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Living in our fast paced world, it is very difficult for us to think of anything that has remained the same. Before we can enjoy what we have, we are bombarded by a new car model or an updated cell phone that has become the new trend. Even many beliefs and ideas that were accepted for many years and given credence to are also changing before our eyes.

As I was reading through Parshat Nitzavim and Vayelech I came to a great realization about the greatness of our holy Torah. As we know these last few parshiot are part of Moshe’s last words to the Jewish people before he passes away. In addition to reviewing many of the torah concepts that he taught them, Moshe also uses this opportunity to strengthen them before they go in Eretz Yisrael. Moshe as Hashem’s messenger tells the Jewish people that all the mitzvot that Hashem has commanded them to do “is not in the heaven”, meaning that it is within their reach. In addition, we are told that the Torah is timeless and no matter where we Jews live and what time period we are living in, the Torah will still remain the same. In addition, as we were told in previous parshiot how we can not add or subtract from the Torah, because Hashem has given it to us. I think that not only was this applicable to strengthen the Jews then but it can also be a source of strength for us in our times. The same struggle that the Jews went through in their times is still a struggle for us today. As I read this I felt a great sense of happiness that we were given such an important gift from Hashem that helps us navigate our way is such a rapidly changing world where nothing remains the same. It is amazing to me how our Torah that was written down thousands of years ago is still applicable and relevant as it was when the Jewish people were given the Torah. Though at times the Torah may be viewed by some to be restrictive, outdated and unattainable in our times, we must remember that unlike many other things in life where one needs certain prerequisites and certain privileges to get a job of be part of a certain group in Judaism it is very different. As we have seen Torah is not unattainable but is accessible to all of us no matter what our life situation is and Hashem has given us the perfect guide to help us succeed in this world of confusion.

As we approach Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur we need to realize that instead of fearfully approaching them, we can be comforted by the words from this week’s parshiot and realize that even if we have lowered ourselves spiritually throughout the year, we are still given another chance to improve and change our ways for the better. May we all be inscribed in the book of life and for great year!
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The parshah this week starts off with the “first fruit” offering; basically, the first batch of ripened fruits to grow in one’s property were obligated to be brought to Jerusalem, to the Temple. At that site, the one offering the fruit would conduct a ritual that included a declaration of gratitude to Hashem (God). After reciting the declaration, the fruit would then be presented as a gift to the Kohen (Jewish priest) working in the Temple.

Throughout the many expressions recited in the declaration, one line seems to shine out after close examination. After praising God for removing us from the bondage of Egypt, the verse states:

“ ‘He brought us to this place, and He gave us this Land, a Land flowing with milk and honey’ ” [Deuteronomy: 26: 9]

“This place” refers to the Temple, and “this Land” refers to the land of Israel of course. The only problem is that they’re written in reverse order! Chronologically, we entered the land of Israel first and only then did we build the Temple! Furthermore, it would not be possible to build the Temple without entering the land first! What’s going on?

A very simplistic answer would be that indeed the Temple was built first; in a way. Before entering the land, while we were traversing the desert, we built the Tabernacle, which was sort of a transportable Temple. All the divine service that was needed to be done was carried out through the Tabernacle. So you can say that the Temple was built first, in its temporary state, and only then did we get to Israel. But there lies a slight problem with this simple answer. The verse we are focusing on is part of the declaration for the “first fruits” offering in particular, and this special offering only took effect once we entered Israel! We weren’t able to bring the first fruits to the Tabernacle! So perhaps there is a deeper answer to our question.

The idea is quite simple. The verse was not focusing on the order of chronology, rather it is meant to be understood as an order of ideology. Meaning, the Temple and what it symbolizes comes before our actual entrance into the land. The Temple, which is the locus of divine worship, represents the nation’s religious service. Without religious service, without the goal of developing a strong relationship with God, what point could the land of Israel serve? A cozy place to live? It is not the location of Israel that is the be-all end-all, but the function. So, although the Temple was actually built years after we stepped foot into Israel, the Jewish nation knew that it was the ultimate priority.

It is no coincidence that this verse, which expresses this ideal, is found within the special commandment of the “first fruits”. The act of giving up one’s first fruits to the Temple symbolized that one is meant to dedicate everything he has for the service of God. Through hard work and toil we work the land, and we hopefully receive fruits in return. But before we can enjoy them we are commanded to give the first batch towards a holier purpose. That is exactly the idea we have developed; it is this holier purpose that our nation had in mind from the start, before entering the land of Israel. And it is this holier purpose that we are meant to be cognizant of throughout every day of our lives.

There is no question, Israel is the most spiritual and uplifting piece of land on this earth. But not because of it’s beaches and nice scenery. We have to understand that the land of Israel was given to us for a greater intention. If we allow ourselves to lose sight of that goal, then we’ll miss the point entirely. May we truly develop the greater understanding of what Israel really means to us, and may we fulfill the saying B’Shana Haba B’Yerushaliym (Next year in Jerusalem)!

Good Shabbos,

NZL

As we are quickly approaching Tisha B’av, one of the saddest days in Jewish history, I sit and reflect on current events and within the past couple years it is not difficult to be distressed. As we know on Tisha B’av we are mourning the destruction of both the holy temples and pray for our speedy redemption from exile. It is said that every generation that Moshiach hasn’t come it is as if the temple is being destroyed again. This is a very interesting statement and we can ask why this is the case. We understand that it is a great tragedy but is it that bad that it is as if we in our generation are destroying the temple? To try to explain this idea., we need to go back into history before the second temple was destroyed. The Gemara describes the story of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa and they explain that this was the cause of the destruction of the second temple. It is explained that there was a man named Kamsa who had a party and by accident an invitation was sent to Bar Kamsa, who was a man that Kamsa despised. When Bar Kamsa came to the party and even offered to pay towards his meal he was refused and Kamsa had him thrown out of his house. In his fury at the situation and that the rabbis who were there did not get involved to pacify the situation, he decided to get back at the rabbis by speaking slander against them to the Caesar. He told the emperor Caesar that the jews have rebelled against him and if he would give a Korban to the temple, he should see if they would accept it. In the meantime Bar Kamsa made a blemish on the animal and since a blemished animal could not be offered up as a korban, Caesar’s Korban was refused. As a result of this incident the temple was eventually destroyed.

Now, another question comes to mind, why is this specific incident mentioned as the reason for the destruction of the temple? As we know, the reason for the destruction of the second temple was because of sinat chinam(baseless hatred). During this time the jewish people had baseless hatred for their fellow jew and the story which rightly describes this time is the story of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa. The fact that it and no other story of baseless hatred was recorded in the Gemara shows just how destructive baseless hatred can be and even though all this time there was baseless hatred going on, it wasn’t until this incident that it became so severe and it caused the temple to be destroyed.

Though this story occurred over two thousand years ago, the fact that our generation has not yet been freed from this long exile, shows us that baseless hatred still occurs in our time and until we fix it we will continue to remain in exile. We only need to think a few years back to the expulsion from Gush Katif. I am still in shock how it even took place and how jews all over the world remained silent as their brothers and sisters were forced out of their homes. I was in Israel before the expulsion occurred that summer and I remember that when I came back from Israel, though there were some who made an effort to support the people in Gush Katif there was not an overwhelming majority who were against it. I am not here to judge or attack anyone, but I just think that it is a shame that there was not enough support to help a fellow jew. It also surprised me how such few soldier’s stood in protest against the expulsion. I understand that they needed to follow the orders of the government, but I still think that if there was more protest within Israel and out of Israel, that many families today would not be jobless and struggling to find housing. It is also upsetting that now, years later our fellow jew’s are once again threatened to be thrown out of their homes. It is no coincidence that this similar issue is being discussed during this time and I think a reason could be that we are being tested , will we this time stand up for our brothers and sisters or will we continue to make the same mistakes. I pray that we should not experience another Tisha B’av and instead we should merit to see the redemption very soon. Amen!

I always find it interesting to find parallels between the parsha and our daily lives, because I think in order for us to try to understand the greatness of our Torah we need to appreciate it in terms that we can relate to. An example, is this week’s parsha, Parshat Pinchas when Pinchas performs an extraordinary deed. It was so great that we know as a result of it he eventually became Eliyahu Hanavi. Now lets try to understand why what he did was so great and how can we relate to it in our own lives. The Torah says that in continuation from last weeks parsha, Parshat Balak Bilam was called by Balak, king of Moav, to curse the jewish people. As we know every time that Bilam tried to curse the jews he ended up blessing them. Finally, Bilam came up with a different idea that he knew would cause problems for the jews. He advised Balak to send out the women to entice the men and get them to serve their idols, which would cause Hashem to be angry with them and punish them. Unfortunately, he was right and as a result 24,000 jews died in a plague. Things got even worse when Zimri, the head of the tribe of Shimon, publicly sinned in front of Moshe and the Zekainim(the elders). At this point Pinchas who was a very righteous individual could not bear to witness the desecration of Hashem’s name and he went ahead and killed both Zimri and the Midianite princess he was with. Some might say how could he take the situation in his own hands and commit murder and why didn’t he leave the decision of what to do up to Moshe, the leader of the Jewish people. As Rashi explains, at the time Moshe forgot what the punishment was of being with a non jew and that’s why Pinchas stepped in and killed them. We also know that once Pinchas killed Zimri and his lover the plague stopped which tells us that Pinchas was correct in his action. At the beginning of the Parsha he is even praised by Hashem for aleviating His anger from the jewish people and Pinchas was even brought up to the status of a cohen and later Eliyahu Hanavi.

So now that we know that Pinchas’ actions was correct, what can we learn from this and how can we relate it to our lives? We can see from Pinchas’ actions that his sole concern was preserving Hashem’s honor that he was not afraid to kill Zimri, a respected leader of the tribe of Shimon. Though he knew that some might go against him and possibly want to kill him for what he did, nevertheless he put Hashem’s honor before his own and did what he knew was the correct thing to do. Though, in our own lives we don’t have such extreme conditions as what Pinchas’ went through, we all encounter situations where we need to go through the same thought process as what he went through. Either we put Hashem’s honor and desire first or we put our own honor and desire first. When we are in these situations though sometimes it is tempting to put our honor and desire first, we need to look at Pinchas’ strength and desire to do the correct thing despite what others said about him or thought of him and gain the strength to make the correct decision.

Important Quote:

According to Riskin, there are two aspects to conversion. The religious aspect entail acceptance of an Orthodox lifestyle. But the second aspect of conversion, which is symbolized by immersion in the ritual bath, is national.

“A person who converts is reborn into the Jewish nation. The mikve water is symbolic of the embryonic fluid. And when a convert remains a citizen of Israel, serves in the army, [he or she] identifies with the plight of the Jewish people and ties his or her destiny to their fate.”