Recall The Days That Still Are To Come (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Crazy Fingers")

Recently we attended a family function with aunts, uncles, great-aunts, great- uncles, cousins and grandparents. It always amazes me to watch my children with this extended family.  My three children could be talking to the same great aunt, or cousin or grandparent. Inevitably, each of my children will connect to that relative in a different manner, walk away with a different experience, and have a different opinion. Each child has the same parents, grows up in the same house, lives by the same rules, and has the same “relative status” as the other children Vis a Vis the great aunt, or the grandparent. However each child is fundamentally different and each relative relates to each of my child in a different manner. Certainly, each child has his/her own personality as does the other relative. The result is that each child will develop their own relationship with their grandparents, their aunts, their uncles, and their great aunts and great uncles.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Bechukotai, the last Parsha in Sefer VaYikra, the Book of Leviticus.  We are told of the reward that awaits us for following God’s Torah. We are told of the punishment if we treat God’ Torah B’Keri – in a cavalier sort of manner or if we are stubborn and fail to observe. These Tochachot, these punishments are laid out in a sets of seven. That is to say, the first series of punishments are meted out. We are given the opportunity to change our behavior. If we fail to do so, then the second set of Tochachot are meted out and so on and so forth.  After the seventh series of punishments are meted out, we are told that God will ultimately remember the covenant made with our ancestors thereby re-assuring us that the despite these horrible punishments, there will still be a covenant. The Torah provides instructions in case B’nai Yisroel wants to make voluntary offerings and how to value those offerings. Instructions for redeeming firstborn animals, houses, are also presented prior to the conclusion of the Parsha and Sefer VaYikra, the Book of Leviticus.

After the listing of the Tochachot, the punishments, the linguistic patter of the Torah becomes rather strange. Normally God’s covenant made with the three Patriachs is Avraham Yitzchak V’ Yaakov. They start with the father, then the son and then the grandson. The three are usually lumped together as a type of triad.  However after the punishments are described,  we read: V”Zacharti et Briti Yaakov, V’Af et Briti Yitzchak, V’ Af et Briti Avraham Ezkor V’Ha’Aretz Ezkor – I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham will I remember, and I will remember the land ( 24:42). When reading these words, they sound out of order. Indeed they are out of order. When we think of the Avot, the Patriarchs, we think of them beginning with Avraham. We also think of them as a list of one unit, Elohei Avrham, Elohei Yitzchak’ V’Elohei Yaakov. There is no “Et” in between which would grammatically make each single patriarch an individual item in a list as opposed to single grouping. Why does the Torah do this now? Keeping in mind that this verse appears immediately after the extremely harsh punishment that was to be meted out if B’nai Yisroel fails to observe God’s statutes and laws; according to the Or HaChayim two issues are involved. First, the confession of guilt helps reduce the severity of the afflictions to which B’nai Yisroel was subjected. Second, God invokes each Patriarch as an individual and not as a group, in order to restore B’nai Yisroel to its former status. So first God would invoke his covenant with Yaakov, if the behavior was deemed beyond the merit of Yaakov, then God invokes his covenant with Yitzchak. If that doesn’t work then God invokes the merit of Avraham.

While the covenant with each Patriarch was essentially the same, each Patriarch had his own relationship with God. The covenant meant something slightly different to each Patriarch. Each Patriarch embodied a certain Midah, a certain characteristic that made him worthy of the Covenant. Ultimately B’nai Yisroel should also embody all the Midot of the patriarch in order to make us worthy. However even if we embody one of these qualities, one of these Sacred qualities embodied by our Patriarchs; we too become worthy of the relationship and the covenant. However we will only connect to God in our own way, and in a way that is sacred and meaningful to both God and ourselves. That unique connection makes it possible for us to avoid behaving in a manner that is Keri- cavalier with God’s commandments. The same lesson holds true with our children. We related to them as individuals and each one of them relates differently to me and mom. They relate differently to each relative so that way each relationship is unique and has its own merits and strengths.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

I Hope You Will Believe What I Say Is True (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "They Love Each Other")

It has been and continues to be a very exciting time to be a basketball fan in Toronto. Yes, you heard me: a basketball fan in Toronto. Make no mistake, this is still a hockey crazed city; cable TV is televising minor league hockey playoffs. In America, I think 14 people might watch minor league hockey playoffs. Spring has belonged to the Toronto Raptors. Indeed they have captured the hearts of the city, people walk around town wearing Toronto Raptors jerseys and hats. Even though the Raptors  won one seven game series earlier in the month; Toronto fans still carry decade’s worth of numerous heartbreaks in its professional sports teams. As a result of all this heartbreak; Toronto fans lack faith. When the Raptors had lost the first two games to the Cavaliers in Cleveland, I heard people say things like, “well they had a really good season, we should be happy about that”, or “there is no way they can come back against Cleveland, we are proud that the Raptors got this far.” Those are some of the things I hears from die-hard fans. I think about a high school friend of mine growing up in the 80’s who was a die-hard Celtic fan; when the Celtics had Larry Bird. The Celtics could have lost by fifty point in each of the first two road games, been completely out played, out hustled and out coached. Of course I would have been mocking him, suggesting that he could forget the NBA playoffs and focus on baseball. He would always tell me two things. First, losing the two road games of a seven game series means nothing. It only means that “Home court” advantage is just that, a home court advantage. Second, he reminded me that he had complete faith in his Celtics winning at the Boston Garden. So with Toronto down 0-2; I have been telling my worried congregant to have faith, have faith in the team, have faith in the home court, have faith in what is known in Toronto as “Jurassic Park”. So the Raptors have now won their two games. The snake-bit Toronto faithful now need to have faith that “Home Court” will prevail until game 7 returns to Cleveland. Then Raptors fans should pray for a miracle.

This week we read from Parsha Behar, the second to last Parsha of the Sefer VaYikrah, (The Book of Leviticus). Except for the very beginning of Sefer Vayikra, when God “Karah” called out to Moshe, every time God spoke to Moshe or Aharon and Moshe it was with the phrase, Vayidaber Hashem El Moshe Leimor (And God Spoke to Moshe saying:”. Now, the second to last Parsha of VaYikra begins with Vayidaber Hashem El Moshe B’Har Sinai Leimor: (Hashem Spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai saying :”). Obviously the words Behar Sinai has been added to this very standard phrase. So far, we have read how to elevate our lives with holiness. We elevate our lives by thanking God and atoning to God, through a variety of Korbonot. We elevate our lives by avoiding behavior that defiles us; we don’t marry our sisters. We elevate our lives in everyday physical behaviors; we only eat certain types of food. We elevate our lives by consciously setting aside holy times throughout the day, week, and season. Until now, the focus of holiness has been relationship specific, time specific, location (as in Mishkan) specific. Now for the first time the focus is upon the land  of Eretz Yisroel as a part of the covenant. In Parsha Behar we elevate our lives and our land with holiness by setting aside another type of sacred time, Shmitta (the seventh year.) Just like the seventh day (Shabbat) is a day of rest. Shmitta is a year of rest. Every seventh year, all outstanding debts are cancelled. The land lies fallow. Slaves and servants are set free. Agriculturally speaking, there is a benefit. Resting the soil for a year allows for replenishment of nutrients. Rabbinically speaking, less time devoted to agricultural concerns, to mundane concerns, meant more time devoted to Torah study!

Behar, we may consider this notion of Shmitta to be quite nice. All debts are cancelled. On the other hand, if the land is to lie fallow, what would people eat? We are urged to trust God. Just like we stood at Sinai and entered into a covenant with God, that covenant had to be based upon trust. Ultimately, that was a covenant is based upon - trust between two parties.  Here again, the notion of Shmitta is based upon Bitachon, - Trust in God.  How much trust do we need in God in order to fulfill the laws of Shmitta? At the end of the 6^th year, the harvest must be bountiful enough to cover the Shmitta year, (7^th year) and the end of the planting and harvesting of the first year of the next cycle.   V’Chi Tomru Ma Nochal BaShana HaShviit Hein Lo Nizrah V’Lo Ne’esof et Tevu’ateinu And if you will say: What will we eat in the seventh year: Behold we will not sow and not gather in our crops! V’Tsiviti et Birchati Lachem BaShanah H’Shishit V’Asat et Hatvu’ah Lishlosh HaShanim I will command my blessing upon the sixth year and it will bring forth (enough) produce for three years (Lev. 25:20-21). Just like God provided a double portion of Manna on Friday and thereby guarantee enough food for Shabbat, so too God will “guarantee” enough produce in the sixth year. B’nai Yisroel won’t starve in the seventh (Shmitta) year. Instead, we are going to Acknowledge God’s presence in our lives, in the land, and that God is the Primary Force not nature.

We understand that we cannot teach trust nor can we teach faith. Trust and Faith are functions of experience. A Child trusts the parent to return to his/her room only after the parent has left and returned enough times for the baby to learn it. When a team wins enough game 7’s, or wins close games in a consistent manner, or when an organization has won many championships; the fans will have learned faith in that team’s inevitable success.  Our trust in God is a direct function of our ability to reach various levels of Kedusha. We learn that every rung climbed towards Kedusha, we have the opportunity to engage in a more intimate relationship with God. That intimacy helps us confirm our trust in God. We trust that God is Holy; otherwise we would have no need to be holy. We trust that everything pure and good is attributable to God. Otherwise, we would constantly defile ourselves. We trust that we are created in God’s image. Otherwise, there is no reason to treat people with kindness first. Trust in God, in a sense, is a spiritually individualized Mishkan. The Mishkan was built so that God would dwell among us. Similarly, if our purpose is to attain higher and higher levels of Kedusha, we trust that the end result is God’s dwelling within us. For Toronto Raptor fans, hopefully God will be dwelling on the Toronto side of the bench.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Delilah She Gained Old Samson's Mind When First He Saw This Woman, She Looked So Fine (Learned from Rev. Gary Davis - "Samson & Delilah"

Raising teen-age girls has made me extra sensitive to issues concerning self-image, peer pressure, social cliques, and body image. Try as we might to create an environment where are daughters will learn the tools to deal with the perils of social cliques and peer pressure; all the social network apps that our daughter “must be on” make our job that much more difficult. Try as we might to create an environment where deeds, substance, effort and the content of character receive more praise and are held in much higher regard than the superficiality of physical appearance and fashion; television, fashion magazines and the desire to fit in and be socially accepted makes our job more difficult. So what does our fifteen year old do this week heighten my concern over the tumultuous nature of teenagers, their self-image, popularity and sense of self-worth. She decides to run for Vice President of Student Council. All week, she and several friends have been making posters and videos, creating slogans and putting together a campaign. With the advice of her older sister who is actually in the political campaign business, the candidate has spent the week speaking to as many of the students as possible.  All of her siblings have been helping on this campaign. So from that perspective it is nice see our children working together so that one can accomplish something. On the other hand I know that running for office in Student Council is not exactly the same as running for office at the municipal, provincial/state or federal level. Running for office at the student council level is far more brutally honest. It is strictly a popularity contest. There are no real issues per se. And certainly one can’t “buy” the election with Super-Pac money or millions of small on line donations. What makes student council politics a brutal endeavor is the fact that is a popularity contest. So who are the teen age girls that tend to be the most popular? That’s right, the girls with the most pleasant and appealing appearance tend to be considered popular. They might not necessarily be well liked, but everyone know who they are. Needless to say, I can’t help but notice the irony of the week. Our daughter who we raise to have a positive self-image spent the week participating in a school activity that focuses upon those very qualities that can demean self- image.

This Shabbat we read from Parshat Emor. The four chapters that comprise Parsha Emor focus on the various aspects of Perfection. First the Torah focuses upon the importance of the spiritual perfection and purity of the Kohen. He must remain in a perpetual state of purity. He is restricted in terms of whom he can marry. He is restricted in regards for whom he can mourn. He cannot go to a cemetery. He cannot make sacrificial offerings if he has physical abnormalities. The second of the four chapters reminds B’nai Yisroel that when approaching God with an offering, the individual must be spiritually pure and perfect and so must the offering. These offerings must come directly from the individual making them and not from “the hand of a stranger” (Lev.22:25). The third chapter of the Parsha deals with the perfection and the purity of time. Time is define as perfect in the season follow an order, the holidays such as Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are designated to come in a particular order. That order is both pure and perfect since time and the designation of “Sacred” time comes from God. The fourth chapter speaks about maintaining purity and the perfection of physical space in this case the Mishkan, and all that is in the Mishkan. The Torah even deals with perfection and purity of human relationships and the punishments meted out when that perfection, purity and holiness is violated. In a sense, this last chapter reminds us of God’s charge to B’nai Yisroel.

Like running for student council places an emphasis upon physical appearance as it relates to popularity; the Torah places an emphasis upon the physical appearance of the Kohen as it relates to his spiritual purity and eligibility of serving as the Kohen Gadol.  The last eight verses (21:16-24) explain all the physical abnormalities that exclude the Kohen from assuming the position of Kohen Gadol. Blemishes, blindness, being lame, having any  broken bones, bad skin, abnormally long eyebrows, a blemish in his eyed, are but a few of the physical attributes that make a Kohen ineligible for the position of Kohen Gadol.   How can the Torah, with its primary focus upon Mitzvot (commandments) and the importance of deeds and the Kavanah, the intentionality behind those deeds, now focus upon something as superficial as appearance? Sefer HaChinuch comments: “At the root of the precept lies the reason that most actions of people are acceptable, appealing to the heart of those who see them, in accordance with the eminence of those who do them. For when a man is distinguished in his appearance and good in his actions, he will find grace and good understanding (Prov. 3:4). With all that he does in the eyes of all who observe him. Should he be, however the opposite of this- inferior in his form, or peculiar in his limbs then eve if he is correct in his ways, his activities will not be so attractive to the hear…” (Emor 275). As upsetting and politically incorrect as that sounds, the comment and the Torah text infer a keen understanding of human nature. While watching the physically flawed Kohen conducting the ritual slaughtering in a perfectly correct manner; our attention would be upon the flaw in appearance, our Kavanah our intention would be lacking and the sacrificial process would fail.

While this line of reasoning doesn’t offer any solace to the Kohen with the physical flaw or abnormality, and I don’t for a second agree with it; it is important to remember that the goal is making sure that the offerings are accepted and the Kavanah (the intention) behind the offering is pure and focused. The common person making the offering would lose focus by concentrating more upon the physical abnormality or flaw instead of the offering to God.  Thankfully we don’t have a Third Holy Temple. We have evolved beyond animal offerings as a means engaging God in a sacred relationship. However, human nature has remained fairly consistent.  All these decades later the Home Coming King and Queen are still very good looking and popular, and running for Student Council remains a popularity contest as well. Maybe what really matters is not winning a popularity contest but rather, putting oneself out there as the offering, external physical flaws and all, and showing people the good and the pure within. Maybe having the courage to run and be exposed to the vulnerability of losing truly is a measure of the content of character. Maybe if the voters see that in a candidate, then running for Student Council isn’t so bad.

Peace,

Rav Yitz