The Blessing and the Curse: Re'eh.22

 The Blessing and The Curse

D’var Torah for Parashat Re’eh

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

August 23, 2022

In this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh (“Behold,” Deuteronomy 11:26—16:17) we read: “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.” It’s as clear as day and night. There is no middle ground. You either do the right thing—and are blessed in return; or else you choose to do the wrong thing, and you are cursed.

If only life were so clear!

Indeed, some choices are obvious. This portion has commandments against shedding innocent blood, dealing unjustly with the widow and orphan, and refusing the needy when you yourself are blessed with plenty. Yet sometimes our choices aren’t so clear. Take eating meat, for example. Are we not shedding innocent blood when we slaughter an animal, even for the purpose of eating it? 

And why is it OK to free a Hebrew slave at the end of six years of servitude—but not a foreigner? 

We are told that three times a year we must make pilgrimage to “a place which the Eternal will choose” to make an offering and celebrate national/religious holidays. Yet allowance is made for those who cannot travel far or don’t have the wherewithal to sacrifice. And while Jerusalem may be presumed to be that chosen place, in this portion “the place” remains unnamed, in essence enabling us to declare other places sacred too; after all, isn’t the whole earth God’s creation, and therefore holy?

We are left to wonder: Is there a basic right and wrong? Are there essential morals that underlie our behavior, by which we are judged? Or is everything up to us to determine?

The text realizes the challenge before us. It recognizes that within society there will be teachers (“prophets”) whose teaching may vary from the fundamental laws of the Torah. Choice is a human trait; it may be God-given, but it is ours to make, ours to determine. 

It’s important that we understand the circumstances under which the Torah was written, particularly the fifth book of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy. Its historical purpose was to unite a divided people under one God and one constitution—the Torah. Yet there is a higher purpose as well. The laws of Torah are based not only on our need to unite as a nation, but also to establish within us a high level of ethics and morals. Re’eh warns the Israelites from assimilation not because we are better, but because we can be. Our human condition is not pre-determined: It is ours to choose and determine, based on precepts we believe to be Divine. 

While some will see this portion as rooted in ignorance and primitive fundamentalism, others will view Re’eh as a starting point for further development and interpretation—which in fact is what has happened over the centuries.

Wherever one finds oneself on this spectrum of understanding and belief, there are two undeniable truths in this portion: There is right and wrong in the world, and the choices we make will bear consequences. 

The choice is ours: We are free to make life a blessing, or to turn it into a curse instead, for us as well as for others. 

Especially as we enter the season of reckoning in the Jewish calendar, it’s important that we keep this in mind. 

© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman

What We Overlook: Eikev.22

 What We Overlook: Eikev.22

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

August 15, 2022

It’s hard to accept this week’s Torah portion (Eikev, “Consequences,” Deuteronomy 7:12—11:25) at face value. Outwardly, the portion speaks of God’s constant love. As long as we maintain our part of the Covenant, God will be there for us, we would never suffer need, hunger or thirst. 

Life and history, however, portray a different reality. Life is often unfair. Illness and undue suffering afflict the righteous. Long lines for relief often end with no help in sight. 

Life sometimes—often—challenges our faith.

Yet Moses persists in his teaching. In Eikev he reminds us of that terrible incident of the Golden Calf. Despite their great sin, God forgave the Israelites. Then as now, when we return to God’s ways and follow God’s word, God is always there to receive us. 

As constant reminder for us, passages from this portion were added to the Sh’ma and V’ahavta (see last week’s portion, Va’etchanan) and written on tiny scrolls that are placed inside the mezuzah that Jews put on their doorways, as well as inside the tefillin—phylacteries, the small leather box that observant Jews place on their foreheads and wrap around their arm at morning prayer. When we wake up, when we leave our homes and later return, we are always reminded of our obligations to God.

Yet the question remains: Why do bad things happen to good people?

Sometimes the reasons escape us. At such times, the Torah reminds us that there is a larger picture that we may not be aware of or even begin to understand. Faith is powerful, offering solace as well as strength to go on despite the obstacles.

Perhaps it is this understanding that motivates Rashi, the great rabbi and commentator of the 11th century, to offer an alternative explanation of the title of this portion. Literally, Eikev does mean “consequences;” that is indeed how the Deuteronomist uses it. But the root of this word actually comes from the Hebrew word for the heel of the foot. The lowly position that the heel occupies is what interests Rashi. As the great teacher expounds: “If you will heed the minor commandments which one tramples with one’s heels.” We need to pay as much attention to the minor details of everyday life as to the greater ones.

Yet what are these “minor” commandments? The ones we tend to overlook. The homeless and hungry that we stop seeing as we drive down our highways. The orphans and “illegal” immigrants whose numbers overwhelm us. The lonely who seek someone—anyone—to offer a listening ear, a comforting hand, or a cup of coffee on a dark night.

Ultimately, we don’t know why there is so much pain and suffering in the world, why evil doers seem to thrive while good people languish. What we can be sure of, however, is that doing good deeds strengthens us. Righteousness gives us hope, especially when chaos and confusion swirl around us. Acts of kindness not only help others, they also fill our own hearts with meaning and love. 

Through Rashi’s teaching, we learn the most important lesson that this portion has for us: To look at life and faith through the other end of the telescope, to see not what lies far away, but rather what is right in front of us.

© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman

One God, One People: Va’etchanan.22

 One God, One People: Va’etchanan.22

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

August 9, 2022

This week’s portion is Va’etchanan (“And I pleaded,” Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11). In these chapters Moses continues his sermon to the Israelites, delivered as they are poised to enter the Promised Land. Moses recounts his failed plea to be allowed to enter the Land along with his people. God refuses, commanding Moses instead to prepare Joshua to take over. However, God does give Moses the opportunity to see the entire Promised Land from the Moab highlands. It's a grand vision both literally and metaphorically, encompassing all space and time.

As Moses delivers his final message to the People of Israel, he emphasizes the prohibition on worshipping any visual image of God, be it in human, animal or stellar form. Instead, we are instructed to follow God’s words, the commandments. Our physical shortcomings are surpassed by our almost limitless ability to imagine, wonder and understand.

In Va’etchanan we find a repetition of the Ten Commandments, which by itself would make this portion stand out. Further still, other verses and sections have entered our worship service. Some appear as part of the Torah reading ritual. Others—significantly the Sh’ma and V’ahavta—have become central to our morning and evening prayer services. 

Sh’ma Israel Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad—“Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God; Adonai is One”—has been called “The watchword of our faith.” In these six words we find both theology and commandment. The idea of God’s unity—monotheism—was probably known to Moses from his days yet as a youth in Egypt. It was there after all that the idea was first proposed by Akhenaten some 100 years earlier. Judaism, however, furthered the concept. Whereas in Akhenaten’s thought, the sun was that one god, Moses’s understanding went beyond this limited grasp. The supreme God of Moses and the Patriarchs was not limited by any physical representation; God’s unity encompasses the entire universe. Everything, all Creation, both visible and invisible, present, past and future, is an expression of God’s essence.

In this stunning vision, all is possible; yet nature must follow rules and boundaries. Existence is not random; it has a purpose. Israel, Moses teaches, was not chosen by God because it was the greatest among the nations in numbers, but rather for its understanding and acceptance of God’s Laws and Commandments. Choice, it follows, is essential to Chosenness. We choose, therefore we are chosen. 

The word sh’ma implies more than merely the physical act of hearing. It also means understanding. One of the most indispensable elements of our humanity is our almost limitless ability to learn and reason. In this portion of the Torah, even as the essentials of our faith are spelled out, we are given the freedom to understand and interpret the words, making it possible for each one of us to shape our own, unique, role in ongoing Creation. 

V’ahavta—the command form of the verb “to love”—is also imbued with the idea of freedom. We are commanded to love God. Yet we know that love isn’t an emotion we can control. Love happens. Love grows. Love is life itself. As we grow, we change. Going from one stage to another, from one place to another, we evolve. Our understanding of the world and how it works evolves with us. The more we know and understand, the greater our ability to change both ourselves and the world around us. Our strength is in our flexibility. 

The immeasurable truth that Deuteronomy teaches us is found in this portion: “You who hold fast to your God, Adonai, are all alive today” (Deut. 4:4). Our ongoing existence as a people is forever bound in our Covenant with God. We may be of different opinions; our backgrounds are many and our traditions diverse. Yet, like God, the People of Israel are forever one in faith, body and soul.

It’s a breathtaking and timeless vision of beauty and grandeur.

© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman

Operation Breaking Dawn: On Renewed Violence Between Israel and Radical Islamists

Operation Breaking Dawn: On Renewed Violence Between Israel and Radical Islamists

by Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

August 7, 2022

Last Friday evening Israel initiated a preemptive strike against the terrorist organization Islamist Jihad in Gaza. This followed several days of ground actions by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) against the group, culminating in the arrest of its leader in the Jenin area, Bassam al-Saadi. Over the past few months, analysts pointed to a surge in military buildup among militants in the West Bank. Specific and accurate information pointed to imminent violent terror attacks, leading to Israel’s actions. The Islamic Jihad vowed revenge, and rather than wait, Israel decided to take decisive action and eliminate the Gaza-based leadership of the organization.

Currently there are four large political/religious/military groups leading the Palestinian violence against Israel: Hamas, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.

In a violent takeover, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip after Israel's evacuation in 2005. It then initiated attacks against Israel, leading to four wars and several additional smaller battles. 

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was created in 1964, three years before the Six Day War. Yasser Arafat assumed leadership in 1969. For the last 18 years ago Mahmoud Abbas ("Abu Maazen") has led the organization, maintaining the Palestinian Authority—the PLO’s political arm—in charge of the West Bank. For all the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric emanating from the PA, they are not interested in escalating the violence between Israel and the Palestinians. The recent visit by President Biden served to reinforced this status quo.

Hezbollah is the terrorist organization based in Lebanon. It is estimated that currently Hezbollah—armed and financed by Iran—has around 12,000 missiles and rockets with the capacity to reach all major cities and population centers in Israel. Since 1992 it has been led by Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah is responsible for several military actions and wars against Israel. Following the immense destruction that followed the 2006 war, and more recently the disastrous 2020 explosion in the Beirut port—largely blamed on Hezbollah—this organization has seen its power in Lebanon lessened to a large extent. In recent talks between Israel and the legitimate government of Lebanon—talks aimed to determine and define the maritime border (and the vast offshore gas fields) that the two countries share, Hezbollah has threatened violence but so far has done nothing beyond issuing declarations. 

In the proxy war between Iran and Israel, that leaves the Islamic Jihad. Based in Syria, with branches both in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority (PA), the goal of the Islamic Jihad is not only the total destruction of the State of Israel, but also the unification of the entire Mideast under one radical Islamist leadership similar to the Islamist State.

So what has led to the current escalation?

Hamas is still recovering from its military confrontations with Israel, including the Guardian of the Walls Operation in May 2021. The destruction that these encounters inflicted on Gaza has been enormous. Only now is Gaza showing signs of stabilization and recovery. Hamas is not interested in wreaking further havoc among its population. In the past year, thousands of Gazans have been issued permits to enter and work in Israel; water and power supplies, though controlled by Israel, have been largely restored--though the current climate crisis has caused inevitable shortages. Hamas has so far refrained from involvement in the conflict, happy enough to let Israel do its work in eliminating challenges to its supremacy in the region. Without a doubt, however, it will take advantage of the situation to enhance its power and authority.

The Islamist Jihad has thus become the current de-facto chief agent of violence against Israel, aided monetarily and militarily by Iran.

In the current conflict, Israel's advantage is not only its military power. Months of intelligence gathering and analysis preceded the current outbreak of violence. Technological development enables Israel to carry out ultra-precise attacks, with a minimum of collateral damage. 

Still, there are risks.

First is the risk of striking civilians. Gaza is one of the most concentrated civilian population centers in the world. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have taken advantage of this, placing missile launchers in high rise apartments, next to schools and kindergartens, hospitals and mosques, intentionally and cynically increasing the risk of civilian casualties. Additionally, several of the missiles targeting Israel have misfired and landed in Gaza proper, causing injuries and loss of life. Under the guise of moral equivalency, “objective” news organizations are quick to seize on such disasters, placing the blame on Israel even before any investigation of the facts takes place. 

Second is the danger of the broadening of the conflict. Israel is taking precautions not to attack Hamas strongholds or individuals. Israel has delivered its intentions to the Hamas leadership both directly and through Egyptian negotiators.

Adding to the obvious tensions is the fact that today is Tisha B’Av—the commemoration of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple as well as other national calamities. Jewish ultra-nationalists declared their intention to enter the Temple compound on this day, much to the consternation of the Muslim population. The hope is that rioting in Jerusalem and other areas in Israel will not erupt (as happened  during the May 2021 conflict, when hundreds of Jews, synagogues, Jewish homes and schools were stoned and firebombed). 

As always, the situation in Israel continues to be volatile. Today— Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av—we grieve not only for events that took place hundreds and thousands of years ago, but also for the continuing violence and hatred waged against Israel and Jews all over the world. With all our hearts we pray: May peace return to our borders and stability within all the lands and nations of the Middle East and the world.

© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman

Faith And Unity in Times of Danger: Devarim.22

 Faith And Unity in Times of Danger: Devarim

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

August 2, 2022

This week’s Torah portion, Devarim (“Words,” Deuteronomy 1:1—3:22) is the first in the book of Deuteronomy and takes its name from the first distinctive word that appears in the text.  

Most Biblical scholars today agree that Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah, is a much later work than the first four books. There is reason to believe that it corresponds with The Book of the Law that was “discovered” in the Jerusalem temple in the days of King Josiah (mid-to-late 7th century BCE). 

Outwardly, Deuteronomy is to a large extent a repetition of earlier stories, told from a more personal perspective—a journal as it were, kept by Moses himself and reflecting his own point of view. In fact, its English title is derived from the Greek translation of the Hebrew term Mishne Torah, “The Second Law.” Yet despite the many similarities, it doesn’t take much to perceive also the differences, both in style and content. The wording here is crisper, more terse and at times even harsh. Moses likewise is of changed character. He appears more austere, more an angry prophet than the compassionate visionary of the earlier books. In Deuteronomy Moses spares no opportunity to rebuke the Israelites, reproving them for betraying God over and over. God’s anger is inevitable, he chides the people. Even his own punishment—not being allowed to enter the Promised Land—is their fault. 

It's clear that there is a different purpose to this book. Set a century or so after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, Deuteronomy addresses the denizens of the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Though the threat of destruction is great and imminent, Moses assures the people that it is not inevitable. God will defend Jerusalem—provided that the people bolster their faith in the one God and follow the laws and instructions given them by God and Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai.

Archeological evidence shows that the worship of YHWH was not yet uniform at the time. Multiple artifacts point to the widespread practice of foreign rituals. National identity was also still in its nascent form, the people still divided socially and culturally. 

But it isn’t only religious practice that will need extensive reform; so will righteousness in everyday life. “Decide justly between any man and a fellow Israelite or a stranger,” Moses reminds the people. “You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low and high alike. Fear no man, for judgment is God’s” (Deut. 1:16, JPS).

The themes that will recur throughout the book of Deuteronomy are already present in this first portion: God’s intervention in history as well as individual lives is constant, but must not be taken for granted. It’s dependent on our own choices and behavior. So too, Israel’s strength as a nation lies both in our unwavering faith in God and in our structure and unity as a people.

© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman