D'var Chayei Sara 2023

This week’s parsha is Chayei Sara - the life of Sarah - which begins, somewhat incongruously, with the death of Sarah. Abraham acquires a burial ground for her, ensuring the transaction is witnessed by the community. We then hear of Abraham’s instructions to his chief servant to find a wife for Isaac among Abraham’s kinsfolk. Rebecca shows her generosity in drawing water for not only the servant but also all of his camels. A marriage is arranged, and Rebecca agrees to depart. 

Something that always manages to surprise me when I come across it is that Abraham is then said to marry again and has more children. Some commentators say that this wife, Keturah, is none other than Hagar, renamed. Among the children they have is Midian, a tribe we hear about multiple times throughout the following books (Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was a priest of Midian, for instance!) These children receive gifts from Abraham during his life, while Isaac remains the sole heir.

We then come to the second death in the parsha, that of Abraham. Here is a part of the story I plan to consider further. 

וַיִּקְבְּר֨וּ אֹת֜וֹ יִצְחָ֤ק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל֙ בָּנָ֔יו אֶל־מְעָרַ֖ת הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֑ה

His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah (Gen 25:9)

This is the first we see of Ishmael since he and his mother Hagar were sent away by Abraham, and the parting at the time was certainly a difficult one for Ishmael. 

The closing of the parsha recounts the descendents of Ishmael, and his death, the third and final one in the reading. 

So to sum up, within a reading called “the Life of Sarah”, we retell the deaths of three major actors in the story of our ancestors. This, as well as the presence of both Isaac and Ishmael together at Abraham’s burial, struck me this year, particularly given the war in Israel and Gaza.

D'var Yitro 2023

In this week’s parsha, Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law bring Zipporah their children to join Moses and the Hebrews in the wilderness. They “ask after the other’s welfare”, and then Moses recounts the story of the exodus from Egypt. The next day, Moses sits as magistrate from morning until evening, resolving disputes.

Jethro asks him what he’s doing, why he acts alone. Moses says, “It’s because the people cme to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, it comes before me, and I decide between one party and another, and I make known the laws and teachings of God.”

But Jethro replies, “The thing you are doing is not right; you will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me. I will give you counsel, and God be with you! You represent the people before God: you bring the disputes before God, and enjoin upon them the laws and the teachings, and make known to them the way they are to go and the practices they are to follow. You shall also seek out, from among all the people, capable individuals who fear God—trustworthy ones who spurn ill-gotten gain. Set these over them as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and let them judge the people at all times. Have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them decide every minor dispute themselves.”

D'var Yom Kippur 5783: Who is Azazel?

 In today’s parsha we read:

וְנָתַן אַהֲרֹן עַל־שְׁנֵי הַשְּׂעִירִם גֹּרָלוֹת גּוֹרָל אֶחָד לַה' וְגוֹרָ֥ל אֶחָד לַעֲזָאזֵל

And Aaron shall place lots upon the two goats, one marked for HaSem and the other marked for Azazel. (Lev 16:8)

For Azazel? Who, or what, is Azazel? For many years, I’ve come to Yom Kippur services and wondered this. Sometimes I’ve tried to read into the text and commentary provided in the Machzor and Chumash to see if an answer lies there, but, even if they fit at the time, the ideas I’ve come across simply haven’t stuck with me. I decided that, this year, I would research more deeply so I could share with you all The Answer.

After hours of pouring over everything I could find from Mishnah to modern sources, I am pleased to share with you that… it’s complicated.

D’var Eikev

Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

In the parsha for this coming week, Moses continues to address the gathered tribes as they prepare to cross the river Jordan into the promised land. He recounts events that happened in the desert, including the manna, the golden calf, and Aaron's death. Moses describes the blessings God will bestow upon the Israelites if they follow God’s law and the punishments they will encounter if they disobey.

One passage in particular stood out to me. In Deuteronomy 11:2, Moses says

וִֽידַעְתֶּם֮ הַיּוֹם֒ כִּ֣י ׀ לֹ֣א אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יָדְעוּ֙ וַאֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־רָא֔וּ אֶת־מוּסַ֖ר ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם אֶת־גׇּדְל֕וֹ אֶת־יָדוֹ֙ הַחֲזָקָ֔ה וּזְרֹע֖וֹ הַנְּטוּיָֽה

Take thought this day that it was not your children, who neither experienced nor witnessed the lesson of your God - God’s majesty, mighty hand, and outstretched arm;

This stands in contrast to the line we say annually on Passover from Exodus 13:8:

הִגַּדְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּעֲב֣וּר זֶ֗ה עָשָׂ֤ה ה' לִ֔י בְּצֵאתִ֖י מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃

You shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what God did for me when I went free from Egypt.’

D’var Shmini

The many rules about how sacrifices are to be handled and what fire to use reminds me of the story of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem-Tov. When he saw misfortune threatening the Jews it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a fire, say a special prayer, and the miracle would be accomplished, and the misfortune averted.

Later, when his disciple, the Magid of Mezritch, had occasion, for the same reason, to intercede with heaven, he would go to the same place in the forest and say: ‘Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire, but I am still able to say the prayer.’ And again the miracle would be accomplished.

Still later, Rabbi Moshe-Leib of Sasov, in order to save his people once more, would go into the forest and say: ‘I do not know how to light the fire, I do not know the prayer, but I know the place, and this must be sufficient.’ It was sufficient, and the miracle was accomplished.

Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhyn to overcome misfortune. Sitting in his study, his head in his hands, he spoke to God: "I am unable to light the fire, and I do not know the prayer; I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is to tell the story, and this must be sufficient.’ And it was sufficient.

What I learn from this is that it's important to learn from the leaders before us, but that we don't need to follow precisely in their footsteps to be successful. We should remember and retell their stories as we do in reading the parsha every week. But we will be approaching the challenges we face in our own personal way.

D’var Sukkot Shabbat Chol Hamoed

Exodus 33:12-34:26

This Saturday falls in the middle of the observance of Sukkot, so has a special parsha. We read from the book of Exodus from the end of chapter 33 into the beginning of 34. This is shortly after the incident with the golden calf.

Moses is speaking with God. Among the requests he makes is to behold God’s presence.

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אֲנִ֨י אַעֲבִ֤יר כׇּל־טוּבִי֙ עַל־פָּנֶ֔יךָ וְקָרָ֧אתִֽי בְשֵׁ֛ם ה’

And God answered, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name LORD.” (Exodus 33:19)

God then tells Moses he will have him go into a cleft in the rock, where God will shield Moses until God has passed by. God adds:

וַהֲסִרֹתִי֙ אֶת־כַּפִּ֔י וְרָאִ֖יתָ אֶת־אֲחֹרָ֑י וּפָנַ֖י לֹ֥א יֵרָאֽוּ

Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.” (Exodus 33:23)

A few verses later after God has done this, what Moses declares may sound quite familiar:

ה’ ׀ ה’ אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת׃ נֹצֵ֥ר* חֶ֙סֶד֙ לָאֲלָפִ֔ים נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֺ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה וְנַקֵּה:

The LORD! the LORD! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. (Exodus 34:6-7)

This is a prayer that we just heard during the High Holidays! But how did Moses understand this from God briefly passing by?

The Scolding of Moses

Preparing for our seder this year, a thought struck me as I recalled the story of the Exodus from Egypt. What if Moses wasn’t supposed to run away to Midian? And how much more suffering was there because he did?

The Verse Where It Happened

In Exodus 2:11-15 we learn that Moses saves a Hebrew slave by killing the taskmaster, but then flees from Egypt. As we learn in Exodus 2:23 he remained away for “a long time.”

Imagine: a person in a position of power becomes aware of an injustice, decides it must be corrected, acts rashly, and then… leaves. Then, they remain away for a long time. This does not seem to be a story of triumph that stirs us to action when read this way.

D'var Chayei Sara

This coming week, we’ll read parsha Chayei Sara, the life of Sarah. Of course, most parshot (as well as books) in the Torah are named for some of their first words. This is no exception. The second and third words are “chayei sara”. Then again, so are the eleventh and twelfth words, still within the first verse. In full, it reads:

וַיִּהְיוּ֙ חַיֵּ֣י שָׂרָ֔ה מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְשֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים שְׁנֵ֖י חַיֵּ֥י שָׂרָֽה׃

And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

So, although it’s called “the life of Sara”, it’s actually about her death. In a moment, I’d like to get to what comes after her passing, but for now, let’s focus on this first verse.

Why is “chayei sara” repeated? I don’t speak Hebrew, but here’s something that jumps out at me here. The first time, it says “the life of Sarah was so and so many years”. That tells us, “Sarah got to live for this long.”

The second time, though, the wording is flipped. It’s “the years of the life of Sarah.” In other words, the years that the world got to have Sarah in it. The focus here becomes the impact she had on those around her and on her time. From this, we learn that the acts and deeds of her life actually extend beyond her passing. She had a lasting impact that was felt and that made a difference even when she was no longer present.

D’var Misphatim

Today I’d like to talk to you about this past weekend’s parshah: Mishpatim. To do so, though, I’ll go one week farther back to Yitro to set the stage. At the end of Yitro, the tribes were camped out at the base of Mount Sinai, G-d has just spoken the ten commandments, and Moses has come down from the mountain to address the people. As he did, they

וְכָל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם וְאֵת֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר וְאֶת־הָהָ֖ר עָשֵׁ֑ן וַיַּ֤רְא הָעָם֙ וַיָּנֻ֔עוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ מֵֽרָחֹֽק׃

witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. (Exodus 20:15)

So what do they say? They tell Moses that they hear and will obey, but ask that G-d not speak to them because they’re afraid hearing G-d will kill them. Moses gets them to chill out, and then tells them briefly how to build an altar the right way. He shows them that the intense display of power isn’t the way that future praying and religious experiences will necessarily be. Thus ends Yitro.

Now, we get to Mishpatim, the reading from this past week. Immediately after this description of how to build a place to interact with G-d safely, we start with this sentence:

וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר תָּשִׂ֖ים לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃

These are the rules that you shall set before them (Exodus 21:1)

What would you expect to happen next? We’ve just heard about the altar. Would it follow up with a litany of rules about how to pray? Requirements of the priesthood, cleanliness, or a description of how to build the ark of the covenant? We know that’s coming, right? Maybe there’s rules pertaining to sacrifices and related rituals? It could even be a listing of holidays or festivals.

But none of this happens.

D’var Behar-Bechukotai

In reading this past week’s parsha, I found several verses particularly troubling.

“Such male and female slaves as you may have—it is from the nations round about you that you may acquire male and female slaves. You may also buy them from among the children of aliens resident among you, or from their families that are among you, whom they begot in your land. These shall become your property: you may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property for all time.” (Leviticus 25:44-46)

This stands in stark contrast to what I remember reading and learning elsewhere, including during the many Passover seders I’ve attended over the years.

“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 22:20)

And again a chapter later:

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 23:9)

What’s going on here now one book later? I decided to check each passage for context. The Exodus text takes place during Moses’ ascent to Mount Sinai while the Jews were still wandering through the desert and nomadic. The latter, however, has an interesting preface toward the start of the chapter.

“Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbath of the LORD.” (Leviticus 25:2)

It’s not clear, but it seems this preface “when you enter the land” may apply to not just the rest of that sentence but the chapter itself. This led me to four words in each of these passages that may indicate the principle difference. In the more familiar and comfortable text, we read “stranger in the land.” Breaking that apart, that is “stranger” and “in the land.” I’ve heard that a stranger is simply a friend you haven’t met yet, and “in the land” implies having crossed the border of a the future state to live within and alongside the Jewish people.

However, the text from this past week states “nations round about you.” That is “nations” and “round about you” - outside your borders. I think you may start to see the distinction in this as I did. When someone intentionally crosses the border of the land and becomes part of the community, we are to welcome them, respect them, and treat them fairly. However, when they stand in opposition we are permitted to treat them as the threat they show themselves to be.

Of course, there was one more part of this text last week that still stands out. It also says you can “buy them [slaves] from among the children of aliens resident among you.” Does this not contradict everything I just said?

Perhaps not. In particular, it uses the word “alien” instead of “stranger”. It also does not say they are “in the land,” but rather “resident among you.” They simply “reside” there, they are not “in” with you.

As an “alien” who has chosen not to come into the land, they have brought the border with them. They may be acting not simply as separate, but aggressively so. They refuse to say to us “you are my people and I will stand with you.” Should there be war, would they fight alongside the Israelites? Would they feed their neighbors if they were hungry? No - they have intentionally set themselves apart and hold themselves separate.

The punishment still seems somewhat harsh - “keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property for all time” - but that’s another story and shall be told another time.

So, what lesson can we learn? The lesson of intent and mutual support. When you live in a place, do not hold yourself separate from the other residents and the people of that land. Support them and care for them as you do your own people. Do not bring borders into the land to maintain an “us versus them” mentality. And for those come to live and work as part of the nation, welcome them. This teaches us to care for others as we wish to be cared for, both when we are the stranger and when we are the nation.