Torah

Joshua and Caleb with spies

,

Shelach Lecha – Numbers 13:1-15:41 (Jun. 4/5)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Shelach Lecha – Numbers 13:1-15:41 (Jun. 4/5)

Our Torah portion this week is Shelach Lecha – Numbers 13:1-15:41.   Moses sent twelve men, leaders of their tribes, to reconnoiter the land. Ten of them came back with a negative report. The land is good, but unconquerable. The people are strong, the cities impregnable, the inhabitants are giants and we are grasshoppers. Only two of the men, Joshua and Caleb, took a different view. We can win. The land is good. God is on our side. With God’s help, we cannot fail. The usual understanding of what has happened is that Joshua and Caleb had faith, courage and confidence, while the other ten did not. But, truly, this is hard to understand. The ten – not just Joshua and Caleb – knew that God was with them. God had crushed Egypt. The Israelites had just defeated the Amalekites. How could these ten – leaders of their tribes – not know that they could defeat the inhabitants of the land? In his commentary on this portion, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks asks: What if the story were not this at all? What if it was not about faith, confidence, or courage? What if it was about understanding the situation and what happens when you don’t? Biblical Hebrew has two verbs that mean “to spy”: lachpor and le’ragel (from which we get the word me’raglim, “spies”). BUT — Neither of these words appear in our Torah portion. That is the point. Instead, no less than twelve times, we encounter the rare verb, la-tur. It was revived in modern Hebrew and means (and sounds like) “to tour.” Tayar is a tourist. There is all the difference in the world between a tourist and a spy. Malbim (19th century Bible commentator) explains the difference simply. Latur means to seek out the good. That is what tourists do. They go to the beautiful, the majestic, the inspiring. They don’t spend their time trying to find out what is bad. Lachpor and ler’agel are the opposite. They are about searching out a place’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. That is what spying is about. The exclusive use of the verb latur in our portion – repeated twelve times – is there to tell us that the twelve men were not sent to spy. But only two of them understood this. The reason ten of the twelve men came back with a negative report is not because they lacked courage or confidence or faith. It was because they completely misunderstood their mission. They thought they had been sent to be spies. But the Torah never uses the word “spy” in our chapter. The ten simply did not understand what was going on. They believed it was their role to find out where the land was vulnerable, where its defenses could be overcome. They looked and could not find. The people were strong, and the cities impregnable. The bad news about the land was that there was not enough bad news to make it weak and thus conquerable. They thought their task was to be spies and they did their job. They were honest and open. They reported what they had seen. Based on the intelligence they had gathered, they advised the people not to attack – not now, and not from here.

Their mistake was that they were not meant to be spies. They were told latur, not lachpor or le’ragel. Their job was to tour, explore, travel, see what the land was like and report back. They were to see what was good about the land, not what was bad. So, if they were not meant to be spies, what was the purpose of this mission? The twelve were sent latur: to explore and report on the good things of the land so that the people would know it was worth fighting for. Their task was to tour and explore, not spy and decry. But only two of them, Joshua and Caleb, listened carefully and understood what their mission was: to be the eyes of the congregation, letting them know the beauty and goodness of what lay ahead, the land that had been their destiny since the days of their ancestor Abraham. Ten of the twelve men thought they were part of a story of espionage. The result was that they looked for the wrong things, came to the wrong conclusion, demoralized the people, destroyed the hope of an entire generation, and will eternally be remembered as responsible for one of the worst failures in Jewish history. It will take time – and a new generation – for the Israelites to be truly ready to enter the Promised Land. They will appreciate its beauty and its goodness and be ready to settle in their land.  [The story continues in the book of Joshua, from which our Haftarah portion is taken.]

From Previous Weeks

menorah-joy & illumination

,

B’ha’alotecha – Num. 8:1-12:16 (May 28/29)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

B’ha’alotecha – Num. 8:1-12:16 (May 28/29)

This week’s Torah portion is B’ha’alotecha – Num. 8:1-12:16, and begins with God instructing Moses what to tell Aaron about how to light the lights of the menorah (the seven-branched candelabra which stood in the Mishkan outside the Holy of Holies).  Medieval commentator Rashi points out that the word B’ha’alotecha is used for two reasons: 1) “…when you kindle – literally ‘raise,’ because the flame rises, as one must kindle – hold the fire to the wick – until the flame rises by itself… 2) ‘When you raise’ is meant to teach us that there was a stair in front of the Menorah upon which the Kohen would stand and prepare the lamps.”  In other words, the Kohen must step up – rise up – to prepare the lamps, and as the fire is held to the wick, the flame of the wick itself must rise up on its own. Last summer, I had the opportunity to hear Rabbi Jonathan Cohen, Senior Rabbi at The Temple -Tiferet Israel, and the Rev. Otis Moss, Jr. speak to the theme of “Rise Up,” hosted by the Maltz Museum.  Rabbi Cohen shared that to rise up implies movement – changing hearts and minds.  “God spoke to Abraham and said, ‘Rise up and be a blessing’… Elijah was told to ‘Rise up and go to Sidon to save the life of a young boy’… Jonah was told to ‘Rise up and go to Ninevah.”  Rise up, in order to go forth and bring about change. Rev. Moss began his comments with asking for a moment of memory – “for those whose lives have been lost through executions without guilt, who have been imprisoned without due justice, who have suffered only because of the color of their skin, the country from which they came, the religion they practiced… because they were different.”  He charged us with becoming transformational idealists and creative realists who love God with all our heart and our soul and our strength and who love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Rev. Moss spoke of the hierarchy that leads to hate: suspicion… that leads to fear… that leads to resentment… that leads to hatred.  Rev. Moss spoke about the steps can we take to unlock love of God and of our neighbor:  Intentionally get to know your neighbor and hear each other… listen to each other…  respect each other… learn from each other… create community with each other.  The evening ended with Rabbi Cohen reminding Rev. Moss of Rabbi Joachim Prinz’s famous speech during the 1963 March on Washington; he spoke right before Rev. Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I have a dream…” speech.  Rev. Moss was standing right behind him on the stage that day, and recalled: Rabbi Prinz said, “…in the face of discrimination, the most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.”  The silence of good people, who stand by when a word can be spoken and action must be taken. These times continue to call for us to rise up.  To break the silence and step up to light the call for change.  You’re not properly climbing if you’re not lifting up – and lifting others – as you climb!

From Previous Weeks

rainbow everyone counts

,

Sefer Bemidbar – Num. 1:1-4:20 (May 14/15)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Sefer Bemidbar – Num. 1:1-4:20 (May 14/15)

This week we begin the book of Numbers – Sefer Bemidbar – Num. 1:1-4:20.   Bemidbar is the Hebrew word for: in the wilderness, and this is where we find our people as they continue their journey to the Promised Land.  “Numbers” is the English name for the book, as at the beginning of the book, God instructs Moses to take a census of the people.  What exactly does it mean to count the people?  In his commentary, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, refers to two different ways to count, as expounded by Nachmanides (the RambaN): שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵלS’oo et rosh kol adat b’nei YisraelTake a census of the entire assembly of Israel.  “What was the purpose of this census? Nachmanides offers two explanations. The first is that the Torah wishes to emphasize God’s kindness in transforming seventy souls into a nation as numerous as the sand of the sea. The second reason for the census was so that each Jew would pass before Moses and Aaron and be known to them by name. Nachmanides’ two explanations reflect two types of counting. The purpose of the first type is simply to gain knowledge of the total number of an item. For example, one counts his money because he wishes to know how much he has. It is the total that interests him; the individual coins or bills have no intrinsic significance.

The second type of counting has a different objective. The ultimate goal is to recognize and appreciate each individual and is not necessarily concerned with the total number. Nachmanides indicates that each person would pass before Moses and Aaron. They counted the people by going from house to house, in the process learning about each family and how they lived. Therefore, God commanded Moses: “Take a census of the entire assembly of Israel…by number of the names; every male according to their head count.” It was not enough for Moses to know the total number of the Jewish people. Moses now had an added obligation, as the leader of the entire Jewish nation, to know every Jew by name.  The words בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת – b’mispar shemot – by the number of names – suggest an intimate relationship with every individual. God commanded Moses to call each man by name, because each individual possesses something unique. To be an effective leader, Moses had to know each person as an individual with his own background and life experience.”________________ God bless Moses for being able to meet and know all 600,000 … and more!  We have been asked many times about how many people are in our congregation.  It’s easy to come up with a number, but so much more meaningful to be able to put names and faces with that number.  Each one of us is counted; each one of us counts and is an integral part of our congregation. Each of us can bring their own unique abilities and strengths, skills and talents to help us be the best that we can be.

From Previous Weeks

Blessing, curse arrows

,

BeHar/Bechukotai – 25:1-26:2/26:3-27:34 (May 7/8)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

BeHar/Bechukotai – 25:1-26:2/26:3-27:34 (May 7/8)

Our Torah portion this week is a double portion – and brings to a close the book of Leviticus.  BeHar/Bechukotai – 25:1-26:2/26:3-27:34. Bechukotai enumerates the blessings for people who heed God’s commandments, followed by the curses [perhaps we could indeed say, the negative consequences] for those who violate them (Lev 26:3-46). The haftarah portion for this week is Jeremiah 16:19-17:14, and contains a brief wisdom psalm that sits within. The teaching in Jeremiah 17:5-8 offers a parallel blessing and curse, but in reverse order. This prophetic passage contrasts the negative fate envisioned for the individual who trusts in human beings (vv. 5-6) with a positive future for the one who trusts in God (vv. 7-8).  Thus said the Eternal: Cursed is the one who trusts in humans and makes flesh his strength and from the Eternal his heart turns away. (Jer. 17:5)After another verse that expands on this curse (v. 6), the prophet expresses the blessings that await the individual who engages in the opposite type of behavior, repeating much of the same wording:Blessed is the one who trusts in the Eternal and the Eternal is his trust. (Jer. 17:7)The medieval commentator Radak (R. David Kimhi, ca. 1160-1235) suggests that trusting humans is actually not so very wrong IF he does not “turn his heart from God;” he is not wrong in trusting that humans will help him, if his intention is that with God’s help the person can help him.In other words, Radak and later commentators teach that people cannot rely exclusively on humans; ultimately, we need to trust both in God and in other people. Rabbi Rami Shapiro’s understanding of this trust in humans as Divine agents is shared in his poem “We Are Loved By an Unending Love” – 

We are loved by unending love. We are embraced by arms that find us even when we are hidden from ourselves. We are touched by fingers that soothe us even when we are too proud for soothing. We are counseled by voices that guide us even when we are too embittered to hear. We are loved by unending love. We are supported by hands that uplift us even in the midst of a fall. We are urged on by eyes that meet us even when we are too weak for meeting. We are loved by unending love. Embraced, touched, soothed, and counseled,ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices; ours are the hands, the eyes, the smiles; We are loved by unending love. 

 May we recognize the blessings in our lives, even in the most trying of times. And as we come to the conclusion of another book of Torah, we say:  Hazak, Hazak V’nithazek – Be Strong, Be Strong, and let us strengthen each other!

From Previous Weeks

hands dipping in water

,

Tazri’a/Metzorah – Lev. 12:1-13:59/14:1-15:33 (Apr. 16/17)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Tazri’a/Metzorah – Lev. 12:1-13:59/14:1-15:33 (Apr. 16/17)

This week we have a double Torah portion – Tazri’a/Metzorah – Lev. 12:1-13:59/14:1-15:33. Both portions deal with identifying the ritually unclean status of a person, house, and items… and their cleansing, or healing.  In the time of our portion, healing was more of an art than a science, but the mandate to heal was as clear then, as it is now.  For too many of us, healing from a life-threatening illness (and even living through these pandemic times) has brought us a heightened awareness of the need to not take our good health for granted. The late Rabbi Milton Steinberg wrote:

After a long illness, I was permitted for the first time to step out-of-doors.  And as I crossed the threshold, sunlight greeted me… So long as I live, I shall never forget that moment… The sky overhead was very blue, very clear, and very, very high… A faint wind blew from off the western plains, cool and yet somehow tinged with warmth — like a dry, chilled wine.  And everywhere in the firmament above me, in the great vault between earth and sky, on the pavements, the buildings — the golden glow of sunlight.  It touched me, too, with friendship, with warmth, with blessing.  And as I basked in its glory there ran through my mind these wonderful words of the prophet: For you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing on its wings. (Malachi 3:20)  

 In that instant I looked about me to see whether anyone else showed on their face the joy, almost the beatitude, I felt.  But no, there they walked — men and women and children, in the glory of the golden flood, and so far as I could detect, there was none to give it heed.  And then I remembered how often I, too, had been indifferent to the sunlight, how often, preoccupied with petty and sometimes mean concerns, I had disregarded it.  And I said to myself: How precious is the sunlight, but alas, how careless of it we are. [From: Day By Day: Reflections on the Themes of the Torah from Literature, Philosophy, and Religious Thought by Chaim Stern, p. 147.]

Rabbi Steinberg’s appreciation for each day and the simple and majestic beauty that surrounds us reminds us to treasure each day.  [Here is a beautiful musical setting to these words from Psalm 90:2 – Teach us to treasure each day, that we may open our hearts to Your wisdom.]

From Previous Weeks

Chagall, Passover Seder

,

Exodus 13:17-15:26 (Apr. 2/3)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Exodus 13:17-15:26 (Apr.2/3)

Our Torah reading for the conclusion of Pesach is from Exodus 13:17-15:26. At the beginning of Pesach, we read about the preparations for leaving Egypt and now, at the end of our festival, we read about leaving Egypt, crossing the Sea of Reeds with Pharaoh close at our heels, and beyond… A detail that goes quickly by is that, as everyone is preparing to leave, Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him to fulfill the promise that Joseph had obtained from the Children of Israel (his brothers) before his death: 

So, Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God has taken notice of you, you shall carry up my bones from here.”  Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. (Gen. 50:25-26) 

As we leave Egypt, we carry out unbaked bread and bones.  The story of life and freedom is twinned together with the story of the past.  That story is also part of the text of our Haggadah: 

Then Joshua said to all the people, “Thus said the Eternal, the God of Israel: In olden times, your forefathers—Terah, father of Abraham and father of Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and worshipped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt… The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem…(Joshua 24:2-4, 32)

 Joseph, too, has a place at our celebration.  In recalling Joseph’s story, Rabbi Tali Adler teaches us that we are recalling two stories of slavery: While our ancestors may have been slaves, those who came before them had been slave sellers. Slave sellers??? Yes.  Recall that Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, where he ended up in Egypt; they took his tattered coat-of-many-colors and dipped it into blood and presented it to their father, Jacob who, thinking Joseph had been killed by a wild beast, mourned his death.  Joseph rises to power in Egypt as he manages years of plenty and then of famine, and his family ultimately makes their way down to Egypt.

Even as we celebrate our redemption from slavery, we have a responsibility to remember the whole story.  In remembering the act of Joseph’s brothers and telling the truth about our past, perhaps there is redemption in that act as well. Rabbi Adler teaches us that full redemption is what happens when we tell our stories in their entirety, hiding nothing.   However, redemption is truly complete only when ALL are redeemed.  Our story informs our memory as we are all called upon to “free the captive.”  Each of us has this sacred responsibility to help to make this happen.  Listening to others’ stories is the first step towards making our world the best it can be.  These stories are not easy to tell — and are not easy to hear, but each step is a step in that direction.  Aleinu – It is up to us to help bring us all closer to a world redeemed.Our Torah reading for the conclusion of Pesach is from Exodus 13:17-15:26. At the beginning of Pesach, we read about the preparations for leaving Egypt and now, at the end of our festival, we read about leaving Egypt, crossing the Sea of Reeds with Pharaoh close at our heels, and beyond… A detail that goes quickly by is that, as everyone is preparing to leave, Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him to fulfill the promise that Joseph had obtained from the Children of Israel (his brothers) before his death: 

So, Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God has taken notice of you, you shall carry up my bones from here.”  Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. (Gen. 50:25-26) 

As we leave Egypt, we carry out unbaked bread and bones.  The story of life and freedom is twinned together with the story of the past.  That story is also part of the text of our Haggadah: 

Then Joshua said to all the people, “Thus said the Eternal, the God of Israel: In olden times, your forefathers—Terah, father of Abraham and father of Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and worshipped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt… The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem…(Joshua 24:2-4, 32)

 Joseph, too, has a place at our celebration.  In recalling Joseph’s story, Rabbi Tali Adler teaches us that we are recalling two stories of slavery: While our ancestors may have been slaves, those who came before them had been slave sellers. Slave sellers??? Yes.  Recall that Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, where he ended up in Egypt; they took his tattered coat-of-many-colors and dipped it into blood and presented it to their father, Jacob who, thinking Joseph had been killed by a wild beast, mourned his death.  Joseph rises to power in Egypt as he manages years of plenty and then of famine, and his family ultimately makes their way down to Egypt. Even as we celebrate our redemption from slavery, we have a responsibility to remember the whole story.  In remembering the act of Joseph’s brothers and telling the truth about our past, perhaps there is redemption in that act as well. Rabbi Adler teaches us that full redemption is what happens when we tell our stories in their entirety, hiding nothing.   However, redemption is truly complete only when ALL are redeemed.  Our story informs our memory as we are all called upon to “free the captive.”  Each of us has this sacred responsibility to help to make this happen.  Listening to others’ stories is the first step towards making our world the best it can be.  These stories are not easy to tell — and are not easy to hear, but each step is a step in that direction.  Aleinu – It is up to us to help bring us all closer to a world redeemed.

From Previous Weeks

Tzav-Every-Mitzvah-article

,

Tzav – Lev. 6:1-8:36 (Mar. 26/27)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Tzav – Lev. 6:1-8:36 (Mar. 26/27)

This week, our Torah portion is Tzav – Lev. 6:1-8:36.  In the first seven chapters of Leviticus, Moses learns about the details and procedures of the sacrifices.  He will then need to consecrate the Mishkan – the tabernacle; only then can he move on to the consecration of Aaron and his sons in their roles as cohanim – priests.  Why is it important to stop and take note of these special roles for Aaron and his sons?  Jacob Milgram in his commentary on the book of Leviticus comments: “The Bible is reminding us not to let important moments slide by unnoticed, but instead to make occasions with rituals that establish the significance of the moment and emblazon them in our collective memory.” (p. 78) Our lives are filled with important transitions.  A baby is born, and ceremony functions to reinforce their identity for their family and community. A child reaches adolescence, and ritual reminds them and their congregation of their new responsibilities. A couple falls in love, and a ceremony under a wedding canopy transforms them from mere lovers to committed, covenantal partners. A person dies, and the preparation of their body for burial expresses core beliefs of their people — among them, that we are responsible for deep acts of caring for each other, that the human body is to be treated with sanctity, and that the transition from life to death has meaning. Our tradition teaches us a powerful lesson on the value of ritual marking the important liminal, or threshold, moments of our lives.   During this year of the pandemic, we have been challenged to mark these transition points in our lives that occur in the context of community.  Some events can be rescheduled; some cannot.  I have co-officiated at a bris, while friends and family zoomed in for the ceremony. 

Our congregation has celebrated a number of b’nai mitzvah with only family in the sanctuary, and more family and friends watching on our livestream youtube channel.  Weddings have been rescheduled – and some couples are now venturing to our sanctuary (to livestream to family and friends) or outdoors, taking advantage of our parks and the spring and summer weather.  And too many people have passed away; I have stood by the graveside in sub-zero temperatures and led funeral services by zoom from my home… and others’ memorial services are being scheduled for a later time, when people can gather safely. Through it all, we have striven to mark these important times.  Times of celebration, and times of memory.  The times of our lives.

From Previous Weeks

Mishpatim

,

Mishpatim – Ex. 21:1-24:18

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Mishpatim – Ex. 21:1-24:18 (Feb. 12/13)

Our Torah portion this Shabbat is Mishpatim – Ex. 21:1-24:18, and is filled with 53 ethical responsibilities and social demands (do’s and don’ts) that provide a blueprint for establishing order, and includes consequences for those who go beyond the limits of that order. This is a portion filled with details, and a person – a people – can be so caught up in the details, that they could lose sight of the bigger picture. The Israelites have an amazing opportunity to create change… to create a society that is thoughtful and caring, that is fair and just.  And so it is with us.  The opportunity to create change – or to be change agents – is always before us.  It takes being concerned with facts and the process of truthful inquiry; but being concerned with all the facts and details should not cause us to lose sight of our moral and societal responsibilities. When Moses comes before the people and relates all these laws, the people respond: Na’aseh v’Nishmah – We will do and we will… listen? obey? understand?  Does their response mean that they will do everything they have been told and then think about what they heard?  Does it mean that they will do what they have been told and, as a result, obey?  Or… could it mean that they will do the fact-finding and truthful inquiry and then will come to understand what it means to enter into this grand “bigger picture” of moral and societal responsibilities?

From Previous Weeks

pharaoh_dreams_yosef

, ,

Mikeitz – Gen. 41:1-44:17 (Dec. 18/19)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Mikeitz – Gen. 41:1-44:17 (Dec. 18/19)

As we count down seven weeks to our virtual congregational retreat (January 29-30th), “Building Character – Making a Mensch,” featuring Dr. Greg Marcus, the founder of American Mussar, I thought it would be interesting to share insights into our Torah portions through the lens of Mussar.  Mussar teachers through the centuries have sought deep, accurate, and useful insights into human life.  These insights are based on different “middot” – the Hebrew term for “inner/character traits.” What makes us unique individuals, and what carves out a specific path for each of us, is the fact that those traits reside within each of us in different measures. (As it happens, the Hebrew word of measure is “middah.”) Our Torah portion this week is Mikeitz – Gen. 41:1-44:17. We left Joseph last week forlorn, forgotten, and left in prison, after he had interpreted dreams of the Pharaoh’s baker and cupbearer.  Mikeitz opens with Pharaoh’s dreams, which none of his own interpreters or magicians can interpret. Suddenly, the royal cupbearer remembers Joseph – and recommends him to Pharaoh.  Joseph is cleaned up and given a new set of clothes and brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams.  Before he begins, he says: “Not I – It is God Who will account for Pharaoh’s well-being.” (Gen. 41:16)  As he interprets the dreams, Joseph continues to give God credit for his perceived abilities.  Pharaoh responds with: “Is there anyone like this to be found, a man with the spirit of God in him?” (Gen. 41:38) From his cocky teen years, tattling on his brothers, being doted on by his father, sharing his own “I’m the center of the world” dreams… basically being very self-centered… to his being sold into slavery by his brothers, imprisoned in Egypt, and now standing before Pharaoh, Joseph has developed his faith – the middah of emunah.  This is a faith in something beyond ourselves; this is a faith in God. Many of us struggle with the kind of faith/emunah that is described in the biblical narrative.  Rabbi Lisa D. Grant teaches that “faith may not help if material reward is our end goal… Cultivating faith can lead to greater patience, courage in facing hardship and the unknown, and acceptance that so much of life is beyond our control.” Faith is not something that can be understood intellectually or rationally, but needs to be learned from deep experience and reflection. 


Joseph went through many difficult times and many opportunities for reflection and maturity.   In the course of our lives… in the course of these Covid times… we, too, might find ourselves in difficult or frustrating situations. From the Mussar lens of emunah, you might consider:

  • What happens when you stop and ask yourself – where is God for me at this moment?  How does asking that question shape your understanding and experience of what may happen?
  • How has emunah helped you overcome an obstacle or to cope with a challenge?

Next week, we take a look at the middah/ character trait of bitachon – trust. 

* Rabbi Grant’s commentary is found in The Mussar Torah Commentary: A Spiritual Path to Living a Meaningful and Ethical Life, CCAR Press, 2020.

From Previous Weeks

josephinthepit-600x600

,

Vayeishev: Genesis 37:1 – 40:23 (Dec. 11/12)

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Vayeishev: Genesis 37:1 – 40:23 (Dec. 11/12)

Our Torah portion this week is Vayeishev: Genesis 37:1 – 40:23, and begins the story of Joseph and his brothers, which will unfold over four Torah portions, parshiyot, bringing us to the end of the book of Genesis. As we make our way through this narrative, it is important to remember that every detail counts; what might appear as a random encounter can have epic proportions. Joseph is envied by his brothers; there is no peace between them. They cannot even talk to one another without arguing. When the brothers leave home to tend their sheep, Jacob tells Joseph to go and see how they are doing. This will ultimately lead to the dramatic incident where the brothers sell Joseph as a slave, and change everything. But it nearly didn’t happen.  Joseph arrived at Shechem where he expected his brothers to be, but they were not there. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z”l, wrote: “He might well have wandered around for a while and then, failing to find them, gone home. None of the events that take up the rest of the Torah would have happened: no Joseph the slave, no Joseph the viceroy to Pharaoh, no storage of food during the years of plenty, no descent of Joseph’s family to Egypt, no exile, no slavery, no exodus. The entire story – already revealed to Abraham in a night vision – seemed about to be derailed.” Then we read the following: 

“A man found [Joseph] wandering around in the fields and asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’ He replied, ‘I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?’ ‘They have moved on from here,’ the man answered. ‘I heard them say, “Let’s go to Dothan.”’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.” (Bereishit 37:15-17)

 These three verses are so detailed – and even include dialogue.  Joseph is lost, and asks directions from a stranger who finds him wandering in a field.  Who was this unnamed man?  Our Torah commentators have different answers to that question:  Rashi says he was the angel Gabriel. Ibn Ezra says he was a passerby. Ramban (Nachmanides) says that “the Holy One, blessed be He, sent him a guide without his knowledge.”  Rabbi Sacks wonders whether Ramban meant without Joseph’s knowledge or without the guide’s knowledge. It could very well be both.  “Ramban is teaching that the anonymous man represents an act of Divine guidance to make sure that Joseph went to where he was supposed to be, so that the rest of the drama could unfold.  He may not have known he had such a role. Joseph surely did not know. To put it simply: he was an angel who did not know he was an angel. He had a vital role in the story. Without him, it would not have happened. But he had no way of knowing, at the time, the importance of his role.”

I invite you to think about how this relates to experiences you have had.  Can you identify a person or people in your life who were there at just the right moment to help guide you on your course, set you on your way, to help things unfold in a certain way?  It might be very hard to recognize this at the time, but in hindsight…  Sometimes the angel can be another person. And sometimes, we can be the “angel” for another person; yet, we may never know how our acts have impacted the people we meet in our lives. 

From Previous Weeks

Load More

Beth Israel – The West Temple

14308 Triskett Road
Cleveland, Ohio  44111-2328

Our Mission:
To be a center of worship and vital community life where Jews and their families from Cleveland’s western communities learn Jewish traditions and values, develop their Jewish identity, and assure the continuity of Jewish life.

© 2024 Beth Israel – The West Temple

Support Us

Donate Now!

Visit Us

Call for an appointment:
(216) 941-8882