Monday, July 29, 2013

Re'eh

Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17

Seeing Is Believing 

Parashat Re'eh calls our attention to our ability to choose the directions of our lives. 

By Rabbi Stephen Karol 

Parashah Overview God places both blessing and curse before the Israelites.

They are taught that blessing will come through the observance of God's laws (11:26–32).

Moses' third discourse includes laws about worship in a central place (12:1–28); injunctions against idolatry (12:29–13:19) and self-mutilation (14:1–2); dietary rules (14:3–21); and laws about tithes (14:22–25), debt remission (15:1–11), the release and treatment of Hebrew slaves (15:12–18), and firstlings (15:19–23).

Moses reviews the correct sacrifices to be offered during the Pilgrim Festivals--Passover, Sukkot, and Shavuot.

Focal Point See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of Adonai your God that I enjoin upon you this day; and curse, if you do not obey the commandments of Adonai your God but turn away from the path that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced. When Adonai your God brings you into the land that you are about to invade and occupy, you shall pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal. Both are on the other side of the Jordan, beyond the west road that is in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah near Gilgal by the terebinths of Moreh. (Deuteronomy 11:26–30)

Continue reading.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Ekev

Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25

The Challenges Of Humility 

We should respond to our prosperity with recognition of the factors that lead to our success and with humility before God.


By Rabbi Paula L. Feldstein


The following article is reprinted with permission from the Union for Reform Judaism.
Parashah Overview
Moses tells the Israelites that if they follow God's laws, the nations who now dwell across the Jordan River will not harm them. (Deuteronomy 7:12–26)

Moses reminds the people of the virtues of keeping God's commandments. He also tells them that they will dispossess those who now live in the Land only because they are idolatrous, not because the Israelites are uncommonly virtuous. Thereupon, Moses reviews all of the trespasses of the Israelites against God. (Deuteronomy 8:1–10:11)

Moses says that the Land of Israel will overflow with milk and honey if the people obey God's commandments and teach them to their children. (Deuteronomy 10:12–11:25)

Focal Point
When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to Adonai your God for the good land that God has given you. Take care lest you forget Adonai your God and fail to keep God's commandments, rules, and laws, which I enjoin upon you today. When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses to live in, and your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold have increased, and everything you own has prospered, beware lest your heart grow haughty and you forget Adonai your God, who freed you from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage … and you say to yourselves, "My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me." (Deuteronomy 8:10–14; 8:17)

Continue reading.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Shabbat Nachamu: Va-Et'chanan

Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11 reprinted from ReformJudaism.org

Staying Hungry 

D'VAR TORAH BY: MELANIE ARON

You might think that religion would be most successful in societies where a particular religion is able to establish itself and maintain a monopoly, but history has shown that this is not the case. In free societies, competition among religious groups, such as we have in the United States, seems to lead to much higher levels of religious participation than we see in religious monopolies, for example, in many European countries where there is an established church. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. In sports and in business, being challenged is considered a necessary condition for success. Being too comfortable can cause a team or a business to lose its edge.

Explaining his team's failure, a coach explained: "What it is, is you've got a hungry team here in New Mexico and I've got a satisfied team in Texas Tech right now." Knight said," We've got to get back to being hungry" (Mark Smith, "Knight: Keep 'Em Hungry," Albuquerque Journal, December 31, 2009).

Similarly, a business journal article titled, "Keep 'Em Hungry and Other Strategies," claims that keeping your suppliers insecure takes them out of their comfort zone and encourages initiative. It quotes an executive who states that "if you take them [your vendors] out of that guaranteed revenue position . . . it encourages them to look for new opportunities," CIO: Business Technology Leadership, October 15, 2007, p. 48).

In this week's Torah portion, God seems concerned that coming into the Land and settling comfortably upon it will cause the Israelites to lose their edge, and that the resulting complacency will cause them to turn away from God. "When the Eternal your God brings you into the land that was sworn to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to be assigned to you-great and flourishing cities that you did not build, houses full of all good things that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant-and you eat your fill, take heed that you do not forget the Eternal who freed you from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage" (Deuteronomy 6:10-12).

Continue reading.

 

Monday, July 8, 2013

D'varim


Deuteronomy 1:1−3:22 - reprinted from ReformJudaism.org


The Emergence of a Mosaic Voice


D'var Torah By: Jonathan Cohen

Among the Book of Deuteronomy's many distinctions, the emergence of a Mosaic voice conveying a personal, synoptic narration of events, struggles, successes, and failures renders this last Book of Torah especially compelling. As it progresses, Moses's character develops into that of a more complex, nuanced figure of a leader who must face his failings and limitations, and prepare for his final departure. The book opens with a review that explains the Israelites' long journey in the desert through the recollection of certain moments and dynamics, and offers a framework for a new iteration of the covenant. For example, as the first portion of this book, Parashat D'varim, unfolds, we recall the appointment of judges and leaders that we read about in Exodus 18. The focus of this passage (Deuteronomy 1:9-17) is Moses's interaction with the Israelites. Jethro's role in this innovation, which is prominent in Exodus, is omitted here, and other aspects of the Exodus account are altered.

Yet, most of this week's parashah is devoted to the military victories and defeats that account for the Israelites' situation and inform strategies for future campaigns. To introduce this sequence of battles, the Mosaic narrator evokes the episode of the scouts, or spies, who were sent to tour the Land of Israel, collect information, and share it upon their return. The report that appears in our parashah differs substantially from the longer account found in Numbers 13-14. A few salient variations are especially important.

To begin, in Deuteronomy Moses indicates that the decision to appoint and send the spies was made in response to the Israelites' demands (Deuteronomy 1:22), whereas in Numbers Moses sent the spies according to God's command (Numbers 13:1-3). Also, the mission of the spies is presented differently in the two accounts. The Numbers passage suggests that the spies were asked to collect information about geography, agriculture, demography, and fortifications, as well as to assess the strength of the local population (13:18-20). In contrast, the mission of the spies as the Israelites themselves define it in Deuteronomy is to identify invasion routes and create a list of targets to attack first. While the questions given the spies in Numbers could support a comprehensive evaluation on whether or not to attack the Land, the passage in Deuteronomy indicates a narrower mission that excludes any deliberation about possible military action, and simply addresses the best ways to carry it out.

Continue reading.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Matot-Masei

Numbers 30:2-36:13 - reprinted from ReformJudaism.org

The Tribes

Moses spoke to the heads of the Israelite tribes, saying: "This is what the Eternal has commanded: If a householder makes a vow to the Eternal or takes an oath imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips." - Numbers 30:2-3

Chazak, Chazak, V’nitchazeik



D'VAR TORAH BY: LISA EDWARDS

Here in the week of the Fourth of July, we come to the end of this year's reading of B'midbar with a double portion, Matot/Mas-ei. The fighting, rebellion, and violence that we've seen throughout B'midbar find echoes in the American Revolutionary War, already underway when the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. The birth of a nation seldom happens without violence, even when one believes—as the Israelites believed, as the Early Americans believed—that God was on their side. In fact, more than a few Revolutionary War leaders compared their plight under King George to the plight of the Israelites when they were still slaves in Egypt.1

Last week as we read Parashat Pinchas, we took note of the way God and Moses were perhaps trying to move the people toward a more human rule of law, albeit based on God-given laws. The plans for the future without Moses do not include random violence or anarchy, despite the ongoing preparations for battles and wars as they get ready to enter the Promised Land. Especially among the Israelites themselves, the end of B'midbar brings two examples of the kind of reasoned discussion and strategic planning that Moses and God may have been training them for all along, and especially once the Israelites enter the Promised Land without Moses.

Continue reading.