"... WHO HAS KEPT US ALIVE,

AND SUSTAINED US THROUGH OUR PURE AWE OF HIM,

AND HAS BROUGHT US TO REJOICE IN THE REJOICING OF THE TORAH THAT CHEERS THE HEART AND ENLIGHTENS THE EYES,

BRINGS HAPPINESS TO THOSE WHO WALK

IN THE GOOD AND RIGHT PATH,

LENGTHENS DAYS AND ADDS STRENGTH

TO THOSE WHO LOVE IT AND OBSERVE IT—

ITS COMMANDS AND ITS WARNINGS—

TO THOSE WHO ENGAGE IN TORAH

AND GUARD IT WITH LOVE AND AWE."

(From the Calling Up of the Chatan Torah)

 

"And in all the strong hand and in all the great, awe-inspiring acts that Moshe did before the eyes of all Israel."

(Devarim 34:12)

 

"In all the strong hand" - he received the Torah on tablets in his hands.

"And in all the great, awe-inspiring acts" - miracles and mighty deeds in the great and terrible wilderness.

"Before the eyes of all Israel"- he decided to smash the tablets before their eyes, as is written (ibid. 9:17), "and smashed them before your eyes", and The Holy One, Blessed Be He, consented, as is written (Shemot 34:1), "asher shibbarta" - congratulations for smashing them. (A word play on "asher", Hebrew for "which". It sounds like "y'yasher". "Y'yasher koach" means "Congratulations! Well done!")

Our Rabbis taught, four are in need of reinforcement: Torah, good deeds, prayer, and profession. From where do we derive 'Torah and good deeds'? It is written (Yehoshua 1), "Be strong and resolute to observe faithfully all the teachings" - "be strong" - in Torah; "and resolute" - in good deeds. From whence 'prayer'? It is written, "Strengthen yourself and He will give you courage; and hope to God." And 'profession' from whence? "Let us be strong and resolute for the sake of our people."

 (Bavli, Berachot 32b)

 

 

THE JEWISH YEAR - CYCLES OF JOY AND JUDGMENT

Menachem Klein

 

On the threshold of the final Tishrei festival, as the celebrations welcoming the New Year come to an end, we can look back at the passing month and ponder its meaning. The holidays which have been packed into less than a month have, on occasion, left us breathless; we rush from the end of a festival or Shabbat to the next station - the festival or Shabbat which is to follow. Now, that we have covered most of the course, we are able to sum up the last month.

At first glance it would seem that we have passed a series of festivals, differing one from the other, in order to progress in ascending order from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, then to Sukkot, and from there to Simchat Torah. We moved from acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven on Rosh Hashanah to repentance and forgiveness of Yom Kippur. In the next stage we advanced from the Days of Awe to the Sukkot festival with joy at its nucleus. But this joy is temporary, like the sukkah, our impermanent home. Shemini Atseret is supposed to raise the level of the joy - built upon acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven - from a temporary to a permanent joy, and to channel this joy to Simchat Torah, the joy of Torah. At the end of the track, we are equipped with the spiritual tools necessary for coping with the daily difficulties which the New Year will bring.

But the structure of the Tishrei festivals and their message can be seen differently. According to the perception which I am about to suggest, the arrangement of the festivals of Tishrei is not one-directional, but contrasting. The reference here is not only to the dissimilarity between the Days of Awe and Sukkot. This is an obvious contrast, but there are more. Some are not contrasts between different holidays, but internal contrasts hidden within each of the festivals themselves, and which radiate throughout the entire Jewish year. We will deal here with the most outstanding.

Rosh Hashanah is a double holyday, far beyond the fact that it lasts two days. Rosh Hashanah presents us with two perceptions of time: cyclic time, and linear time. The creation of the universe represents cyclic time. On Rosh Hashanah we return to the starting point; the beginning of all beginnings is the creation of the universe. Geula - redemption—represents linear time. According to this perception, On Rosh Hashanah we move forward, and there is no point which better symbolizes the future than the end of all ends.

Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment, the day on which the threat of death penalties, physical and psychological suffering, and economic difficulties hover over every human being. It is a frightening day, because of the means of oppression and punishment at the disposal of the King of Kings. On the other hand, it is a holiday, a festival, the coronation ceremony of the King exalted above all. Ashkenazi Jews stress the awesome aspect of Rosh Hashanah, and subsequently they gave the piyyut "Netaneh Tokef" formative status, important beyond its formal status. Sephardi Jews stress the second aspect, allotting this piyyut only marginal importance, if at all. The shofar which stands at the focal point of Rosh Hashanah symbolizes the enthronement of the God and the sublime. But the shofar, too, has its alarming aspect, serving as a call to arms. And finally, as the day of the universe's creation, Rosh Hashanah has universal or cosmic significance. But Rosh Hashanah also has particularly Jewish significance. This is the day on which the Jew is judged not only as a member of the human race or as a living creature per se, but as a son of the Jewish people. As a Jew he is obligated to observance of mitzvoth; failure to observe them results in a summons to judgment.

This double significance of Rosh Hashanah is duplicated by the festivals of Tishrei, and from them radiated to the entire year. The element of Day of Judgment is intensified to its greatest dimension on Yom Kippur. But the climax reached on Yom Kippur by the Ne'ila service is not the finish line. Yom Kipper is duplicated in weaker strength on Hoshanah Rabba and Shemini Atseret, when we are judged for water. From here the Day of Judgment is beamed on to the eve of every New Moon throughout the year. This day is called "Yom Kippur Kattan" - "Minor Yom Kippur." On the one hand, the element of festival and joy imbedded in Rosh Hashanah are intensified on Sukkot, Shemini Atseret, and Simchat Torah. The joyous festivals of Tishrei are transferred in full strength to Pesach and Shavuot, and—in weaker dosage—to every New Moon.

The sharp contradictions in the Tishrei festivals are dramatic. Jewish sources portray them in vivid fashion. The Days of Awe are described as days in which a cosmic drama takes place in celestial spheres, the results of which affect each one of us. The words of the "Netaneh Tokef " piyyut, and the traditions regarding the circumstances of its composition, describe it in plastic detail, like the effect created by the Akeida piyyutim, chanted by Sephardic communities during this season.

The purpose of this objectively described drama is not transmission of information about procedures of heavenly trials, but to impress us and to arouse us. The living and plastic description is supposed to awaken the human consciousness - activated by the imagination - with the goal of our internalizing the drama; the drama is to transpire within ourselves, and serve as a passage. The passage is no less important than the goal towards which we are headed. Indeed, the festivals of Tishrei are characterized by a series of passages: passage to a new year, the passage which repentance creates in man's existential and conscious condition, the passage from permanent home to dwelling in the sukkah, and the return home on Shemini Atseret. And finally, the passage from the conclusion of the reading of the Torah to reading again from Bereishit.

The passages and the sharp contrasts set before us so powerfully at the beginning of the Jewish year - and with diminished power throughout the year when there are additional renewals - are intended to teach us, first of all, that there are no simple passages. Passage from one time period to another, from one existential condition to another, or from one place to another, are complex, and carry with them dramas and conflicts. Secondly, that the moment and the transfer do not end with a particular act, but they continue on. Third, that decisions which affect the human dynamic must be accepted by every individual. Man fashions time and the passages and dramas of his life. Every man invents the drama of his life, and determines his own unique composition.

On the national level and on the passage from war to peace there can be no absolute passage affected by a single event. As with every passage, this passage, too, is composed of a series of contradictions. It is a process with ups and downs, encounters alongside forms of acceptance, advances towards peace together with regression to acts of belligerence. It is impossible to receive a clear-cut, one-dimensional message or a final answer to doubts. Within this reality, we have to make a series of decisions. How to do it? What are our guiding principles? What is the amalgam to be created? The answers to these are not pre-determined, but are subject to choice and change by us.

Dr. Menachem, a member of the "Oz Veshalom" executive, teaches in the Political Science Department of Bar Ilan University.

 

 

"No man has knowledge of the site of his burial place"

God did this because, were the site of his [Moshe's] burial to be known, future generations might err and make of him a god because of the wonders he performed. Indeed, we see how some of the Israelites erred with respect to the copper serpent formed by Moshe, because of the greatness of its creator (II Kings 18:4), and because God buried him in miraculous fashion, no one ever touched his grave.

 (Ralbag, Devarim 34:6)

 

... and the cemetery is marked off, and a memorial stone is erected over the grave, and tzaddikim have no stone erected to their memory, for their words are their memorial, and people will not turn to visiting gravesites.

 (Rambam, Laws of Mourning 4:4)

 

"He dwells securely... between his shoulders he dwells.

Traditional commentary, part p'shat, part mythical "droosh", applies these words to the Temple service on the Temple mount which lies in the inheritance of the tribe of Binyamin; and if the Temple is the residence of God's glory, then He dwells between his shoulders. But this raises a question: "He surrounds him all day". All day? What day? The reference is not to a 24 hour period, a revolution of the earth around its axis; a day of The Holy One, Blessed Be He, is eternity. This means that the dwelling place of God is eternal. But we see that it was not eternal; the temple was destroyed and the site profaned, and upon it stands an alien sanctuary. There is an eye-opening midrash (in "Pitron HaTorah" which won acclaim a few years ago when published by one of our generation's scholars, R' Efrayim Urbach). This midrash, from the Gaonic period, contains much material from other, more familiar, midrashim, and also from midrashim which may be original or may have been taken from sources unknown. In this midrash we read something new about "He surrounds him all day and between his shoulders he dwells." Moshe's prophetic blessing was actually realized, for the sanctuary which stands there today, the sanctuary of an alien nation, is not a site of idolatry. This sanctuary is a temple of a people which recognizes the Oneness of God and means to serve God, even if it did not receive the Torah and does not serve God by observance of the mitzvoth. We find, then, that this is still a temple for those who worship God in truth. These words were said during the Gaonic period, an era of Arabic rule over Eretz Yisrael, and they certainly preceded the crusades, during which rule over the temple mount passed into the hands of those who do not share our understanding of faith in the Oneness.

              (From "Notes on the Weekly Parasha", Y. Leibowitz, pp. 140-141)

 

Ended, But Not Complete - "Hadran" For Our Sixth Year

With the publication of this issue, we complete the sixth cycle of "Shabbat Shalom". From its inception, we have felt that our publication expresses an order of Torah and Zionist priorities different from those to be found in many other flyers distributed in the synagogue. For the past three years, Israeli society has been coping with a most difficult political, military, and social situation, and therefore, unfortunately, there is less tolerance in our society for divergent opinions. Together with this, we are happy to find that our readers find interest in our divrei Torah, and often they react, either in agreement or in disagreement for the sake of Heaven, which is due to endure.

With the completion of this issue, we wish to thank all who made possible the existence and distribution of "Shabbat Shalom" this year: To our fellow members of the staff and of the "Oz veShalom" executive, for the encouragement and the support; to Miram Fine for her devoted work in fundraising and in co-ordinating the staff's work; to Harry Langbenheim, Dov Abramson, Tomer Albagli and Mordecai Beck for the visual midrashim on the first page; to Perry Zamek for the graphic editing; to Kadish Goldberg for translations; to Graphos-Print for the printing; to Danny Lazar for publication on our internet site; to many devotees in Israel and abroad for their contributions which facilitated the existence of our project; to all the writers and to all our readers throughout Israel and the world.

Chazak! Chazak! Venitchazek!

 Pinchas Leiser, editor

 

 

 

Editorial Board: Pinchas Leiser (Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator), Itzhak Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein

Translation: Kadish Goldberg

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About us:

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts which have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's programs include both educational and protest activities. Seminars, lectures, workshops, conferences and weekend programs are held for students, educators and families, as well as joint seminars for Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Protest activities focus on issues of human rights, co-existence between Jews and Arabs, and responses to issues of particular religious relevance.

9,000 copies of a 4 page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il

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Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom fills an ideological vacuum in Israel's society. Committed both to Jewish tradition and observance, and to the furthering of peace and coexistence, the movement is in a unique position to engage in dialogue with the secular left and the religious right, with Israeli Arabs and with Palestinians.