Almost Eden

BS"D Parshiot Netzavim-Va’yaylech last readings of 5770

Our parasha relates (Devarim 31:16)

And the LORD said to Moshe: "You will lie down to rest with your fathers and rise up, [then] this nation will follow the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and transgress the covenant I made with them.

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 90b) understands this verse as alluding to techiyat hamaitim (resurrection of the dead), for HaShem gives Moshe notice of his imminent demise, "You will lay down to rest with your fathers," followed by the words "and rise up".

However, the pasuk is problematic, for it brings together the greatest act of chesed by HaShem - resurrection of the dead, with the foulest act of betrayal that man can perform - the rejection of God in favor of idolatry.

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DVAR TORAH: WHERE MOSHE WENT, WE, TOO MUST GO!
RABBI S.WEISS

As in most years, the parshiyot of Nitzavim and Veyelech are combined on this Shabbat, the final Shabbat of year 5770. What is it that connects them?

I suggest that there is one primary theme which runs through both readings, and it is the fundamental lesson which we must internalize before we step into the dock on the Days of Judgment: The Jewish People are One.

It begins by stating emphatically: “You stand here today, all of you – from the elders to the babies, from the heads of tribes to the water-drawers.” The “heads” reach the highest heights, while water seeks its own, lower level.

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BS"D Parashat Ki Tavo 5770

Our parasha lays down the details of the bikurim mitzva. The growers of any of the seven species of flora which are indigenous to the Holy Land bring samples of them to the Bet Hamikdash where they are placed down on the lower step of the large altar. The "donor" then declares before the officiating kohen a short synopsis of Jewish history as follows (Devarim 26)

Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: "The Aramean (Lavan) attempted to destroy my father (Ya’akov) and he went down into Egypt with few people and lived there to become a great nation, powerful and numerous. The Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor. Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey".

This declaration is intended to ensure that the Jewish people will forever be conscious of HaShem’s past and present protectiveness of His nation Israel.

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DVAR TORAH: SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
RABBI S. WEISS

Sandwiched around the Blessings & Curses in the center of this week’s parsha is a walk through Jewish history.

The Torah bids us to “take stock” and to remember how it is we got to where we are, recalling the trials & tribulations we encountered along the way, from Lavan to Egypt.

The end of Ki Tavo mentions the many miracles which G-d performed for us in the wilderness, and then makes a specific, pointed reference to the war against Og king of Bashan and Sichon, king of Cheshbon.

Now, I can understand why we mention Mitzrayim and Paro and the desert experience. But why emphasize the fight against Bashan and Cheshbon? Were they so important?

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Location could be the key to a successful Aliyah for some people.

I'm a Writer by profession and Researcher by nature so I may have gone a bit overboard during our pre-Aliyah investigations, but I believe all that work paid off in helping us pin down the perfect place for our family to settle in Israel.

How does one go about researching communities in Israel while living in another country (especially if you don't have family or friends living there)? I'm sure there are multiple options in answer to that question, but for now I'll share with you my method - draw as much information from the Internet as possible and NETWORK with the people in your target communities.

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BS"D Parashat Ki Tetze 5770

This week’s message is dedicated to two Octogenarians plus (may they live to 120 years) - Mrs. Feige (Fran) Rudman, Rav Natan and Rachel Lobel's mother-in-law and mother respectively, who has come on Aliya; and Mrs. Leah Rachel (Lillian) Lippman, mother and mother-in-law of Dr. Moshe and Orli Abels, who is here now and has fallen in love with the land.

Our parasha opens with Am Yisrael going out to wage a milchemet re’shut (a non-compelled war) and closes with the ultimate milchemet mitzva (obligatory war) - the destruction of Amalek.

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DVAR TORAH: THE BOUNTIFUL BLANK
RABBI S. WEISS

For (too many) centuries, much of the Torah existed only in the abstract. Many Mitzvot applied only in Israel, or when there was a Bet HaMikdash, a King, a Kohen Gadol etc, and could perhaps be studied, but not fully practiced.

While we still have not yet returned to a complete world of observance – B”H we are well on our way! – we have reclaimed our one and only Land and now can both practice and appreciate some things for the first time in 2000 years.

Thus we can literally apply the lesson in our Sedra’s first pasuk: “When you go out against your enemy…”

From here we derive 2 crucial imperatives vis a vis our adversaries:

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B"D Parashat Shoftim 5770

The underlying theme of our parasha is the establishment of an ordered Torah society and its religious and social elements.

Among the parasha’s mitzvot - local and national courts of law and the requirement to accept their decisions, the monarchy, appointment of the tribe of Levi over sacrificial matters, authority of the prophets, cities of refuge, respect for personal property, laws of witnesses and waging war.

Humans beings who live in disorderly societies or those devoid of laws and mores will eventually regress into primitive conduct matching those of the animal world. Hunger, lack of suitable living quarters, unemployment etc., combine to drive otherwise normal people to perform acts of extreme cruelty beyond the imagination of the civilized mind.

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DVAR TORAH: THE POSTMAN COMETH
RABBI S. WEISS

“Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof - Justice, justice you shall pursue….”

So begins a long section of our Sedra emphasizing the moral imperative to pro-actively seek righteousness, the path of Truth, & justice in all its forms. Of course, the question is, why the double-use of the word “Tzedek?”

Chazal provide numerous answers: Any time a word is doubled, it indicates the added importance of that concept. It can also mean that one has an obligation to seek the highest form of justice, e.g. to request halachic guidance not from just anyone, but from the most erudite of Talmidei Chachamim or the most reliable of Batei Din.

Others suggest that “tzedek, tzedek” warns us that justice must be meted out to, and by, both the collective and the individual. A government must never consider itself above the law, nor may a single person say, “What does it matter what one human being does or does not do?”

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BS"D Parashat Re’ai 5770

In the parasha, Moshe turns to the nation and says (Devarim 10:11-13):

And the LORD said unto me: 'Arise, go before the people, causing them to set forward, that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore unto their fathers to give unto them.'

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul

To keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your benefit

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