Shabbat Shalom Weekly

Torah Portion:  Devarim

Introspecting For Growth
by Rabbi Menachem Weiman

When the fifth and final book of the Torah was composed, it expressed itself differently than the other four books. Of course, each of the five books has its own “personality,” but while the first four are generally stories, facts and laws, the fifth book is rebuke and review.

Moses’ dying words were, in effect, “Let’s list all the places where the Jewish people faltered.” But he did it in a very subtle way. There is outright criticism, but mostly there are veiled barbs.

Why did he do it that way?

The answer is obvious: People don’t like to hear about their flaws. If you ever want your criticism to be listened to, do it subtly.

I suspect that generally speaking, we know what our flaws are, but we’re ignoring them. We don’t want to recognize and deal with them. This is part of the message of Deuteronomy: Reviewing and rehashing the Divine principles forces us to deal with our faults. Review of proper values and convictions, on a consistent basis, causes reflection and change.

If you read the Torah once, you’ve introduced yourself to holiness. Only through repeated readings do we start to address the key issues of Godly behavior.

* * *DON’T BE TOO BUSY

Every generation has its own challenges. One of the challenges of our generation seems to be taking the time for what we truly value. Most people these days seem stressed out about time. Even though our homes are filled with more time-saving machines than ever before, many of us feel we just don’t have enough time for life.

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, in Path of the Just, points out this very message from the story of Pharaoh in Egypt. Pharaoh wanted to keep the Israelites so busy that they would not have time to realize the strength of their masses. Pharaoh is the symbol of the “yetzer hara,” evil inclination. Something destructive inside us wants us to be too busy for spirituality, too busy for introspection. Because if we just think about our life, our actions, and what we truly believe in, we will be compelled to change ourselves for the better.

What’s your biggest excuse for not spending more time on study, prayer, family etc.? Are you letting your yetzer hara control your time management?

* * *WHERE’S YOUR BATTLEFIELD?

In order to win the battle of life, you have to know where the front lines are. All of life is meant to be challenges, in every single area. If you are an atheist, your challenge is to be agnostic. If you are agnostic, your challenge is to believe in God. If you believe in God, your challenge is to strengthen that belief with convincing arguments, evidence and facts. If you’re 100% convinced, your challenge is to understand the nature of God, His infiniteness, His kindness, His justice.

If you understand God, your challenge is to accept His Torah and reject alien philosophies. If you accept His Torah, your challenge is to accept His Oral Tradition. If you accept the entire Torah, written and oral, your challenge is to become knowledgeable in all areas of Torah. (based on Duties of the Heart by Rabbi Ibn Pakuda)

If there are 613 commandments, then we face at least that many types of challenges. Not all the commandments are applicable at all times, but each one is a spiritual principle that is attached to a separate part of our soul that needs to be perfected. This is called Tikkun Neshama. Many people these days are focused on Tikkun Olam, fixing the world. Some people forget, though, that if we don’t fix ourselves first, we’ll never be able to fix the world.

* * *AUTHORITY

For a while, there was a popular button that read, “Question Authority.” This is healthy. It keeps those in authority on their toes and accountable. But some people take it a little farther and rebel against or reject any authority. As the Sefer HaChinuch writes, it is the nature of mankind to have varying viewpoints and attitudes. Pure democracy, where all those who are affected can debate and vote on any given topic, won’t work. Nothing will ever get done. I lived for a while on a commune and that’s exactly what happened – nothing ever got accomplished.

There needs to be an accepted authority whose decisions the people follow right or wrong, within reason.

In Deuteronomy 1:9-18, the Torah touches on the appointment of judges: “heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens…”

We are commanded to appoint and to listen to a leader, even if the leader is saying something we don’t like. In Europe they used to have a saying, “Any rabbi that the town doesn’t want to kick out, isn’t a real rabbi.”

Nowadays we want our rabbi to be our friend, confidant, social activist and psychologist. But we should also want him to objectively point out our flaws. Once your flaw is pointed out, you have a chance to change.

Our own introspection, and the advice of a wise spiritual counselor, can get to the heart of our intuition, our inner voice that has a handle on where we are messing up. Once we think about that intuition, it can become knowledge. It can enter the realm of thought that compels us to action, change and growth.

Your mind is the most powerful weapon you have in spiritual growth.

* * *Spiritual Exercise:

Sit down in a chair one day this week and do nothing for one minute. Then spend the next four minutes going over the last month, examining your life for opportunities for spiritual growth.

A Unique Work
by Rabbi Zvi Belovski

These are the words [things] which Moshe spoke to all of Yisrael… (Devarim 1:1)

My holy father suggested an idea that helps us to understand the very nature of the Book of Deuteronomy, which the above verse introduces. This book is qualitatively different from the other four. Our Sages tell us that the curses in the Book of Deuteronomy were said by Moshe himself. We may assume from this that the material in Devarim, while of course presented by God to Moshe, contains more human input, however slight, than the previous four books. Perhaps it can be considered an in-between stage, bridging the gap between the main Written Torah (Torah SheBichsav) and the Oral Torah (Torah SheBa’al Peh). Devarim contains elements of both – it is the written word of God, like the Torah SheBichsav, but with an element of human content, like the Torah SheBa’al Peh. We may apply this idea by examining the following statement from our Sages:Rabbi Ada ben Rabbi Chanina said, “Had Yisrael not sinned, they would have been given only the Five Books of the Torah and the Book of Yehoshua, which contains the boundary details of Eretz Yisrael.” (Nedarim 22b)

It is not possible that this statement means that had klal Yisrael not sinned in the desert they would have been given only the Torah SheBichsav and not the Torah SheBa’al Peh. The oral law constitutes the hidden depth and internal life of the Torah, and as such, it is indispensable. Also, as certain groups have discovered to their detriment, the Written Torah is totally unworkable without the traditions of the oral law. How would we know how to make tefillin or tzitzis, for example? Every aspect of Jewish life is dependent upon the details provided by the Torah SheBa’al Peh. What, then, do the Sages intend with this sweeping statement? An answer may be provided by yet another midrash, which discusses the giving of the Torah:  “The Rabbis said that the statement itself [referring to each of the Ten Commandments] went around to each member of klal Yisrael and said to him, “Do you accept me upon you? I contain so many mitzvos, so many laws, so many punishments, so many decrees, so many commandments, so many a fortiori inferences, so many rewards…” And they said, “Yes, yes.” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:13)

Underlying this is the concept that at some level the Aseres HaDibros (Ten Commandments) contain all of the 613 commandments of the Torah. The acceptance of the entire Torah system was dependent upon the members of klal Yisrael accepting the basic Ten Commandments. This is very difficult for us to understand – it would be practically impossible for us to generate the 613 commandments from the list of ten. But at the time of Divine revelation at Sinai, klal Yisrael had tremendous clarity of vision and spiritual power; they were able to detect the nuances and implications of every word spoken to them by God. No explanation was necessary, for as God spoke to them they were able to appreciate the entire Torah system which the Aseres HaDibros encapsulate. Had they retained that spiritual level, they would have been able to appreciate every nuance of the Torah forevermore. It is true that after the first two commandments had been spoken by God, klal Yisrael asked Moshe to speak to them, as they found direct communion with God too overpowering; but they nevertheless remained extremely spiritually sensitive. Had they not damaged themselves with the sin of the golden calf, they would have remained able to detect the details of each mitzvah and its explanation directly from the text.

For example, the Torah’s short presentation of the mitzvah of tefillin would, to the highly developed mind, imply all of the laws which lie in this practice. Every nuance and detail of the boxes, straps, and scrolls which constitute tefillin would have been manifest to them, without the need for any further explanation.

We may assume that this would have been true, not just for the halachic material within the Torah, but also for every ethical concept, fundamental of faith, and homiletical device. All of these, in all of their rich minutiae, would have been apparent to klal Yisrael from analysis of the Torah text alone. This idea is actually mentioned in the Talmud:  “Is there anything written in the prophetic writings which is not hinted at by the Torah itself?” (Ta’anis 9a)

But, as we have mentioned, the sin of the Golden Calf prevented this situation from continuing. They lowered themselves with their error, limiting their understanding and depth of perception of the Torah. This necessitated the transmission of the Torah SheBa’al Peh to explain the Torah text and invest it with meaning.

 

Don’t Be So Afraid
by Nesanel Yoel Safran

From This Week’s Portion

Most of us have things that make us feel afraid. This week’s Torah portion teaches us the secret of how to become fearless. As the Jewish People were coming to dwell in the Land of Israel they had to face some fearsome enemies along the way. It would be natural to feel afraid, yet the Torah gave them – and gives us – an amazing tool how overcome to fear: Realize that we are never alone; God is always right by our side to help and strengthen us in whatever situation we’re in. When we know that God is near, our fear will disappear.

In our story, a couple of girls in a scary situation face the challenge of whether to fear or not to fear.

It was amazing how fast the sky went dark. One moment Becky and Marla were sitting and enjoying a yummy picnic lunch under blue skies at the campgrounds where they and their family were staying – and the next they were running like crazy to make it back to their cabin just seconds before the gray sky burst into a huge storm.

“Wow, we just beat that storm, huh?!” said Becky with a huge smile.

But Marla wasn’t smiling. “I’m scared Becky. Why did Mom and Dad have to pick today of all days to leave us alone and go into town?”

BOOM! Suddenly a huge crash of thunder rocked the cabin. Marla dove under her blanket as Becky went to the window to check it out.

“Pretty awesome thunder, huh?” said Becky, turning back around. “Hey, where’d you go?”

She discovered her sister wrapped up like a mummy and shivering on her cot. “Hey, are you okay?” Becky asked.

“Okay?” stammered Marla as she peeked out from the edge of her quilt. “How can anyone be okay when the sky is exploding?”

Becky was about to try and calm her sister down, when BOOOM!! – another clap of thunder cracked even louder than the first, this time causing a power blackout that left the kids totally in the dark. The only light came in from the flashes of lightning which cut like knives through the nearly black skies.

Now Marla really started losing it. She was crying and holding onto her blanket like a life jacket on a sinking ship.

“Come on Marla, it’s okay. It’s really going to be okay,” Becky tried to assure her.

The girl peered out at her sister between her tears. She just didn’t understand how Becky was managing to stay so calm. “It’s NOT going to be okay! I’m so scared!!” she sobbed. “And what’s with you anyway? Why are you so brave and calm all of the sudden, when here we are stuck in this puny cabin in the middle of nowhere, in the dark and ALL ALONE?!”

Becky bent down, took Marla’s hand and looked her in the eye. “Because we’re not all alone,” she said softly.

The shaking girl gave her sister a puzzled look. “Wha-what do you mean?”

“Marla, I admit this is a pretty intense storm, and if we were all alone I would definitely be scared. But we have to remember, wherever we are, whatever’s happening, we’re not alone. God is right here with us. And not only that, He’s taking good care of us.”

Another thunder cracked, yet between her sister’s word, and gentle strokes on her hand, Marla felt a bit less terrified.

“Remember when I used to be scared of my own shadow?” Becky asked. “Well once I started to remind myself that God is always with me, and to really feel that He’s here, those fears just kind of began to fade away.”

Marla slipped the quilt down off her head and sat up on the cot. Was the storm starting to let up, or was it just her imagination? “You mean to say that even when we’re alone, we’re not really alone.”

“Exactly.”

“So then we really never have to be scared if we don’t want to, do we?”

“No, we don’t.”

Marla took a deep breath and slowly stood up. She could hardly believe it herself, but what Becky said somehow felt right, and she really didn’t feel so alone anymore, or so scared.

“And since God is always here,” Becky went on, “you can talk to Him and ask for help.”

“How?”

“Easy, like this: ‘God, we’re a little scared here in this storm, especially in the dark. We know You’re with us and protecting us, but could You also please turn the lights back on?'”

“Becky, do you think that’s really gonna help? I mean maybe we should light some candles or try to…”

Just then the lights in the cabin flickered and went back on. The thunder was now only a dim rumble in the distance, and when the girls looked out the window they saw patches of sunlight breaking between the clouds.

“Looks like God decided to turn on the lights, and also move the storm away, huh?” said Becky cheerfully without a trace of surprise.

“Yeah,” smiled Marla, shaking her head. “And I think from now on, thanks to what you said today, things are going to be a lot brighter for me, whatever the weather.”

Discussion Questions
Ages 3-5

Q. How did Marla feel at first when the storm and blackout occurred?
A. She felt scared and alone.

Q. How did she feel in the end?
A. She felt calm and unafraid because her sister had showed her that they really were never alone, because God was always watching over them.

Ages 6-9

Q. What lesson did Marla learn that day?
A. She, like many others, had the mistaken impression that while maybe God was ‘somewhere out there,’ He wasn’t really so involved with us and watching over us every moment. Becky helped her see that God is EVERYWHERE – including with us – and He cares about and wants to help us through every moment of our lives without exception. This knowledge can dramatically improve our lives and make us much feel much less scared and alone.

Q. Is their anything we can do to help us feel more the reality of God being with us?
A. Absolutely. Like most things worthwhile, the ability to feel God in our lives takes practice. One good way is to observe and think about the amazing complexity and harmony of nature. Anyone who opens his eyes can’t fail to see God’s supreme intelligence behind every detail. Also, we can look back over our own lives and think back about all those ‘coincidences’ that really weren’t coincidences at all, but rather God’s help and guidance. And, like any relationship, the more we put into it the more we will get out. That means keeping up our end of the relationship by making a consistent effort to speak to and communicate with God. This doesn’t mean only formal prayer, but also setting aside time to speak with him like we would with a wise and trusted friend, telling Him what is in our hearts and asking for guidance. After a while of doing these things, don’t be surprised if you find yourself feeling closer to God than you ever imagined you could.

Ages 10 and Up

Q. Why doesn’t God simply reveal Himself to us in a way we can feel His presence without trying?
A. God created the human being with the unique and awesome ability of free ethical choice – that is, the ability to act in a way that either strengthens and adds to the goodness of the world, or the opposite. The good we choose to do is so much more powerful and valuable that way than if we did it out of force. But free choice can only exist if we always have to struggle to feel and believe in God’s presence, yet still choose to do the ethical and Godly thing. If He were to make Himself too obvious, we would get blown away by His power and awesomeness and become almost robot-like, and feel compelled to do His will.

Q. Our sages teach that the universe isn’t the place of God; rather, God is the ‘place’ of the universe. What do you think this means?
A. A popular misconception is that like everything else, God is just one of the beings, albeit as the most powerful one, within the universe, who dwells in the heavens, perhaps somewhere deep in space, or alternatively He is thought of as a ‘force’ that permeates the universe which exists independent of Him. Both of these false pictures paint God as being a part of a larger universe of things. The reality, however, is that the entire universe and all its forces exist only ‘within’ God. He created the universe, gives it and everything in it life at every moment. He is thus, so to speak, the ‘setting’ or ‘place’ of the universe, both filling and surrounding it at all times. While these are deep concepts which require years of serious study to properly understand, the practical implication for us right now is to know that it is impossible to be far or separate from God and if we feel that way it is only because we have somehow closed our eyes to Him, and need only to reach out to Him to discover that He is and has always been right there with us.

 

Quote of the Week

“Words that come from the heart, enter the heart.” – Rabbi Moshe Ibn Ezra, Shir Yisrael

 

Joke of the Week