Torah Sparks

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TORAH SPARKS

PARASHAT HA’AZINU

October 11, 2008 – 12 Tishrei 5769

Annual: Deuteronomy 32:1 – 32:52 (Etz Hayim, p. 1185; Hertz p. 896)
Triennial: Deuteronomy 32:1 – 32:52 (Etz Hayim, p. 1185; Hertz p. 896)
Haftarah: II Samuel 22:1 – 51 (Etz Hayim, p. 1197; Hertz p. 904)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

Moses recites the poem God had instructed him to write down and teach to
the people. It begins with words of moral teaching contrasting the virtue of
God to the wickedness of Israel. It then tells of God’s goodness to Israel,
Israel’s prosperity and rebellion, and God’s punishment for Israel’s
breaking the covenant. Finally, the poem recounts God’s mercy, promising
that God will save His people from their enemies.

Moses reads the poem to the people and warns them to take it to heart.

God tells Moses to ascend Mount Nebo. He will be allowed to see the
Promised Land from there before he dies.

1. THOSE WERE THE DAYS

They sacrificed to demons, no-gods, gods they had never known, new ones,
who came but lately, who stirred not your fathers’ fears. Devarim 32:17

A. The younger generation is always a little weaker in religious conviction
than the older. But in the past these differences were well within normal
limits. There were differences between young and old such as could be
expected and readily understood. But the gulf existing between the
generations today is wide beyond belief. Indeed, the younger generation
bears no resemblance at all to its parents. It is almost like a new people,
with new ideals – and new idols – that were altogether unknown to the
generation which went before. New ones, who came but lately – a new
generation has arisen who stirred not your fathers’ fears, of which your
fathers could not even have conceived. Attributed to the Hatam Sofer
(Rabbi Moses Schreiber, 1762-1839, Pressburg, Hungary)

B. “Ask your father, he will inform you, your elders, they will tell you”
(Devarim 32:7). In earlier generations, it was possible to say that all were
learned in the Torah. In our times, though, the people are unlearned and
ignoramuses. If a child asks his father anything about Judaism (“ask your
father”), the father will answer: Go to “your elders, they will tell you” – go
and ask your grandfather, because I don’t know the answer. Y. Yefet,
quoting the Magid of Kelm (Rabbi Moses Isaac of Kelm, 1828-1900, Poland)

C. Rabbi Zera said in the name of Rava bar Zimona: “If the former were as
angels, we are as mortals; and if the former were as mortals, then we are as
asses – and not as the asses of Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa or Rabbi Pinhas ben
Yair [animals that appeared to understand the requirements of halakhah],
but as common asses. Talmud Shabbat 112b

D. Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah bar Elai: “Come and
see how the latter generations are unlike the former ones. In former
generations people made Torah their vocation and their trades their
avocations, and they succeeded in both; in latter generations, when people
made their trades their vocations and Torah their avocation they did not
succeed in either. . . . Talmud Berakhot 35b

E. Shalom bayis [peace in the home] in a family whose members are at
different levels of observance is possible, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. In
my own journey, hundreds of questions and concerns have arisen along the
way, on both sides. My family and I have hurt one another’s feelings, made
one another angry, and questioned one another’s values, commitments, and
priorities. But at least we are still very much a family, all of us doing our
parts to maintain family harmony. There are plenty of days when I wish
they would “see the light” and come along on my journey with me. On just
as many days, they wish that I would calm down and return to their level of
observance so that I could eat in their home without all the advance
planning, join them in their synagogue, and stop doing weird things like
wearing a wig all the time. Azriela Jaffe, “What Do You Mean, You Can’t
Eat in My Home? A Guide to How Newly Observant Jews and Their Less-
Obsesrvant Relatives Can Still Get Along,” p. xviii

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

The Hatam Sofer was famous for his vehement opposition to the early
Reform movement in Germany and to any innovation in Judaism. His claim
that each generation is less religious than its predecessor is an old one. Why
do you think the rabbis of the Talmud regarded earlier generations as more
learned and observant than later ones?

In the mid-1900s, it was generally accepted that each generation of Jews in
America would be less observant than their parents. It was believed that
Orthodoxy would soon disappear and the process of assimilation would
continue unabated. That is not what happened. In fact, today it is not
unusual for Jews to be more observant and traditional than their parents.
Are you more or less observant than your parents? Than your children?
Why? Has your family experienced conflicts due to different levels of
observance? How have you resolved (or tried to resolve) them?

2. IT’S ALL TORAH

For this is not a trifling [elsewhere: empty, vain] thing for you: It is your
very life. . . Devarim 32:47

A. For it is no vain thing – and if it is vain, it is your fault [mikem – from
you]. Why? Because you do not labor in the Torah. Jerusalem [Yerushalmi]
Talmud Peah 1:1

B. Why was the Torah compared to a fig? Because all fruits have waste:
dates have pits, grapes have seeds, pomegranates have peels, but the entire
fig is fit to be eaten. Similarly, there is no waste in the words of Torah, as it
is said: “It is not an empty matter for you.” Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua 2

C. The lesson contained in these concluding verses of the Torah is the
importance of each detail. There is nothing superfluous in the Torah and no
sliding scale of values between its different portions. The seemingly most
insignificant and prosaic detail hidden in the folds of a story is of equal
importance to its philosophy and fundamental laws. All goes under the
name of “Torah.” If we can find no significance in a particular detail, if it is
“a vain thing,” then the fault is ours, and due to our lack of understanding,
our failure to labor to discover the meaning. Nehama Leibowitz, “Studies in
Devarim,” p. 354

D. Ben Bag-Bag taught: Study it and review it: You will find everything in
it. Scrutinize it, grow old and gray in it, do not depart from it. There is no
better portion in life than this. Pirkei Avot 5:24

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

The rabbis insist that if you find something in the Torah that seems
irrelevant, worthless, trivial, or obsolete, that is only because you do not yet
understand it properly. Why do they say this? Do you agree? Are there
limits to interpretation? What do you imagine might happen if we were to
skip over the “boring” parts in our Torah reading and study?

Might the same approach be applied to Jewish practice? If there is a
mitzvah you find irrelevant, worthless, trivial, or obsolete, might that be
because you have not yet approached it properly? Are you willing to give
God the benefit of the doubt?

PARASHAT VAYELEKH
SHABBAT SHUVAH

October 4, 2008 – 5 Tishrei 5769

Annual: Deuteronomy 31:1 – 31:30
(Etz Hayim, p. 1173; Hertz p. 887)
Triennial Cycle: Deuteronomy 31:1 – 31:30
(Etz Hayim, p. 1173; Hertz p. 887)
Haftarah: Hosea 14:2 – 10; Joel 2:15-27; Micah 7:18-20
(Etz Hayim, p. 1235, 1236, 1239; Hertz p. 891, 893, 892)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

On the last day of his life, Moses tells the people that it is now time for
Joshua to succeed him. They should not be afraid, because God will
continue to be with them as they conquer the Canaanites as they already
conquered the Amorites. Moses then charges Joshua in the sight of all
Israel.

Moses writes down the Torah (or, perhaps, parts of Sefer Devarim) and
gives it to the priests and the elders. He tells them that every seventh year,
at Sukkot, they are to assemble the people and read the Torah to them.

God now calls Moses and tells him it is almost time for him to die. He
instructs him to bring Joshua to the tent of meeting to hear God’s
instructions. God tells Moses that in the future the people will break the
covenant and turn to alien gods, so that God will become angry and “hide
His countenance” from them. Therefore, Moses is to write down a poem
(found in Ha-azinu) and teach it to the people. It will remind them of God’s
promise and their disloyalty and prompt them to repent.

1. AND BRING THE KIDS

Gather the people – men, women, children, and the strangers in your
communities – that they may hear and so learn to revere the Lord your God
and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching. Devarim 31:12

A. Why did [the children] come? For no other purpose but that a reward
should be given to those who bring them. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki,
1040-1105, France)

B. If the men and women all had to come, it would stand to reason that they
had to bring the children with them, for there would be no one with whom
to leave them. Why, then, did Scripture have to state explicitly that the
children were to come also?

Scripture made the specification “for no other purpose but that a reward
should be given to those who bring them.” Although the children would
come in any case, the Torah made a separate commandment so that it
should represent a good deed in its own right and make those who bring
their children eligible for a reward. Yalkut HaUrim (Rabbi Moshe Uri
Keller, Sanz, Poland)

C. By going to the trouble of bringing their little ones into the Temple, the
parents demonstrate their sincere desire and firm resolve that their children
should remain true to Judaism and heed the sacred words of the Torah. This
show of sincerity on their part will cause the Lord to reward their efforts
with success, so that their children will become imbued with the spirit of the
Torah and grow up to become good Jews. Sefat Emet (Rabbi Judah Aryeh
Leib Alter, 1874-1905, Poland)

D. Young children have a tendency to make noise and can easily disturb
older people who are trying to listen. Therefore one might think that it is
better not to bring them. But even though they do not understand what is
being said, just being there when the king reads the Torah in the presence of
the entire nation will have a major influence on the child for the rest of his
life. He gains an experience of how important the Torah is for the entire
people. This teaches us even today to do all we can that children should
learn at an early age the extreme importance of Torah. Every experience
makes an impression; make sure to give your children many positive Torah
experiences. Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelm, 1824-1898, Lithuania

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

What is the nature of the reward that parents receive for bringing young
children to shul? Do they receive additional “mitzvah points” in their
accounts or is the reward seeing their children begin to grow as Jews? Is
your shul a place where young children feel welcome? If not, what might
you do to make it so? How else might parents (and grandparents and aunts
and uncles) bring young children to God and Torah? Do the children in your
family see the celebration of Shabbat and holidays in their homes? Do they
have Jewish toys, books, and videos? What do you think they are learning
about being Jewish?

2. LINKS IN THE CHAIN

Therefore, write down this poem and teach it to the people of Israel . . . .
[alternate translation: And now, write for yourselves this poem] Devarim 31:19

A. It is a positive commandment for each and every man in Israel to write a
Torah scroll for himself, as it says, And now, write for yourselves this poem.
This means to say, Write for yourselves a Torah that contains this poem,
because one does not write the Torah in separate sections. And even if his
ancestors left him a Torah scroll it is a commandment to write his own. If
he wrote it with his own hand, it is as if he received it at Mount Sinai; but if
he does not know how to write, others write for him. Anyone who corrects a
Torah scroll – even one letter – it is as if he wrote all of it. Rambam,
Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefillin, Mezuzah, and Sefer Torah, 7:1 (Rabbi
Moses ben Maimon, 1135-1209, Spain and Egypt)

B. Rabbi Avraham Binyamin Wolf Sofer commented: From this verse, our
sages, of blessed memory, deduced that every Jew is commanded to
personally write a Torah scroll, as we have learned in the Talmud
(Sanhedrin 21b): Even if a person’s parents have left a sefer Torah, it is
proper that the person should personally write one, as it is written: And
now, write for yourselves this poem.

This teaching of the sages, says Rabbi Sofer, is to teach us not to take the
Torah for granted. Each and every one of us has to accept it anew as though
we ourselves stood on Mount Sinai. The commandment is, therefore, that
everyone should personally write a Torah scroll rather than make do in this
respect with the legacy of one’s parents. Simcha Raz, “The Torah’s Seventy
Faces: Commentaries on the Weekly Sidrah,” edited by Rabbi Dov Peretz
Elkins, p. 389

C. Finally, the Conservative movement likes to emphasize that the halakhah
developed from generation to generation and from country to country.
There is no better proof of this assertion than the holiday of Simhat Torah.
A holiday which began in Babylonia in the tenth century spread to the entire
Jewish world, with each ethnic group contributing new customs which were
then absorbed by klal Yisrael (the collective Jewish people). The Jews of
Babylonia invented the holiday and its name and began to dance on Simhat
Torah. In France, they added the Attah Horeita verses in the twelfth century.
The Jews of Spain began to recite the beginning of Bereishit by heart at the
beginning of the twelfth century while the Jews of France instituted at that
time that a Hattan Bereishit should read the beginning of Bereishit. In
Ashkenaz, they added a hakafah in the evening in the early fifteenth century
while the Ari and his students in sixteenth-century Safed instituted that
there should be seven hakafot around the bimah. Rabbi David Golinkin,
“The Four Faces of Simhat Torah,” Ask.com

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

Rabbi Sofer explains that even a person who has inherited a sefer Torah
must write his or her own “rather than make do in this respect with the
legacy of one’s parents.” How do you understand this? How does a Jew
take ownership of his or her Judaism? Rabbi David Golinkin describes how
generation after generation of Jews added something of their own to the
holiday of Simhat Torah and by doing so enriched all of us. What treasures
of Judaism have you inherited from your parents, grandparents, and
teachers? What have you added to the legacy you received?

Torah Sparks is a project of United Synagogue’s Program Development
Department. For more information or to offer comments, please call Rabbi
Paul Drazen at 646-519-9310 or email him at drazen@uscj.org.
To subscribe ($50 per annum for a paper subscription) or with subscription
questions, please call Leah Rottenberg at 646-519-9311, or email her at
rottenberg@uscj.org. Torah Sparks archives are available online at
www.uscj.org (click on Jewish Living).

PARASHAT NITZAVIM

September 27, 2008 – 27 Elul 5768

Annual: Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20 (Etz Hayim, p. 1165; Hertz p. 878)
Triennial Cycle: Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20 (Etz Hayim, p. 1165; Hertz p. 878)
Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10 – 63:9 (Etz Hayim, p. 1180; Hertz p. 883)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

According to tradition, Moses is speaking on the last day of his life. He
reminds the people that they are entering into a covenant with God and
that those who violate that covenant will be punished severely.

Moses also tells the people that even as God punishes their disobedience
He will not abandon them. When they learn from what has happened to
them and return to God in repentance, God will welcome them lovingly
and bring them back from their exile.

Moses encourages the people, telling them that God’s commandments are
not too difficult or beyond reach. Rather, they are very close, so that every
Jew has the ability to observe them.

Moses concludes: “I have put before you life and death, blessing and
curse. Choose life – if you and your offspring would live.”

1. NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to
observe [literally, to do] it. Devarim 30:14

A. You do not fulfill your obligation by that which is in your mouth and
in your heart. That which is in your mouth and your heart is for you to do.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, 1787-1854, Poland

B. The people of Israel said to Moshe “You have said to us that ‘it is not
in heaven and neither is it beyond the ocean’ – so where is it?” Moshe
said to them “It t is very close to you -- in your mouth and in your heart,
to observe [literally, to do] it – it is very near to you.” (Devarim Rabbah 8)

It happens very often that people think that keeping the Torah and mitzvot
are beyond their capabilities – beyond their reach. Thus the concise
answer comes to teach us “It is in a very close place.” A person might
think that the greatness in Divine attributes is that they are impossible to
achieve. Such a person looks heavenwards longingly toward things that
seem beyond all grasp, thinking: “I wish I could go up to the sky and
bring down these Divine attributes.” But this is not the case. We learn that
the greatness in these Divine attributes is in the fact that they are in fact
attainable for a person willing to have an open heart with which to receive
them. Simcha Raz, “The Torah’s Seventy Faces: Commentaries on the
Weekly Sidrah,” edited by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, p. 381

C. The rabbis say: The fool enters the synagogue, and seeing there people
occupying themselves with Torah he asks: “How does a man begin to
learn Torah?” They answer him: “First a man reads from a scroll [with
selections from the Torah], then the sefer Torah, and then the prophets and
then the writings; when he has completed the study of the scriptures he
learns the Talmud and then the halakhah and then the aggada.” After
hearing all this [the fool] says to himself, “When can I learn all this?” and
he turns back from the gate. . . . But the man who is wise – what does he
do? He learns one chapter every day until he completes the whole Torah.
God said: “[It] is not too baffling for you, but if [you find it] too difficult,
it is your own fault, because you did not study it.” Devarim Rabbah 8:3

D. Rabbi Chayim Shmuelevitz commented on this that the Torah tells us
that regardless of how far away one is, if he is sincerely resolved to
become a better person, he will be able to make an immediate
transformation of himself. When you make a verbal commitment to the
Almighty and to yourself to become a changed person, your very words
put you into a different place than where you were before.

Of course, if you just say that you will change without actually improving
your behavior, you have not sincerely changed. But the words you tell
yourself have a major influence on your behavior. In whatever area you
wish to improve, if you keep repeating over and over to yourself how you
will act from now on, you will notice practical changes. Your verbal and
mental suggestions are very close to you, all you need is a firm decision to
make this effort. Once you have made this decision, you will be
successful as long as you keep up that original resolve of yours.

There are some people, however, who keep making pledges and
resolutions to make positive changes but do not actually carry out their
plans. They have created a credibility gap for themselves. Since they have
already said they would change and have not done so, they are likely not
to really believe themselves. To overcome this, one needs action and
consistency. Just as you should keep your word when you give it to
someone else, so too you should keep your word to yourself. Rabbi Zelig
Pliskin, “Growth Through Torah,” p. 456

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

We always read Nitzavim on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah. During
the Yamim Nora’im [the High Holy Days], many people will resolve to
change their ways, to improve their relationships with God and with other
people. When people make their resolutions, they are heartfelt. People do
want to change. But too often, nothing changes and people repeat the
same resolutions on the following Rosh Hashanah.

Do you believe that people can change? Why do you think that some
people insist that real change is impossible? How do these commentaries
teach that a person should go about making changes in his or her life? Is
this realistic? What changes do you intend to make in the coming year?

2. A GOOD PERSON

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day [ha-yom]: I have
put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life – if you and
your offspring would live. Devarim 30:19

A. Why did Moses stress that he was placing these choices before the
people “today”? Perhaps this word’s message is that each and every day
of our lives, the same choices Moses described stand before us to be
confronted anew. Certainly someone whose behavior has been improper
until now is obligated to choose the path of good for the future. But even
someone who has already chosen that path and remained firmly on it may
not rely on his past performance to guarantee that he will continue to do
good, and must make his choice afresh “today” and every day, because
every day the path of evil and death also stands before him. Every day,
therefore, he must once again consciously choose the good. Rabbi Moshe
Feinstein, “Darash Moshe,” p. 323

B. Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai said: Even if a man is perfectly righteous all
his life, but rebels in the end, he annuls the [good] deeds he had
previously performed, as is said, “The righteousness of the righteous shall
not save him when he transgresses” (Ezekiel 33:12). And conversely, even
if a man was completely wicked, but then resolved on penitence, his
wickedness is never mentioned to him again, as is said, “nor shall the
wickedness of the wicked cause him to stumble when he turns back from
his wickedness” (ibid.). Kiddushin 40b

C. [Moses] returns to exhort them yet again, to tell them that there are two
courses in their hands and it is in their power to walk in whichever they
desire, and there is no power below or above that will withhold them or
stop them. . . . Ramban (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, 1194-1270, Spain)

D. Rabbi Eleazar ben Rabbi Shimon said: The world is judged by the
majority [of its deeds], and an individual is likewise judged by the
majority [of his deeds]. A man should therefore always regard himself and
the world as half meritorious and half guilty. If he performs one good
deed, happy is he, for he has tilted the scale both for himself and for the
entire world, all of it, toward the side of merit; if he commits even one
transgression, woe to him, for he has tilted the scale both for himself and
for the entire world, all of it, toward the scale of guilt. Talmud Kiddushin 40b

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

The word ha-yom, today, appears 12 times in the 40 verses of Nitzavim.
What is the significance of this word? Do you consider this hopeful or
worrisome? What does ha-yom teach us about how we should live a good
life?

It is not uncommon to hear the friends and relatives of someone who has
done something terribly wrong – perhaps struck and killed a pedestrian
while driving drunk – say, “oh, but he’s really a good person.” Might you
consider the drunk driver a good person? Would your opinion change if
he had previously been arrested for drunk driving? What does it mean to
be a good person?

Copyright 2008, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
820 Second Ave., New York, NY 10010
Tel: 212-533-7800 Fax: 212-353-9439
E-mail: info@uscj.org Website: www.uscj.org

PARASHAT KI TAVO
SELIHOT

September 20, 2008 – 20 Elul 5768

Annual: Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8 (Etz Hayim, p. 1140; Hertz p. 859)
Triennial: Deuteronomy 26:1 – 27:10 (Etz Hayim, p. 1140; Hertz p. 859)
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1 – 22 (Etz Hayim, p. 1161; Hertz p. 874)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

Once they are settled in the land, each Israelite farmer is to bring a
portion of his first fruits to the central sanctuary. Standing before the
priest, he recites the declaration expressing gratitude for all the gifts
God has given.

In the third year of the agricultural cycle, farmers are to give the second
tithe of their produce to the poor rather than bringing it to Jerusalem.
Once this is done, the farmer is to recite a declaration acknowledging
that he had done as God commanded.

Moses reminds the Israelites that they have affirmed their covenant with
God, that they have promised to obey Him, and that in return God has
affirmed that Israel is His treasured people.

Moses tells the people that as soon as they cross the Jordan, they are
to set up large stones inscribed with the words of the Torah on Mount
Ebal. They are then to enact a covenant ritual on Mount Ebal and Mount
Gerizim.

Moses then tells the people that if they observe God’s commandments
they will experience many blessings. If they do not obey God, however,
they will experience many curses, culminating in war, famine, plagues,
and exile.

Moses concludes by reminding the Israelites of all that God has done for
them in the 40 years since He redeemed them from Egypt.

1. PLEASE COME JOIN US

You shall then recite as follows [literally, and you shall respond and
say] before the Lord your God: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. . . .
Devarim 26:5

A. These may be recited in any language – the portion of the Sotah, the
declaration of the tithe, the Shema, the Prayer (Amidah), the Grace After
Meals . . . And these must be recited in the Holy Tongue [Hebrew] – the
declaration of the first fruits. . . . Mishnah Sotah 7:1-2

B. “Responding” . . . means in the holy tongue. Hence the sages have
said: Originally all those who knew how to make the declaration did so,
while those who did not know how to do it had it recited to them [so
they could repeat it]. When people consequently refrained from bringing
[first fruits], it was decided that both those who knew how and those
who did not would have the declaration recited to them. For this they
relied upon the verse “And you shall respond,” since responding implies
prompting to respond by someone else. Sifre, Piska 301

C. A tanna recited before Rabbi Nahman bar Isaac: He who shames his
fellow man in public is as though he shed blood. Rabbi Nahman replied:
Well put! Because we see ruddiness depart and paleness take its place
[in the face of the man who is humiliated]. Baba Metziah 58b

D. Rabbi Elazar Ha-Modai taught: A person who profanes the sacred,
despises the festivals, shames a fellow human being publicly . . . though
he be learned in Torah and perform good deeds, shall have no share in
the world to come. Avot 3:15

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

The Sifre makes the extraordinary statement that Jews who were unable
to recite the declaration of the first fruits properly in Hebrew chose to
abandon this Torah commandment rather than suffer the public
humiliation of having to repeat it after the priest. The ritual was changed
so that everyone repeated it after the priest and no one was humiliated.
Elsewhere, the Talmud tells us that the rabbis decreed that all Jews were
to be buried in simple coffins and shrouds to prevent humiliating the
poor, who could not afford the elaborate burial clothes and coffins used
by the rich.

All of our communities include Jews who feel left out because they are
unfamiliar with the various services, they cannot read (let alone understand)
Hebrew, they do not know what to do when offered an aliyah, or they do not
understand the Hebrew and Yiddish expressions they hear around them.
Do you agree that the goal should be to help them learn? What might your
community do to help these Jews participate more fully in shul and other
rituals? Were you ever embarrassed because you did not know or understand
what was going on in services? Can you learn from that experience how you
might help someone else feel more comfortable without embarrassing him
or her?

2. HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?

And you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your
midst, all the bounty that the Lord your God has bestowed upon you and
your household. [Alternate translation: You shall rejoice in every good
thing that the Lord your God has bestowed upon you. . . .] Devarim 26:11

A. If you are in the same situation as the Levite and the stranger – and
they are generally poorer than the average person – “you shall rejoice in
every good thing,” namely in the joy of a person who is satisfied with
his lot. Many times, a person is consumed with jealousy at those who
have more than he does. However, if he looks at those who have less
than he rather than at those who have more, he will be joyful and
satisfied with what he has. Likutei Yehoshua

B. This is a mitzvah. We are obligated to feel joy with what we were
given by the Almighty. Why do we need a directive to rejoice since we
should automatically be happy when we have good things? Man’s nature
is to constantly want more than he presently has. “He who has one
hundred wants two hundred” (Kohelet Rabbah 1:34) Our moments of
joy are mixed with sadness over what we lack. The Torah, therefore,
commands us to rejoice with what we have. We should strive to feel a
joy that is complete. Lack of joy with what we have is destructive both
physically and spiritually. Rabbi Mordechai Gifter, Pirke Torah, vol 2, p. 107.

C. “All these curses shall befall you . . . Because you would not serve
the Lord your God in joy and gladness over the abundance of everything
(Devarim 38:45-47). The Torah does not specify the sins for which the
Jewish people will be punished. The only one that it mentions
specifically is “Because you would not serve the Lord your God in joy
and gladness.” Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Przysucha, 1765-1827, Poland

D. Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be. Abraham
Lincoln

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

Does the Torah actually command us to feel happy? Surely there are
times when happiness would be irrational. What do you think the Torah
means by “You shall rejoice in every good thing that the Lord your God
has bestowed upon you?” Is this an achievable goal? How would you
define joy? What is its opposite? What point was President Lincoln
trying to make? Do you agree?

PARASHAT KI TETZE

September 13, 2008 – 13 Elul 5768

Annual: Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19 (Etz Hayim, p. 1112; Hertz p. 840)
Triennial: Deuteronomy 21:10 – 23:7 (Etz Hayim, p. 1112; Hertz p. 840)
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:1 – 10 (Etz Hayim, p. 1138; Hertz p. 857)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

Differing systems of enumeration find 72 or 74 of the Torah’s mitzvot – more
than 10 percent of the 613 – in this parasha. It opens with three difficult laws –
the treatment of a woman captured in war, the rights of a firstborn son of an
unloved wife, and the punishment of a “wayward and defiant” son.

A person must return lost property to its owner and must help someone trying to
raise a fallen animal. Men and women may not wear clothing associated with the
other gender. A person must shoo away the mother bird before taking eggs or
chicks from her nest. The roof of a house must have a parapet or railing.
Mixtures – of different types of seeds in a single field, of an ox and an ass yoked
together, or wool and linen in a single cloth – are prohibited.

A man who marries a woman and then falsely claims she was not a virgin is
flogged, fined, and forbidden to divorce her. If the claim is true, the woman is
put to death. Adulterers, both male and female, are to be put to death. Laws
concerning rape are given. The Torah names those who may not be “admitted
into the congregation of the Lord.”

Laws concerning impurity and hygiene in military camps are given. A runaway
slave must not be returned to his master. Cult prostitution is forbidden. Jews
may not take interest on loans made to fellow Jews. A person must fulfill his or
her vows. A man is permitted to divorce his wife. Laws concerning collateral on
loans are given.

No one may oppress the powerless – poor laborers, strangers, widows, and
orphans. The rituals of yibum, Levirite marriage, and halitzah, the ritual carried
out by a man who does not wish to marry his dead brother’s childless widow,
are given. A person may use or own only completely honest weights and
measures.

We are commanded to remember Amalek.

1. FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS?

If you see your fellow’s ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must take
it back to your fellow. If your fellow does not live near you or you do not know
who he is, you shall bring it home and it shall remain with you until your fellow
claims it; then you shall give it back to him. You shall do the same with his ass;
you shall do the same with his garment; and so too shall you do with anything
that your fellow loses and you find: you must not remain indifferent. Devarim 22:1-3

A. If someone returns the beast and it runs away again, and when he once more
returns it, it runs away a second time, even if this goes on five times, he must
return it each time, as it is said, you must take it back to your fellow [hasheiv
t’shiveim, with the verb doubled]. If he [the finder] brings it back to a place
where others can see it, and it is stolen or lost, the responsibility is still his. The
responsibility remains his until he restores it to the possession of its owner.
Sifre [a collection of Midrash halakha], Piska 222

B. A man who finds Torah scrolls must read them at least once every 30 days –
if he cannot read, he must roll them open and reroll them. . . . A man who finds a
garment must give it a shaking at least once every 30 days, and spread it out [to
be aired] to preserve it, but not to enhance his own status. Silver and copper
vessels may be used, so that they [do not tarnish but] remain fit – not, however,
in such a manner as to wear them out. Gold and glassware may not be touched
until Elijah comes. If a man finds a sack, a basket, or any other object it is
beneath his dignity to pick it up, he need not pick it up. Baba Metziah 29b

C. [Y]ou must not remain indifferent [literally, you may not hide yourself]. Why
did the Torah not use here the imperative form, as with all the other
commandments? Why does it use “may”? A person without integrity who finds
a lost article could say: It is beneath my dignity to deal with restoration of the
lost article to its owner. I will pretend that I have not seen it. Be it known,
therefore, that “you may not hide yourself.” Even if you hide yourself from
other people, you may not hide yourself from the Holy One before Whom all
mysteries stand revealed. Simcha Raz, “The Torah’s Seventy Faces:
Commentaries on the Weekly Sidrah, edited by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, p. 363

D. Rabbi Yohanan said, “there are three whose merit the Holy One proclaims
every day . . . and a poor person who returns a lost object to its owner.
Pesachim 113a

E. The root reason for this precept is evident, because in this lies a useful benefit
for all and harmony for the land, since forgetfulness is common in all [humans];
moreover, all their domestic and other animals always run off hither and thither.
With this mitzvah, which exists among our people, animals and objects would
be kept wherever they might be in our holy land as though they were under the
hand of the owners. Sefer HaHinukh (attributed to Rabbi Aharon of Barcelona,
13th century, Spain)

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

The mitzvah of returning lost property is not passive. One must care for the
property actively (whether it is living creatures or objects) and actively try to
find the owner. Why is it important that people make an effort to return lost
property? Sefer HaHinukh sees in this mitzvah “a useful benefit for all and
harmony for the land.” What does he mean by this? How would it affect society
if people were diligent about returning lost property? If, alternatively, everyone
practiced “finders, keepers”? Have you ever happened upon a lost object? What
did you do about it? In what ways would everyone returning lost property affect
the land?

2. I’LL FLY AWAY

If, along the road, you chance upon a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground,
with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs,
do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother go, and take only
the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life. Devarim 22:6-7

A. If (as a reward for the observance of) an easy commandment connected with
which there is no monetary loss the Torah has said, in order that you may fare
well and have a long life – how much greater will be the reward (for the
observance) of commandments that are more difficult. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo
Yitzhaki, 1040-1105, France)

B. Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai taught: The Holy One has revealed the reward for
heeding two precepts in the Torah: one of these precepts is the least onerous,
and the other is the most onerous. The least onerous concerns letting the mother
go when chancing on a bird’s nest – with regard to it, the Torah promises in
order that you may fare well and have a long life. The most onerous concerns
honoring one’s father and mother – with regard to it also, the Torah promises
“that you may long endure and that you may fare well.” (D’varim 5:16) So the
two precepts are alike in the reward received in this world for their observance.
Tanhuma [a Midrash collection] Eikev 2

C. Why should the reward for the observance of this one commandment be
so great? . . . Because the observance of this commandment symbolizes the
repudiation of selfishness. The root of all evil and sin in this world, be it in the
rearing of children, in the worship of God, or in the relations between man and
man, is egotism, the failure on the part of the individual to set aside his own
concerns and personal interests for the sake of the common welfare, of an ideal,
or of spiritual perfection. Financial considerations on the part of parents may
deprive children of an education in the spirit of the Torah, and lust for honor or
gain make for strife, jealousy, hate, and many other evils. But once men will be
able to set aside their personal interests for the sake of an ideal, of a great cause,
there will be a thoroughgoing change for the better in all aspects of life ... This
is the moral lesson taught us by the observance of the commandment to send
away the mother bird before taking the young from their nest. You may have
captive in your hands the large mother bird and could use her for food or other
personal gain. But the law of the Torah commands you to consider the welfare
of others and send her away so that she should be able to produce more young
and the species should not become extinct. Avnei Ezel (Rabbi Alexander Zusia
Friedman, 1897-1943, Poland)

D. This also is an explanatory commandment of the prohibition “No animal
from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its
young” (Vayikra 22:28), because the reason for both is that we should not have
a cruel heart and be without compassion, or it may be that the Torah does not
permit us to destroy a species altogether, although it permits slaughter [for food]
within that group. Now, he who kills the mother and the young in one day or
takes them when they are free to fly is considered as though he cut off that
species. Ramban (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, 1194-1270, Spain)

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

Rashi and Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai (in the Tanhuma) draw different conclusions
from the reward promised for sending away the mother bird – Rashi learns that
the reward for other mitzvot must be even greater; Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai
concludes that the reward for all mitzvot is the same. With whom do you agree?
Why? Do you believe that we are or will be rewarded for the mitzvot we do?

Avnei Ezel believes that the underlying reason for this commandment is to
combat selfishness. He also mentions that it promotes the welfare of others by
preventing the extinction of species. Ramban makes the same point about
preserving species. Can you think of other ways in which the Torah urges us to
care for the environment? Are you making an effort to become more “green” in
your home, workplace, and shul? Is there a reason beyond self-interest that we
must care for the world around us?

PARASHAT SHOFTIM

September 6, 2008 – 6 Elul 5768

Annual: Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9 (Etz Hayim, p. 1088; Hertz p. 820)
Triennial: Deuteronomy 16:18 – 18:5 (Etz Hayim, p. 1088; Hertz p. 820)
Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12 – 52:12 (Etz Hayim, p. 1108; Hertz p. 835)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

The Israelites are to appoint judges and officers in all their communities to
insure the administration of justice.

It is forbidden to set up a sacred pillar like those used in idol worship, even if
it is dedicated to God. Idolaters are to be put to death, but only after being
convicted by the testimony of at least two witnesses.

There is to be a central higher court to hear cases deemed too difficult for local
judges. Its decisions are binding.

If and when Israel establishes a monarchy, the king must make a copy of the
Torah and keep it with him at all times, for the king also is subject to God’s
laws.

The priests and Levites have no territory of their own and so must be supported
by the agricultural dues paid by the members of the other tribes.

Sorcery in all its forms is forbidden. True prophets are to be obeyed but false
prophets must be put to death.

After the Israelites have conquered the land and settled in it, they are to
designate three cities of refuge to which a person who commits accidental
manslaughter may flee and be safe from the relatives of the person he killed.
These cities will provide no safety for the intentional murderer.

Rules of war and the treatment of enemies are given. The ritual of breaking the
heifer’s neck – to be performed when a murder victim is found and the killer is
unknown – is described.

1. HEKHSHER TZEDEK

Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land the
Lord your God is giving you. Devarim 16:20

A. This means that you must pursue justice with justice. The means by which
you seek to attain justice must be righteous also. You must not allow yourself to
be guided by the Godless principle that the end justifies the means. Rabbi
Yaakov Yitzhak of Przysucha, 1765-1815, Poland

B. Hekhsher Tzedek has formulated its principles and standards in terms of five
primary areas of corporate practice: wages and benefits, employee health and
safety, product development policies, environmental impact, and corporate
transparency and integrity. With the exception of the matter of transparency,
which is material only in terms of the trust that can be given to the corporate
responses and representations, each other area represents a substantial concern
of the halakhah. While the details of the measurements imposed to assess any
area are closely related to the data that are available to monitor that area, and
will not necessarily correspond to the measures used in antiquity, the goals are
clearly set out in halakhic materials from the Bible and throughout the
development of Jewish law …

In addition to insisting that kosher food manufacturers abide by the fullness of
halakhic demands, Hekhsher Tzedek is also conceived as a tool for the Jewish
consumer to be able to make righteous choices about their kosher eating which
were never possible before. Like consumer ingredient and health information
labeling, this is one more step toward putting into action the goals that God and
the Torah have set for us, and toward which we strive.

The first psalm begins and ends with these words: “Hurray for one who has
not walked in the company of the wicked nor stood in the path of the sinful ...
for the Lord recognizes the path of the righteous.” We have a right, and we
are right, to expect our coreligionists, our kosher food purveyors, to sanctify
God’s name by their business practices and to allow, even to aid us in, the
pursuit of righteousness. Rabbi Avram Israel Reisner, “Hekhsher Tzedek Al Pi
Din” [the complete document is available at
http://www.uscj.org/images/hekhsher_tzedek_al_pi_din.pdf]

C. The government says we can add non-meat fillers. We can’t. We’re kosher
and have to answer to an even higher authority. Hebrew National meats
commercial, 1975

D. What does the Holy One care whether one ritually slaughters cattle and eats
or whether one slaughters cattle by stabbing and eats it? Will some such thing
benefit Him or harm Him? . . . Thus the commandments were given only to
purify human beings. Tanhuma Shemini 7

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

Do the ends ever justify the means? Should a notorious violent criminal be
sent to prison based on partially fabricated evidence? Should a doctor invent
a diagnosis to get an insurance company to pay for a poor patient’s necessary
but uncovered treatment?

The Conservative movement’s Hekhsher Tzedek initiative is based on the
principle that producers of kosher food should follow kosher business practices.
Do you believe that Jewish institutions and business involved in providing for
Jewish needs should answer to a “higher authority”? Why? Some critics of
Hekhsher Tzedek point out that raising wages and providing additional benefits
to workers will raise the price of kosher food. That is likely, although some of
the cost increases might be offset by more energy-efficient plants and processes
and better training. Would you pay more for food that meets the standards of
Hekhsher Tzedek? How much more – 5 percent? 10 percent? 20 percent?

2. ORDINARY PEOPLE

Moreover, he [the king] shall not keep many horses or send people back to
Egypt to add to his horses, since the Lord has warned you, “You must not go
back that way again.” And he shall not have many wives, lest his heart go
astray; nor shall he amass silver and gold to excess. Devarim 17:16-17

A. Said Rabbi Isaac: Why were the reasons of some Biblical laws not revealed?
Because in two verses, reasons were revealed and they caused the greatest in the
world [Solomon] to stumble. Thus it is written: And he shall not have many
wives, lest his heart go astray, whereupon Solomon said: “I will have many
wives and yet not let my heart go astray.” Yet we read in 1 Kings 11:4: “In his
old age, his wives turned away Solomon’s heart after other gods.” Again it is
written: He shall not keep many horses or send people back to Egypt to add to
his horses. Concerning this Solomon said: “I will keep many horses, but will not
cause Israel to return to Egypt.” Yet we read (1 Kings 10:29): “A chariot
imported from Egypt cost 600 shekels of silver, and a horse 150.” Sanhedrin 21b

B. You shall appoint [literally, appoint for you] magistrates and officials ...
(D’varim 16:18) For you, for yourself. First judge yourself and, using the same
yardstick, judge others. Do not be lenient with your faults while judging harshly
the same faults in others; do not overlook sin in yourself while demanding
perfection of others. Toldot Ya’akov Yosef (Rabbi Ya’akov Yosef Katz of Polonya,

1710-1782, Poland)

C. A favorite saying of the rabbis of Yavneh was: I am a creature of God and
my neighbor is also a creature of God. I work in the city and he works in the
country. I rise early for my work and he rises early for his work. Just as he
cannot excel in my work, I cannot excel in his work. Will you say that I do
great things and he does small things? We have learned that it does not matter
whether a person does much or little, as long as he directs his heart to heaven.
Berakhot 17a

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

According to the passage from Sanhedrin, Solomon was tripped up by his belief
that he was somehow not subject to the rules that applied to ordinary people.
We all like to think that we are above average, that our superior knowledge,
skills, and abilities will allow us to avoid dangers that would entrap others. For
example, some people think that they can drink and drive because they are
excellent drivers and know how to hold their liquor; perhaps you know people
who believe rules are not made for them. What would happen if each person got
to decide what laws, regulations, and mitzvot applied to him or herself? Is there
anyone who is not ordinary?

©Copyright 2008, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

PARASHAT RE’EH
BIRKAT HAHODESH

August 30, 2008 – 29 Av 5768

Annual: Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17     (Etz Hayim, p. 1061; Hertz p. 799)
Triennial: Deuteronomy 11:26– 12:28     (Etz Hayim, p. 1061; Hertz p. 799)
Haftarah: Isaiah 54:11 – 55:5             (Etz Hayim, p. 1085; Hertz p. 818)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

Moses tells the people that they are being given a choice – they can have
a blessing if they obey God’s commandments and a curse if they do not.
When they enter the land they will reaffirm this at a covenant ritual at
Mounts Gerizim and Ebal.

Moses now begins to review the commandments that God has given to
Israel. He begins by telling the people that they must obliterate all the sites
and objects tied to Canaanite idolatry. Even after they have done this, they
are not to worship God in these places but must bring their offerings and
tithes to the central sanctuary in the place God will designate. Animals
intended for food need not be brought to the sanctuary to be slaughtered.

The people are warned about false prophets. Even if such a person is able to
produce signs and wonders, if he urges the people to turn away from God he
is a false prophet and must be put to death. Similarly, any person, even
family and close friends, who urges a Jew to worship “other gods” must be
executed. If an entire town has turned away from God, all its inhabitants
must be put to death and all the property within it must be destroyed.

The people are warned against extreme mourning rites and against eating
non-kosher animals. The remission of debts in the sabbatical year and the
obligation to support the poor are taught. The three pilgrimage festivals are
reviewed.

1. THE MONTH OF ELUL

See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the
commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon you this day; and
curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God. . . .
Devarim 11:26-28

A. Rabbi Hanina bar Papa explained: The angel in charge of conception is
called “Lailah.” He takes the drop of semen and brings it before God and
says: “Master of the universe, what shall be the fate of this drop? Will it
develop into a strong person or a weak one? A wise person or a fool? A
wealthy person or a poor one? Whether the person will be wicked or
righteous, this he does not ask. Talmud Niddah 16b

B. If God decreed that a person should be either righteous or wicked, or if
there was some force inherent in his nature which irresistibly drew him to a
particular course . . . how could God have commanded us through the
prophets, “Do this and do not do that, improve your ways, and do not follow
your wicked impulses,” when, from the beginning of his existence, a
person’s destiny had already been decreed? . . . What room would there be
for the whole of the Torah? By what right or justice could God punish the
wicked or reward the righteous? Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot
Teshuvah 5:4 (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, 1135-1209, Spain and Egypt)

C. The Hebrew word for “see,” re’eh, is in the singular. This is to teach us
an important lesson. Should a person say to himself, “As everyone else is
wicked, why should I be any better?” he is told, “See!” Do what is proper
and ignore what everyone else does. If he then says, “How am I to resist all
the temptations placed before me by the Evil Inclination?” know that “I” –
God – will help you. . . . Furthermore, a person should not think to himself,
“Since I once chose an evil path, there is no hope for me any longer.” The
Torah therefore stresses “I set” in the present, to teach us that man always
has the choice of doing good or evil. . . “Before you” – If a person says:
“How am I to know which path is good and which is not?” the answer is
“before you” – if you study carefully the history of the Jewish people, it will
become clear to you. Should a person say: “What hope is there for me, for I
am a sinner, and what about all my sins until now?” the Torah states, “This
day” – that each day should be to you as a new experience, and each day
you have the opportunity of a fresh start. The Gaon of Vilna (Rabbi Elijah
ben Rabbi Shlomo Zalman, 1720-1797, Lithuania)

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

What does the Talmud mean by, “Whether the person will be wicked or
righteous, this he does not ask?” Do you believe that people are truly free to
choose to do good or evil? What motivates a person to choose one or the
other?

This year, as in most years, we read Parashat Re’eh on Shabbat M’varakhim
Elul; the Shabbat when we announce the beginning of the new month, Elul.
We prepare for the Yamim Nora’im, the High Holy Days, during Elul. For
many people, this means reserving synagogue seats, buying new clothes,
and doing lots of cooking.

But there’s more to it. The Gaon of Vilna used the opening words of our
parasha to create a spiritual handbook for the month of Elul (and the rest of
the year). How might you implement his teachings?

2. AMERICAN IDOL?

And curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but
turn away from the path that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other
gods, whom you have not experienced. Devarim 11:28

A. Here you learn that whosoever worships idols turns aside from the entire
way which the Israelites were commanded. Hence our rabbis said: One who
acknowledges idolatry is as one who denies the entire Torah. Rashi (Rabbi
Shlomo Yitzhaki, 1040-1105, France)

B. Our masters taught: Some philosophers asked [the Jewish] elders in
Rome, “If your God has no desire for idolatry, why does He not have it
cease to exist?” The elders replied, “If what was worshiped were something
the world had no need of, He would have made it cease to exist. But people
worship the sun and the moon, the stars and the planets. Should He, on
account of fools, make the world cease to exist?” Talmud Avodah Zarah 54b

C. Under the category of idolatry we must include a form which is
particularly virulent today – the devoting of all energies and thoughts to the
accumulation of wealth and achievement of worldly success. These are the
mighty gods on which they rely, to which they pay allegiance, and for
which they repudiate the Lord on high and forsake His Torah, leaving it
deserted and forlorn in a remote corner. This is the very essence of idolatry.
Akedat Yitzhak (Rabbi Isaac Arama, 1420-1494, Spain)

D. From Judaism’s perspective, idolatry occurs when one holds any value
(for instance, nationalism) higher than God. Thus, a person who, on the
basis of “my country right or wrong,” performs acts that God designates as
wrong is an idolater; his behavior makes it clear that he regards his
country’s demand to do evil as more binding than God’s demand to do
good. Such a person’s claim to worship God – an assertion that was actually
made by some S.S. officers who worked in concentration camps – is plainly
false; the person is an idolater, not a follower of God. Rabbi Joseph
Telushkin, “Biblical Literacy,” p. 425

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

A major theme in this week’s parasha is the threat represented by idolatry
and the need to obliterate all traces of it from Israel. How serious was this
threat to the Jewish people in its earliest years? Is it still a threat today? Our
commentators make it clear that idolatry is not limited to worshiping statues
and images. Idolatry is choosing any god but God. What forms of idolatry
threaten us today?

PARASHAT EKEV

August 23, 2008 – 22 Av 5767

Annual: Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25 (Etz Hayim, p. 1037; Hertz p. 780)
Triennial: Deuteronomy 7:12 – 9:3 (Etz Hayim, p. 1037; Hertz p. 780)
Haftarah: Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3 (Etz Hayim, p. 1056; Hertz p. 794)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

Moses tells the people that if they obey the commandments God will reward
them. With God’s help they are to destroy the Canaanite nations, paying
particular attention to wiping out all their idols.

Moses calls on the Israelites to remember both the hardships of the
wilderness years and how God provided for them during that time. Be
very careful that once you enter the good land you do not forget that
God is still the source of all you have, he tells them. Abandoning God’s
commandments can only lead to tragedy.

Moses reminds the people that all that God has done and will do for them
is not a reward for their virtue and merits. He speaks about the many times
when they defied and angered God, most notably the sin of the Golden Calf.
Moses describes how he prayed for mercy for the people, so that God
ultimately responded by inscribing a second set of tablets to replace the
ones that Moses shattered.

Moses again charges the Israelites to keep God’s commandments and teaches
them the second paragraph of the Shema.

1. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A SELF-MADE MAN

Beware lest your heart grow haughty and you forget the Lord your God . . .
and you say to yourselves, “My own power (kochi) and the might of my own
hand have won this wealth for me.” Devarim 8:14, 17

A. Rich man and poor man meet; the Lord made them both. (Mishlei 22:2)
The rich man generally thinks that he amassed his wealth because of his
brilliance, while the poor are generally looked down upon as ne’er-do-wells
who cannot succeed because of a lack of ability. However, when the “rich
man and poor man meet,” when they happened to be in the same place at the
same time, we can in most cases see that the poor man is no less intelligent
than the rich one. Rather, “the Lord made them both” – it is God’s will
that matters should be as they are. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Berliner

B. Koach, everything, all that makes your creative personality and your
capacity to earn, the intelligence, the skill, the considering foresight,
the physical and mental health, every factor of your existence, of what you
wish for and are able to accomplish, is not the result of the food you eat
but is given to you directly from God. And so also the combination of external
circumstances which bring about the possibility and the success of your work
and endeavors, is dependent on Him and Him alone. He gives you the koach,
the power to make your fortune. The very smallest part of your good fortune
can be ascribed to your own merit. . . . Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, 1808-1888,
Germany

C. This verse is usually quoted in reference to having an awareness of the
power of the Almighty and not becoming conceited due to financial success
or success with an enemy in time of war. I heard from Rabbi Shalom
Schwadron in the name of the Brisker Rav, Rabbi Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik,
that this verse also applies to someone who says, “It was due to my personal
spiritual merits that we were victorious.” We should always realize that what
the Almighty does for us is due to His kindness and compassion and we
should not feel that it was our own righteousness and merits that brought
success. Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, “Growth Through Torah,” p. 406

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

It is human nature to believe that we are responsible for our successes,
while others are to blame for our failures. The Torah sees this as a very
dangerous attitude. Why? How should a person acknowledge God’s role in
his or her success? What do you do to express gratitude to God? How do
you acknowledge or express gratitude for the contributions of other people –
parents, teachers, colleagues, etc.? Are there people to whom you owe a
thank you (and perhaps a nice bottle of wine)?

2. THIS IS A TEST

[The Lord your God] who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your
fathers had never known, in order to test you by hardships . . . Devarim 8:16

A. Whether they will keep the commandments which are associated with it,
that they should not leave any of it over and that they should not go out
on the Sabbath to gather. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, 1040-1105, France)
on Sh’mot 16:4

B. . . . whether you would do His will when He grants you sustenance without
pain (without effort). Rabbi Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno, 1475-1550, Italy

C. The situation in which the Israelites were placed regarding the manna
represented a great trial for them since they entered a desert without food
of any sort and with no way out. They were totally dependent on the daily
portion of manna which rained down and melted in the heat of the sun. They
hungered for it greatly, but bore all their suffering in obedience to God
who might have led them through an inhabited route. He chose, however, to
confront them with this trial in order to test their eternal loyalty to Him. . . .
Ramban (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, 1194-1270, Spain)

D. [God said] it is essential that I find men for whom it suffices to be
provided for wife and family for each day by itself. Men who can cheerfully
and happily enjoy today, carry out their duties for today and leave the worry
for tomorrow to Him Who has provided for today and Who can be trusted for
tomorrow. Only such unreserved confidence in God ensures the fulfillment of
His laws against infringement out of supposed or actual concern about
material necessities. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, 1808-1888, Germany

E. Everyone knows that life is a test. We struggle to make a living, to
raise our children, to build up our communities. Nothing comes easy, and
our test is to deal with the hardships and frustrations in the best way
possible. But what if our livelihood were served up to us on a silver
platter? How wonderful that would be! No more worries about how to pay for
the children’s tuition or the new roof. What if everything we needed came to
us like manna from heaven? Would we consider this a test? Hardly. We would
consider it a blessing. The Torah, however, seems to say otherwise. . . .

[The Lord your God] who fed you in the wilderness with manna . . . in order
to test you. Sforno explains that the test is to see if the Jews would still
follow the Torah when they do not have to worry about their livelihood.

Yes, there is a great test in “bread raining down from heaven.” Affluence
without effort is a dangerous thing. It comes with a great amount of leisure
time and freedom of action. What do we do with that leisure time and that
freedom of action? Do we use our leisure time and freedom of action to taste
the forbidden? This is the great test of the manna.

We are all aware of the test of poverty. We are all aware of the trials and
tribulations of being poor. However, says Sforno, affluence also comes with
great temptations. It puts a tremendous responsibility on a person. This is
the test of the manna, and it is the test for many Jews in these affluent
times. Rabbi Yissocher Frand, “Rabbi Frand on the Parsha”

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

In what way was the manna a test? The commentators offer several
suggestions for what was being tested – obedience, faith, dealing with
poverty or affluence. How do you understand the test of manna? Is it
possible that it tested different people in different ways – some struggled
with faith, others with obedience? How do you think the test of manna
would challenge you?

Do you believe that God tests human beings? How? When God does test
people?, is He gathering information about us or trying to teach us
lessons about ourselves?

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