Musings on Parshat Re’eh

Following are some of the ideas, insights and interpretations that emerge from our weekly Chumash learning group at the Young Israel of Oceanside, Long Island. We cite sources when possible. Some of our interpretations may derive from ideas we may have seen elsewhere, possibly without attribution. Or we may simply have forgotten the source. For this we apologize. We invite your comments, observations and participation.

OVERVIEW:

Contains 55 Mitzvos… Blessings and Curses… need for eradication of idolatry In Eretz Yisroel… uniqueness of Jerusalem… permission granted to eat non-sacrificial meat... beware the seducers: false prophet; family; city of idol worshipers…forbidden foods…tithes: Maaser Sheni (Second tithe); Maaser Ani (for poor);disposal of undistributed tithes…Shmeita (every seventh year) annuls loans…need for kindness: charity; loans to poor; gifts to slaves upon their release…holiness of first born animals… celebration of  the  three festivals  through simcha(happiness) and Aliyas Regel (pilgrimage  to Jerusalem)

“Re’eh anochi nosayn lefnaychem hayom bracha uklala…es habracha aher tihsmu…v’haklala im lo sishmu” are the opening words of the Parsha, “Behold I have set before you today a blessing and a curse…the blessing if you listen…and the curse if you do not listen…”

Re’eh-from the root to see, meaning to have insight and understanding

Anochi- I, Hashem. Use of this pronoun instead of Ani may refer back to the Anochi of the Ten Commandments, reminding the Israelites of the unique Covenant and relationship with Hashem

Nosyan- in present tense: ongoing promise from Hashem

Es habracha- “on the condition “ that you listen (Rashi).The es means Hashem gives the Blessings to us now, in advance, confident we will behave as expected, abiding by His laws. Bahya (11th century) notes that es is an expression of certainty.

Im lo sishmoo- But if, perchance, we should not live up to this expected behavior, then we will be punished. Bahya notes that im is an expression of doubt.

Nechama Leibowitz in Studies in Devarim concludes that the divergence in usage (es vs. im ) underscores the inherent Goodness  (Ki Tov) in the world is for us to enjoy so long as we are obedient to Hashem. Man’s decision to disobey Him is the root cause of evil and misfortune.

Rav Kook on  eating meat

The eating of meat during the desert wanderings was permitted only as part of the bringing of Offerings on Hashem’s altar. But in this week’s Parsha, Hashem permits the eating of meat for enjoyment (Basar Taava—meat of desire) upon the Israelites arrival in the Holy Land. “ Ki yarchiv Hashem elokecha es gevulcha…Ki s’avey nafsheca le’chol basar”(When the Lord your G-d shall enlarge your border...your soul longs for meat) then you may eat meat on the condition that “ you slaughter of your herd and flock...in the way I (Hashem) have prescribed” .

Nechama Leibowitz notes that the wording suggests that the permission is being granted grudgingly, with strict regulations, and that we are only given a special dispensation to slaughter animals for consumption and not a total dominion over the animal world.

This interpretation is consistent with Rav Abraham Isaac Kook’s world view. Rav Kook(1865-1935), the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine, believed  that Creation filled the world with Goodness (Ki Tov) and Harmony between Man and the Animal Kingdom, the two highest life forms. Indeed, the Torah specifies that Man’s food is to consist of herbs and fruit! But with the moral decay that precipitated and then followed the Flood, this harmony was shattered and all Mankind was permitted to be carnivorous. The killing of animals for food is not an ideal state. But since Man could no longer control himself, says Rav Kook, the Torah channeled this murderous aggression to animals only, in the hope that Man’s uncontrolled appetite for bloodshed  would no longer  find expression in killing his fellow Man. In his view, all the Torah’s dietary laws were designed to arouse our feelings of injustice committed against the animal kingdom.

It is interesting that the Torah introduces the permissibility of  eating meat with the words Ki yarchiv, i.e. “when the land will be expanded” suggesting, perhaps, that the desire for meat is triggered by the expansion of one’s wealth (Land). Richie Snitkoff,  a member of the Chumash learning group, suggests that it is expansion of one’s own boundaries (i.e., feeling of superiority, arrogance) that brings on the desire for meat.

Furthermore, the Torah describes the desire for meat as a Teiva, a lusting after, a word sounding like Toayva , an abomination--  both words  having negative connotations. Does the Torah prefer we remain vegetarians to  help us recapture the primordial state of harmony with nature and close relationship with Hashem that existed immediately after the Creation? Rav Kook was a vegetarian.

Why the Dietary Laws?

Rav Jacobson in his Meditations on the Torah surveys some approaches to answering this question.

·       The Torah says these laws exist so that we shall be holy.

·       Maimonides  opines that by avoiding the loathsome, unhealthy  prohibited animals we will gain physical and mental hygiene.

·       Ramban notes the need to avoid ingesting the cruel, clawing habits of  prohibited birds and animals

·       Abrabanel thinks that prohibitions are to assure welfare of our soul

·       Shadal believes that it is a matter of achieving self control, quoting the Stoic philosopher Epictetus who said sustine et abstine  (“bear up under hardship and contain yourself from  indulgence”) are the keys to sin avoidance. The Torah laws are designed to help us acquire self-control as a habit. Aaron Barth, a contemporary Israeli commentator elaborates that the purpose is to help us gain mastery over our impulses. By pausing to examine the food we are about to eat we have the opportunity to convert our impulse into our  will.

·       Philo of Alexandria (20BCE-50CE) is of the opinion that the restrictions are about internalizing what we ingest. Bovine are permitted. They are called ruminants, meaning they chew their cud over and over again moving it from stomach to mouth and back. We, too, are encouraged to ruminate—to think things over, to turn over in our minds, “chew on it” until we arrive at the truth and internalize it. The split hoof shows that two seemingly same items  can be completely  different.

·       Ramban notes that permitted fish have fins and  have scales, in Hebrew Kaskeses which also means shield, protect. The fish with fins and scales tend to swim closer to the surface and are non-attacking, unlike the fish without fins/scales that are  bottom feeders, scavengers and aggressive and swim near the dark and murky bottom. The prohibited birds are aggressive and clawing. “We are what we eat” ( i.e., we absorb the character) and the Torah does not want us to absorb and internalize negative behavior.

·       Dr. Alvin Schiff thinks that “chewing the cud” is about eating and nourishing of our brain so we can think. The split hoof is a reminder for us to watch where we walk in life.  Jeff Benkoe of our learning group thinks the split hoof underscores the choices we face in our lives.

·       Richie Snitkoff notes another facet in that the intense  hunt itself to catch these prohibited attack  animals, fish and birds necessitates undesirable aggressive behavior in us.

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz

Musings on Parshat Eikev

Overview

We need to recognize Hashem’s  goodness and role (albeit hidden) in our worldly success; Land of Israel filled with natural goodness, beauty, plentitude and minerals; commandment to bless Hashem after eating a meal(Birchat Hamazon); incidents in desert wanderings that angered Hashem, including Golden calf; Moshe prayed for Israelites; being constantly on guard  not to be lured  by surrounding idolatrous behavior; “Man does not live by bread alone”; what Hashem wants from us; second paragraph of Shema  

From Nechama Leibowitz’s Studies in Deuteronomy

Manna: kindness or test?

Receiving daily food (bread) and a double portion on Shabbos appears to be a wonderful, miraculous gift from Hashem. Yet here and in Exodus the Torah describes Manna as a test or trial!

According to Rashi (1040-1105) the test aspect relates to the instructions accompanying the food, not in the Manna itself.

Ramban (1194-1270) maintains that the unusual, “heavenly daily delivery” of Manna, meant that the Israelites were totally dependent on Hashem. The test consisted of the daily apprehension that the hungry Israelites experienced, not knowing whether or not the Manna would fall from Heaven. Thus, elaborates Jacob Zvi Mecklenberg (1785-1865) in Ha-ketav V’hakabala, every day the Israelites had to confront the extent of their faith and trust in Hashem.

The Biur (Moses Mendelssohn, 1729-1786) sees this dependence as a positive in that the people became habituated to trust in Hashem until this faith became part of them.

What does Hashem demand of us?

Chapter 10, verse 12 presents the essence of the Torah: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy G-D require of you only to walk in His ways and to love Him and to serve the Lord your G-D with all your heart and soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and his statutes that I command you this day, for your own good?”

“What does the Lord thy G-D require of you” sounds like we’re being asked to do a minimum. But the answer to this rhetorical question is a laundry list of many difficult things to do and to feel! How is this to be understood?

Rashi focuses on the need to fear Hashem as the prime message.

The Talmud’s answer is that from his lofty level of closeness to Hashem (and his unawareness of his spiritual superiority) Moshe the Anav M’od” (unassuming) considered this a small matter.

Ramban explains that Hashem only requires us to do the things that are for your own good (L’tov Lach). We are not being asked to sacrifice or give up anything, only to do what is in our best interest.

Joseph Albo (14-15^th century author of Sefer H’ikrim) opines that because it is extraordinarily difficult for one to attain a   heightened state of fear, love and service of Hashem He asks us to merely keep his commandments and statutes. Observing the mundane daily laws of Hashem will gradually lead us to the ultimate goal of an elevated level of relationship with Him. Deeds will lead us higher.

Furthermore, he notes that the word Raishes in“Raishes Chachma yearas Hashem” is usually translated as beginning so the phrase means “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” But citing Biblical examples, he thinks the word is better translated as essence and the meaning of the phrase is “the fear of the Lord is the essence of wisdom”.

The Talmud deduces that “All is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven.” Each of us is given the freedom to develop fear of Heaven, if we so choose, and the freedom to choose good or evil.

Second Paragraph of Shema

The first paragraph of Shema (V’ahavt…) described as the “acceptance of the yolk of heaven” is in the singular; stresses Love for achieving the goal; and makes no mention of punishment.

The second paragraph described as “acceptance of the yolk of Mitzvos” is in the plural; stresses our need for obedience to Hashem; and the punishment that will result from our failure to obey Him.

The first paragraph talks to each of us individually; the second, with its emphasis on fulfilling of Mitzvos, talks to the entire nation and can only be fully experienced  in a Societal setting (since not every person is able or qualified to do  every single Mitzvah).

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz

Musings On Parshat V’ethchanan

Following are some of the ideas, insights and interpretations that emerge from our weekly Chumash learning group at the Young Israel of Oceanside, Long Island. We cite sources when possible. Some of our interpretations may derive from ideas we may have seen elsewhere, possibly without attribution. Or we may simply have forgotten the source. For this we apologize. We invite your comments, observations and participation.

Overview

Moshe’s request to go to the Promised Land is rejected by Hashem; appeal to the Israelites not to forget what they learned at Mt. Sinai; graphic reminder of the Mt. Sinai experience; urgency to avoid  idolatry which leads to Exile; promise of repentance; Moshe establishes 3 Cities of Refuge East of Jordan River; ”And this is the Torah that Moshe set before the children of Israel”; Moshe begins his major, final discourse urging the Israelites  to recognize the special Covenant with Hashem made at Mt. Sinai; Decalogue (Ten Words /Commandments) repeated; First paragraph of Shema—Oneness of Hashem , Israel’s undivided loyalty to Him, need to repeatedly teach the children, Tefillin and Mezuzah reminders; consequences of forgetting Hashem; explaining the importance of the Exodus when children inquire; need to utterly destroy  idolatry; intermarriage with residents of Canaan prohibited.

On the Mitzvah of Honoring One’s Father and Mother

”Honor thy father and mother as the Lord your G-d has commanded you that thy days may be long and that it may go well with you on the land that the Lord thy G-d gives you.”  The Decalogue (Ten Words) as repeated by Moshe in this Parsha has some additions (underlined) that do not appear in the original Ten Commandments given on Mt. Sinai.

The Torah does not command us to love our parents since one cannot dictate emotions. We are commanded to behave in a way that honors our parents. Cabayd—the Hebrew word for Honor—is from the root word for heavy, suggesting that this particular commandment is among , if not the, “heaviest”, most important and most difficult one to observe. The conflict between child and parent seems inherent in the human condition to the point where Hashem promises family harmony (in Malachi 3:24) by interceding and sending the prophet Elijah to “reconcile the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children in their relationship with their fathers”.

The root word Cabayd  also refers to the liver, that body organ that the ancients believed was the source of heaviness, anger, and melancholy (and perhaps, in modern day parlance, conflict and depression). In modern psychological terms these may refer to Oedipus complex and Electra complex.

The added  phrase as the Lord your G-d has commanded you suggests that Hashem emphasized this commandment over and over again. Or perhaps “has commanded you” is a poetic way of indicating that the need for parental respect is intuitive and built into our DNA. Or perhaps this phrasing is meant to create an awareness of these unconscious conflicts and their effects on our behavior-- and to encourage us to work through them.

The additional phrase “and that it may go well with you” may mean that the quality of our emotional lives improves with the resolution of the parent-child conflict. This may also connect to the imminent entry of the Israelites to their homeland and the message that Society cannot exist and thrive without generational reconciliation.

This fifth commandment, listed among those that have to do with Man’s relationship with Hashem, makes the point that Hashem is a partner with parents in the creation of offspring. Also, respecting and honoring parents is one facet of respecting and honoring Hashem. That this commandment segues to the last five (between Man and Man)  suggests ,perhaps, that the behavior listed and  prohibited on the left hand side of the Decalogue (murder, theft, adultery) may be rooted in internal conflicts related to a failure of reconciliation  with one’s  parents.

Jonathan Elkoubi, one of the participants in our Chumash learning group, opines that the Decalogue also needed repeating because during the 40 year desert trek, every single commandment of the first tablet (if not both tablets) had been broken, one way or another, by the parents of the Israelites now awaiting entry into the Promised Land. These children of Israel to whom Moshe is speaking spent their youth wandering in the desert and wondering about the (poor) choices their parents made after having had the awesome Mt. Sinai experience. They (and we) now are being reminded that even if parental actions might justify loss of respect, we are obligated to act in a respectful way simply because they are our parents.

The  immediately preceding commandment relating to Shabbos has a word change from Zachor (to remember) to Shamor (to do, to follow)  and is applicable not just  to Shabbos but to all subsequent commandments in the Book of Devarim. Perhaps Hashem subtly is giving voice to the age-old parent statement to "do as I say (Shamor) and not as I do/did (Zachor)". Hashem, the Parent of all parents, may punish/lose respect for our parents, but that doesn't give us, the offspring, the right to do the same, ever.

Cabayd may also mean to treat with dignity, specifically as it relates to this new generation that has and is burying the older generation and is reminded to do this task in a respectful, dignified manner.

How does one Love Hashem?

In this week’s parsha we are introduced to the Shema, “Hear , O Israel! The Lord is our G-D, the Lord is one”. The final word ECHAD may also be translated as unique (in His extraordinariness) or alone (expressing opposition to polytheism).

The first verse of the first  paragraph of Shema, reads  ”You shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”.

What does it mean to love Hashem? How can we be expected to  experience this emotion toward an unseen and unrecognized entity? And how can we be commanded to feel something, when we have no control over our emotions?

Shadal defines love as a longing and yearning after. Rather than considering it as an independent commandment, he views this statement as an underlying principle for all commandments. Most commentaries disagree and consider the Loving of G-D an independent mitzvah.

Some maintain that love of G-D incorporates reverence and fear and expresses itself in a single- minded loyalty and obedience. The Midrash says loving G-D means doing his commandments out of Love.

Rambam opines that this Love arises from intellectual exercise. Through contemplation of the awesomeness of the  universe and its inhabitants one comes closer  to an understanding of--and a longing and Passion to know-- Him.(The Song Of Songs’ description of the love sick, obsessed lover is the allegorical expression of the Love between Man and G-D.) Furthermore, engaging other people in the  discussion and praise of Hashem in an attempt to attract them to His worship is, in Rambam’s, view part of the Mitzvah. Indeed, he cites a Midrash supporting the view that Abraham’s Love of Hashem encompassed his converting them and bringing them under the wings of the Divine Presence.

In his commentary on  the Torah, Rabbi Günter Plaut stresses  that a Mitzvah done in the right spirit is an act of loving G-D. We are commanded to do G-dly deeds to help us achieve this emotion.

The Sefat Emes understands the commandment as a bolstering of courage. We must remove the emotional blockades that prevent us from realizing the potential emotion of Love of Hashem that is buried within each of us.

Franz Rosensweig notes that in the human sphere the commandment to love can come only from the Lover who says to his beloved: “Love Me!” So, too, in the religious sphere Hashem the Lover pronounces to the Universe His love (of us) and wants  reciprocation:” Love me” (in return).

A Chasidic interpretation notes that we are commanded twice in Leviticus to love human beings. Only after we have learned to love people can we come to love G-D.

“V’aseesa hayshar v’hatov Beynai Hashem (You should do what is right and good in the sight of Hashem)” (6:18)

This positive commandment seems to be superfluous, since it is already implied in the previous statements about our responsibilities to follow the Torah, including the immediately preceding verse “Shamor tishmaroon es Mitzvos Hashem Elokechem v’aydosov vichukav asher ztevach.” (“You shall diligently keep the commandments of Hashem your Lord and His Testimonies and His Statutes that He has commanded you”.)

Nechama Leibowitz, in her Studies in Devarim, cites Rashi and Ramban, each of whom suggests that there is a new Mitzvah embedded in the statement namely, “Pshara (compromise) above and beyond the letter of the law”. The root word Pshara means to melt, dissolve; to cool, temper; to disengage, suggesting the calming down of emotions in order to arrive at a settlement.

Ramban further explains that the Torah includes this general commandment because it would be impossible to record every situation of human behavior. Furthermore, notes Ramban in his commentary on Parshat Kedoshim, it is possible for a person to be a fool within the realm of observing the Torah when he acts  only within the letter of the law but not within its spirit.

The phrase “Beynai Hashem” and the prefix “B” are of interest. This prefix generally is translated to mean in or within. An additional definition may be using or utilizing. Translated this way, the commandment would be for us to behave in a manner using “ayne hashem”, the eyes of Hashem. “Ayne hashem” means the  insight  and deeper understanding of one’s behavior to which Hashem alone is privy. When we are dealing with our fellow Man, we are urged to try to use or utilize the same mindset of understanding and forgiveness that we would like Hashem to use in judging and forgiving us.

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz

Musings on Unesaneh Tokef

Unesaneh Tokef Kedushat Hayom... "Let Us Validate And Acknowledge The Holiness Of..." begins what is probably the most powerful and moving piyut (liturgical poem) of the entire High Holy Day service. But it is the closing words of this piyut that, in my opinion, give us strength and optimism as we stand in judgment on Yom Hadin.

According to the Halachic work Or Zarua ( Light is Sown) written  by Rabbi Yitzchak ben Moshe of Vienna in the 13th century, the piyut  was composed by a Rav Amnon of Mainz, Germany, in the  eleventh century. The Bishop of that city insisted that his good friend the Rabbi convert to Christianity. Rav Amnon asked for and received three days to decide. Rav Amnon suffered from depression, despair and self-doubt for having intimated that he would entertain the idea of converting. When Rav Amnon failed to appear at the appointed time, the Bishop had him brought and had his hands and feet amputated. A few days later the dying Rav Amnon asked to be brought to the synagogue on Rosh Hashana. As the Congregation reached the Kedusha, Rav Amnon was inspired to create and chant the poignant piyut before dying. According to the legend, a few nights later Rav Amnon appeared in a dream to Rabbi Klonimos ben Rabbi Meshullam, taught him this moving hymn and asked him to communicate it to world Jewry for inclusion in the liturgy.*

The climactic phrase Utshuva, Utfila, Utzedaka Maaveren Es Roa Hagezayra is conventionally translated as follows: "But repentance, prayer and charity cancel the stern decree."**

I, for one, have been troubled by these words. Can one's Fate be reversed once it has already been decided? Can Hashem be "bought off” so readily by our promises of charity and by our promises of good behavior? I think that the meaning of these words and their profound truth can be arrived at by an analysis of the words themselves with their multitude of, and sometimes contradictory, definitions.

Teshuva, the keynote theme, means repenting/returning.We are called upon to examine our lives and our behavior;to not repeat our past unsavory behavior; and to commit ourselves to investigate and then return to our essential core of goodness. Some have suggested that the mechanism of tshuva is transformational: by our changed behavior we become new individuals and thus no longer subject to the deserved punishment of our old selves.

Tefila means prayer. It is an activity that calls upon us to reach outside ourselves; to acknowledge that we are part of a universe, rather than its center. Egocentricity, either conscious or unconscious, is a source of grandiosity and sin. The experience of reaching outside ourselves to praise, to thank, to acknowledge and to plea confirms the importance of Hashem Who "listens," Who pays attention, Who cares. It is good to be loved and cared about. Tefilah is the step in the transformational process that creates the interface between the human and the Divine.

Tzedaka is usually defined as Charity — the giving of money to the needy. However, whenever the word appears in the Torah, it never has this monetary dimension. Rather it means justice, fairness, the doing of good deeds and straightforwardness in our behavior. It is a description of how we perceive and desire Hashem's interaction with us to be and, more importantly, a formula for how we are to interact with our fellow humans. Utilizing this Biblical definition, Tzedaka becomes the definitional character trait in our communal lives. It is the final transformational step that Rav Amnon considered to be so critical.

The words Maaveren Es Roa Hagezayra are enigmatic and complicated.  Maaveeren has a multiplicity of meanings including crossing, foregoing, passing over, forgiving. Ironically, the root also relates to sin (avera). The word captures the oft-repeated image of our comparison to sheep passing in front of a shepherd. It can also mean to stroke gently.

Roa means evil, malice, wickedness. Ironically again, the root also relates to positive images of friendship and of pastoral scenes. Roa can also mean crush or break.

Hagezayra refers to the Divine decree, though it also has a variety of other meanings, including a precipice, a narrow place and to cut off.

Unesaneh Tokef Kedushat Hayom describes how humanity passes before Hashem like a flock before the shepherd; how Divine decisions on Life and Death are made; and how Divine decisions regarding the living are made: who will be at rest, who will wander, who will suffer, who will be enriched. It is following this idea about the living that Rav Amnon pronounces Utshuva, Utfila Utzedaka Maaveren Es Roa Hagezayra. Note that the text does not say that the Divine Decree itself can be changed; only that Roa Hagezayra can be influenced. My interpretation of this is that Rav Amnon wants the living to know that in addition to Life itself they are being granted the means to soften (maaver) the crushing blow (roa) of what life sometimes holds in store for us (hagezayra). The actions that can transform both us and our life experiences are Tshuva (internal change); Tfila  (internal and relationship change) and Tzedaka (relationship change to greater honesty and straightforwardness).

We pray for Life. If granted, we are given the additional opportunity to change at any time in order to live our life to the fullest. Carpe Diem! Let us seize the day!

* Scholars have discussed the authenticity and authorship of the story. Some suggest that the text antedates the time in which Rav Amnon was believed to have lived. Indeed, a number of versions of the piyut were found in the Cairo Geniza. Their language, structure and design suggest that the original source is in the Middle East, not Germany. One opinion is that this piyut was written either by an author of sacred poems named Yanai who lived in Israel during the Byzantine Era or by his student Elazar Hakalir.

**Philip Birnbaum, High Holy day Prayer Book

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz (September 2003)

LISTENING TO AND HEARING THE SOUNDS OF THE SHOFAR

Learning about the Shofar and its many mean­ings can enhance our emotional and religious experience this Rosh Hashana as we stand together and hear the visceral, piercing sound of the Tekios.

The words "Shofar" and "Shofar blast" first appear in the Torah during the theophany at Mt. Sinai.  At that time, the Jewish people experienced an encounter with Hashem that gave us feelings of being loved, of independence and of spiritual elevation. The only other time the Torah men­tions the Shofar is during its description of Yovail (50th year in the Jewish calendar) when, among other things, Hebrew slaves regain their freedom. "And ye shall pro­claim freedom throughout the land for all its inhabitants" says the Torah. The Shofar is thus associated with those times that the Jewish people experi­enced lofty feelings of physical, emotional, religious and spiritual freedom.

The laws and obligations regarding Shofar blowing on Rosh Hashana are derived by using a series of hermeneutic principles of Torah analysis that focus on the proximity of the details of Rosh Hashana and Yovail, and on the repetition of key words and phrases in the text of both of these commandments.

Shofar, which we commonly refer to as "ram's horn" comes from a root that means beauty or splendor or "the choicest". It also is related to a root that means "to improve" or "to be improved." This special instrument that brings to mind the Mt. Sinai and Yovail freedom experi­ences inspires us to change, to improve — to be all that we can be.

The meanings and the messages of the three types of

Sho­far blasts are insightful:

Tekiah,the one long, uninterrupted powerful blast is from a root that can mean sealing (an agreement) or pitching (a tent) or sticking to/bringing into contact with. The Tekiah sound can bring us into contact with the power of Hashem, enabling us to adhere to and dwell within His presence. It offers us the opportunity to reach an "agreement for life".

Shevarim consists of three wailing sounds. The root relates to shattering, breaking, and interrupting. In Modern Hebrew, the word "Shever" is paired with other words that form phrases meaning either deep sorrow or heartbreak or separation. We listen to the broken, moaning sounds and we become saddened as we reflect on our past behavior that has distanced us from one another and from Hashem.

The nine, quick staccato blasts of Teruah convey the speed with which we will rush to mend our ways, now that we have confronted the reality of our misguided behavior. The root of Teruah relates to "shouting" and to "cries of tri­umph". It's as if we hear an alarm clock rousing us from our spiritual slumber, goading us to achieve the ultimate personal triumph of emotional rebirth and strength — as embodied in the Tekiah blast, which follows immediately.

A Shofar can be the horn of any kosher animal or beast, although the horn of a cow or ox is avoid­ed because of their association with the sin of the Golden Calf.

The horn of a ram is used because it reminds us of the Akeidah, the story of which is read on Rosh Hashana, when Avraham nearly sacrificed his beloved son Isaac. (The sudden appearance of a ram whose horns were caught in a thorn bush provided a non-human substitute sacrifice.) The Sages debated whether the Shofar should be straight or twisted (curved). One school of thought maintains that the STRAIGHTER a person's thought, the better, while the other opinion is that it is best to be more BENT OVER in prayer on Rosh Hashanah.

The Shofar is more a ceremonial instrument than a musical one. Indeed, its many uses have permeated, and continue to be a part of, many facets of Jewish communal life:

·       Religious - announcing the New Year and the New Moon; introducing the arrival of Shabbat; calling mourners to a funeral; publicizing fast days; alerting the community to an individual's excommunication; part of the prayer/fasting ceremony to relieve droughts

·       Secular - coronation of a king; inauguration of the President in modern Israel; celebration of victory in the Six Day War

·       Military - assembling troops to attack; frightening, then defeating the enemy; proclaiming victory

·       Liturgical - part of the Temple service and now a highlight of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur service

Many explanations exist for the Mitzva of blowing the Shofar on Rosh Hashana:

Anthropologists studying the society of early Man point to the animal horn as a symbol of power and as a tool to drive away evil forces and demons. (Perhaps to the primitive mind blowing of a horn represented use of one's critical life force, breathing, to sur­vive and flourish. This theme about living is especially appropriate for Rosh Hashana.) 

Rambam focuses on the piercing sound of the Shofar blasts that rouse us from our lethargy.

Rav Sadya Gaon compiled a list of 10 subjects that the Shofar is associated with:

•      BIRTH of the world (and nation)

•      URGENCY of observing the Ten Days of Repentance

•      SACRIFICE made by the parent at the Akeidah

•      FORMATION OF THE JEWS   AS HASHEM’S PEOPLE at Mt. Sinai

•      CALLS OF THE PROPHETS to repent

•      DESTRUCTION OF THE HOLY TEMPLE

•      Insignificance of man next to THE AWESOMENESS OF HASHEM

•      Reminder of the ULTIMATE DAY OF RECKONING

(Yom Hadin)

•      INGATHERING OF THE DIASPORA TO ERETZ YISROEL

•      Ultimate TCHIYAS HAMAYSIM

The Shofar provides this link through Jewish history that con­nects the important stages of our birth and maturation both as a nation and as individuals. Seen in this light, the Shofar soundings enable our mind's eye to see our entire lives flashing before us - a certain catalyst for positive change and for Teshuva.

Rabbi H.L. Berenholz   (Sept. 2002)

Musings on Parshat Devarim

Following are some of the ideas, insights and interpretations that emerge from our weekly Chumash learning group at the Young Israel of Oceanside, Long Island. We cite sources when possible. Some of our interpretations may derive from ideas we may have seen elsewhere, possibly without attribution. Or we may simply have forgotten the source. For this we apologize. We invite your comments, observations and participation.

Overview

Introduction to Moshe’s Final Discourses; First Discourse: review of Israel’s travels from Sinai to Jordan; appointment of assistant leaders; travels from Sinai to Kadesh Barneya; repetition of the Spies story; avoiding war with Seir; No warring on Moav because it is for the offspring of Lot; Crossing the brook of Zered; Ammon is not part of the Jewish inheritance; Sichion , King of Heshbon refuses to allow passage through his land; Victory over Sichon; Jews are victorious after Og the King of Habashan attacks them; Allotment of conquered lands East of the Jordan River to the offspring of Reuvain, Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh.

Compression of history in the word Eicha

This Parsha is read on the Shabbos before Tisha B’av. The word Eicha—“oh, how can I; how did it happen”—appears in the Parsha when Moshe moans to Hashem about his inability to be the sole leader of the Israelites (because of their rapid population growth). It appears in the Haftorah where the prophet Isaiah describes “Alas (how did it happen that) the faithful city (Jerusalem) has become a harlot.” And the book of Eicha—Lamentations—is read on Tisha B’av. It is a the linkage of different periods of woe in Jewish history that reinforce one another and confront us during the Nine Days of Av period of sadness and mourning.

On the name and structure of the Book of Devarim

Devarim means words so this is the Book of Words. It is also referred to as Mishne Torah, the repetition or the learning of the Torah. The Greeks translated it to mean “second Law” as is the Latin translation for the Book, Deuteronomy.

The Book contains a series of farewell speeches by Moshe as he prepares Israel for their entry into the Promised Land. It is a Last Will and Testament in which he pleads for the Jews to ‘keep the faith’ when they populate and inhabit their homeland. It is filled with narrative, historic retrospect, poetry and laws (100 Matzos).

In his Meditations on the Torah, Rav B.S. Jacobson cites a number of interesting observations:

Rabbi David Zvi Hoffman (1843-1921) divides Dvorim into three main addresses. The first one is admonitory as Moshe reviews the Israelites’ behavior in the preceding 40 years. The second address, which covers most of the Book is legislative and the third is covenantal describing the nature of Hashem’s Covenant between Himself and His people the Israelites.

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) draws our attention to the fact that in Devarim (more than in the other Books of the Torah) Moshe is presented as speaking in the first person, suggesting perhaps that Moshe was the Book’s author. Rejecting this approach, Abravanel opines that after hearing Moshe’s stirring words, Hashem concurred, then dictated and arranged the words. When Moshe heard these words he recorded them.

The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797) suggests that the three- time reference to “Moshe’s speaking” that appears in the opening five verses are meant to be part of a preface to a tripartite division of Devarim, in which each section also corresponds to one of the three previous Books of the Torah. The Book of Devarim symbolically encompasses the entire Torah as presented in the preceding three Books. (Beraishes is the root of all of this.)

The opening verse ”Ayle hadvorim…”  (these are the words)…” sounds like the opening verse in Exodus, “Ayla Shmos…these are the names”. And it is the first section of Devarim  that deals with the Israelites, their names and their behavior during the preceding 40 years.

Verse 3’s   “debayr Moshe  (Moshe spoke)”  hearkens back to the verses of Sefer Vayekra  “…and Moshe spoke … to the priests…unto all Israel”. Interestingly, it is the second section of Devarim that is filled with Mitzvos, corresponding to Vayekra’s extensive list.

The third section of Devarim that deals with blessings and curses is anticipated in the verse ”…took Moshe to expound the Torah ” , which is similar to  ...”and he (Moses) spoke …and the priests…and all Israel” that appears in Bamidbar.

Rabbi Menachem Leibtag’s approach

Mishneh Torah, the name for Sefer Devorim, cannot mean a repeat or review of the Chumash because no mention is made of the Breishit stories in it; because there are few details of the Exodus and nothing about the Mishkan; because only a few of the Book of Vayikra Mitzvos or stories are mentioned; because many of the Bamidbar stories and Mitzvos are omitted. Furthermore, the fact that Devarim introduces many new Mitzvos prevents it from being characterized as a summary only of the Torah.

Devarim is about speeches: the main, very important and very long speech by Moshe before his death is preceded by introductory, shorter speeches and is followed by concluding statements. Most of the text is written in the first person (i.e., Moshe speaking) in contrast to the third person used in the previous Books of the Torah. By examining the places where the text changes from the third person to the first person, Rabbi Leibtag comes up with the following structure:

SPEECH #1 (introductory)                              Chaps. 1-4

SPEECH #2 (main speech)                              Chaps. 5-26

SPEECH #3 (tochahca and Covenant)          Chaps. 27-28

SPEECH #4 (teshuva)                                      Chaps. 29-30

Moshe  opens his main Speech with “Listen Israel to the Chukim and Mishpatim…” But before he begins, he prefaces with …

·       Why everyone is obligated to keep the laws

·       The recollection of the Mt. Sinai experience

      some 49 years earlier  

·       The reminder that the obligation to follow the laws is rooted  in the Covenant with Hashem, part of which is the Ten  Commandments

·       The idea that the Mitzvot that will be taught are the same laws first given at Mt. Sinai

The  main speech will consist largely of Mitzvot received at Mt. Sinai with some additional comments relating to the experiences of the 40 year desert trek. And the Mitzvot cited largely will relate to those that will be applicable when the Israelites enter the Promised Land. All the Mitzvot were given at Sinai, but not all were already recorded in the Torah

The theme of Devarim is repetition. ”Veshenatam” is from the root “to repeat” rather than from the root word “to teach”. Moshe hammers home time and again the message that not only must the Mitzvos be learned but they also require constant repetition. The word Mishne, says Rabbi Liebtag, is also from the root word “leshanen”, to repeat. Mishne Torah is then the (special) set of rules and laws included in Sefer Devarim that require constant repetition.

The  opening verse “Ayle Hadvorim” (these are the Devorim) refers to the Mitzvos that later  will be described in Moshe’s main speech that already had been repeated over and over again in the places listed and were also taught during the 11 day journey from “Har Chorev to Kadesh Barnea”. (This, in addition to teaching them at Mt. Sinai.) Then in the 40^th year Moshe will again teach these laws one last time “after the defeat of Sichon…”

The reference to the 11 day journey draws our attention to the older generation’s final preparation to conquer the Land. But because of their lack of faith, as manifested in their need to send Spies, they were destined to wander and die.  Now this generation of  Israelites finds themselves in a similar situation. Moshe gathers and repeats the Mitzvos to the people one last time to bolster their faith and prevent a recurrence of their parents’ mistake.

Variances in the incident of the Spies

The 40 year desert wanderings were caused by the spies’ incident. But why the need to repeat this now and not, for example bring up the Golden Calf incident? And why are there some glaring variations between the ways the story is told here compared to how it was initially reported in Parshat Shelach?

·       Here it states that the Israelites approached Hashem; earlier it seems that the desire for spies came from Hashem.

·       Here it states that twelve men were chosen for the mission. Earlier these people are described as prominent heads of the children of Israel.

·       Here the spies say “good is the land”. In the original account they go into a detailed description “…it is truly a land flowing with milk and honey.”

·       Here the Israelites are described as “murmuring in their tents”. The original story makes no mention of this behavior.

·       Here the people are described as asking how they can possibly go up to fight. In the original version they unequivocally state that they cannot go up against a people that are stronger!

Nechama Leibowitz, in her Studies in Devarim, provides some answers. The new generation of Israelites, like their parents who eventually sinned and died in the wilderness, were given the opportunity to enter the Promised Land. It was at this point that the first generation Israelites hesitated, doubted and demanded spies to bolster their confidence and faith. This was the crucial time and event that Moshe emphasized to see if this generation had the faith in Hashem or if it, too, would want to turn back.

Rabbi Hoffman notes the difference in style. In Bamidbar Moshe was an historian recording the events but here he is exhorting the people to learn from the lesson of history. Here Moshe is interpreting the incident to highlight how every person is responsible for his own behavior, how we must resist evil and how we must realize that citing the behavior of a superior or leader or colleague  is no excuse for one’s behavior. We are each responsible for our own actions.

The incident as reported here reflected Moshe’s admonition of the Israelites and the details provided are meant to drive home the message. Here Moshe emphasizes the direct responsibility of the ancestors for their actions. They wanted to send spies and, therefore, it was their responsibility for what happened afterwards.

It was for this reason that the Torah now referred to the selected spies as just twelve men (and not exalted leaders) to prevent  excusing the behavior of their parents (and their own) who might argue  in their own defense that they did no wrong. They were merely following the behavior of their leaders!

Moshe wants to emphasize the guilt of the generation so he purposely avoids quoting the report regarding the size, ferocity of the people of Canaan and their protected cities. He focuses on the Israelites behavior, on their private murmurings, again demonstrating their lack of faith in Hashem.

Moshe’s goal is to encourage the current generation not to follow in the ways of their parents. He emphasizes the individual’s responsibility and culpability. De-emphasizing the role of the Spies, Moshe wants to impress on his audience…and on us… the role the Israelites  played by not having faith in Hashem.

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz