Parshat Ki Tavo: Sticks and Stones

 

Lovingly dedicated to the memory of our friend, mother & grandmother

Sherril - Sarah bat Chaim Eliezer, aleha hashalom

 

When I was growing up my knowledge of our collective history consisted of the Bible stories I had learned in school through studying the Torah.  When I write 'Bible', as far as I was concerned, this only consisted of the Torah as we didn't look much at the other two books of the Old Testament.  Yes, I knew about David and Goliath and of course was aware of other historical events connected to our calendar, such as the Books of Ruth and Esther and the destruction of the Temples, but to be truthful, the many books that were included in Neviim (Prophets) and Ketuvim (writings) were a mystery to me. 

 

I understand why Jewish schools don't (or in my case, didn't) teach Tenach.  Many of the episodes are distinctly unsuitable for a young audience.  You can therefore imagine my surprise as I slowly delved into these tomes and expanded my knowledge.  Moses died in the very last chapter of the Torah, but that didn't mean that the people who he brought out of Egypt 'stayed put' by the banks of the Jordan River.  The Book of Joshua immediately takes up the story of our nation upon the death of Moses…literally! It is the Haftorah of the last Parsha which we read on Simchat Torah.  It would be wrong to consider it a sequel to the Torah, but it does continue the narrative started in the last two books of our Divine gift.

 

A case in point can be found in this week's Parsha:

Deuteronomy 27: 1-5

Moses and the elders of Israel gave the following instructions to the people: Keep the entire mandate that I am prescribing to you today.  On the day that you cross the Jordan into the land that Gd your Lord is giving you, you must erect large stones and plaster them with lime.  When you then cross over, you shall write on them all of this Torah.  In this manner you shall come to the land that Gd your Lord is giving you, the land flowing with milk and honey that Gd, Lord of your fathers, promised you.  When you cross the Jordan, you shall set up these stones that I am now describing to you on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with lime. There, you shall then build an altar to Gd, your Lord.  It will be a stone altar and you shall not lift up any iron to it.

 

The Torah continues by listing the curses and blessings that would be shouted out by the Levites to the Tribes, six of whom were on Mount Ebal (the curses) and the other six on Mount Gerizim (the blessings) but there are different interpretations as to the exact manner in which this was carried out.

 

Sure enough, we read the following in the Book of Joshua:

Joshua 8: 30-32

Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, Gd of Israel, on Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the Children of Israel, as is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones upon which no man had lifted up any iron.  They offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and brought sacrificed peace offerings.  And he wrote there upon the stones, a copy of the law of Moses which he wrote in the presence of the Children of Israel

You may be surprised to know that it is possible that this altar still exists on the very site described in both the Parsha and the Book of Joshua!

 The late Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal (who died in 2015) and his team excavated a number of sites in the Mount Ebal area of Israel in the early 1980s.  They unearthed a number of 'foot-shaped' structures known as 'Sandalim' and 'Gilgalim'.  This altar, which was built on the bedrock was divided into two strata, both dated to the first Iron Age.  They found the remains of charred animal bones inside the depression in the middle of the structure.  The monumental alter, which was traced to a later level measured 23 by 30 feet and was 10 foot tall with a 23-foot-long ramp leading up to it.  The altar contained a large number of burnt bones and pottery, again dating back to the first Iron Age.

 Zertal claimed that the altar was cultish in nature and controversially added that it was indeed Joshua's edifice as described above.  There was a great deal of opposition to this view amongst his peers and the debate still rages as to its exact status.  There does seem to be general agreement that this was an early Israelite cultish site and the jury is still out on whether it was indeed Joshua's altar.

In February of this year, the Palestinian Authority destroyed part of the outer wall to use the stones as gravel for a road they were building below the structure.  This brings to mind the desecration of historical Jewish sites, such as the Temple Mount in order to change and amend the narrative linking Jewish presence in the Land of Israel over three millennia.  One does not need to look too far back to find people trying to deny our legitimacy, both in recent or ancient history, as witnessed by the recent and worrying growth in Holocaust denial.  As King Solomon famously wrote in Kohelet/Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun."

Last week, a friend invited me to join him on a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  He is a member and had obtained a ticket for the current ‘Epic Iran’ exhibition and very kindly invited me to come along as his guest.

I have a particular interest in this topic as I was fortune enough to visit the Shah’s Iran as a child and have always held a deep and abiding interest in the country and its history.  It also doesn't hurt that the Book of Esther is one of my favourite Biblical texts.

The exhibition, which is open until 12th September, is promoted on the museum's website using the following text:

‘Exploring 5,000 years of art, design and culture, Epic Iran shines a light on one of the greatest historic civilisations, its journey into the 21st century and its monumental artistic achievements, which remain unknown to many.’

Most of the exhibits are on loan from a private collector as well as from institutions such as the Ashmolean in Oxford and the British Museum.  It is well worth visiting and we both enjoyed our time there.

That is, except for one glaring omission - the complete absence of the 'J' word.

Walking around the various exhibits, you would be forgiven for wondering if there had ever been a Jewish presence in the country that is now called Iran. 

That there was a significant and influential Jewish community dating back to the Babylonian exile was completely excised from the narrative. 

Not a single reference.

When displaying maps of the countries which encompassed the Archemid Empire (as per the Book of Esther), Judea was notably absent.  It was as though we had never set foot in the country despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, not least the presence of ancient shrines, such as the tombs of Mordechai and Esther and numerous synagogues.

It was obvious from placards detailing the country's recent history (from the early 20th Century) that the curators had a particular message to share with visitors and there could have been an element of fear involved in their decision to preclude our people from their depiction of history.  Perhaps, one day, when the country hopefully returns to its former glory, the title of the exhibition will truly reflect its content.

'Epic Iran' is sadly a misnomer when the Persian Empire which prided itself on its inclusiveness is so woefully represented in the heart of London.

The Parsha of Ki Tavo contains the Tochacha - the warning to our people about what would happen should they choose to take a different path to that detailed in the Torah.  History has demonstrated that this was not an idle threat but a very real portent of what was to come.  That we now have a Jewish State to return to, where Joshua's altar may or may not be situated is a testament to our survival against so many foes.  In a similar vein, whether or not an exhibition on Iran misrepresents its history by ignoring us does not change the facts on the ground.

Returning to my original theme, when the Rabbis canonised the Bible and chose the return to Zion and rebuilding of the Temple as a cut-off point, I suspect that they knew the story of the Jewish people would be ongoing.  This, despite the sometimes dire consequences brought on by the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

For that is what we do.  Beyond cultish altars and Persian Cylinders, we survive and flourish, because sticks and stones have broken some of our bones but the many names our foes have chosen to call us (or even worse, ignore us) - don't really hurt us.

 

Am Yisrael Chai and Shabbat Shalom.

 

Parshat Ki Tetzei: A Letter to the Commander in Chief

President Joseph R.  Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave Washington, DC 20500 United States of America

18th August 2021 10th Ellul 5781

Dear Mr President,

I, along with millions of others watched your address to the American people regarding the withdrawing of troops from Afghanistan.  It is not my place to judge you or to assess the rationale that you cited for making your decision.  You are the most powerful human being on this planet and as you said, "The buck stops with me."

I was, however, struck by the timing of your actions and the week in which you chose to reveal your policy, in conjunction with the reading of this week's Parsha of Ki Tetzei in a few days' time.  As a person of deep faith, I do not believe in coincidences and would like to share with you some ideas that I have considered in relation to both your decision and the myriad of laws that encompass our Torah reading.

Ki Tetzei contains the largest number of mitzvot in the entire Torah, seventy-four in all.  Of these, twenty-seven are Positive Commandments (you shall do such and such) whilst forty-seven are prohibitions. 

On a superficial level, it appears that many of these Mitzvot/Commandments have been grouped together in a random fashion, but I believe that there is a common theme that can link all of them and this focus is on the relationship between people, known as Mitzvot ben Adam le Chavero, as opposed to those commandments between humanity and Gd, namely Mitzvot bein Adam LeMakom.

Mr President, The Book of Deuteronomy comprises the three speeches that Moses gave to the Israelites in the last week of his life by the banks of the Jordan River.  We are currently reading from the second oration.

Rabbi Menachem Leibtag of the OU highlights a fascinating idea that places these mitzvot in the context of how they follow on from those that we read about in the last few Torah portions/sidrot.  Additionally, he also posits the idea that all the mitzvot described in chapters 6-26 are analogous to the 10 Commandments.

Moses reminds the people that the mitzvot were originally transmitted to them at Mount Sinai and why they heard them from him (Moses) and not directly from Gd in Chapter 5.  Chapters 6 through to 11 describe the mitzvot that concern man's relationship to Gd, via the concept of Ahavat Hashem - loving Gd and demonstrating this through observing the first five commandments, with particular reference to not worshipping other gods.  This second oration begins with a repetition of the Ten Commandments, shortly followed by the first paragraph of the twice daily recited 'Shema' prayer and ends shortly after the inclusion of the second paragraph of the same prayer.

The section that we are currently reading contains numerous commandments that we refer to as 'Chukim and Mishpatim', namely Statutes and Judgements that pertain to establishing the Jewish people as an 'Am Kadosh' - a holy nation, replete with its institutions and laws relating to living a daily life in the Land of Israel.  Many of the laws contained in this section are not given a rationale, such as those pertaining to Kashrut, our dietary laws and Shatnez (mixing wool and linen in garments) which we read about this week.  Last week, we focused on leadership, ensuring that a just society is led by an impartial judiciary whilst simultaneously establishing a Jewish monarchy that acts as a model of how its protagonists should behave vis-a-vis Gd and the people they are chosen to represent and lead.

Rabbi Leibtag provides a fascinating parallel between the Ten Commandments and the mitzvot described in this second speech.

He equates Chapters 6 to 18 with the first five commandments and links the many mitzvot described therein within the context of the relationship between man and Gd. However, I will be focussing on the other laws as it is within these latter commandments that we find ourselves this week and this comprises of Chapters 19 to 25 (the second discourse ends with Chapter 26 which we will recite next week).

Mr President, as I explained above, this week's portion contains seventy-four commandments focussing on the relationships between human beings and includes topics ranging from the treatment of female captives and returning lost articles; respecting animals (chasing a mother bird away from a nest before taking her eggs and not ploughing a field with a yoked ox and donkey); creating a moral society (protecting rape victims, punishing adulterers, limiting prostitution); ensuring fairness for workers by paying them on time and promoting honesty through shopkeepers not being allowed to keep different weights in their pockets as a means of cheating customers and many, many more. 

It might be assumed that there is no connection between any of the above commandments, but this is far from the case.  Indeed, what brings them together is the imperative to promote a harmonious and just society that values not only itself but also others.  These are not commandments that are applicable solely to Jews, although we are tasked to keep them and in doing so, reflect Gd's light through the Torah on the rest of the world.  They are the bedrock on which all society should operate, irrespective of whether they are instructed to do so by their faith.  The Torah is not applicable to American Jews any more than it is relevant to those who come from Australia or even the sole remaining member of our people who currently lives in Afghanistan.

Mr President, in relation to your speech, you might wish to look at the two sets of laws which bookend Ki Tetzei, namely the commandments that focus on how a female captive should be treated (at the start of the portion) and Gd's requirement that we attack and destroy the murderous nation of Amalek at its end.  Both sections deal with war

Deuteronomy 21:

(10) When you will go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your Gd will deliver them into your hand and you take some of them captive, (11) and you see among the captives a beautiful woman and you desire her and would take her to wife, (12) you shall bring her into your house, and she shall trim her hair, pare her nails, (13) and discard her captive’s garb.  She shall spend a month’s time in your house lamenting her father and mother; after that you may come to her and live with her, and she shall be your wife.  (14) Then, should you no longer desire her, you must release her outright.  You must not sell her for money: since you had your will of her, you must not enslave her.

Mr President, I have long considered the first four verses of this week's Parsha to be amongst the most heart-breaking narratives in the Torah.  They also provide a precise, razor-sharp understanding of human nature in all its manifest incarnations.

A soldier has been granted the spoils of his victory over the enemy.  You can just imagine him walking arrogantly amongst the people he has just vanquished; drunk on the power he has recently utilised to subjugate his foe.  He spies a pretty girl amongst the captives and realises that, due to his lofty stature, he may do with her as he wishes.  She is after all, vulnerable and defenceless and unable to withstand his might.  His instinct will be to take her for himself and do as he pleases as this is the right of the victor, is it not?

Which is when the Torah drops the bombshell (excuse the pun) and sharply brings into focus the other side of the coin, namely the impact of the war, not on the winners, but those who were impacted by the victory - the scared and scarred victims of war.

Before the soldier can fulfil his lustful urges, he must recognise that his captive is human too.  She has witnessed the brutal deaths of her loved ones, possibly by the hand of the man in whose house she is now living, presumably against her will.  She needs time to mourn the loss of her parents whilst at the same time, making herself as unattractive as she can to her captor for a month of days, which will be enough time for him to also cool his passion and sense of superiority over her.  The tables have turned for now she has the power to control him.

Then, after a month, when he sees her in a different light, beyond her initial external attractiveness, they may consummate their union and begin a life together as equal partners who respect one another.  If this marriage does not succeed, she is free to go and he has no right to exercise his previous control over her through selling her as a slave.

Mr President, can you honestly promise the world that the Taliban, who have a history of indescribable brutality towards their fellow citizens and in particular, their inhumane and misogynistic treatment of Afghani women, will enforce this law amongst their millions of troops who are armed to the teeth?

Will you be willing to send more troops to protect your fellow human beings, even if the victims are not American?

Will you abide by the Torah's commandment to ensure that justice for orphans and widows is not perverted, as per Chapter 24, Verse 17?

Will you follow Gd's command to remember what the Amalakites did? A nation who attacked not the soldiers at the front, but the women and children at the rear of the nation?

Will you send your forces to defeat their descendants who claim that they 'fear Gd' but this is not a Divine Being that any of us recognise as Allah?

As our portion concludes, we are reminded 'not to forget'.

Mr President, we will soon be remembering the victims of 9/11 along with the soldiers who lost their lives trying to protect the innocents in Afghanistan over the last twenty years. 

When you have removed your protective shield over the troubled country that lies to the east of the United States, what and who will you be remembering?

Yours faithfully.

Rabbi Claude Vecht-Wolf

Shabbat Shalom

Parshat Shoftim: The Torah's Fruit Trees

 

 

בס"ד

I really don't know where the time has gone.

Three years ago, on 7th Ellul (corresponding with 18th August), Stephnie and I spent our first Shabbat in this wonderful community of Staines.  My trial had begun the previous evening and now, here I was, about to recite this week's parsha of Shoftim before you.  I must have done something right because three years later, I'm still here...and when Shabbat leaves, the 7th Ellul will be upon us again.  Shoftim therefore has a very special place in my heart.

And so does the number three.

In our religion, as you are aware, certain numbers have greater significance than others.  When I mention the number three, a few examples come to mind: the three prayers that we recite daily; the shalosh regalim, three ‘Foot Festivals’; the shalosh avot, the three Patriarchs and most importantly the idea that in every human conception there are three partners, the two parents and Gd.

On the third day, Gd brought forth grass, seeds and trees that would subsequently bear fruit.  And Gd saw that it was good, not once, but twice.  This is the only example in the Creative Narrative which occasioned such a mention, hence the tradition that some couples refer to, to get married on Tuesdays, the third day of the week (as Stephnie and I did).

In the third chapter of the Torah, we read about the sin of the first couple and their partaking of the forbidden fruit, which was most definitely not an apple.  It is on the emphasis the Torah places on fruit trees that I will now focus, citing three examples of how these Heavenly sent gifts refer to the way we should behave towards one another and the global environment in which we live.

Gd's very first interaction with humankind was thus:

Genesis 2

(16) “And the Lord Gd commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; (17) but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall surely die.”

The Torah expresses Gd's instruction to man regarding the food he is allowed to consume in order to survive whilst at the same time, making him aware of what he cannot take for himself.  Of all the potential sources of nourishment available, the first to be mentioned is the fruit emanating from trees.  Not any vegetable or type of meat but fruit, which receives special status in the Torah.  Adam and Eve were punished for not listening to Gd’s command resulting in the world’s turbulent history that leads us the present day.  It was a poor choice indeed. 

My second example refers to a commandment given many years later to the Israelites in the desert regarding the law of Orlah which means benefitting from the fruit of a tree that is less than three years old (and which ties in with our emphasis on the same number)

Leviticus 19:

(23) “When you enter the land and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.  Three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be eaten.  (24) In the fourth year all its fruit shall be set aside for jubilation before the Lord; (25) and only in the fifth year may you use its fruit—that its yield to you may be increased: I the Lord am your Gd.”

Once again the Torah cites the rules regarding how we may benefit from the fruit borne by trees on condition that we allow them to grow for a period of no less than three years before being able to tithe them in the fourth and partake of them in the fifth.  Incidentally, this is the origin of the recent custom (17th century) of upsherin, where a boy's hair is only cut upon their third birthday.  The basis for the custom is the notion that humans are compared to trees and that, just like a tree needs to be given time to grow, so the same with a child who will start having an understanding of the world at a young age (although most agree that learning Torah begins at five) will grow into a Torah scholar who will share his knowledge (as a metaphor for fruit) with others as he develops his intellectual powers.

On a practical level, there are also disagreements as to how long one needs to wait into the fourth year, both inside and outside of Israel, before being allowed to eat the fruit, due to its sacred status.

My third and final example can be found in this week's Parsha, when Moshe instructs the people regarding the rules of warfare:

Deuteronomy 20:

(19) “When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the axe against them.  You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down.  Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? (20) Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siegeworks against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced.”

Rashi provides a moving comment on the question in Pasuk 20:

“Is the tree of the field perhaps a man who is able to withdraw within the besieged city from before you, that it should be chastised by the suffering of famine and thirst like the inhabitants of the city? Why should you destroy it?”

and in doing so, underscores the indisputable link between humankind and the food provided by Gd.  We may unfortunately have a need to go to war and as a result, interact with our fellow human beings, in a state of extreme hostility and unbridled brutality.  That, however, does not give us carte blanche to extend our aggression to nature.  For, unlike fellow humans, nature does not wage war against us.  It does not besiege our cities and wish to conquer us.  It works for us as long as we respect its status and power. Additionally, we also learn the laws of Ba’al Taschit – not wasting food, from this example.

In the three examples I have cited, our contract with Gd is that He will continue to provide the fruit that maintains our health on the condition that we respect His gift.  It doesn't take a great leap of the imagination to link this to how our mismanagement of His gifts to us, on this planet, is a significant part of the reason why we are facing the current climate emergency.  A cursory reading of the latest IPCC assessment forecasts the surpassing of a 1.5c global warming limit within the next twenty years unless our leaders, in fact everybody, act imminently.  This is a stark warning of how we are abrogating this aforementioned contract.  We do so at our peril.

In the three years that I have spent with you, I feel that we have grown our own 'fruit'.  Thank you for allowing me to share my love of the Torah with you and explore its many facets together.

I came to you as a young seedling and together we have blossomed and borne fruit.  May our joint farming efforts continue for many years to come and may the many fruits of our labour inspire us to reach new heights.

The wells of Torah are as deep as the core of the earth. May we be blessed to continue to drink from them for as long as Gd enables us to eat of his fruit, both physically and metaphorically.

Shabbat Shalom.