TORAH LEADS TO A MORAL SOCIETY

      As we draw closer to the Yom Tov of Shevous it is well to remember the true essence of this Yom Tov and its lesson that is so needed in our day and age. I do so by remembering the words of the Rav. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik זצ׳ל.

The Rav, spoke of our past galuyot, exiles, which the Jewish people endured in Egypt and Persia and how our people were subjugated by threatening tyrants whose nefarious plans would have spelled the end of Jewish history.

          It is only from the vantage point of historical distance, as we Jews study the past, may we arrive at some appreciation of the enduring influences which these two exile experiences have had upon the Jewish personality.

          After much involved philosophical, theological and Halachic discussion, the Rav suggested that there are two basic ingredients to a Judaic way of life, to Torah; Faith and Morality.  The Decalogue, the Ten Commandments were, as we know, inscribed upon two Tablets of the Law.  The first five Commandments deal with acts of faith which relate man to his Maker, while the latter five prohibit anti-social acts, between man and his fellow man.

          The Torah introduces the Decalogue with the verse: “וידבר אלוקים את כל הדברים האלה לאמר And G-d spoke all these words saying",  Rashi notes that the verse would be entirely meaningful without the redundant word "all"  stating simply that “G-d spoke these worlds saying, etc.”  He therefore explains, “this teaches us that Hashem pronounced all these words in a single utterance, an impossibility for human beings.”

          What is the significance of G-d’s simultaneous utterance of the entire Decalogue?  It teaches us that all Ten Commandments constitute an indivisible organic unity.  We have not ten commandments but one, with ten aspects.  The word “all” in this context does not mean “all of them,” which characterizes a numerical sum total of independent teachings, but rather a totality, an interdependent oneness of all its seeming parts.  Faith and morality are integrally one and inseparable.

          The Rav presented the following questions: Can a secular state nurture a moral society?  Can a culture which is indifferent to the transcendental imperative inspire ethical performance in private or public life?

          In past decades, secular humanists were certain that man could be induced and motivated to pursue ethical norms without the absolute imperative of the Divine.  Our thesis is that in the long run and for the masses of society, there can be no such thing.  Either man accepts the authority of G-d as the legislator of the moral norm, or he will eventually fail in all attempts to create a moral society, a relativistic man-made moral order will simply not endure. The inability of modern secularism to motivate ethical behavior in private or public life is evidence of this truth.

          The Verse: "When a person sins and commits a trespass against Hashem by dealing falsely with his neighbor", is homiletically interpreted by our sages as follows: He who commits a trespass against Hashem will eventually also deal falsely with his neighbor.  Morality without faith cannot sustain itself.

          An interesting Midrash supports this idea; Rabbi Reuven was asked by a philosopher of Tiberias: “Who is the most hateful, morally dangerous person in the world?” He replied, “He who denies his creator, because the denial of all norms follows if one rejects G-d.  No man violates a law unless he first repudiates the legislative authority of the law.”

           Man can easily rationalize his crime, declare norms to be relative and proclaim himself the arbiter of right and wrong.  With most people, the baser part of their natures will tend to dominate.  Indeed, the moral bankruptcy of secularism is apparent to all students of our contemporary world.

          By declaring the indivisible unity of both tablets of the Decalogue, G-d declared that, without faith, morality cannot be sustained.

          It is equally true that there can be no faith, without loving kindness.  People who are ritualistically observant but ethically deficient destroy Judaism.  The self-righteousness and presumed piety are hypocritical.  Here too, G-d’s combined utterance, proclaim the indivisibility of the entire Decalogue.

          In the final analysis said the Rav, authentic Judaism will prevail over secularists and deviationists only if it results in the superior value system of ethical behavior.  G-d may be worshiped only if we first make peace with our fellow man.  There can be no Judaism without morality.

          Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Daniel Mehlman

 

HAR SINAI

    This Shabbat we will  be reading the Parshah of B’har. I find the opening sentence very insightful as Hashem speaks to Moshe “ B’har  Sinai” on Mt.Sinai. This statement begs the question: why was it necessary for the Torah to emphasize that Hashem spoke to Moshe on Mt. Sinai?

     The Midrash informs us that Hashem chose Mt. Sinai as the place for the giving of the Ten Commandments because it was the lowliest of mountains,   to teach us that the Torah can only be received by a humble person. Humility is a pre-requisite for Torah to affect man in a most favorable way.

    With this thought in mind one could ask if Hashem wanted to teach us humility, why not give the Torah in a valley instead of on a mountain?

     I sense the reason that a mountain was chosen instead of a valley suggests an important idea in the  Hashkafah of Judaism.

   Our Torah wants to emphasize that Judaism requires both attitudes : Humility and Pride and that that they are not contradictory.  Our Torah was given on Mt. Sinai which was “lowly” among the mountains and yet it was a mountain to emphasize pride in living according to the Torah. 

   We must always remember that for Torah and Yahadut to flourish in our day and age, we need both personality traits, that is Pride of being a Jew , a pride that brings with it hope and belief and a Humbleness that says I need to learn more, to know more and that there is still room to improve and grow in Judaism.

Shabbat Shalom and may it be an inspiring Shabbat in bringing more Pride and Humility into our Jewish lives.

KEDUSHA

    AS I WAS SITTING AT THE COMMUNITY COMMEMORATIO OF YOM HAZIKARON AND YOM HAAZMAUT, I RECALLED A TALK I GAVE ON THE RADIO A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO.  IT WAS REGARDING THIS WEEKS PARSHA OF KEDOSHIM.  THE FIRST TWO WORDS WE READ ARE ‘KEDOSHIM TIHIYU’. WE NEED TO BE HOLY AS A NATION.  ONE WONDERS: “HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE THIS HOLINESS AND HOW SHOULD WE ACT AS A HOLY PERSON?” 

      ONE STATEMENT ALWAYS STANDS OUT TO ME WHEN I BEGAIN TO INQUIRE INTO THE ROLE OF THE JEW IN MODERN TIMES:              הן עם לבדד ישכן

      ‘AM YISROEL IS A NATION THAT DWELLS ALONE.’

 INDEED THERE ARE MANY INTERPRETATIONS TO THIS VERY CRUCIAL DESCRIPTION OF OUR JEWISH PEOPLE.

     OUR REVERED RAV, RABBI JOSEPH B. SOLVEICHIK זצ׳ל INTERPRETED THIS STATEMENT IN A UNIQUE AND COGENT FASHION. 

HE SAID: “TO TRULY UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THIS DESCRIPTION OF AM YISROEL, WE NEED TO   REFLECT UPON AN IMPORTANT INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF AVRAHAM OUR PATRIACH.  THE TORAH RELATES THAT AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS BELOVED WIFE SARAH, AVRAHAM APPROACHED B’NEI CHAIS AND NEGOTIATED WITH THEM TO PURCHASE A PARCEL OF LAND TO BURY HIS BELOVED WIFE.  IN THE COURSE OF THE CONVERSATION WITH B’NEY CHAIS, AVRAHAM STATES:                                                   גר ותושב אנכי עמכם

 “I AM AN ALIEN AND A RESIDENT AMONG YOU – GRANT ME AN ESTATE FOR A BURIAL SITE.”

THESE WORDS OF AVRAHAM IN DESCRIBING HIMSELF, AS BEING A STRANGER AND AT A THE SAME TIME A RESIDENT SEEMS TO CONTRADICT THEMSELVES AND APPEAR TO BE AN EXPRESSION THAT IS DIAMETRICALLY IN OPPOSITION TO EACH OTHER. THE RAV SAID: “THOUGH THIS SEEMS TO BE TRUE.  IT IS THIS CONTRADICTION THAT MAKES UP THE JEWISH PEOPLE’S AGENDA IN LIFE AS THEY CO-MINGLE WITH THE REST OF SOCIETY.”

WHAT WAS AVRAHAM SAYING AT THIS JUNCTURE IN HIS LIFE? HE WAS STATING; HEAR ME OUT WELL WORLD - I CANNOT AND I DO NOT WANT TO RENOUNCE MY OBLIGATION TO THE CREATOR AND TO MY COVENANT WITH

 G-D AND TO MY UNIQUENESS AS A JEW.  WERE YOU TO GIVE ME ALL YOUR GOLD AND SILVER AND CONTINUE TO ACCEPT ME AS A DIVINE PRINCE IN YOUR COUNTRY IT STILL WILL NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE - FOR YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT IN CERTAIN RESPECTS, I AM DIFFERENT THEN YOU AND I AM A STRANGER IN YOUR MIDST.  

    HOWEVER, YOU MUST, ALSO, KNOW THAT IN MANY ASPECTS OF OUR DEALINGS WITH EACH OTHER, I WILL BE A RESIDENT IN YOUR SOCIETY WORKING HARMONIOSLY TO ACHIEVE A BETTER COMMUNITY FOR HUMANITY.

    I BELIEVE THIS IS OUR MESSAGE TO THE WORLD IN THESE MODERN TIMES AND ESPECIALLY A TIMELY DIRECTIVE TO OUR YOUNGER GENERATION.  PROCEED WITH ALL YOUR KOCHOS TO RECEIVE THE BEST EDUCATION POSSIBLE AND BE INVOLVED IN OUR SOCIETAL ENDEAVORS, BUT REMEMBER WELL, NEVER DO SO AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR YIDDISHKEIT AND THE DIRECTIVES OF OUR TORAH.  REMEMBER, AT ALL TIMES, WHEN IT COMES TO OUR WAY OF LIFE, WE NEED TO ACT AS A ‘GER, A STRANGER’ AND OFTEN THIS WILL RESULT IN BEING A NATION THAT WALKS ALONE. I IMPLORE YOU ‘DO NOT FEAR THIS STATUS BUT   REALIZE THAT THIS IS A RESULT OF THE FACT THAT OUR WAY OF LIFE IS DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE.’

     WE POSSESS A WORLD THAT IS SPECIFICALLY OUR OWN. IT IS A WORLD OF KEDUSHA, OF SANCTITY, OF LOVING KINDNESS, AND OF TORAH. THIS WAY OF LIFE MAKES US EXCLUSIVE AND INDEED DISTINCTIVE IN MANY WAYS.                            

    BE A-PART OF THE WORLD, BUT BE APART FROM IT WHEN IT COMES TO OUR JUDAIC WAY OF LIFE AND OUR TORAH ORIENTED WAY OF LIFE.  

I AM NOT ASKING THAT WE GO IT ALONE, FOR WE DO NEED TO BE PART OF OUR SOCIETY, AND WE DO NEED OTHER PEOPLE TO SHARE IN OUR LIVES, AND THIS INTERACTION IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE. NEVERTHELESS, WE MUST ALWAYS BE APPRISED OF THE FACT THAT AS JEWS OUR GUIDE IN LIFE IS OUR TORAH AND NOT THE MORE S OF SOCIETY. 

YES, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE LIMITLESS FOR ALL OF US IN THIS WORLD OF OURS, BUT REMEMBER AT ALL TIMES, DO NOT RELINQUISH YOUR ESSENCE IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED BY YOUR PEERS AND ASSOCIATES. 

                                    .

 SHABBAT SHALOM 

PESACH AND PATIENCE

As we prepare for the Yom Tov of Pesach I would like to share with you the following humorous story.

  Joe and Bob, two homeless people were talking one afternoon. Bob said to Joe, “Do you know what tonight is? It’s the Holiday of Passover. That’s when the Jews have a Seder feast with fine food and delicious wine, all served in the most elegant fashion. I went to a Seder last year and it was incredible. All you have to do is go to the Synagogue and when the services are over someone will invite you to their home.”

   That evening the two friends stood in the back of the Synagogue waiting. Sure enough when the services were over they each get invited to separate homes for the Seder. “Good Luck” says Bob, “You are going to love it.”

  At the Seder Joe is really excited. He is hungry and hasn’t had a home cooked meal in months. He can already smell the delicious food from the kitchen. He sits patiently as the family reads in a language he doesn’t understand. He’s getting hungrier and hungrier and he finally sees a plate of food being passed around. But it is only little pieces of celery for what they called Karpas. After the ‘little pieces of celery’, they go back to reading from the book.

   An hour goes by and Joe is really hungry now. He’s willing to eat anything.  Finally, they pass around some Matzah and Joe takes a big piece. Then they serve a bowl of some white vegetable and Joe heaps a big pile on his plate. He stuffs his mouth full with it and FIRE!!!! The horseradish burns Joe’s mouth and stomach and he runs out screaming and cursing.

    Later that night Bob and Joe meet, “I’m so mad at you” shouts Joe, “You sent me to a Seder and it was terrible.” “What do you mean” says Bob. “At my house they had incredible fish, soup, chicken, kugel and dessert. All you had to do is hang in there and you would have gotten yours too!”

   The story captures the theme of Pesach night.  It serves as a metaphor for the dramatic turnaround of events the Jews experienced in Egypt. They went from the bitterness of slavery to the glory of freedom, all in one day. They just had to be patient.

   In the same light, we need to always remember when we feel pained and full of anguish Hashem can redeem us and deliver us into a life of tranquility in a split second. All we need to do is hang in there with Hope and Betachon and we will see our redemption and the redemption of the Jewish People.

  

                                חג שמח 

PESACH FOR ALLL GENERATIONS

         Pesach is in the air as we begin to prepare for this beautiful and family oriented Yom Tov. 

      One of the main themes of the Yom Tov of Pesach is “sharing”.  There are two reasons for this concept of sharing; one reason is that the KorbanPesach is brought only by a Chaburah , group,  and the other reason is that when the Jews came to Mitzrayim, they were only a clan – 

‘Ish Ubeiso B’au’,‘Men with  their household came.’

     However, when the time of the Ge’ulah, Redemption, approached, and Hashem addressed Himself to Moshe, He referred to B’nei Yisrael as an ‘Am’, ‘Nation’.  This term ‘Am’ is from the word ‘Im’,‘With’ - denoting togetherness and solidarity. 

     In Egypt, it was true that B’nei Yisrael, spiritually, were not much greater than their oppressor, but they were charitable people who helped each other and shared with each other.  Their co-existence based upon their solidarity was responsible for their Ge’ulah.  In the sentence of “I have seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and I have heard their cry because of its taskmasters, for I know its pains”, the Beis HaLeviasked: “Why does the sentence begin speaking of B’nei Yisrael in plural and end in singular?  For, though all 600,000 Jews were oppressed, they felt the pain of one person.”

          Thus, Pesach is a time of Tzedakah and Chesed – a Jew feels a sense of responsibility for his fellow Jew and extends aid to him.  This has always been a beautiful character trait of the Jew.  We have always retained the trait of ‘Ami’; no foe has ever succeeded in splitting ‘Our People.’

          Rabbi Solovietchik z”l related to us; “In the 1940’s, when the Jewish community practically tolerated the murder of 6 million Jews in the holocaust, I thought the Jewish community was falling apart, for it appeared to have lost the trait of ‘Am’.  However, they responded to the creation of Midinat Yisrael without cowardice; the sense of solidarity was still there.  Each member of B’nei Yisrael felt the pain of his friend and shared his Matzav.”

          At this time when Pesach is fast approaching may we learn the lesson of Achdut , which will lead us to the true redemption of the Jewish People.

Shabbat Shalom

 

 

TOGETHERNESS

As we come closer to the Yom Tov of Pesach it is well to think of the many messages of inspiration that this Yom Tov imparts to us.  

    The Holiday of Passover is replete with interesting and intriguing ceremonies. First and foremost is the Seder. The significance of the Seder is multifaceted--it bespeaks of the oppression of the Jewish people and it relates in detailed form what it means to be an oppressed nation. 
   The Seder, also, enjoins everyone to participate in the eating of the matzot, marror, and charoset.  In this way every Jew not only speaks of slavery, but symbolically, feels the pangs of slavery and oppression. Thus, the Seder is not just past history, but rather the past recreated. 

   Indeed, Passover is a perennial reminder of ·our freedom, but I believe its modern message speaks eloquently about another matter.

 The word, ‘Geirim’, ‘Strangers^’, is repeated extensively in the Hagaddah and at the Seder. ”We were strangers in Egypt"--- it speaks of the past. And yet, this statement is very contemporary. In my observation of the Jews in America, I sense that we are indeed  strangers to each other and especially within our own families.   Everyone has become individuals and families have lost their unique role of togetherness. The “Jewish Family" needs more interaction and a  greater dialogue with one another.

     It is no mere accident, then, that Passover is celebrated, through the Seder, in which we are enjoined to come together as families. Passover means that we are not to be strangers to each other, that we are not “loners” but rather a part of a larger group, the “Jewish Family”. We are trying to unite once again in bonds of love and affection. 

    Passover is truly a home holiday. For only through the family and the home can we truly have a sense of belonging. 

  This is the message of Passover - a message which bespeaks ‘A Unity of Togetherness.’ 

 I pray that as we approach the holiday of Passover, and sit at our Seder tables together, we may be inspired that this bond of unity, togetherness and love shall be carried over into the rest of the year. 

  

 

 

I AM A JEW

   The story of Purim that will be read this Wednesday night in our synagogue has many intriguing ideas  and most important that it speaks to the modern Jew as well. As we review the  story permit me to focus on the role that Mordechai played in the saving and salvation of the Jewish People.

   Mordechai was approached by the evil Haman who wished to break his spirit by forcing Mordechai to bow down to him and in this way accept his idolatrous practices. As we know Mordechai refused and made a strong statement as to his Judaic belief in the One G-D. He did so with a simple but a truly profound statement  “I am a Jew,” which Rabbi Alshich explained meant that he was of distinguished lineage, one of the exiled officials of Judah. The other officials of the king’s court were incensed by his arrogance. Mordechai was in effect proclaiming himself superior to these mighty and influential barons, claiming he was a prince of G-d. They thereupon reported Mordechai’s comments to Haman.  Mordechai stood his ground and refused to bow down and be subservient to this despot. 

   Why was Mordechai so determined in his ways? The reason is indeed understandable because Mordechai was concerned that the Jewish people had reached the point of complete despair. The feast tendered by Achashvarosh, with which Megillas Esther opens, was according to rabbinic tradition an occasion when the sacred utensils of the Holy Temple were profaned. Achashvarosh wished to impart the unmistakable message that there was no hope of an imminent redemption of the Jews. One can only imagine how demoralized and forlorn our ancestors must have felt under those circumstances. This sense of despair, if left unchecked, could have resulted in wholesale forsaking of our traditions. The Jewish people were thus sorely in need of a strong demonstration of Jewish pride and self-respect. That was Mordechai’s rationale behind his statement to his colleagues: I am a proud member of the Chosen People,"I am a Jew".

       Our Rebbe, Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik tz’l notes: “Purim is a day of introspection and prayerful meditation. Megillas Esther is both a Book of Thanksgiving and a Book of Distress and Petition. The narrative relates two stories, of a people in a terrifying predicament and also of their great exhilaration at their sudden deliverance.”

    Perhaps, in this light, we can understand the comment of the Talmudic sage Rava, that the Jewish people קימו וקבלו, recommitted themselves to Torah observance after the Purim miracle. The Jewish people demonstrated a new-found sense of inner strength and self-worth that was manifest in a renewed commitment to Jewish identity. Along with the revelry, Purim affords us the opportunity to experience a renewed sense of devotion of our sacred traditions.

    May this Purim awaken in all of us  greater sense of loyalty and commitment to Judaism and may we begin  to emulate the exemplary ways of Mordechai and Esther and declare proudly  “I am a Jew”

  Wishing everyone and enjoyable and inspired Purim.