B'chukotai

“If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments....you shall eat your fill of bread and dwell securely in your land.”(Lev.26:3-5)

This segment of the Torah ostensibly contains one of the most obvious expressions of the doctrine of reward and punishment in Judaism.The modern mind is skeptical about the accuracy of this doctrine if understood literally. How do we resolve the dilemma of the righteous suffering and those who don't follow God's laws, prospering? Some gain clarity from the view of faith and the assumption that all outcomes are unknown by the mortal mind .Others see this as a collective assurance that when a community lives morally it will prosper even though some individuals may be subject to suffering in the process. Or we can understand these passages as reflecting an historic time when Israel was in its childhood and like children they needed this type of conditional reasoning and understanding in order to withstand the possibilities of straying from God's path.

From a spiritual-psychological point of view I offer another way of understanding this passage.Security comes from within.The Torah suggests that if we have the capacity to “eat our bread” -לשבע- to our fill, with an ability to feel grateful for what we have, this grateful heart will result in the feeling of dwelling securely in the peacefulness and fullness of mind and heart pulsating with thankfulness for out gift of food. Gratitude engenders faith and the assurance that one can dwell securely and safely without fears of not having and without feelings of debilitating insecurity and anxiety about the future.Sensing deeply the gift of all of life, we can take the strength and faith of living our lives anchored in a trust in the world's goodness and the compassion of a God whose gifts we are bidden to enjoy.

B'Har-B'Hukotai

These are the laws that God commanded Moses and Israel on Mount Sinai—

A well-known question that emerges from this opening sentence is found in Rashi who asks: Ma inyan shemittah etzel har Sinai? Why is Sinai referred to in the setting of the Sabbatical laws and the rules governing the Jubilee year? I spite of his answer that establishes the Sinaitic authority for all the laws of the Torah-that is, just as these laws were enunciated divinely, likewise all laws, in their general presentations and in their minutiae are to be considered as divine in origin, I prefer to find in this juxtaposition a different meaning and interpretation.

The first question to be raised is related to the content of these laws, their spiritual purpose. The injunction to allow the land to lie fallow each seventh year and the wider embrace of release in the Jubilee year, namely the release of slaves and the remission of all debts, suggest the overriding principle that in the realm of human affairs absolute ownership of goods and property is a fiction; we are only temporary owners of what we have whether it be land or indentured servants. The earth is the Lord’s and at best our possessions are objects of lease. Ultimately, even our lives do not belong to us. In other words life is impermanent and temporary.

The question remains: does anything survive death and the passage of time? Is there not something that somehow lasts, that out lives the cycles of time? Fields return, debts are cancelled; even belongings are worth only the period of their lease, not the intrinsic value of the object itself.

What about the soul, the higher self, the spirit, the image of God, the divine refraction embedded in the human personality? Does that not belong to us eternally?

Our tradition maintains quite firmly that such a reality is spiritually unmistakable. Thus the text places the reality of impermanence in the setting of that which represents the transcendent, the godly, the moment of a shofar’s sound that only grows louder and stronger-Mount Sinai, a moment of eternity.

Things are shared; they perish. The individual human spirit somehow always occupies a mountain top. Sinai is the symbol of the eternity and indestructibility of the human soul; of a uniqueness that is shaped out of the lives of ordinary human beings who leave behind a legacy of their spirits to others.

B'chukotai

“If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments....you shall eat your fill of bread and dwell securely in your land.”(Lev.26:3-5)

This segment of the Torah ostensibly contains one of the most obvious expressions of the doctrine of reward and punishment in Judaism.The modern mind is skeptical about the accuracy of this doctrine if understood literally. How do we resolve the dilemma of the righteous suffering and those who don't follow God's laws, prospering? Some gain clarity from the view of faith and the assumption that all outcomes are unknown by the mortal mind .Others see this as a collective assurance that when a community lives morally it will prosper even though some individuals may be subject to suffering in the process. Or we can understand these passages as reflecting an historic time when Israel was in its childhood and like children they needed this type of conditional reasoning and understanding in order to withstand the possibilities of straying from God's path.

From a spiritual-psychological point of view I offer another way of understanding this passage.Security comes from within.The Torah suggests that if we have the capacity to “eat our bread” -לשבע- to our fill, with an ability to feel grateful for what we have, this grateful heart will result in the feeling of dwelling securely in the peacefulness and fullness of mind and heart pulsating with thankfulness for out gift of food. Gratitude engenders faith and the assurance that one can dwell securely and safely without fears of not having and without feelings of debilitating insecurity and anxiety about the future.Sensing deeply the gift of all of life, we can take the strength and faith of living our lives anchored in a trust in the world's goodness and the compassion of a God whose gifts we are bidden to enjoy.

Grateful for a Bird's Nest

It was an early summer's day and we returned to our cabin in the country for a restful Shabbat. In typical pre-Shabbat fashion, we hurried as we deposited our things in closets, on tables , in the refrigerator, and began our food preparations for the Sabbath day. Amidst our scurrying about I heard my wife exclaim excitedly but in hushed tones: “Come here-the nest is back!”

I rushed to my wife's side and looking up to the corner of a log beam that crisscrosses with the side of our cabin I caught sight of a perfectly constructed bird's nest, of an unmoving tail and the head of the mother bird scouting for potential risk to her soon to be fledglings.When would the eggs hatch ?When would the first stirrings of life grace our rear deck with their chirping cries of life reborn and renewed? I wondered aloud. We dropped everything and for a few minutes stared at the nest in silent reverence and awe.

At each visit, we make our way to the kitchen window and await, like nervous parents, the arrival of our new-found guests.

How simply wondrous is this everyday phenomenon of nature! The precise construction of a nest, the protectiveness by the mother of her soon to be born young, and the exciting emergence of life from within the confines of thinly covered shells!

The miracle continues with the unstoppable foraging of the mother for food to bring back to her young and with the image of wide open tiny beaks reaching upwards to catch the worms and live.

The final stage of this amazing unfolding of life are the valiant but hesitant attempts of the babies to fly, to leave their nests and soar upwards toward the heights of life's greatness and challenges.

Each step in this wondrous process is reason for praise, for gratitude that life stubbornly pushes on.This persistence is always a sign of hope.

Kedoshim-Grateful for fathers,mothers and the Sabbath Day

This Parasha is often considered one of the most morally significant sections of the Torah- at the heart of the many ethical injunctions beats the aspiration toward the Godly reality of holiness in the spiritual world of humankind. It has been pointed out that in fact we discover in this segment unmistakable references to and some expansions of, the Ten Commandments. Perhaps the most popular of all Torah declarations is found in this Torah section-”You shall love your neighbor as yourself!”(Lev. 19:18)

From the “scattering” of so many laws, both ethical and ritual, there have been attempts to impose some philosophical or conceptual order on the diversity of content in our chapter. Some connections appear natural while others are somewhat strained.

I would like to share one attempted association that on the surface don't appear to have much connection or equivalency; as a matter of fact , traditional commentators view the two verses as suggesting a situation in which conflict arises and difficult choices must be made.

“A man must fear his mother and his father and observe My sabbaths.”(Lev. 19:3) According to the Halachik interpretation of these passages-Rashi et al-should an individual be commanded by one's parent(s) to violate the Sabbath , the Torah makes it clear that he must disobey his parents (a transgression of the fifth commandment) and not violate the Sabbath(the fourth commandment) related to the higher authority of God.

I see in these passages a different spiritual insight , one at the heart of Torah itself.I believe that both verses contain an underlining principle that is reinforced and supported by both passages. In the verse read about “fearing” mother and father, the Hebrew-”tee-ra-oo”-תיראו- is usually translated as “you shall fear”-”yaroh”-ירא- meaning fear. However, I would prefer to translate the word-”tee-ra-ooh” as you should be in awe of.While fear can be viewed as a powerful pedagogical tool in moral education, its benefits are short-lived and often misguided and counter productive. Positive behavior can indeed be arrived at out of fear; indeed much of our legal system is founded upon the fear of penalty and punishment. The younger child naturally behaves at home because of the fear of parents, a fear that continues to influence the behavior of our young, up to a certain point. But in the total scheme of things spiritual, fear fuels suspicion, anger and antagonism. Fear divides us, creating distance and distrust. Whether in our relationships to our parents or to God, few would disagree that the higher form of relationship is that founded not on fear as much as one based on reverence-awe and love.

How does one arrive at the reverence for parents? I suggest that the awareness of the gift of life and its care and cultivation provided by parents allows one to relate to one's parent from the perspective of reverential and loving gratitude.as partners with God in the act of creation and continued nurturance, the child is called upon to experience gratitude and thanksgiving in the parental relationship; a crucial component of the child's love for her parent is that of gratitude.

From gratitude to parents the Torah then naturally proceeds to bring our attention to the need for gratitude in relation to the world that is a gift to all of us, a gift which is acknowledged and celebrated each Shabbat -”Remember the Sabbath day- for in six days He created the universe and rested on the seventh day.”Simply put, Shabbat is essentially a day of gratefulness.

Therefore, the injunction to bein awe of one's parents and to observe the Sabbath have nothing to do with conflict; rather they complement and reinforce each other in the deepening capacity of the human heart to cultivate gratefulness in one's life and in this way arrive at stage of greater holiness and come closer to God the Source of all holiness.

Grateful for a Mother's Day Card

It's the day after Mother's Day-perhaps the most wonderful expressions of a child's love for her mother is expressed in the child's own words-so when my daughter pours her feelings into her own words, they find their way straight into her mother's heart-and mine as well!

But, every now and then you stumble on the perfectly phrased purchased greeting card that seems to sum it all up in a way that is beyond the expressive capacities of most of us.I was fortunate to randomly find a card that contained the following inscription, so perfect for my wife and for all the mothers of this very challenging world.

Here they are:

"A mother holds her child's hand for a while..

Their hearts for ever."

Need we say more? Grateful for the mothers of the world,

from a son and a father!

Emor-Holiness: A Coperative Effort

The kohayn –the priest, is the subject of the first part of this parshah. One of the well-know halachic proscriptions has to do with the priest being forbidden to have contact with the dead, thus preventing the priest from attending funerals except in the case of immediate family members. According to tradition, one’s status as either a kohayn, levi or yisrael is determined by the status of the father.

A humorous story: A man comes to his rabbi;” Rabbi, I want you to make me kohayn?

Rabbi’s reply: “I can’t do it!”

“ I’ll make a donation of $50,000 to the synagogue.”

Rabbi hesitates. “Come back tomorrow-let me think on this.”

The man returns. He’s told that nothing can be done.

“I will give you $100,000,” the man offers desperately.

Rabbi pauses and asks, “Tell me, why do you want to be a kohayn?”

The man answers: “Because my father is a kohayn!”

Priestliness is synonymous with holiness. The Torah suggests that while functionally holiness is vested in a particular group, its embrace is extended to all of Israel-“You shall be for Me a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation.”(Exodus 19:6)

The Rabbi of Gur, in his masterpiece Sefat Emet-The Language of Truth- interprets the notion of priesthood in a radical, democratic manner. We read in the Torah- “V’kidashto kee lechem elohaucha huh makriv,”-You must treat him-lit. you must sanctify him, since they offer the food of your God.”(Lev.21:8)

God instructs Moses to sanctify Aaron-“The holiness of the priests depends upon that of the people Israel.”(The Language of Truth, Green, Arthur, JPS, 1998,p.193.) Furthermore, the rebbe of Gur takes another passage and transforms its literal meaning into a source of radical understanding with regards to the nature of holiness.

“The priest who is greater than his brothers”-“hakohayn hagadol may echav.”(Lev.21: 10) is read to mean-the priest is made great from or by his brothers.” Instead of understanding the text as a reiteration of a static state of superior holiness among the priests over the rest of Israel, the Gerer rebbe infuses the text with the spiritual challenge that suggests all of Israel is inherently holy and spiritual greatness emerges out of a commitment to share that holiness with others.

From other references regarding the meaning and function of the kohayn in more formal ways, we can arrive at a fuller understanding of holiness. The priest blesses Israel-beahavah-with love; Aaron is known by tradition as a lover and pursuer of peace; the Hebrew word for priest-kohayn-literally means the one who serves; if we rearrange the three letters of khn, we have hkn, which means the one who prepares.

Thus, holiness is constituted by the components of love, peace and service; holiness is not automatic-it demands preparation, inner and outer refinement and discipline.

Israel as a kingdom of priests lives out its destiny when it serves the world with the living messages of love and peace. We have been preparing this holiness for a long time; it will take a little longer.