COMFORT AND COURAGE – The 3 weeks – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Baruch

COMFORT AND COURAGE – The 3 weeks – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Next Sunday, July 1st, will be a national holiday in Israel.  But no celebrations.  No bands playing, no parades.  It will be a day when the observant Jews will fast from morning till night, in Israel and in all other countries too, starting a 3-week period of mourning. Because on that Sunday we will be observing Shiv’a Asar b’Tammuz – the 17thof Tammuz, the anniversary of a day when 5 historic calamities took place.  And before you check your calendar, let me add that this Sunday is actually not the 17th, but the 18th.   Fast days get postponed if they coincide with Shabbos.

Now about those calamities: On the 17thof Tammuz, we learn, Moses saw his people dancing around the Golden Calf, and he broke the Tablets of the Law.  On the 17th, centuries later, a general of the invading Greek army burned the Torah.  On the 17th, the victorious invaders set up an idol in the Holy Temple. And on the 17th, not once but twice, the wall of Jerusalem was broken – once by the Babylonian forces about 24 centuries ago, and again on the same date by the Romans in the year 70.

As we recall the reasons for our fast, our history lives with us.  We begin that mourning period which will culminate on the 9thof the month of Av – also on Sunday this year, so it will be observed on the 10th– the day when both the First Temple and the Second Temple were destroyed.  During these 3 weeks it is traditional not to have weddings or other celebrations, and to avoid wearing new clothes and getting haircuts.  (Barbers, take a vacation!)  So we remember ancient tragedies.

Can we compare this mourning to occasions like Yom haShoah– Holocaust Memorial Day? Maybe we need to.  As we step back from some of our daily pleasures, it is worth acknowledging that we experienced tragic destructions just as our ancestors did. And as a nation, even in exile, they survived.  And so did we.

Debates result from our observance, as we know.  Should we rebuild the Holy Temple?  Or should we wait for the Moshiach to arrive first?  If we did restore the sacred building, and its holy altars, should we also restore the sacrificial offerings?  Or can we expect the Moshiach to finalize what some of our classical religious leaders taught in the past – that t’filah bim’kom korban (“Prayer replaces sacrifice.”)   Although the Torah details what and how to bring each offering, and those memories appear in every traditional prayerbook, present observance is limited to reading about them, and future observance could take a more spiritual direction, even in a rebuilt Temple.

What about those other structures that now occupy the Temple Mount?  Certainly King Solomon, who got the Temple built and made it the center of his people’s faith, would not even imagine tolerating a rival house of worship on the same hill.  Today’s realities can add a tear or two to our mourning time.

But we can bounce back. Our endless national experiences resound in the Haftorah that follows these mourning weeks, as we quote the prophet Isaiah encouraging us: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people!”  There is indeed comfort in knowing, wherever we find ourselves now, that our people have a home in Jerusalem again.  Dangers persist, there and elsewhere.  We have the courage to deal with them.  We know we must combat slander and evil, and build a bright future.  These weeks should remind us that we can do it.

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BALAAM and HATRED – Balak – Num. 22:2 – 25:9, by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Baruch

BALAAM and HATRED – Balak – Num. 22:2 – 25:9, by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

A Moabite king named Balak fears a possible invasion by the Israelite forces who are camped nearby.  They just fought and defeated the forces of Emor and Bashan, so he feels he needs some supernatural help.  He sends a message to a sorcerer, Balaam son of Beor, and asks him to curse Israel.  “Perhaps [then] I will be able to strike them and drive them out of the land.”

Apparently Balak was not aware of the fact that Balaam believes in G-d, so he and his curses – and his blessings – are subject to Divine rule.  So after spending the night at Balaam’s house, the royal messengers get a  polite refusal.  During that night, Balaam got the orders from on High: Don’t go with them, don’t curse Israel, because Israel is blessed.

Of course, Balak is not ready to give up.  He sends his messengers back again, this time with a promise of royal gifts to Balaam in exchange for the curse.  Again, they sleep over.  Again, Balaam gets the Divine orders: all right, go with them, but you will speak only the words I put in your mouth.

Now comes the famous talking donkey sequence.  En route to the mountain from where he will see the Israelite camp, Balaam is faced with a Divine messenger who threatens his life – not once, but 3 times.  He cannot see the threat, but his donkey can, and saves him first by going off the road into the field, a second time by squashing his leg against a fence, and the last time – lacking any way around the threat – by squatting under Balaam. Each time, Balaam strikes the donkey. Finally she opens her mouth and challenges him:

“What did I do to you, that you hit me now three times?”

Apparently not surprised to hear the donkey speaking, Balaam rages:

“You embarrassed me. If I had a sword in my hand I would kill you.”

“Am I not your donkey that you rode all your life?  Did I ever do this to you before?”

“No.”  And suddenly, Balaam’s eyes are opened and he sees the armed angel in front of him.  He jumps down and bows to the ground in front of the angel.  Now the angel speaks:

“Why did you beat your donkey, now three times?  Look, I came out to prevent you from continuing a wrong journey.  The donkey saw me and turned away.  Otherwise, I would have killed you and kept the donkey alive.”

Now wait a minute.  Why was this a wrong journey?  Didn’t G-d tell Balaam to go with Balak’s men – even if he would be able to speak only   G-d’s words?

Balaam’s motivation is suspect.  Did he go because of the wealth Balak promised him this time? Or was there another reason?

Our commentators point to a line in one of Balaam’s prophecies to answer that question.  Balak asked for a cursewith the Hebrew word arah.  Balaam used the word kaboh – condemn.  It appears even in the blessing he pronounces as he views the Israelite camp:

From the mountains of the East, Balak brought me, saying “Come curse Jacob for me…  How can I curse one whom G-d has not cursed?   How can I condemnone whom the Eternal has not condemned?…  Who has counted the dust of Jacob, or numbered the multitude of Israel?  Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his!

 

Rashi says this indicates that Balaam hated Israel more than Balak did. Balak just wanted the Israelites out of his country.  Balaam wanted them out of the world.  Not just extradition.  Extermination.

The Klee Yokor commentary takes an opposite view of those two words.  But the riddle remains: who hates Israel more?

Among our enemies ever since Balak and Balaam, there would seem to be an ongoing rivalry.  Who hated Israel more, Chmelnitzky or Hitler?  Who hates us more now, Khamenei or Abbas?  Barack Obama or David Duke?  (Add names here as called for!)   Or maybe the trophy should go to the Jewish traitor, Soros?

If nothing else, the commentators’ contest for hatred highlights the effect of Balaam’s extravagant blessings.  Did he really mean a word of it?

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JUST DO IT – Khukas – Num. 19-22:1 – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Baruch

JUST DO IT – Khukas – Num. 19-22:1 – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

This week we will read a section that starts with what has been called the most mysterious of all Mitzvos.  It is the law of the Red Heifer, a special ceremony to remove the contamination of touching a dead body.  It defies human logic, as the rabbis discussing it protested: “It cleans up the contaminated and contaminates the clean ones!”  Historically we are told that this rite was performed just 9 times in all the centuries, and it is predicted to take place a 10thtime only when the Messiah will arrive.  Reading the account of this strange ceremony, we may well ask why we were commanded to do it.

The answer to that question gives this Torah reading its name: Khukas, from the word Khok,a statute.  We learn there are three basic kinds of Mitzvah in the Torah.  One is called Mishpatim – judgements. These are laws people could figure out for themselves, even if they were not written.  For example, prohibition of murder, or robbery, or theft.  Then we have Eydot – ordinances.  These are rules of human conduct that might irk us, but are perfectly logical.  They would include daily duties, from treatment of animals to observing the Sabbath to honoring people’s memories. In a modern society those ordinances would include traffic laws.  It’s that third category of Khukim – statutes – that we cannot explain. Like the Red Heifer.

Studying Torah equips us to do the Mitzvos, and it should help us understand them.  For many of our righteous forebears, it was enough.  For us, maybe we need a little help.  Today I’ll quote a lady named Chana Weisberg, editor of the TheJewishWoman.org.  (And I know my wife will appreciate my quoting a female writer!)   Chana Weisberg tells an entertaining story, and builds on it:

She calls her couple Sara and Barry, comfortably married, and facing a task that has to be done.  It could be “a repair project, a special favor or a purchase for their home.” And they disagreed on how it should be done.  With the result that usually Barry retired grumpily and the job was not done at all. “Then one day,” says Chana Weisberg, “Sara tried a different approach.”  Instead of debating the alternatives, she smiled and said: “Honey, I know this isn’t the way you see it, but please, just do it for me!”  To her surprise, Barry smiled and did it.

That was a khok– a statute of love.  Some mitzvos fill that same spot.  Maybe in our time not the Red Heifer, but maybe other Mitzvos don’t quite make sense to some of us, like keeping Kosher, or saying Kaddish, or, yes,  monogamy in marriage.  We can fulfill those Mitzvos, and bless the Divine in each of us, if we forego debate and – just do it!

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WE RESERVE THE RIGHT by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Baruch
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT
          Remember the sign that once appeared in stores, restaurants, bakeries,
etc…the one that read “We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to
Anyone”?  Maybe that became illegal before you were born.  But maybe
it’s worth analyzing.  What that sign meant depended largely on the
boss’s attitudes.
          Someone who showed contempt for the merchandise, or suspicions about
the dealer, could very well get ignored if it came to trying on any
clothing.
          If a customer — at a bar, for example — had one too many and started a
fight?  Out you go, fella.  Many bar owners exercise that right today.
At least they should.
          But also, if a white customer insisted on pushing himself ahead of a
black customer, the boss or an employee had to enforce a standard:
equality, or discrimination.  And discrimination could go either way —
depending whether the store was in Harlem or Atlanta.
          And what about baking wedding cakes?  Did the baker need to inquire
about the identity of the couple?  Or their sexual  preference?
          The recent Colorado case and its Supreme Court sequel might make us
wonder if it could happen back in the days of “We Reserve the Right…”
          An old gag about rights said that “when I walk down the street, I have
a right to swing my arms as much as I want to, but my right to swing
my arms ends where your nose begins.”  The Colorado case brings that
to mind.  If Mr. Philips just bit his lip and baked the cake, no court
case — he just has a banged-up nose.  If he reserved the right and
refused service, the same-sex couple just has to buy a cake somewhere
else.  Which apparently is what they did.  But they made sure to put in a
complaint to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, even though their
same-sex ceremony took place in Massachusetts.
          If anything, Justice Kennedy and his fellow judges — 7 out of the 9
anyway — ruled that equality before the law means that just as one
American has the right to live out a deviant life style, another
American has the right to live by his religious principles.  From the
Biblical point of view, of course, homosexuality is a capital offense.
Leviticus 20:13 commands: “If a man lies with a male as one lies
with a woman, both of them did an abhorrent thing; they must die.
Their bloodguilt is on them.”
          Bear in mind, however, that in the Torah, no accounts of an execution
for this offense appear. In fact we have no record of any such executions
by a Jewish court.  Since, at least in historic times, this kind
of action took place in private, and since Biblical law requires two
eye witnesses who warn the offender in advance, it would be close to
impossible to convict anyone.
          So how does that condition affect the believing baker?  We can
conclude that any violation of sexual law may or may not take place
before the cake is baked.  And we can also recognize that the couple
ordering the cake is about to celebrate their sin.
          They are hiring the baker to help them.
         Anyone think we saw the last case like this?
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A HIGHER LIGHT – B’haalos’kho – Num. 8-12, by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Baruch

A HIGHER LIGHT – B’haalos’kho – Num. 8-12, by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

The name of this week’s Sedrah has its own unique message. It is the first word of the Divine charge to Aaron, who had the duty and privilege of lighting the Menorah.  Familiar to all of us, the 7-branch candlestick graces our synagogues and appears as a symbol, both on many Jewish documents and on treasured jewelry.   And with the addition of the eighth candle and the “shamash”, the Menorah becomes the trademark of Hanukkah, the holiday of Dedication.  In fact, this week’s Haftorah – Zechariah’s vision – will be read on Hanukkah too.  So when Aaron dedicated the Menorah he started one of our ongoing traditions.

So let’s see what his commandment – his Mitzvah – was. We might expect it to be stated simply, as many such commandments are:  Take pure olive oil, fill the cups of the Menorah, and kindle the lights. Not here.  The word is not הדלקh-d-l-k (to kindle, as in l’hadlik ner shel shabat or shel Hanukkah).  Here the word isהעלה h-a-l-h (to raise, or to elevate):  B’haalos’kho es ha-ney-ros (When you raise the candles), they will shine on everything that is facing the Menorah.  The shaping of the Menorah itself is detailed here, showing that the 7 burning cups are shaped so that the flame does not burn just straight up, but also outward.  Spread the light.  Yes, it is for G-d, and it is also for people.  All people.

Our commentators note details about the cups on the Menorah that add to the visual engineering.  Of the three cups on the east side, says Rashi, the two outer ones are angled just slightly so they all shine toward what is directly facing the middle light; and the same way on the west side.  The center light, (number 4 if you count from either end) is not angled at all, but shines up and straight out.

From the various laws, observances and travel experiences we will read in these 5 chapters, and from the centuries of history that followed, we can learn something of the value of the light Aaron kindled, and raised.  Our Menorah indeed shines upward toward Heaven, and it tries to shine forward on all who face it.

Did it shine on the group of tribesmen who missed the first Passover, and convinced Moses to get them the opportunity to celebrate their freedom a month later?   Of course it did.

Did it shine on Miriam when she spoke against her sister-in-law?   Maybe it did, and maybe she wasn’t facing it.  She got punished, and she atoned.  In effect, she turned around and accepted the light.

B’haalos’kho brings us a message that can inspire us. The light on our Menorah is more than just a flame pointing up.  Like Aaron the High Priest, we can share the light of Torah by shining it up and out. And being among those it shines on, we can face that beautiful Torah light, accept it, and let it light up our lives.

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