Emor: Sanctification

 בס"ד

1^st May 2021 / 19^th Nissan 5781

In memory of my dear mother, Imi Morati Bryna Rouge bat Reb Yechiel a’h

Leviticus 22: (31) You shall faithfully observe My commandments: I am the LORD.  (32) You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people—I the LORD who sanctify you, (33) I who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God, I the LORD.

ויקרא כ״ב:ל״א-ל״ג (לא) וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֙ מִצְוֺתַ֔י וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם אֲנִ֖י ה'׃ (לב) וְלֹ֤א תְחַלְּלוּ֙ אֶת־שֵׁ֣ם קָדְשִׁ֔י וְנִ֨קְדַּשְׁתִּ֔י בְּת֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אֲנִ֥י ה' מְקַדִּשְׁכֶֽם׃ (לג) הַמּוֹצִ֤יא אֶתְכֶם֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לִהְי֥וֹת לָכֶ֖ם לֵאלֹקִ֑ים אֲנִ֖י ה'׃

 

Gd's instruction that His name should not be profaned, otherwise known as the mitzvah to avoid a 'chillul Hashem' is anything but trivial.  However, there is an interesting discussion amongst Chazal regarding whom he is addressing with the word ‘you’.

 

The Ibn Ezra (d.1167) famously notes that:

This is directed to the sons of Aaron, for this section Verses 26-33.  is connected to what is earlier stated.  To verse 18 which is directed to Aaron, to his sons, and to all of Israel.  In other words, verses 26-33 are directed to the sons of Aaron. 

Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 22:32:1

His view is agreed upon by a number of other commentators.  However, if that were indeed the case, it would absolve the rest of the people from having to obey this law!

The Rambam (d.1204) disagrees and states:

(1) It is mandatory upon the whole house of Israel to sanctify this Great Name, for it is said: "And I shall be sanctified among the children of Israel" (Lev.  22.32).  They are also charged not to blaspheme Him, for it is said: "And ye shall not profane My holy Name" (Ibid.).

Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 5:1

So, we have a dichotomy between two giants of Torah who are trying to decipher the meaning of this verse.  Is it aimed at a select group of people or the general population?  If the former, then, we mere Israelites are 'off the hook' as it were if we accidentally cause a Chillul Hashem.  If the latter, then everybody is liable.

More to the point, what are the consequences that occur as a result of such a desecration?

It's really quite simple.  When we think of the members of our faith who publicly bring our nation into disrepute (I shall not mention any names, but you could probably guess whom I am referring to) and as a result cause people to question our ethics and behaviour as Jews, we are suffering the fallout of a Chillul Hashem.  To our critics, it is immaterial whether the person who was responsible was a Kohen or not, an Orthodox or Secular Jew, a Sephardi or Ashkenazi.  As far as they are concerned, this person was 'one of ours' and they will always be identified as such.

I would venture to add that Gd's instruction, whichever way it was meant to be interpreted, gave a clear and immutable message.  "When you (whomever 'you' happen to be') desecrate My name and in the process, do not sanctify it, you forget your position as the nation that I, your Gd elevated you to.  I took you out of Egypt to make you into a nation that would act as a reflection of My role in the world."

You, the Kohanim or you, the entire population have a duty to sanctify me through your actions and behaviour and your dealings with the world at large, both in a personal capacity as well as professionally.

When I think of someone who was an example of demonstrating how to behave, my late mother immediately comes to mind.  She lit up every room she walked into and befriended people from all nations.  In terms of demonstrating how to behave and act in a manner that promoted a Kiddush Hashem, my mother was the example.

That she has left us so suddenly is still incomprehensible to me as well as many, many other people.  Yet, through her actions, her love of people and her love of her own religion, we, the ones she left behind have been forever enriched.  It is therefore comforting to know that when we read the above verses, we can say that far from desecrating Gd's name, she did everything in her power to illuminate it far and wide. 

May her memory be a blessing to you, whoever you are. 

Shabbat Shalom.

Vayakhel-Pekudei (Hachodesh) : To Infinity and Beyond

 

בס"ד

13^th March 2021/ 29^th Adar 5781

It was like a breath of fresh air, albeit of the Martian variety when we heard that Perseverance, NASA's $2.7 billion 'rover' had landed successfully inside the Jezero Crater on 18th February.  Ignoring the spectre of Covid19, we could focus our minds, albeit temporarily on another news-story.  We waited for the first photographs to arrive from across the universe and twenty-four hours later, my WhatsApp proudly showed me the very first image received from our mechanical buddy, bearing the legend: "First photo they released from Mars".

Endurance had captured the red planet's rocky surface in all its glory and there, nestled in full view was...a Chabad House! Of course, it was, because Chabad 'refreshes the parts that no other organisation can reach'.

                                            

Yes, it was a joke and a good one at that, but behind the humour, there was a salient fact, that somehow, the Jewish Nation manages, through sheer chutzpah to punch 'far above our weight' and we've been doing this for a very, very long time.

Who cannot be extraordinarily proud of Israel's successes in managing to vaccinate millions of people in record-breaking time?  She is leading the world in this respect, followed hotly on its heels by this country.  The numbers vaccinated in both countries are frankly staggering and the envy of the world.  I make no apologies for Israel's success but then again, I'm not surprised.  We have 'tenure' in showing our Gentile neighbours how to behave.  A great deal of tenure.

Through the centuries, our nation has faced many existential threats, the first of which I discussed last week, when we recounted the shocking episode of the Golden Calf.  It seemed that despite His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our newly minted nation was not going to make its way out of the desert.  Had Moses not intervened and pleaded with Gd on our behalf, our life on this planet would have been extinguished long before mankind sought to explore other worlds.  Gd relented and forgave the Israelites and then the most unexpected event occurred. 

Over the last month, we have been reading through the detailed description which began with these words:

 The Lord spoke to Moshe, saying, "Tell the Israelites to take an offering for Me; take My offering from all whose heart moves them to give.  These are the offerings you shall receive from them: gold, silver and bronze...they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst." (Exodus 25)

The master craftsmen who were individually appointed by Gd to carry out the intricate work were Betzalel and his aid, Oholiov.  The Torah tells us in the first of this week's sidrot of Vayakhel that:

From Moshe they received all the offerings the Israelites had brought for the work of the sanctuary and the people kept bringing them additional gifts every morning. (Exodus 36)

The people were so generous to the extent that we are told that they:

Said to Moshe, “The people are bringing more than is necessary for the work that Gd has commanded us to do.”  So Moshe ordered an announcement to be made throughout the camp, "Let no man or woman make anything more as an offering for the sanctuary."  So the people brought no more; for what they had already had was more than enough for all the work that was to be done.

A key concept in our faith is the idea that we have a duty to sanctify Gd's name to the nations of the world and do everything we can to avoid desecrating it.  These two ideas are known as Kiddush and Chillul Hashem.

The origin of the latter can be found in a number of verses in the Torah such as Leviticus 22.32:

You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people—I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

Can you think of a greater Kiddush Hashem than the people making so many contributions to the building of the Tabernacle, that they are asked to cease from doing so?  It is diametrically the opposite of the Chillul Hashem perpetrated through the building of the Golden Calf. 

We have tenure when it comes to showing the world how to behave when we demonstrate the very best of what we can achieve.  This is both as a small community in the United Kingdom and a nation who 'kvells' every time Israel sends her citizens abroad to offer vital humanitarian aid during natural disasters such as earthquakes and flooding.  Israel is always there.  The Jewish people are always on hand to help.

The Mishkan, the Tabernacle, is very much on our minds as it is exactly during this week that Moses prepared the structure for its inauguration which took place on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the first day of the month which will begin as soon as Shabbat ends.

For seven days, from 23rd Adar, the Mishkan was erected and dismantled for a week of 'training' whilst Moses took on the role of the Cohen Gadol, the High Priest, initiating his brother and his four sons into the ritual of the priesthood.

On Rosh Chodesh, it was assembled for use (until Gd instructed the people to decamp) and thus began the twelve days of bringing gifts by the princes of the Tribes which are described so beautifully in the Sidra of Naso.

This entire episode, bringing tribes together with brothers working in harmony is the ultimate expression of what Kiddush Hashem looks like. 

Chabad may not have made it to Mars quite yet, but the spirit that they and many other Jews exhibit is built from the same material as that which caused a people who had sunk to such a low level, reach the dizzying heights described above.  We show the world what we can achieve, whether through the contributions we make to the world through science, technology, philosophy and culture or the miracle that is our wonderful State of Israel.  In short, we remind them that we can be a dazzling 'light to the nations' through the darkest and most terrifying of times.

To infinity and beyond!

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov - a happy and healthy new month.

Ki Tissa: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

 It was around the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Roald Dahl, the gifted mind who gave the world 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'James and the Giant Peach', 'The Witches', 'The BFG' and other classic books, that the following notice appeared on his official website:

‘The Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company deeply apologise for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by Roald Dahl’s anti-Semitic statements.  Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl's stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations.  We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words.’

This was followed a few weeks later, on 12th February by another admission of guilt on Twitter by the world-famous pop star, Justin Timberlake.  He wrote:

‘I have seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond.  I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right.  I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed...’

Lest we forget why these apologies were issued, let us remind ourselves of the events that led to their appearances.

Roald Dahl was no friend of the Jewish people.  In a now infamous interview in the New Statesman in 1983, he said:

“There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity, maybe it’s a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews...I mean, there’s always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere.” 

As if he hadn't caused enough offence, he added,

“Even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason.”

Justin Timberlake, who had dated the teenage pop singer, Britney Spears, did not specify exactly what he had done to shame her in public (as per his admission).  He also acted improperly after the embarrassment caused by the notorious incident involving Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl performance in 2004.  Whilst she was severely excoriated by the media, he exonerated himself, leaving her to bear the brunt of the ugly aftermath.  Her career stagnated whilst his soared.

We have become used to numerous politicians and occasional sports personalities having to issue half-hearted apologies to salvage their careers.  It is, however, unusual to witness two admissions of guilt so close together that seemingly appear to be genuinely felt.  No doubt Mr Timberlake's confession will have come to the fore as a result of the widely discussed documentary on Britney Spears, but the language seems to indicate that he had been dwelling on his actions for a considerable amount of time.  I would like to believe that the same applied to the family of Roald Dahl who seemingly waited for an opportune moment to try, as it were 'to clear his name'.

How could they have reached a higher spiritual and physical peak?

Having survived hundreds of years in captivity and witnessed the greatest empire in the known world brought to its knees by the Ten Plagues and the splitting of the sea, the Israelites wanted for nothing.  They were fed on a daily basis, provided with their every need and had been given the extraordinary gift of the Torah by no less than the Master of the Universe Himself.

And then it all went so terribly wrong.

Bernie Taupin's lyrics to "Sorry seems to be the hardest word", sung so beautifully by the writer of the melody, Elton John sum up the difficulty we all have in apologising:

"What I got to do to make you want me?
What I got to do to be heard?
What do I say when it's all over babe?
Sorry seems to be the hardest word."

 © Hst Publishing Ltd., Rouge Booze Inc.

 

Then the Lord said to Moshe, “I have seen this people; it is a stiff-necked people so do not try to stop Me when My anger burns against them.  I will put an end to them and make of you a great nation.” ( Exodus 32:9 :)

Can we put ourselves in Gd's position and understand His rationale?

Of course, we cannot do this because we are human but we understand the anger that comes about as a result of ingratitude and betrayal.  We appreciate why Gd, Whose Ten Commandments began with the statement that they should remember that He and only He was their (and our) Gd - there could be no other.  Yet, here they were, worshipping a Golden Calf in His stead.

Gd wanted to destroy the people and reboot the Israelites through Moses, the Lawgiver, the only human that:

The Lord would speak to Moshe face to face, as one person speaks to his friend. (Exodus 33.11)

In this week’s sedra, we find ourselves at the first crossroads in our burgeoning existence.  It is literally 'touch and go' and we see that Moses' response was a masterstroke to assuage Gd.  The offshoot of his efforts are that:

                The LORD relented from the Evil He had spoken of doing to His people (Exodus 33.11)

This is not to indicate that Gd was any less angry with us than before.  The long conversations between Gd and His servant are reported throughout the rest of the sedra, to the point where Moses has to almost sacrifice himself to prove his dedication to ensuring the survival of the nation he has led out of slavery.

The long road back to both forgiveness and renewal only takes shape once Moses descends the mountain with the second set of Tablets on the 10th Tishri, which hitherto we know as Yom Kippur.  To reach that point, though, he has to say 'sorry' in a way that the Lord will accept his plea and we, the Jewish people will be able to employ to ask for our own forgiveness.  Through our Selichot.  Our prayers of supplication.

The apology apparently sincerely offered by Roald Dahl’s family and Justin Timberlake himself are the first step to proving that although 'sorry may be the hardest word', it is one that opens a channel for reconciliation and renewal.  But like Moses' first tentative steps on Mount Sinai, it is not enough to totally convince their audience that their previous misdemeanours have been completely forgiven.  We will judge the veracity of their statements by how both entities behave in the future.  Will the family of Roald Dahl do anything more to demonstrate their desire to build bridges with the Jewish Community?  Will Justin Timberlake act in an improper fashion in the future?  Only time will be able to show us.

It took much more for Moses to introduce the concept of praying for forgiveness on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.  That we still need this day 3,333 years later attests to the fragile relationship between the wrongful actions we do and the reparations we need to make to fully apologise to both our peers and the King of the Universe.

Because, after all these years, sorry still seems to be the hardest word - and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  It might be difficult to apologise, but if it is truly meant, it can also be one of the most beautiful five-letter expressions in the English language.

Shabbat Shalom.

Yitro: How Can I NOT Covet?

Joe Cohen's alarm goes off, but as he's had a very late night, he sleeps right through it. He wakes up in a panic, throws on his suit as quickly as he can and rushes out the door to drive to work. He then hits the rush hour traffic head on and looks nervously at the clock on his dashboard. Arriving half-an-hour late, he pulls into the company car park, fearing how much trouble he will be in but cannot find a free spot to park. Having driven around the lot and checked out each potential space, he stops his car in desperation and looks up towards the heavens. He is not a religious man in the least but despite this, he cries out: “Dear God, if you please just give me a parking spot I promise I will go to synagogue every week, will only eat kosher food, and I’ll follow every single one of the Ten Commandments, just PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give me a vacant spot so that I won’t lose my job!” Miraculously, a parking spot opens up right by the front of the building. He then looks back up to the heavens and says, “never mind I just found one!”

On the face of it, each of the Aseret Hadibrot, the Ten Commandments (although literally, the translation reads as 'The Ten Sayings') seems to be achievable.

1. Remember that I'm the Lord your Gd who took you out of Egypt? No problem. That's why we have Pesach!

2. Don't serve idols? It's a no-brainer because I don't.

3. Don't take my name in vain? OK, this one maybe a little more challenging but I can certainly work on my language skills and tone them down with a little more self control.

4. Remember to observe Shabbat. Yes, that is difficult and it will impact on the way I live my life, but there are millions of Jews who are Shabbat Observant and they manage! It's probably one of the more challenging of the ten, but not impossible.

5. Honour father and mother. It goes without saying that they are the reason why I'm here, so of course, I want to recognise their crucial place in being the people who made me the way I am.

6. Don't kill? It wouldn't even cross my mind.

7. Don't commit adultery and be faithful to my partner? That goes without saying.

8. Don't steal? I wouldn't dream of it - it doesn't feature at all in my thoughts.

9. Don't lie under oath in court and act in falsehood against the defendant? Again, not something I would ever do.

10. Don't crave after your friend's £3 million house or lust after his pretty wife or bemoan the fact that he can afford a butler and a maid (noch!) and drive a brand new 2021 registration Porsche 911 (which only cost him an astronomical £73K, but he bought his previous one in 2018)....hold on, that's not so easy!

Nine out of the Ten Commandments are achievable because they rely on our being able to control our physical desires and fit within the moral compass inculcated into our beings by our parents for as long as we can remember. How though can one realistically obey a commandment that forbids such a basic desire in each of us. It's true that I may not be attracted to my neighbour's wife (or husband) but would I really be able to avoid feeling a mite envious as to the luxurious life he or she is leading? Is it such a sin to visit a friend's house and compare it to your own?

In short, how can Gd expect us to keep all Ten Commandments if the final one is nigh impossible to achieve?

In order to appreciate how Chazal, our Sages dealt with this conundrum, we need to take a step backwards and look at the Ten Commandments in a holistic manner. I would also add that the interpretation I am following here relates to the language used in this week's Sidra when referring to the Aseret Hadibrot, as opposed to the slightly different terminology employed in the Sidra of Va'etchanan where Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah is recounted by Moses shortly before his death.

The late Nechama Liebowitz zl, in her masterly 'New Studies in Shemot' book discusses this very problem and quotes the Ibn Ezra (d.1167). He views the entire spectrum of Mitzvot, in other words, all 613 commandments as having been divided into three distinct categories, which are namely:

1. Precepts of the heart

2. Precepts of the tongue and

3. Precepts of doing

He then subdivides each category into does and donts.

In the first section regarding the heart, his 'Does' include the commandment to love the Lord your Gd as well as to ‘love your neighbour as thyself'. 'Dont's' meanwhile cover such commandments as 'don't hate your brother in your heart' or 'don't bear a grudge'.

In the second category regarding actions of the tongue, he includes the commandment to say the Shema twice a day and Grace After Meal ('Benching') whilst dont's refer to our ninth commandment of not bearing a false witness or cursing using Gd's name, which as I wrote is the third of the commandments.

These first two categories (precepts of the heart and tongue) relate to our relationship with Gd. The first two commandments focus on affairs of the heart. In the Shema, we are told to love Gd with all of our heart (bechol levavecha) . If we love Him in our hearts, we will remember what He did for us in rescuing our ancestors from Egypt and we would therefore never consider rejecting Him through serving idols. When we come to the Third Commandment, that of speech, we move from precepts of the heart to precepts of the tongue. This is then followed by the last two commandments, that of remembering Shabbat by the actions that we do (the precept of doing) and then similarly demonstrating our respect for the parents who brought us into the world and reared us - through the actions that we perform.

When we look at the second section, namely the last five commandments which provide a framework for our relationships with others, the obverse comes into play. Firstly there are the 'doing' commandments, namely, 'do not kill/commit adultery/steal followed by the precept of misusing the tongue through providing a false testimony in court.

Which leaves us with the puzzling anomaly of our first question - 'do not covet' which by its very nature would seem to fit within the first precept, that of the heart, yet how can one practically avoid coveting? Unless there is a different way of understanding the commandment or rather the precept that it would be included within?

Numerous Sages struggle with this notion and suggest that, in order for the commandment to make sense, the Torah is referring to the physical actions that might manifest themselves as a result of someone coveting their neighbour. A classic case quoted is that of King Ahab who was covetous of his neighbour Nabot's vineyard and when the latter refused to sell it to him as it belonged to his family, he had him killed, upon the advice of his evil wife Jezebel (Kings 1: 21, 1-16) or indeed David's behaviour when it came to his relationship with the married Bathsheba.

As with most Rabbinic debates, numerous approaches are suggested (i.e. as to whether coveting is considered as being a precept of the heart over the concretisation of those feelings through actions) and at the end of the day, the Ibn Ezra counters these with a beautiful parable:

He says that a peasant may covet a beautiful princess and although his heart might will it, his mind will ensure that he realises the futility of such thoughts. It is as feasible that he would 'possess' this maiden as it would be that he grew wings like a bird! In the same way, a person who holds by the other nine commandments will know that Gd has forbidden him from realising his fantasies. In doing so, he will appreciate his own portion and be thankful for what he has.

The Ibn Ezra posits the notion that whether we hold that coveting is a matter of the heart or indeed a physical act, if we truly love Gd and respect the Torah He gave us, the commandment to avoid coveting lies hand-in-hand with our realisation that what we have is plenty and wanting to have someone else's belongings and treasures is as fanciful as turning into a winged creature. When Gd tells us not to covet, he is instructing us to realise how blessed we are by focusing on our own lives, cars, houses and spouses.

May we all appreciate what we have and recognise the Gd-given internal and external beauty that we have been endowed with, in all of its manifestations.

Shabbat Shalom

Beshalach: The Reed Shoes

Exodus 12:3,11

"Speak to the entire community of Israel and say: On the tenth of this month each man must take a lamb for his family; one for every household...this is how you shall eat it: your belts secured, the sandals on your feet, your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste: it is The Lord's Passover." (Rabbi Sacks' translation).

1770, 60, 3500, 800, 245 and 110,000 – what do these numbers signify?

Along the east bank of the beautiful blue Danube river, an der schönen, blauen Donau, the water laps gently against the concrete walkway. The river has wound its way through three countries from its source in the Black Forest mountains of western Germany and now it is passing through Hungary. Eventually it will cover some 1,770 miles until it flows into the Black Sea, many miles to the east.

Looking at the river from this vantage point, two Hungarian gentlemen, film director Can Togay and sculptor Gyula Pauer conceived and created a monument, erected in 2005 that once seen, could never be forgotten. It consists of 60 pairs of iron cast shoes in the period style of the 1940s, commemorating the massacre of 3,500 people of which 800 were Jews. All having been shot by the fascist Iron Cross militia in Budapest by the water’s edge after having been ordered to remove their shoes. Having fallen into the river, their bodies were swept away along its path. The only remnant of their presence being the shoes they had left behind on the bank moments earlier. The blue Danube had now turned blood-red.

It takes five-and-a-half hours, the equivalent of 245 miles to drive from the "Shoes On The Danube Bank" memorial to Auschwitz, the location of another set of infamous footwear, namely the 110,000 pairs of shoes that were found at the death camp - many of which belonged to children.

If I were to relate these numbers to you in any order, they would seem quite inconsequential, but when you place them in the context that I have quoted in the previous paragraphs, they take on a chilling resonance. Because the numbers are connected by one single word - "Shoah" or "Holocaust.

The 60 pairs of shoes belonging to 3500 people, of which 800 were Jewish, were left behind as their owners were swept along a river that runs its course of 1770 miles.

This massacre took place but 245 miles away from the location where 110,000 pairs of shoes belonged to the same number of people who were butchered. A fraction of the 6,000,000 plus.

Suddenly, the numbers mean so much more, don't they?

No-one knows exactly how many Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds, known in Hebrew as the 'Yam Suf'. There seems to be some speculation that it might have been the current location of Lake Timsah or "Crocodile Lake" in the region of Egypt's Bitter Lakes. It sits in the Nile Delta and according to some people may have been the ancient northern terminus of the Red Sea (which may indicate why we refer to the event as the 'Red Sea Crossing').

If we calculate the distance between the Shoes on the Danube and Lake Timsah, we find that it is 2,388 miles which is another number to add to our chart. However, the one difference that we notice here, is, as the verse I quoted tells us, the people entered the water wearing their shoes and in that situation, their enemies, unlike the Nazis and Arrow Cross were vanquished. There was no Danube or Gas Chambers to record their last moments, but a miracle that allowed them to walk on dry land as the waters stood like a wall 'to their right and to their left' (Shemot/Exodus 14.22)

The common denominator in all the above is the presence of shoes and the very same nation who used them. In this week's Sidra, they were worn by our ancestors as they walked through the waters on dry land. Nearly eighty years ago, they were left behind as our relatives perished without a hope of salvation.

The Israelites, in their time, were blessed by Gd to be able to leave Egypt and witness the miracle of the splitting of the sea. Our relatives did not have that luxury. Even if they had worn their shoes, they would have still met their violent end.

Perhaps the significance of the shoes in both cases is the legacy of the people who did or did not have the fortune to wear them, for at the end of the day, those who lost their lives in the last century were no doubt descended from those who didn’t, due to the miracle they experienced which is described so vividly in this week’s sidra of Beshalach. In both cases, the two generations who were divided by three millennia knew that they were different to the nations that were persecuting them. They held a value system that was so diametrically opposed to those of their oppressors that, in holding steadfastly onto their beliefs, the latter generation paid the ultimate price.

As Jews, we can appreciate the unbroken link that binds both generations and if the shoes teach us anything, it is that, whether they disintegrated in the desert or sit hauntingly dormant in a concentration camp or find themselves replicated along a river, it is the people whose feet inhabited them that really matter.

We, the generations after the Shoah cannot understand why our relatives were persecuted any more than we can wear the shoes that they left behind. It is the spirit of Judaism that permeates any material at any time in every single member of the Jewish people.

Irrespective of our chosen footwear or lack of it.

Shabbat Shalom.

Like

Comment

Share

Va'era: Voldemort in Egypt

It is not an exaggeration to say that 'Harry Potter' is probably ubiquitous.

Every few years, a new product is added to the ever-increasing 'HP' universe, whether this includes a West End Play (‘The Cursed Child’), a new prequel set of films (‘Fantastic Beasts’) or occasional tweets from his creator, Ms JK Rowling. Teaching children, I often throw an HP reference into the mix and at least one child's eyes start to widen excitedly at the prospect that Sir might be a 'Potterhead' - a serious fan of the books and/or films. Muggles like me (i.e. non-Wizards) might be interested in the adventures of said young man and his classmates, but that's about it.

For those of you who think that I have 'lost the plot' and am writing this Sermon whilst ensconced in Hogwart's Secret Chamber (you'll have to read the book or see the film to understand that reference!). Please don't be too concerned as I assure you that the villain of the series, namely the ‘He who must not be named' has been around so long that I think he might have been ministering to Pharaoh in Egypt. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Lord Voldemort (shhhh) can be found lurking around the Palace in this week's sidra! You just have to know which verses to find him in. If that's not tantalising enough, he wasn't alone. Severus Snape is also featured (as are a few other nefarious characters).

Before I continue, I am sure that you will probably be a touch confused by the previous paragraph. After all, traditional Jewish belief holds that the Bible is the Word of Gd. Therefore, if this is the case, how could a wholly fictional group of people, cleverly thought up by a talented author be associated with the events that we will be reading about on Shabbat morning?

Setting the scene, Moses and Aaron are standing before Pharaoh in the Palace (using Rabbi Sack’s translation):

Exodus 7:

“So Moshe and Aharon went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aharon threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned his sages and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians did the same thing by their sorcery. Each threw down his staff, and they became snakes – but Aharon’s staff swallowed up theirs…”

A little later, we read the following:

“Moshe and Aharon did just as the Lord commanded. Aharon raised his staff, in full view of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the Nile’s water turned to blood….but the Egyptian magicians did the same thing by their sorcery….”

Did you notice that Pharaoh's magicians were able to replicate both miracles? In fact, they continued practicing their skills by also successfully mimicking the plague of frogs!

What did it take to become a magician in the Royal Court and who were these people?

I recently purchased a fascinating new book entitled, ‘The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel – Exodus’ which contains one of Rabbi Sack's ztl last projects, a wonderful translation of Sefer Shemot (Exodus). He is joined by world renowned Rabbis and archaeologists who delve into the text and explain the historical background to the second book of the Torah, focussing on Egyptian culture as well as the flora and fauna which are referenced throughout the book. I wholeheartedly recommend this tome to anyone who is interested in this area of study.

One of the topics discussed is the importance and prevalence of magicians, or rather sorcerers (as opposed to modern day illusionists), within Egyptian culture and society.

The Hebrew word for the magicians is ‘Hartumim'. These men were not simply spiritual ancestors of the late Paul Daniels or David Blaine, they were in fact Chief lector priests - a selection of highly educated individuals who had studied medicine and astronomy. Their value to Pharaoh lay in their encyclopaedic knowledge of the 'dark arts' (referring to the HP lexicography) namely the ability to immerse themselves in black magic and summon the kind of evil spiritual forces that we dare not engage with today. If Pharaoh needed a spell cast, he knew whom to turn to, hence their being able to replicate the first few plagues, as well as the 'turn a staff into a snake' trick. As you can imagine, they were feared, granted that magic was 'part and parcel' of Egyptian culture and society.

Most significantly, with regard to the Torah's view of these priests, the magic that they summoned was inseparable from the idolatrous practices that formed the bedrock of Egyptian beliefs. In other words, it is diametrically opposed to the miracles performed by Gd. Which is why, if we look at my first example, although the priests were able to turn their staffs into snakes, it was Aaron's staff that ate the others. Gd was demonstrating His power over the priests' belief that their magic was equal to Divine intervention.

When it came to the first two plagues, Gd wanted the Egyptian priests to think that they had the power to match His intervention in nature, but significantly, we read that, when the third plague, namely, lice was sent into Egypt:

Exodus 8:

Aharon extended the hand that held his staff and struck the dust of the earth and suddenly there were lice on the people, on the animals….the magicians tried to produce lice with their sorcery, but they could not….”This”, the magicians told Pharaoh “is the finger of Gd”.

Dr Racheli Shalomi-Hen who has a PhD in Egyptology comments in the book that, "The Egyptian magicians did not manage to remove the plague of lice from Egypt and for this failure they give the reason that does not appear anywhere else in Tanakh: “This is the finger of Gd.” She quotes a 20th Century scholar of Arabic and Hebrew A.S Yahuda who believes that this is a Hebrew translation of an ancient Egyptian phrase found in several tomes which refers to the 'fingers of Gd that do damage to other gods'. Perhaps, she writes, "The Egyptian magicians....may have felt powerless in the ‘fingers of Gd’- they were subject to Gd's grace and viewed the lice as a punishment - such as a metaphorical finger pointing at them. In other words, the lice were also ‘an expression of Gd's wrath’ against Egypt.”

The Torah's view of the Hartumim is very clear and we are instructed not to engage in such practices. The 'dark arts' as Ms Rowling referred to these practices are not to be tolerated amongst the holy Children of Israel.

Which brings us full circle to my original claim. Voldemort and his evil companions may not have been named in the books of the Torah but the belief system that they value so highly is anything but fictional.

When Gd brought the mightiest Empire the world had known to its knees, He proved that true magic is created when people build a society founded on the ethical principles detailed in His Divine Book, the Torah.

Eat your heart out, Tom Riddle!

Shabbat Shalom.

Parshat Vayechi: Yitzchak and Yaakov

Jacob Cohen is about to die.  He is sitting up in bed and is surrounded by his three children.

He says to his oldest son, “David, you are my firstborn son.  I am so proud of your achievements.  Not only are you one of the top cardiologists in this country, your skills and reputation is renowned throughout the world.  I can't express how proud I am of you.  May Gd protect you and let His countenance continue shining on you.”

David who is close to tears, replies, “Thank you Daddy.  I couldn't have achieved all of this without your constant support, especially when I was starting out in my career.”

He turns to his daughter and says, “Miriam, my beautiful only daughter!  You have been there for me at all times, taking care of my every need, particularly since the tragic early death of your mother Esther.  I couldn't have wished for a better daughter.  You're also a pretty fine Solicitor.  May Gd bless you forever.”

Miriam, who is sobbing, mouths the words, “Thank you.”

He looks straight ahead at his youngest son, Simon.  “Simon, my darling little Simon.  How have you grown into being this confident young man?  Your loyal customers keep on coming back to you, year after year.  And here you are, at your old Daddy's side, making me smile like you always do.  Simon, you should always be blessed by Gd.”

Simon, who has managed to hold back the tears, feels them flowing freely down his cheek.

One by one, the children ask what they can do for their father.  Jacob says nothing but smiles at all three.

And then. after a minute's silence says, “My darling children, I have one question for all of you.”

They reply in unison, “Yes Daddy?”

“If you're all here, who is taking care of the shop?”

It may be THE oldest joke in every elderly Jewish comic's repertoire, but it was one of the first thoughts that came into my mind when considering this week's Parsha.

The Patriarch Jacob (not Cohen) is one-hundred-and-forty-seven years old and he is sitting on his deathbed, in the company of his children and grandchildren.  He wants to impart his knowledge and wisdom to them:

Genesis 49:1-2

Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come.  (2) Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob; Hearken to Israel your father.”

Going back to the joke.  At the most opportune moment, Jacob and his ancient namesake are placed in a rare position of being able to communicate their wisdom with their respective children, with the reassurance that they are actually listening to either man!

As a father myself, I often try to share some advice based on my own experiences with my children.  As is the wont of many young people these days, they are not always as receptive of my ‘wisdom’ as I would like them to be.  Then again, when I think back to my own situation at their age, I don't know if I was any different.  Getting older and making my own mistakes has impressed upon me the value of the lessons that my parents tried to teach me, which they too learned from ‘the school of hard knocks.’  As the old saying goes, “When I was fifteen, my parents knew nothing.  By the time I reached eighteen, it's amazing how much they had learned!”

Modern day Jacob makes sure that he lets his children know how much he loves them and is proud of who they are, whether through their own professional achievements or character traits.  He also reminds them that, despite everything, life has to go on. Even at this critical time (hence the quip about running the business).

On the same vein, there is the other joke where someone asks a friend to look at their watch and then says, “You see this Rolex?  Isn't it a beauty?  It should be, my grandfather, Gd rest his soul, sold it to me on his deathbed!”

Each and every one of us knows that one day, our lives will transition to a new existence and we will no longer be able to communicate with our loved ones in the same way.  That is why we try to leave a legacy, either to our children or extended family, friends and colleagues.  It adds a dimension to our lives that exists beyond the time we have been allotted - so although we may pass away, someone needs to ensure that ‘the shop stays open and functioning’.  Whatever form that 'shop' may take.

The year 2020 has brought this idea sharply into focus.  We have lost so many people to Covid and other diseases.  Many of those who died have been amongst the well-known great and good whilst others were wonderful people who weren't that well known to the general public.  Nevertheless, their passing was no less traumatic or painful to those who knew them because, as the late lamented Dr Seuss said, “To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.”

The Jewish World lost many great sages (may their memories be blessings to all of us) but two of the deaths hit me particularly hard as they were both my teachers - Rabbis Jonathan Sacks and Irving Jacobs.  Although I did not have the zechut (the merit) to study with both men over a long period of time, their teachings will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Rabbi Jacobs was a world-renowned authority on Midrash.  His encyclopaedic knowledge was breath-taking to behold but just as astonishing was the way he calmly shared his ideas to all who were able to benefit from being in his presence.  Like Rabbi Sacks, his entire being was focused on sharing his love of Torah and letting its magical words fall like raindrops onto the parched earth.

As John Lennon wrote in Across the Universe, “His words (of Torah) flowed out like endless rain.  We were the paper cups that received them gratefully and watched as they slithered whilst they passed away across the universe.”  The purity of Rabbi Jacob's thoughts and the vastness of his wisdom has enriched my universe and helped to keep the flame of the Torah burning throughout the Jewish world and beyond.  To me, he was the world.

Dipping into the fountains of Torah, both men could have spent their time focusing on constructing their own ivory towers and would have been as respected as they became if they had done so.  Instead, they were worried about 'who was running the shop? 'How the Jewish people would be able to survive the spiritual challenges that we currently face?’ (Ironically at a time when it has never been so accepted to live as a free Jew in the modern world).  Rabbis Sacks and Jacobs may not have been our biological fathers but in terms of the gifts they bequeathed, they might as well have been.  On losing them, we all became orphans.

Rabbi Sack's Hebrew first name was Yaakov and Rabbi Jacob's was Yitzchak (which he shares with my father (till 120), which as you know, refers to two of the three Avot, the Patriarchs.  Additionally, Rabbi Jacob’s surname was the English equivalent of Rabbi Sack’s name!  How much more of a blessing could any of us hope to receive from such names?  After all, this week’s Parasha contains the beautiful blessing or Hamalach Hagoel that we bestow upon our children and youth at Simchat Torah, “May the Angel who rescued me from all harm, bless these boys.  May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac….”

And now, we are entering a New Year whilst waving a bitter farewell to 2020.

Let us dry our tears and remember the legacy that we received, because we owe it to them to live up to the blessings they bestowed upon us.  We also need to make sure that, at the same time, we are 'taking care of the shop' - our continued Jewish heritage.

Rabbi Sacks wrote:

"Teachers open our eyes to the world.  They give us curiosity and confidence.  They teach us to ask questions.  They connect us to our past and future.  They’re the guardians of our social heritage.  We have lots of heroes today – sportsmen, supermodels, media personalities.  They come, they have their fifteen minutes of fame, and they go.  But the influence of good teachers stays with us.  They are the people who really shape our life.”

Rabbi Sacks and Rabbi Jacobs were my teachers and I shall treasure the lessons they shared with me.  Most of all, I will try to ensure that, in doing so, I will keep on ‘taking care of the shop.’

Shabbat Shalom.