From the Rabbi

   To me, the beauty of the Torah is that it is not only philosophical and faith based but also has a practical side to it that is designed to help protect the Jewish people from hurting themselves.

   In this weeks Torah portion “Shofteem’” we are commanded to appoint Judges and Police to ensure that there is a level of fairness across-the-board that did not exist in the world until this point. Instead of just a king or a brutal tyrant, determining who shall live or who shall die, a system of fairness and equality had to be established in order for the nation to survive.

   In other words, HaShem through Moses helps the Jewish people to find a better way to live than the nations surrounding them. Moses says to the nation to find righteous people who can judge fairly. They are commanded to not look and see, who is in front of them, but rather to judge the situation and the actions. That way a rich person would not get a better deal than a poor person.

   It may seem obvious to us living in America that everyone should get a fair trial and be treated equally. We know that in reality that doesn’t even happen here all the time. A great society cannot exist without equality and justice. It is comforting to know that the Jewish people brought these rights to the world.

   Isaiah, the great prophet of the destruction and the redemption of the Jewish people is constantly railing against the aristocracy and the king to treat all people equally. The people did not listen and the temple was destroyed. This weeks Haftarah is a message of Hope and redemption.

Maybe we see this speedily in our day, Amen.

Shabbat Shalom, Cantor Marty

Here is a pre-recorded video d’var Torah on this week’s Torah portion.

I am visiting my parents on the east coast one more time before the High Holy Day season starts. I will be back on the bimah next Shabbat.

Stay well…and be good!

Shabbat shalom!

We are still basking in the glow of the Paris Olympics. Our American teams won more medals than any other country and tied for the number of gold medals won. We came to know and love Simone Biles, the GOAT of gymnastics, Noah Lyles in track and field, and many other athletes, American and otherwise, who achieved greatness through what was clearly superhuman effort.

Interviews with elite athletes reveal that a tension between gritty perseverance and just giving up and quitting is ever present. Their long hours of training over many years were often uphill battles to achieve their success. It was never smooth sailing. Stumbling, injuries, physical and mental fatigue, personal doubts and more, were the norm for almost every elite athlete.

Dr. Angela Duckworth, a psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania, studies the construct of grit, which is the ability to persevere and persist towards long-term goals despite challenges and setbacks. Those who demonstrate grit tend to be more successful in academic and professional settings. Yet, is grit always the proper response? Can’t grit also double as an unhealthy stubbornness?

Dr. Carsten Wrosch, a psychologist from Concordia University in Montreal, studies the benefits of quitting. He argues, that there are certain times where giving up is a better response than persisting. People who let go of unattainable goals tend to have fewer depressive symptoms, less negative affect, lower cortisol level, less systemic inflammation, and fewer physical health problems. No longer investing time and energy into just one goal allows them to attempt different, perhaps more attainable or more beneficial, goals.

The line between a healthy perseverance and an unhealthy stubbornness is not always easy to discern. Perhaps a look at Moses in this week’s Torah portion might help us formulate some guidelines. Moshe longed to enter the land of Israel. He desired to finish his original mission of bringing the Children of Israel into the land. He yearned to fulfill the various mitzvot that are only pertinent within the physical boundaries of Israel. Minimally, he just wished to experience the feeling of basking in the space of such a holy place. But he stumbled at the finish line. Because of what happened at Mei Merivah, God told him he could not enter.

His ultimate goal was blocked, but Moses did not go down without a fight. He begged and pleaded to G-d to let him enter the land. The midrash informs us that Moses made 515 separate supplications to God, based on the numerical value of the Vaetchanan. Moshe serves as a paradigm for grit in the face of challenges. When faced with an obstacle, be determined, be tenacious, and persevere.

Yet, taken from a different perspective, Moses also serves as a paradigm for quitting. As soon as God told him to stop pleading, he stopped. He put in the effort, but once he realized that the goal was unattainable, he quit. Once he does, he is freed to focus on a new task. He puts his effort in to crafting a farewell message that will influence generations to come in the land if Israel, even though he would not physically be present there.

Within the same narrative, Moses provides for us a role-model for extreme persistence in goal attainment, as well as an example for quitting when the goal is clearly no longer attainable. When confronted with challenges to our own goals, may God grant us the wisdom to discern whether to respond with grit or to quit, the strength to persevere if necessary, and the courage to give up when appropriate.

This Shabbat has a special name – Shabbat Chazon, which means the Shabbat of Vision. It is always the haftarah of Parashat Devarim, and it is always read on the Shabbat preceeding Tisha B’av, which will occur on Monday night and Tuesday. The haftarah does not lament the destruction of the Temple and our loss of sovereignty in Israel. It focuses instead on the behaviors and attitudes which the prophet saw as the root cause of the destruction. The haftarah asks us to consider our own behavior in light of Tisha B’av. Is it the kind that could contribute to eroding our relationships and tearing the fabric of our society or is it the kind that would have a positive effect and result in stronger relationships.

The main event that we commemorate took place more than 2400 years ago. It is admittedly difficult to mourn for the Temple when we are so far removed from the world which surrounded it. This year, however, it might be somewhat easier (if that is even the right word) to put ourselves in the proper frame of mind because of the tragedy of October 7^th. As Rabbi JJ Schacter put it, we have a head start into the grieving, the anxiety, the worry, the unsettledness because we have been mired in those emotions for almost a year now.

We can – and we should – bring all of those emotions with us to our Tisha B’av observance. They will be at the forefront of our thoughts. Our liturgy will incorporate lamentations written in direct response to the October 7^th tragedy. They will help us reach back not only one year but many years into the past, urging us the to reflect seriously on events of today and of yesterday.

The full Tisha B’Av schedule can be found below. May this be the last Tisha B’Av we observe in this way.

Shabbat shalom

As we enter high Summer and prepare for Tisha B'Av, the darkest day ion the Jewish calendar, we read some of the most interesting and challenging Parshiot of the year. This week, is one of the Torah portions, named after a Non-Jew. Noach was the first, and Yitro the father-in-law of Moses the second in which the Ten Commandments are given.

"Balak," as this week’s portion is called, was the Evil King of Moab. The story is really about the even more Evil prophet Billam- who was hired by King Balak to curse the Jewish people in the desert of Sinai, We have chronologically jumped 38 years ahead to the last of the 40 year journey in the "Midbar" or Desert and the Nation of Israel are young and hardened by these 40 years in the desert. Moshe their 120 year old Leader and teacher knows that he will die before the Children of Israel go into The Land of Israel still called Canaan, to conquer the land. 

Balak, the King of Moav, the people who are descended from the daughters of Noah, is terrified that The Israelites will try to destroy his Kingdom as they pass his territory which was in modern day Trans-Jordan. Billam, is seen in the Midrash and Kabbalah as almost the “evil twin” of Moses, so spiritually powerful that just his words could be destructive. Several times, Billam went up on to a mountain, offers sacrifices to the Gods of Moab and opened his mouth to curse the Jews. Miraculously, Hashem prevents him from speaking evil and instead only words of praise and beauty come forward. The line we say when we enter a Synagogue "Ma Tovu, Ohalecha Yaacov - How goodly and peaceful are your Tents oh Jacob, your dwelling places oh Israel" come from Billam's, instead of the curse he intended. When the King hears of the blessing instead of the curse he is incensed and slaps Billam in the head. He promises the evil prophet all the riches of the kingdom to deliver the curse but to no avail.

In the end, Billam's last ditch effort is to send the young maidens of Moav into the Jewish camp to tempt the young men of Israel. He is partially successful and only the efforts of the great Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron the first High Priest save the Jewish people from destruction. It never ceases to surprise and enlighten me how amazing and ahead of its time the Torah was and is in its exploration of the human psyche and experience. I believe the Torah was telling us so many years ago, that the Pen is mightier than the Sword. Words can harm even more deeply than physical violence.

 It is the "idea" of Hamas that is even more harmful and destructive then the horrible evil perpetrated on October 7th. They seek to destroy the entire Jewish people and all we stand for, not just the 1200 people they killed and the many hostages they took and are still torturing, Thank God we have the physical strength to repel Hamas. Do we have the mental and spiritual resolve for the long haul needed to utterly defeat them and all who hate the Jewish people. We have survived many Holocausts in our long 3800 year history. We should all double our efforts to combat our own evil speech-"Lashon Harah" and our resolve to continue to teach Torah, love, sharing and kindness to the entire world.

Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Marty