Portion TeTzaVeh and Purim Joy
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- קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
- פורסם בשישי, 26 פברואר 2021 13:08
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The portion is about building the Tabernacle in the Sinai Desert
What's that go to do with pouring rain – and some snow in Jerusalem Wednesday night?
And why is the Almighty showing how to train a philanthropic soul the way to fix the world?
According to the Kabala view, each of us is on this planet to contribute something special.
The portion starts out with EVERYONE of the Israelites contributing something in the desert.
EVERYONE! Some gave gold some gave silver, some wove threads for the curtains.
So – knowing human nature – we need to ask - but were there some character just giving advice ?
Actually - almost yes! The Almighty? Wasn't he the planner and just telling Moshe what had to be done?
But the Medrash tells us, that when Moses did not know how to make something – the Almighty did it forUS-FORhim-FORtheWORLD.
Yes when it came to creating a lamp of pure gold, the great teacher Moshe couldn't figure out how to make it of "ONE BEATEN PIECE OF GOLD" so
G-d speaking "Throw it into the fire and it will come out as I told you," –
And the Almighty Himself created that beautiful Temple Menorah –
The symbol of light and wisdom and holiness FOR THE WORLD –
Which over a thousand years later, the Roman Legions carved onto the
Arch of Titus (the wicked destroyer) as if to say "we have defeated
light and wisdom and holiness FOR THE WORLD" – BUT HAVE THEY? COULD THEY?
NO! And every time our "giving nurturing volunteering" soul does ITS PART –
We fulfill the message of that menorah –
Bringing light and wisdom and holiness FOR THE WORLD.
Whether it is bringing soul to the desert, Torah to the corrupt Canaanites, creating
"The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave" (drop the revisionist detracting please)
Bringing water and healing to Africa, or volunteering for people with disabilities …
Neither snow nor rain nor … nuclear threats can stop the Israelite Vision of
The Menorah of the Almighty – from shining into the world.
Read the Portion to see how much work goes into that!
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz - from snow and slush covered Jerusalem!
TOday Thursday is Tu Bishvat ... the Jewish New Year of the TreesYesterday behind my house the local kids planted 31 trees in our "park" - all the community could get in the local town budgetThe trees symbolize renewal when the cycle of life seems coldest, when the least sun is shiningThe Tree new Year symbolized the date of giving Holy Fruit Tithes to the Levites working for All Israel... in the Holy Temple and elsewhere. And the Almighty called for a celebration of the Fruits and Land of Israel.A wonferful Dutch convert lady married to a Moroccan Israeli who studied archaelogy from the same wonderful American professor as me (the professor also later converted) initiated our "park" ... bless you Iris!Continuing a theme from last weekAnimals ... Why were Pharoah's and others' animals targeted in the ten Plagues ... And at the Dead sea?These were the war-horses - and the Animals drowned with the cavalry.Didn't those Israelite slaves feed and wash and walk the horses? Did they all forget tose kindnesses?Holiness begets rewards and war mongers ... wellParticipating in war begets punishment.So ... didn't the holocaust (Rememberance Day was this week) happen because the world-especially the British Prime Minister- appeased Hitler?Last week we saw that the Egyptians who trusted Moses protected their animals!This week we have so many themes in the portion... and whileThat ofReward and punishnent is not always clear... true Holiness will always shine...So...Miriam ...How did she get all the women to dance at the Red Sea?Her holiness shined ...they all knew her andTrusted her -the faithful and fearlessMidwife who saved their babiesA Levite Leader of her family - who also saved Baby Moses ...So at the Red Sea the men Sang and the womenDanced ...and the Torah says right after:They brought down the ShabbosTo The WorldShabat ShalomRabbi Andy Eichenholz
Portion Bo - the Animals?
Most commentators on this portion focus on Moses and his(verbal) wrestling with Pharoah-
(Recall Jacob wrestling with the angel?)
I am wrestling with how this portion gets us out of Egypt THEN-
And NOW!
Egypt in Hebrew means "restrictions"
And there are - all over -Lots of restrictions now because of coronavirus...
At the end of this week's portion we are induced to re-play "going out of Egypt " FOR OUR CHILDREN
Actually - Moses' argument in the BEGINNING of this portion is ALSO about
taking the CHILDREN out of Egypt to worship the L-rd.
Hey - he also argues for taking out the ANIMALS of the ISRAELITES! (sheep goats and cows...)
Let's focus on how the portion starts with ANIMALS and ends with ANIMALS
and starts with CHILDREN and ends with CHILDREN!
Everyone knows how Pharoah messed up BIGTIME - but nobody answers WHY!
In a nutshell (because it's also Shabbat soon) - the Almighty is signalling to Egypt:
You started this thing by ENSLAVING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL (Jacob's family)
and by drowning the little ones - and worse - to the ones you could catch.
THE FROGS AND LICE AND WILD BEASTS were sent as a warning - but you didn't listen
EGYPT: listen NOW - MY children will FOREVER tell the story of your WANTON EGO (and EVIL)
and the creatures? - every dog and donkey will be remembered with a MITZVA;
for the parts even they played - as well as every sheep goat and cow
(not just the lions and the elephants)
And Egypt - you will be immortalized by CRUMBLING PYRAMIDS AND CRUMBLING MUMMIES!
While the children of Israel will usually be touted by the world at the Nobel Prize Awards
(Even Bob Dylan was awarded ...)
Shabat shalom -Health and Joy
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
Portion Va Aiy Rah – Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Frog?
Heard it all before – right? Before last Passover? Really, now!
Like my daughter said to me, "How many times do I have to listen to rabbis on the radio talking about– the story of Israelites in Egypt?"
But Like Rabbi Fanger said on the radio Monday – imagine Pharoah's wife, seeing Moses and the snakes of the sorcerers – AAAHHHH! OIY! And then Moses' snake turns back into a stick – and EATS the other snakes! Ugh uch yech!
So she yells "Let the Israelites GO already!" Okay – sweet and cute. Imagination helps.
In Hebrew school – and in Israel – before Passover - kids sing about Pharoah in Pyjamas and about the Red Sea splitting like in the 10 Commandments movie.
Rabbi Kram (may he and all not well people get well soon) says "Egypt and Israel" is a story that proves there is something Beyond the Natural that is watching over Israel – and the whole world.
When I was a kid I knew most of the names of the countries of the UN – our "world".
Then Africa became 20 or so countries, and - then Russia – the USSR - split into a million pieces – and we learned they ALL had seats in the UN. And there were China and Taiwan. And North and South Korea. Rhodesia? The names sometimes change. Who cared about nukes in Iran?
And terror organizations? How many people can name 3 or 4?
And in Israel the Beduins served in the Israeli Army (IDF) then. But this week Beduin kids sprayed graffiti and overturned tombstones in a Jewish Cemetery near Beer Sheva – where Abraham and Isaac lived!
I really wanted to write this week about fear – and the statements of Rav Kook in the 20's and of Roosevelt in the 40's. The Egypt saga last week had Israelites complaining to Moses and him complaining to the Almighty. Was that about not knowing things TAKE TIME?
Rabbi Kram says "Egypt and Israel" is a timeless story that proves there is something beyond the Natural that is watching over Israel
I think Israel in Egypt is about all the pangs of Nation Birth – where unfortunately all the world says it's about Power and Money. The Almighty has other plans for the world.
Kindergarten kids know about Big Bird. But "out there" today are DRONES and ROBOTS and flying snakes (flying cars that can deliver to hospitals not just deliver bombs?) grabbing the scary giant frogs just before they wreak havoc (and as Rabbah Bar Bar Chana implies – we have to believe the Israelite People are CONSTANTLY saved by G-d alone).
And also about – well, the funny side of the Bible – and the challenges of Moses growing up in a palace but creating the Sabbath REST - and a new nation conceived in dedication … well
There's a lot to read and think about in this week's portion. Enough to hopefully save another generation of our people from forgetting….?
Shabbat Shalom – Health and Peace and Knowing What's Beyond Our Regular Boundaries
Rabbi ANDY EICHENHOLZ
Okay. MOSES never lived in the Bronx or BedStyBut he did kill the Egyptian who was beating up a Jewish guyCouldn't the "Prince Moses of Egypt" just order a stop to the beating?Moses himself says later that he is a stutterer. Probably nobody would have anyway listened to his talking ... So he had to take action.I remember when a drunk tenant of mine tried ro beat me to death 2 blocks from my Brooklyn home - because his 77 year old father sold his house to me Instead of dying and leaving it to that son. Why violence? Drunkenness - or Hatred?Moses was probably in disguise anyway, AsIt says in the portion "he went out (of the palace) -out to see his brethren"-something dictator Pharoah would not have approved...Probay he would have been killed for opening up his mouth,as any Egyptian guard who was beating an Israelite would do -As Reb Shlomo Carlebach said,The WORLD had to learn about Auschwitz! But today? The WORLD - has it learned -or changed?"Kill the Whitey, kill the Whitey " they yelled from the curb, as my years of karate saved my life, just 2 blocks from my house in Crown Heights.I had been struck quite by surprise as the attacker - who weighed about 60 pounds miore than me, kept pounding and \i kept blocking what I could ... just outside that house. (The neighbors later told me he had "done time" for manslaughter, too.)So what about kids in tough spaces?They have no chance. The are like Israelites-of-Egypt held by the slavery of hundreds of years.Why Egypt? Why Auschwitz? ...And all the many many cases of ... well ... we all knowI think Biden and Harris - and cuomo and DiBlasio etc ... need to start an initiative -to pair up big brothers from the Jewish ghettoswith underprivilged kids drom their own ghettos ... playing basketball or checkers and talkingAcross that street a few months before,I had given a baby outfit to a different tenant, who had a grandchild in South Caroline that week.She cried! So I asked why?She answered "Nobody EVER gave anyone in my family a gift!"Did that act of kindness maybe save me?Or was it the karate training that maybe Moses had in the palace -that taught him to protect others?And the next day he did not answer to the hateful words of "those that watched the fights ...and DID NOTHING! (Read in the Portion).More about Egypt and the Jews and Moses next week...Love AND Shabbos and HealthRabbi Andy EichenholzShabbat Shalom
Portion VaYeCHee - Father Jacob and Justice Minister Jacob
How much self-justified hatred and anger can exist in the minds of otherwise intelligent people. And how to combat that?
People need faith – in themselves as well as others – and in the FUTURE – as we learn from Jacob's blessings to his children in this week's portion.
The portion ends with blessings for all Israel – but ominously - IN EGYPT
Are hatred and anger born of greed or maybe often just "wanting good things",
Or is it ego (sometimes) that blinds instead of motivating for good?
So it's written that Father Jacob enjoyed 17 "good years" with his WHOLE family - but minus his dear Rachel. Wasn't he a bit angry at least?
Is that what we have to worry about here, today? After this "showdown" after the (corona) shakeup. Following "good years" but with anger?
(Here meaning the Western and Middle Eastern worlds)
The lessons we have to learn from the portion – and from today – are evidenced in an episode from the life of another "Jacob" – my former neighbor Jacob (Yaakov) Neeman.
Starting 1996, he tried to set up a cabinet Netanyahu' first term as Prime Minister
Representing those who elected him, including
my former neighbor as Justice Minister.
Michel ben Yair, a left wing (pro-Arab, anti-religion) legal advisor to the government (left over from the previous government)
Created fraudulent criminal cases - and removed Neeman – who was of course acquitted after months in the courts – but the criminal charges forced Neeman to resign after only a few weeks at work.
Even the judge said the claims were baseless
Now again in Israel with trumped-up cases against Netanyahu
The current elections in Israel are NOT about peace accords, NOT about police abuses (although one high ranking police person was recently finally removed a few years after verified abuses), and not even - as the Army Radio was joking last night – about how a few politicians are starting "NEW" parties because the previous left-wing parties are disintegrating
Politics in Israel has many "angry" self-righteous angry politicians who probably would do better to help forge a post-Covid successful society helping Ethiopian and Indian Jews integrate and thrive in Israel.
So why does Book 1 (Bereisheet) of the Torah end this portion – in Egypt and not in Israel?
Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria wrote some years ago, that the First Book is about Creation – of the world, of justice, and about Israel's place and purpose.
The Second Book is about Salvation of the world – building Temples, building Society with Justice and Objective Rules (like the 10 Commandments).
THE First shoWed us the challenges AND ends with Life in Galut – Israel's children being cast into a corrupt world.
Moses in the Second (portions starting NEXT week) taught laws, after the miracles woke the world – and allowed us to Leave Egypt
And even in a desert – build a Temple of Love and forgiveness
Shabbat Shalom Health and Sweetness
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
Portion VaYeeGash – Bad Leaders Good Soldier
What horrible stories this week! But what WONderful people!
In the portion this week Joseph is holding one brother prisoner, and threatens to take another as a slave – and so Judah puts himself OUT THERE to try to end the madness.
What madness? 9 brothers sold Joseph into slavery! And a thousand years later – King Josiah in Jerusalem is STILL fighting that abuse (until the Egyptians kill him in battle). What was really in Joseph's heart?
And what's that got to do with the 30 (Sheloshim) memorial and unveiling the stone at the grave of my father-in-law?
Confronting the family members "that never came for years" evoked screams. Later on the "Older Sister" shared stories.
Why did Joseph's brothers NEVER come to look for him – for over 20 years?
Did Joseph the Viceroy scream at them? Make them slaves?
He went BEYOND THE ORDINARY.
Judah too, went BEYOND THE ORDINARY.
And Rabbi Shlomo Carelebach taught, "What the Almighty wants of us is to Get Beyond the Ordinary Response. When we have a right to scream – try to calm yourself – and also calm the other side. When our children mess up – turn it into a CALM learning session".
Eli Dror was a good soldier and a good family man – and everyone said so! But he had a right to have not been such a faithful player in the history of Israel – a paratrooper, a kibbutz member, a small business man, and a loved family member.
But the whole Iraqi clan shared some stories! When they got to Israel because the whole Arab world was throwing out the Jews and stealing their property – his family was sent to a tent camp – water was rationed, tents were washed out in the heavy rains, and families were separated.
We now know that the socialist establishment told Sephardic Jews that their children died – but secretly gave the children to Ashkenazi childless families! This week one story shared was the sister that was sent to a hospital – and died there. Eli's mother had migraines and was sickly for the rest of her life!
The "healthy kids" were sent to kibbutzim – it was a healthier environment – but were they almost slaves? Eli met his wife there and they left – and spent 60 happy years together until …. , well, just over 30 days ago he passed away from a disease he fought for 7 years, and is missed terribly by (almost) the whole family …
Joseph did NOT make ANY brothers slaves – he brought them all to live in safety (until the later Pharoah – well, we get into that in a couple of weeks).
Today is the Fast of 10 Tevet –commemorating the beginning of One Ending (destruction of the First Jewish Commonwealth in 587 BCE) -and hopefully ... also a new era of learning the Torah – in Iraq where the Jews were – until 1950! When Eli's family were forced to leave.
And where does the Joseph Story and the Eli Story leave us?
And what will we leave behind on this earth if not THOSE GREAT MOMENTS WE REACH BEYOND OURSELVES – whenever the opportunity arrives.
Shabbat Shalom – Health and Peace and "Reaching Beyond Ourselves
Rabbi ANDY EICHENHOLZ