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https://youtu.be/pIeZm9c6ffA #ParashatNitzvim5778 #TorahCommentary #DvarTorah

This week’s Torah portion is “Ki Tavo”, when you come in [to the land]. And when we come into the land, after we’ve settled, we will bring a tithe of our first fruits. This is our way of giving thanks. First of all, “tithe” is the Old English word for “tenth”. We are making an offering every year to give a tenth of our produce in whatever profession we have chosen to Hashem. They way we do that is by giving to the priests and Levites (ministers) whose profession it is to serve G-d. We also give a tenth to the needy: the poor, widows and orphans who struggle for subsistence, and the stranger who doesn’t have any ancestral year. In other words, we’re giving back. This procedure of offering is one of the ways we are reminded that our prosperity comes from G-d. Certainly we go through the motions of farming or husbandry, but it is indeed Hashem who gives us—as the morning blessing reminds us—what we need. Making those offerings is one of the many ways we remember all of Hashem’s commandments. Prosperity is a trap. When we are struggling, we are always praying, as we do whenever we are in need. “Please make my business successful”, “restore my health”, “make that man or woman notice me and fall in love”. When we are become successful, we start to lose interest. We stop praying as much, don’t need to, right? We forget about being righteous because we have business and fruits of our labors (country clubs, trips, nights out) to think about. This is why this is a commandment. When we don’t need, we forget and lose sight. The idea of the yearly offering reminds us that, yes, there is this covenant thing and have to perform mitzvot. There is also the idea of eating and giving thanks. So we eat bread and say a blessing before, and then another one after (Birkat HaMazone). What’s this all about really? Remembering to say “thank you” and be grateful for what we have. It’s easy to remember when we’re in need, but not so much when things are going our way. This portion also contains another round of the “Tohaha”, the admonition. Moshe Rabbeinu foresaw, and now gives a very stern warning, that as we get more successful, we will forget the thank G-d for our bounty. We may even descend into idolatry, worshipping not just foreign gods, but maybe money and power as well. There will be consequences, measure-for-measure. Just as we will be rewarded for doing good, we will be punished for being bad. The bad, however, is not an all-or-none scenario, it gets worse if we don’t correct. So the bad is not necessarily a punishment, but it is a warning, which is the main meaning of “Tohaha” that we need to change our course. If we don’t take care of our bodies, for example, we get sick. If we don’t change our behavior, we get more sick. As we get more successful in business, we start to live a little more lavishly and start contributing to worthy causes like helping those less fortunate or contributing more to the local synagogue. (Hint, hint). But then we get to the point where having prosperity feels real good and we want more. So we give a little less, because, hey, we worked hard and earned it and we want to enjoy it. So we’re giving a little, aren’t we? That’s enough, right? It’s all about character. When we don’t have a lot and get a little more, it’s noticeable. We feel so much gratitude are happy to give some. But when we have a lot, the little bits aren’t as noticeable. The Talmud has all sorts of stories about people who are well off, spend lavishly on themselves but give the bare minimum. We must always remember to be grateful and not lose sight of what’s really important, which is Hashem. Hashem can’t write a check, so he helps us become successful so that we can. In this way, we are doing G-d’s work and doing mitzvot #FridaysSermon

https://youtu.be/IFE7xYRLTos #ParashatKiTavo5778 #DvarTorah #TorahCommentary #10minuteTorah

https://youtu.be/Xmh2ustl5Dg #TorahPortion #ParashaKiTeitzei5778

“Justice, justice shall you pursue”. We’ve heard these words often and they are considered to be a righteous way to live. They are quoted and inscribed in many places and documents including a picture that hangs in the office of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This is an interesting aphorism. What does it really mean? It almost seems superfluous to comment, but in this day and age, it is very necessary. First of all, the word “Justice” is repeated. In biblical Hebrew, the repetition of a word is like putting the adverb “very” in front. It is also used to highlight and emphasize the word. The fact that Moshe Rabbeinu is just now (in the last book of Deuteronomy) saying this to the new generation of Israelites is timely and profound. These are the people that will conquer and settle the promised land and setting up an equitable system of courts is very important. You see, it is human nature, we with our imperfect nervous systems, to want to come out ahead. Yes, we’ve approached this concept before in the way of not putting a stumbling block in front of the blind and being honest in your weights and measures. So what if it’s not exact and little off, it won’t make a big difference and the other guy won’t even notice. The bottom line, though, is that pennies add up, don’t they? Some say that responsibility is doing what’s right even when there’s no one around to see you. “Justice, justice shall you follow”. The more we do it, the more it becomes part of who we are. These days, we see what happens when you don’t. Recently, a Congressman had to resign because he is being investigated for insider trading. We’ve also seen news headlines of public officials in the higher echelons of government taking advantage of their positions to make money or hiding business deals so as to not expose these dealings to taxes or ethics scrutiny. Judaism has a more stringent policy. Kings were required to write two copies of the Torah, one for their own personal use and one for the Temple library. In other words, not only were the highest officials in government not exempt from the law, but they had to set an example. In our own lives, we have to be careful to do the right thing. We leave a store with more change than to which we’re entitled. The right thing is to go back and give the extra back. Some will say, well, they’re a store, a big store and they won’t miss it. No. People are entitled to fair and honest dealings and it is not just a choice, but an obligation. Some people will look around the world and say that everyone does it. Look at how some leaders around the world subject their citizens to the worst horrors of war and poverty while they live a rich, opulent life. Everyone does it, why should we be different? Why should we get cheated just because we’re honest? Some people feel that the idea of divine justice is just appeasement. Some people complain that they’ve been straight all their lives and never got a break. Some people complain that they’ve been the victims so maybe it’s time to be the aggressor. Dog eat dog and all that. (Subject of another sermon). No. There will always come a time in our lives when we’re given the opportunity to do the right thing and we don’t. Then it comes back to haunt us. We see that one time that someone gets hurt by our insolence and then our guilt comes crashing down on us. Yes, it’s tough being honest in a world where everyone looks to get an edge. Maybe that’s the point. Maybe our mettle is being tested. Like the laws of Kashrut, we are shown temptation and then given an opportunity to do the right thing, to avoid cheating people. Tempting, yes. But the wrong course of action. Maybe it’s like exercise. The more you do, the stronger you get. This doesn’t just go for muscles, but ethics as well. We set a standard for ourselves to do the right thing. As time goes, we learn how to navigate that ocean. Perhaps we’ve made a habit of dealing with the wrong people and this cheating is a wake-up call to change our ways. Sometimes if we take the wrong path and don’t see the signs, HaShem does something drastic to get our attention, return us to Torah. Then we end living our lives in an ethical and moral way. We are happier and with less problems.

https://youtu.be/3cQ_IySPwrg #TorahPortion #ParashaShoftim

https://youtu.be/6_TR2KZ9g2c

This week’s Torah portion is “Eikev”. As it turns out, this is also my Bar Mitzvah portion. Moshe Rabbeinu is now starting on his second discourse to the Israelites as they prepare to conquer and settle their new home, the holy land. Moses reminds them that while living in the “Midbar” or wilderness for the last 40 years or so, HaShem took care of all their needs. They had water and food and protection. Their clothes either remained intact and grew with the children, or G-d provided them with the means and materials to repair and sustain as needed, depending on whether you accept the Orthodox or Conservative versions. He reviewed some of the incidents from those previous years and said that “you are a stiff-necked people”. In fact, throughout this particular discussion, Moses uses the 2nd person plural pronoun. This is interesting since he is speaking to people many of whom hadn’t even been born yet. So why use the plural “you” form in his address? This is the theme of this portion. The portion ends with the second paragraph of the Shema. This paragraph is the reward-and-punishment paragraph of the Shema, the V’Ahavta being the mercy paragraph. Here, we are told that if we follow the commandments, life will be good and we’ll be able to take care of ourselves. If we don’t follow the commandments or stray, then the land will not produce its bounty and life will be hard. Again, this is all discussed in the 2nd person plural. The latter part of this paragraph repeats commandments of putting on tefillin and mezuzot that are stated in the first paragraph, but again, in the plural form. Not only, then, is it each of our responsibility to honor the covenant and adhere to the commandments, but it is also the community’s responsibility as a community to adhere to the covenant. We are only responsible for our own karma, but we are only responsible for the community’s group karma and each other’s actions. We must encourage and ensure that we each “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our G-d”, and we must encourage and ensure that “Clal Yisrael” does what is right as well. We see this in some of the individual commandments. Not only are we commanded to not gossip, steal or cheat, but we are also admonished not to join in with others in the commission of such. We are also commanded to help our fellow who is stuck on the side of the road even if we don’t like that person. In this portion, too, is the first time we are commanded to love the stranger. This has been interpreted by our sages in modern context that when someone is new to your community, synagogue, work or school, you are supposed to befriend them and make them feel welcome. The idea of cliques in Judaism is a foreign and unknown concept. Certainly, we all have our circle of friends, but we do not exclude people. We watch over each other. This isn’t an altruistic notion; it is a commandment. We have seen throughout our history what happens when we follow the wrong path or people. We have seen people join with others in the Wilderness to challenge Moses’ divinely-sanctioned leadership; we have seen what happens when our people fraternize with cultures that mean us harm; we have seen half of our people get conquered and scattered for engaging in idolatry. We know the consequences of allowing negativity to flourish. By condoning and allowing it, we ourselves are just as guilty as the perpetrators. We suffer the same consequences as they do. This is why we are warned by the two levels of these commandments. We are told individually and collectively to remember, to put tzitzi’s on our clothes and mezuzot on our doorposts so that we always know to do the right thing, and even more important to encourage others to do the right thing. For many of us, this is not easy. It is hard standing up to those who follow their hearts and eyes and not the commandments to do the wrong thing. There is a lot of peer pressure that Heaven forbid we stand up to insolence and become ostracized ourselves. We must always remember that HaShem has our back. As the psalmist said: even though evil seems to thrive, their doom is sure to come for Yours is the ultimate Triumph.

https://youtu.be/TS-13aCKVYY #ParashatEikev #TorahPortion

This week’s Torah portion is “V’Etchanan”. This is an interesting coincidence for this time of the year. We just observed Tisha B’Av. This observance marks a multitude of various tragic occurrences in our history. The first was the day that the spies returned with a very pessimistic report of the promised land that resulted in that generation’s having to remain in the Wilderness for the next 38 years and die off. It also commemorates the destruction of both of our Temples and the beginnings of World War I that led to the Holocaust or “Shoa”. V’Etchanan starts off with Moses saying to the new generation that will ultimately conquer and settle the new land, and how he beseeched HaShem to allow him to at least pass into the promised land as a mere Israelite. Joshua would lead and he would be just be there to pass into the land. HaShem turns him down. Moshe Rabbeinu then discusses a prophecy to the Israelites, and this is the portion that is read during the morning service of Tisha B’Av. He tells them that they will settle the land and enjoy its prosperity. They will then fall away from Torah and be conquered and dispersed and have to cling to their roots. He warns them not to be lead astray by the customs and rituals of their host countries, and certainly not to succumb to the temptation of intermarriage, thus losing their identity. This last week had some very interesting and timely news stories that fit into this. A man appealed to a higher court after a lower one turned him down, to be able to sue a prospective employer for discrimination. This is the first time that our justice system recognized Judaism as a separate race—under the law—and therefore under the jurisdiction of the EEO and Title VIII. The judge recognized Jews by virtue of birth, as protected by those laws. His decision rested on the history of the Jews. We’ve always been persecuted as a people. It didn’t matter whether we were observant or secular. We’ve always been singled out just because we’re Jews. Additionally, the State of Israel just passed a controversial law that acknowledges Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish people. They recognized Hebrew as the official language with Arabic considered as a recognized language. In other words, the Jews are now a separate people with their own land, apart from all other peoples or races in the world. Perhaps Moses’ prophecy and it’s ensuing fulfillment has now gone to fruition. It’s as if Hashem is showing us that, yes, we need to remain separate and cling to our own heritage and guard it. Is this yet another example of G-d guiding us, setting in motion the necessity for us to remain a separate people, His people? Some may just say that these were all just the actions of a few people. But others will say that it is ordained. What makes it so important that we cling to our Torah? Some, who are secular, may contend that the laws of the land are enough to keep us observant if not righteous. What does it matter anyway if we keep kosher or go to services? Part of the answer may lay in our legacy. Remember that we were the first people that acknowledged that there is one all-powerful G-d that is responsible for creating and maintaining the Universe. As we say at the beginning of the Ma’ariv/Evening service, the stars make their rounds according to Your Divine Will. But it’s more than that. With that acknowledgement comes an attachment to the higher things in life. We were the first culture to accept rather than vilify the stranger. We were the first culture that required charity/tzedakah for the poor, widowed and orphaned who were challenged in fending for themselves. It is by clinging to this heritage, and remembering Moses’ words, that we maintain our identity as a people. Concomitant with that, it makes us realize we have an important responsibilty to humanity to maintain the higher consciousness of the human race. #FridayNightSermon

https://youtu.be/hhCGSHOM4kU

This week’s Torah portion starts the book of Devarim, otherwise known as Deuteronomy. This book is also known as “Mishnah Torah”, a repeat of the Torah. This latter name comes from the fact that many of the commandments are repeated in addition to some new ones. Considering that we study the Torah every year, then on Simchat Torah re-roll the scroll and start over again to study the same thing for the next year, why have a review? Why do we need to have what is essentially a review-within-a-review, especially since we are going to start over again in just a few months? Isn’t it enough to just go over it once a year? Short answer: no. The context of this repetition is that it is now 38 years after the Israelites were condemned to remain in the Wilderness and die out without the privilege and pleasure of seeing and inhabiting the promised land. This generation, having grown up without knowing the yoke of slavery and being weened on desert survival, is a heartier bunch that is better suited to take the land. Moses’ purpose is to discuss the flaws of the previous generation and in the words of Elvis: “Little sister don’t you do what your big sister done”. The discourses that comprise the book of Deuteronomy is really for us, the successive generations later. It is to hone in some very specific points about what’s important to us as the descendants of those who interacted directly with Hashem. It is to make sure that we remember what’s important. Consider the first part of the book, the first things that Moshe Rabbeinu says. He gives a little travelogue that outlines the journeys of the Israelites over the past 38 years. He specifically names the places in which the Israelites sojourned. Some commentators look at the names of the places and see a veiled reference in the names. The names are derived from the events that took place in those locations. Unfortunately, those events were the negative aspects of the journeys, like where the Israelites contended with Moses over the need for water, or the rebellions. Rather than just out-and-out state the incidents, the Torah couches them in sort of code names. While this does remind us of the improper things that the former slaves did to challenge Moses and Hashem, it also spares them of the embarrassment of having their actions demeaned throughout the ages. This is similar to a mention towards the end of the previous book “Numbers” of the incident of a certain person who gathered wood on Shabbat, a no-no that had some very serious consequences. Most sages agree that this was Tselophahad, whose daughters then beseeched Moses to share in an inheritance since there were no sons, but they also contend that the Torah is sparing his family the embarrassment of his actions since his daughters were righteous and ultimately had an added commandment on their account. “Lashon Harah” is a frequent issue in Judaism that is repeated or referenced many times in our yearly journey through the Torah. Why? Because it’s so easy to descend into that sin. Yes, sin. It is a sin and big temptation. Why? Because many of us get frustrated by certain events and people. Many times, it isn’t so much the current issue that is right in front of us, but other issues about which that reminds us; this is what psychologists call “transference”. Our tongues last out. We want vindication and we want justice for ourselves. We are so tempted by this need for validation that forget the commandment to not take our own vengeance but leave it up to Hashem to dole out divine justice. No, we want that power to control someone’s reputation that either makes up for attacks on us or just to give ourselves power for a much-needed ego boost. Hashem and Moses apparently knew how tempting it was to demean people to sure up our own egos that it is a concept that is mentioned many times in the Torah. It is to show that us that if the powerful and wise people of our heritage were able to withstand this temptation, then they are our role models and we would do well to follow them. Certainly, it’s hard not to gossip and demean, but our religion is all about pushing ourselves to a higher level of behavior. This is especially true with Tisha B’Av right around the corner. It customary to read a portion of the Talmud tractrate from “Gittin” that discusses the incident of two rival rabbis. One of the rabbis then allied with the occupying Romans against his rival and this is one of the main incidents that led to the destruction of the Second Temple. Take a lesson from all and this either speak positive about people, or don’t speak at all. You will see a better quality of your life and your relationships.