IJII

"You are all standing today before the Lord your God..." (Devarim 29:9)

Moses reminds the entire people of Israel that they are each standing before God. Whether one is the head of a tribe or a water-carrier, all are ultimately judged by God.  Rabbi Moshe Alsheikh, the great 16th century mystic and commentator, notes that we humans do not know how to evaluate each other properly--this is only known by God. There are people who may seem important to us--but who are deficient in the eyes of God. There are people who may seem insignificant to us--but who are highly regarded by the Almighty.

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What is the difference between a genuine religious leader and a charlatan?

A genuine religious leader tries to bring people closer to God, tries to inspire people to intensify their spirituality so that they may approach God and live in the spirit of holiness. A genuine religious leader tries to foster receptivity to a religious worldview, empowering the individual to draw on his/her inner resources in the quest to come closer to God.

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Life is filled with choices. We have all made fateful decisions which have determined our road of life. We chose a school to attend, a career, a spouse, a lifestyle, friends, a level of religious observance. Indeed, everything we are today is the result of the many choices we have made throughout the course of our lives.

We may look back at our various decisions and ask: were they right or wrong? Should I have done this or that? Am I living my true life, or have I actually taken the wrong path, a path not true to myself, to who I really am?

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"And you shall not take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous."

The Torah demands as high a level of justice as is humanly possible. It calls upon judges to be fair--not to tilt away from justice due to favoritism or external pressures. Our commentators note that right after instructing judges to be honest, the Torah forbids idolatrous acts. They conclude: the sin of perversion of justice is equated to the sin of idolatry.  When a society has corrupt judges, the entire social system is undermined--materially and spiritually. God's name is profaned.

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"...for you will do that which is good and right in the eyes of the Lord..."

In several places, the Torah reminds us of the general commandment to do that which is good and right in the eyes of the Lord.  This is often understood to refer to the proper observance of mitzvot, and the requirement to act "lifnim mi-shurat ha-din" i.e. to behave even more compassionately than demanded by the strict letter of the law. Since the mitzvot are a reflection of God's wisdom and mercy, they should be fulfilled in a spirit of wisdom and mercy.

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I recently attended Shabbat morning services at a synagogue that was having a "Carlebach Shabbat". A group of "Carlebachians" led the services, and sang many of the prayers to music composed by the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.

I happened to be sitting next to one of the organizers of this Shabbat event, and I asked him: what does a "Carlebach Shabbat" service provide, that seems to be lacking in the "regular" synagogue service? He pondered for a few moments, and then answered in one word: "Yearning".

I have been pondering this response ever since.

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This week's Torah reading includes the Shema--the classic statement of Jewish faith: Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.  We are commanded to recite this passage each morning and each evening as a confirmation of our "accepting the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven". 

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We recently returned from a wonderful trip to Israel. As we sat in the waiting area of the BenGurion airport terminal before the flight, we noticed a young family nearby--a husband and wife and their little children aged 12 and under. As could be expected, the children were restless and wanted to run around and play.

The mother, in a soft voice, spoke to the children: It's fine to play, but please remember: everything you do should be a "kiddush Hashem" (a sanctification of God's name). The children understood their mother's message, and they played nicely and quietly.

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Rabbinic literature includes the names and teachings of many great and well-known sages. Yet, the rabbi who is mentioned most often in our liturgy is Rabbi Hananya ben Akashya—an obscure figure about whom we know almost nothing. We quote him at the end of our Musaf service, before the kaddish; and after every public Torah study session, to introduce the recitation of kaddish.

“Rabbi Hananya ben Akashya says: The Holy One blessed be He wanted to increase the merit of Israel; therefore He increased the Torah and mitzvoth for them”.  This one statement is Rabbi Hananya’s claim to immortality; this is what he has left to posterity. Without this statement, he would be totally forgotten. Why has this statement proven so meaningful to the Jewish people?

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Among Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik’s lectures, was one that dealt with the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. “A grandfather stands before his newly born grandchild filled with paradoxical thoughts. Feelings of renewal merge with fading memories of the past.”

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