"And Moses, the servant of the Lord died there."
Like all mortals, Moses was destined to leave his body and be rejoined with his ancestors. Yet, by the Torah defining the point of death, it also enjoins the reader to understand that the death of Moses was physical. His spirit, resiliency, and devotion remain alive. That is why the Torah states that Moses died "there". As long as we turn back to the Torah and invest our souls in the work of understanding the Will of the Almighty the spirit of Moses continues to live.
In much the same way, the last Sidra of the Torah deliberately ells us that Moses was the servant of God. That is why the Radak interprets this word to be an invitation for all future generations to imitate the path of Moses. Any person can devote themselves to something larger than their mortal self. Just as a servant is solicitous to his master so too anyone can follow the path of Moses using the same principle, love.
And, what if we do not have the internal strength to master ourselves? what if we fall short? That is why teshuva, return, is always an option. With the holy day of Yom Kippur just past we become aware that our lives are a process of moving towards becoming whole. It must ever be a forward-moving process. Even if at times we move in the wrong direction, it is critical to never give up trying to refine our character, become a servant of God.
That is also why as the Torah winds to a close we immediately open it up at the other end and commence the process of renewal. The Torah is bound on wooden spindles that ever roll. We walk through life, make attempts at growth, reach the end of a phase of life and then begin again.
In fact, it is remarkable that we celebrate the Torah with unbridled enthusiasm now when we finish the Torah and not at Shavuot, the anniversary of the Giving of Torah. Why? The Torah is perfect. Measuring ourselves against its light we fall silent, awestruck by its enormity and boundless power. The reading of the Torah, by contrast, is an exercise in movement, becoming. That is why Simhat Torah outstrips Shavuot in sheer joy. When we conclude the Torah we celebrate our renewal along with the renewal of the endless cycle of learning, and growth.
The name of the Torah reading is V'zot HaBerakha, "This is the Blessing." The Midrash states that when the Lord God told Moses that his life was about to end, Moses complained. He told God how troubled his life was a leader was: he had to cajole the people, threaten them, plead with them, plead for them and now as it was all about to end, he had a single request of the One: Let me bless them.
The blessing is upon you.
Haftara Insight:
Almost seamlessly the Torah portion segues into the Hafatara. Moses, our Teacher, has died, and the position of leadership has passed to his disciple, Joshua. The promise of God to continue His protective shield and maintain the covenant with His people remains firmly planted. Yet, as before, the Holy One demands that we carry our part of the covenant. We are to remain pledged and true to the mitzvot. With these instructions and words of encouragement the people respond as they had at Mt. Sinai. They reaffirmed their commitment and fidelity to the Word of the Almighty.
A Matter of Law:
Rambam teaches that the last eight pesukim -- verses --of the Torah may be read without a minyan. This is because they are ancillary to the Torah. Lower in holiness than the rest of the five books these pesukim detail the death and praise the life of Moshe Rabbenu.
Because we are forbidden from reading the same Torah portion twice, this sidra is always reserved for the night of Simhat Torah, not Shabbat.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Ha'azinu
In the modern era when we enjoy and take great naches from the new country of Israel we often remind ourselves of the miraculousness of her existence. She is the culmination of dreams and prayers that remained strong for two thousand years of exile. The fact that she still lives is remarkable given the ongoing threats that have continued unabated since her birth. Yet, Moses speaks even to our time. He announces to vast unknown generations that miracles abound when Jews place their trust in the Lord, God.
Perhaps one of the worst crimes against our self that we commit is to minimize the miracles of our time. In one old apocryphal tale a king asks his vizier for proof of the existence of God. The adviser answered, “The Jews, sire, the Jews.”
Much the same point is made by the Hafetz Hayim. The Hafetz Hayim once asked a man how he was feeling. The man responded to the master that things could be much better.
The Hafetz Hayim answered the man, “How do you know? How can you be really sure that things could be better? Perhaps you are wrong. Maybe life is exactly as it ought to be and if the balance were disturbed, your life would be much worse.”
I believe the Hafetz Hayim was deliberately telling the man to look at his life and like it. It is far too easy to be dismissive of what we have as we jealously look across to our neighbor and salivate with envy. The way of doubt is easy. The way of faith, on the other hand, is to appreciate what God has presented to us.
It is no great hochma, wisdom, to be dismissive. It is easy to be critical. It is easy to take pot-shots and shoot holes into beliefs. For those who wish to write-off America as hopelessly corrupt and a failure they can cite case after case to bolster their argument. Take a great leader and place under a microscope all their flaws and their dark underbelly strips away all the good things they did. One can criticize Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Maimonides, Akiva, anyone and find a world that is devoid of models of behavior. Schindler was a drinker, Freud was a druggie, Kennedy a womanizer. What is left? What have we proven? That we are smarter than they? No, only that there is no goodness in the world.
The Hazon Ish makes a similar point in speaking about a tailor. Someone watching sees him with a pair of scissors cutting strips of fabric from many bolts of cloth. The observer says to himself, what a mess. Why is this man ruining all these fine stretches of fabric? Only when the tailor does his work in crafting a master piece of clothing does it become apparent to all what he was doing. That is the way of God, says the Hazon Ish. We see only a fragment of what he does. Instead of making judgments, faith dictates that we observe and accept.
Perhaps that is also why the Israeli nation anthem nods to this principle when it states that this new national identity is the fruition of a two thousand year old promise. Israel came about, this implies, because God was the guiding force throughout the epochs. Israel came to be when God ordained that it was time. Because the people kept the prayers alive, the vision and dream undimmed, it came to pass.
A Matter of Law:
We all have debts. Some are larger than others. They, at times seem to consume our waking and sleeping hours. The Sages warn however that the honor of another person overwhelms even such an obligation. At no time are we ever permitted to embarrass another person for the sake of a loan or debt they have not repaid.
Haftara Insight:
An old man, King David readies himself to take leave of this universe. His powerful words so resonate with us that they are often used at funerals even today. They express the notion that God is above death. He is the ultimate rock of existence. Knowing that the Holy One reigns forever makes even death less frightening.
More, God redeems and forgives us for our earthly sins. That is the greatness of the love of God.
Perhaps one of the worst crimes against our self that we commit is to minimize the miracles of our time. In one old apocryphal tale a king asks his vizier for proof of the existence of God. The adviser answered, “The Jews, sire, the Jews.”
Much the same point is made by the Hafetz Hayim. The Hafetz Hayim once asked a man how he was feeling. The man responded to the master that things could be much better.
The Hafetz Hayim answered the man, “How do you know? How can you be really sure that things could be better? Perhaps you are wrong. Maybe life is exactly as it ought to be and if the balance were disturbed, your life would be much worse.”
I believe the Hafetz Hayim was deliberately telling the man to look at his life and like it. It is far too easy to be dismissive of what we have as we jealously look across to our neighbor and salivate with envy. The way of doubt is easy. The way of faith, on the other hand, is to appreciate what God has presented to us.
It is no great hochma, wisdom, to be dismissive. It is easy to be critical. It is easy to take pot-shots and shoot holes into beliefs. For those who wish to write-off America as hopelessly corrupt and a failure they can cite case after case to bolster their argument. Take a great leader and place under a microscope all their flaws and their dark underbelly strips away all the good things they did. One can criticize Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Maimonides, Akiva, anyone and find a world that is devoid of models of behavior. Schindler was a drinker, Freud was a druggie, Kennedy a womanizer. What is left? What have we proven? That we are smarter than they? No, only that there is no goodness in the world.
The Hazon Ish makes a similar point in speaking about a tailor. Someone watching sees him with a pair of scissors cutting strips of fabric from many bolts of cloth. The observer says to himself, what a mess. Why is this man ruining all these fine stretches of fabric? Only when the tailor does his work in crafting a master piece of clothing does it become apparent to all what he was doing. That is the way of God, says the Hazon Ish. We see only a fragment of what he does. Instead of making judgments, faith dictates that we observe and accept.
Perhaps that is also why the Israeli nation anthem nods to this principle when it states that this new national identity is the fruition of a two thousand year old promise. Israel came about, this implies, because God was the guiding force throughout the epochs. Israel came to be when God ordained that it was time. Because the people kept the prayers alive, the vision and dream undimmed, it came to pass.
A Matter of Law:
We all have debts. Some are larger than others. They, at times seem to consume our waking and sleeping hours. The Sages warn however that the honor of another person overwhelms even such an obligation. At no time are we ever permitted to embarrass another person for the sake of a loan or debt they have not repaid.
Haftara Insight:
An old man, King David readies himself to take leave of this universe. His powerful words so resonate with us that they are often used at funerals even today. They express the notion that God is above death. He is the ultimate rock of existence. Knowing that the Holy One reigns forever makes even death less frightening.
More, God redeems and forgives us for our earthly sins. That is the greatness of the love of God.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Vayeylech
Moses, in one of his last talks to the Jewish people sings a song that is both lyrical and enigmatic. One statement stands out among them all. Moses claims that now that he is aged, one hundred-twenty years old!, that he can no longer come or go" (Deut. 31:2). An admission of his waning strength Moses confesses to his people, in effect, that his bones ache and his joints no longer function as they used to. He is old, tired. Not much later the Torah informs us that “Moses was 120 years old when he died; his eye was not dim, and his force was not abated" (Deut. 34:7). How can Moses be at once old and ailing and vital and energetic on the other?
There is a powerful lesson here about self-deprecation verses revealing the shortcomings of others. I have no doubt Moses was full of fatigue and weary from many life-long struggles. He lived through tumultuous and painful times. Orphaned in a reed basket, Moses knew the courts of Pharaoh. He lost all that royalty in a pique of righteous indignation. The king-cum-shepherd was then coerced into becoming the great liberator of his people only to endure hardship and trial through the next forty years. No wonder he was tired!
Yet, it is not fitting for others to tell how weak the aged leader had become. It serves no good purpose to degrade another human being even if we are just agreeing with them! Lashon ha-ra, is often translated as gossip. But what if the lashon ha-ra is really true? Said for no reason other than idle chatter such statements are inflammatory and evil. Lashon ha-ra does not have to be a lie. It may be true! Its truth or falsehood is irrelevant to the fact that negative statements about another person should not be uttered.
Rashi explains that he means: he is no longer was able to maneuver in Torah. In other words, the wellsprings of Torah have been closed to him.
In addition to the physical fatigue and strain that Moses felt was also a sudden shift in leadership. The transfer of the mantle of leadership from Moses to Joshua was also happening now. The appointed successor to Moses was carefully instructed and trained and then brought into his new position to ensure a seamless transition. That could not have been easy for Moses.
Rashi, in fact, makes mention of the pain that Moses must have felt when Joshua moved into his place. He informs us that the Lord had also begin to transition from one leader to the next. Rashi is relying on an ancient midrash.
The Yalkut Shimoni cites: Moses went to visit Joshua in his tent. Joshua peered out from the folds of his home, saw Moses coming and ran out to greet him. Together they went to the Tent of Meeting. In the past the Holy One, blessed be He, would reveal to His faithful servant what needed to be done. On this occasion, Moses walked to the left of his servant, Joshua. This was sign that Moses was moving away from his key post.
When the two arrived at the Tent of Meeting the Shechina fell not on Moses, but Joshua. When the Will of the Lord was revealed to Joshua the two men exited together. Moses inquired, "What did the Lord God tell you?" Joshua replied that just as he did not share with him what God had said to him, Joshua would observe the same silence.
Moses was aghast, horrified. With this one exclusion, Moses felt his world begin to collapse all around him. For Moses this was the moment when age crushed his spirit like nothing else in all his years. The pangs of being left out and jealousy overwhelmed Moses. It was, he claimed, worse than one hundred deaths!
The feelings of another human being- even if we view them as steely characters with no signs of aging or cracks are all vulnerable.
Perhaps it is important to read this parasha as the New Year dawns and as we get ready to approach our Maker and ask forgiveness. It all begins with sensitivity.
Haftara Insight:
This is Shabbat Shuva. We are directed by Hosea to return to God, reform our behavior and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Wedged between Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur we are told to become introspective and assess who, or what, we have become. Hosea furthers this idea by warning us not to place our trust in the powers other than the One. God alone is the source of our salvation.
A Matter of Law:The mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah appears in this parasha. While most of us are unqualified to write a Torah we are still obligated to do so through the hands of others.
30:1-2 is not a done-deal. Teshuva is a force that moves earth and heaven The power of repentance redeems and even potentially changes the course of history.
There is a powerful lesson here about self-deprecation verses revealing the shortcomings of others. I have no doubt Moses was full of fatigue and weary from many life-long struggles. He lived through tumultuous and painful times. Orphaned in a reed basket, Moses knew the courts of Pharaoh. He lost all that royalty in a pique of righteous indignation. The king-cum-shepherd was then coerced into becoming the great liberator of his people only to endure hardship and trial through the next forty years. No wonder he was tired!
Yet, it is not fitting for others to tell how weak the aged leader had become. It serves no good purpose to degrade another human being even if we are just agreeing with them! Lashon ha-ra, is often translated as gossip. But what if the lashon ha-ra is really true? Said for no reason other than idle chatter such statements are inflammatory and evil. Lashon ha-ra does not have to be a lie. It may be true! Its truth or falsehood is irrelevant to the fact that negative statements about another person should not be uttered.
Rashi explains that he means: he is no longer was able to maneuver in Torah. In other words, the wellsprings of Torah have been closed to him.
In addition to the physical fatigue and strain that Moses felt was also a sudden shift in leadership. The transfer of the mantle of leadership from Moses to Joshua was also happening now. The appointed successor to Moses was carefully instructed and trained and then brought into his new position to ensure a seamless transition. That could not have been easy for Moses.
Rashi, in fact, makes mention of the pain that Moses must have felt when Joshua moved into his place. He informs us that the Lord had also begin to transition from one leader to the next. Rashi is relying on an ancient midrash.
The Yalkut Shimoni cites: Moses went to visit Joshua in his tent. Joshua peered out from the folds of his home, saw Moses coming and ran out to greet him. Together they went to the Tent of Meeting. In the past the Holy One, blessed be He, would reveal to His faithful servant what needed to be done. On this occasion, Moses walked to the left of his servant, Joshua. This was sign that Moses was moving away from his key post.
When the two arrived at the Tent of Meeting the Shechina fell not on Moses, but Joshua. When the Will of the Lord was revealed to Joshua the two men exited together. Moses inquired, "What did the Lord God tell you?" Joshua replied that just as he did not share with him what God had said to him, Joshua would observe the same silence.
Moses was aghast, horrified. With this one exclusion, Moses felt his world begin to collapse all around him. For Moses this was the moment when age crushed his spirit like nothing else in all his years. The pangs of being left out and jealousy overwhelmed Moses. It was, he claimed, worse than one hundred deaths!
The feelings of another human being- even if we view them as steely characters with no signs of aging or cracks are all vulnerable.
Perhaps it is important to read this parasha as the New Year dawns and as we get ready to approach our Maker and ask forgiveness. It all begins with sensitivity.
Haftara Insight:
This is Shabbat Shuva. We are directed by Hosea to return to God, reform our behavior and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Wedged between Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur we are told to become introspective and assess who, or what, we have become. Hosea furthers this idea by warning us not to place our trust in the powers other than the One. God alone is the source of our salvation.
A Matter of Law:The mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah appears in this parasha. While most of us are unqualified to write a Torah we are still obligated to do so through the hands of others.
30:1-2 is not a done-deal. Teshuva is a force that moves earth and heaven The power of repentance redeems and even potentially changes the course of history.
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