This week's 10-Minute Torah (10/5/2019) "Parashat Vayelech": https://youtu.be/A5lqz2wscMo Good Yom Tov. May you be sealed in the Book of Life Wednesday, October 9 Yom Kippur / יום כפור This year's 10-Minute Torah (10/9/2019) "Parashat Yom Kippur": https://youtu.be/3Kf6wBZMl70 Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Evening: https://www.modernrabbistephen.com/single-post/2019/10/01/Sermon-for-Rosh-Hashannah-5780-9292019-Hashem-the-True-Judge

Sermon בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶך–הָעולָם “Blessed are thou, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, the true judge”. In Judaism there is a prayer for everything. We say a blessing to acknowledge Hashem and express gratitude for whatever the act or situation is. It may come as no surprise that upon hearing bad news or experiencing a tragic event that there is also a prayer for that. How is it, then, that this blessing should be “the true judge” and what does that mean? First of all, we understand as Jews that G-d is watching us always and interacting with us as we journey through our lives. G-d didn’t just create us, let us have free will, sit back, grab some popcorn and watch the Universe go around! As we affirm in our morning blessings, G-d provides us with our every need, girds our strength, firms our footsteps and gives strength to the weary. Therefore, when a tragedy strikes, it’s all part of The Plan. G-d is there to help us through it all. He’s like a parent that watches us fall and helps us get back up and move forward to overcome that challenge and grow. There seems, however, to be a contradiction. If G-d is the “True Judge”, why do we have earthly courts? G-d set in motion for us to develop systems of justice. We have the lowest court of three, the “Beit Din”, or “House of Justice”. In fact, this is why we have three people on the bema during Yom Kippur during the three chantings of “Kol Nidre”. We then have higher courts with more people until finally the 70-person Sanhedrin. They hear various cases, and various levels of cases of both criminal and civil cases in accordance with the Torah. From the laws laid out in the Torah, there are four tractates in the Talmud (Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia, Bava Batra and Sanhedrin) that discuss how to adjudicate cases. At the base of all court hearings is whether or not the perpetrator has been first warned before committing the offense and whether two people saw that person commit the offense. The Torah also discusses when a person may be clearly guilty but can’t be convicted because of some technicality, such as no one can verify that they were warned beforehand, or two witnesses aren’t available. The sages state that even if someone gets away with something, or even if someone is wrongly convicted, there will be Divine Justice either somewhere else in their lives or in the World to Come. And this is really what’s at issue here: the fairness of it all. Why bother having an earthly court at all? Why not just let life happen and when something bad happens—something that we think is unfair, we’re good people, what did we do to deserve this—we can just shrug our shoulders and say, hey, it’s G-d’s will and that piece of Karma is done, one less thing and we move on. Not that easy, is it? There’s always the human emotions that go along with it. Whether it is just an annoyance like a flat tire, an extra expense we can’t handle, or people taking advantage of us with no recourse, there’s always the anxiety, anger and resentment that accompanies it. G-d, the true Judge. Did G-d set this up to happen or did we in our limited cognition allow these things to happen? Who do we blame? For us acting in the material world, we will sometimes get involved in situations that we don’t think are fair. We may do what we think is best and yet there are people impeding us. We behave at work, stay late, go the extra mile, and someone else gets the promotion. We show compassion and friendship to people who then deceive and lie to us and take advantage of us. This is when this blessing comes in to comfort us. Yes, to comfort us. Some may recognize this blessing as the first thing we say at a funeral. G-d is the true judge and makes sure everything happens—like the late rains and early rains—in its proper time. G-d as the “true judge”, as the prayer and affirmation states, is constantly involved in our lives. He knows what we are doing, what we’ve done, what we’re going to do and what our intentions are in each and every situation. The point, then, is that we have to go through the motions and that is what helps us with our spiritual development. This is why G-d let the Israelites do what they did and Moses plead for their mercy. The point is that as we enter a new year and ask Hashem to inscribe us in the book of life, we take stock of our own actions. We don’t act for any possible consequence; we act for the purity of the action. We commit mitzvot because that’s what G-d wants us to do. They may not pay off right now, but we can be assured that Hashem, as the “true judge”, will take stock of actions and we will benefit at some time in some way. #RoshHashannahSermon

This week's 10-Minute Torah (09/28/2019) "Parashat Nitzavim": https://youtu.be/i00ZznQqQh0 Rosh Hashanah 5780 / ראש השנה 5780 The Jewish New Year Monday, September 30 This year's 10-Minute Torah (09/30/2019) "Parashat Rosh Hashannah": https://youtu.be/4EJS7TF404M From Rabbi Joseph Gelberman: "Comfort Yourself" Comfort lies in spiritual wisdom. It comes when surrender replaces resistance. Our anguish is only as enduring as our attitude about it. No grief, however devastating can survive the healing balm of spiritual purification. Grief must be yielded, in a willing act of commitment, to G-d. G-d can transmute grief into love, which helps us to re-dedicate our emotions to a new pursuit: the joy of living. If we lift the veil of sadness and seek beauty, we participate in joy again. Don't dread, "What if?" Instead, say, "So what if." Comfort is delayed when we nurse our grief. Comfort is attained when we nurture life.

This week's 10-Minute Torah (09/21/2019): "Parashat Ki Tavo"- https://www.modernrabbistephen.com/single-post/2019/09/18/This-weeks-10-Minute-Torah-09212019-Parashat-Ki-Tavo From Rabbi Dr. Joseph Gelberman: Live Courageously Courage, like art, demands practice. No challenge need not dismay us. If we practice trusting life, we become equipped with the resources we need to overcome the tyranny of fear that claims our joy. All we basically need is to start with one gesture of faith as a token of this acceptance. Each little act strengthens the next. Courage is confidence and security which we build into ourselves by accepting challenges, gradually giving up our dependencies and welcoming new avenues to test out our growth. Courage requires the wisdom not to thrash around alone with frantic stoicism, but rather to build with the Master Builder. SELICHOT SERVICE The Torah Club invites you to join us for Selichot service on Saturday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Rabbi and Mrs. Stephen Epstein in Tuscany Hills. Please come join us for this short 25 minute service that will start with Havdalah and commences the Jewish traditional High Holidays Season. Dessert to follow. In the Sephardic tradition, recital of Selichot in preparation for the High Holidays begins on the second day of the Hebrew month of Elul. In the Ashkenazic tradition, it begins on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah Selichot prayers are usually recited between midnight and dawn. Some recite it at night after the 'Arvit service or in the morning before the Shacharit service due to the convenience of synagogue attendance at these times. The Torah Club welcomes all who want to participate. Please contact Sherry Beth Reiter, President of the Canyon Lake Torah Club, if you have any questions or want to reserve a place at the service.

Commentary on Ki Tavo 5779 #ParashatKiTavo #DvarTorah #TorahCommentary

This week's 10-Minute Torah (9/14/3029) "Parashat Ki Teitzei" - https://www.modernrabbistephen.com/single-post/2019/09/11/This-weeks-10-Minute-Torah-09142019-Parashat-Ki-Teitzei From Rabbi Dr. Joseph Gelberman: Forgive By Giving Love We can only know fullness of love when we recognize that our brother's errors are also our own. If we give anger in response to his error, that error goes unredeemed in both of us. The world needs us to redeem error. If we condemn the person with the deed, we have alienated ourselves from our roles as co-creators with G-d of a peaceful universe. As we accept ourselves and grow from our errors, we release our brother from our judgment in his errors. We both understand forgiveness. We learn to give love for anger.

Parashat Ki Teitzei 5779 #ParashatKiTeitzei #TorahCommentary #DvarTorah

Discussion of Parashat Shoftim #ParashatShoftim #DvarTorah #TorahCommentary

Presentation of Sermon One of the banes of society these days is the leadership of various countries and groups. Ideally, leaders should be guiding their people and deciding based on wisdom and working with others in their respective governments or groups to achieve the best and most efficacious outcome for their people. Unfortunately, this is the exception, not the rule. The Torah is very specific on this point and it is covered in this week’s portion, “Shoftim”. “Shoftim and Shotrim…tzedek, tzedek tirdoff”. Judges and officers…justice, justice shall you pursue. The repetition of “justice” is the Hebrew way of emphasizing the word and In this case, the concept. In the previous portions we were shown the review of many commandments and in some cases, new commandments. Now, the leaders who will implement these commandments are highlighted. The judges and officers of the court are men (male-dominated society) who will adjudicate and enforce secular and mundane judgments. We then have the Cohanim (priests) and Levites (ministers) who will be teaching the holy scriptures to people and inspire them to spiritual achievement. Finally, there are the kings. In Judaism, kings are the ultimate civil servants. They are not dictators who are above the law; rather, they are leaders that rule by example. They were the ultimate civil servant, there to serve the people. They must follow the laws and teachings and demonstrate how to live a righteous life and then implement and enforce and rule according to those holy teachings. For a king to ignore laws and rule by their own mandate is alien in our culture. The times when kings went their own way ended tragically for them. For kings to rule in accordance with Hashem’s teachings, they needed to know Torah. To know Torah, they had to write two Torahs. One would be for the Palace Library, the other for his personal use. If his father had passed down a Torah scroll, then he would only have to write one. But, he still had to write that Torah. Many people remember their school days and taking notes. We learned through our fingers, so to speak. This is what the kings are doing. They are learning Torah the best way available, by writing it all out. And they had to keep that Torah with them so they could refer to it. This way, this ruled in accord with G-d’s Law. Quite a contrast to what we see today. And yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. People get to be in charge and think that they are the law. They ignore what’s written down and on the books and think that since they are the leader, what they say goes. They believe that they are above the law. And how does this persist? Simple: there’s no one to challenge them. Sometimes there are. Most of the time, unfortunately, the masses go along with their rule and don’t challenge them. Either they are intimidated by the leader’s position, or the leader has minions (cronies or military) that enforce their rule. Elie Weisel said that silence helps the tormentor, not the tormented. Those who stand by and do nothing are allowing the leader to dictate. Some leaders believe their power is absolute. This is one of the reasons why kings had to write that personal Torah. Besides knowing the laws, they would be reminded Whose Laws they are. These are not mundane or secular laws mandated by flawed humans, but rather Divine dictums of Absolute Truth. This Absolute Truth honored and respected individuals, and this is really the difference. Man-made laws honor the man; Divinely mandated laws honor humankind. They are meant to allow everyone to flourish and grow and evolve and prosper; often these leaders are looking to honor only themselves. How do we tell the difference? Simple: who’s benefitting from the ruler’s rule. Is it the ruler? Or is it the people? And the former is what happens when leaders ignore G-d. #Sermon #LeadingaccordingtoTorah

Discussion of Re'eh #ParashatReeh5779 #DvarTorah #TorahCommentary

Torah Commentary on Parashat Ekev 5779 #ParashatEkev5779 #TorahCommentary #DvarTorah

Friday Night Sermon (08/16/2019): "Letting them in" Many of you have probably heard of the latest current events news regarding Israel. Israel and AIPAC (American-Israel Public Action Committee) periodically host trips by US Congress people to tour Israel. This is to promote and foster understanding and cooperation between the two countries and for good public relations. In 2018, the first two Muslim woman were elected to the House of Representatives. Rashida Tlaib is Palestinian and Ilhan Omar is Somalian and both have been antagonistic, even hostile to Israel. There has been a lot of controversy over remarks and references, and both have been accused of being antisemitic. Both, of course, are sympathetic to BDS, the boycott, divest and sanction program that is Palestinian born. Those in favor contend that Israel is “occupying” the Palestinian territories and that this is a legitimate way to compel Israel to negotiate Palestinian rights. Those against state that this is no more than propaganda and ignores the many times Israel has indeed offered to negotiate, the constant attacks on Israel’s sovereign state, and the restraint Israel shows in face of those attacks, etc. These two women petitioned Israel to visit. They were to visit, mostly, the border with Gaza and areas inside Judah and Samaria/West Bank, where Tlaib’s family still lives. Israel granted them permission. At first. US President Trump then issued a statement that these two are antisemitic and hate Jews, and that Israel should not let them in. The Interior Minister of Israel, who is right-wing, and the prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu, rescinded their offer and decided that these two women can not visit Israel, but Rashida Tlaib would be granted special humanitarian dispensation to visit her aged, 90-year-old grandmother, and that’s it. The Israeli leaders claimed that they decided that since these two supported BDS and do not acknowledge the right of Israel to exist made them both hostiles. A new law passed by the Knesset a few years ago allows the government to deny access to anyone they feel is a threat to the country. This, of course, set off a firestorm of outrage across America, and even the world. There were those who agreed with the Israeli’s decision to not allow entry, but the majority of opinions, from both sides of the isle, were pretty consistent that this was not a good idea. They feel that Israel, being a democratic country, was being, in the words of Thomas Friedman, op-ed writer for the New York Times, was being a banana republic. Many of the more liberal politicians criticized Israel for being too willful and even prejudiced. They were aghast that the government of Israel would treat certain members of the US government in such an exclusive manner. They were very disappointed that Israel would be so willful, being the Democracy that it holds itself up to be, and that even more disappointing was that it made Israel look to be discriminatory. Kevin McCarthy, the minority whip of the House of Representatives made an interesting point. Representative McCarthy is a Republican and a supporter of President Trump. Here, he digressed with the president. He suggested that these two should have joined the delegation of other Congresspeople on that junket. They should have been invited to see such monuments as Yad v’Shem that honors and remembers the victims of the Holocaust. If they declined that invitation, then that would have said it all. Why is Israel held to such a high standard? Have any Congresspeople asked to visit North Korea and visit the three-generation prison camps? Has anyone sought to boycott, divest and sanction China for “occupying” Tibet? Or Russia occupying Ukraine and Crimea? Or the (gasp) US government for occupying Native American land? In a recent portion of the Torah, Hashem told Moses to tell the Israelites to harass the Midianites for trying to tempt the masses into misconduct. They were also ordered to take the land and eliminate all the pagans that were occupying the promised land. Yes, some were allowed to stay who agreed to obey the seven Noahide laws. In that context, this isn’t so farfetched. On the other hand, we are also commanded to love our fellows as ourselves. The sages say one of the greatest mitzvot we can accomplish is turning an enemy into a friend. So there is a precedent of tolerance and humanitarianism in our heritage. We are G-d’s chosen people. He offered us the Ten Commandments and we accepted. We are a nation of priests. This is we’re under the microscope. We’re expected to be better. We have to be. Often that means taking the higher road, whether we want to or not. But that’s why we have the commandments, right? #FridayNightSermon #DenyingBDSSupporters