Rabbi Daniel: Thoughts on Torah

Dear friends, 

Our tradition advises us to study Torah with a teacher.  This doesn't mean that we can't study Torah on our own as well.  As we read last week, 'Torah is not far/out of reach from you."  Moses' song that we have in parshat Ha'azinu is poetry in motion, but with interpretive tools (both of our own minds and with works of commentary alongside) we can study and appreciate the meaning of the many analogies, metaphors, allegories, and symbolism.   Moses says in verse 2 of chapter 32:

יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י        תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא        וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב׃

May my discourse come down as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like showers on young growth, like droplets on the grass. 

We can probably discern that Moses is praying that his words soak through us like rain and that the stories and lessons are distilled within our hearts.  What we might not know is that a couple verses from Isaiah 55 bring this exact understanding:  
"For as the rain or snow drops from heaven and returns not there, but soaks the earth and makes it bring forth vegetation, yielding seed for sowing and bread for eating, so is the word that issues from My mouth: It does not come back to Me unfulfilled, but performs what I purpose, achieves what I sent it to do."

What do we make of a later prophet elucidating the implied metaphor used by Moses?

The frequent comparisons between Torah and water make it very possible that two prophets would be speaking the same poetic language.  It could also support the idea of a Divine hand working through the various human authors of the Tanakh.  For now, let's find awe in the recurrence of such powerful imagery in the mouths of our prophets.  For generations prophets, judges, kings, and rabbis, have all preached of the ability of Torah to drench the individual willing to, so to speak, stand in the rain.   

In Peace, 
Rabbi Daniel 

Dear friends,

Our congregation regularly reads Torah according to the triennial system (rotating amongst the first of three-thirds, the second of three thirds, and the third of three thirds each year), but as it happens parshat Nitzavim is read each year in its entirety.  Therefore the first aliyah of the third triennial is the same as the first aliyah for the whole parsha.  The second verse from the first aliyah concludes God's proclamation to the people that begins:

"אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה

You stand this day, all of you, before your God" (29:9) 

"מֵחֹטֵ֣ב עֵצֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד שֹׁאֵ֥ב מֵימֶֽיךָ..."
"...from woodchopper to water drawer—" (29:10)

One might think that as the "all of you" in verse 9 gets flushed out through the rest of the verse and into verse 10, the reference to the woodchoppers and the water drawers would be a statement about their lower status in society.  According to the 16th century Italian commentator Sforno, this is not the case.  He says that the phrase actually means: "from the leader of the wood choppers to the most lowly of the water carriers...i.e. the highest ranking within its category to the lowliest ranking." 

Unfortunately in our days certain professions do seem to carry higher statuses than others but rather than making a statement about which professions carry greater weight in a society, we have instead a statement about how every member of a group is valued regardless of status.

What a great parsha to have right before Rosh Hashanah.  May we all feel worthy of standing before God during this holiday season.

 - Rabbi Daniel

Dear friends,

The first aliyah of the third triennial section of Torah readings for this coming week (Deuteronomy chapter 24: 14-16) raises an important point about generations being responsible for one another.  

Verse 16 says:

לֹֽא־יוּמְת֤וּ אָבוֹת֙ עַל־בָּנִ֔ים וּבָנִ֖ים לֹא־יוּמְת֣וּ עַל־אָב֑וֹת אִ֥ישׁ בְּחֶטְא֖וֹ יוּמָֽתוּ׃ {ס}  

Parents shall not be put to death for children, nor children be put to death for parents: they shall each be put to death only for their own crime.
 
The 12th century Spanish commentator Ibn Ezra brings up the apparent textual contradiction between this verse and the one in Exodus.  
 “How could Scripture say: The fathers shall not be put to death…when it says in another place, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children (Ex. 20:5; Deut. 5:9)?” Their question is nonsense, for the fathers shall not he put to death for the children is a commandment directed 

to Israel. However, God is the one who metes out punishment in visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.    

As you can see, Ibn Ezra doesn't see a contradiction because in one case we are speaking about the human realm and in the other case we are speaking about God's domain - unlike us, God can do as God feels God needs to do.  We appreciate Ibn Ezra's explanation of difference but it does seem like there is a conflict in values over the question of children suffering for the sins of their parents and vice versa.  One thing we have to remember is that Deuteronomy often puts forward a different theological worldview than the other four books of the Torah, so a contradiction of values between one text in Deuteronomy and one in Exodus makes some sense.  Fortunately at least one prophet appears to follow the position of Deuteronomy:

הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַחֹטֵ֖את הִ֣יא תָמ֑וּת בֵּ֞ן לֹא־יִשָּׂ֣א ׀ בַּעֲוֺ֣ן הָאָ֗ב וְאָב֙ לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ בַּעֲוֺ֣ן הַבֵּ֔ן צִדְקַ֤ת הַצַּדִּיק֙ עָלָ֣יו תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה וְרִשְׁעַ֥ת (רשע) [הָרָשָׁ֖ע] עָלָ֥יו תִּֽהְיֶֽה׃ {ס}  

Only the person who sins shall die. A child shall not share the burden of a parent’s guilt, nor shall a parent share the burden of a child’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous shall be accounted to them alone, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be accounted to them alone. - Ezekiel 19-20

In the end, I think Ezekiel's position ought to be the most enduring, yet in real life there are times when one generation does in fact pay for the sins of previous generations, for example with the environment.  How often are we reminded that the consequences of how we mistreat the environment today may not be seen during our lifetime, but that future generations will have to clean up our mess?  As we know from Jewish folklore, one of our objectives coming into this world ought to be making it better, not worse, for those who come after us.       

- Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Daniel