Parashas Nitzavim

In this week's parashah, the Torah tells us that we are faced with choices in life:  רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַיּוֹם אֶת הַחַיִּים וְאֶת הַטּוֹב וְאֶת הַמָּוֶת וְאֶת הָרָע, Behold I have placed before you today, life and good, and death and evil. The Torah then goes on to convey a seemingly obvious instruction: וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶך, and you shall choose life, so that you and your children will live.

Why did the Torah find it necessary to direct us in such a “no-brainer” of a choice?

Secondly, if we “choose life” it seems obvious that it is so that [we] may live. And thirdly why mention our children?

Rashi (29:12) mentions that the fear of curses and punishments are critical motivators to encourage us behave properly. When actively engaged moral/ethical conflict with the Yetzer Hara, we are frequently more successful in vanquishing him through fear of imminent retribution than with the more abstract promise of reward.

Perhaps the Torah is here is telling us that although this sense of fear is vital to our proper behavior, we should primarily choose life. As much as possible, we should do the right thing not to avoid punishment, avoiding “death,” but we should actively choose life, embrace goodness for its own sake and for the blessing it brings.

And that it why the Torah mentions our children: The best way to inspire our children is through joy and the positive experience of uvachata bachayim, of our affirmatively embracing life/mitzvos. As they see us choosing life – so that we live joyfully and fulfilled – they, too will see and absorb how to live, and they too will choose life.

As Rosh Hashanah approaches, may we experience the joy of Torah and mitzvos, and may we all be granted chaim and berachah in every way for ourselves and our families.

Gut Shabbos and kesivah vachasimah tovah.

Parashas Ki Savo

This week’s parashah begins with the mitzvah of bikkurim, in which people would bring their first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash, where it would be presented to the kohen. The Mishnah (Bikkurim Ch. 3) details the great joy, pomp and ceremony associated with this mitzvah.

After coming to the Beis HaMikdash, the person presenting the bikkurim would generally recite a set of verses from this week’s parashah, presenting a succinct recap of Jewish history, thanking Hashem for all his kindness. The story starts with Lavan’s efforts to destroy Yaakov, continues through the Jews’ slavery in and redemption from Egypt, and concludes with Hashem’s having given us Eretz Yisrael. Parenthetically, it is this set of pesukim that forms the basis of our retelling the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim at the Pesach Seder.

Following these pesukim, the Torah concludes its discussion of bikkurim with the following: וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְכָל הַטּוֹב אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לְךָ ד' אֱלֹקֶיךָ וּלְבֵיתֶךָ..., And you shall rejoice in all the goodness that Hashem, Your G-d has given you and to your family….

Rashi (from Pesachim 36b) notes that this verse teaches us that one only reads these verses if the bikkurim are brought during the “period of rejoicing,” during the harvest season, from Shavuos until Succos.

Would it not be more logical to teach us this rule before the verses of thanksgiving, where the Torah tells us the other details of the bikkurim ceremony?

The answer may be that to experience true joy – the וְשָׂמַחְתָּ of the Torah – requires not only that we have reap the fruits of our labor, but that we have shared it with others.

So long as we have not yet reached the Beis Hamikash and actually given the fruits to the Kohen, there can be no real וְשָׂמַחְתָּ. It is only now, that we have already completed the presentation and shared our bounty with others, that we can genuinely rejoice in all the goodness that Hashem, Your G-d has given us and our families.

This is true not only of bikkurim, but of everything – the wealth of resources, talents and abilities – with which each person is blessed. We must, of course, thank Hashem for those gifts. But if we truly want to revel in those riches, we must first share them with others.

May Hashem continue to shower his blessings on all of us and our families, and may we have the sense and the merit to thank Him for them and share them with others, so that we may truly be joyous and happy with all the good we have been granted.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Ki Seitzei

In this week's parashah, we are told "When you build a new home, you shall make a fence for your roof...lest one who falls fall from it."

Rashi, citing Sifri, explains that the person who will fall is, in fact, "one who falls" – he is a wicked person whose destiny it is to fall and die. Even so, the Torah tells the homeowner: You do not want to facilitate this occurrence, because bad things are brought about through guilty people.

Let’s think about this for a moment: If the homeowner doesn't put up a gate, the other person, who is guilty, will fall – indicating that the homeowner, too, is a guilty person in some way; yet if this same guilty homeowner puts up a gate, the world is perfect because the other fellow will not fall there.

Does the homeowner’s status change just because he put up a gate?!

Sifsei Chamaim says that it means that if s person falls, people will say that the homeowner is a guilty person. Perhaps he understands the Torah to be giving this not as a reason, but as an incentive: do this to protect your reputation.

But there is another way to understand this.

Building a new home is a tremendous undertaking, involving a myriad of details.

The Torah tells us that even when we are consumed with everything that has to be dealt with – the plans, the “surprises,” the supplies, supervising the work and coordinating all the craftsmen and deliveries – we need to remain considerate of the needs of others, even those who are guilty of sins that would justify their falling to their deaths.

Every one of us has shortcomings and failings. But if we remain sensitive to the needs of others with failings, Hashem will, middah k’neged middah, treat us with compassion.

When a person putting up his new home considers ways to protect those who are liable to fall off, Heaven views the owners shortcomings less severely. Not as a consequence of the fence, but because of the thought behind it.

Conversely, when one is consumed with himself and oblivious to the needs of others, Heaven judges him according to the full measure of his deeds. When that happens, the owner’s guilt may bring about that his negligence will bring about a death.

In the zechus of our consideration for others, may we be granted forgiveness and a kesivah vachsimah tovah.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Shoftim

This week’s parashah begins with the following injunctions: שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ...וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם מִשְׁפַּט צֶדֶק: לֹא תַטֶּה מִשְׁפָּט לֹא תַכִּיר פָּנִים וְלֹא תִקַּח שֹׁחַד כִּי הַשֹּׁחַד יְעַוֵּר עֵינֵי חֲכָמִים וִיסַלֵּף דִּבְרֵי צַדִּיקִם: צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף..., Judges and enforcers shall you appoint in all your cities…and they shall judge the nation a just judgment. You shall not warp justice, you shall not be biased, and you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort the words of the righteous. A just justice shall you pursue…

It would seem that the second verse – which appears to apply to the judges – should have been written in the third person, plural לֹא יַטוּ מִשְׁפָּט לֹא יַכִּירוּ פָּנִים..., they shall not warp justice, they shall not be biased….

It has been said that the primary role of beis din is to teach honest and well-intentioned people the proper thing to do.

So perhaps the Torah is telling us that we must certainly establish courts and enforcement mechanisms.

But first we must try to do the right thing and make the proper judgments.

The Torah is saying you – every one of us – must realize that we should live our lives properly judging situations and making decisions without the bias of groupthink and preconceptions and, to the best of our ability, ignoring our personal interests, the “bribe” human nature dangles before us.

Our commitment to honestly view and assess every situation is the best way to live our life wisely and properly.

May Hashem give us the wisdom, discernment and fortitude to fulfill this tall order.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Eikev

At the beginning of this week’s parashah, Moshe transmits Hashem’s reassurances to Klal Yisrael not to fear the Canaanite nations they will be battling as they conquer Eretz Yisrael.

He reminds them of the “Mighty Hand and Outstretched Arm” with which Hashem had taken them from Egypt and of the many miracles they had experienced since then, and Hashem’s pledge to do the same for them as they take control of the Land.

Wonderful. Great. Yetzias Mitzrayim was a magnificent one-day event (even with the makkos it took a year). They had made short shrift of Sichon and Og. So they would take over Eretz Yisrael quickly, right?

Not quite.

Hashem will remove these nations from before you very slowly, you cannot destroy them quickly, for the animals of the field may overcome you… In fact, it was a process that would take seven years.

Klal Yisrael was now changing tracks, from a Nation living on constant open miracles to a Nation living on a different plane. As Rashi (v. 22) explains, if the Jews were not to sin, they would have been able to overtake the Land quickly. But Hashem foresaw that this was not to be.

So the Torah tells us – in advance: It will take time. It may not go smoothly. But be assured, Hashem’s Mighty Hand and Outsretched Arm are there.

The seven-year conquest of the Land is no less Hashem’s guiding Hand than the instant victories over Sichon and Og. The Maker of all miracles is bringing this all about, and it’s for your benefit.

What a message of encouragement!

Whatever the challenge, if we are doing what is right, Hashem is with us, controlling the progress and the outcomes. We may not feel his presence, but He is there. It may take time and there may appear to be setbacks, but it is all His doing. We may not understand it, but it if for our benefit.

In the merit of our bitachon, may we merit to see His open berachos and yeshuos.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Va'Eschanan - Shabbos Nachamu

Parashas Va’eschanan is always read on Shabbos Nachamu, “the Shabbos of Consolation” that follows Tisha B’Av. Indeed, our parashah recounts our receiving the Torah, offering inspiration and strength as we recover from our national tragedy of churban Bayis.

Why, then, does the Torah begin with the discouraging and disconcerting episode of Hashem’s refusing to allow Moshe to enter Eretz Yisrael?

One lesson may be that, when we face Hashem’s punishment and wrath, we not be dejected, but move forward in the knowledge that He still loves us.

There were 6 arei miklat, cities of refuge, where one who killed accidentally could run for haven. Three were located in Trans-Jordan – where the Jews were encamped at the time of this parashah – and three were in the mainland of Eretz Yisrael, which was not conquered until years later. Although those in Trans-Jordan would not be functional until those in Eretz Yisrael were established, later on in the parashah, Moshe establishes the three cities he could. He wasn’t disheartened – he moved on, doing what he could. Klal Yisrael would go on, and he would be as much a part of it as possible.

The seventh day of our shivah for Tisha B’Av is Tu B’av. The culmination of the most awesome period of the Jewish year is Yom Kippur.

And it is those very days that were the most festive days on the calendar, celebrated by maidens going out to attract husbands (Taanis 26b).

We sit homebound and overcome by mourning. We quake in fear as we stand in judgment before the

Heavenly Court

. But we do not remain paralyzed. We emerge – we “go out” – confident in a brighter future, a future represented by building new homes and families.

It is a future grounded in our abiding faith in the One Above – to Whose justice we were just subject.

As we emerge from the mourning of this year’s Tisha B’Av, may we go forward to achieve and accomplish all that we can, confident in a bright future for Klal Yisroel and in the hope that next year we will celebrate Tisha B’Av b’vias goel.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Devarim - Shabbos Chazon

This week’s haftorah, which is read in the mournful chant of Eichah, is, with the possible exception of that of Tishah B’Av, the haftorah I find most terrifying.

Yeshayahu vividly describes Hashem’s utter rejection of klal Yisroel, His revulsion at their attempts at avodah. They seem to be doing mitzvos, but they are doing them all wrong.

Suddenly, in middle, the navi changes his tone – as reflected in our own change of tune to that of the standard haftorah:  רַחֲצוּ הִזַּכּוּ...אִם יִהְיוּ חֲטָאֵיכֶם כַּשָּׁנִים כַּשֶּׁלֶג יַלְבִּינוּ..., Wash yourselves, become purified…if your sins will be as red strings, they will become as white as snow….

But it lasts for only several verses before it once again turns mournful – If you refuse... – and the litany of woe resumes.

Then, the tone changes again, this time with no apparent reason. The navi describes the corruption of the self-appointed leaders and judges, and suddenly turns around, ending with a message of hope and redemption: לָכֵן נְאֻם הָאָדוֹן ד' צְבָקוֹת אֲבִיר יִשְׂרָאֵל הוֹי אֶנָּחֵם מִצָּרַי וְאִנָּקְמָה מֵאוֹיְבָי. וְאָשִׁיבָה יָדִי עָלַיִךְ...צִיּוֹן בְּמִשְׁפָּט תִּפָּדֶה וְשָׁבֶיהָ בִּצְדָקָה., Therefore – the Word of the Lord, Hashem, Master of Legions, Might of Israel – O! I will be relieved of My oppressors and be avenged of My enemies. I will return My Hand over you …  Zion will be redeemed through justice, and its captives through charity.

What “therefore” precipitates this turnaround – the corruption and vice?

The Gemara (Berachos 17a) cites R’ Alexandri who would beseech Hashem: “It is known to You that we want to do Your Will. What holds us back? ‘The leaven in the dough’ (the Yetzer Hara) and the oppression of the nations, May it be Your Will that you save us from them and will return to perform Your Service wholeheartedly.”

Perhaps the message is that, at the very end, there will come times when everything will have run completely amok; when the situation seems beyond repair.

Therefore, says Hashem, this is the point at which I have to intervene. I will relieve Myself of My oppressors (the nations that oppress Klal Yisrael) and avenge myself of My enemies (the Yetzer Hara who dissuades people from serving Hashem).

When He does that, we will all begin to serve Him wholeheartedly, so that He returns His hand over us, and that Yerushalayim is once again called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful Village.

May we merit His Kindness, so that we can spend this Tuesday celebrating together in the streets of Yerushalayim.

Gut Shabbos.