We are going to play a game.
I will quote a slogan devised by a council or city and see if
you can guess which area I am referring to:

1. 'The County of Opportunity' (Hertfordshire)
2. 'Putting the Community First' (Barnet)
3. 'Building a Better Borough' (Brent)
4. ' Home of the Derby' (Epsom)
5. 'Inspiring Capital’ (Edinburgh)
6. 'It's not quite heaven, but it's better than Devon'/ (Cornwall - also 'where we sell
proper pastys' and other witty examples.)
7. 'Surrey welcomes you to.... Surrey'
‘Public relations’ is key in being able to sell a location to people, who might wish to either
visit an area or live there.

Let's look at how the Torah 'sells' Sodom to anyone who wished to live there (a few choice
verses) ....
Genesis 10:19
The [original] Canaanite territory extended from Sidon as far as Gerar, near Gaza, and
as far as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, near Lasha.

This first reference denotes the geographical territory of the descendants of the sons of
Noach.
Genesis 13:12-13
Abram remained in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the Plain,
pitching his tents near Sodom. Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked
sinners against the LORD.
Genesis 18:20
Then the LORD said, “The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their
sin so grave!

Isaiah 3:9
Their partiality in judgment accuses them; They avow their sins like Sodom, They do
not conceal them. Woe to them! For ill Have they served themselves.
Jeremiah 23:14
But what I see in the prophets of Jerusalem is something horrifying: Adultery and false
dealing. They encourage evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness. To Me,
they are all like Sodom, and [all] its inhabitants like Gomorrah.
The Bible doesn't popularise Sodom, even in later books.
It's not bad enough that it was destroyed, along with Gomorrah, but the Prophets
continuously use the city as a benchmark for what is considered to be the byword for "evil
and immoral behaviour".
In modern (and ancient) English, the city even lends its name to an
immoral act (that I won't mention here), which is directly derived from the Bible.
So why is Avraham Avinu praying for this cesspit to be saved?
What is going on here? Doesn't he believe the PR?!
We are told in Genesis 18:23-24
Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the
guilty? What if there should be fifty innocents within the city; will You then wipe out
the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it?
Our Rabbis tell us that the Patriarchs were each endowed with a unique character trait - a
middah (literally, the ‘measure’ of a person).
Avraham's was Midat Hachessed - a deep and genuine level of kindness towards all fellow
human beings. Yitzchak's was Gevurah – inner spiritual strength (as witnessed in his response to the Akeida/binding) and Yaakov's was Middat Ha’emet - truth.
Coming back to Avraham, whilst Gd gave him ten tests (ending with the Akeida), he never
flinched from his beliefs and wish to show kindness to anyone - from the hospitality he
showed towards the Angels who visited him at the start of the Parashah, to his humanity
towards Hagar, despite Sarah's wish to drive her away. Avraham was a true mensch.
He lived and breathed chessed, hence his wish to try to do his best to save the people in a
city, who frankly, didn't deserve to be rescued.
Last Wednesday (13th November), we marked 'Annual World Kindness Day'. The official
website is called "Random Acts of Kindness" and the movement's slogan is "Making
kindness the norm".
Ideas to promote the day include:
• Sending an encouraging email to someone you know
• Complimenting drivers on how well they parked their cars
• Finding out something new about a co-worker
• Wheeling out your neighbour's bins
• Using energy efficient lightbulbs
• Avoid jumping to conclusions
At times, when we switch on the TV, radio, computer or even read a newspaper, we get a
sense that there is so much evil out there, that kindness seems to be have been eclipsed by
the darkness of human nature.
The city of Sodom where Lot chose to live, surrounding himself with a society that was
thoroughly immoral, did not deserve any sort of reprieve - yet Avraham did everything he
could to obtain this - and Gd, who had declared his intention to destroy the city, listened and
even agreed to pardon those who were unpardonable - because there was one good man
whose kindness, whose chessed could have tipped the balance.
Had he succeeded, had Sodom possessed ten good men, then the PR it received could have
been upgraded and rebranded and the English language would have had to find another word
to describe the immoral act.
Many years later, the evil people in a city called Nineveh found themselves in a similar
situation and yet, with Teshuvah, with repentance, they managed to avoid such a fate.
Avraham's chessed shows us that, when there is good in the world, it can bring light to even
the most overcast night - with chessed, there is always hope.
The middot that we learn from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov have been inculcated into
our collective psyche and although the wonderful idea of "Word Kindness Day" is a panacea
to a difficult world situation - we can, if we wish, make each day a 'world kindness' one.
Our fellow citizens look to us to set the example and if we show kindness, courage and
honesty in the way we portray ourselves - could we ever create a better slogan for the Jewish
people?
Shabbat Shalom.
17 November 2019
10 November 2019
Lech Lecha- Saving (Private) Lot (09/11/2019)
"In
the last Great Invasion of the Last Great War, the Greatest Danger for Eight
Men was Saving...One...."
This was
part of the tagline for what is arguably one of the greatest war films ever
made - 'Saving Private Ryan'.
When it
came out 21 years ago, veterans of the D-Day Landings, such as G.I. Frank
DeVita, said that the first twenty minutes of the film were accurate. Others
said that they represented the closest that non-combatants could get to the
horror that faced the soldiers who risked (and in many cases, lost) their lives
on 6th June, 75 years ago on Omaha Beach, Dog Green Sector.
Frank was
only 19.
If you've
seen the film, you know how harrowing some of the scenes are, as the eight
soldiers fight their way through France to find the elusive Private Ryan and
save him - his parents last remaining child. The only one of the his brothers
who hasn't been killed in battle.
The Israeli
Army has a dictum that no soldier is ever left out on the field and they will
go to extraordinary lengths to rescue our wounded brothers on the field of
battle.
So, from where
does this noble idea emanate?
[The
invaders] seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions and
went their way. (12) They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, and his
possessions, and departed; for he had settled in Sodom.
(14) When
Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he mustered his retainers,
born into his household, numbering three hundred and eighteen, and went in
pursuit as far as Dan.
'שמנה עשר וגו THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN — Our Rabbis
said, “It was Eliezer alone whom he armed and it (318) is the numerical value
of his name” (Nedarim 32a).
(15) At
night, he and his servants deployed against them and defeated them; and he
pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. (16) He brought back
all the possessions; he also brought back his kinsman Lot and his possessions,
and the women and the rest of the people.
Avram, one
man with possibly a single servant (if you follow Rashi's dictum which is how
it is accepted) went to war against the four kings - just in order to rescue
his nephew. Can you imagine that?
Why did he
do it - because he knew that it was the right thing to do.
He knew
that he had to save his 'Private Ryan'.
He had no
option but to risk his life, putting into jeopardy the future of his progeny,
leaving his wife possibly widowed. Losing everything he could aspire to be.
Because.
In that
war, the greatest danger for two men was saving one man.
Avram and
Eliezer, risked their lives simply to save one man, who had previously
preferred to leave his uncle and live in the sin drenched hellhole that was
Sodom. A city that would soon be found to be unredeemable by Gd, as we will see
next week.
Avram cast
his own mortality to the winds because there was something more important to
do. He had to rescue Lot, irrespective of how much he did or did not deserve to
be saved.
3000 years
ago, he established the dictum - you never leave a man out there on the field,
whatever the price.
In
Whitehall tomorrow and next week and on Monday at 11.00 am, we will remember
those of our nation who made the ultimate sacrifice and paid for it with their
lives.
They fought
an enemy who knew no mercy, in wars that made little sense and in which
millions of people were killed in battle or murdered through a deliberate and
state endorsed policy of genocide.
They too
engaged in suicidal missions which many knew might not succeed and which would
and, in many times, did cost them and their families dearly. Yet, like Avram
and his servant, outnumbered, out-gunned, out-witted and out-manoeuvred, they
still threw caution to the wind and did what they could to save their own
Private Ryans.
And it is
for this reason that today, we, the fortunate ones, owe them, the victims of
war, our greatest respect and gratitude and we remember them precisely because
of what they did - and the victory that their colleagues eventually
achieved.
Every day
in many different locations, our Avrams and Eliezers, our Wingates and Montys,
our Dayans and Rabins fight the battles that were they to lose, we could not
win.
May the
memories of every single serviceman and woman who fell for this country be in
our minds, hearts and thoughts and may they rest in eternal peace, Amen.
Shabbat
Shalom.
20 October 2019
Shabbat Chol Hamo'ed Sukkot - 'Kohelet - Sunlight and Shade'
בס"ד
This is dedicated to my maternal grandmother Chaya Rivka bat R’ Kalman Bienenzucht whose yartzheit was on Shabbat
A few
weeks' ago, The Beatles' Abbey Road album returned to #1 in the pop album
charts (UK) and one of the best songs on the album is "Here Comes the
Sun" by George Harrison.
(1) A
sukkah which is more than twenty cubits high is not valid. Rabbi Judah
validates it. One which is not ten handbreadths high, or which does not have
three walls, or which has more sun than
shade, is not valid....
The Gemara
(Sukkah 22b) raises an interesting question - what if there equal amounts of
sunshine and shade - will the Sukkah be kosher?
It replies
with the answer, that it all depends on which angle you view both the sunlight
and shade.
In the case
where you look at the schach and see them being equal, then the sukkah would be
pasul (i.e. non-kosher) but if you look at the ratio on the ground, where the
beams of sunlight have diffused through the cracks in the schach and therefore
appear equal to the amount of shade, then we allow the sukkah and say that the
schach is "sufficiently dense" and the shade therefore exceeds the
sunlight.
I think
this is an important lesson for all of us.
When we
judge a situation, we need to take in all the points of view before making a
decision about how to act. It would be easy to automatically disqualify the
sukkah if you thought that there was an equal amount of shade - but look at the
roof and then the ground and make your decision.
Rabbi Sacks
in his Sukkot machzor writes that "The book of Kohelet - 'Ecclesiastes'
that we read today is one of the most controversial in the entire Tanach. Its
literal translation (from the Greek) is "one who addresses an
assembly" - 'kehillah' and its inclusion as part of the canon was highly
debated.
(1) The
words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Kohelet was
none other than Solomon, reputedly, the wisest of men.Yet, reading the book,
the Rabbis were struck by what they perceived as being anything but wise, due
to its contradictory statements
The Gemara
relates that Rabbi Tanḥum delivered an entire homily touching upon both aggadic
and halakhic materials surrounding this question. He began and said: You, King Solomon,
where is your wisdom, where is your understanding? Not only do your statements
contradict the statements of your father
David, but your statements even contradict
each other. Your father David said: “it is not the dead who praise the Lord....”
(Psalms 115:17); and you said: “I
thought the dead more fortunate, who have died already, than the living who yet
live” - is it better to be alive than dead? Kohelet seems to answer both
'yes and no'!"
Reading
through the book, one is initially struck by its depressing, bleak tone and
"almost nihilistic" nature - written by a man in his twilight years
who appears to be disillusioned and sceptical about the ability of people to
change the world.
Yet - there
is one word that appears no less than seventeen times in this book. A word that
appears only once in each of the first four books of the Torah and 12 times in
Devarim.
The word is
Simcha - "joy".
Some
examples:
(15) I
therefore praised enjoyment. For the
only good a man can have under the sun is to eat and drink and enjoy himself. That
much can accompany him, in exchange for his wealth, through the days of life
that God has granted him under the sun.
(7) Go, eat
your bread in gladness, and drink your wine in joy; for your action was long ago approved by God. (8) Let your
clothes always be freshly washed, and your head never lack ointment. (9) Enjoy happiness with a woman you love
all the fleeting days of life that have been granted to you under the sun—all
your fleeting days. For that alone is what you can get out of life and out of
the means you acquire under the sun.
(7) How
sweet is the light, what a delight for the eyes to behold the sun! (8) Even if
a man lives many years, let him enjoy
himself in all of them, remembering how many the days of darkness are going to
be. The only future is nothingness!
Kohelet
seems to be reminding us that, even when things look bleak and unremitting, joy
can be found, somehow.
It is a
challenging book to comprehend, which needs more than the few cursory words I
have quoted here - but I think that the message it conveys is that, at this
time, during the festival of Sukkot the only chag which is referred to as -
Zman Simchateinu - the time of our joy - one should always take the time to
look beyond the exterior, to understand the mechanics of what is taking place
beneath - had the Rabbis not taken this point of view, it is very possible that
the majesty and beauty of Kohelet would have been lost to us, in a similar way
that the Book of Maccabees suffered as a result of not being included in the
final canon of the Tanach.
I remember
a TV advert for 'The Guardian' where a skinhead ran towards a well dressed man
and violently grabbed him. One's initial reaction was to automatically side
with the hapless gentleman until you saw the rest of the ad where it showed how
the skinhead" had pulled the man out of the way of some scaffolding which
fell and shed its heavy load - the result of which would have probably killed
him.
The
narration read "an event seen from one point of view gives one impression.
Seen from another point of view, it gives quite a different impression. But
it's only when you get the whole picture, you can fully understand what's going
on"
Coming from
the Guardian, that's quite ironic. But nevertheless, its message has always
stuck with me.
In
conclusion, let us consider how fortunate we are to be able to celebrate these
festivals together, here, in a country that has protected us for so many years.
In light of
the terrible attacks that our people have been subjected to, over the last year
- not least the latest in Germany just over a week ago - it is easy to become disillusioned
and pessimistic - but we should also try to look at the big picture and
remember how blessed we are to be able to worship freely, compared with the
struggles our ancestors faced.
Sukkot, our
Zman Simchateinu should remind us that, like the book of Kohelet, even when all
seems lost - a chink of joy can pierce the gloom if we let it through.
As we leave
our sukkot and enter into the spirit of Shmini Atzeret and ultimately Simchat
Torah - we do so, with the hope that the joy we experienced together will light
the long winter nights.
"Sun,
sun, sun - here it comes".
Shabbat
Shalom and Chag Sameach.
13 October 2019
Parshat Haazinu: Extinction Rebellion & the Torah's Approach to Making Your Mark
“Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a socio-political
movement with the stated aim of using civil
disobedience and nonviolent resistance to compel government action on climate breakdown, biodiversity
loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse (Wikipedia)”
"The group was established in the United Kingdom in May 2018 with about
one hundred academics signing a call to action in support in October 2018 and
launched at the end of October by activists Roger Hallam and Gail
Bradbrook, and others from the campaign group Rising Up!...."
XR’s website, at the time of the group's inception in the UK, stated the
following aims:
- Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
- Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss (ie extinction of animal and plant species in their natural habitats) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2025.
- 3. Government must create, and be led by the decisions of, a citizens' assembly on climate and ecological justice.
In November 2018, five bridges across our lovely River Thames were
blocked. In April, Extinction Rebellion occupied five prominent sites in
central London: Piccadilly Circus, Oxford
Circus, Marble Arch, Waterloo
Bridge, and the area around Parliament
Square."
Last week, XR commandeered an old fire truck and tried to spray fake
blood onto the outside of the Treasury. They lost control of the hose and the
stunt backfired. Five people were arrested for criminal damage.
As of this writing, XR is actively trying to shut down London City
airport having occupied the centre of London since the start of the week. So
far, more than 800 protestors have been arrested, with another 220 detained on
Wednesday.
Reading
XR's list of grievances, there are many that I find I can agree with.
We are in a
situation where the environment is under threat and both animal and plant
species are at existential risk and I do sympathise with XR's concerns but when
stunts like last week's both end up causing damage, at the expense of
ridiculing the perpetrators - I wonder if there is a better way to act?
What's the Jewish way to save the world?
Maybe we can learn something from this week's Parasha.
In the very
last mitzvah of the Torah #613, we are told:
Therefore, write down this poem and
teach it to the people of Israel; put it in their mouths, in order that this
poem may be My witness against the people of Israel.
(20) When I bring them into the land
flowing with milk and honey that I promised on oath to their fathers, and they
eat their fill and grow fat and turn to other gods and serve them, spurning Me
and breaking My covenant,
(21) and the many evils and troubles
befall them—then this poem shall confront them as a witness, since it will
never be lost from the mouth of their offspring. For I know what plans they are
devising even now, before I bring them into the land that I promised on oath.
(22) That day, Moses wrote down this
poem and taught it to the Israelites.
Our Rabbis
explain that this last mitzvah was for every Jew to write his own Sefer Torah,
which would contain the song that makes us the bulk of this week's parasha of
Haazinu.
A song which describes what will happen if we enter the Land of Israel and stray from
the worship of Gd.
It is
interesting to note that the fundamental message contained therein came in the
shape of a song.
What is the
significance of a song?
Let us
think back to the start of Moses' leadership of the Israelites.
When did it
really begin? At the shores of the Sea of Reeds.
Each day, we sing the Shira - the song that our ancestors sang after
they witnessed the miracle of the splitting of the sea. It was the precursor to
the provision of manna and the giving of the Torah. It described the way we
felt about Gd, our independence, our salvation from Pharaoh and the Egyptians
and the bright future that lay ahead.
It opened the way to our journey towards the Promised Land.
And here, we complete that journey with another song. Forty years later,
as Moses completes his last journey on the day of his death.
In both cases, the Torah uses a song to describe our emotions
and feelings.
Can there be a better way to convey a message, than through the medium
of song?
When we think of those significant moments in our lives, how many of
them are accompanied by some sort of soundtrack?
Whether it is the clapping and singing at barmitzvah/batmitzvah or
wedding or sadly, the mournful sound of a memorial prayer when we bid farewell
to our loved ones - music is our companion through life.
It accompanies us wherever we go and whenever we arrive at our
destination.
The harsh words that comprise some of the verses of Haazinu are somehow
softened by the magnificent language used in the verses.
(14)
Curd of kine and milk of flocks;
With
the best of lambs,
And
rams of Bashan, and he-goats;
With
the very finest wheat
—
And foaming grape-blood was your drink.
(15)
So Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
You
grew fat and gross and coarse—
He
forsook the God who made him
And
spurned the Rock of his support.
(16)
They incensed Him with alien things,
Vexed
Him with abominations.
(17)
They sacrificed to demons, no-gods,
Gods
they had never known,
New
ones, who came but lately,
Who
stirred not your fathers’ fears.
(18)
You neglected the Rock that begot you,
Forgot
the God who brought you forth.
Yet,
throughout this, Gd will not forsake us.
(26) I might have reduced them to naught,
Made their memory cease among men,
(27) But for fear of the taunts of the foe,
Their enemies who might misjudge
And say, “Our own hand has prevailed;
None of this was wrought by the LORD!”
28) For they are a folk void of sense,
Lacking in all discernment.
(29) Were they wise, they would think upon this,
Gain insight into their future:
(30) “How could one have routed a thousand,
Or two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
The LORD had given them up?”
(31) For their rock is not like our Rock,
In our enemies’ own estimation.
(32) Ah! The vine for them is from Sodom,
From the vineyards of Gomorrah;
The grapes for them are poison,
A bitter growth their clusters."
You can
deliver a devastating message, but you need to consider the medium that you are
employing - And this is where I believe that XR has missed the proverbial
'trick'.
Blocking
bridges, occupying the centre of London and spray-painting Government buildings
is counterproductive. If you want to really get your message across, do so
intelligently - as we have learned, the medium is as important as the message.
You can have
the greatest message, but if you don't know how to utilise the medium, it's
like drinking the finest quality wine poured out of a watering can.
Perhaps we
haven't completely taken in the lessons that we read year-in and year-out from
the Torah. We are still making mistakes and some of our less salubrious
brethren have indeed grown fat, gross and coarse. The Jewish man whose
reprehensible behaviour led to the rise of the '#metoo' movement is a sad but
relevant example.
But that
doesn't mean the messages are any less relevant today than they were 3,300
years ago. We know that we can all strive to do better - and the Torah tells us
how we can go about this.
In a few
weeks’ time, we will read about the sin of the Garden of Eden, when we first
abrogated our responsibility for 'looking after the environment' by the eating
of the fruit - and the subsequent banishment which led to all kinds of
disasters.
Had Adam
and Eve looked at the consequences of their actions, maybe they would have made
different decisions.
I'm not in
PR and I don't have the answers but if XR wants to get its message across in a
succinct, refined and more successful manner, they could do a lot worse than
looking at the Torah for ideas.
Sometimes
the smallest activities have the greatest impact.
The Scribbler is back!
It's been a while but here I am again...older, maybe a tad wiser and keen to share some ideas. As you may know, I qualified as a Rabbi earlier this year and am very blessed to be leading a wonderful community. I thought it would be fun to share my sermons with a wider audience, so I will be posting them here. Feel free to comment but please try to be polite!
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