Shabbat Shuva Vayeilech

Deuteronomy 31:1–30

D'var Torah By: Shira Milgrom for ReformJudaism.org

Expanding the Covenant

At the edge of the Promised Land, Moses convenes his people one last time, to draw them into the covenant between them and their God. This great gathering of the masses evokes the last great gathering, forty years earlier, when the people of Israel were encamped at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Then, in the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses:

    "Go to the people and warn them to stay pure today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothes . . . Moses came down from the mountain to the people and warned the people to stay pure, and they washed their clothes. And he said to the people, 'Be ready for the third day; [the men among] you should not go near a woman' " (Exodus 19:10, 14–15).

The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Revised Edition, 1 added the (corrective!) phrase in brackets, [the men among]. The Hebrew reads simply, "You should not go near a woman." This startling direct address to men calls into question who is being covenanted at Mt. Sinai. To whom is God (or Moses) speaking? It is possible to read this formative narrative of the Jewish people in a way in which only men are brought into the covenant, and indeed, many still do.

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Nitzavim

Deuteronomy 29:9–30:20

A Jew Is a Jew, No Matter How Far

D'var Torah By: Audrey R. Korotkin for ReformJudaism.org

In Parashat Nitzavim (Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20), Moses is coming to the end of his oration, the end of his leadership, and the end of his life. His last sermon is brief, as he calls the people to attention; reminds them not to follow the idolatrous ways of the Canaanites among whom they will dwell; and promises them that, even if they should stray, God will take the penitent back in love:

    "Then the Eternal your God will restore (v'shav) your fortunes and take you back in love. [God] will bring you together (v'shav) again from all the peoples where the Eternal your God has scattered you." (Deuteronomy 30:3)

The English translation found in The Torah a Modern Commentary, Revised Edition1 does not quite capture the repetition of the word for "restore" or "return." But looking at the Hebrew, the duplication is a puzzlement. The Meshekh Hokhmah, commentary of Rabbi Meir Simhah ha-Kohen of Dvinsk (late 19th century Russia), gives us this interpretation:

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Ki Tavo

Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8

D'var Torah By: Audrey R. Korotkin for ReformJudaism.org

Everything Old Can Be New Again

A few weeks ago, in studying Parashat R'eih, I noted that the Torah gives us a great gift of joy—a command to celebrate with one's entire household—tucked into a long passage replete with warnings of failures and curses literally shouted from the mountaintops. This week, in Parashat Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8), our tradition tells us that joy now takes center stage from the very first word:

    "When you enter the land that the Eternal your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that the Eternal your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go down to the place where the Eternal your God will choose to establish the divine name." (Deuteronomy 26:1-2)

Wait—what's so joyous about this? According to an early Midrashic tradition, everything:

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Ki Teitzei

Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19

We Are What We Remember

D'var Torah By: Rabbi Shira Milgrom for ReformJudaism.org

The last paragraph of Ki Teitzei is the maftir reading in non-Reform congregations on the Shabbat before Purim. Its opening word, zachor, "remember," names that Shabbat.

"Zachor, Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt—how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. Therefore, when the Eternal your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Eternal your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!" (Deuteronomy 25:17–19).

I was present on a Yom Kippur morning many years ago when Rabbi Harold Schulweis asked his congregation if they could name members of Hitler's SS. And the names came pouring out from all corners of the sanctuary: Himmler, Eichmann, Goering, and on. And then Rabbi Schulweis asked the community to name the people who tried to save Anne Frank and her family. Silence.

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Shof'tim

Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9

D'var Torah By: Audrey R. Korotkin for ReformJudaism.org

It Takes Two, Me and You

In many Jewish weddings I have officiated at over the years, the bride and groom have chosen to add to the traditional vows these words from the prophet Hosea: V’eirastich Li b’tzedek uv’mishpat uv’chesed uv’rachamim, “I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, and in justice, and in loving-kindness, and in mercy” (Hosea 2:21). While the traditional vows reflect the view of Jewish marriage as a legal institution, Hosea’s words reflect marriage as a sacred partnership born of mutual love and respect. Hosea, of course, was using the language of marriage as a description for the relationship between God and Israel, challenging Israel to be faithful and chastising her when she strayed. - See more at: http://www.reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/shoftim/it-takes-two-me-and-you#sthash.vkl5RNaF.dpuf

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R'eih - Rosh Chodesh 1

Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17

Looking on the Bright Side

D'var Torah By: Audrey R. Korotkin for ReformJudaism.org
Sometimes, I feel that a lot of people—including some Jews themselves—see Jews as a collective Eeyore. Take this quotation from A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh:

    "Eeyore," said Owl, "Christopher Robin is giving a party." "Very interesting," said Eeyore. "I suppose they will be sending me down the odd bits which got trodden on. Kind and Thoughtful. Not at all, don't mention it."

That’s us: trodden on, perpetually melancholy, laden with thousands of years of oppression, exile, pogroms, and genocide. Always letting out a big sigh. This year at Passover, supposedly our season of celebration at redemption, comedian Jon Stewart pointed out on The Daily Show that the scene-setter for our seder meal includes dips of salt water, bitter lettuce, horseradish, and matzah—not exactly a boffo sales pitch for the Tribe.

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Eikev

Deuteronomy 7:12–11:25

Getting What We Deserve

D'var Torah By: Audrey R. Korotkin for ReformJudaism.org
A baby boy born with a defective heart has multiple surgeries before his first birthday and will suffer from physical and cognitive impairments for as long as he lives. An aging matriarch, who thrives on mentoring young people and challenging them to push the boundaries of their abilities, is suddenly enfeebled by a stroke. A young mother often incapacitated by pain, is, after years of inconclusive tests, finally diagnosed with a genetic disease—but not before she passes it on to two children.

And that's just in my congregation, just this year.

We all struggle with "why bad things happen to good people," a question for which there is no answer. Is God not all-powerful? Or all-good? Or is God—if you believe in God's existence—removed from the world? More than three decades ago, Rabbi Harold S. Kushner deliberately titled his book about theodicy When Bad Things Happen To Good People, not why, because, he came to believe, pain and tragedy are simply part of the world as God created it. Kushner wrote:

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