Shabbat Nachamu

Shabbat Nachamu is the name of the first Shabbat after the Ninth of Av, which according to tradition, is when both Temples were destroyed. Its name is taken from Isiah 40:1, “Comfort, Comfort my People says your G-d,” which is the first verse of this week’s Haftarah

This Shabbat officially ends the three weeks of mourning which culminate with the fast of the ninth of Av. Its Parasha  aims at offering solace and consolation for the suffering our People endured as a result of their transgressions that preceded the destruction of the Temples.

I believe I first remember it being mentioned when I was seven years old. Though I am certain that “Shabbat Nachamu” had been mentioned many times before, it was only when I reached that age that I finally grasped their profound meaning.

For my parents and many other Jews, Shabbat Nachamu was the day on which they were liberated from the Nazi Death Machine. It ended the darkest chapter in our Jewish history.

Each time I heard them, and there were many, they scorched my Jewish essence forming yet another painful scar that refuses to heal.

As symbolic as the liberation of my parents and my unborn older brother which occurred on this Shabbat may be, I kept pondering on the reasons that brought about the destruction, Churban, which, incidentally, is what the Shoah is referred to in Yiddish, that befell them and their generation. What sins could my two wonderful parents have committed to have brought such a punishment upon them? What crimes could my young little cousins have possibly carried out before they perished in Ponar, I ask, as the waves of grief refuse to subside. I try to find some logic, some order, in the chain of “cause and effect,” in the great world that G-d once created for us.

Alas, no matter what, the answers evade me.

Instead of resuming to torment my soul, I have decided to focus on the future and the lessons that we could apply  towards it, lessons which our Jewish history has been trying so desperately to teach us.

As we are approaching the end of the period that is referred to as “between the straits” (bein hametsarim), the three weeks of mourning over the tragedies that befell our People over two thousand years ago, I look around me. I observe our People, “The People of the Book,” the ones who were destined to be “A Light unto the Nations,” their practice of our cherished values, or rather their lack thereof, I keep asking, have Jews learned anything from our sanguineous history?

We are still exercising vain hatred and continue to intensify that already deep divide among us, while our enemies continue to weave their web of design to destroy us. We adopt foreign customs, we name our children after foreign deities and worship the golden calf.

Am Yisrael and fellow Jews, time to wake up and look inside ourselves. This is where we shall find the answers to the why and the what that has befallen us.  Let us practice that which we gifted the world. It is time to shed off all masks and be true to ourselves first.

Let us console, support each other and unite during these hard and trying times. Let us defy all odds, pursue justice, and continue to live up to that which we are commanded to do and “Choose Life.” We owe it to ourselves  and to our future generations.

Better days are ahead of us and despite and in spite of it all, the People of Eternity is here to stay, in our Jewish Homeland, in Eretz Yisrael.

Am Yisrael Chai

The Ultimate Craftsman

The Machzor is the prayer book that is used during the High Holidays. As I was reading through it, on Yom Kippur, I was yet again, as I am every year, captivated by the way it was compiled, consisting of special prayers for the occasion as well as the various Torah readings.  The Machzor is an assembly of all that the praying persons need for the Holy Day. It is aimed at their convenience.

A close review of its content will reveal that the Machzor is also a treasure trove of not only meaningful prayers but a collection of literary pearls in the form Piyyutim, poems which add much value and meaning to this day of awe.

One such Piyyut that always captures my eyes and leaves me in amazement is the one depicting G-d as the ultimate artist, the fundamental craftsman.

The first stanza which likens G-d to a potter leans on the words of G-d through the prophet Jeremiah (18:6) “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” I particularly like this metaphor since, as someone who works with clay, I can deeply appreciate the process and identify with it. Romancing the clay, shaping it, reshaping it until it reaches the desired outcome is a skill that requires much vision and persistence. It echoes the act of the creation of man in Genesis which relates to Man being made of clay/ earth and created in G-d’s image. And who if not G-d would possess such dexterity?

The second one, compares G-d to a gifted stone mason. Through His manipulations, holding the stone or breaking it, He can bring it to its desired final shape.

The third stanza compares G-d to a sailor who proficiently negotiates the steering wheel of the ship guiding it to its destination. Another stanza compares G-d to a glazier – a skilled tradesman specializing in cutting, installing and removing glass. Another one yet, likens G-d to an embroiderer who folds and flattens the fabric as he wishes.

However, the final stanza where G-d is likened to a silversmith is my favourite one. I like this metaphor, particularly, as it brings to mind for me the parable of the Silversmith in the Book of Zachariah (13:9) where G-d equates himself to the Silversmith anxd Am Yisrael to his silver: “I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.”

I recall reading an account, once, about a woman who visited a silversmith’s workplace in order to learn the details of the process of refining silver. As he was holding the piece of silver over the fire, the silversmith explained to her that the silver needs to be held in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest for the impurities to burn away. That reminded the woman of G-d holding the Jewish People in such a hot spot in His effort to cleanse them.

The silversmith also explained to her that he must watch the furnace constantly in order to ensure that the silver is not destroyed. Again, the woman thought of G-d as the Silversmith who needs to put Am Yisrael into the furnace, closely watch each step with the intent of purifying them and bring them closer to him.

As she was about to leave, the woman wished to know how the silversmith knew when the refining was finished and the silver is pure.

“That’s rather simple,” he replied, “the process is finished when I see my image reflected in the silver.”

Yom Kippur is part of our purification process, the time when we shed our impurities, Personal and National and prepare ourselves to enter a better life, a clean future, a time where we hope that when G-d, the Ultimate Craftsman’ can look at us and see His Image.


Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Succot, fellow Jews and Am Yisrael.

Prioritizing

 In this week’s Parasha, Moshe assembles Am Yisrael and provides them with the final directions and guidelines for the monumental and important undertaking of building the Mishkan, G-d’s dwelling place among His People.

Nevertheless, instead of delving unswervingly into this matter, Moshe precedes it by reminding Am Yisrael of the importance of keeping the Shabbat.

The commandment concerning the Shabbat, as mentioned in Exodus 20 verse 7-10, states:

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all they wor but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord thy G-d, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy so, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in tem is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

The reasoning behind keeping the Shabbat, as the commandment implies, is not just moral but also suggests that by resting and sanctifying it, one acknowledges the immensity of G-d as the creator of heaven and earth and all living things. 

Had Moshe wanted to remind Am Yisrael of the need to abstain from engaging in this colossal mission of building the Mishkan on Shabbat, all he had to do is remind them of the commandment and refresh their memory regarding it. Instead, however, he does not merely remind them of that, he also expands on it and tells them: “

“whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitation upon the Sabbath day.” (Exodus 35:2-3) Unlike the referenced commandment given at Mount Sinai which puts G-d as the ultimate creator at its center, here Moshe stresses the onerous nature of keeping the Shabbat and attaches a punishment by death to those who break it. Why the sudden preoccupation with the Shabbat and the stress on observing it, some may wonder. Moreover, why is it done in a forceful, threatening manner, others may ask. After all, should not the task of building the Mishkan be associated with pleasant positive and rewarding experiences? To answer that question, one must look at the role that Shabbat serves in the essence of Am Yisrael and the covenant it entered with G-d at Mount Sinai. It was the Covenant that transformed us from a multitude of slaves into a Nation, forged into a cohesive unit where each member shares the same destiny. There are other covenants that were entered in the Tanach. Each had its own, unique sign. Here are some examples. There was the Noahide Covenant with the rainbow designated as its sign. There was the Abrahamic Covenant. Circumcision is its mark. Among all the Biblical covenants, the Sinaitic one entered at Mount Sinai was probably the most significant in the history of Am Yisrael. The symbol of that Covenant, also known as the Mosaic Covenant, is the Shabbat. Shabbat occurs fifty-two times in the Hebrew calendar. We have weekly reminders of it. What use, therefore, would there be for spending time, efforts and other resources in building a dwelling place for G-d, if Am Yisrael does not remember its purpose in the first place? Prioritizing the significance of the milestones in the journey of Am Yisrael is the lesson G-d wants to teach His People at the onset of the Parasha. Internalizing that, is of prime importance. Without keeping the Covenant, without recognizing the substance and the core of the Covenant, the Mishkan will end up being nothing but a mere grand material monument devoid of any meaning or purpose. That is why Moshe needs to precede the instructions to build it by reminding Am Yisrael of their vocation and the unique part that they play on the chessboard of history irrelevant of constructing the Mishkan. And it is precisely by remembering this Covenant, signified by the Shabbat, that we can adhere to our fated role without the need for a physical or earthly structure to carry it out. Shabbat Shalom

The Guardians of Shabbat

It is Shabbat morning here in Eretz Yisrael.

As I sit here, on this sunny and peaceful morning, sipping my morning coffee, I marvel at the wisdom of G-d, for dedicating one day a week to resting and turning the Shabbat into an Oneg , a pleasure.

Shabbat is the most important holiday in the Jewish/Hebrew calendar. It has got to be. Not only does it occur 52 times a year, it is first and foremost the sign of the Covenant between G-d and Am Yisrael, entered at Mount Sinai.

According to Shemot Rabba 25:12; Yerushalmi, Ta’anit 1:1 "the scion of David (Mashiach) will come if they [Am Yisrael] keep just one Shabbat, because the Shabbat is equivalent to all the mitzvot.”

Now, I am not an observant Jew in the traditional sense of the word. I do not have the self-discipline that is needed to be one. I do, however, respect this Mitzvah and remember it each Friday evening when I light Shabbat candles.

For me, Shabbat is a day of reckoning, a day or reflection and a day of expressing gratitude.

Shabbat, according to Ahad Ha'am, a Jewish writer and thinker, has also preserved and shielded Am Yisrael more than our people have kept it.

But is it not only remembering the Shabbat that we, Jews, are required. We are also commanded to observe it.

Let us be honest to ourselves, my fellow Jews. Have we ALL kept and observed this Mitzvah?

The answer, my friends, is known.

We, or at least most of us, do, however, remember Shabbat. In fact, here in Eretz Yisrael, it is impossible not to remember it. We feel it in the air each Friday. The stores are hustling and bustling with last minute shopping. Jews, observant, secular, atheists, as one, wish each other "Shabbat Shalom," as they rush home to prepare, each in their own way, for this very special day.

This few millennia old tradition has been passed on to us from generation to generation.

Time to pause and ask ourselves, who were the true guardians of Shabbat over the centuries?

The answer always leads me to one group, Hareidi and ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Probably not the answer that many would like to hear. In my view, though, it is that very group which many of us disagree with, oppose, mock, despise and resent, which has contributed much to preserving the Shabbat legacy. And yes, there are many aspects of that segment in our Jewish society that I will never approve of.

Nonetheless, let us face it. It is them and their practices that have brought us thus far. If not for their staunch adherence and dedication, often at a dear and high price for their safety and well-being, the Mitzvah and tradition of keeping Shabbat would have not been observed and preserved, at least not the way and manner that G-d has intended for us.

I believe it is them, the few who our great national poet, Bialik described in his immortal poem “ אם יש את נפשך לדעת “ (“If your soul wishes to know” which I highly recommend to any Hebrew literate person to read) as “a few ears of grain, a shadow of what has remained, sorrowful Jews, with dried faces, Jews of the Galut (Diaspora), the ones carrying its burden, those who drown their sorrow in a fading page of Gemara, trying to consign to oblivion their poverty through the ancient debate of the Midrash, trying to forget their worries by reciting Psalms.” A poor sight indeed, but one that has ensured our role in history and has helped us remain the People of Eternity. They are, according to Bialik, “the treasure of our soul,” the “guardians of our great Jewish Spirit.” They are but “a spark,” a sliver of Hope, "the remnant that was miraculously rescued from the great fire which our forefathers had kept burning on their altars, always.”

Hareidi Jews, whether we like to admit it or not, also, are the guardians of our people and our tradition. I will never forget that. I cannot forget that and forever will be grateful to them and all the other Guardians of the wonderful gift of Shabbat throughout our turmoiled and eventful Jewish history.

Shavua tov.             

Shabbat

Shabbat is probably the most significant Jewish Holy Day in the Hebrew Calendar. The reason for its importance is twofold. The first is that it occurs fifty-two time a year. It was the first Holy Day marked and sanctified by G-d Himself when he created the Universe.

The second and no less weighty reason is that it is the sign of the Covenant made between G-d and Am Yisrael at Mount Sinai.

As we all know the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on that occasion. The third commandment addresses the tenet of Shabbat.

There are two sets of the Tem Commandments in the Torah. One, in the Book of Shemot (Exodus) 20:1-20, the other in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) 5:5-21.

The two sets are identical except for one difference, a difference of one word. It rests with the third commandment, the one dedicated to Shabbat. In the Book of Shemot, we are commended to “Remember” the Shabbat. In the Book of Devarim, we are commanded to “Observe” the Shabbat.

Incidentally, that is why we light TWO candles when we welcome Shabbat. One for the directive to “Remember.” The other for the one to “Observe.” Why, may you ask, is there one word that distinguishes between these two important sets of dictates?

This question has preoccupied me for a long time. I trust it has engaged the minds of many wiser and more learned scholars than myself.

As a Jew who is still in the process of educating myself about my own tradition, as one whose belief in the One G-d of Yisrael is growing deeper and deeper, I believe I have finally realized the reason.

It points, yet again, to the great wisdom and sensitivity of our Torah and the Jewish tradition that evolved out of it.

“Remembering” Shabbat does not require much hard work or great sacrifice. It can be done in the form of lighting candles, having a family dinner, reciting the blessings or singing Shabbat songs.

Observing Shabbat, however, is not as easy. Moving from the mundane matters of the week into the Holy and refined atmosphere of Shabbat requires a shift to a different frame of mind. One must not only cease from all physical activities forbidden by Torah and those decreed by our sages. One also needs to enter a higher and more sanctified Spiritual realm.

Self-Discipline is a key factor when one chooses to embark upon the decision to observe Shabbat. Temptations to break it are always strewn along the way. These are obstacles that avert our focus from the intended goal.

The journey between “Remembering” and “Observing” Shabbat requires maturity and, in my view, also a higher emotional intelligence level (unless, of course, one has been raised according to it from an early age).

But above all, it requires an immersion in Holiness (Kodesh קודש( because that is the very unique nature of Shabbat

I honestly believe that the Torah recognized the difference and what it takes to move from one to the other.

The Ten commandments were first given to Am Yisrael shortly after they came out of Egypt from the House of Bondage.

At that stage, they were not ready to follow the laws and adhere to them.

As slaves, one could not expect this multitude to act independently, become a free People overnight and practice Freedom of choice. They had to be coached into becoming a Nation, a Culture and a Civilization.

Moreover, wandering in the desert for forty years did not make life easy for Am Yisrael. In addition to the harsh surrounding conditions, they had to be taught the laws and the requirements. They had to be given the tools and be prepared to observe them. The old generation that still possessed the slave mentality had to die out and a new generation of free people needed guidance, advice and direction. They had to be cleansed, to be purged in order to reach that level of purity, physical and spiritual which Observing Shabbat requires of us. When they were getting closer to reaching their destination in the Book of Devarim, it was then that they were ready to move on to the next level of becoming an עם קדושים Am Kedoshim (a Holy Nation). It was time for them to move from the stage of “Remembering” to “Observing.”

It was, therefore, at that stage, I believe that the commandment regarding the Shabbat was altered.

Am Yisrael was finally ready to assume the role that G-d had destined for them. They were about to enter Eretz Yisrael and were expected to live, meet and fulfill the terms of the Covenant and reminded of it by adhering to its sign.

“The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” It is through the Shabbat, through “Remembering” it and “Observing” it that G-d will continue to bless and sanctify Am Yisrael.

Shavua tov.