Wednesday, February 15, 2017

I Can Tell Your Future, Whoa Just Look What's In Your Hand (Robert Hunter, Bob Weir & Mickey Hart - "Playing In The Band")



Well it is a big holiday weekend for North America. In the United States it is President’s Day Weekend. This is the weekend that the United States celebrates the birthday of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the first and sixteenth Presidents respectively. Here in Toronto, we are celebrating Family Day Weekend.  Given the state of the U.S. Presidency; my family is more than happy to be celebrating Family Day Weekend. To enhance our Family Day Weekend, our eldest daughter decided to spend the long weekend with us. Besides the excitement of their oldest sister coming home to visit; there has been quite a bit of tumult in our house. Our high school age daughters had to pick their courses for the upcoming school year. One of the factors that our daughters needed to consider was their anticipated  college/university major. Their school guidance counselor suggested that they ought to think about what they might be interested in terms of academic study  as well as a career. As a result,  all week the anxiety and the concern about the future has been palpable. “What am I going to do with my life?” “I need to know now what I am doing for the rest of my life.”  Our daughters  grew more overwhelmed with the future, our son chimed in and reassured us that we didn’t have to worry about him. "I just wanted to be wealthy enough to afford a Porsche, and a mansion." That was a real load of my mind. For our daughters, however,  no simple advice or mantra diminished their anxiety. “Keep your options open”, “Choose your courses based on your interests", "Choose your courses based upon the instructor”, “Stop worrying, you will change your mind fifteen times between now and when you declare a major during your second year of college”. Of course our daughters greeted my advice with disdain.  "Dad, you don’t know what you are talking about", " Maybe that's what it was like a long time ago when you were a kid." "Well you grew up in the U.S., welcome to Canada, its very different here." To a certain extent my daughters are right. I am old; I grew up in a different educational system and from their perspective I probably am too stupid to help them. However as a parent, I look at my children, all my children sitting and talking and laughing and I wonder about their future, their impact upon all that they encounter, their neighborhood, their community, and the lives that they will eventually touch.
This week's Parsha is Yitro. Named after Moshe's father in-law, who happens to be a Midianite priest, the Parsha begins with Moshe leading B'nai Israel toward the wilderness of Midian. In this wilderness, Moshe meets up with his father in-law, his wife and his two sons. After spending some time with his son-in-law, Yitro sees Moshe working very long days as a judge and growing exhausted and worn down. Yitro suggests a legal bureaucracy whereby others adjudicate the small everyday legal issues. More difficult legal issues would be adjudicated by Moshe.  God commands Moshe to bring B'nai Israel to Mt. Sinai. For three days they will purify themselves, clean their clothes, not have marital relations, and purify their souls for a revelation. Smoke emanates from Mt. Sinai and thunder billows from the heavens, God begins to speak. Fear and awe grip B'nai Israel, and they beg Moshe to go up the mountain as their Shaliach (appointed messenger). Moshe ascends the mountain and receives the Aseret HaDibrot (the Ten Commandments). Then Moshe descends from the mountain. Upon his descent he tells B'nai Israel the Aseret HaDibrot. The Parsha concludes with B'nai Israel readily accepting the Ten Commandments, Moshe re-assures the people not to fear the thunder and the flames, God attests to the fact that B'nai Israel accepted these commandments, and then commands Moshe to build and altar of earth.
                Prior to the actual Revelation and giving the Aseret HaDibrot, and prior to the instructions for B’nai Israel to prepare for the revelation at Sinai, God shares an incredibly intimate moment with Moshe. God shares his hopes for the new relationship and his hopes for the impact this revelation will have upon B’nai Israel and all humanity. V’Atah Im Shamoah Tishmu B’Koli Ushmartem et Britit Vi’HiYitem Li Segulah MiKol Ha’Amim Ki Li Kol Ha’Aretz. And now, if you hearken well to Me and observe My covenant, you shall be to Me the most beloved treasure of all peoples, for mine is the entire world.  V’Atem TiHeYu Li Mamlechet KoHanim V’Goy KadoshYou shall be to Me a kingdom of ministers (priests) and a holy nation. R’Ovadia Sforno, the Italian Renaissance Rabbi and biblical commentator, explains that a ‘nation of priests/ministers’ understands and teaches the entire human race that all shall acknowledge God. It appears that God looks to B’nai Israel and sees potential. God explains that Israel's “treasured nation” status is a function of its mission. B’nai Israel will bring The Aseret HaDibrot,  the words and the teachings that accompany these Ten Commandments to all of humanity. B'nai Israel behavior and observance will elevate the words and deeds to a higher degree of holiness. Sforno explains that as long as B’nai Israel adheres to the covenant and brings these teachings to the world, it will remain an Am Kadosh, a Holy Nation that will remain constant in this world. Even before the actual revelation, God empowers these former slaves. God establishes more than just a convenient with B’nai Israel. God links a sense of purpose a mission by instructing these spiritual “Children” to make a difference in the world, to impact the world for goodness and holiness.
                Yes, seeing all my children together, talking and laughing with each other gives me pause. One child isn't a child anymore; she is an adult. Two teenager daughters are in high school anxious about life's choices. Indeed, they have become aware that the world is full of possibilities,  and that they can have an impact on their community. Finally one prepares for Bar Mitzvah and afterward, I assume he will begin working towards that Porsche he talks about . As I watch them, I worry and I wonder how well they have learned the lessons that their mother and I have tried to imbue upon them. Will they be guided by a sense of purpose, a sense of mission, a desire to do “good” in the world? Will they be guided by a sense of purpose, a sense of mission, to make a difference, to elevate the world in holiness (or at least that part of the world that they touch)? I watch my children, I smile and I wonder about their future, their decisions and whether they will bring their light and their learning to all they encounter.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

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