Parshat Shemot

This Shabbat we begin reading from the second book of the Torah, the book of Exodus.  The parsha this week continues to tell the story of the Jewish people.  We learn that after the generation of Joseph and his brothers  a new Pharaoh comes to power in Egypt.  This Pharaoh, the Torah tells us, did not know Joseph and all that Joseph had done in Egypt.  He feels threatened by the Jewish people and he comes up with the idea to enslave them.  This is how the story of the Jewish people's slavery in Egypt begins.  The story from this point forward will begin to describe the Jewish people's miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt through the leadership of Moses. 
    Moses had grown up in the house of Pharaoh.  Pharaoh decreed that all male Jewish babies be killed at the time of their birth.  Moses' mother saved him by putting him in a basket and sending it down the Nile River.  Pharaoh's daughter found the basket, adopted baby Moses, and raised him as her own.  Many years later, while witnessing the cruel treatment of a Jewish slave by an Egyptian taskmaster, Moses killed the Egyptian taskmaster.   Afterwards he fled Egypt, got married, and lived for many years outside of Egypt as a shepherd.  While out with the flocks one day, God spoke to Moses from a bush that was burning but not consumed.  This is when God tells Moses that he will go back to Egypt, free the Jewish people from slavery and lead them out of Egypt. 
    During this event Moses asks God, "When I will say to the Israelites, 'the God of your fathers has sent me to you;' and they will ask me, 'what is his name?' what will I say to them?"  God's answer to Moses is, "Eheyeh asher eheyeh," which literally means, "I will be what I will be."  There are numerous explanations of what this means, and numerous ideas and meanings have been attached to them, with different and even contradictory interpretations.
    I would like to share one interpretation with you.  Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin in his classic work of Jewish mysticism, Nefesh Hachaim, describes the role of human beings in the world and our relationship with God.  He explains that when the Torah says that man was created, "in the image of God," it is not referring to a physical image.  Rather, his explanation is that just as God is the creator, human beings are to be partners in creation.  Rabbi Chaim spends a lot of time describing how every one of our actions, big or small, have an impact on the world.  Human beings' actions, good or bad, allow for God to make the world a better or worse place. 
    It is in this vein that he translates the line from our parsha¸"eheyeh asher eheyeh," to mean, "I will be with you as you are with me."  Meaning, if you have faith in me and believe in me as a God, I will be with you accordingly.   Implied in this interpretation according to Rabbi Chaim, is that human beings should consider their relationship with God as a reciprocal relationship.  Not that the relationship is entirely reciprocal in the same way it is with other people, but the idea is that it is helpful for our religious growth to think about it in that way. 
God is abstract, and often it's hard to feel God's presence during our everyday life.  As a result, many of us tend to prioritize many things over our relationship with God and cut corners in our religious life.  If we were to consider that the way in which we prioritize God is consistent with how we would want to be treated by God, it's possible that we will be motivated to act differently.  We should try to make our relationship with God a reality in our lives, and part of that is to make the same considerations that we would in a relationship with a loved one.  We would not expect  a loved one to care about us and make an effort to be close to us if we never put any effort into that relationship.  Therefore, we should expect the same dynamic in our relationship with God.  Rabbi Chaim is teaching us that the lesson from this line in our parsha, "eheyeh asher eheyeh," is that our attitude about our relationship with God should be consistent with how we would want God to behave towards us.

Parshat Vayehi

 This week’s parsha is the last parsha in the book of Genesis and the last parsha where any of our forefathers is still alive.  The parsha signals the end of an era, and I believe it has a lesson for us about what it means to be part of the Jewish people.  This lesson is derived from one of Jacob’s final actions before passing away.

Most of the parsha tells the story of Jacob on his deathbed.  Before Jacob died he spoke to each of his sons and gave them blessings.  Jacob also blesses Joseph’s children.  While giving them a blessing he does something strange.  Instead of putting his right hand on the elder’s head and his left hand on the younger one’s head as was the usual protocol, he crossed his hands put his right on the younger one and his left on the older one.  Joseph noticed this and thinking that it was strange, he corrected Jacob.  But Jacob assured Joseph that he knew which one was which and that he had a reason for switching his hand.  He then blessed them and said, “by you shall Israel invoke blessings, saying: ‘God make you like Ephraim and Menasseh’ (Joseph’s sons).”

We have a tradition for blessing our children on Shabbat.  This line is the introduction to the traditional blessing that a parent gives a son on Shabbat (the blessing for daughters is introduced with, “may God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah).  What’s strange about this blessing is that we don’t know all that much about Ephraim and Menasseh.  What are we supposed to think when we say, “God make you like Ephraim and Menasseh” ?

Every one of the forefathers’ homes had disturbing family dynamics.  Abraham is compelled by Sarah to banish Hagar and Ishmael, his other wife and son.  Isaac and Rebecca each had favorites, this led to Jacob stealing Esau’s blessing and Esau’s subsequent hatred of Jacob.  And Jacob chooses a favorite, which causes his brothers to plot his murder.  Although they never carried that out, they did succeed in selling him as a slave.  I would think that after all that, Jacob and his family would have learned its lesson about showing favoritism.   Yet, in this week’s parsha we see Jacob switching his hands while blessing his grandchildren and showing priority to the younger one over the elder. 

When Joseph arrives at Jacob’s bed with his children Jacob tells Joseph about how God blessed him and that he [Jacob] will allow Joseph’s sons to inherit as if they were is actual sons.  Then, before blessing the children he says, “Who are they?”  I find it hard to believe that Jacob didn’t know who they were considering how he had just finished telling Joseph that he was going to bless his children.  I think that when Jacob says, “who are they?” he is really wondering what type of people they are.  He wants to know if they care about each other or if they are rivals.  He wants to see if they have learned from the family history until that point or not.  So, I don’t think that Jacob is actually showing favoritism at all, rather, I think it is a test about their character and relationship.  When Jacob crosses his hands during the blessing, neither of the grandchildren corrects him.  They love each other as brothers and they do not have a rivalry that could lead to hatred like it did in previous generations.  When Jews bless their children, we are saying that we want our children to be like Ephraim and Menasseh, because they were able to love and care about each other without rivalry between them. 

Jacob was able to see in his lifetime the reconciliation of his sons, something Isaac and Abraham were never able to see.  In the beginning of the story of Joseph and his brothers the Torah tells us that Joseph and his brothers could not speak civilly to each other.  But at the end of the story they all dwelled together peacefully.  This is what made the children of Jacob worthy of becoming the heads of the tribes of Israel.  Despite the terrible family drama, by the end they were able to come together as a family and love each other as brothers.  It is the way in which Ephraim and Menasseh respond to Jacob’s test, showing brotherly love to each other, that the Jewish people bless their sons to be like them for all time.

I met a man this week who told me that he always tries to love all Jews.  Of course, there is a Jewish value in caring for all of God’s creations.  But there is an additional value of loving the Jewish people.  I believe that when one can love those closest to them despite differences, it helps towards being able to respect and care for the rest of the world as well.  Love and tolerance begins with those closest to you.  All week I’ve been thinking to myself, “what an amazing perspective, to be able to enter into a conversation or relationship with a fellow Jew with an attitude of love.”  It’s so easy to get caught up in fearing other Jews who are different from the way I am, judging them unfavorably, assuming that the other one is judging me, etc.  The way we enter into a conversation can have a powerful impact on the relationship that the conversation builds.  If we enter with negative perspectives, we continue to keep ourselves from living as brothers and sisters with our fellow Jews.  This man is an example of Ephraim and Menasseh. It’s often difficult to love and tolerate those closest to you when they are different, but being able to overcome that fear and feel unconditional love for our brothers and sisters is one of Jacob’s last lessons to the Jewish people.  In order to achieve this unity it might take work, it might take a conscious attempt to love the other, but in the end the hope is that it will lead to a better life and ultimately a better world. 

Parshat Vayigash

Joseph’s life has been the main focus of the weekly parsha for the last two weeks.  We have followed Joseph's every step from being Jacob’s favorite, getting sold by his brothers, serving Potiphar, his time in prison, and his rise to power in the Egyptian government.  Yet until this week, at no point during the story of Joseph’s life are we told anything about how he felt towards his brothers, his family, and all that has happened to him.  There must have been some serious emotions going on inside of him: How does a person deal with being sold by his brothers?  Whom does he blame?  After all, it was his father who sent him to check on his brothers when they conspired against him.  Could that be why he hasn’t ever contacted his family now that he is the prime minister of Egypt?  We can only imagine how we would feel if we were in the same situation, and honestly, it is doubtful that any of us can measure up to Joseph.

At the end of last week’s parsha, after manipulating his brothers into bringing Benjamin back to Egypt with them, against Jacob’s desire, Joseph frames Benjamin for theft.  The brothers are put into a position of needing to defend Benjamin.  Joseph gets to see if his brothers are the same people who sold him out 20 years ago, or if they’ve grown.  This week’s parsha begins with Judah’s impassioned plea on behalf of Benjamin.  Judah pleads with Joseph to allow him to take the place of Benjamin as a slave to Pharaoh on the basis that he won’t be able to face his father if he doesn’t bring Benjamin back.  Judah explains all that his father, Jacob, has gone through, how he had lost his other favorite son, and how it would kill Jacob to lose Benjamin because, “Their souls are bound together.” 

It is in response to this plea on behalf of their father that we finally get a glimpse into the emotional life of Joseph.  After hearing how much Judah cares about his father and is concerned about his father if the brothers do not take care of their brother Benjamin, Joseph commands everyone who is in the room with him and his brothers to leave, he wails so loudly that it could be heard throughout Egypt, and he says to his brothers, “I am Joseph, is my father still alive?”  

He knows that his father is still alive, since his brothers first came to him they have spoken about their father, and Judah just gave a speech about how losing Benjamin would kill his father.  What I think Joseph is saying to them is: "I’m Joseph who you sold into slavery and allowed our father to believe I had been trampled by a wild animal.  Why didn’t you care about upsetting our father back then!?!?!"  There must have been anger and accusation in that emotional outburst; who could blame him?  His brothers certainly couldn’t blame him; they were speechless and afraid after Joseph revealed himself.  But the greatness of Joseph was that he didn’t hold onto this negative feeling.  Immediately after seeing his brothers become paralyzed with fear, he asks them again to come close to him and says, “I am Joseph your brother.”  He is assuring them that despite all they did, despite part of his own feelings of anger and betrayal, he is still their brother.  

It is Joseph’s rationale that is most impressive.  Joseph chooses to not hold onto his anger because he chooses to see the hand of God in all that happened to him.  He tells his brothers:  “Do not be distressed or reproach yourselves…it was to save life that God sent me ahead of you…it was not you who sent me here, but God.”  Joseph doesn’t blame his brothers or hold a grudge.  Because he must have believed all along that there is a reason for everything, he sees what happened to him as the will of God.  It is only twenty years later that he sees the reason for it.  Had he given up the belief long ago that there was a reason for what happened to him, it is doubtful that he would have been able to see the reason for it now.  Had he been holding onto his negative feelings and letting them fester inside of him for twenty years, it’s hard to believe he’d be able to feel anything but hatred towards his brothers..  Joseph isn’t above human emotion; his initial outburst was motivated by strong emotions, and the Torah even says right before he reveals himself, “Joseph was no longer able to restrain himself.”  But he didn’t let his motions control him; by sheer willpower he was able to overcome negative emotions and pave the way for reconciliation.

The lesson for us is that if Joseph was able to let go of his negative emotions, not hold a grudge, choose to believe that things happen for a reason, and see the hand of God in all that happened to him, then we should be able to as well.  Holding negative feelings inside of you can eat away at you inside and make you lose control of your emotions; we should take Joseph’s example and not allow our emotions to be controlled by those that have done wrong to us in the past. 

Chanukah day 8

The 8^th and last day is sometimes referred to as Zot Chanukah (זאת חנוכה), this title is taken from the torah reading for the last day of Chanukah which says v’zot chanukat hamizbeach (וזאת חנוכת המזבח) which means, “and this was the dedication of the Altar.  But it’s real meaning is something deeper.  

The word Zot begins with the Hebrew letter “Aleph (א)” and “zayin(ז),”  the numerical value of these two letters add up to equal 8.  This is pointing out to us that the special meaning of the 8^th day of Chanukah is related to the number 8.  The number 8 in Judaism is significant because it signifies something which is above the natural order.  This is learnt from the fact that 7 which corresponds to the days of the week, symbolizes the natural order of the world and 8, is one more than that.

I have already written about how Chanukah represents adding more Judaism to our lives and  choosing to celebrate the religious aspect of a political and cultural victory.  All of this and more is part of a message of the number 8 as it relates to Chanukah.  What I think is significant about having a special name for the 8^th day is that the 8^th day of the holiday which really is celebrating a lesson in the number 8 itself just drives the message home.  It’s normal to forget on the 8^th day of Chanukah that it’s still Chanukah until nightfall tonight, after all we’re not going to light candles tonight.  By singling out the last day we are forcing ourselves to end the holiday strong.  Instead of just going about this day forgetting that it’s still part of the holiday and letting the memories of the renewal and enlightenment fade out, we should make a special point to focus on the significance of Chanukah and how we can make those lessons transition with us out of the holiday into the rest of our lives.

Remember, the reason that the Maccabees needed the oil to last 8 days even though there was only enough for 1 was because according to some opinions it would take them 8 days to make new, pure oil for the menorah in the Temple.  When the 8 days of the miracle were over, they didn’t go on with their lives exactly as it was before, from that point forward they were able to light the menorah every day with a renewed supply of oil.    

Chanukah day 7

What does the word Chanukah mean?  There have been a few different interpretations given through the ages.   The other night Dr. Chalal shared with me an explanation he had heard which is actually the opinion of the 14^th century Spanish rabbi, Rabbi Nissim of Gerona.  This opinion is that the word Chanukah is actually made up of 2 different words “Chanu (חנו)” and “Kah (כ''ה), which means they rested on the 25^th day.  According to this opinion, the name of the holiday is a reference to date of the celebration because Chanukah begins on the 25^th day of the month of Kislev. 

Another possible explanation is that the word Chanukah is related to the Hebrew word for education or initiation, Chinuch (חנוך).  I like this explanation because in my mind it gives more meaning to the holiday. Rather than being a just a commemoration and a happy time, it is also a lesson whose meaning spreads beyond the days of actual celebration. 

The past few days I’ve shared a number of possible lessons about the holiday and its symbols.  I want to point out that fire, the prevalent symbol of this holiday, is a powerful symbol of inspiration which relates to the above meaning of the word Chanukah.  Fire is a necessity for civilization, technology, and even life.  But fire, as we recently saw in Northern Israel, can also do a lot of damage.  This is an important warning that parallels the messages of Chanukah as a time of religious rebirth and renewal.  It is important that we are in control of our fiery emotions that inspire us to be more religious, religious passion can be a powerful emotion that has the ability to inspire us to do a lot of good.  It can also inspire us to take on a lot of new things at once, and this can lead to religious burn out.  The lesson of fire as it relates to חנוך (education or initiation) is to use the fire for good but to be careful with it at the same time. 

Chanukah day 6

One of the interesting things about Chanukah is that the significance of the event we are celebrating is really about what the Jewish people were able to achieve with the help of God and not about what God did for them as they waited for their deliverance.  There is no book of the bible dedicated to this holiday, there is no overt miracle of God splitting a sea or destroying their foes by miraculous means.  Even if there were no miracle of the oil, the holiday would still be worth celebrating. 

Many secular Jews over history have adopted Chanukah for this very reason, from one perspective this holiday can be seen as a holiday celebrating Jewish strength.  But in reality the holiday is about much more than that.    

It’s not simply a secular holiday celebrating the liberation of the Jewish people from a political foe.  As I mentioned a few days ago it’s also about Jewish culture not being assimilated by the dominant Greek culture, but it’s also not limited to this cultural perspective either.  The Talmud in Tractate Yoma says, “He who wishes to purify himself is assisted by heaven to do so.”   I think this is relevant to this holiday because after winning the war against the Greeks, the Jewish people then went to purify the Temple and themselves.  They could have just celebrated their political freedom, they could have merely celebrated their cultural freedom, but they CHOSE to see the war as religious victory as well. 

It would have been easy to ignore the hand of God if they wanted to, but they did not want to.  The people chose to believe that since they wanted not just to win the war and to have cultural freedom, but to purify themselves, that God had helped them do so. 

This is a very relevant lesson from Chanukah for the modern Jew.  The fact of the matter is we have a choice of what to believe, no one is forcing us to live a certain way.  On Chanukah we celebrate our ability to make a choice to see the hand of God even when I might not think it necessary. 

Chanukah day 5

Every day of Chanukah during the morning prayers we read a special Torah portion special for Chanukah.  The Torah portion that is read describes the sacrifices that the princes of the tribes of Israel brought at the time that the Jewish people completed the building of the Tabernacle in the desert.  What is the connection between Chanukah and the completion of the Tabernacle?   Our tradition tells us that the Tabernacle was completed on the 25^th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.  This is the same day that we begin Chanukah. 

If one truly sees God’s hand in all of creation it is difficult to believe in coincidences.  The holiday of Chanukah is intrinsically connected to the completion of the Tabernacle.  The connection is not just that they both share a date.  On Chanukah we celebrate the re-dedication of the Temple during the time of the Maccabees, which is a reminder of the holiness of the Temple and its importance to us since the time of the Jews in the desert after leaving Egypt. 

When God commended Moses to build the Tabernacle he said “make for me a holy dwelling place, and I will dwell amongst you.”  The verse is interesting because it should have said, make for me a holy dwelling place and I dwell in it, but it doesn’t say that.  The lesson is that the goal is for God to dwell in us, the Temple and Tabernacle were means of purifying ourselves so that we were worthy of God dwelling in each of us.  Today we don’t have the Temple anymore, but the celebration of its re-dedication on Chanukah is a reminder for us to rededicate ourselves so that we are worthy of God dwelling amongst us. 

Chanukah day 4

Why do we give presents on Chanukah?

The modern tradition of giving presents has been mostly influenced by Chanukah’s proximity to Christmas.  But that’s not the whole story, there has always been a tradition of giving “gelt,” or coins, associated with Chanukah.  When we hear gelt most of us think of the chocolate coins, but until recently the giving of gelt was of actual coins.  This is the Jewish origin for the tradition of giving on Chanukah.  What is the reason behind this tradition?

1.       There is a Jewish law that one should not derive any benefit from the Chanukah candles, the candles serve one purpose and that is to remind us of the miracles that they commemorate and it would disrespectful to use the candles for another purpose.  The code of Jewish law uses counting money as an example of something you should not do by the light of the candles.  The giving of gelt was a reminder not to count the money in front of the lights.

2.       On Friday I wrote how the bottom line law about lighting candles was that each household should at least have 1 candle.  The widespread custom of giving gelt would enable even the poorest person to fulfill the requirements of the law.

3.       After the Maccabees’ victory they became an autonomous government for the first time in a long time.  One of the signs of an autonomous government is the ability to implement new currency, or mint coins.  The giving of coins commemorates the miracle of the Jewish people’s success during the time of the Maccabees.

One of the nice things about the origins of giving gifts as a part of Chanukah is that there are religious, historical, and practical elements that we are being reminded of.  There are so many Jews with so many approaches and interests.  The nice thing about having multiple reasons for an origin of a tradition is that there are many ways for different people to be able to connect.