*Be the Change You Want to See In the World

Naso 5774

 

יְבָרֶכְךָ ה', וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ. יָאֵר ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ.   יִשָּׂא ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם – Gd will bless you and protect you. The light of Gd's face will shine on you and grant you graciousness. Gd's face will be raised to you and you will have peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

These verses constitute the priestly blessing of hope placed upon each Israelite by the kohanim. Without explanation, the contents of the blessing are perhaps platitudes too abstract to give true comfort . So, how does our tradition understand the tachlis behind the words? According to Rashi: יְבָרֶכְךָ ה', וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ means blessed with wealth and possessions; and, since the wealthy are rarely liked by others...יָאֵר ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ, means that you will be blessed to be gracious to others with your wealth; and, since most people are not satisfied with what they have – even those blessed with great wealth – the third element of blessing...וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם that you should have internal tranquility by way of senses of satisfaction and fulfillment.

B'chukotai 5774

In light of the pain that struck the Jewish world this week via vandalism of our own doorstep...(see link below)

This shabbat we read the final portion of the Book of Leviticus, parshat B'chukotai. As is the practice for concluding each of the Five Books of Moses, the community will stand for the final verses of the book and say, “Chazak, Chazak v'nitChazek” (BeStrongandWewillbeStrengthened). For those present, it is a moment of great emotion and communal unity as we rise together, pronounce together, and bid farewell together to the book of the Torah that we have engaged with and which we will long for until we return to it next year. At that moment, there is a sense of standing again at Mt. Sinai; a band of folks from different houses, of various opinions, multiple styles and flavors who, by having a common ancestry and by sharing similar adversities at the hands of the non-Jewish world, forge a bond of brotherhood stronger than any pernicious force that others send our way. Indeed, as history has proven, the holiness of the Jewish People is predicated on us and no one else. Each and every community is a part of the connective interlocking tissue that serves to strengthen our People – no matter the malice of others or even our own, we will not waver in fulfilling the duty of our residence among the People Israel, in the Land of Israel, for the State of Israel.

To view news coverage of vandalism:  Click Here

B'har 5774

The opening verses of this week’s parasha speaks of 2 mitzvot related solely to the Land of Israel: Shmita and Yovel. Shmita is the teaching that every 7^th year the land is to lay fallow and not be sowed or harvested. Yovel, translated as Jubilee, is the concept that every 50 years the land’s ownership returns to its original holders. Whereas Shmita is still practiced in some form in modern Israel, observance of Yovel was only applicable when the tribes of Israel resided in the land. Upon entering the Land of Israel, each member of the 12 tribes was given a parcel of land to possess. Individuals were at liberty to sell the land, but only for the number of years remaining until the Jubilee year. In this way, the Torah safeguards that one born into an impoverished situation would have the chance to improve her lot. Once tribal ownership was eliminated via expulsion from the land, observance of the Yovel was no longer practical/applicable. In modern times, a properly implemented ‘estate tax’ may be seen as an attempt at the redistribution of wealth in order to assist the less fortunate both financially and psychologically in the attempt to climb the financial social ladder – and as a measure to prevent the power of affluence to remain in the hands of the same families for perpetuity.