Monday, July 29, 2013

Re'eh

Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

Traditions and Counter-Traditions


Dealing with disagreements in interpretation of the law

By Rabbi Joshua Heller

This week's Parashah, Re'eh, contains a wonderful juxtaposition of mitzvot, which, when taken together, provide an insight into how Jews deal with novel situations and the disagreements that arise from them, and also allows me to share a peculiarity of my own family history.

One of the commandments which the Jewish people have found most difficult to follow in practice is found in Deuteronomy 14:1: "lo titgodedu." The plain sense of the verse is "You should not gash yourselves... because of the dead." One must avoid pagan mourning customs that include self-mutilation. The rabbinic interpretation of the verse, however, is that Jews should not form themselves into multiple subgroups "agudot agudot" (B. Yevamot 13b) each following a different understanding of the law. Therefore, there should not be two Jewish courts in one city, one permitting a particular practice, the other forbidding it.

All of this brings us to the humble turkey. For most families, disagreements over turkey fall into simple categories like who gets the drumstick, the lumpiness of the gravy, or whose parents to go to for Thanksgiving. For my family, (and the Jewish family as a whole, really) the issues are weightier than one might expect.

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Monday, July 22, 2013

Ekev

Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

The Covenant of Fertility

Fertility of the womb and fertility of the land are divine gifts.
By Rabbi Lauren Eichler Berkun

Reprinted with permission of the Jewish Theological Seminary. The themes of fertility and barrenness are central to the biblical narrative.

It is striking how often we encounter barren women in the Bible. Sarah, the women of Abimelekh's household, Rebekah, Rachel, Manoah's wife, Hannah, and the Shunamite woman are all examples of barren women whose wombs are opened by God. Clearly, the process of reproduction holds a key to biblical theology. The very covenant of Israel is presented as a brit [covenant] of fertility. God promises Abram, "This is my covenant with you. You shall be the father of a multitude of nations...I will make you exceedingly fertile." (Genesis 17:4, 6). This week's parashah further emphasizes the connection between covenant and childbearing. Moses teaches:

And if you do obey these rules and observe them carefully, the Lord your God will maintain faithfully for you the covenant that He made on oath with your fathers: He will favor you and bless you and multiply you; He will bless the issue of your womb...You shall be blessed above all other peoples: there shall be no sterile male or female among you or among your livestock... (Deuteronomy 7:12-14).

As we explore the theme of fertility in the context of parashat Ekev, we uncover one of the theological underpinnings of the barrenness motif in the Bible.

Our Torah portion contributes to two important elements of Jewish liturgy: the birkat ha-mazon (prayer of thanksgiving after a meal) and the Shema. In both cases, the Torah text responds to the threat of abundance. Following the directive to bless God after eating, the Torah explains the necessity for such a prayer discipline:

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Monday, July 15, 2013

Shabbat Nachamu: Va-Et'chanan

Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11

The Dutiful Student


Moses as a model of one who seeks greater understanding


By Rabbi Marc Wolf
Reprinted with permission of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Reenacting an historical moment through liturgy and deed is a forte of Judaism.

Our calendar year overflows with holidays and observances that transport us to our former days and inspire us to reenter the narrative and relive salient moments of history. This week in particular, observing the 9th of Av, we read of the destruction of the Temple and continue the mourning of our ancestors for the calamities that befell them.

While it is possible to read this narrative as a preventive measure to ensure that we, too, do not fall victims to George Santayana's dictum condemning us to either learn from our history or repeat it, I believe that Judaism's message is a blessing, not a curse. It is a blessing for us to be able to relive life's difficult moments--and the reason why can be gleaned from Moses' behavior and our parasha this week.

Isaiah Horowitz, commenting on this week's parashah, Va'et'hanan, asserts that throughout the parshiyot of D'varim, we are constantly encouraged to learn and relearn the mitzvot of the Torah. The common name of Deuteronomy itself, the Mishneh Torah, means a second retelling of what came before in the previous four books. Each subject of the Torah is rehashed within the pages of Deuteronomy, according to Horowitz, and each is a call to action to study the passages to our fullest comprehension. For inspiration, Horowitz patterns Moses as the quintessential student, constantly questioning the pedagogical message of God.

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Monday, July 8, 2013

D'varim

Deuteronomy 1:1−3:22

Attributes of a Leader

Moses shares his views on leadership. 

By Rabbi Lewis Warshauer
Moses on MountainMuch of the Book of Deuteronomy is taken up with Moses' farewell address to the Israelite nation.

He has served his people as their leader in every sphere: military, administrative, judicial and spiritual. Now, he reviews the events of the 40 wilderness years, and presents, from his own perspective, a report of how he has led the nation.

Moses does not offer a dispassionate review of the past; to the contrary, he rebukes the nation for its failings.

It falls to midrash to examine Moses' words and not only offer interpretations of his meanings, but to construct leadership principles based on what he has said and done. A number of midrashim, taken together, use Moses as an example of what constitutes ideal leadership. Three components stand out: his views on what a leader must avoid; on the necessity of many people sharing leadership tasks; and on the core attributes of a leader.

In response to the question of what right Moses had to rebuke his people, one of Moses' earlier statements is cited. When Moses defended himself against charges of self-interest leveled at him by the rebellious Korah, he replied: "I have not taken a single donkey, nor done evil to anyone." (Numbers 16:15) This midrash, in other words, emphasizes what a leader must not do; one must not use a position of power to steal from the populace or otherwise harm them. (Deuteronomy Rabbah 1:5) This is to politicians what the Hippocratic oath is to physicians: first, do no harm.


Monday, July 1, 2013

Matot-Masei

Numbers 30:2-36:13 

 The Importance Of Intention 


The Torah's establishment of Cities of Refuge introduces the idea that intention determines the meaning of an action.

By Rabbi Bradley Artson

In this week's Torah portion, the Torah addresses the issue of unintentional manslaughter.
What is the appropriate penalty for someone who kills someone else unintentionally? Should there be any penalty at all?

Our parashah discusses the establishment of six Cities of Refuge (Ir Miklat). These six cities were set aside as a permanent asylum. Anyone who unintentionally killed another person was permitted to flee to these cities. Once within their walls, the manslayer was protected by law against any revenge or additional punishment.

In this way, the Torah balanced the need to insist that killing another person is objectively reprehensible, while also asserting a distinction between murder (which is deliberate) and manslaughter (which is not). Contemporary American law makes a similar distinction, mandating a different degree of severity to correspond to the different levels of responsibility due to intention and circumstance.

Three thousand years earlier, the Torah instituted those same legal distinctions based on different intentions. One way to understand the profundity of the Torah's insight is to contrast the Biblical law with other ancient standards. Ancient Greece, Sumer, Phoenecia, and other cultures all articulated a notion of asylum. In those civilizations, a murderer could flee to a local shrine and gain protection at the altar of the local deity. Whether or not the death had been intended was irrelevant to the power of the shrine to protect the murderer. After all, the pagan idol was no less holy, no less powerful, just because the murderer intended to kill his victim.

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