Lately,
my son has been sitting with me watching many of the news shows that I watch.
Maybe he wants to spend time with me.
This week we learned of a Times of Israel article about the U.S.
President’s upcoming trip to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Rome. This is President’
Trump’s first overseas visit as President so the eyes of the world will be on Trump. America's allies will be watching and so will America's enemies. For the
first time ever, a U.S. President plans to visit the Kotel (Western Wall). This
is a very big deal. It is a big deal for the Israel. It is a big deal for the
Jewish People. Israeli Government representatives asked the White House
representatives if Prime Minister Netanyahu could accompany the President.
Could the Israeli press cover this historical moment? Normally, before the
President arrives, representatives of the from the State Department usually
arrive a week or two ahead, work out the itinerary, security, meetings according
to all the necessary international protocol. Unfortunately, the
State Department is only minimally staffed as the President decided to severely
cut its budget. As a result, the White House has sent representatives to make
these preparations and they are not quite as well trained as the State
Department. During a meeting with their Israeli counterparts, the Presidents
itinerary was discussed. With great ignorance and arrogance, the White House
representative declined Netanyahu’s offer to accompany the president and couldn’t
understand why Israel and the Israeli press cared so much about the President’s
visit to the Wall since the Wall and Jerusalem were part of the West Bank. Not
only did the ignorant comment make the news in Israel it made the news in the
United States and Canada. By the next day the White House put out an
explanation. As our children watched the news with me that night and saw me
shaking my head; our son asked me why I seemed so disgusted. Like a good
father, and a typical rabbi, I answered his question with a question. “Why do
you think?” He thought for a moment, I could see him thinking. He astutely
remarked that over the past couple of weeks, the President, otherwise known as
the leader of the free world, fired the Head of the FBI, the day after during a
meeting with the two Russian official in the Oval Office, verbally passed along
classified information, White House representatives are making asinine comments
about Jerusalem and the Wall as being part of the West Bank and the classified
information that the President shared with the Russians in the Oval Office came
from Israeli intelligence sources. My son told me that I probably shook my head
out of disgust because the Leader of the Free World was so untrustworthy, and if
the President is not to be trusted, that diminishes America, and a diminished America
is not at all good for Israel.
This
week, we again read a double portion, Parsha Behar and Parsha Bechukotai. These
are the last two Parshiot of Sefer Vayikrah (Book of Leviticus).
Throughout the entire book, 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. In
Parsha Behar we elevate our lives and our land with holiness by setting aside
another type of sacred time, Shmita (the seventh year.) Just like the seventh
day (Shabbat) is a day of rest. Shmita 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 meant more time devoted to Torah study! Parsha
Bechukotai, being the end of Leviticus, tells us the ramifications for
behavior. “If you’ll keep the
commandments… then I’ll send the rains in their time, the earth and trees will
give forth their produce, you’ll settle securely in the land…I will multiply
you…I will walk with you” (Lev. 25:3-10). If we don’t live up to these
standards, if we neglect adding Kedushah (holiness) to our lives, if we “don’t
perform these commandments, if we consider these decrees loathsome, if we
reject these ordinances, if we annul the covenant, then I will do the same to
you…. (Lev. 26:14:17) God will annul us. All blessing will become curses.
While the Torah does not paint a very pleasant picture,
both parshiot reflect the vital importance of Bitachon, trust in God. In Behar, we may consider this notion of
Shmita 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. “I
will command my blessing upon the sixth year and it will bring forth (enough)
produce for three years (Lev. 25:20-21). The Chatam Sofer, (Rabbi Moshe Shreiber from
Frankfort on the Main, Germany 1762-1839) explained the importance of reminding
us that the Mitzvah of Shmita originated from Sinai just like the Mitzvah of
gathering the Manna while B’nai Yisroel wandered and traveled to Eretz
Yisroel. God provided a double portion
of Manna on Friday thereby guaranteeing enough food for Shabbat during their
time of wandering; so too God will “guarantee” enough produce in the sixth year
when they are living in the land. B’nai Yisroel won’t starve in the seventh
(Shmita) year nor will they starve in the first year of the next cycle while
they are waiting for that year’s harvest.
So what does the Torah teach us? We learn that every rung
climbed towards Kedushah, confirms our trust in God. Rather than diminishing ourselves
out of ignorance and arrogance, we remind ourselves of God’s presence in all
aspect of our lives including the harvest, the Jubilee year, and helping those
most vulnerable. Because of this constant reminder, 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. Leviticus teaches us
that God is involved in our daily routine. Our struggle for Kedusha is our way
of reminding ourselves of this fact. Failure to remind ourselves means we fall
away from God and our faith diminishes. When we lack in faith and trust in God,
it diminishes the Jewish people. When the Leader of the Free World cannot be
trusted, well, my son will watch me continue shaking my head in disappointment
as the diminished of the United States and in concern for the welfare of
Israel.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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