: Keeping Accounts
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/pekudei_socialaction2002.htm
Gilah Langner is a consultant and mother living in Washington, D.C. She is co-editor of Kerem: Creative Explorations in Judaism.

Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, JTSA, Pekudei 5763
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5763/pekudey.shtml

Rabbi Label Lam, Dvar Torah, Pekudei 5763 An Original Thought
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5763/pekudei.html

Yanki Tauber, What was the Holy Temple
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=52755
from AskMoses.com

Lisa Lieberman Barzilai, Pekudei: Experiencing God In The Dark And The Light
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/pekudei_uahc.htm
from UAHC

The Holy Temple An Anthology
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=52754

II-10 Vayakhel From The Heart

2005-03-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

2 March II-10 Vayakhel From The Heart
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113939

Torah: Ex 35-38:20 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/vayakhel.shtml
At Jewish Theological Seminary of America

Haftorah: II Kgs 12:1-17 JPS
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jpstext/vayakhel_haft.shtml
JTSA

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 35:1-20
2. Ex 35:21-29
3. Ex 35:30-36:7
4. Ex 36:8-19
5. Ex 36:20-37:16
6. Ex 37:17-29
7. Ex 38:1-20

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The Mishkan making is resumed after the Golden Calf Event, often interpreted as a form of atonement for the sin of idolatry. It opens with an exhortation for keeping the Shabbat, admonishing the Israelites to do the work in six days, but on the seventh day, rest. Regardless of how elaborate or monumental a project, limitations need to be set before beginning. Work in life is never completed, therefore God warns us to make space and time sacred for His Presence. Belalzel and Oholiab are the master craftsman overseeing the projects. Detailed activities of the women are related, emphasizing the importance of each person and individual gifts within the community. No gift is too small for the eyes of the beloved. Just as a fiancee seeks to find favor in her beau, we should seek to please God, the lover of all mankind. We should beautify our lives to attract the pleasure of His gaze.

IN FOCUS:
&&&&&&&&&&

Thus the Israelites, all the men and women whose hearts moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord, through Moses, had commanded to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to God. Ex 35:29

He [Bezalel] made the laver of copper and its stand of copper from the mirrors of the women who performed tasks at the entrance of the Tent of meeting. Ex 38:8

The King has brought me to his chambers.
Let us delight and rejoice in your love,
Savoring it more than fine wine—Song of Songs 1:4

Let me be as a seal upon your heart,
Like the seal upon your hand.
For love is fierce as death... Song of Songs 8:6

GIVEN FROM THE HEART
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The master Artist Belazel made the Kior, the laver, and the stand from the copper from the mirrors presented to him from the women. Midrash relates that when the Israelites were in Egypt that the men were so oppressed with labor they had no desire for life. Their wives would go out to the fields to meet them, taking with them some food and distract their husbands from their hardships. By beautifying themselves and playing with the mirrors, they would beguile them to love.

Vanity? No. The women longed for the companionship of their husbands, driven into hard labor. With few resources, they had only themselves to offer. Brides go frantic as their wedding day approaches, fussing over their physical appearance, joining exercise clubs to be particularly buff on that special day. Afraid that they are not beautiful, they fear rejection. A girlfriend frets when a birthday cake for her boyfriend goes flat in the oven. She crawls under the table if her mascara runs in the rain or a tear appears in the hosiery. The yearning for acceptance nearly drives some people crazy with elaborate self-improvement programs; but these women had only themselves to give. Throughout literature, mirrors are not only used as a symbol of vanity, but far more often a symbol of unveiling the soul. "Mirror, mirror on the wall," says the cruel queen, "who is the fairest of them all?"

The lines do not betray her beauty, but her jealousy and evil intent in her heart. This is why folklore states that vampyres cannot be seen in mirrors—they hav no souls. The mirrors the women pass to their husbands are reflections of their own yearning to give of themselves. In love, there are few secrets and many sorrows shared together. The lover seeks to bring happiness to the beloved, helping him achieve his desires. The emphasis is giving from one to the other, not taking. Without the attention from their wives, the men's lives are unmeaningful and without reward. Through their wives, they find beauty in the world and a renewed desire to live: purpose shared within the secrecy of two souls, each yearning for fulfilment in the other. No one is made to be completely alone or completely unloved. No one can survive long in a world of hardship without human compassion. The soul yearns for fulfilment in the eyes of the other.

The mirrors became the laver and washstand for the Kohen to wash their hands and feet before assuming their religious duties. Hands represent the deeds we do and feet travel the paths we go, both requiring purification before God. Hands and feet should be purified by the desire to give of ourselves with our whole hearts, just as the wives desired to ease their husbands sorrows and provide comfort and reassurance in their lives. They had only themselves to give; we should contemplate our personal sacrifices of love.

In the late evening, the mystics, dressed in their best, went out in the fields to greet the Shabbat bride. "Le chai dodi, likrat Shabbat..." traditionally greets the Shabbat as the stars appear. We yearn to return to the divine, finding solace in God and celebrating the creation of the universe and the escape from slavery. Man seeks God in the hardships of his life, and the Shekinah leads him into the Divine Presence

When the Israelites departed into the Wilderness, the Shekinah went before them, guiding them by day in a cloud and at night in a pillar of fire. So God's Spirit leads us back from daily slavery into His Divine Presence.. Our lives are redeemed His love for his people, guiding us through the wilderness and personal oppression in this world.

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart moves him. II-7 Terumah Ex 25:1-2, 8

Say therefore unto the Israelite people: I am the Lord. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. And I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God. II-2 Bo Ex 6:6-7

You have seen what I have done with the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Me. among all peoples. Indeed all the earth is mine, but hyou shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. II- 5 Yitro Ex 19:4-5

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook Vayakhel 5763: Vayakhel & Shekalim - Intent Speaks Louder Than Action
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5763/vayakhel.html

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook Vayakhel 5762: It's the Thought that Counts
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5762/vayakhel.html

Rabbi Lauren Eichler Berkun, JTSA Shabbat Shekalim, Vayakhel 5763
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5763f/vayakhel.shtml
explanation of the mirrors

Rav Frand, Vaykhel 5762: Women Symbolize the Power of Renewal
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5762/vayakhel.html

Rav Frand, Vayakhel 5757: Mirrors Appropriate Component of Vessel Used to Sanctify Hands & Feet
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5757/vayakhel.html
look halfway down the page: Kiyyor, Kior, Laver

Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, JTSA Vayakhel 5757: Feminism and Orthodoxy
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5757/vayakhel.shtml

Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, JTSA, Va-Yakhel 5760
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5760/vayakhel.shtml

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights, Vayakhel 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5758/vayakhel.html
story of Rav Nachum

II-9 Ki Thisa A Golden Opportunity

2005-02-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

24 Febr II-9 Ki Thisa A Golden Opportunity
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113825

Torah: Ex 30:11-34:35
Haftorah: 1Kgs 18:1-39

Aliyot:
&&amp;&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 30:11-31:17
2. Ex 31:18-33:11
3. Ex 33:12-33:16
4. Ex 33:17:33:23
5. Ex 34:1-9
6. Ex 34:10-26
7. Ex 34:27-35

OVERVIEW:
&&amp;&&&&&&&&&

The instructions for the Mishkan and priestly garments hve been given in Terumah and Tetzaveh. Moses returns up the mountain for another Torah Training Seminar, but is absent thirty nine days. The natives are restless. Children without a leader, they turn to Aaron, second-n-command, for creating the Golden Calf. Moses on the mountaintop gets a directive to return. Seeing the ongoing festivities, he breaks the tablets before confronting the cuprits. later he confronts the ire of God and argues for his people. Ki Tissa includes the instructions for incense, the laver, the Law of the Shekel and continuation of Terumah and Tetzaveh in ritual worship.

IN FOCUS:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, "Come make us a god who shall go before us..." Ex 32:1

Have mercy upon me, O God
as befits your faithfulness;
in keeping with your abundant compassion,
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me throroughly of my transgressions
and purify me of my sin.
Ps 51:1-2

THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
&&amp;&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

There are three major interpretations of the three chapters. Nachmanides follows the sequence of the Torah that the instructions of Mishkan making and priestly garments were given before the incident of the Golden Calf, just as Terumah and Tetzaveh come before Ki Tisa. Rashi follows the midrash Tanhuma, saying that the instructions for Mishkan making and prietly garments came after the Golden Calf Event and their execution was a form of atonement for idolatry. The third interpretation comes from the Zohar which says that the instructions were given previous to the Golden Calf Event, but the execution afterwards. Yanki Tauber explains these three interpretations in Good as Gold below. The three interpretations symbolize three different types of people who come before God.

The first type of person is the tzaddik, the perfectly righteous person who keeps all 613 mitzvot and is enlightening all around through his holy life. Through him, the mundane components of life can be transformed into the divine. Whatever is lowly on this world, becomes holy to him.

The second type is the baal teshuvah—the penitent. He has a good intent. Starts off with good foundation, ground rules and on the right foot, but somewhere, he makes a wrong turn and his life starts heading downhill rather than up the mountain. He's the Pinocchio at the bottom of the sea, the person who has become an ass in the circus in life, but repents of his foolishness. He's one of the people who was involved in making the Golden Calf. His values changed, instead of being a transcendentalist who saw God in all things, he came to see gold as God. When he goes to make his mishkan, it is internal with the conversion within his heart. His own life changes as he returns to God.

The third type is the rasha-- okay, the bad guy, the one who plots about devious things and buries his sins with a cement block on the bottom of a pond. We see such a person as a social outcast, the worst, the despicable, the hopeless, the sinner, the man with the black heart, the tax collector, the rent collector, etc. We all know the guy, but none of us ever admits to being friends with him or inviting him in for a cup of coffee or tea. We shun the guy in daylight and whisper about his bad deeds at night; yet hang on—even he has an opportunity for making a mishkan, for in every small deed of good he does, God enters into them, creating a partnership with him, thus creating a little mishkan in the narrow and tight places of his heart and life.

But in the later two cases, something important happens. The giving of Torah on Mt Sinai is compared to the creation of Adam and Eve within the Garden. At Sinai, the Israelites were reborn, fresh as a newborn babe without an ounce of sin in their lives. But it seems that man has a tendency to be wayward. The days pass, and the fatherless children, a few weeks out of slavedom of Egypt get antsy. They need something to occupy their time and want a god to go before them. God directs Moses' attention to the ongoing Golden Calf Event at the foot of the mountain, "They have been quick to turn aside from the way that I have enjoined them... This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." (Ex 32:8-9)

Caught on the defensive Moses argues like Abraham before him. Midrash says that he had many points to score. First the instructions were given in the singular, "you" not plural, so maybe they only applied to Moses, but not to the Israelites. Second, what would the Egyptians say when they heard about the end of the Israelites? Yahoo! Then what about all those promises from the past—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Wasn't the that the purpose of the original mission to save the people so that they could be as numerous of the stars. God trained Moses, so he should have expected a fast talker. If on the initial meeting by the burning bush, Moses argued for seven days, he'd probably had plenty more argument inside of him to protect the people he'd led.

But when Moses descended from the mountain and saw the dancing about the Golden Calf and the crazy celebrations, he smashed the tablets against the the ground. Midrash explains that actually Moses was a kind of marriage-broker, making shidduch. He was bringing the contract down to the bride who was unsuitable. What do you do to an unsigned contract? You tear it up and go back to the negotiating table—uh, mountaintop Torah Training Session. So Moses destroyed the tablets, creating a new opportunity. How many times do you anything right on the first try? Mistakes pave the path to perfection.

So another perspective is that sin is really the golden opportunity for change. Whenever we go astray, God awaits our return.

FOOTPRINTS:
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You shall not make for yourself sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above or in the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, or serve them. For I the Lord your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children of the third and fourth generations of those who reject Me; but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments. II-5 Yisro Exodus 20:4-6

Rev Samuel Rapaport, Tales and Maxims from the Midrash, Exodus Rabbah
http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/tmm/tmm08.htm
"Moses, in pleading for the Israelites against their projected destruction for making the golden calf, had recourse to all sorts of, excuses in order to avert the threatened punishment. See page 107-108 Exodus Rabbah 43 -44

FURTHERMORE:
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Rabbi Chaim Dovid Green, Dvar Torah, Ki Thissa 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5757/kisisa.html
general overview of parasha

Yanki Tauber, Ki Thissa: Tammuz 16- The Day Before
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2237
"When G-d commands to construct a material receptacle for His presence, it becomes a holy, G-dly object; when man chooses a material representation of the Divine presence, this is idolatry--a detraction from, rather than an affirmation of, the truth that "There is none else besides Him."

Yanki Tauber, Ki Tissa: Sin and Sanctity
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=1329
on overview of chronology of Exodus

Yanki Tauber, Ki Tissa: What is Sin
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=70815

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook, Ki Tissa: Moshe Outshines the Dream Team! 5759
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5759/kisisa.html

Rav Frand If One Does Not Own Land, He Need Not Go 'Up' for the Festival
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5764/kisisa.html
The Chofetz Chaim & Rav Shimon Schwab: A Tale of Two Grandfathers
This is a true story involving the Chofetz Chaim (1838-1933) and Rav Shimon Schwab (1908-1995).

II-8 Tetzaveh All Dressed Up

2005-02-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

17 Febr II-8 Tetzaveh All Dressed Up
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113737

Torah: Ex 27:20-30:10
Haftorah: Ez 43:10-27

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 27:20-28:12
2. Ex 28:13-30
3. Ex 28:31-43
4. Ex 29:1-19
5. Ex 29:19-37
6. Ex 29:38-46
7. Ex 30: 1-10

OVERVIEW:
&&&&&&&&&

In Mishpatim, the focus of the parashiot change, moving from a historical view centered on distant figures to including the reader into the narrative. Mishpatim is the applicaiton of social law as it relates to the individual, Terumah builds the sanctuary and Tetzaveh presents the priesthood, garments and holy implements. Law gives us the ethical and moral structure for living as the construction of mishkan relates to the dedication of our talents and hearts, and Tetzaveh is a further extension of worship—how we dress ourselves in our worship through deeds and sacrifice. Korban-korbanot literally means to draw close to God. The Mishkan provides a sanctified place for encounter with God. Like going to the theater or a pleasant evening at an upscale restaurant, we need to consider how we dress ourselves before God.

IN FOCUS:
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"You shall bring forward your brother Aaron, with his sons, from among the Israelites, to serve me as priests...Make sacral garments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and adornment."
Exodus 28: 1-2 JPS

"I will abide among the Israelites, and I will be their God. And they shall know that I the Lord am their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might abide among them, I the Lord their God."
Exodus 29:45-46 JPS

The Clothes of the High Priest:
&&&&&&&&&&&

The previous parasha was concerned with the Mishkan with moses taking a freewill offering for its construction. In this parsha, Moses' name is not mentioned. Instead,

"ve'atah ve'tzaveh" -- "and you shall" appears three times avoiding his name. In Mishpatim, there is a shift of focus, from the Israelites standing at the bottom of Sinai, framed in history to the reader. The text becomes timeless. Here the shift moves from Moses, the leader of the Exodus, to the reader. We are drawn into the dressmaking activities for Aaron the High Priest. Ostensibly, Moses is the one addressed, but we hear the words:

Ex 27:20-21 "You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly.

Ex 28:1-2 And you shall bring forward your brother Aaron, with his sons ...

Ex 28:2-3 make sacral vestments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and adornment. Next you shall instruct all who are skillful, whom I have endowed with the gift of skill, to make Aaron's vestments, for consecrating him to serve Me as a priest.

What's so special about the garments of the High Priest? The lamps, we can assume through countless metaphors of purity, spirit and the soul longing to break free of an imperfect body to be re-united with the Creator, but clothing intrigues us with the annual fashion shows in Paris and Milan.

The High Priest wore an ephod, a type of ornamented apron. On the breastplate were twelve stones, one each to represent the tribes of Israel. The tribe of Levi was apparently not included because they were not given land, but became asssociated with the Temple worship and the Cities of Refuge, so that the tribe of Joseph was split by Ephraim and Manasseh. There was an additional stone on either shoulder strap, each inscribed with six names of the tribes. Symbolically, the high Priest not only carried the burden of the people on his shoulders, but on his heart. The shoulders symbolize the burdens of leadership and the heart that of compassion and concern for the people. Moreover, as the heart is considered the most vulnerable organ of the body, the breastplate symbolizes the necessary protection that must exist in order for good judgement. We can be easily drawn into a bad judgement through our emotions, whether anger or joy. The emotions can easily move into actions that we later regret, sometimes being drawn into a scam or reacting to a situation in a burst of anger. Although the High Priest stands before the altar on behalf of all the people, he must also have clear judgement. there needs to be a balance between mercy and justice, reflecting the divine names of Adonai and Elokim.

Why the fancy dress? "For dignity and adornment" reads the JPS translation, but another translation reads, "for splendor and beauty" or "glory (kavod) and splendor (tiferet)" The two, kavod and tiferet, belong to the Ten Sefirot—the divine emanations of God. Rasmbam comments tht the priest should emanate these two qualities and in wearing the ephod, the High Priest is able to draw down the glory of God's presence to the people and inspire us to a higher level.

But what do you first notice about the Kohen Gadol when he enters a room? Is it the fantastic breastplate or the golden band on his forehead? Do you even see it? Even before you see the Kohen Gadol, you hear something making a noise. The hem of the garment is embroidered with pomegranates, but between the pomegranates there are bells. Since the preposition used could mean between or in, the rabbis discuss this for metaphroical interpretations. The pomegranate is a symbol of life and of the Jewish people. just as the Children of Israel are divided into tribes, so the pomegrante is divided into sections. At times when the seed are bad, the pomegranate can seem almost hollow, symbolizing religion or religious life that has no fullness or ripe fruit.

The bells, though, are intriguing. The Kohen Gadol could not take a step without being heard. One interpretation is that the bells symbolize the fringe of society, the hoi-poloi, the rabble outside. After getting throuugh the Reed Sea and the defeat of the Egyptians what was the first reaction? Complaints that the waters at Marah were bitter. When there is manna, what happens? Complaints about not having meat. When Moshe goes back the mountain for the next instalment of Torah Training, what happens? Golden Calf. regardless of the season or how good something might be, there are always complaints, Murmurings in the camp, the dissidents yearning for their cucumber patches in the lush Skagit Valley. That's the way it is, and those are the folks that are jangling on Aaron's nerves each time he makes a step. Always there are those on the bottom, grasping at eternity's hem and begging to be pulled up. We never want to be forgotten or neglected and that's why we make so much noise about our lowly position in life.

But the shift? What do you think? Were these garments only meant to be worn by the High Priest, the Kohen Gadol, or do you think that there's something about these clothes that you and I should make and wear

FOOTPRINTS:
%%%%%%%%%

"And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them."
II-7 Terumah Ex 25:8

For the commandment is a lamp; The teaching is a light
Prv 6:23

commandment= mitzvot (good deeds) and teaching = torah

"and the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and warn them to stay pure today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothes. Let them be ready for the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down..." II-5 Yisro, Ex 19:10-11

Moses went and repeated to the people all the commandments of the Lord and all the rules; and all the people answered with lone voice, saying, "All the things that the Lord has commanded, we will do!" II- 6 Mishpatim, Ex 24: 3

Jordan D Cohan, Kolel, Tetzaveh 5764
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5764/tetzaveh.html
"but rather in the sense that these are the places where we as a people gather to “draw closer” to God; to worship and do the work (in Hebrew, the word Avodah means both “work” and “worship”) of connecting with our God. Our sacred spaces are not where God dwells, but rather they remind us that God dwells among us."

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&
Chabad, Tetzaveh: Oil, Wick, Vessel and Flame
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=39591
Based on the writings of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch (1773-1827), and the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Rabbi Avi Weinstein, Tetzaveh: Aromatherapy: Jewish Style
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tetzaveh_hillel2000.htm

Rabbi Shimon Felix, Tetzaveh: Multplicity of Meanings
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tetzaveh_bronfman.htm

Yanki Tauber, Tetzaveh: Noise
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=1169
based on th writings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Rabbi Dovid Green, Dvar Torah, Tetzaveh 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5757/tetzaveh.html
regarding symbolism of incense and Menorah

Rabbi Jordan D Cohen, Tetzaveh: Clothes Make the Person
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tetzaveh_kolel5762.htm
from Kolel

Aliza Mazor, Tetzaveh: The Holy Art of Sacrifice
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/tetzaveh_socialaction2002.htm

II-7 Terumah Making A Sanctuary From Scratch

2005-02-10T16:50:00.000-08:00

II-7 Terumah Making A Sanctuary From Scratch 10 February 2005
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113635

Torah: Ex 25-27:19
Haftorah: 1Kgs 5:26-6:13

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 25:1-16
2. Ex 25:17-30
3. Ex 25:31-26:14
4. Ex 26:15-30
5. Ex 26:31-37
6. Ex 27:1-8
7. Ex 27: 9-19

Overview:
&&&&&&&&&&&
Terumah provides a list of raw materials required for the construction of the Mishkan, the tabernacle, that will become the center of the movement of religious worship. The materials are to be taken as a voluntary donation: gold, silver, copper, wool dyed sky-blue, dark red, and crimson, linen, goats wool, ram skins, acacia wood, oil,
spices, incense, and precious stones. Detailed instructions are given for the altar for shewbread, the detailed description of the menorah and ark within the Holy of Holies to be carried with the tribes of Israel.

In Focus:
&&&&&&&&&&&
The Lord said to Moses saying: Tell the Israelite people to bring me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him. And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them Ex 25:1-2, 8

If your hands are stained by dishonesty, your prayers will be polluted and impure, and an offence to Him to whom you direct them. Do not pray at all before you have your hands purified from every dishonest act.--Exod. Rabba 22

Terumah follows Mishpatim, the social laws that govern the relationships between man and man, providing compensation for damages and standards for interpersonal relationships and behavior. A simple drash on the Magen David, the six-pointed star comprised of two triangles is that the upper star with its nose pointed downwards represents God descending on Mt Sinai to communicate with man. The traingle with its nose upwards, is man calling to God. Some people see it a slightly different way, stating that the triangle with the lowest base is God spreaduing his arms around man, like a father who holds his child, while the triangle with the higher base is man, desperately clinging to God for redemption.

The relationship between Yisro, Mishpatim and Terumah can be interpreted in this manner. Yisro is God delivering to man the Holy Law while Mishpatim is man striving to reach upwards through his actions. Terumah is that middle area, that holy time and place where we step outside conventional society and daily labor to encounter God privately within the inner sanctum of our lives.

When relations with our fellow man are good and we have not violated the sanctity of human trust through dishonest dealings or exploitation, our gifts are acceptable before God. However, if we have cheated in any business dealings or benefited through the offense of another, whatever we bring before God is for nothing. If we double charge a customer, have false balance on our scales, the gift brought before God is unacceptable as a product of an impure life and heart. In the Last Days when the Book of Life is opened, anyone who has exploited his fellow man through business or personal dealings, shall be held accountable; the 100,000 or 1,000,000,000 dollar tax deductible donation will have little effect in the heavenly court. Such dealings are not acceptable before the Almighty Judge: you cannot steal from your neighbor and offer the profit to God.

Symbolically interpreted the Mishkan represents the superficiality of our bodies and deeds: the relationship of hand and mouth. The Ark represents our souls hidden within the Divine Presence of God. As the Ark contained the two tablets brought down from the mountain, the Law should be engraven in our hearts. As the Mishkan accompanied the Israelites through their wilderness journey, so God abides with us in times of desolation. Although God is hidden and invisible, nevertheless, he is near us.

"Happy is the man who fears the Lord, who is ardently devoted to his commandments. A light shines for the upright in the darkness; he is gracious, compassionate, and beneficent. All goes well with the man who lends generously, who conducts his affairs with equity. " Ps 112:1, 4-5

The verse presents a parallel between the tabernacle to personal living. We, ourselves, are the tabernacle in which God dwells. Our light enlightens the world. "The lifebreath of man is the lamp of the Lord, Revealing all his inward parts." Prv 20:27

The Rabbis discuss Moses taking a freewill offering, not an obligation or demand; but heartfelt generosity. Motive is important as well as the source—both must be pure. The gift should not be a cast-off hand-me-down cluttering the front closet or something discarded; but something set aside for the purpose of sancitfication to God. The list includes chiefly raw materials, not finished. We give of our lives; God finishes the product. We give of our deeds; God sanctifies them when they are done with a righteous heart filled with love. Balance is made between the relationships of man with man and man with God. Triangular, each point is significant.

The Mishkan is comparable with Noah's Ark. To save mankind, God uses man as his agent. Noah was instructed to build an ark to preserve him from the Flood as society degenerates. Noah built the ark, corralled the animals—but he failed to save a single human life outside of his family. He did little to convince them of the impending danger or influence their ways of living. He failed. The Ark of the Covenant, the Mishkan is similar, providing shelter and bouyancy in the time of great tempests. The Law protects the sanctity of life. We cling to it in times when we feel that we are drowning in a sea of evil or when calamities sweep over our heads like waves of the Northern Sea. A lifeboat, it carries us through the storms of life; but unlike Noah's Ark, we are not commanded to build the tabernacle—the donations and commitment must be an act of love.

In the detailed instructions, small things are equally as important as big things. There is as much concern for the rings as there is for the curtain material. Whether you feel your gift is truly insignificant or replicable, it is intergral to the building of God's tabernacle. Your gift regardless of size, is important before God. The little woodscrews, hang the door although the oak may be ancient and impressive. Consider your apartment or house if every single nail or screw was removed. Visualize it. How useful the bathroom? Could you wash your hands? How stable the floors? How would you enter or exit? Could you lock the doors?

Often we overlook crucial elements, ignoring the value of things and people we meet. How great is a cake without flour? Yet we praise those things which are unique or add character without realizing they have no value except when supported by all those other relatively ordinary things. So a house without screws, without a door is relatively unpractical regardless of the velvet curtains or Manets hanging on the walls. Without the contributions of so many generous hands providing all the various ingredients, the Mishkan didn't exist. Without cooperation, love and dedication, community doesn't exist. The Mishkan was much, much more than a community construction project—it was the heart of the people, their intercourse with one another and where they could encounter God in their midst.

FOOTPRINTS:
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"In the course of time, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the soil; and when Abel, for his part, brought the firstlings of his flock. The Lord paid heed to Abel and his offering, but to Cain and his offering He paid no heed. Cain was much disappointed and his face fell." I-1 Bereshit Gn 4:3-4

Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, Pirkei Avos 5:13
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter5-13.html
"There are four types of contributors to charity. One who wants to give but does not want others to give--is begrudging of others. One who wants that others should give but does not want to give--begrudges himself. One who wants that he as well as others should give, is a chassid. One who want neither himself nor others to give, is wicked."

Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld, Pirkei Avos 5:16
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter5-10.html
"There are four types of givers of charity. One who wants to give but that others not give - has a bad eye towards others. One who wants others to give but not to give himself - has a bad eye towards himself. One who gives and wants others to give is pious. One who does not give and does not want others to give is wicked."

Chabad: Ethics of the Fathers Chapter Five
http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=2099
see mishna 10, 13

The Path of the Righteous Gentile translated by Chaim Clorfene and Yakov Rogalsky
Charity
http://www.moshiach.com/action/morality/charity.php

The Path of the Rigfhteous Gentile 13:6
Every person has the obligation to give charity according to his ability. Even a poor person who supports himself from charity may give charity from these funds. Though he can afford only a little, this should not prevent him from giving charity. A little charity from a poor man is considered as worthy as a great amount given by a rich person.

The Path of the Rigfhteous Gentile 13:15
It is forbidden to reject the requests of a poor person and turn him away empty-handed even if all one can afford at the time is a morsel of food. If there is really nothing in one's hand to give, then one should say kind words to the person indicating that he sincerely wishes to give him something, but that it is not possible at this time.

The Path of the Rigfhteous Gentile 13:22
The highest level of giving charity is to assist a person financially before he becomes poor, thus preventing him from becoming poor. Such assistance should be given graciously in the form of a gift or a loan or an offering of partnership in a financial venture or a job placement so that the poor person will not be forced to seek financial assistance from others.

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos, Yisro: The Dowry
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5760/yisro.html

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline: Yisro 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5758/yisro.html
And when the father-in-law of Moshe saw all that he did with the nation, he said, 'what is this thing which you do with the people? Why do you sit alone, with all of the nation surrounding you from morning to evening?

Yanki Tauber, The Cigarette Beggar
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=111752

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, Yitro: Portable Holiness
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/yitro_kolel5760.htm
My Jewish Learning

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline, Terumah 5760
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5760/terumah.html
"And they shall make a Temple for Me, and I will dwell among them..." Ex 25:8

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline, Terumah 5763
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5763/terumah.html
"G-d spoke to Moshe, saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me; from every man whose heart desires [to give], take my offering.'" [Ex. 25:1-2]

Rabbi Jordan D Cohan, Terumah Give and Take
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/terumah_kolel5762.htm

Rabbi Shimon Felix, The Role of Ritual
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/terumah_bronfman.htm

Rabbi Moti Bar Or, God's Home
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/terumah_ujafedny5761.htm
My Jewish Learning trumah

Rabbi Hayim Shafner, Terumah: A Sanctuary Within
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/terumah_hillel2000.htm

Rabbi Avraham Fischer, Terumah: On the Way to Sanctity
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/terumah_ou5762.htm

Using Our Contributions to Create the Sacred
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/terumah_socialaction2002.htm

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos, Terumah: It's the Thought That Counts
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5759/teruma.html

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos, Terumah: Give and Take
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5763/terumah.html

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Paths of the Righteous Gentile
http://web.archive.org/web/20040326043804/www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=42591

Moschiach Online: Rogalsky, The Path of the Righteous Gentile
http://www.moshiach.com/action/morality/in-depth.php

Path of the Righteous Gentile
http://web.archive.org/web/20040326043804/www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=42591

The Path of the Rghteous Gentile
http://web.archive.org/web/20030630155154/www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=2952

http://web.archive.org/web/20040326043804/www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=42591

II-6 Mishpatim The Value of Life

2005-02-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

II-6 Mishpatim Laws 3 February 2005

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113449

Torah: Ex 21-24:18
Haftorah: 1 Sam 20:18-42

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 21:1-19
2. Ex 21:20-22:3
3. Ex 22:4-26
4. Ex 22:27-23:5
5. Ex 23:6-19
6. Ex 23:20-25
7. Ex 23:26-24:18

Overview:
&&&&&&&&&&&

The Ten Commandments are concerned with man's relationship with God and man's relationship with fellow man. Mishpatim contains social laws regarding compensation for loss: inflicted loss on personal properties, damages caused by public hazards and neglect; damages inflicted by the person himself and failure to contain or restrict potential damage. Mishpatim includes social, religious, financial, criminal and family laws. Interpretation of Mishpatim is in the Talmud Tractate, Nizikin, divided into Bava Kamma, Bava Metzria and Bava Batra. The heart of the law is to live in harmony with one's fellow man.

In Focus:
&&&&&&&&&&&

"When you acquire a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; in the seventh year he shall go free, without payment .. But if the slave declares, "I love my master, and my wife and my children: I do not wish to go free," his master shall take him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall remain his slave for life."
Exodus 21:2, 5

"If however, that an ox has been in the habit of goring, and its owner, though warned, has failed to guard it, and it kills a man or a woman—the ox shall be stoned and its owner, too, shall be put to death."
Ex 21:29

"When a man opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it, the one responsible for the pit must make restitution; he shall pay the price to the owner, but shall keep the dead animal."
Ex 21:33

The value of life:
&&&&&&&&&&&

Mishpatim is an extension of Yisro through the explication and application of the Ten Commandments. The relationship between the two parasha is comparable to that of constitutional law, providing the concept of government and ethical overview of law and the practical application found in specific statutes.

Mishpatim contains laws governing the relationships of man. The interpretation of Mishpatim is in the Talmudic tractate, Nizikin, divided into three sections:

1. Bava Kamma: man at his lowest level—his violent nature and criminal behavior. It considers damages inflicted on personal properties: an ox goring an ox; damages caused by hazards in public domain: an open pit or neglected property; damage inflicted by the person himself: assault or brawling; and damage caused by failure to contain or prevent potentially dangerous hazards: wildfires, oil spills, environmental contamination.

2. Bava Metzia: the groundwork for greater social cooperation and deeper unity of mankind, pertaining to the return of lost items, the settlement of loan and contract amicably or peacefully. It involves negotiation to avoid violence or conflict destructive to society.

3. Bava Batra: the highest level of mankind as he seeks to institute ideal solutions for society to establish harmonious relationships, involving conceptual law for the betterment of greater society, civil rights, commerce, inheritance and charity, bringing unity in the brotherhood of mankind.

Man's relationship to God can be defined in three terms: as a slave; as an employee or as a partner with God. Our relationship with God is dependent on our own terms.

Mishpatim opens with Eved Ivrit, the law of the bondsman or slave, which is closely related to the First Commandment Exodus 20:1-3. Camped beneath the smoking mountain, each person heard the voice of God. A person is bound first to serve God, then his fellow man. In serving God first, by necessity one must also serve his fellow man. When a person chooses serve another man first, he commits idolatry. He loses his own freedom, contradicting the giving of Torah at Mt Sinai. They left the slavery of Egypt, renouncing idolatry and Egyptian culture, but before they enter into a new land, they are reminded of their past. Do not do to others, what you have yourselves endured. Don't become involved in slave trade or accustomed to exploiting others for your benefit.

How does one become a slave? For legal violations: theft or destruction to property require compensation and restitution. Unable to make compensation, a person could indenture himself. However, indenturement could last a maximum of six years. Why? In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and all therein in six days, but rested on the seventh. The relationship between man and man is dependent on man's relationship to God since each is created in the image of God. The commandment of Shabbat extends beyond the observant to all within the land, including animals. Moreover, even the land is commanded to rest on the seventh year. (III- 9 Behar, Lv 25 )

Why nail the ear to the doorpost? Rabbi Spira-Savett explains when a servant rejects his freedom, he violates the purpose of Exodus. All the Israelites were brought out of Egypt: the old, the young, the sons, the daughters, to enter into a new relationship with God, but someone choosing to be a slave, remains behind in Egypt. He contradicts the will of God. Therefore, the ear is nailed to the doorpost, symbolic of the night of Exodus when the Israelites painted the lintels with the paschal lamb. A person who indentures himself for life to another man is psychologically a slave, forever trapped within his own mind and life by his anxiety of freedom and refusal to accept responsibility for himself.

Slavery is not merely ownership of another human being, but exploiting others or acting superior to them -- the exploitation of poor who struggle at minimum wage, unable to pay for basic medical, food or housing. They are as much slaves as those who were bought and traded for their very existence is dependent on the whims of others and any small calamity can break them. They are overburdened with the sorrows of each day. Slavery is found in the office where the boss makes arbitrary demands with unreasonable expectations and schedules. The workers struggle in the daily scramble, singing the lyrics of the Lobster Quadrille in unison. They live in the the world beyond the Looking-Glass where Alice makes haste to keep pace:

"Alice looked round her in great surprise. "Why, I do believe we've been under this tree the whole time! Everything's just as it was!"

"Of course it is," said the Queen. "What would you have it?"

"Well in our country," said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else—if you ran very fast for a long time as we've been doing."

"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place."

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass.

The laws extend from the lowest level of society, the concerns of a slave or bondsman to those endangered by our deliberate or passive actions, whether damage is inflicted through hostile actions or by neglect to protect against potential damage. All life, human or animal, comes from God; therefore compensation must be given for any loss of life. All the earth belongs to God; therefore, compensation is given for the loss or destruction of property. The laws reveal the Supremacy of God. Each person is responsible for his actions. "An eye for eye" is a warning that for every injury inflicted, there must be financial restitution, even if injury is caused by neglect: the refusal to restrain a dangerous animal or cover a pothole. The sinkhole does nothing, but is a potential danger for the unwary. A rabid or dangerous dog is a threat to those around it. The dog is not held responsible, but the owner is held accountable for not providing adequate restraints or encouraging or training the animal to be dangerous.

Freedom is not freedom from responsibility or accountability, but the acceptance of ethical and social standards that provide for personal security to have a place to live, food to eat, work with adequate compensation and education to make enlightened decisions for all people, even the strangers that dwell in the land.

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&
"I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bandage. You shall have no other gods besides me."
II-5 Yisro Ex 20:1-2

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is within them, and He rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.
II-5 Yisro Ex 20:8-11

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos: Taking the Children Along
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5759/bo.html

Rabbi Avraham Fischer, Bo:Defining the Service of God
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bo_ou5762.htm

Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, Bo: Body and Soul Religion
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bo_kolel5761.htm

Rabbi Shimon Felix, Bo: Equal before God
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bo_bronfman.htm

David Frankel, Yitro: How We Hear
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/yitro_ujafedny5762.htm

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&

Pinchas Winston, Perceptions, Yitro: The Giving and Living of Torah
http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5760/yisro.html

Yanki Tauber, Mishpatim: The Criminal, the Litigant, and the Partner
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2795

Yanki Tauber, Mishpatim: Whose Life is it Anyway?
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2794
chabad the Four Guardians: the different contractual arrangements with God

Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler, The Ear that Heard 5764
http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/parsha/chrysler/archives/mishpatim64.htm

Rabbi Eliezer Chrysler, An Eved Ivri 5763
http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/parsha/chrysler/archives/mishpatim63.htm

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Mitzvot of the Third Kind
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=129

An Eye for $100, A Tooth for About Ten Bucks: The Monetary Meaning of Mishpatim
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/mishpatim_hillel2002.htm
My Jewish Learning- regarding compensation

Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett, Letting our People Go: Bringing us all out of Egypt
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/mishpatim_socialaction2000.htm
My Jewish Learning

LIFE LESSONS:
&&&&&&&&&&&

Yanki Tauber, The Cigarette Beggar
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=111752

Nissan Mindel, The First Rothschild
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=111747

Yrachmiel Tilles, The Loan
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=111751

In Suite:
&&&&&&&&&&&
Shemot / Exodus

II-5 Yisro Ex 18-20:23
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113448

II-4 Beshelach Ex:13:17-17:16
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113190

II-3 Bo Ex 10-13:16
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113137

II-5 Yisro Jethro-The Man At The Top

2005-01-27T16:15:00.000-08:00

II-5 Yisro Jethro 27 Jan 2005
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113448

Torah: Ex 18-20:23
Haftorah: Is 6:1-7:6, 9:5-6

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 18:1-12
2. Ex 18:13-23
3. Ex 18:24-27
4. Ex 19:1-6
5. Ex 19:7-19
6. Ex 19:20-21:14
7. Ex 20:15-23

Overview:
&&&&&&&&&&

Jethro comes to meet the Israelites camping under Mt Sinai.When he arrives in the camp, he discovers a strange thing. Moses is sitting outside his tent arbitrating the complaints of the Israelites. One man; six hundred thousand complaints. "What's this?" asks Jethro as he scans the long line of would-be complainers. Jethro advises Moshe in how to set up a legal system with upper and lower courts that are accessible by the common meat-grinder. Later, Moshe ascends the mountain and returns bringing the Ten Commandments to the Children of Israel, establishing the basis of the social system, giving equal space for divine and human relationships.

In Focus:
&&&&&&&&

Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods, yes by the results of their very schemes against [the people]. And Jethro, Moses; father-in-law, brought a burn offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to partake of the meal before God with Moses' father-in-law.

Ex 18: 11-12

But Moses' father-in-law said unto him, "The thing you are doing is not right; you will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.

Ex 18:17-18

The man at the top
&&&&&&&&&&

They stood in line. Moshe's tent was on the opposite side of the camp, so they had to get up before the sunrise to get there before all those others. Really, it seemed injust. So unfair, but that's the way it stood. They were on the fringe, the outer limits of society. By the time they arrived, five hundred others had already taken their place in line. It was really worse than trying to get tickets for the World Cup Playoffs because no seats were guaranteed and after standing in line all day, they might have to return tomorrow. Almost as bad as the Czech Foreign Police when you thought about it.

And yes, the slavery of Egypt was far behind them, but so were the succulent fresh green cucumbers and the sweetness of mint. Here all you could taste for miles was sand. Not a palm tree in sight. What is freedom when you're standing in a desert with the sun scorching your back? What value did all that Egyptian gold have when there was no market for barter and trade, when stomach rumbled with emptiness like battered jeeps sucking out the last drops of petrol from their tanks? They camped across from Mt Sinai, awaiting the latest revelation from their revered (or reviled) leaderwho sat from morning until late at night before his tentflap, arbitrating disputes of the people. "He's the one," they said. "He's the one in charge of this parade. He's the head of the line, the man at the top. He's got the inside information." That's why they stood there for hours after hours until hours stretched from sunrise to sunset into days and weeks to present their disputes.

Until Jethro came.

What did Jethro do? He revolutionized society. An outsider, he immediately saw the obvious flaw: the long lines winding about the camp and the disgruntled children being constantly reminded to stand still. He brought fresh insight with practical advice, advising Moshe to establish upper and lower courts with judges drawn from the rank and file to preside over them. What kind of men? Capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who spurn ill-gotten gain. Four definitive qualifications: capable, God-fearing, trustworthy and despising ill-gotten gain. Four qualities that make leaders of men who can stand against tyrants in their time, who will not receive gifts or bribes behind their backs, or arrange kickbacks and government contracts amongst their friends; not those who have hidden investments in the Wall Street Stock Market when they sit on the bench to arbitrate the violations of corporate behemoths; not those who put themselves above the law or believe themselves to be the ultimate authorities; but those who live with an eye towards heaven, knowing that the ultimate hope of man is worms.

Not Moses? No, Jethro, the Priest of the Midianites, did this thing. He heard about the splitting of the sea and the war with the Amalekites from afar and brought Zipporah his daughter and the sons of Moses, Gershom and Eliezer with him to join their father. Gershom because "he was a stranger in a strange land" and Eliezer because "the God of my father was my help and he delivered me out of the sword of Pharaoh," so they were named. It was Jethro, his father-in-law, who advised Moses about hogging all the authority to himself and made him see reason that a culture or nation cannot long survive built around a single ego. Just think of the chaos if Moshe suddenly had sunstroke! As it was we spent days waiting in line trying to settle a dispute over a stolen goat. It was ours, but the neighbors in the next tent claimed that it was their, but we'd recognize its mournful bleating anywhere.

Jethro understood the insecurities and needs of a fringe group. He saw the need for decentralized government and speedy reconciliations of petty disputes. Bad enough to be set on from behind by the vicious Amalekites, but we were being reduced to squabbling amongst our own, threatening mutiny already with people grumbling about not having water or enough to eat. They weren't used to all this freedom. People aren't made to sit about doing nothing, especially when their lives had been pre-planned from birth to death, making bricks and building great monuments to mankind. Not so much you can do with sand, even foraging for the animals was sufficiently frustrating to keep most folks complaining.

Jethro did it diplomatically, easing into the topic and then departing once he saw that the solution was in the works. He understood diplomacy, the light touch of giving sound advice without sounding supercilious or rudely condescending. He knew that law, regardless of how sublime, is only words without acessible courts in all seasons and for all people regardless of color, creed or birth. When you're in the midst of a problem, in the middle of a muddle, it's not always to see the way out and that's why it's ever so important to have the voice of an outsider sizing things up to provide the overall perspective. And through his advice, law shifted from the hands of one into the hands of all; the burden of one man became for us, the responsibility of all. The law became our contract with God.

FOOTPRINTS:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline Yisro 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5761/yisro.html
"And all the Nation saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the Shofar, and the mountain smoking, and the nation was afraid, and they trembled, and they stood far away." [20:15]"

Rabbi Levitas of Yavneh would say: Be very, very humble, for the hope of mortal man is worms. Pirkei Avos 4:4
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter4-4.html

Contemplate three things, and you will not come to the hands of transgression: Know what is above from you: a seeing eye, a listening ear, and all your deeds being inscribed in a book. Rabbi Judah HaNasssi Pirkei Avos 2:1
http://www.torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos/chapter2-1a.html

Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, Yitro: Portable Holiness
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/yitro_kolel5760.htm
My Jewish Learning

Uri Ayalon, Yitro: A System of Justice and the Details of a Moral Life
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/yitro_socialaction2002.htm
My Jewish Learning

Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, Mishpatim: Critiquing our Leadership
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/mishpatim_kolel5761.htm

FURTHERMORE:
&&&&&&&&&&

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos Yisro : The Dowry 5760
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5760/yisro.html
despising money on the qualifications of judges

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos Yisro: Echoes of Sinai 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5761/yisro.html

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Green, Dvar Torah Yisro Ten Commandments 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5758/yisro.html

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Green, Dvar Torah Yisro 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5757/yisro.html
"And Yisro the Priest of Midyan heard all that G-d had done for Moshe and Yisrael; that G-d had taken them out of Egypt" (Exodus 18:1). Rashi asks the famous question: What news (in particular) did he (Yisro) hear .."

Rabbi Label Lam, Dvar Torah Yisro: The Birth of the Blues 5763
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5763/yisro.html

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline Yisro 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5758/yisro.html

And when the father-in-law of Moshe saw all that he did with the nation, he said, 'what is this thing which you do with the people? Why do you sit alone, with all of the nation surrounding you from morning to evening?' And Moshe said to his father-in-law, 'because the nation comes to me to inquire of G-d. Because when they have an argument they come to me, and I judge between a man and his friend, and I teach them the statutes of G-d and His laws." [18:14-16

In Suite:
&&&&&&&&&&
Shemot / Exodus

II-4 Beshelach Ex:13:17-17:16
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113190

II-3 Bo Ex 10-13:16
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113137

II-2 Va'iera A Plague on You Ex 6:2-9:35
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/112991

II-1 Shemot Who Made You Boss? Ex 1:1-6:1
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/112913

II-4 Beshelach In Over My Head

2005-01-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

II-4 Beshelach In Over My Head
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113190

II-4 SP Beshelach "When he sent" 21 Jan 2005

Torah: Ex:13:17-17:16
Haftorah: Jdgs 4:4-5:31

Aliyot:
&&amp;&&&&&&&
1. Ex 13:17-18:8
2. Ex 14:8-14
3. Ex 14:15-25
4. Ex 14:26-15:26
5. Ex 15:27-16:10
6. Ex 16:11-36
7. Ex 17:1-16

Overview:
&&&&&&&&&&

With the last three plagues, Pharaoh finds his power limited. Regretfully he lets the Israelites go in his grief for his own son, struck down by the last plague of death. The Israelites move out en masse with a pillar of cloud leading them into the wilderness. Morning breaks and the Pharaoh assembles his army for revenge. Within a short time, a cry goes up in the Israelite camp, "Were it not better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness?" Caught between the Egyptian armies and the sea before them, the Israelites give into despair. Moses stretches his hand over the sea and it parts opening a path for an oppressed people to become a nation on the other side.

In Focus:
&&&&&&&&&

Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer, for God said, "The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt." Ex 13:17

And they said to Moses, "Was it for want of graves in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Ex 14:11

The the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward." Ex 14:15

In Over My Head
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The quickest way to get to Canaan was to follow the Way of Horus along the Mediterranean, but this was a trade route fortified by the Egyptians against external forces and invaders sweeping in from the Mediterranean, "the Philistines." To go this way would mean direct confrontation with the past on both fronts, with the Egyptians hounding them from behind and the Egyptians before them all the way as well as the intimidation of other hostile tribes.

Instead, They were led southwards where they were caught between the Yom Suf and the rampaging Egyptian Army, moving with one heart as one man according to Rashi's commentary. Viewing their impending doom, the joy of liberation is short. Burdened with all the wealth they could take with them, plus their flocks and their herds and their old and their young, their daughters and their sons, the Israelites could only howl with bitterness, "Why did you bring us here to die in the desert? Aren't there enough graves in Egypt?"

What did they take? The goodwill offerings of the Egyptians who were begging them to leave. Opening the door, the Egyptians shoved them out, fearful of their own death. (Ex 12:33-37) While the Israelites were busily engaged collecting worldly things, Moses went off to fulfill a commitment to one long-forgotten Joseph who wanted his bones interned in Canaan. The contrast of the diverse activities reveals the difference of temperament and faith between Moses and his people. While the Israelites were busily thinking about opening new bank accounts without having first established a national currency or identity, Moses was busy fulfilling a spiritual commitment to the past. He was recovering Joseph's bones which midrash tells us were at the bottom of the Nile. The Israelites were greedy for the flash of gold, looking at the latest Maserati camel model and dreaming about having sleek Jaguar chariots, yet they didn't have the emotional or spiritual depth for independence. A dependent people, they were used to having others organize their days, give them their daily work orders and receive in return their daily cucumbers. Brickmaking is indeed a hard business, but at least they stack up. You can number them, gloat about the quotas fulfilled and complain about the backbreaking labor involved. Whatever pain you suffer, you can blame on the boss over you. This is the mentality of a drone or drudge, but doing something independently? Taking responsibility for oneself? Not at this level of maturity. They followed Moses of their own free will. He even gave a three day seminar about their need for return to their previous state of existence as a people of God.

The two contrast oddly. Yet Moses understands the commitment of the past. Taking thee bones of Joseph didn't mean packing a neat little ossary into his backpack, but accepting the spirit of Joseph, taking on the responsibilities of leadership and vision required for leading a people from slavery into freedom.

But what is freedom? Is it found in the Bill of Rights or the Constitution? Or does it exist on many different layers depending on the viewer's perspective. Traditionally, American history taught that the Puritans arrived on Plymouth Rock to establish a colony for religious freedom. It's a myth. We know they arrived, but the other part regarding religious freedom? Freedom for whom? To establish a new colony where their rules would be strictly imposed on the inhabitants? Is that freedom? Or the huge proportion of indentured immigrants? Does merely escaping an oppressive regime mean you are free? Obviously not, because the Israelites mourn for their secure lives back in Egypt. Sounds crazy, but actually it's not. People are not so much the slaves of their political systems but slaves to the ideology and mentality of being slaves. As someone used to tell me, "You can take a Jew from a ghetto, but getting the ghetto out of a Jew is difficult." It's true, we become prisoners of our own minds and experience. We presume the future must be like the past.

Moses had a hard job. Actually between the rampaging Egyptians and the wailing Israelites, he was in the middle. Whichever way things would go, he could be blamed, but when the tomatoes flew; he stood up. He took Joseph's spirit with him, maintaining faith with man and God, realizing that to leave the past, you do it one step at a time—and then you take the plunge.

"What are you yelling at me for? Tell the Israelites to shove on..." Pretty abrupt instructions. Where to? Well, you know where: into the Yom Suf, into the Ayin, the abyss which we must all pass whenver there is a transformation or change. For each of us, there is a time when we have to turn our back on the rabble behind us, and take the first step into the depth of the unknown sea, the unknown future. Midrash states that Nachsen was the first in and the waters parted. There are many theories of this. Some say that the sheer weight forced the displacement of the waters. If you're a heavyweight, you might like this. Another says, that as they pressed forward, they could not see where their feet landed, the water parted—similar to walking through a field of dense nettles. As you go, there's a swath levelled behind you, but the forefront looks pretty prickly. Others think it happened like a Hollywood movie; but as God puts it, the important thing is forward motion.

Sometimes we feel really swamped, the waters are over our heads and we can't see our feet beneath us. We feel that we are sinking. We scream, our despair fills the air with moans, "twice or thrice more blessed is he who dies beneath the walls of Troy..." Sometimes we get very lyrical about the good old days when the rainwater leaked through the roof of the old flat and the bathtub fell through the floor--- We are desperate slaves of the past, fearful of tomorrow

And sometimes, God leads us the circuitous path around through the south into the Yom Suf simply because we haven't the maturity to engage in direct conflict with our own enslavement to the past. We need to pass through the abyss to understand who's really in control.

Footprints:
&&amp;&&&&&&&&
I-12 Vayechi Gn 50: 22-26 Joseph's Death

II-4 Beshelach Ex 13:19 Moses recovers and takes the bones of Joseph

Rabbi AronTendler, Rabbi's Notebook: How Did Pharaoh Do It?
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5764/beshalach.html

Kolel, Beshelach 5762
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5762/beshalach.html
"The Israelites have finally left Egypt. God does not lead the Israelites along the closest route to the Land of Israel, which is through territory occupied by the Philistines. Rather, the people are lead in the direction of the Yam Suf - the Sea of Reeds."

Furthermore:
&&amp;&&&&&&&&

Rabbi Avi Weinstein, Beshelach: What are you yelling at me for? 2002
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/beshalach_hillel5760.htm
from Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
indepth look at Rashi's commentary regarding the yelling

Kolel Beshelach 5764 / 7 Jan 2004
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5764/beshalach.html
"So the Israelites follow Moses and his God only to wind up between the approaching Egyptian chariots and the abyss ..."

Yanki Tauber, Beshelach: Exodus Part II
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=67977
two parts of freedom

Yanki Tauber, Beshelach: The Four Factions
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2774
four world views about world crisis

Rav Frand, Beshelach: Everyone Needs Attention 5763
http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5763/beshalach.html
on the relationship of vay-ehi and vai

Rabbi Elihayu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos: Backseat Driver
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5762/beshalach.html
on the difficulty of splitting Red Sea, finding a shidduch and parnasah

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights, Beshelach 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5757/beshalach.html
"This weeks parsha, Beshalach, begins with the possuk (13:17) "Vayehee, and it was, when Paroah sent the nation". We've mentioned before that the word 'vayehee' connotes sorrow..."

Pinchas Winston, Perceptions, Beshelach Was It Really Fair-Oh? 5763
http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5763/beshalach.html

Rabbi Aron, Rabbi's Notebook: Freedom Revisisted 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5761/beshalach.html

Rabbi Aron, Rabbi's Notebook, Illusion of Independence 5759
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5759/beshalach.html

Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Perceptions, Beshelach: Heaven Sent 5762
http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5762/beshalach.html
with a section considering the relationship of TuB'Shevat and Beshelach

II-3 Bo Locust Fly From Here

2005-01-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

II-3 Bo Locust Fly From Here
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/113137

5. II-3 Bo " Come" 14 Jan 04

Torah: Exodus 10-13:16
Haftorah: Jer 46:13-28

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 10:1-11
2. Ex 10:12-23
3. Ex 10: 24-11:3
4. Ex 11:4-12:12:20
5. Ex 12:21-28
6. Ex 12:29-51
7. Ex 13:1-16

Overview:
&&&&&&&&&
Negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh continue: The last three plagues, Locusts, Darkness and Death of the Firstborn, descend upon the terrified Egyptians. Pharaoh temporarily relents when his son dies. The Israelites get ready to shift as they celebrate their first Passover. Israel's redemption appears through the darkness settling over the land. Darkness sympbolizes spiritual blindness, the despair of an enslaved people or those overburdened by the injustice of the world.

In Focus:
&&&&&&&&&

Moses replied," We will all go, young and old; we will go with our sons and daughters, our flocks and herds; for we must observe the Lord's festival."
Ex 10:9

Locust Fly From Here
&&&&&&&&&&&
Moshe is incorrigible. He returns once more to Pharaoh.This time, Moshe warns of an impending plague of locusts that will devour whatever survived through the last seven plagues.

"What is the purpose of that?" Can the Pharaoh do anything about an impending plague that derives from a natural source? Moses puts it bluntly, "How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let my people go so that they may worship Me." Ex 10:3

Pharaoh questions his motives. Perhaps Moses will abscond with the slaves. He bargains. They can go on condition that the children stay behind. Moses departs and the locusts arrive.

A deified King, Pharaoh is a god with absolute authority. Although his ministers perceive a lose-lose situation, insisting on concession, "How long shall this one be a snare to us? Let the men go to worship the Lord their God! Are you not yet aware that Egypt is lost?" (Ex 10:7), yet Pharaoh does not. Again, Pharaoh begs reprieve; only send the locusts away. Take the children, but leave their flocks behind. Negotiations break off. The new refusal incurs the plague of darkness, palpable as a woolen blanket, laying over the land.

Could Pharaoh reverse a natural plague or avoid it? Was Moses merely the advanced public warning system? The conflict is between the two different types of social structures and power bases. Pharaoh represents absolute autonomy. The leader of his country, he expects obedience regardless of the damage inflicted on his country and its economy. Concession involves loss of face and admission of fallibility. Moreover, the entire hierarchal Egyptian social structure would crumble, dependent on the strict control of authority. Religious and political authority were not shared, but tools to control society. An effective tool, religion, exerts psychological control over ignorant people. Fearful and susperstitious, society is easily intimidated by religious authority that threatens with terrors beyond death and supernatural repercussions. Focusing heavily on the cult of the dead, the rites in ancient Egyptian society were held in secret of a few people, having tremendous power over the political authority within the social structure. Even in contemporary society the interplay between religion and politics is highly influential, determining the outcome of social laws and political candidates. Consider the public furor over issues such as gay marriage or abortion. Such issues are not approached rationally, but through the manipulation of emotions causing psychological insecurity and anxiety within the public forum. "If gay marriage is allowed, it will degrade real marriage," but the question is never asked or answered what "real marriage is" or whether marriage is a contract between two people rather than the public with a couple.

Consider the centuries of control over education and literature imposed by the Catholic Church with its lists of banned books and censorship, methods of inquisition and torment? Even well-balanced, intelligent people were persecuted if they did not subscribe to the Square World Theorem or submit to the Papal authority. In comparison to Medieval Europe, Egypt was a small pea-patch over which the Pharaoh's scepter held sway over life and death —

Or did it?

Moses appears, demanding release of the Israelites to worship their God. The social structure is in direct opposition of Pharoah's with an invisible God with a cryptic name, "I am whoever I choose to be," and a religion that is democratic without hierarchy. The education of each child is as important as that of any priest.. Anyone can approach God with a sacrifice, even foreigners. Human sacrifice is forbidden; infanticide is an anathema, as the blood of every living creature is sacred to God.

Pharaoh demands obeisance to man. Moses insists on acknowledgement of God. Pharaoh sees only the immediate: the loss of chealp labor. Moses predicts the loss of the future cash crops with consequential disasters of famine. Pharaoh sees himself as powerful; but Moses sees the infinite might of the unseen God.

Could Pharaoh escape the plague of locusts? Only if he humbled himself and made teshuvah. Like many who relish control—relinquishing control usually comes through loss of control rather than wisdom of repentence.

Moses stands before Pharaoh with a contract in his hand on behalf of every Israelite. Rabbi Pinchas Winston writes of the four languages of redenmption and the seven terms of promise:

"Vehotzaisy--I will lead you out (of Egypt);
vehitzalty--I will deliver you (from any type of servitude);
vega'alty--I will redeem you
valakachty--I will take you (as My people). (Shemos Rabbah 6:5)

...However, the rabbis also speak about "seven terms of promise," which include the four terms of redemption and which add:

vehayissi--I will be (your G-d)
vehaivaisy--I will bring you (to the land)
venotatti--I will give (the land to you) "

Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Torah.org, Perceptions, Vaera: Freedom-Speak 5759
Ex 6:6-8

Moses understands his role, not as the Big Cheese on Top, but as the emisssary, presenting the terms of a contractual relationship. When the Israelites depart, they are not becoming a liberated group of anarchists. They are exchanging rulers and social systems, from a human dictatorship to a democracy with tort law, where the law supersede human authority and limitations through divine intervention, balanced between Justice and Mercy, reflected in the names of God.

Footprints:
&&&&&&&&

"Say therefore to the Israelite people: I am the Lord. I will free you [vehotzaisy] from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you [vehitzalty] from their bondage. I will redeem you [vega'alty] with an outstretched arm and through extraodinary chastisements. And I will take you [valakachty] to be My people, and I will be [vehayissi] your God. And you shall know that I, the Lord, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. I will bring you [vehaivaisy] into the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I will give [venotatti] it to you for a possesssion, I the Lord."

II-2 Va'iera, Ex 6:6-8

II-5 Jethro, Jethro Ex 19:7-19 "All the people answered as one saying, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." v.8

Moses brings the proposal to the people and they agree to become the people of God

II-5 Jethro, Ex 20: 5-6, "For I the Lord your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon fourth generation of those who reject Me; but showing kindness unto the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments."

ntroducing the new social legislation established on Mount Sinai or Horeb

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights, Vaera 5759
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5759/vaera.html

Rabbi Label Lam, Dvar Torah, Vaera: To Sinai and Beyond 24 Jan 04
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5764/vaera.html

Kolel, VaYera 24 January 04
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5764/vaera.html
on the attributes of names

Rav Kook, Breishith: Creation of the Universe - Twice
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/BREISH64.htm
Shemu'ot HaRi'iah 8, Breishith 5690 (1929)

Furthermore:
&&&&&&&&&&&
Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Perceptions: Freedom - Speak
http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5759/vaera.html

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Green, Parsha Insight: Heavy Heart
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5760/bo.html

Rabbi Avraham Fischer, Bo:Defining the Service of God
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bo_ou5762.htm
My Jewish Learning

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos: Taking the Children Along
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5759/bo.html

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos: Point of Return 5760
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5760/bo.html

Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann, Olas Shabbos: Out Like a Light 5762
http://www.torah.org/learning/olas-shabbos/5762/bo.html

Rav Kook, from Orot, Lights: Redemption an ongong process
http://www.orot.com/lights.html#Anchor-Redemption-32665

2005-01-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

II-2 Va' eira A Plague on You
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/112991

4. II-2 Va'iera "And I appeared" 7 Jan 05

Torah: Exodus 6:2- 9:35
Haftorah: Ez 28:25-29:21

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 6:2-13
2. Ex 6:14-28
3. Ex 6:29-7:7
4. Ex 7:8-8:6
5. Ex 8:7-18
6. Ex 8:19-9:16
7. Ex 9:17-35

Overview:
&&&&&&&&&
God reveals His mission for Moses to return to Egypt and lead the children of Israel to freedom. However, the winning their release will not come easily. Moses must be a diplomat extraordinaire when confronting Pharaoh. The commitment between man and God is a mutual contract, reminiscent of marriage. The first seven plagues come to pass, touching every aspect of human life as Pharaoh refuses to acknowledge that he is not in control of the universe.

In Focus:
&&&&&&&&&&

Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why did you bring harm upon this people? Ever snce I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has dealt worse with this people and still You have not delivered Your people. Ex 5:22-23

God spoke to Moses and said unto him, "I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make myself known to them by my name HaShem." /Adonai (YHVH) Ex 6:2

A Plague on You
&&&&&&&&&&&
Pharaoh comes into a direct collision course with God. Pharaoh, himself, is worshipped as a god, causing problems to relinquish power. He's like the wagging tail claiming to hold the dog still.

Maimonides (Guide to the Perplexed, Part I Ch LXIII) derives the name El Shaddai from "dai" interpreting the name to mean, "he who is sufficient". What is different between the relationships of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that of Moses? God says to Abraham, "Pack your bags and leave," and he does. Not any of them question the identity of God. Each has a personal relationship that does not extend outside of his family or clan. Abraham intervenes in the War of Kings to save his nephew, Lot; but he allows Lot to go his own way in the choice of land settlement and domestic affairs. Abraham argues personally with God to save Lot from the destruction of Sodom.

Moses, though, grew up in the Pharaoh's palace, accustomed to the ritual pomp of the god-king. Although he identifies with the hardship of the Israelites, he does not have the same kind of relationship of the patriarchs. He doubts, questions and challenges God. "What should I say to the Israelites?" He receives an intranslatable cryptic answer of unknown pronunciation that roughly translates as "I am who I shall be", playing on the different interpretations of the indicative verb and its infinitive. Moses is left without a convenient handle to use when interrogated by his new people.

Rabbi Pinchas Winston also explains that the verbs have different meanings:

"Our parsha begins: "Vay'dabare Elokim el Moshe, vayomer eilav: 'Ani Hashem' {And Elokim spoke to Moshe and said to him, 'I am Hashem [6:2]." There is a distinct difference between 'speaking' and 'saying'. There is also a distinct difference between 'Elokim' as a name of G-d and 'Hashem' as a name of G-d.

'Vay'dabare {spoke}' is to speak harshly, 'vayomer {said}' is to speak gently. 'Elokim' represents the Attribute of Justice, 'Hashem' represents the Attribute of Mercy. "
(Torah.org, Parsha Insights, 5759 rabbi Yisroel Ciner below)

The two names reflect a balance between Justice and Mercy. Justice without some Mercy is not just—it is revenge or retaliation, but without sensitivity. Mercy without some Justice can be maudlin emotion, becoming easily overwhelmed. Both are requisite to change the situation. The Israelites also need to suffer a bit more hardship in order to long for their redemption and release. When things are too comfortable, or when people become submissive to their harships; they will not accept responsibilities for themselves. In contrast, Pharaoh does his job with the delusion that he is god. Like many other administrators, teachers or parents, he believes that the tighter he hangs onto the reins of control, the better control he has. Only a wise person knows that to have control, control must first be relinquished.

Moses forewarns the Pharaoh before he descends into the Nile. The first three plagues establish God's dominion over the world. The first, a natural phenomenon, the River Nile, is transformed into a supernatural event. In becoming blood, Pharaoh is reminded of the grisly infanticide, presenting him with the grim reality of his own mortality... He has no control. Water represents life and spiritual purity. Contaminated water brings sure death. Nothing can long survive. Pharaoh's power is strictly limited to human intercourse. Over nature he has little or no control, and less over death. The Egyptians are reduced to digging wells everywhere --the activity of Isaac in his old age. (Gn 26:18) Digging wells symbolizes man search for spirituality, seeking the source of life in God. They uncover more contaminated water, repesenting false beliefs.

The second, frogs, is a natural event multipying naturally. Frogs are everywhere: in Pharaoh's bed, his kitchen, his dining-room, pantry and oven. Inescapable. Harmless, frogs represent the ridiculous, odious and reprehensible, catching flies with tongues twice the length of their bodies. In classical literature, frogs cariacaturize. Pharaoh sees himself a frog, croaking commandments, but filled with hot air. What is a frog but a noisy bladder? A pin can pop a frog. So it is with Pharaoh. Frogs are amphibious, but so is he. He believes there is a God; but not one that affects his existence. He wants his bread buttered on both sides. The frogs drive him crazy. They affect his sanity and bring chaos into his organized society. They are something evasively small, but cause a twenty-four hour raucous caucus.

The lice or gnats are at best annoying, bringing with them destruction through infection, erpersenting the microbes and viruses that travel insidiously as well as invisibly, destructive to human and animal health.

Does Pharaoh really have control? No, but like the miser hoarding his gold, he likes to think so. Power misapplied is only self-destructive. Pharaoh doesn't get the message.

Moses complains about the confrontation with Pharaoh and his apparent ineffeciency to release the Israelites from bondage immediately. However, he doesn't understand that people must first want personal responsibility to accept freedom. They are not ready to upchuck their homes and go into the Great Unknown. They have accepted the burdens of their lives. It's so much easier to complain, than take the initiative and responsibility to change. Often we can limit the amount of slavery and drudgery we endure in the eternal brick factory, but we like complaining.

Footprints:
&&&&&&&&&&
"Moses said to God, "When I come to the Israelites and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they ask me,"What is his name?" what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, "Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh." Ex : 13-14

"Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has appeared to me..." Ex 3:16

"I am," He said, "the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he ws afraid to look at God. Ex 3:6

The Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your native land and from your father's house to the land that I will show you... Abram went forth as the Lord had commanded him..."
I-3 Lech Lecha, Genesis 12:1-4

Furthermore:
&&&&&&&&&
Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Vaera 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5761/vaera.html
on the development of Moshe's leadership

Rabbi Tendler Lifeline Vaera 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5758/vaera.html

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights, The Source and Sorcerers
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5764/vaera.html
about the first three plagues—blood, frogs and lice

Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Perceptions: Freedom – Speak 5759
http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5759/vaera.html
upon the different verbs, four languages of redemption

Tali Loewenthal, Freedom in Five Dimensions
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2754

Ciner, Parsha Insights, Vaera 5759
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5759/vaera.html
on saying and speaking, on names

Dovi Scheiner, Frogmen chabad
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=66633

Yanki Tauber, It's Only Natural
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=66620

r Label Lam, Dvar Torah, Vaera: Hidden Identity
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5762/vaera.html
a drash on ibn Ezra and the Shabbat host

Rabbi Label Lam, Dvar Torah, Vaera: A Real Human Being
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5763/vaera.html
a drash with the Baal Shem Tov

II-1 Shemot Who Made You Boss?

2004-12-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

II-1 Shemot Who Made You Boss? 30 December 2004
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/112913

Torah: Exodus 1-6:1
Haftorah: Is 27:6-28:13; 29:22-3

Because we are opening a new Book of Moses, we can say the Blessing for First Things:

A Blessing for Beginnings:
Baruch Atta Adonai, Eloheinu Melech HaOlam, shechechianu, vikiamanu, v'higianu kizman hazeh.

Blessed are you, Eternal Lord, King of the Universe, Who has kept me alive, sustained me and brought me to this time.

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&
1. Ex 1:1-17
2. Ex 1:18-2:10
3. Ex 2:11-25
4. Ex 3:1-15
5. Ex. 3:16-4:17
6. Ex 4:18-31
7. Ex 5:1 -6:1

Kolel: A Blessing for the Study of Torah
http://www.kolel.org/pages/blessing.html

URJ Table Talk: Blessing for the Study of Torah
http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=2286&pge_prg_id=21115&pge_id=4109
explanation of Pirkei Avos verse

Overview:
&&&&&&&&&&&
Exodus is derived from the Greek of the rabbinic name, Sefer Yitziat Mitzraim (the going out of the Land of Egypt). The Hebrew, Shemot means "names" indicating those migrated to Egypt in the saga of Joseph and Jacob. The Israelites are now oppressed under a Pharaoh who does not know of Joseph. The story of Moses begins.

In Focus:
&&&&&&&&&&
When he went out the next day, he found two Hebrews fighting; so he said to the offender, "Why do you strike your fellow?" He retorted,"Who made you chief and ruler over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was frightened, and thought: Then the matter is known! When Pharaoh learned of the matter, he sought to kill Moses, but Moses fled... He arrived in the land of Midan and sat down by a well."
Genesis 2:13-15

Names trace our heritage, geographical as well as cultural traditions. Moses was the son of Amram and Jochabad (Ex 6:20) from the tribe of Levi (Ex 2:1, Ex 6: 23). According to the decree, Moses is duly put into the river to become crocodile dinner, but saved by the Pharaoh's daughter, who " spied a the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to fetch it. When she opened it, she saw that it was a child, a boy crying. She took pity on it and said, "This must be a Hebrew child." (Ex 2:5-6)

Raised as a son of the Pharaoh, Moses has the ideal position for becoming a reformer. A prince, he has education and class status, but destroys his chances. Coming upon an Egyptian overseer beating a Hebrew slave, he attacks and kills him, surreptitiously hiding him in the sand. (Ex 2:11-15)

Tired from his flight, Moses sits by a well when seven lovely daughters of the local Midianite priest come up to water their flocks. Women then, as today, suffer sexual harassment. Defending them against the local shepherds, Moses draws their water for herds. He assimilates into Jethro's family, marrying his daughter, Zipporah, naming his son, Gershom, "for he said, 'I have been a stranger in a foreign land.'" (Ex 2:22) Moses has gone from the pinnacle of society to the refugee, the social elite to the country yokel. He has a new identity although his son's name is cryptic, applicable equally to Midian as to Egypt. For both, he is a displaced person without roots.

The rabbis say to make good teshuvah, one not only has to repent of the wrongdoing of the past, but when confronted in a similar situation avoid repeating the mistake. Moses killed a man. It wasn't accidental, but a brutal physical attack. In Midian, he hides from his past, possibly waiting the opportune time to return when the Pharaoh dies.Tending his flock one day, he sees a bush aflame but not consumed by the fire. A voice calls, "Moshe! Moshe!" Instinctively, he responds. When divine revelation is made, Moses hides his face. Why? What does he have to hide? He is in the wilderness, scrubby enough for grazing sheep, but not rich enough to sustain crops. Instead of finding himself alone, he is confronted with his past. Given a divine mission, he evades it, but not citing the real reason. He prevaricates, "When I come to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they ask me, "What is his name?" what shall I say to them? " (Ex 3:13) He argues, raising doubts until God speaks the language he understands, demonstrating negative qualities of leadership.

"What if they do not believe me and do not listen to me, but say: The Lord did not appear to you?" The Lord said to him, "What is that you have in your hand?" And he replied, "A rod." he said, "Cast it on the ground." He cast it on the ground and it became a snake; and Moses recoiled from it." (Ex 4:1-4)

Shemos Rabbah 3 tells a story about a Roman woman who told Rebbe Yossi that her god was greater than his. Rebbe Yossi asked why. She said Moshe ran away from the snake embodying her god. Rabbi Yossi responded that Moshe needed to take a few steps to escape, whereas God fills the universe. The problem wasn't the snake, but the type of power it signified, being as arbitrary and vicious as tyranny.

Snakes strike without provocation. They slither through the grass, ambushing their victims, swallowing them whole. Snakes are identified with primeval evil: they eat little helpless creatures like fuzzy bunnies and constrictors are dangerous animals. Big or little, snakes symbolize danger and death.

With the transformation of the shepherd's rod, Moses was confronted with the past he was trying to conceal. He evaded the snake, he ran from it, sensing the physical threat it embodied; but it also represents the destructive force within Moses who struck the Egyptian out of anger, blind hatred or revenge. It represents the dangerous power of tyranny and arbitrary leadership that oppresses people through fear. Before Moses returns to Egypt or assumes leadership, he must repent and turn in a different direction. In arguing with God at the burning bush, Moses chooses the new path of international diplomacy, of speech. The conversion of Israelites from slaves to free men, from individuals to a nation, from pagan culture ot a new faith is not to be through deceit or cunning coercion as Simeon and Levi imposed on the menfolk of Shechem, but a process of applied education and persuasion. The same sympathy that the Pharoah's daughter had to save Moshe's life, will become the liberating force of his life. Compassion and sympathy must lead a people into freedom, not revenge or retaliation.

Footprints:
&&&&&&&&&&&
I-11 Vayigash Genesis 47: 4-13
the presentation of Jacob to Pharaoh and the settlement of the tribes

I-12 Vayechi Genesis 50: 14-26
burial of Jacob, death of Joseph and settlement of Israelites in Egypt

I-8 Vayishlach Genesis 34:1-30
story of Dinah and the trickery of Levi and Simon of coerced conversion followed by their heinous attack on the men of Shechem

I-5 Sara Genesis 24:10-26 Rebecca at the well
Eliazer testing the bride by her compassion for animals

Furthermore:
&&&&&&&&&&&

Dvar Torah by Dovid Green 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5758/shemos.html
about Moses and Bush

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Lifeline Shemos 2 Jan 2002
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5762/shemos.html

Rabbi Jordan D Cohen, Kolel, The Evolving Name of God
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/shemot_kolel5762.htm
My Jewish Learning Kolel

Kolel, 5763 from Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Hiyyah
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5763/shmot.html
on the pertinence of God to each generation

Kolel, 5761 Shemot
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5761/shmot.html
Qualities of Leadership: tza'ar balei chayim

Dovid Green, Dvar Torah - What's in a Name? 5762 / 3 Jan 02
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5762/shemos.html

Rabbi Label Lam, Dvar Torah- In Preparation to Save a Nation 5764/ 15 Jan 04
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5764/shemos.html
torah.org

Rabbi Label Lam, Dvar Torah, Shemos- Out of Time 5763
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5763/shemos.html
the gradual enslavement of Israel

Rabbi Label Lam, Dvar Torah- Shemos What's in a Name? 5762/ 27 Dec 02
http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5762/shemos.html

Yanki Tauber, Shemot -The Birth of a Leader
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=1153
based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Schneerson
Chabad.org

Rabbi Aron Tendler, Rabbi's Notebook - Deep Conversations
http://www.torah.org/learning/rabbis-notebook/5764/shemos.html
an overview of rabbinic literature on Shemot

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights - Shemos 5761
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5761/shemos.html
regarding Moses in a basket, explaining the interpretation of Shekhinah watching over Moshe

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Shemos 5757
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5757/shemos.html
regarding spiritual states and states of enslavement

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights Shemos 5762
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5762/shemos.html
on the siignificance of names in respect to the qualities of things they represent

Rav Kook, Shemot Moses Hid His Face
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/SHMOT58.htm

I-12 Vayechi Ephraim and Manasseh

2004-12-25T15:07:00.000-08:00

I-12 Vayechi Ephraim and Manasseh 25 December 2004
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/19415/112873

I-12 Vayechi " And he lived" 24 Dec 04

Torah: Genesis 47:28- 50:26
Haftorah: 1 Kg 2:1-12

Aliyot:
&&&&&&&&&&
1. Gn 47:28-48:9
2. Gn 48:10-16
3. Gn48:17-22
4. Gn 49:1-18
5. Gn 49:19-26
6. Gn 49:27-50:20
7. Gn: 21-16

Overview:
&&&&&&&&&&

Parasha Vayechi ends the First Book of Moses with the Blessing of Jacob on his children. Joseph brings his two sons to Jacob for his final blessing. Jacob switches hands, blessing the younger, Ephraim with his right hand and Manasseh with his left. The Blessing of Jacob provides the spiritual inheritance of Israel.

In Focus:
&&&&&&&&&&&

" When Joseph saw that his father was placing his right hand on Ephraim's head, he thought it wrong; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's. "Not so, Fatehr," Joseph said to his father, "for the other is first-born; place your right hand on his head." Genesis 48:17-18

Joseph expects Manasseh would receive the blessing of inheritance over Ephraim. Jacob blesses them not by birth, but respective of their qualities. Names often give insight to character. Manasseh's name means "forgetting," referring to Joseph's struggle to live in an alien country as a slave. Joseph wishes to forget the bitterness of his brothers's betrayal. Ephraim means "fruitful" reflecting the development of Joseph's life as he ascended out of prison to take his place as a Vizier of Egypt. Ephraim represents the productiveness of his life arising from hardship. The sons also represent two aspects of Joseph's personality: desire for total assimilation within society, and his ability to overcome intense hardships, using his spiritual insight to assist others in need. He became a Vizier, not because of magical powers, but his ability to apply a pragmatic solution derived from a dream that spared lives. One looks back over the past; the other into the unknown future.

Jacob places his right hand onto Ephraim's head and rebukes Joseph gently, " I know, my son, I know. He, too, shall become a people, and he,too, shall be great." (Gn 48:19)

If you are burdened or pre-occupied with the past; you cannot move to the future. The longing holds you captive. To advance, one has to leave the baggage behind. Only a little luggage can be carried on the back through life.

The blessing also reflects Jacob's own youth with his conflicts with Esau. Although Esau was the eldest, Jacob cheated him of his birthright and his paternal blessing, incurring long-term rancour, splitting the family into two parts inimical of each other. In his old age, Jacob sees the repercussions and understands the burden of an ill-fitting inheritance. As educators, parents and well-wishers, we often impose burdens on those we love, without recognizing their limitations or aspirations. We see the external characteristics of a person without perceiving inner desires, not realizing we are trying to make the gazelle into an elephant or vice versa. Jacob identifies the brothers individually, each having his own skills and potentials. Giving the cookie-cutter blessing, only adds a curse to their lives since neither fits the mold.

Moreover, the paternal blessing for leadership skips to Judah, "You, Oh Judah, your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the nape of your foes; your father's sons shall bow low to you. Judah is like a lion's whelp..." (Genesis 49:6-12)

Why? Judah has changed. In Vayeishev, Judah participate with the older brothers, putting Joseph into the pit and stripping him of his clothes. Judah suggests his slavery, "What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves." (Gn 37:27) He doesn't want to sully his hands directly in the sale of his brother or his murder, but complies with the deceit played on his father. In Vayigash, Judah pledges his life for the safe return of Benjamin. He matured to leadership, a person willing to risk his own life for the safety of others. He is the son of Leah, Jacob's first marriage, rather than Rachel, the beloved, balancing the two parts of the family. If life is dominated only by emotions, represented by Rachel, then there is not the discipline to succeed. Jacob understands from the hardship of his own life, that dedication and self-discipline are often the requisite qualities to survival. A leader must be able to act from his knowledge and do what is right, regardless of his emotional involvement or his fear. It is not a criticism of Joseph or of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, but deep understanding of social leadership. The executive director, is not usually the dreamer, but the hard-nosed pragmatist, relying on the company dreamer to move his company into the future.

Often leadership is chosen, not by the internal qualities that a person possesses, but through appearance. The class president is the cute guy wearing Brooks Brothers clothes. Political candidates are voted on by their superficial appearances and the amount of money spent on the advertising campaign rather than their leadership abilities. Jacob, sees beyond this although his eyes are dimmed with age.

Vayechi is also called a "closed" parasha. The ending of Vayigash and beginning of Vayechi are on the same line, separated only by an extra space. Usually, the parasha portions are separated by nine spaces or letters when one parasha ends and another begins within a paragraph. Commentaries ask why, noting the singular occassion in the Torah.

One explanation is that although Jacob dies, his faith passes on through the younger generations. Human life transcends physical existence, involving our spiritual and psychological influence on others. As we pass on genetic characteristics, so we transfer spiritual characteristics. An Olympic skater identifies with a previous skater, inspired by his or her performance. We speak of role models. The Blessing of Jacob is not a legal writ, enuciating the distribution of family properties; but an ethical will. We need also a spiritual inheritance from our parents and elders. Through their examples, we find the courage to pursue our own lives. We need not only the financial and material support and protection of our parents and teachers, but their psychological and emotional support as well. Stories abound of people overcoming poverty and obstacles to achieve recognition because of the faith and encouragement of a parent or teacher. Similarly, stories fill newspapers of "lost souls" coming from financially sound families, but lacking of emotional security. Balance is needed between the physical and spiritual. The spiritual inheritance will endure long after the physical inheritance is gone. Consider the pride of anyone who has received the confirmation from a geneologist that his family is descended from nobility. Five hundred years of geneology is crowed from the rooftops—but think of the sweetness of recognition by bringing healing goodness into the world.

Although nearly blind with age, Jacob saw the internal characteristics of his grandchildren.

Union of Reform Judaism Vayechi 5764 : Ephraim and Menasseh
http://urj.net/torah/ten/archives/1torahstudy/010504.htm

"Khazak, Khazak, V'Nitkhazek!"

to say upon the closing of a book of Torah: from strength to strength, let us be strengthened (let us strengthen one another)

Footprints:
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I-8 Vayishlach Meeting of Jacob and Esau
Genesis 33:1-11

1-5 Toldot Isaac and Esau, sons of Abraham
Genesis 25:1-34, Genesis 27: 1-38

Furthermore:
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Yankel Tauber, Miketz- Menasseh and Ephraim,
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=2692
based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M Schneerson

Yankel Tauber, Vayeishev- Joseph and His Brothers
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article.asp?AID=65485
after the teachings of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M Schneerson

Chancellor Ismar Schorsch, Va-Yehi 5764 10 Jan 04
http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5764/vayehi.shtml

Kolel VaYechi 5765
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5765/vayechi.html

Kolel, VaYechi 5764
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5764/vayechi.html

Kolel, VaYechi 5762
http://www.kolel.org/pages/5762/vayechi.html

David Hoffman, Lifeline, Vayechi 5758
http://www.torah.org/learning/lifeline/5758/vayechi.html
"He [Yosef] comforted them [his brothers] and spoke to their hearts." [50:21]

Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Parsha Insights, Vayechi 5762 May You be like Ephraim and Menashe
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5762/vayechi.html