Shlomo's Thoughts on the Torah: Recent Episodes
Shlomo Bar-Ayal
After morning prayers Shlomo Bar-Ayal gives a daily, brief, one to three minute talk on the Portion of the week.
In the portion of the week Moses receives his final command. To ascend Mt. Nebo and see the land that he will not enter it. This is to teach us that just as Moses prepared Joshua to lead, we have to prepare the next generation.
God wants us to do our job. he wants to see the effort we do in keeping the commandments. Just like when we crossed the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea). Before He split the waters someone had to jump in.
Yom Kipper we stand before God promising to be better. The real test comes a few days later when we have the holiday of Sukkot, in which we are commanded to be happy. Can we keep our promise to be better when we are having a good time.
God has given us free will. But that means that we have to take ownership of our actions. We are responsible for what we do. This is also the message of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
In last week's portion it says that Moses went to the people. This shows that it is our responsibility to reach out to others to help them become better people.
Moses is leaving the Jewish people. Joshua is appointed his successor. Moses wants to remind the Jews that they were freed from Egypt for the purpose of creating a moral and just society in the image of God.
We learn that the Jewish people suffered because of the assassination of Jewish governor of Judah after the destruction of the Temple. The assassination led to tremendous suffering of the Jews. Murder is murder. It never ends the way the murderer wants.
This evening is the "Jewish" New Year. In reality it is the anniversary of the creation of man. We have to remember that the reason for the creation was for man to improve the world through his actions, both spiritually and physically.
True humility is not being totally passive and accepting of whatever comes. True humility is standing up for what is right but realizing that you are part of something larger. That was why Moses was the humblest of men even though he led the people for 40 years.
Unlike idolators we are not fated to remain as we are. God has given us the power to improve our status in life, both spiritually and otherwise. It is all in our hands.
With the High Holidays approaching, we have to take into consideration that we will be asking God for forgiveness. But before we can ask God for forgiveness, we have to make it right with our neighbor.
The Torah commands us to choose life over death. We are not a death cult like our enemies. They have famously stated that the difference between us & them is that we choose life and they choose death.
As we get ready to enter the Land of Israel, the Torah gives us blessings and curses. It is stressing that we are to behave in our society as adults. And adults are responsible for their words & actions.
As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we are taking stock of our actions over the past year and how we can improve ourselves.
When a person commits a crime, he believes that it is acceptable to society. While we should punish the criminal, we should also work to make a better society by making ourselves better people.
The Torah points out that if you want a just and good society you begin with the family. Everything else is based on integrity of the family unit as it is stated in the Book of Genesis. Without a strong family unit society will collapse.
Just because someone disagrees with us does not make them evil. It might make them wrong. Evil people commit evil acts. Mistaken people are wrong.
We have blessings and curses this week. The blessings will come to us if we strive to keep the commandments. The curse is that we will be a normal nation and will be treated as a normal nation. We have to strive for holiness, it does not come naturally.
The fact that we can choose to obey the Torah or not means that we have free will. Something no other creature has. Also, according to Jewish thought, do angels. Only we can choose to do good or evil.
We are commanded to bring the first fruits to the Temple. When we do we have to recite a passage that is a historical review of our history. This is to teach us to remember our history and to learn from it.
We are required to show gratitude to God for His Hand in our success. We need to work for our prosperity but, in the final state, we prosper with divine aid.
Our enemies want us to doubt our arguments. This is moral equivalency. When we are sure about our morality and their evil, then we cannot lose.
The Torah admonishes us to build our communities. To be active. To remember that there are those who want to tear down what has been built but have no intention of rebuilding.
Two of the commandments in this week's Torah portion play a pivotal role in the Book of Ruth. Levirate marriage and allowing the poor to pick up the gleanings of the field.
We are responsible for our actions. We need to be aware of how what we do and say affects others. And any damage caused by our actions are our responsibility.
We have to determine if the enemy that we are facing is evil or not. In most wars we are facing an enemy that disagrees with us, but we can deal with them. When it comes to Amalek there is no negotiation. He wants to kill us. When faced with such an enemy the rules change.
The Torah stresses the importance of respecting private property. All successful societies share this in common. Without it we will not be able to advance as a society.
The Torah warns against the danger of corruption and abuse of power. This is the reason that it was quoted at the American Constitutional Convention.
We are commanded to seek justice. We know that we cannot attain it in all cases. This does not mean that we should just give up.
As we enter the month of Elul we start to get ready to be judged by God on Yom Kippur. Before we can ask God for forgiveness we have to go to our fellow man and ask for his/her forgiveness.
We are told that we should not copy the other nations, especially their ideas of morality. We have to be true to the values in the Bible, not popular whim.
To be united does not mean that we agree on everything but that we are in agreement on our national goals. We can debate with one another on issues but we must never lose site of the fact that we are one people.
We are all for social justice, but it has to be in harmony with the commandments. If someone tells us that we do not have to obey the commandments then they are a false prophet.
The Torah gives the option of determining our fate. While we can't control everything in life, we can follow the commandments and change the world.
The Torah never mentions our rights. It talks about our obligations to God and society. When we concentrate on our obligations, we can be happy with little. But when we concentrate on our entitlements we will never be satisfied.
We are told that we will receive blessings and curses depending on our behavior. The Torah is pointing out that God will treat us as adults. It admonishes us to treat others as adults.
We are asked if God is on our side. The important question, to paraphrase President Lincoln, are we on God's side.
We know that society has obligations to us but we frequently forget that we have obligations to society. We can't just do whatever we feel like. We have to fit into societal norms.
The Torah has commandments of our actions between man and God as well as between man and man. Both are important since one without the other will lead to both being forgotten.
We are taught that we are in a partnership with God. We follow His way and He will make sure that our work is not in vain. If we don't then we will lose everything.
In this week's Torah reading we see that God is making a deal with the Jews. If you want a good and successful life, then you have to follow the commandments. If you want to be a normal people you will get what a normal people get.
The 9th of Av is the anniversary of the worst disasters of Jewish history. The 15th of Av is the Jewish answer to our enemies. It is a day that we encourage young people to meet, marry and begin to build a family. It is saying, you did not defeat us. We will continue as Jews.
The Shma is the central statement of the Jews. We recite twice daily. It is to remind us that our mission is to be a holy nation through our actions, whether with God or our fellow man.
The Torah states that we have to remember and keep the Sabbath day. This is to teach that if we don't remember why the Sabbath day is about, we will forget it and if we don't keep it, we will not keep it. It will be another day of the week.
While the Torah demands we treat our fellow man with dignity it also maintains that our fellow man must also behave correctly. When they commit murder, rape, etc. then we have to deal with them in the appropriate manner.
Moses pleads one last time to enter the Land. God denies this request but gives him the opportunity to see all the Land in its entirety as well as the future of the Jewish people.
Today is the 9th of Av. It is a sad day in the Jewish year. It is not only the anniversary of the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem but also of many disasters that befell the Jewish people. On this day we think about averting new disasters by improving ourselves morally, ethically, and nationally
It is no accident that the portion of the Torah known as Devarim is read the Shabbat before the 9th of Av. The 9th of Av teaches us what happens when our leaders do not lead, when we engage in baseless hatred and when we lose trust in God.
One of the messages of the Torah is that we have to be humble. Humility does not mean that we may never stand up for ourselves. It means that we have to acknowledge that God is running the world and wants us to be moral and ethical.
Justice should be blind to the monetary and/or social status of the people who come before the court. Otherwise, society would break down into anarchy.
True leadership means that there be transparency. That a leader remember that he is a servant of the people, not the other way around.
Moses recounts the sin of the scouts. The problem was two-fold: they were afraid that they would lose their status as leaders of the people, and they couldn't understand that the purpose was to work the while keeping the Torah
The Book of Deuteronomy is Moses recounting all the events that happened from the leaving of Egypt to them getting ready to enter the land. Why recount this? To remind us that God wants us to be moral and ethical people.
Getting Ready For Our Mission - In this week's portion we are commanded to be a holy, unified and just society. When our society is built on these three pillars, there is nothing that can defeat us.
The cities of refuge were for those who killed accidentally. It was a way of punishing them as well protecting them. They had to stay there until the High Priest dies. The reason for this is that the people's spirituality was expressed though the High Priest. If he did his job correctly then the accident would not have occurred.
The setting of boundaries is important for any society. Without them then we turn into anarchy with no limits on what is permitted and what is not. The Torah gives us boundaries both physical & moral. Both for Jews and non-Jews.
In this week's portion the Jews get the command to destroy Midian. This was not revenge for what they did but a judgement that caused others to sin, which is worse than committing then since yourself.
We learn the importance of keeping your word. In the Torah's view a person's word is their bond. To violate this is a major sin, not just against your fellow man but against God.
Balaam cannot curse the Jewish people because they are under God's protection as long as they are doing what they are commanded to do. That's why they send in temptresses into the camp to compromise them.
Balak could have found a way to work with the Jews to make his own country better. But his hatred of the Jews and their spiritual journey blinded and led him and his nation to disaster.
In Balak's mind life is a zero-sum game. If Israel succeeds, then Moab is finished. Therefore, he has to stop Israel at any cost. This is the story of anti-Semites throughout history. The Torah relates it so show us how wrong they are.
There is a question about whether or not Bilaam was evil or not. For those who believe that he was essentially good the problem was that he was persuaded by the money that Bakak gave him.
In this week's portion we meet Balak and Bilaam. What is interesting is that the action takes place away from the Jews. This teaches us that God is protecting us even when we are totally unaware of the dangers around us.
The Hebrew translation of the United States is "The Lands Of The Agreement." This is different from most other languages. The reason is that Jews recognized the uniqueness of the US and its foundation.
The were commanded not to go to war with Edom and Moab even though they were denied passage through their lands. One of the reasons is you do not go to war when there are valid alternatives.
When Miriam dies the well dries up. The people were not aware that they had water in her merit. This teaches us that there are many people who do a job that without their efforts we would not be able to exist but we do not know who they are.
One of the issues we have are nay sayers. These are people who claim you cannot do anything. When asked why, they reply that it has never been done before. We learn not to be such especially when we follow God's plans.
Of the scouts, 12 gave a bad report but 2 did not. One was Joshua, who was Moses's main student and designated successor, & the other was Celeb, who was Miriam's husband. We can see the influence of Miriam in his decisions.
In the story of the spies, we have to ask, weren't these the same people who witnessed the crossing of the Reed Sea? Didn't they realize that they were under divine protection? The answer is that they were still in a slave mentality. Not only did they not trust in God, but they did also not trust in themselves.
The scouts sent by Moses overestimated the power of the people of the land. They forgot that the Jews had God on their side.
Last night Israel fulfilled a Biblical obligation to prevent a clear and present danger from happening. The Bible is clear on this. We are not a suicidal people. If you want peace, have a strong army ready to do their job.
The people who complained about the manna were complainers who did not care about anything but liked to complain. That is why they were punished. When something is wrong, we should try to improve it.
Miriam meant well when she complained about Moses's seemingly neglect of his wife to Aaron. Even though she meant well, it was still wrong. This teaches us that even the great can make mistakes.
The reason that the Jews were kept in the wilderness for forty years was to rid them of their slave mentality. God wants us to worship Him from our free will, not as slaves.
God is in control of the world. The problem is that we do not always see it. Sometimes we blind ourselves to the obvious signs, but they are there for all to see who wish to.
The fact that Aaron, Moses's brother and High Priest would go up and clean out the menorah in Tabernacle shows us that no job is beneath us when in service to God.
The Torah recounts the gifts of the leaders of the tribes to the Tabernacle individually, even though they are all the same. This shows that we are individuals but that together we make up society.
In the Torah, it is the responsibility of the thief to make the victim whole. That they are connected by his act of theft. Until he does so, he cannot atone for his sin.
This week the Torah makes it clear that we have to keep our environs clean. This is why the Hazon Ish told his students that they were required to help dig the sewers of Bnai Brak.
Passover is the freeing of the Jews from slavery. Shavuot is the holiday where we learn why we were freed. Not just to be free but to be responsible for our actions, both as individuals and as a nation.
The Book of Numbers counts the Jews numerous times. This is to teach us that we call count and that everyone is precious.
Today we celebrate the liberation of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria during the 6 Day War in 1967. The victory showed God's hand in this world through the many miracles that happened during that war.
On Memorial Day we remember the young men and women who died in the line of duty. While the Americans who were killed defending us may not have had us on their minds, we have to thank them for without them we would not have the rights we enjoy.
The Sabbatical year is the ultimate test in faith. A farmer has to rely on God keeping His promise the farmer will be able to support himself and family even though he is not working his land and not raising crops.
One of the things that many people forget is that if you want to instill morality in your children, you have to teach them morality. Otherwise, they will make up their own morality.
The Torah gives us blessings and curses. The blessings are the good things are what will happen if we follow the Torah. The curses are what will happen if we don't. The worst curse is that we will be just like all other people. We will be a "normal" nation.
In order to serve God, we have to be free. A slave has to do what his master dictates; he cannot fully serve both God and his master.
The Sabbatical year teaches us that God controls the world. With this in mind we have to do our best to make to support our families and community but in the final analyses it is God Who will determine if we succeed or not. But unless we strive God will not help us.
The goal of Biblical justice is to bring equilibrium to the world. That, while wrong doers should be punished, the punishment should not be too severe.
Today is the 33rd Day of the Omer. It is a day of celebration. The real story of the reason we mourn the first 33 days of the Omer is that Rabbi Akiva's students died. The Talmud avoids the obvious reason since the Romans still ruled the land of Israel.
In this week's potion we see the blasphemer. We might ask why his punishment was so severe. The truth is that he is very knowledgeable. That is what makes him dangerous. If he was just an ignoramus, he would not be a danger.
When blessing a holiday, we recite the blessing that God sanctifies Israel and the time. This is to teach us that God gave us the ability to set the calendar & He will abide by our decisions. It is a partnership.
The way to sanctify God's name is to do something moral and/or ethical in his name. It is not necessarily an obvious commandment. It could be giving a grieving grandmother gloves on a cold night.
Throughout the Torah education of our youth is stressed. We have to teach them the Torah and why we do things. If we do not, then they will not continue in our path.
The conditions of the priests serving in the Tabernacle seem strange until we realize that they represent God to the people and the people to God. Our behavior should be such even when we are not in our house of worship.
The Torah stresses that it is not enough that we keep the letter of the law but the spirit of the law. We have to remember that the 1st Temple was destroyed because the Jews kept the letter of the Law but not its spirit.
The Torah specifically states that we must pay our workers when we say that we will. We are not allowed to make them wait for their money. To do so would create societal divisions.
The Torah admonishes us not to communicate with the dead. Once someone has died, we have to let go. They have transitioned from this world to the next. We transition to this world without them.
In Parshat Kedoshim we start with the commandment to be in awe of your parents but that the Torah is paramount. The Torah is emphasizing that the basis of any good society is the family structure. And that the leaders of the family are the parents.
After going over the ritual of the service to be done in the Tabernacle and later the Temple, the Torah states that in order to be holy you have to follow the ethical and moral laws.
This week we read how the High Priest was responsible for the spiritual well-being of the Jewish people. If he does his job correctly then we will not sin, even accidentally.
The most quoted book at the American Constitutional Convention was the Book of Deuteronomy. And it was the influence of the American Constitution that Israel became a state.
Today we celebrate Israel Independence Day. One of the things that people do not realize is that instead of crying about our situation and the effects of Antisemitism, we got up and built a state.
King Solomon chose an orphan to be the architect of the First Temple because he was the best. This teaches us that our lineage doesn't matter as much as our accomplishments.
It is no accident that the festivals that Israel Independence Day and Jerusalem Day are both in the month of Iyar. It is during that month that we mourn the loss of the Bar-Kochba revolt. This is God saying the redemption begins here.
Morality that is not based on the Bible is flawed. We can reason a lot but sometimes our reasoning leads us down a dark path and allows us to commit horrendous acts.
Just because someone has a lot of degrees does not mean that they have wisdom. They usually show their lack of wisdom when they take evidence and come to the wrong conclusions
Today is Holocaust Remembrance in Israel. It is one week before Israel Independence Day. It is not an accident but shows that, even though we suffered the destruction of European Jewry, we got up and continued our mission.
While going into the details of the offerings to be brought in the Tabernacle, the Torah reminds us of the laws of Kashrut. To remind us that our daily lives are what makes the big things possible.
This week's portion is informing us that in the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, we have to be precise in our rituals. That the service is not a game. We cannot deviate from God's instructions.
The first thing that a priest serving in the Tabernacle did in the morning was to clean out the ashes from the Menorah. This was a dirty job, Aaron would look forward to doing it every morning.
It is interesting that the Torah refers to Passover as the Holiday of Matzoth. We have to remember that the goal was to get Egypt out of the Jews. The Egyptians had inventing leavening.
When we put the three main holidays in an American historical perspective we can understand them even better.
The Torah states that we have to give an offering for an accidental sin. One of the reasons for this would teach us that while we did it by accident, we are still responsible for our actions.
More than we keeping our rituals, our rituals keep us. If we did not keep the rituals, we would not have become better people. That is what makes us special.
Ritual is important. The Book of Leviticus deals with the ritual of the Tabernacle and the bringing of sacrifices. But if it is not tied to morality, it is meaningless.
Untrue to popular belief, Nisan is the first month of the Jewish year. The holiday of Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the creation of man. Nisan is the anniversary of the creation of the Jewish nation.
The Prophetic reading for this week speaks to the future building of the 3rd Temple. For Jews the way to change the world and bring the Messianic age is to do more commandments and express our loving kindness toward others.
The preparation for Passover begins in the first week of Adar, a month an a half before Passover. That is when we begin reading the Four Portions. Each has a meaning for the holiday that we are about to celebrate.
All temples seem to look the same. The Temple in Jerusalem was in many ways not different. But when we look behind the scenes, we find a start difference. The Temple in Jerusalem was built to honor am ethical and moral God. The others were not.
The purpose of the Tabernacle was to bring the concept of God to the people. God is always with us but we need a concrete example of His presence.
The Torah stresses that there was an audit of donations to the Tabernacle. This is to teach us that those in an office of public trust must be open to an audit at all times.
Most of the commandments in the Torah are easy to understand. There are a few that we do not understand the reasoning, But we have to obey them all since God is beyond our comprehension.
Hiram of Tyre was chosen to be in charge of building the Temple. He came from a low status, but he was chosen due to his wisdom and ability. This teaches us that we should earn honor through merit.
One of the purposes of the Tabernacle was to create community among the Jews. Once people see themselves as a community then they will take care of each other.
Bezalel was chosen to build the Tabernacle because of his wisdom and humility. He knew that Oholiab had abilities that he did not and that he had abilities that Oholiab did not. But together they could do a great job.
In this week's Torah portion donations were given to the Tabernacle. The donations were so great that Moses had more than enough. This is a trait of a Torah based society that they are willing to give more than is necessary. This is why the Torah places limits on how much one can give.
The Torah emphasizes the importance of keeping the Shabbat. When we read what is prohibited to do on Shabbat realize that there is something much deeper than just not working.
Haman was the most powerful man in the world during the story of Purim. But he could not get over the fact that Mordecai knew that he really was nothing. Haman was full of hubris and that was his downfall.
It is clear in the Megillah that God is directing the action. While He is not mentioned explicitly, we can see His hand in the action.
The reason that we do not say Hallel on Purim is that the status of Jews did not change in the story. They were subjects of Achashverosh at the beginning of the story and at the end. The only thing that changed was that they survived.
Mordechai could have bowed to Haman. But he knew that would be wrong thing to do at that time. We learn from this that we are obligated to stand up to evil.
The episode of the Golden Calf is amazing. These were witnesses to the actual Exodus, they crossed the Sea of Reeds. They were at Mount Sinai. Yet they built an idol to worship. It should be remembered that the hard part was to get Egypt out of the Jews.
Bezalel was chosen to design the Tabernacle. First it was due to his wisdom. But more importantly it was it was due to his humility. He would any job that needed to be done, no matter how lowly.
The Torah commands that each Jewish man give a half shekel for the maintenance of the Tabernacle. The fact that it is a half and not a whole emphasizes that in order to be able to attain holiness we need a community. We cannot do it alone.
Today is the anniversary of Moses's passing. He was the ultimate leader. He knew when to stand up and when to not stand. Interestingly, he is not mentioned in this week's reading, this shows his humility.
The Torah speaks of the High Priest, the incense, and the Eternal Light. This symbolizes the Jewish people in that we will be eternal, we care for all Jews and that we are made up of many different people with different opinions.
The lesson of the importance of the High Preist is that we are all responsible for one another. Just as the High Preist is responsible for an accidental death so, too, we come together in times of crises.
The Torah specifies how a Priest should be dressed while serving in the Tabernacle. The Priest should be aware of the importance of his duty and that he represents God to the people and the people to God.
The lesson that the Torah is conveying by the daily attention paid to the Eternal Light is that even if an action is routine, you should do it.
The greatness of Moses was his humility. He understood that he was in his office, not because of his ancestry or title but because he had a mission. He served the Jewish people. He did not expect them to serve him.
Purim is in the middle of the month of Adar. There we learn that, even though God is not motioned by name in the Book of Esther, He is guiding all the events. So, too, in our lives.
The Torah makes a point that we can make a place holy by our actions there. No matter how a place was used previously, our actions in that place can bring holiness to it.
The Torah places emphases on the objects to be used in the Tabernacle. Teaching us that how we use object will determine their holiness. We can make the mundane holy through our actions.
In this week's portion God informs the Jewish people that they should be God a home so that He can dwell among them. To teach us that when we perform the ritual with loving kindness, we are bringing God into the world.
The Tabernacle was built by donations. This teaches us that a spiritual building needs the financial and physical support of the community it serves.
We do not celebrate the death of our enemies. But we are not allowed to tolerate their evil. In the words of President Truman, "When dealing with a beast, treat them like a beast."
To have a just society we have to live a just life. This is why the Torah first covers how we behave individually and then proceeds to society in general.
According to the Torah we are all responsible for our actions. Our social or economic status, rich or poor, famous or not, does not protect us from punishment for committing an offense.
The Torah concept of justice is that the victim has to be made whole by the perpetrator. It is not enough that the perpetrator has to be punished for his misdeed, but he is responsible to his victim.
The Torah is opposed to slavery since a slave cannot perform all the commandments. A free man is responsible for his actions while a slave is not. A slave has no free will, but a free man does.
While showing the importance of ritual laws, the Torah emphasizes that social laws are as important, if not more so. That we can do ritual correctly but if we mistreat one another socially then it does not matter.
The commandment against stealing is against kidnapping. This is a capital offense in Jewish law. It is especially heinous when done is God's name. That is also taking God's name in vain. Two capital offenses in one.
Tu B'shvat reminds us that it is our duty to build the land. The way we claim the land is to build it up and be built by it. Our enemies claim the land but can only destroy. They seem incapable of building. That is the difference.
The Fifth Commandment states that we should honor our parents. This command is for the rest of our lives. The concept of honoring our parents is the foundation of society. Without it society would fall apart.
Taking God's name in vain does not only have to do with using God's name inappropriately in speech but also committing acts of evil in God's name.
God took us out of Egyptian slavery for a purpose. To show the world that it should be moral. That is why the 10 Commandments start with "I am the Lord your God Who took you out of Egypt." I have a reason for that event.
Jethro comes to visit Moses, and gives him advise on how to delegate. This teaches us that we do not have all the wisdom in the world.
The commandment to destroy all of Amalek is unique. We are not commanded to destroy another nation. The reason could be that Amalek had no reason to attack the Jews & was against the moral compass that the Jews were about to receive.
The pillar of fire and the splitting of the sea are testament to God's presence in this world. That God takes an active tole on our lives.
When Moses led the Jews to the lip of the Sea of Reeds, with the Egyptian army racing to them, he prayed to God for help. God replied, don't just pray, get into the water. God wants action, not just prayers.
Only one fifth of the slaves in Egypt left. The issue is that many people are afraid of freedom because it means being responsible for your actions.
The mistake that Pharaoh made was that he assumed that the Jews would return after worshiping God. It never occurred to him that serving God means even in secular affairs.
Leaving Egypt the Jews learn that they have to take responsibility for their freedom, because if you don't stand up for yourself, no one else will.
In the final plague, the first born of any coupling was killed. That meant that a family could have more than one son die if the couple were unfaithful. This shows that there are not secrets from God.
When the story of the Exodus begins Pharaoh makes it clear that he does not respect the Jewish slaves. At the end he does, but only after the Jews learn to respect themselves.
The first commandment that the Jew are given as a people is to declare the new month. This is to emphasize that they no longer are slaves but control their time. Also, that with freedom comes responsibility.
God commands the Jews to put the blood of the lamb on their door posts. He says so that there will be not mistake who is Jewish and who is Egyptian. The real reason is to teach the Jews to stand up to their oppressors as Jews. To be proud Jews.
The Plague of Darkness showed that the Egypt was a place of darkness, both morally and spiritually, while the Torah would lead the Jews to true enlightenment.
The Plague of Locusts destroyed what little was left of the Egyptian economy. For the Egyptians it meant that they were meaningless since they considered their wealth as everything. For us, while net worth is important, our souls are more so.
God reveals that the purpose of taking the Jews out of slavery was to make them into a holy nation. And they become holy by their behavior. That redeeming the Jews from slavery was more than giving them freedom.
The ultimate punishment of Pharaoh was that his free will was taken away. This makes him no more than an animal which operates by instinct but has no free will.
Even though there was more than enough evidence that God was running the show, the Egyptians refused to see the obvious evidence. They thought it was all a trick, until it was too late.
Pharaoh was regarded as a god in Egypt. One of the main purposes of the plagues was to show that he was a mere mortal and only human. According to the Torah, only God is God.
When the negotiation between Moses and Pharaoh begin, Pharaoh tries to limit who can leave. Moses lets him know that this is a nonstarter. It's all the Israelites otherwise Egypt will be destroyed. We know how the story ends.
God informs Moses that He will be the redeemer of Israel. That He will be involved with the world. This teaches that God is involved in our world and lives.
When Moses returns to Egypt he is met by Aaron. One would have thought that Aaron would have been jealous of Moses, but he was not. He knew that Moses's mission was more important. That they had to be united in the goal.
On Hanukah we celebrate the victory of the morality of the Torah over Greek philosophical thought.
One of the things that we notice is that Joseph remained steadfast in his faith, no matter what the situation that he found himself in. From being a slave to being 2nd to Pharaoh, he remained a Jew.
When faced with the accusations that they were spies by the prime minister of Egypt, they began to accuse Judah of selling Joseph. The problem was that they were willing participants. We have to realize that we are still responsible for our actions.
Pharaoh's dreams tell Joseph that God is in charge. The language used to describe the 7 beautiful cows, and the 7 lean cows is the same as when the Torah describes Rachel and Leah. That tells Joseph that the dreams are from God.
Pharaoh discovers Joseph's ability to interpret dreams due to the advice of his cup bearer. But the way that he mentions Joseph is not complimentary. This is to show that someone who does the right thing should be honored for his action, even though he might not be good himself.
In Joseph's dreams he shows that he is different from his family. The first one has to do with farming while the family business is being shepherds. The second he is surrounded by the sun, moon and stars. But the family did not put their faith in these things.
Joseph interprets the dreams of the butler and baker while in prison. When the butler is returned to his duties Joseph asks him to remember him to Pharaoh. The butler doesn't. This is to teach us that we have to put our faith in God, not man.
Before Joseph can attend his position of leadership he has to learn to be humble. That he can't just declare himself the leader and expect others to follow. That is the reason he has to be sold into slavery and be in prison.
Judah's doesn't realize his potential. But Tamar does. It is only through their union is his full potential realized and he can then become the leader he was meant to be.
Both Joseph and Judah each have to undergo a crisis to achieve their potentials. The issue is not that there is a crisis that we face in our lives but how we handle them and how do we learn from them.
Jacob makes the mistake of letting all his sons know that Joseph is his favorite. This leads to jealousy and disaster. Joseph compounds the mistake by throwing this in their faces.
Jacob and Esau come together one final time to bury Isaac. They leave knowing that they have differences that cannot be bridged. The lesson is to know what we can agree on and what we cannot.
The reason for Rachel dying before her time was that she had stolen her father's idols. She did it with the good intentions of stopping him from idolatry. The problem was that she stole them. Your intentions do not matter if your methods are wrong.
Simon and Levi destroy Schem for their sister's honor. The reason the whole city had to destroyed was that all were complicit in the rape of their sister.
Jacob hides his daughter, Dina, from Esau because he knew that Esau would want her for sex. What he did not realize was that Dina had to power to civilize Esau. If Esau would have married Dina then he would have become a righteous man.
When Jacob and Esau meet, Jacob states that he was able to live in the house of Laban and keep all the mitzvot. Esau is amazed. Mentally he knows that it is possible, but he cannot control his urges while Jacob can.
Rachel steals her father's idols since she does not want to be an idolator. Her intentions were good, but the act of stealing is wrong. This is why she was punished.
Jacob sees that he is becoming like Laban. He realizes that this is dangerous to his spiritual being. His solution is to escape from Laban and return to his parents, who will make sure that his moral compass is pointing true north.
Jacob, Rachel and Leah all have to struggle with their faith. Jacob in his dealings with his unscrupulous father-in-law. Leah with the fact that she is not loved by Jacob and Rachel with being barren. They all overcome their struggles due to their faith in God.
Each of the sons of Jacob are named and each name has a meaning. This is to teach us that each individual bring something to the table that is unique to them.
Jacob was living the life of a Yeshiva student. Suddenly he is thrown into the business world and has to deal with a dishonest businessman, his father-in-law. In the end he succeeds since he knows the tricks but can defeat Leban honestly.
In Jacob's dream he sees angels ascending and descending a ladder. The angels represent the nations of the world and Jacob understands the dream to mean that while many nations will rise and fall, the Jewish people will continue to exist.
Thanksgiving is a unique holiday. While it has a religious background, any person of whatever religious or faith can celebrate. Let's always remember that we live in a free country and that we can all practice whatever faith we are without government interference.
Isaac is blind to Esau's misdeeds. Esau's reaction is to take advantage of this. He never shows gratitude for what he is given. This teaches that when someone feels entitled, they lack gratitude.
The reason that Eisav hates Jacob is that Eisav refuses to take responsibility for his bad decisions. This is a common problem among people. We have to own our own bad decisions and learn from them.
The mistake of Isaac was that he thought that Jacob was too righteous to earn a living. That Esau, while committing sins, would support Jacob. He was wrong on both accounts. Rebecca knew better.
One of the reasons that Eisav and Jacob do not get along is that Eisav is into instant gratification while Jacob is willing to wait. The story teaches us that when you wait the results are much better.
With the Fore-fathers and Fore-mothers, we see a balance. One is extremely kind and the other puts a brake on the kindness. This is to teach us that while loving kindness is a great trait it needs to be harnessed otherwise it will descend into disaster.
The Haftorah this week has to do with David handing the power over to Solomon. The connection to the portion is clear since Abraham is handing leadership over to Isaac. Broth want to make sure that the power will not be abused. Thus their choices.
Lot's daughters took drastic measures because they thought the world was destroyed. Later they found out that they were wrong in their actions. Instead of acknowledging that they were wrong they choose to blame others.
Lot's daughters despaired that they were the only ones left in the world. They got their father drunk to have him sire children with them. After they learned that this was wrong, they blamed Abraham for their misfortune. Not themselves.
When the two angels inform Lot that Sodom will be destroyed and he has to leave, he refuses to go even though he knows that Sodom is an evil place. He is so much into his wealth he does not see the obvious.
Abraham tries to save Sodom & Gomorrah but to no avail. Their society was too evil. The lesson is that when we see an evil society we have to take appropriate action after we tried to reason with them.
The Torah does not discuss what Abraham looks like. It describes his character. This is in keeping with the idea, that for the Torah all that really matters is how we behave and how we treat each other.
Abraham goes to war to save Lot, who was kidnapped. After the war he is offered some of the booty of the war. He declines since the reason he fought was to save his nephew. This is why we fight. We do not fight for land or money but because it is the last option.
Abraham realizes that he and Lot have different agendas. Lot is into himself while Abraham wants to affect the world through his actions. Lot chooses Sodom while Abraham does not. This is to teach us that all our actions will affect society.
Abraham is told to go to the crossroads of the ancient world. This was so that he could influence people to live better lives morally. This is the mission that God wants from us. To be involved and make people better.
When Abraham is given the command to go to Canaan there is an extra word used. It should read Go to a land that I will show you. Instead, it reads Go for yourself. Why the extra word?
The Torah goes out of it way to infer that Noah, while righteous, was not perfect. This is to teach us, that while our great leaders were righteous, they made mistakes, and they learned from their mistakes. That is what made them great.
The Torah is specific in that we do not know where Moses is buried. This was to avoid us praying to Moses. We celebrate his spiritual teachings, not his physical body.
The final judgement is given on Simhat Torah. The reason is it will show if we really meant it when we repented on Yom Kippur.
Just as Joshua built upon the foundation laid by Moses, we should learn that we build upon the foundation of those who came before us. As we build we make it better than it was.
On Yom Kippur Eve we recite the blessing that we are permitted to pray with criminals. The reason for this is that even though they might be criminals, they are with the community.
We are responsible for our behavior. If we behave better, then those around us will too. This is how we improve society. Not from the top down but from the bottom up.
Hamas is the modern version of Amalek. They are even worse than the Nazis. The Nazis hid their intentions. Hamas gloried in theirs and broadcast what they did. It was illegal for a German to rape a Jewish woman. Hamas gloried in it.
Jonah tries to run away from his mission to save Ninevah. The reason is that he knows in about 100 years Ninevah will destroy the 10 Northern Tribes. God reminds him that He is in charge. That the 10 Tribes will receive punishment for their actions.
We lost our Temple and independence because we did not treat each other with due respect. We did the offerings in the Temple correctly but that is not what God really wants. He wants us to show the world how to behave ethically.
We received the ability to reason, to know right from wrong. Therefore, we have to remember that we will be judged for our actions by God. All should be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year,
As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we are reminded of the need to ask forgiveness from our loved ones. We have to remember that God will not forgive us if we don't first make it right with our fellow man.
We learn that when the king reads the Book of Deuteronomy all are required to hear it. From the rich and famous to the children who can not understand. This is to teach us that it is for all, not just the select few.
Ha'azinu reminds us that no matter what our place is in society that God is in charge. That we forget this at our own peril. Remember the Roman Empire was the ruler of the West, until it wasn't. We are still here.
Rosh Hashana is not the Jewish new year but the new year of the world. It is the anniversary of the creation of humans. The purpose of the world is for us to make it better by our ethical behavior.
When Moses is getting ready to leave the Jewish people, he appoints Joshua to be the new leader, not his sons. The lesson here is that our leaders do not inherit their positions but have to earn it.
Moses prepares Joshua to take the mantle of leadership. This is an important lesson for us. No matter how great a leader is he has to prepare the next generation otherwise all his work will crumble.
God wants us to work hard and acquire wealth, but we always have to remember that what we acquire comes from Him.
The real danger of non-belief in God is not that you will believe in nothing but that you will believe in anything, no matter how absurd it is.
When Moses is speaking to the Jewish people about their responsibilities, he makes it a special point that all are equal, form the great and powerful to the lowest of society.
The IDF does not want a war but when a war is forced on us we go. We do not forget that we are a Jewish army. Today, every morning the shofar is sounded in all units to remind the soldiers of this.
When we read the curses, we realize that they come due to a lack of respect one to the other. Our greatest disasters as a people were due to our mistreating our fellows.
When we follow the Torah then we will be blessed in miraculous ways, if we do not then we will be cursed to be a normal nation that will suffer the fate of other normal nations.
This portion makes clear that God took us out of Egypt to be a light unto the nations. That our purpose is to show the world what a Godly nation is. When we do not do our job then we suffer.
We are all required to tithe. Even the poor. The lesson is that we are part of a community. All have to do their part, rich or poor. We cannot just take, we have to help each other and our institutions.
We went to war with Amalek because he attacked those outside the camp. These were outside the camp because they had committed sins. This is to teach us that all are important, even a sinner has importance to us.
We are reminded about the evil Amalek right after we are commanded to be honest in business. This is to teach us that if our society is corrupt and divided then Amalek will take advantage to try to destroy us.
One of the major concepts of the Torah is that holiness is not an entitlement, it has to be earned by our actions.
When a criminal is hanged for his crime we do not leave the body up overnight but bury it as soon as possible. The reason is that all people, no matter how low they are, were created in God's image.
In order to have a decent society we need clarity on what we are. This is why the Torah states that we are not allowed to cross-dress. This is to avoid confusion not only in gender but in morality.
The Torah states that we should respect private property. This is a major concept. That is the way to build a stable society. Without this then we create anarchy.
When men go to war and wage battle their emotions are raw. That is why the Torah states that if a soldier sees a woman, he wants he may take her, but it then puts limits on how he treats her. And if he still chooses to be with her the results can be disastrous.
This week the Torah deals with the issue of what happens when a member of the Sanhedrin disagrees with the ruling of the court and refuses to obey it. It points out that all must obey the ruling even if they disagree with it.
While the king's powers were limited he did have extralegal powers. If he thought that there was a clear and present danger to the nation, then he could take actions that normally would not be permitted.
We are now entering the month of Elul. We are getting ready to be judged by God. It is no accident that we ready the portion of the Torah that informs us of the importance of honest judges.
Justice and honest courts are the basis of any society. When justice is perverted, either by money or politics then everything else will collapse.
The Torah clearly wants a limited monarchy. This was revolutionary in the ancient world where the king had all the power of his subjects. The Jewish king was limited in in power and what he could and could not do.
The Torah keeps admonishing us to do justice. The difference between the Toah concept and that of idolatry is that the Torah makes no distinction over the economic or social status of the litigants. All are equal before the law.
There is no Hebrew word for slave. The concept was that we have servants, not slaves. A Jewish "slave" has rights, that a slave in a non-Torah society did not have. It is not an accident that the anti-slavery movement was a religious one.
The Torah admonishes us not to add or subtract from the commandments. This is so we do not go crazy and add things and make our lives miserable. & When we subtract we are not following what God wants us to do.
Moses keeps repeating the holidays throughout the Book of Deuteronomy. It is so that we remember that we are on a mission. Once we forget that we lose our reason for being a people.
The problem with false prophets is that what they say sounds good, but it will lead people astray. This is a warning to all generations since we have false prophets today.
We can understand the abhorrence of the Torah to the customs of the non-Jews in the land when we see how they worshiped their gods. Especially child sacrifice, an anathema to the Torah.
The curses that Moses talks about are what will happen if the Jewish people do not keep the commandments in the Land. They will end up like any other nation and will, in the end become a footnote in history.
We are constantly made aware that our tenure in the land is dependent on what kind of society we create and keep. Many empires have been defeated because they crumbled from within before their enemies toppled them.
Moses extols the virtues of the Land of Israel to remind the Jews how fortunate they are. But he also reminds them that their stay in the Land is dependent on their keeping the commandments.
If we read the 2md paragraph of the Shma carefully we discover that God does not want us to be "normal" nation. We should be God centered. If we were to become "normal" then we'll end up like many others and disappear.
One of the main commandments of the Torah is the concept of equality in the law. A judge cannot consider the social status or wealth, or lack thereof, of the litigants before him. He has to adjudicate the law equally to all.
Tu B'Av is one of the happiest days of the Jewish calendar. It comes just 6 days after the 9th of Av, the saddest day of the Jewish year. The lesson is clear. There is a future, no matter what disaster befalls us we have a hopeful future.
The name of this week's portion is Eikev, or heel. This is remind us to be as careful of the "minor" commandments as we would the "major" ones.
The 10th Commandment stresses that we not be jealous of others. The Torah is for equality of opportunity but not of outcome. That is dependent on our abilities and willingness to use them to improve ourselves.
When Moses discusses the boundaries of the Land we realize that the Jews would be in the middle of the world. This is because God's plan is that the world is to observe how be a holy nation.
Taking God's Name in vain can have a number of meanings. One of the most important is when a religious person commits a crime. Then the secular view it as "this is what a religious person does." That is taking God's Name in vain.
Today is the 9th of Av. It is a day in which many disasters have befallen the Jewish people. The reason is that God chose us to be a light unto the nations & when we forget this then God withdraws His protection from us.
The problem with an accidental killing is that someone died. That this comes during the week of the 9th of Av teaches us that we have to be careful with how we react to commandments of man to man.
The ancients believed if they lost a war it was because their gods were weak. The Jews took the exact opposite view. We lost wars because we did not behave properly one to the other, that it was a punishment from God.
The Torah admonishes judges numerous times about being careful in judgement. That they cannot be concerned over the social or economic status of those before them pervert their judgement. They can only deal with the law.
The Torah informs us that our leaders need wisdom. Knowledge was not a prerequisite since people with knowledge but no wisdom make bad judgements. But people with wisdom know how to apply knowledge.
When Moses is recounting the wars that we had to fight he points out that we went to war to defend our people and mission. We do not go to war to conquer others. We try for peace.
Moses's recounting of the events after the Exodus is meant to remind us of our mission, which is to serve God on both a religious and moral level. He reminds us that without one the other does not work.
The bad report of the emissaries was on the 9th of Av. God declared that since we cried about nothing on that day we would have something to cry about in the future.
The Book of Deuteronomy is Moses going over the history of the Jews after leaving Egypt. He especially warns the Jews what will happen if they do not follow the laws in the Torah.
When an accidental killing occurs then the one responsible has to go to a city of refuge until the death of the High Priest. The reason, if the High Priest had done his job correctly then the accidental killing would not have occurred.
When the tribes of Reuben & Gad state that they will assist in conquering the Land but first they have to take care of their livestock and families, Moses reverses the order to show that families come first even before business.
The division of the Land takes place before the Jews get there. This is to teach us that before we embark on change, we have to have a plan what that change will bring.
The command to kill all the people of Midian seems strange to us until we realize that the entire society was evil. The Torah commands us to destroy evil. No nuance in this case.
The admonition not to make idle vows or oaths is important. If we make a vow or oath and do not keep it, we are violating the Torah. We must endeavor to keep any promise we make even if it not a vow or oath.
Right after Moses anoints Joshua to be the next leader the Torah mentions the daily offering. This is to teach that we have to be consistent in our action and that a seemingly minor act is as important as a major one.
We learn that you should teach your children to want to do the right thing. That they should not just fear the consequences of doing the wrong thing.
We read about the holidays in this week's portion. The importance of the holidays is that they remind us of what is important to us, our communities. When we are a part of our communities we have the cure for the reasons of the period of mourning.
Today is the 17th of Tamuz. It is the beginning of the 3 weeks in which we commemorate the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem. The reason that is given for their destruction was that Jews did not behave properly one to the other.
After dealing with the internal problems the Jews were commanded to destroy the Midianite nation. Even though the evil that we visited upon the Jews happened due to their own sinfulness, it did not excuse the actions of Balak.
While Pinchas's act in killing Zimri was justified, he was disturbed that he had taken a life. The taking of a life, even if justifiable is not something to be taken lightly.
When Pinchas kills Zimri it is because he recognized the cancer within society. He realized that if he did not take action then the Jewish people would be destroyed from within.
We are blessed being "a people who dwell alone". That means that the Jewish people are an exceptional nation. Our nation is not like other nations that have a shared language and land. We are based on the Torah.
Balaam should have realized that he was on the wrong path when his donkey started talking to him. But he was so determined to curse the Jews that he missed the obvious.
While Balak and Balaam are making their plans to destroy the Jews, the Jews are unaware what is happening. That is because they are under God's protection.
Why would Balak hate the Jews when they did nothing to him, and would only help? His hatred of what the Jews represent is the answer. He would rather be destroyed than be moral.
This week's portion ends with the attack on the Jews by Amalek. The question is why the hatred. The answer is that they do not hate the Jews as much as what the Jews represent, morality.
Amalek attacks when he perceives the Jews to be divided and weak. This is true throughout history. Evil does not strike when we are united and strong. They know that they cannot defeat us when we are united in our mission.
Moses's reaction to the complaints of the lack of water have to be viewed in the context of his losing his sister. The sin of the people was not recognizing that pain he was going through at the time.
When Miriam dies the people realize that the well was there in her honor. She does her job never asking for acknowledgement. She just does what is necessary.
Moses's mistake in hitting the rock was understandable but he forgot that he was the leader and the leader is always on duty. He cannot take a break from being the leader.
The commandment of the Red Heifer does not make sense. But this teaches us to obey the commandments even when they do not make sense to us. When taken in total they do make sense.
The rebellion of Korah and his squad was a rebellion of the elites against the leadership of Moses. They based their arguments on a falsehood. This teaches us that sometimes the elites are dangerous.
The purpose of the Exodus was to train the Jews how to live a Torah life once they entered the land. It is easy to keep the Torah while in Yeshiva, the real test comes when you are dealing with the real world.
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The problem with the men that Moses sent to observe the land was that they were the elites of society. They realized that once the Jews entered the land they might not be needed to lead. That lead to their mistakes.
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One of the problems with the emissaries that Moses sent was that instead of just reporting the facts they editorialized. And they misinterpreted the facts as well. The job was just to report the facts, not give their opinions.
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The men chosen to scout the land were not the correct people for the job. Their mission was to report about the people and what if the cities were fortified. They overextended their mission. That is what lead to the disaster that was to follow.The men chosen to scout the land were not the correct people for the job. Their mission was to report about the people and what if the cities were fortified. They overextended their mission. That is what lead to the disaster that was to follow.
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Miriam was the holiest woman of her time. Yet she was stricken with Zora'at for speaking ill of her brother, Moses. How could this have been? The answer is that she meant well bit acted inappropriately.
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The real reason for the Jews complaining about the food that they were given by God was that it came with the command that they had to be moral and ethical. They wanted the food but did not want the condition that it came with.
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We learn that the Jews were guided in the wilderness by a pillar of fire. This teaches us to place our trust in God. That we should strive to succeed but our success depends on God's help.
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We learn that to be a Levite meant that there was a five-year internship to carry out their duties in the Tabernacle. This is to teach us that we have to educate our youth to do the right thing.
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The Menorah has been the symbol of the Jewish people since the building of the Tabernacle. It symbolizes our need to spread the light of Torah to a dark world.
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The High Priest is commanded to clean the Menorah every morning. The purpose of this commandment is to teach us that there is no job beneath you.
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In the Book of Ruth we see that greatness can be attained through our efforts. 3 characters are good but not great. 3 attain greatness through their actions.
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Shavout is the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is important to recognize the uniqueness of the Torah in the ancient world. Since then it has been our rule and guide to living.
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The Priestly Blessing shows that if you want true peace you should first become enlightened by the Torah. Only with this understanding can we achieve true peace. Appeasement does not work.
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The leaders of the tribes decided to wait until after the people gave their donations to the Tabernacle and then they would make up the difference. They discovered that if they did not donate fast they would miss out since the people gave enough.
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There are many smart people who make bad decisions. They have all the facts but they fail to understand them. They lack the wisdom of the Torah.
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Just as the desert is inhospitable and if we do not know how to survive in it, so too, the Jewish people without God's help will perish in the desert of assimilation.
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Today we celebrate the miracle of the 6 Day War in 1967. There were so many miracles during that was that the US military does not teach about it since they say that the victory was the hand of God.
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Tomorrow is Jerusalem Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967. For those of us who were aware at that time, we recognize the miracle of that liberation.
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When discussing the descendants of Moses and Aaron the Torah misses Moses's descendants. The truth is that we are his descendants as long as we follow the Torah.
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Today is the Israel Day Parade in New York. Now, more than ever it will be necessary for Jews to unite in support of Israel and show those who hate us that we will not give into their lies and hatred.
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After the curses the Torah reminds us that we all have intrinsic value. That each human is valuable. Unlike other cultures we do not kill those who have deformities. We value each life.
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The hardest thing to remember is that our success depends on God. We are required to work for success but without moral code of the Bible our society will fall.
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This week's portion warns of the danger of the slippery slope. That a person thinks he is doing something nice but is allowing others to take advantage of his kindness for bad purposes.
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The curses that are mentioned in this week's portion are not extraordinary. This is what happens to an ordinary nation. If you have a special relationship to God then prove it by your actions.
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The punishments mentioned in this week's portion are really what will happen if we do not have a just society.
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The reason that we lost the Bar-Kochba revolt was that we did not respect one another. This is the lesson we should take from the loss.
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Many people will refuse to do something because "It's not my job". This is not a Jewish idea. It does not matter to the Torah. When something has to get done then it is everybody's job.
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It is no accident that the successful revolutions put God at the center and the revolutions that degenerated into dictatorship put man at the center.
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Pesach Sheni is the second chance for those who could not bring an Passover offering during Passover but were unable to. The fact is that one has to do the right thing. Saying I'm sorry is not enough, action is required.
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While we Jews believe that Jewish law was given at Mt. Sinai, we recognize that the rabbis are entitled to interpret that law as they understand it.
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The Jubilee year is the great reset of society. The command for it contains the famous phrase, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to the inhabitants thereof." This means that we have equal opportunity to succeed.
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Keeping the Sabbatical year is showing that one believes in God by refraining from work on the land for a year. Much like keeping the Sabbath and kosher is showing one believes in God.
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The story of the blasphemer seems out of place until we realize that the message that the Torah is sending us is that any society that is not based on the Bible is transitory. Morality and law must be constant.
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The Torah refers to Passover as the holiday of Matzot. The reason is to teach us that leaving Egypt was the first step to becoming a nation. We had to learn what it means to be free.
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The laws concerning the priests' behavior can only be understood in the context that the priest were the spiritual leaders, so their actions mattered.
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Today is Israel Independence Day. It is in the middle of the Omer, a period of mourning for our loss in the Bar Cochba revolt. This is not accident. It shows God's hand in our lives.
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Today is the Memorial Day for the fallen in the Israel Defense Forces. Those who make the outrageous accusations against the IDF and defend Hamas should know that they are defending anti-Semites and racists. It is that simple.
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The Torah points out that one of the duties of the priests in the Temple was the way they looked. We have to remember that they represent God to the people and the people to God.
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The Torah admonishes judges not to pervert justice and to have accurate weights and measures. The biggest problem in the developing nations is corruption.
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We are commanded to fear our parents but also to keep the Shabbat in the same verse. This is teach us that we have to obey our parents unless they order us to violate Jewish Law.
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Israel Independence Day is on Iyar 5, this year it will be celebrated on May 14. It occurs during the Omar, a period of mourning over the loss of the Bar Kochba Revolt. It is no accident of history but God's hand in the world.
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The Torah was the first religious book that tied religion with morality. This is because God stresses that He is a moral God and wants us to be a moral people.
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Today is the memorial day for the Jews murdered in Europe during the Holocaust. It is also to remember the bravery that those facing death showed. The defeat of our enemies is not only that we survive but we survived as Jews.
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The beginning of the Portion states "You Will Become Holy." Then it explains how to become holy through our interactions with our fellow man.
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The reason that the Jews had to put blood on their doorposts was to rid them of the slave mentality. The purpose was not only to free them but to build them up to be free people.
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The Hagadah goes out if its way to show the unity of the Jewish people. That when some Jews are suffering then alll Jews are suffering.
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We are taught that, while we should be involved in the society around us, that we should remember that we are also separate. To protect ourselves we should maintain our own customs and traditions.
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There were Jews who probably told to compromise with Pharaoh.. Moses knew that there was no compromise on the issue. It was a matter that Egyptian society was rotten to the core. There is no compromise with evil.
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The Haggadah that we read on Passover is to remind us of the reason that God took us out of Egypt. That we should be a light unto the nations by our actions.
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Yesterday we received the sad news of the passing of Tom Weiss. He was a fixture in our community for all the good deeds that he did with his sunny personality. May his memory be a blessing to us all.
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This week we are reminded of the importance of Brit Milah. It is to tell us that the real defeat of our enemies is that we continue as Jews, from generation to generation.
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The Torah commands us to celebrate life. While we honor the dead, we do not celebrate death. We have to remember that this is one of main differences with our current enemies. The celebrate death, not life.
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There is no Hebrew word for tragedy. The reason is that in the view of the Torah our fates are not predetermined. We can change our lives by our actions.
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The disease mentioned in the Torah seems to be a spiritual disease. It is an affliction that comes upon us for speaking ill of others. We have to be careful of not only what goes into our mouths but what comes out as well.
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History teaches us that we will suffer tragedies in our lives. It is not that we will suffer them but what do we learn from them and how do we get up and rebuild.
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The hubris of Aaron's sons was what lead to their downfall. The fact that Aaron did not correct their behavior shows that a parents' responsibility is to make sure their children do not fall into the trap of hubris.
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The big mistake that Aaron's sons made was that they assumed that they would inherit the status of their father without having earned it. This is to teach us that just because your parents are great does not mean that you will be. You have to earn it.
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When the sons of Aaron brought an unauthorized offering in the Tabernacle they were punished with death. This is to teach us that we should do what is right, not what we feel is right.
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All great things in the history of the Jewish people begin in the month of Nisan. That is the real Jewish new year since that is the month the Tabernacle first began to operate.
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The Torah uses the number eight to teach that we are both physical and spiritual beings. Our physicality is expressed by our having bodily needs. Our spirituality is expressed by our commands to make ourselves better.
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Moses was told to anoint Aaron, his brother, to be High Priest. This is to teach us that we all have limitations. And we should know them.
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Part of the thanksgiving offering was 10 loaves of 3 different types of unleavened bread and 10 loaves of leavened bread. This is to teach that we are on a path. We are not there yet but will arrive.
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The Daily Offering teaches us to be excited about daily Mitzvot. The can get boring but if we approach them with right attitude it can change our lives.
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Every morning the first thing that a priest had to do in the Temple was to clean the ashes from the day before. This is to teach us that there is no honest work that is beneath our dignity.
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Shushan Purim is celebrated in cities that were wall at the time of Joshua. Why, since Joshua lived centuries before the story took place. This is to teach the centrality of Jerusalem to the Jewish people.
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The question is why the Jews are the only people who have faced genocide throughout history. The answer is simple. The Jews represent a morality from God. And many people do not want to be moral.
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God seemingly does not appear in the Book of Esther. The truth is we see God's providence in all that takes place.
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The Fast of Esther is to remind us that we should be aware of problematic leaders. We should be alert to the dangers facing us in these situations.
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While Mordechai wanted to something due to the danger the Jews were in, Esther explains that only she is able to deal with the situation since she knew how Achashverosh operated, what made him tick.
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When Jews stand up for their rights they achieve them. When they don't then they are mistreated. This is the lesson of Purim and Jewish history.
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While we know about Aaron's sons and grandsons, we do not know about Moses's sons and grandsons. This is to teach that leadership is not inherited but achieved through merit.
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The Torah goes out of it way to praise Betzalel and Oholiab for their contributions and talents. This is to teach us to praise those who do the right thing and encourage others to emulate them.
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In the Book of Esther we read that When Esther points out that she would be placing herself in danger to bring the plight of the Jews before the king, Mordechai points out that God is in charge.
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While the Tabernacle had a spiritual mission, it was a physical building. As such money was needed for the building and maintenance of the Tabernacle. This is why we say, without flour there is no Torah.
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The goal of the Torah is to teach us ethical monotheism. That we worship an ethical and moral God Who wants to be ethical and moral.
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The prohibition of the creation of fire on Shabbat is to remember that God created the world & that fire is one of the few acts that we humans do that shows our uniqueness.
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The Torah keeps reminding us of the importance of keeping the Shabbat. That Shabbat overrides the building of the Tabernacle. That is to remind us that more than the Jews have kept Shabbat, the Shabbat has kept the Jews.
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Moses called for donations to the building of the Tabernacle. The Jews gave so much that he had to ask them to stop giving. This is the nature of a truly religious people. When asked to give, they give.
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The reason that the Jews built the Golden Calf was that they thought that without Moses that they would not have been redeemed. The lesson is that our leaders are vessels for God. They succeed when they do what God expects.
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After giving the instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle, God reminds the Jewish people of the importance of keeping the Sabbath. This so that we remember why we have the Tabernacle.
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Betzalel was chosen to fashion the tools of the Tabernacle. His name means "In the shadow of God." This is to teach us that our talents, be they what they are, are from God.
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The sin of the Golden Calf was that it assumes that our rights come from a man. The Torah is pointing out that our rights are God given. That they cannot be taken away by the government.
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The story of the Golden Calf seems to be out of place. It should have been recorded after the events at Mt. Sinai. This is to teach us that the Torah is more interested in our actions rather than beliefs.
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Malicious gossip is detrimental to both the speaker and the listener. The whole purpose is to bring down the subject. Instead of trying to build themselves up and improve they want to tear down.
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The purpose of the shew-bread was to remind the priests that their job was to serve the rest of the people. That they should be prideful of their position.
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The Vilna Gaon looked at the US & understood that a Jew could become president. To him this meant the beginning of the redemption. So he sent his top students to Israel to begin the process of rebuilding the land.
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While a republican form of government is considered the best, there are some things that are not up to a vote. Torah Law is one of them.
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The Torah is detailed oriented about how a priest should dress while serving in the Tabernacle. The question is why. The answer is we behave better when dressed properly.
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The priests were commanded to burn the entrails of the sacrifices in the Tabernacle. This was to lead the Jewish people away from the Egyptian culture which used the entrails to divine the future. It was meant to get Egyptian culture out of the Jews.
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The lesson on how the priest in the Temple were to be dressed is to remind us that we are the representatives of the Jewish people and therefore of God. How we dress and behave tells the world what we are.
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The family that made the shew bread for use in the Tabernacle kept the recipe a secret. Thus highlighting that the Torah recognizes that intellectual property is property and has to be treated as such.
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The budget for the building of the Tabernacle was public. This was so that there would be no overspending in the construction of the Tabernacle. The Torah is against secret budgets and plans. It hold our leaders to a high ethical standard.
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God stresses that first we do the commandment no matter how we feel about it. Eventually, we will feel the wisdom of doing the right thing.
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The reason that the Torah spends so much time on the construction of the Tabernacle is that it was meant for us, not God. We forget that God does not need the Tabernacle, we do.
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A lesson that we can learn from the Super Bowl is that we should not give up on attempting to achieve our goals. When our people were down and it looked like it was over for us, we managed to achieve great things.
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God's command to build a Tabernacle is so that He might dwell within us. God's plan is that we do His will and thus bring Him into the world.
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The Torah's view of "social justice" is that we are responsible not only for our own actions but also of those who are dependent on us. If you own a dangerous animal, then you are responsible for your animal's actions.
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The Torah is very careful about the dignity of humans. Even a murderer his dignity respected.
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The purpose of the Torah's justice system is to make the victim whole. That if the victim loses an eye he is compensated by the culprit giving him the value of an eye. We do not blind the culprit.
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The Torah reminds us that slaves have to be treated humanely because we are all created in the image of God.
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If a Jew who is enslaved does not wish to go free in the Sabbatical year he is punished. The reason is that the Torah can only be observed by someone who is free. A slave is not a full person.
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The Torah states that the purpose of the Jews leaving Egypt was that they were to serve God. Yet instead of the Jews building the tabernacle where they would serve God, God first gives them moral and ethical laws.
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Morality which is not based on religion will lead to disaster. This is not to say that religion based morality can not be abused but a good religion will produce good people based on moral principles.
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No where in the Torah does it just say to be a good person. It gives commands, that if followed will make one a good person.
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As the Jews were getting ready to receive the 10 Commandments, they were commanded to wash their clothes. That they had to be appropriately dressed. This is to teach us that how we dress makes a difference.
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Jethro is the source for the Jewish judicial system. What is amazing is that Moses took Jethro's advice, both because he was a non-Jew and his father in law. This shows us that a truly great leader knows that he does not have all the answers.
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If a person wishes to live among Jews but not be a part of the Jewish nation, he has to accept the 7 Noahide laws, which means he has to accept the idea that the Torah is the supreme law of the land.
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Amalek struck when the Jews were complaining. They sensed that the Jews were divided. This is true of all our enemies. They believe that if we are fighting among ourselves then we are weak.
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We learn that Moses was concerned with honoring Joseph's wish to be buried in Israel. This is to teach us that we have to honor those who came before us.
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God caused the Red Sea to be split with a strong wind. Why didn't He just split it in an open miracle? The answer is to teach us that miracles are all around, all we have to do is to be aware.
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After all that the Israelites saw in Egypt and the Sea of Reeds, they were complaining that God was not supplying them with what they wanted. Those who complain but do not offer solutions are whiners and God does not want to be whiners but doers.
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At the sea Moses begins to pray for God to save the people from the Egyptians. God replies, "quit yelling and take action." This is to teach us that God wants us to act, not just pray.
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The reason that God freed the Jews from slavery was to give them a mission. To bring God's law to the world by their behavior.
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Before the plague of the death of the first born, God states to the Jewish people that He is God and that He is a judging God. This is remind us that we will receive reward or punishment for the things we do.
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The problem that the Egyptians had was that they did not treat their slaves with respect since they considered them not to be human. The Torah teaches us that even a slave has to be treated with respect and that they were also created in the image of God.
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The reason that the first commandment that the Jews receive is to teach them the responsibility of being free. A free person is also responsible for their actions. A slave is not.
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When Pharaoh says that only the men can go to worship God Moses immediately refuses the offer. All the Jews, men, women and children, will go. This is a basic principle in the Torah. We leave no Jew behind.
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The biggest problem that Pharaoh had was that he was not able to admit he was wrong. He chose to blame the Jews even though he was at fault for not heeding God.
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The Torah uses the singular verb when Moses and Aaron we commanded to go to Pharaoh. This is to teach us that whatever our disagreements among ourselves we have to be united when facing our foes.
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When every shred of evidence should have convinced Pharaoh that his policies would lead to disaster, he stubbornly refused to change. This was his march of folly.
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All the plagues in Egypt, except the 10th, were opposed to the gods of Egypt which were nature gods. God was making the point that He controlled nature, not the other way around.
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All the plagues in Egypt could be explained scientifically. This ties in with the concept of natural redemption. Nothing seems abnormal until you realize that there has been a change in the world.
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The hardest job that Moses had was getting Egypt out of the Jews. The problem was that many of the Jews loved Egyptian culture. God wanted the Jews to reject that culture for the Torah.
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All the miracles that happened in Egypt could be explained naturally. This is because a miracle is an event that happens when you need it to happen. Life is a miracle in of itself.
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When Moses goes to announce the plague of blood he encounters Pharaoh in the early hours of the morning. This was to teach that even though Pharaoh was thought to be a god in Egypt he was not.
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The name Hebrew is a derogatory name for the Jews. The reason is that the goal of enslaving the Jews was to destroy them. Thus it is the same throughout our history. First they will denigrate the Jews and then murder the Jews.
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Moses was admonished at the burning bush to know before whom he was standing. This was also an admonishment to remember that he would be speaking to slaves would not really be interested in long speeches. They wanted their freedom.
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When Moses saw the Egyptian taskmaster beating the Jew, he looked around and did not see another man. This is to teach us to do the right thing even if it isn't the nice thing.
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When the midwives in Egypt get the order to murder all male Jewish babies they resist. The Torah states that they fear God more than Pharaoh. Fearing God will get you to do the right thing.
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The Torah states that a new Pharaoh came into power that did not know Joseph. This teaches that it did not matter what the Jews did for Egypt they simply were against the Jews.
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The reason that the tribe of Levi was not enslaved was that Levi was still alive when Pharaoh succeeded in fooling the Jews. Levi, though saw through Pharaoh's plot and told his descendants not to be fooled.
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Gad and Asher were given their blessings one after the other. Gad helped with the liberation of the land. Asher would be the economic powerhouse of the nation. You need a good economy to have a good military.
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The blessing that Jacob gave Zevulun was that he should be successful in business so that he could support Issachar who would learn. If the economy is weak so too the Torah learning will be weak.
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Jacob insists on being buries in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The reason for this is that he wanted that the Jews not get too comfortable in Egypt. That they should remember that Egypt is not their country.
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Joseph has to convince Pharaoh that he be allowed to bury Jacob in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. He finds a diplomatic way of doing this by appealing to Pharaoh's conscience.
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Jacob chooses Judah to be the leader of the future generations, not only due to his natural leadership skills but also due to his character traits.
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Reuben loses the double portion allotted to the first born because of his mistakes. He was not a bad person but just failed in understanding what was the correct thing to do. He meant well but did not do well.
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Both the 1st & 2nd Temples were destroyed due to baseless hatred of Jews for their fellow Jews. The 3rd will be built due to baseless love of Jew fo their fellow Jew.
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We learn that the reason that the 1st Temple was destroyed that the Jews did the ritual correctly but did not understand that the reason for the ritual was to teach us how to behave.
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Joseph wants the Jews to be far away from the center of Egyptian culture. He knew the dangers of living in that culture and that it would be dangerous for them spiritually.
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When Joseph tells his brothers not to worry about what they did since it was God's plan that he be sold into Egyptian slavery it leads to the question does man have free will.
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The brothers should have realized that something was amiss by the hints that Joseph dropped until he revealed himself to them. They missed the hints. This teaches us to pay attention to the details.
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Joseph wants to know if his brothers are truly repentant for what they did to him. The way to test them is to put them into the same position and see if they would behave differently.
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Judah becomes the leader of the brothers due to his taking on personal responsibility for the safety of all of them. That is the true meaning of leadership.
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The story of Hanukah is that the anti-Jewish forces did not want to kill the Jews but that they should not live as Jews. By us living as Jews is our ultimate victory and their ultimate defeat.
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In this week's portion we have the beginning of the brother reuniting as a family. The striking this is that the Hashmonaim were always united in their mission to save the Jewish people.
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The story of Hanukah is the story of wisdom over knowledge. The Greeks had a lot of knowledge but very little wisdom. The Jews had wisdom based on the Bible.
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While we recognize that God controls the world we are commanded not to rely of miracles in our lives. God wants us to act. Once we act God will act, not before.
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Hanukah was not a war between the Jews and the Greeks but a war against the immorality of the day.
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While Reuben is the first born he is not the leader of the brothers, Judah is. This is to teach us that according to the Torah leadership does not come by our birth but by our actions.
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When Joseph is sent to find his brothers he has a seemingly chance encounter with a stranger. The stranger directs him to his brothers. The encounter did not happen by chance. It was directed by God.
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Just as Jacob thinks he is able to relax from the troubles of facing Esau, Laban and Schem new troubles begin. This time from within the family.
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Jacob's reaction to Simeon & Levi's attack on Schem can only be explained in that he was afraid of becoming like Esau. There is some Esau in all of us and we have to fight to keep Esau at bay.
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The Ari once commented that Rachel is not buried where people think she is but that does not matter since so many Jews have prayed there it is as if she is there. We can make a place holy by our actions.
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Simeon and Levi destroy the city of Schem for what Hamor did to Dinah. Why the entire city for what one person did? Because the rest of the people approved of Hamor's actions. They were all complicit.
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Chamor did not think that he did anything wrong in abducting and raping Dina. She was from outside his tribe and therefore fair game. The Torah teaches that this attitude was evil.
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Jacob has to negotiate with Esau. Jacob has to mollify Esau so that he can enter to the Land. He treats him with the respect that Esau doesn't deserve. He does this so that he can accomplish his goal.
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Jacob stayed behind to find a small vessel. Why, if he was wealthy at this point did he worry about such a minor detail. It is to teach us to worry about the minor details while keeping our eyes on the goal.
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Jacob realizes that the danger of staying with Laban is that he will become like him. He knows the best way to avoid this is to leave and return home. It should be remembered that Jacob has goals but he is a realist.
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When we begin this week's portion we see that Jacob is running from his brother who wants to kill him. He meets his uncle who wants to cheat him. Yet he is grateful for the gifts that God has given him.
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Rachel steals Laban's idols because she doesn't want her father to worship idols. While her motive was good her action was not. We are not allowed to do the wrong thing for the right reason.
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In this week's portion we see Leah accusing Rachel of "stealing" Jacob when it was the other way around. This is to teach that Leah was so unhappy that she mistook their history.
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The problem with our standing in the world is that we have to be careful of this who are nice to us to our faces but plot against us behind our backs.
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When we first meet Jacob, he is introduced as a man who prefers to study. We think of him as weak and naive. It turns out that he is neither. This is what saves him from the individuals he will have to confront.
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Isaac's love of Esau was a act of willful blindness. He knew that Esau was far from perfect, but he could not bring himself to admit that he was not the leader that we needed.
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Esau complains that he was tricked into selling his birthright. This is a false complaint. He knew what he was doing but was greedy for the lentils. He could not go for a short time without eating. He sold his birthright with full knowledge.
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The Torah describes Jacob of a man of the tents and complete. He was studying the wisdom of the Torah to learn how to build a righteous life. Esau was a total secularist and therefore unfit to be a leader of the Jewish people.
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When Esau finds out that Jacob got the blessing of the first born he complains to his father. He neglects to tell his father that he had sold the birthright to Jacob. He was lying by omission.
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Isaac dug wells for water. The Philistines would try to destroy the wells. The question is why? Didn't they also benefit from the wells? The answer is that their hatred blinded them to the benefits of the wells.
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Isaac's legacy was his sons. Especially Jacob. The fact is that while Isaac and Ishmael could come together to bury Abraham, Esau's enmity against Jacob was overpowering.
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We are commanded to help each other through loving kindness. Not just to mouth the words. We see this in the action of the Jews of Israel rushing to the aid of their less fortunate brethren.
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It is interesting that Abraham did not rely on prayer to acquire a wife for Isaac. He sent his servant to acquire her through negotiations with her family. That is because that God wants us to act, not just to pray.
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When Eliezer is negotiating with Rebacca's family, he doesn't mention that Abraham and Isaac are spiritual leaders. He mentions their wealth. That is because Rebacca's family were materialist. They had no spiritual side.
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The Torah states that Isaac first married Rebecca and then he lived her. This is to teach us that love for a couple should grow. That we should work to make our spouse happy.
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In this week's portion we see that Elazar, Abraham's servant is looking for a suitable bride for Isaac. He makes a test to see if she would go above and beyond in caring for others. This is a lesson to us in these trying times.
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Abraham bought the burial site for Sarah. He did not have to since he knew that the land had been promised to him. The reason is that he did not want that there should be any questions about ownership in the future.
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Lot's daughters claimed that they committed incest because the they would not otherwise have husbands. They gave up hope. This is to teach us that we should never give up hope but to carry on in the light of the Torah.
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When Lot left Sodom with his wife and two daughters they were told not to look back. Lot's wife did and became a pillar of salt. Why did she do it? She missed the "good" life that they had in Sodom.
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Abraham debates God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He gets God to say that for sake of 10 He would not destroy the 2 cities. Why did he not go below 10?
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The angels come to Lot to tell him that Sodom will be destroyed. Lot refuses to believe them even though he knows that the people of Sodom are evil. This is a lesson to us. If someone says that they want to murder all Jews, believe them.
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During a conversation with God Abraham stops the conversation so that he can take care of three strangers. And God agrees. This shows that God is more interested in our actions.
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Abraham was so named because of his attribute of mercy. He was merciful but he was not stupid. When faced with evil he was not merciful. He would show mercy to those who were proven to be evil.
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Abraham is told to go to the Land of Canaan. The reason is that God wanted the Jews to be seen. That through our actions the world could learn how make the world a better place.
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When God describes the land He mentions the seven nations dwelling in the land. Missing from the list were the Philistines. About them the Torah that they were then in the land, inferring that they were not native to the land.
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Abraham has to go to war for the sake of Lot. He does not go to war for its own sake. He refused any rewards for the victory. So, it is true with us today. We do not go to war unless we have to not because we want to.
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The command to Abraham to leave his home is a strange one. He is commanded to go for himself. This underlines the idea that we do not do the commandments for God but for our benefit.
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The Torah is specific in that a government should exist for the safety of society but that it should be a totalitarian regime. This was one of the inspirations for the Framers of the US Constitution.
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The Torah states that Noah was a righteous man in his generation. What add the qualifier? Because he would make excuses for the evil around him even though he was apart from it.
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Before the flood there were no laws. After, God gave the 7 Laws for mankind. What is interesting is that the one positive is to set up courts to enforce the other 6.
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A question of the flood story was why were the animals drowned. The answer is that the purpose of Creation was man. Without man there is no purpose to the animals.
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In this week's portion we see that the Torah is against anarchy and totalitarianism. While it is necessary to have a government, it should be limited.
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The difference between the Torah's telling of the flood story and the others sources is that the Torah gives the story a moral dimension whereas the others do not.
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True holiness is not that you pray and ignore the world but that you get involved and help your fellow. This is important to remember especially during this period of holiness.
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The final judgement of Yom Kippur is not given until after Simhat Torah. Why? God is interested in how we behave when we do not have the constraints of Yom Kippur. When we have had a bit to drink. That is when real repentance kicks in.
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The Book of Jonah relates that he does not want Nineveh to repent, knowing what the future holds. But God has His own agenda. And Nineveh is saved because of the actions of its inhabitants, not their prayers and promises.
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When Joshua is tapped to be the next leader he is afraid that he is not ready. He learns that he is more than ready for the new position. Also, that a leader cannot be his followers friend. Decision have to be made and responsibility has to be taken.
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At the end of this week's portion Moses appoints Joshua to be the new leader. Moses had to leave the scene otherwise he would have undermined Joshua's leadership. He had to let Joshua lead.
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The message of Ecclesiastes is that the famous are rarely significant and the significant are rare famous. Only the values of the Torah last forever. Everything else doesn't.
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We are admonished that we cannot believe that God will forgive sins between man and man. But also social action that are not based on the Bible will lead to disaster.
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The murder of Gedalia was the end of Jewish presence in Judeah under the Babylonians. It was caused by Jews who made common cause with the Ammonites, ignoring the fact that the Ammonites were against any Jewish presence in the Land.
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The story of the binding of Isaac teaches us that, while God wants allegiance, He does not want blind allegiance. He wants us to use the tools that He gave us to make the right decisions based on the Torah.
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The reason that we are allowed to repent is that we are humans and not animals. An animal cannot be held responsible for its actions. It does not know right and wrong. We have the Torah that teaches us morality and ethical behavior.
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One of the lessons of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy is that when one Jew commits a sin then all are responsible. It a society is immoral then immorality will affect all.
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No where in the Bible does it state that God eats our sacrifices. Instead it says that God smells the aroma, meaning that He is looking at our intent. Our prayers are our current form of the sacrifices. Again God is looking at our intent of our prayers.
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Rosh Hashanah is not the Jewish New Year. It is the world's. It is the anniversary of the creation of the first human. This is to underscore that the world was created for the use by humans.
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In this week's portion Moses gets the Jews ready for his imminent death. He knows that he will not be the leader and prepares for the next generation through the appointment of Joshua.
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To end his long speech Moses again reminds the Jews of the danger of idolatry. The real evil of idolatry is that there is no moral code. People do what they think is correct. The Bible is our guide to what is moral and what is not.
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One of the most famous statements in the Torah is in this week's portion. That the Torah is not in Heaven. What is meant by that is that the Torah was given to us as a rule and guide on how to conduct our lives.
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In this week's portion we see what happens when someone marries for lust. They end up hating each other. The results is the rebellious son. To avoid this marry for the right reasons.
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The Torah warns us about following false prophets. That they will always lead us astray. We should remember that the followers of totalitarian regimes think of their leaders as prophets.
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While recognizing that a leader was needed, the Torah limits the power of the king. It is interesting to note that this passage was the basis for the constitutional limits on the president of the US.
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The reason the Torah seem to harp on the evils of idolatry is that it is based on human morality, which changes with the times. God's morality is unchanging.
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The Torah calls on judges to seek justice. Not to do justice. The important distinction is that we are human and bound to make mistakes but that our goal should always be to do our best to be just in judgements.
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The Torah first worries about how we behave privately, then as a community. Finally, it shows how a Torah government should act. Here we see how the judges should judge.
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The danger of a false prophet is that though what he says seems to be true it is not and will therefore lead people astray. This will cause idolatry and then the courts will have to take action against people committing idolatry.
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The Torah is against us treating slaves as property. The slave has rights that the master cannot violate. This means that the Torah was against the institution of slavery. The anti-slavery movement of the 18th & 19th centuries was based on the Torah.
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The Torah states that we should no do what is right in our own eyes but what the Torah says is right. The problem of doing what is right in our eyes is that we will justify the evil that we do. The Nazis and Communists felt that they were moral even though they committed horrible acts.
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The commandment to destroy all vestiges of idolatry in the Land of Israel is to teach the Jews not to follow the ways of the idolators. That we should be a light unto the nations by the Torah's vision of morality, ethics and justice.
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We are commanded to follow the commandments but are admonished that if we do not follow them with joy then we are making the commandments into a form of idolatry.
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The Torah stresses that we have to be deserving of the Land. It is not enough that it was promised us but that we have to show, through our actions that we deserve being there.
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We are not only required to remember but keep in mind why we remember. We are constantly reminded that God did not take us out of Egypt to be a "normal" people. We have a mission to fulfil.
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The Torah states that God will drive the inhabitants of the land out so why did the Jews have to prepare. Just wait for God to do what He said he would? The answer is that God wants to see if we are willing to make an effort.
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If you do not teach your children your values then they will be filled with values that you will not agree with. This is the reason why so many young Jews today are marrying non-Jews. They do not value being Jewish.
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The second paragraph of the Shma makes if very clear that we are in a partnership with God. If we do our part then God will do His. If we don't then we will be punished.
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We remember the important commandments but we tend to ignore the minor ones. This week's Torah Portion comes to remind us that there are no "minor" commandments in the eyes of God.
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The Torah admonishes us to remember that our wealth comes from two sources. Our hard work and God. We want Jews to succeed in business but we also want them to remember the source of their prosperity.
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The 18th of Av is one of the happiest days of the Jewish year. It comes on the heels on the 9th of Av. The reason is to tell the Jewish people that there is a future. That no matter what bad thing you have experienced we will continue.
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Today is the 9th of Av, the anniversary of the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem. What is important is not that we remember that they were destroyed but why God allowed them to be destroyed.
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The 10th Commandment is not to covet. This is the real basis of a moral society. When we covet what others have we forget all they had to do to acquire their things in life.
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In Exodus the commandment is to keep the Sabbath while in Deuteronomy the commandment is to remember it. The reason is simple, if you do not remember it there is nothing to keep and if you do not keep it then there is nothing to remember.
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The first of the Ten Commandments is that God took us out of Egypt. One of the thoughts is that we were not taken out of Egypt to be a normal nation but to be a light until the other nations.
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One of the prime lessons we learn is that Moses is denied entry into the Land of Israel. One reason is that his time as leader was over. His mere presence would have undermined the leadership of Joshua. A leader has to know when to step down.
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The Temple was destroyed due to baseless hatred of Jew against Jew. The cause of baseless hatred is the abuse of accusations. When a person is accused of behavior that he is not guilty of he will react. And not in the manner that the accuser expects.
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There is an idea that we are not responsible for our actions. This is not what the Torah says. Even if it is an accident we hold some responsibility.
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There were many bad things that happened to the Jewish people during the 3 Weeks. But it is also the time that we will see the beginning of the Redemption.
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The Book of Deuteronomy is all about how to set up society once the Jews reach the Land of Israel. Moses's main concern was that the Jews not copy the ways of the Egyptians or their society.
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The Torah emphasizes our need to do the right thing. It is no accident that this week's portion is always read during the 3 Weeks of mourning. That is because we lost the Temple because we did the wrong thing.
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The Book of Deuteronomy begins with Moses recounting the things that happened in the wilderness. His aim was that we should learn from our mistakes. Greatness comes from someone learning what the did that was wrong and working to correct them.
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As we are in the Three Weeks we have to remember that we are only deserving of the Land if we treat each other properly. The reason we lost the land was in our bad behavior one to the other.
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The commandment to drive the local population out of the land seems cruel to us today. We have to realize the evil that those societies represented. The Torah was afraid that they would influence the Jews
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The idea of the Cities of Refuge was for someone who accidentally killed another.
The were allowed out when the High Priest died. The reason is that if he had been doing his job correctly then the accidental death would not have occurred.
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The tribes of Reuben & Gad request permission to settle on the east bank of the Jordan River. Moses grants this on the condition that they help in the mission in conquering the Land. This is to show that we have a duty to our nation.
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The Jews receive a commandment to kill all the Midianites, women as well as men. Why? The women were willing participants in the evil plans of Balak. He did not have to force them to do it. They were as bad as the men.
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One of the most important lessons of the Torah is to leaders. They have to know when to step down and they have to realize that they have to prepare the next leader.
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Today we begin the period of mourning for the 1st & 2nd Temples in Jerusalem. It is interesting to note that the Rabbis did not say the reason that they were destroyed was because we were overpowered but that we had committed sins against our fellow man,
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The question is how Zimri could have committed such a heinous sin in public and in front of the Tabernacle. The answer is that people were not paying attention to the small details. When we forgive minor transgressions then they will commit major ones.
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It should be remembered that the most quoted book at the Constitutional Convention was the Book of Deuteronomy. That the founders were deeply religious and that their writings and thoughts reflected this.
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Pinchas receives a blessing from God for being zealous for God's Torah and morality. This is to teach that immorality cannot be the basis of society. Sometimes actions have to be taken.
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One of the clear messages from this weeks portion is that Balak does not respect Balaam. Balaam justifies everything that Balak says & does but Balak sees Balaam as a useful idiot. Balaam does not realize that once Balak gets what he wants then he is no longer useful.
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In this week's portion we get the answer to why is there antisemitism. They do not hate us because of what we do in business or for the money that we seem to have. It is not jealousy. It is because we had a conversation with God who gave us a moral code. They do not want to live according to that code so they hate us as its representatives.
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Many people say that they cannot believe in God after the Holocaust. Rene Slatkin was a Mengele Twin. He was sent to Auschwitz at the age of 6. When asked about that his reply was how can you not.
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While Moses's frustration with the continuing complaints from the people and his mourning his sister's death on top of it is understandable, he should have kept his feelings inside and not strike the rock.
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When Miriam dies the people did not mourn her but that the well that was giving water to the Jews in the wilderness dried up. This was a major flaw in that they did not realize that the reason for the well was the righteousness of Miriam.
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The Commandment of the Red Heifer is one of the hardest to understand. One of the lessons from it is that sometimes there is no good decision. That we have to make a choice between a bad decision and a worse one.
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The 3 Torah Portions that we are in the middle of tell of the dangers that we face as a people and to our mission. They are there as a warning to the enemies, both within & without, that we will face.
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One of the prime differences between Moses and Korach was that Moses did not care if it was his job or not. He would do it because it had to get done. Korach would say "It's not my job."
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The major difference between Moses and Korach was that Moses really didn't want the job. His greatness was his humility.
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The dispute between Korach and Moses was really an ego trip on Korach's part. In such a case it would have ended with Korach and his followers fighting with each other, much like the crew of the Bounty who killed each other after they mutinied.
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The Torah guarantees equal opportunity but not equal outcome. The outcome is up to the individual, God gives us the tools, it is up to use them properly.
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The rebellion led by Korach was logical. If the purpose of the Torah was to make us better people then why do we need all these commandments? What he failed to see was that keeping the commandments was a sure way of making us better people.
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The mistake of the scouts was that they manipulated the facts to meet their agenda. The Torah warns against this by concluding this week's portion by admonishing us not to follow our eyes and heart but our intelligence and faith.
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An example of someone who gave to the community and felt a vital part of the community was Benedict Stambler. When he saw that the recordings of Cantor Rosenblatt were about to be lost he took the initiative to rerecord them.
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The problem of the Jews was fear of succeeding in taking the Land. It meant that they would be responsible to do all the things that the Torah commands. That the Commandments were no longer theoretical but practical. They would now have to work.
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Joshua & Caleb did not follow the conventional wisdom of the other scouts. They were outliers in their views. Yet they were correct in their analysis while the others were not. This is to teach that it is the outliers who advance ideas, not those who follow the crowd.
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The problems of the scouts that Moses sent was that they were the leaders of the tribes. They felt that they would lose power if they gave a good report. That is why they sabotaged the whole effort.
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The reason that Moses was commanded to send the scouts to scout out the Land was because we have a partnership with God. God will help us but He wants us to also have a part in the process. We have to earn the miracle.
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The Torah points out that when bad things happen to the Jewish people then it is necessary for the Jews to look into themselves as to why these things are happening. There are no coincidences because God is in charge.
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The Torah states that the convert is required to celebrate Passover as is the natural born Jew. That is because without Passover there would be no Jewish nation for the convert to join.
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Moses has to teach Joshua an important lesson in this week's portion. That if you want a future of the Jewish people then you have to prepare the future leaders to take their positions. Otherwise, there will be no next generation.
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The Torah places a lot of importance on the Rule of Law. This is a concept that without it we will descend into a lawless society which will be no good for us. The Torah is against someone being above or below the law.
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Lighting the Menorah in the Tabernacle was a daily event. Yet the Torah makes a big deal of it. This is to teach us that the things we do on a daily basis what makes the special things possible.
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Miriam meant well when she commented to her brother Aaron her concern that Moses seemed to be neglecting his wife. Though she meant well she was punished for the sin of malicious gossip. Meaning well is not enough. Your actions matter.
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The Torah stresses that we are a part of the community. The fact that even someone who lives off charity is required to tithe is important. We are all responsible for the upkeep of the community.
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Marriage is the basis of society. When there is suspicion that the wife is betraying her husband but there is no proof then the Torah proscribes the ritual of the Mei Sotah, Waters of Contrition. This is to find out the truth and, if possible to save the marriage.
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In the view of the Torah a thief has to repay his victim for what he has stolen. Just sitting in jail is not enough. He caused damage to the victim and until the victim has forgiven him, he is not forgiven.
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The Priestly Blessings mentioned in this week's portion are the basics on societal norms. We ask for God's blessing, then for wisdom and finally for peace. The fact is that without peace none of the rest matter but peace at any price is not worth it either.
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At the end of the Nazir's term of Nazirut he is required to bring a Sin Offering. The reason is that he while he was a Nazir that he had taken himself out of society. The Torah wants us to a part of society.
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In the Torah we see that individuals are recognized for their leadership roles but that a same time we are encouraged to build a society from the bottom up.
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One of the themes of the Book of Ruth is taking responsibility. Both, if one is a leader or a common person, we are responsible for doing the right thing.
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The Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Living Memorial to the Holocaust is an important venue but it gives the wrong message. The true heritage of the Jewish people is when we behave as Jews and keep the commandments that were given us at Mt. Sinai.
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God took us out of Egypt with a plan. We are to be a light unto the nations. That they should learn from us what a Godly society should be.
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As we approach the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, we have to remember that one the central themes of the Torah is that we are required to be of service to the community. That we are a part of the whole.
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On this day in June of 1967 the city of Jerusalem was reunited. A few weeks before the 6 Day War Naomi Shemer sang her song "Jerusalem of Gold" for the first time, not realizing that within a month the city would be liberated.
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When we think about the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem, we have to remember that it occurred through a miracle. The IDF was able to take the city with ease due to the Jordanians abandoning the all of Judea & Sumaria. With this we see God's hand in history.
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The Torah takes a census of men of military age. This, in case the nation has to go to war. Considering that the main job of the Jews at the time was learning shows that we are obligated to do our duty to the nation.
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When taking a census of the Jews in the wilderness the Tribe of Levi is not counted with the rest. The reason is that they are singled out for a special mission. They are to be the spiritual leaders of the people. That is why they were spread out among the people.
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The Tabernacle was a physical structure to remind us of the spiritual nature of our lives. That we need a physical structure because we are both physical and spiritual. We are not here just to survive.
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When the Torah states that these are the progenity of Moses & Aaron, it mentions Aaron's descendants but is silent on Mases's. The reason is that Moses's descendants were not leaders. Aaron's descendants were.
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The Torah warns us that if we do not have a moral society we will suffer as a nation. We will get leaders who are unjust and corrupt. Morality comes from the bottom up.
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The reason for a Jew to become a slave is that he is not able to pay his debts. But the Torah demands that he be set free in the 7th year. If he chooses to remain a slave he is punished because the Torah wants us to be free.
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Lag B'Omer is a festive day throughout the Jewish world. But the truth is we are celebrating that in spite of all their attempts to assimilate the Jews into Roman culture, we are still here as Jews and the Romans do not exist.
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The idea of letting the land lay fallow for a year is not about agriculture. It is about social cohesion. To remember that we are merely stewards of the land. God gives us the tools to work the land. What we do with these tools is what is important.
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We tend to think that spirituality is between God and man. We forget that real spirituality can also be between man and Man. How we treat each other.
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The Torah admonishes us in many places to teach our children the proper mode of behavior. We teach by example. If you practice what you preach your children will follow you. If not, then they will follow you as well.
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The blasphemer behaved the way he did due to his anger over the way he was treated by others. They would remind him that he did not belong to a tribe because his father wasn't an Israelite. We have to be careful on such things otherwise they can lead to disaster.
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The Torah admonishes us not to take God's Name in vain. Many will go out of their way so as not to swear in God's Name. It is a common Jewish tradition to say "without an oath" when we promise to do something.
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The repeats the holidays over and over again. The question is why. Isn't once enough? The answer is that we have to remember why God took us out of Egypt and what our mission is.
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The Torah states that a priest in the Temple has to be unblemished both physically and spiritually. This is because he represents the Jewish people to God and God to the Jewish people.
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The Torah gives specific commands on how we are to be dressed. We do not wear proper clothes for God but for ourselves. We cannot show proper respect if we are not properly dressed.
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When we look at this week's Portion, we see that the goal is to make the mundane holy. We do this by controlling our time. We should be cognizant of the limited time that we have and make the best use of it.
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No matter how we count the Omer, Israel Independence Day falls in the middle of the mourning period. This is no accident. Israel Independence Day is the atonement for the sins committed by Rebbe Akiva's students during the Bar-Kochba Revolt.
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The Book of Leviticus tells us about the Temple service. Yet it suddenly takes a detour to discuss societal issues. What we are being told is that the Temple is just a building unless we behave correctly toward our fellow man.
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This week's portion of the Torah deals with the disease of Matzora. This is a disease caused by gossip. The lesson here to avoid malicious gossip.
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Any thanksgiving offering that we bring is too much for one person to consume. Yet it has to be consumed by the end of the day. This forces us to bring our friends to celebrate. This shows that the Pascal Sacrifice is also a Thanksgiving offering.
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The Seder stresses the idea that there will always be those who wish to destroy us. That the defense against these threats is our unity.
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In the Seder we are admonished to set the teeth of the wicked son on edge. The reason is that the source of his being wicked are the words that he abuses.
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The real message of the Passover Seder is that it is not an intellectual account of the story but an experiential one. We are meant to experience leaving Egypt.
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We are required to bring a Thanksgiving Offering to the Tabernacle. This is to teach us to be thankful for what God has done for us. It is very easy to forget that God is the source for all that we have, including life.
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The Torah first tells us what to do and then announces who will be the High Priest. This is to teach us that more important than who is doing the service, that the service should be done correctly.
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One of the important aspects of what the Priests in the Tabernacle had to do was to carry the fire of the Altar from day to day. This is to teach us that if you want the next generation to follow you have to show them the way.
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There were special offerings given by the leaders if they inadvertently made a mistake, both the religious leaders as well as the religious. The reason is that people will base their decisions on what they do and say.
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The first commandment that the Jewish people received was to declare the 1st of Nisan to be the beginning of the Jewish year. Rosh Hashanah is the day that the 1st man was created. The 1st of Nisan is when the Jewish people became a people.
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The sin offering is brought for an unintentional sin. That is something that happened but was not intended. It is not an accident but it caused damage either spiritually or physically. We are still responsible for our actions.
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The Torah gives a lot of rules and laws on the sacrificial service. The reason is to avoid us falling into anarchy and losing sight of what the service is for.
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The Torah is very clear that the Temple service is for us and not for God. The purpose of the service is to make us better people.
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We finish the Book of Exodus with the completion of the building of the Tabernacle. We start the Book of Leviticus with how to use this building. The use of the building is what makes it special, not its beauty.
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The Book of Exodus ends with the Pillar of Fire to guide the Jews by night & the pillar of smoke in the day. This is to show the Jews that they are to follow God's ways throughout their lives
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The reason that we have so much detail in the Torah about building the Tabernacle is that people need ritual in order to remember. As has been observed, more than the Jews have kept Shabbat, the Shabbat has kept the Jews.
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The Torah goes into detail about everything in the building of the Tabernacle. Why? To avoid misinterpretation by the artist.
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The Torah stresses that keeping Shabbat is more important that building the Tabernacle. That if we do not keep Shabbat then what is the Tabernacle for?
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We all have to remember that we all have talents and they come from God. That after we return God will ask what we did with the gifts that He gave us.
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After the incident of the Golden Calf Moses rebukes Aaron for allowing the situation to get out of control. He reminds him that a leader is responsible for the actions of his subordinates.
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When Moses seems to be delayed coming back from Mt. Sinai the Jews build an idol. It seems strange until we remember that they were only recently freed from Egyptian bondage and the only society that they knew was Egyptian.
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The main lesson of Purim is that we are required to have a festive meal with our neighbors, give charity, and give each other gifts. This is to promote Jewish unity. As Rabbi Kook mentions, the Temple will be rebuilt through senseless love.
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Esther requests that the Jews fast due to the danger in her plan. She recognizes that without God's guiding hand her plan to save them would fail.
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The story of Purim tells us that the real danger to the Jewish people is not people who are evil. We can find them easily enough, but of leaders who are venal and corruptible. Without them the evil doers do not have a chance to do evil.
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In the story of the Book of Esther all the action revolves around the fact that Mordechai refuses to bow down to Haman. What frustrated Haman was the opposition of Mordechai. That Mordechai stood against evil.
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The institution of the Priesthood was an inherited position. Why? The idea was to take politics out of the service in the Tabernacle. When politics mix with religion it is usually bad for both. By making the priesthood inherited the Torah was accomplishing this goal.
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True humility is not being quiet and living a sheltered life. True humility is that when we take on a leadership position we remember that it not about me but getting the job done and not caring who gets credit.
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The Jews are commanded to use unleavened bread in the Tabernacle. The reason is that Egypt had invented the leavening process and one of the prime ideas behind the Torah is that we should reject Egypt, both physically and spiritually.
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The Torah spends a lot of time describing how the Priests in the Taberbernacle should dress. The reason is what they represent. They represent God to the people and the people to God.
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The pasha ends with an admonishment to the Jews that the observance of Shabbat overrides the building of the Tabernacle. This is to teach us that as important as the Tabernacle was, without observance of Shabbat it is meaningless.
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Bezalel was chosen to be the architect of the Tabernacle. His name translates as "a shadow of God. This is to teach us that we all have talent from God and it is up to us on how we use it.
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This was a question asked by the Kotzker Rebbe in the 19th Century. The answer is wherever you let Him in. God wants to enter the world, but we have to let Him in by our actions.
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The Torah goes into detail about how the Tabernacle should be built. The question is why. The answer is that we have to obey the commandments to make ourselves better people. It is not up to our subjective judgment.
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The purpose of the Tabernacle was not for God but for us. God does not need us to build Him a home. Just as our prayers are more for us than for God.
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The Torah admonishes judges not to take social status in consideration when rendering a judgement. Neither the person's wealth nor poverty. All are equal before the Torah.
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The Torah admonishes judges to be upright and follow the law, even when the majority want it to do otherwise. The worst thing that can happen to a society of that there is no justice.
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If a slave states that he prefers slavery to freedom, he is punished. This is to teach us that slavery is not the normal state of a person. God wants us to be free people.
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God wants us to do the right thing. No where in the Torah is there a commandment to believe in God. But there are on how to behave.
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The difference between the Torah and previous law codes is that the previous law codes were totally secular. The Torah states that even "secular" or ethical laws are from God.
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After the revelation of Mt. Sinai, the logical step would be to build a Tabernacle to God. But the Torah takes a detour and speaks about how to build an ethical society.
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The 5th Commandment is more than good advice. It is pointing out that the basis of a good society is the two parent family. Without which society would fall apart.
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Jealousy is wanting what others have without realizing what they had to do to get that or the reason they have it. When we see someone has done well we should learn from their success, not be jealous of them.
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The most common understanding of the Commandment of not taking God's Name in vain is that we should not swear falsely. Another understanding is that we should not do commit a crime in His Name.
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The most common understanding of the Commandment of not taking God's Name in vain is that we should not swear falsely. Another understanding is that we should not do commit a crime in His Name.
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When Jethro comes to visit his son in law, Moses, he gives him the advice to delegate responsibilities. He does not have to carry the full burden on himself.
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One of the problems with the Jews was that they were used to having all of their needs taken care of. One of the lessons of the Torah was that we should not rely only of God but have to work to take care of ourselves. That is what freedom really means.
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The commandment to destroy any vestige of Amalek seems strange. There is no such commandment with other enemies of the Jewish people throughout our history. Why such a commandment?
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When the Jews get to the Red Sea they seem to be trapped between the sea and Pharaoh's army. Moses prays and God tells him to quit praying and jump into the sea. This shows God wants action, not just prayers.
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The portion starts out with the Jews avoiding going directly to the Land of Israel lest they get into a war with the Philistines and run back to Egypt. It ends with the Jews fighting Amalek. They had to learn that there was no going back to Egypt.
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Pharaoh accused Moses of lying. Moses had said that the Jews had to go three days to worship God. At no time did Moses say that they would be returning. Pharaoh misled himself into believing that they would.
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More important that getting the Jews out of Egypt was to get Egyptian culture out of the Jews. God wanted the Jews to be a moral and ethical people and to reject the immorality of Egypt.
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The first born who were killed in Egypt were the first born of any coupling. This was to reveal the immorality of Egypt and why God needed to get the Jews out of Egypt. To get them away from an immoral society.
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The reason for the Pascal Sacrifice before the plague of the killing of the first born was that God wanted to see that the Jews were willing to take action for their freedom.
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The plague of darkness was much more than three days of darkness. According to the Torah, Egypt was a land of darkness while the Jews, if they follow the Torah are in light.
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A free person has to be responsible with his time. A slave does not. That is the reason that the first commandment is declaring the new month. The Jews were being freed for a purpose.
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The purpose of freeing the Jews from slavery was that they should be a Godly people. This is expressed through the commandment of declaring the new month. God is setting the people up to be a nation.
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Aaron was Moses's spokesman not just to Pharaoh but to the Jews as well. The reason was that he could empathize with the slaves in a way that Moses could not.
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The purpose of the plagues was to teach that all are human, that all are equal before God.
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Pharaoh presented himself as a god. His authority was based on this. When it was proven that he was not a god he lost his authority.
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Getting the Jews out of Egypt was easy job. The hard job was to make the Jews into a nation.
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All the plagues in Egypt could be explained as happening through natural means. The fact that Pharaoh could not understand that it was the hand of God tells us the real problem in Egypt.
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The true punishment of Pharaoh was the taking away his free will. Free will is one of the things that separates humans from animals. By removing this Pharaoh was being made into an animal.
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When Moses arrived back to Egypt his brother, Aaron, greeted him with love and happiness. Aaron was the older brother and had been in Egypt for all the years that Moses was away. Instead of being jealous he was overjoyed for his brother.
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The Jews were not enslaved all at once. It was a step-by-step process. First special taxes were levied on them. Slowly more and more of their freedom was taken away until they suddenly realized that they were enslaved.
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Moses spent 40 years in Midian before he began his mission to save the Jewish people. Those 40 years were spent learning to be a leader from his father in law.
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When Moses was at the burning bush he was told to remove his shoes. One of the reasons was that he should stand on rocky ground so that he would feel the pain that the enslaved Jews were feeling. A leader has to understand the pain and suffering of their followers.
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The Torah relates that when Moses came upon the Egyptian beating a Jew he looked up and down and did not see a man. That means he saw other people but no one willing to take a stand against the injustice before their eyes.
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We have to remember that no matter how nice the government is to us in the beginning in the end they will act in their own self-interest.
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Esau's head ended up on Isaac chest. Esau had good intentions, but he always did the wrong thing.
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When Jacob gives Judah the blessing of leadership, it was because of his natural ability to lead was tied to his innate sense of humility. This is what made Judah a great leader.
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When Jacob blesses his sons, Simon & Levi, he comments that their anger should be controlled. He understood why they attacked Schem, but that they went about it in the wrong way.
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In Jewish thought the Temples were destroyed due to senseless hate among the Jews, not because the Babylonians nor the Romans were more powerful. If God had not willed the Temple to be destroyed it would not have been.
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We might think that we do not influence much but we do not see the bigger picture. Sometimes what we consider a small act can have a tremendous impact.
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When Judah confronts Joseph concerning Banjamin Joseph realizes that Judah has repented for his earlier actions. It is not enough to say "sorry", you have to show through your actions that you have repented.
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When Jacob was told that Joseph was alive, he did not believe it until he saw the wagons. Why did they make a difference?
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The fast of the 10th of comes a week after we finish celebrating Hanukah. This is to teach us that the Hasmoneans lost sight of the reason for the war against the Hellenists. Over the generations they became Hellenists. When we lose sight of the goal, we lose all.
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Hanukah saved what was to become Western Civilization. In the Greek and Roman worlds human life was cheap. Mistreatment of slaves was normal. In the Jewish world it was the exact opposite.
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In the end of this week's portion the brothers are united in their love of one another just as the five Hashmonian brothers were united in the story of Hanukah.
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Why do we say Hallel on Hanukah bur not Purim? What is the difference between the two festivals?
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Hanukah is a celebration of the victory of a cultural war against the Greek culture. The Syrian Greeks were not interested in killing Jews, just Judaism.
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The story of Hanukah seems natural but it shows how God's hand is in the world guiding the events that occurred.
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Joseph relied on the butler to remember him to Pharoah. The butler promptly forgot about him. This was to teach that we have to rely on God and not humans to achieve our goals.
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When Joseph was confronted by Potifer's wife he realized that Jacob would not approve of immorality. He based his morality on what he learned from his father.
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The reason that Judah became a great leader was that he had a moral compass. And when he was wrong he admitted it.
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Reuben should have been the leader of the brothers but failed. He meant well but was lacking in judgement. Judah will become the leader due to his judgement.
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In this week's portion we see that Joseph is Jacob's favorite son. Joseph flaunts his status in front of his brothers. He will have to learn humility the hard way.
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What makes our leaders great is not that they did not have flaws but that they overcame them.
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The lesson that we learn from the death of Rachel is that no matter how noble the ends, they do not justify a crime.
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The Dimensions of the Ark were 30 x 300 x 50 which equal the numerical value of lashon (ל=30ת ש=300ת ן=50) meaning tongue or language. This was to teach Noah that he had to admonish the people to repent from their ways.
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All ancient cultures record a flood. Only the Bible attaches morality for the Flood.
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The reason for the punishment of Adam & Eve was not that they had violated God's one commandment. It was that they denied culpability.
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We learn about Hanuch in this week's Portion. He was considered great because he made his labor for man a holy act.
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One of the first commandments given to man was to name the animals. This is to underscore that the world is meant for man to make it holy through his use of it.
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Simhat Torah is the recognition that the Torah is the property of all Jew, no matter how rich or poor, high and low, educated or not.
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Sukkot is the holiday for all people. One can build a sukka that covers the entire world. This show that it is for all.
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The lesson of Sukkot is that every person has value, no matter how high or low that person may be. We all equal in God's eye.
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It is fitting that Sukkot is in Tishri since it represents the universality of the Jewish people, unlike Pesach which represents our nationhood.
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The Torah admonishes us to oppose foreign ideologies, meaning ideologies that negate morality based on the Torah.
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This week's portion deals with the problem of success. Many of us achieve success and forget that God had a hand in it. This is a clear warning not to.
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We usually think that our judgement is sealed on Yom Kippur. The truth is that the final judgement is on Simhat Torah. The reason is that on Yom Kippur we are on our best behavior but on Simhat Torah we are drinking and eating and carrying on. How do we behave then?
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The key to the Yom Kippur service is that we read the Book of Jonah at Minha on that day. Jonah is called upon to announce to the Assyrians that they have to repent. When recounting the story, the Book of Jonah does not talk about their prayers but about their actions.
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There is no Hebrew word for tragedy. Thhis is because there is no concept of humans being fated to their destiny. We can change our destiny through our actions.
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This is the period of repentance. The main theme is that God wants us to behave well with our fellow man. The questions that we will be asked when we get to the next world will be how we treated our fellow. Not if we believe.
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Moses's last act before dying is to go to the different tribes and speak about the future. Considering that he was the greatest leader in the history of the Jews this is amazing. He did not spend time talking about his own accomplishments but about the bright future under Joshua.
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A major message of the Torah is that we have free will. We can set our own agenda. If we want a good life, then we have to do the right thing.
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It is interesting to note that it is not enough for one to say that they are sorry for their sins. They have to first recognize their mistake and repent for it. The apology has to be heartfelt. That all our Biblical leaders were flawed but they overcame their flaws.
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One of the worst forms of idolatry is the belief in ideology. Even when that ideology proves false people will believe it. All the people who believed that the Russian Communist Revolution would bring an era of peace to the world were disappointed when this did not happen. Those who approach problems without an ideology seem to come up with real solutions.
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The admonition not be like the idol worshipers of Egypt was to stress that our leaders are not like the Pharoah. He was considered to be a god. Our leaders are human and should be treated as such.
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The Torah mentions that not only were adults present at Moses's admonitions but that their children were there as well. Why was this so important? To show that it is important that children see how important it is to the adults. Children are sponges. They observe everything. If they see it is important for their parents then it is important to them.
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When Moses speaks to the people, he speaks to all of the people. This shows that in Judaism we can achieve greatness through our efforts. No matter how we start we can achieve great things. We are equal when we start. Where we finish is up to us.
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We are commanded to be better people. The Torah does not care about our feelings but about our behavior. We make the world a better place by our actions, not our intent.
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In Pirkei Avot it states that we should know three things to avoid sin: Know where you came from, a putrid drop; know where you are going, a place of worms; and before whom you will be judged, the Holy One blesssed be He. To teach us that we might not think we are important but to God we are.
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There is a debate which is more important: Doing the commandments or being spiritual. The Jerusalem Talmud addressed this debate in the 3rd Century CE and concludes that your actions are more important than your beliefs therefore we should follow the commandments even if we do not believe in God.
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Many people go on genealogy sites to see who their ancestors were and are proud of them. The question that the Torah asks is would they be proud of you. Live your life so that they would be.
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This week's portion starts with the commandment to bring tithes to the Temple. When this is done the person bringing the tithes makes a declaration of how grateful they are. This is one of the most important lessons that we can teach. We should all be grateful for the blessings that God has bestowed on us.
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In the curses that we receive if we do not follow the Torah is that we will become an average people. While there is nothing wrong with being average it is not a great accomplishment either. The Torah wants us to be above average in our moral and ethical behavior.
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The admonition of having accurate weights & measures is a warning against dishonest business practices. It is immediately followed by a warning about Amelek. The two are related. Amelek is looking for weakness in society. This is brought on by being dishonest and causing dissention in society.
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We are admonished not to let the body of a person convicted of a capital offense hang overnight. This is so the family will not be shamed. It is assumed that the family is embarrassed by the actions of the criminal. We don't have to rub in.
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The Torah admonishes us not to blame the father for the son's sins and not to blame the son for the father's sins. This underscores a major concept that we are responsible for our own actions. Not to blame others.
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One of the commandments this week is that we are required to put a fence around the roof of a building. We do this because we assume that a person will go up on the roof and fall off. Our job to prevent, as much as possible people harming themselves through stupid actions.
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The commandment to return a lost object to its owner is an important underpinning of a good society. If your find something, it is up to you to return it. We do this not only for society but for our spiritual well-being.
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In this week’s portion we discuss behavior in battle. We might think that a soldier in combat might get a pass for immoral behavior due to the unique nature of being in battle. The Torah says no. He still has to behave within certain bounds.
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The Torah states "Justice, Justice you will seek." Note that it does not say "you will do justice only that you will seek it. This means that while we are imperfect humans and will make mistakes, we will do our best to bring justice.
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In this week's portion we learn about the Biblical limits on the king. It is no accident that they match the limitations imposed on the American presidency in the US Constitution. It is important to remember that the most quoted book at the Constitutional Convention was the Book of Deuteronomy.
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We are commanded to seek justice to the best of our abilities
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The injunction is to avoid the evil ways of idolatry
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This week’s portion states that our goal is to seek justice. It commands judges to avoid the trap of favoring the wealthy or the poor.
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In the second paragraph of the Shma we see that if we want to be like all other nations, we will suffer the fate of those nations. If we want to be exceptional, we have to teach our youth why we should be exceptional.
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It is interesting that the word used for you in the Ten Commandments is in the singular. The Torah is pointing out that society is made up of individuals and it is in our hands what kind of society we want to live in.
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Moses stresses that what we consider civil laws are really religiously basted law. That if the basis of law in a society is not God, then the laws will break down and the results will be a dictatorship or anarchy, as we see from the difference in the results of the American and French Revolutions.
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The first three Commandments are tied together. They warn that God is the supreme being and anything else is idolatry. A that even religion can become an idol.
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The 10th Commandment is against covetness. This is important because there are always people who have more than we do. We get jealous of them. Why do they have what they have & we do not. We do not see what they had to do to get where they are.
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The version of the 10 Commandments recited this week is slightly different from the original version. In this week's version we have the word "keep" rather than "remember". If we do not keep that Sabbath, then there is nothing to remember. If we do not remember, then there is nothing to keep.
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The Talmud states that the Temple was destroyed because the Jews kept the letter of the law. This is understood that they were more worried about the minutia of the law and forgot about the spirit that the law was to imbue.
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On the 9thof Av we recall the story of the 10 rabbis murdered by the Romans. The reason that the Romans give for why they murdered the 10 rabbis is the sale of Joseph by the brothers. What is interesting is that this was a sin of man against fellow man, not against God.
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When we look at the literature of the 9th of Av, we notice that the Romans and Babylonians are barely mentioned. The real reason for the disaster is placed on the bad moral and ethical behavior of the Jews.
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The sin of the spies is recounted in this week's portion. The real sin that they committed was twofold. The lacked faith in God being able to help them in conquering the Land of Israel and they lacked faith in themselves.
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The commandment to appoint judges is one of the most important for a just society. Moses commands the judges that they have to be just in their decisions. They cannot favor one party over the other, neither rich nor poor, neither the powerful nor the powerless,
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As we begin the Book of Deuteronomy, we see that Moses goes over those commandments that the Jews will have to carry out once they arrive in the Land of Israel. Up until now these commandments were taught in theory. Now they will have to be carried out in reality.
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In this week's portion the tribes of Reuben and Gad express a desire to settle east of the Jordan. Moses gives them permission provided that they remember their obligation to help in conquering the land. That it is not just about them but the whole of the people.
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In this week's portion the Jews receive the command to expel the Canaanites from the Land of Israel. The reason is that they are considered to be bad people and their influence on the Jews would lead the Jews to sin.
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After the initial retaliation against Midian Moses reprimands the Jewish officers for allowing the women to live. To understand this, we have to remember that the women were willing participants in the sins committed by the Jewish men that led to the war. That is why they had to be punished like the men.
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The reason that the Jews were commanded to destroy Midian was because Midian had declared war on God and morality. Personal insults are one thing. Insulting God and morality are another.
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When going to Jerusalem there were no directional signs. We want people to stop and ask directions. When going to a city of Refuge there were directional signs. We know that the person running to them is in a hurry and cannot wait.
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When the daughters of Zelaphad approached Moses about their inheritance rights he asked them to wait for an answer. He knew that the decision would be the basis of decisions for the future. In the case of Pinchas he could not wait, he had to take action immediately to prevent a clear and present danger. A true leader has to realize what is an emergency and what is not.
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In this week's portion we learn the difference between real leadership and a leader that follows the crowd. Pinchas was not yet chosen to be leader but had a moral compass. Zimri had inherited his position as leader of the Tribe of Shimon and had no moral compass. Zimri thought he could get away with violating the law flagrantly due to his family's influence. He was mistaken and paid with his life.
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Moses has to find the next leader of the Jewish people in this week's Portion. He chooses Joshua. The thinking is that Joshua knows how to speak to the people and how to make hard decisions, which is one of the qualifications of a leader. You can't always be popular.
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The Portion starts out with Pinchas receiving the blessing of peace. The reason is that he had just killed Zimri and Koziba. Even though they deserved to die and Pinchas was justified in doing so, he was disturbed by his action. Taking a life is a serious matter even when justified.
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When he realizes that cursing the Jews from the outside will not work so long as the Jews are moral, Balak sends women into the camp to make the Jew immoral. The plan works. Zimri carries out his immorality in full view of the people. This was the downfall.
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When Bilaam states that the Jews are a people that dwell alone he means that due to their morality and ethical behavior that will not find many others who would join them. When everyone else is immoral then the moral person finds himself alone.
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When Balaam has an argument with his donkey, he misses the main point. The donkey is speaking to him. It is a classic case of the march of folly. That is following a disastrous path even when you know it will end in disaster.
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One of the observations of Balaam was how the tents of the Jews in the wilderness were set up so that one could not see into another. The entrances were adjusted for this purpose. The Torah is teaching us that we must respect each other's privacy.
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Balaam is warned at the very beginning of this week's portion that his attempt to curse the Jewish people is doomed to failure by no less than God. Yet he persists in the project. Why? He could not admit that he made a mistake in accepting this job.
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In this week's portion Balaam is the main character but it is named after Balak. The reason for this is that while Balaam does most of the work, he does so at the behest of Balak. Balaam is simply a hired gun. The reason that Balak hates the Jews is simply he hates God centered morality.
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When the well that was following the Jews in the wilderness dried up after the death of Miriam the people complained that they had a better life in Egypt. What is amazing is that the people complaining were born after they left Egypt. They were totally taken care of by God. They did not have to earn their food. They were not grateful for all that God gave them.
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When Miriam died the well stopped giving water. The Jews were unaware that it was due to Miriam that they had water. It reminds us of all the people who are involved in supplying us with our daily needs.
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In this week's portion Moses hits the rock in the wilderness to bring out water. God tells Moses that he did not do as instructed. He should have spoken to the rock. He was punished for this. The fact that the Torah records this is to underline that Moses was human and not a God.
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One of the lessons of this week's Portion is that Aaron, Miriam and Moses prepared the leadership to come after them. Do not assume that they will learn by osmosis. They need to be educated both in knowledge and in spirit.
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When the Vilna Gaon (d. 1797) read the American Constitution, he was convinced that the redemption was beginning. Article 6 states that there be no religious test to hold office in the US. This meant that Jews were full and equal citizens of the country. This was unheard of before then. The Zionist movement can be traced to the Vilna Gaon's understanding of US Constitution.
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The Hebrew translation of the name of the US does not translate as "the United States" but as The Lands of the Agreement". Hebrew is the only language that translates the US in this way. It is a recognition the US is not just another country but unique in the world with a special mission.
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The problem that Korach had was that he didn't understand that we needed a legal code in place before we arrive in the Land. This truth is borne out by the fact that the reason the US was so successful as a country was that there was a legal code in place upon independence.
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On the face of it Korach seems to have a valid complaint. The truth is that it breaks down when we really look at it. This is the very common among those who seek power for the sake of power. They use democracy to bring their dictatorship.
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The Mishna in Pirkei Avot mentions the difference between a disagreement for the sake of Heaven and for personal ego is the dispute between Shammai & Hillel, for the sake of Heaven, and Korach and his congregation for ego. The difference is that if the dispute is for the sake of Heaven, then they might disagree, but they did not look on their opponents as enemies. Korach and his congregation looked on their opponents as evil.
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Korach led a rebellion against Moses based on "equality". Why should Moses be the leader over all of the Jews? Aren't we all equal? The answer is that Moses became Moses because he worked on himself. He was not born into leadership. He earned it.
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This week's portion includes the admonition about idolatry. This is no accident. Idolatry is trying to make God human. Our goal should be to be Godly. It includes the Sabbath desecrater. Violating the Sabbath is denying that God created the universe.
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The problem with the men that Moses sent out to scout the land was that they let their egos get in the way. They had a preconceived notion and bent the facts to their opinions. A true spy is unknown to all and presents the facts as they are, not what they want them to be.
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When Joshua was chosen to be one of the scouts Moses gave him an extra letter to his name for protection. He did not do this for Caleb. The reason was that Caleb was already protected. He was married while Joshua was not. Marriage is the protection that was needed on this mission.
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The reason that the Jews were upset with the report of the scouts was that it meant that when they would enter the Land of Israel, they would have to put into practice all the laws that they were learning in the wilderness.
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In this week's portion we watch as Moses chooses the wrong people to scout out the Land. The problem with the men chosen was that they had a vested interest in staying in the wilderness. That they did not want to lose their position of leadership. Sometimes a leader has to recognize when it is time to leave.
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The Complainers are back again in this week's portion. They will continue to plague Moses throughout the Exodus. The question is what they were really complaining about. The limits that the Torah places on us. That we cannot do whatever we want in society.
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In this week's portion we learn that the Levites had a 5-year apprenticeship for their work in the Temple. Why did it take so long for them to learn their job? More important than learning the workings of the Temple, they had to learn how to behave in the Temple.
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The Torah wants us to make ourselves better. Perfection is a state that we will never attain and the attempt to attain it will end in failure. But if we work to improve ourselves, we will become better people and thus improve the world.
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This week's portion leads with the commandment to Aaron, the High Priest, to clean & prepare the Menorah. Why does he have to do this? Can't he delegate this job to an underling? The answer is that to the Torah leadership means to lead by example. Sometimes you have to do the dirty work yourself.
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In this week's portion we find that the penalty of theft is that the thief has to make the victim whole. He also has to compensate the victim for pain and suffering due to the theft. If the thief cannot make the victim whole financially then we sell him into slavery until the victim is made whole.
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In this week's portion we again hear the complaints of the Jews regarding the food that God is providing. They remember the good food that they ate in Egypt. They seem to be forgetting the real price they had to pay for that "free" food. They were slaves and God does not want us to slaves.
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In this week's portion we learn about the punishment for the wayward wife. That is a woman who is warned not to be wife a certain man and she does so anyway. Part of the punishment is that she is given animal feed to eat. This is to teach her that just as she behaved like an animal, so we treat her as such.
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In the Book of Ruth we are introduced to a character known as Ploni Almoni, the Hebrew equivalent of John Doe. He is presented as a good man who does not want to marry Ruth. He has solid reasons not to, and he was wrong. Boaz could have used the same excuses but chose not to. That is why we remember Boaz and not Ploni Almoni.
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In the Book of Ruth, Boaz is presented as a great man of charity. Yet he allows the poor to glean his fields and thus forces them to go to the threshing floor, then to the bake the bread. Wouldn't it be kinder to the poor just to give them bread? The answer is that would take away from the poor's dignity.
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The Book of Ruth begins the story with the statement "In the days when the Judges judged. The Hebrew, though, can be read as "In the days when the Judges were judged." The meaning is clear. Every decision that the Judges made was criticized. In a society in which the legal authorities are constantly challenged will lose its cohesiveness. We must realize that the law has to be objective, not open to our whims.
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Today is the anniversary of the Liberation of Jerusalem in 1967. For Jews this was an open miracle. There were many miracles during the 6 Day War and Jerusalem's liberation was the high point. The question is do we recognize it when God performs miracles for us.
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The Vilna Gaon, who died in 1797, predicted that two dates would be important in the future, the 18th Day of the Omer, (that is the 5th of Iyar), and the 28th of Iyar. Today we recognize these days as Israel Independence Day and Jerusalem Day. Both for events that happened in the 20th Century. How did he know?
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When a Jewish court was required to hand down a death sentence they would go out to the country and bemoan that breakdown in society. The idea that the crime did not happen in a vacuum. It happened because there is something wrong in society in general.
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Many people blame their actions on others or things. The fact is that we make our own decisions. God gave us free will. It is always our choice, and we suffer the consequences when we make the wrong one.
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The curses of this week's portion have to do with a breakdown of society. One of the problems is that people say, "that is your truth". Interestingly, the Hebrew word for truth, אמת, has no plural. This infers that there is only one truth, not multiple truths.
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When we read the portion we see that God will judge us not so much on how well we pray or perform our rituals, such as the sacrificial service, but on how we treat each other. As the Mishna says the first question that you will be asked in the next world will be "Were you honest in your business dealings?"
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This week's portion has the blessings and the curses. That if we follow the Torah then great things will occur but if we do not then disaster will happen. The interesting thing is that the curses will be caused by a breakdown in society. God does not have to curse us, we can do that all by ourselves,
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The Talmud, Tactate Shabbat 33b, relates that the reason Rebbe Akiva's students died of a plague was that they did not respect each other. This underlines the idea that even if we disagree, we need to show each other respect. To disagree without being disagreeable.
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Today is the 33rd day of the Omer, known as Log B'Omer. It is a mini festival when we remember that a plague that was destroying Rebbe Akiva's students suddenly stopped. What was the reason for the plague and what can we learn from it?
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While the Torah has a respect for private property and wants us to earn our way in the world, Shmita reminds us that, in the final analysis, God is in control of the world. We are commanded to make the most of our situation but if God does not help us we just won't succeed.
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In this week’s Portion the Torah ties liberty with property fights. Basically, when there is no ownership of property, there is no liberty. That is why one the quote on the Liberty Bell is found in this week’s Portion: Proclaim Liberty thro’ all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof.-Levit. XXV. 10.
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A Jew becomes a slave due to being convicted of theft. The thief is required to repay the victim for the property stolen and pay damages for the pain and suffering that he caused. This is different from most other forms of law that do not connect the victim and perpetrator. The Torah reminds us that there is a connection.
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In this week's portion we learn about the Jubilee year in which all Jewish slaves are to set free whether they want to be free or not. The question is who would not want to be free? The answer is that a slave has no worries about his sustenance. His master makes sure he has food, housing, etc. The goal of the Torah is that we should be free to make our own decisions.
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