Torat Moishe - Moishe's Torah

Shabbat Yom Kippur
10 Tishrei 5772 / October 7 - 8, 2011

Granting Permission
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ

As I walked the streets of Mexico City, I noticed something quite amazing. On countless occasions, as I caught the passing eyes of restaurant waiters of street cafés, taxi drivers waiting for their next fare, or security guards casing the crowded streets, I was offered an enthusiastic, “Buenos Dias!” (or Tardes, or Noches – depending on the time of day). The people of Mexico City seemed primed to offer a blessing to any passerby. It gave me a feeling that no matter what political and/or economic turmoil is at play (and in Mexico there is plenty) the fact remains that each person has the power to uplift and support another. I tested this phenomenon out multiple times. Passing someone from behind, or as they were looking down, I would say, “Buenos dias!” And without fail, like a spring release catapult, a gregarious reply of “Buenos!” came flying back at me. I think it is a challenge to always be primed to offer goodness to another, especially when we are feeling lonely or disconnected. Mexican people have tons of problems, yet they are able to snap out of their own limited stories to create an uplifting connection with another soul. I felt that there was a sense of family pulsing through the city like I have never experienced.

On Yom Kippur we are called together to spend a day in prayer and introspection. We take a break from eating, wear white, and wear similar footwear. Even between different Jewish groups (Sefardi and Ashkenazi, for example) where specific liturgy might vary, we commit to the same flow of prayer service. It is our sacred duty on Yom Kippur to help each other remember how connected the human community is to each other and with the world around us. On Rosh Hashana we crown G-d as king, and on Yom Kippur we crown each other as agents of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world #Sarah Lesser).

We are taught that we take on excessive devotional practices so we might resemble angles and be closer to G-d. So what is an angel? One perspective is that angels are messengers that pass energy from the Source of Life to all manifestations of life. This is like the bio-electric charge that bounds neurons to activate our physical body. On Yom Kippur, when we take time to intend towards a more perfect world and inspire each other to do so, we are elevated to the status of angels. It is said that an angel has only one task to accomplish. Is it not true that no matter what dress our life story wears, underneath we are always tasked with the service of making the world around us better in some way?

During our daily Morning Prayer services (Shabbat and Holiday included), right before the Sh’ma we proclaim that the angels “give permission, one to the other to sanctify their Creator.” How perfect a metaphor for us this Yom Kippur to show up to synagogue, not only to pray for a good and successful year, but to give permission to each other to engage in our life purpose for the next year that has just begun!

Every Moishe House, no matter what flavor of Jew you are or language you speak, is creating an environment for people to be Jewish in a way that feels meaningful and important to them. Our participants use the access we offer to this piece of their identity to feel more connected and empowered in their lives. I learned this past week in Mexico City that there are many young Jews that are invisible to the organized Jewish community. They do not connect to the Judaism of their families and are in a way like religious orphans. This phenomenon is for the most part not acknowledged by the mainstream Jewish community. Paul, David, Rene, and Nadia are serving those that have no Jewish home to belong to.

Like the angels do, I want to personally give all of us permission to be inspired by each other to continue to do this important work of service to the Jewish community – and by extension to serve all people and the world.

Shana Tova U’Metuka and G’mar Chatimah Tova!

Parshat Ha’azinu
D’varim 32:1 – 52
3 Tishrei 5772 / Sept. 1, 2011

Where’s your Source
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ

In this week’s parsha Moshe tells a story about a nation that reaches a state of such high prosperity that they ultimately become corrupt and turn away from the source of their blessing. Enough said for a powerful teaching from the Torah. Don’t you think?

This story can be seen in many different areas of bounty. The immensity of resources that the Earth has provided have been reaped to the point of depletion. Our advanced intellectual concepts of rules and regulations have been used to control and oppress. A rich global market has come to support child and abusive labor practices. Moshe definitely knew what he was talking about. And such disconnection and injustice, according to Moshe, can only breed further dis-integration.

The nation that Moshe is talking about is named Yeshurun. And it is a lesser known nickname for Israel. They both start with the same three letters – Yud (י), Shin/Sin (ש), and Reish (ר). These are the route letters for the word forward or straight. Also upright, as in upright action, meaning moral or righteous – in line with certain values. Here is my take on the name difference. In Yisrael we are Yashar with El – Straight with G-d, or maybe the Upright of G-d. In Yeshurun we are Yashar with ?? – We have lost connection with the source of our blessing. We hold our heads up high with pride with nothing to counterbalance us towards humbleness.

One of the main themes of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is remembering that G-d is king over the universe. I do not really connect with this image. To me G-d as an external ruler simply does not compute. What does speak to me though is a reminder that there is something greater than my personal limited self. This holiday season we can coronate social, global, and spiritual responsibility.

Parshat Shoftim
Dvarim 16:18-21:9
3 Elul 5771 / Sept. 2-3, 2011

Justice is Your Business
by Damon Mathias, MH Dallas

This week’s portion begins with the commandment from God that: “You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all settlements that the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice.” Deuteronomy 16:18. The verse provides us with two precepts, first there must be magistrates and officials and secondly they must govern with justice. A few verses later in Deuteronomy 17:14-5 God addresses another “branch” of government: “If, after you have entered the land that the Lord your God has assigned to you, and taken possession of it and settled in it, you decide, ‘I will set a king over me, as do all the nations about me, You shall be free to set a king over yourself, one chosen by the Lord your God.’ ” Why does God mandate the appointment of judges and leave the appointment of a sovereign as discretionary? The Torah is teaching us that this particular form of government is far less important than the presence of an independent judiciary which is a fundamental and indispensable part of a civilized society. The manner in which “executive” power is manifested is subject to change and should at times be challenged, as Noam Chomsky presciently states:

There is no reason to accept the doctrines crafted to sustain power and privilege, or to believe that we are constrained by mysterious and unknown social laws. These are simply decisions made within institutions that are subject to human will and that must face the test of legitimacy. And if they do not meet the test, they can be replaced by other institutions that are more free and more just, as has happened often in the past.

The necessity of a fair and impartial judiciary however, is indispensable. It is the most fundamental manifestation of the superiority of reason in civilized society and is what differentiates man from beast. Whether the children of Israel are ruled by prophets or kings the requirements for the judiciary remain the same.

God tells us through the prophet Jeremiah (21:12): “Execute justice in the morning and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor!” The use of the word “morning” in this verse teachings us two very important lessons: 1) just as the morning is the first part of the day so to when executing justice make sure that it is performed before all else, it is the most important task and has priority above all other matters; 2) the morning also represents the transition from darkness to light, teaching us to administer justice when such actions are transparent and clearly seen. Justice should not be administered in the darkness such as a private closed hearing, rather proceedings should be unconcealed with the “light” shone upon the rulings we are making. In the Talmud (tractate Sanhedrin 7a/b) Rabbi Josiah explains the use of morning to mean “If the judgment you are about to give is clear to you as the morning [light], give it; but if not, do not give it.” It is only when we execute justice in such fashion that we can expect the “spoiled to be delivered out of the hand of the oppressor.”

The second commandment of the opening verse that “you shall govern the people with due justice” is expounded upon a few verses later in the parasha in verse 19, when God commands: “You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just.” Throughout history there have been stark examples of civilizations that have ran afoul of the biblical imperative of implementing a fair and impartial judicial system. The fall of Rome can be attributed to civilization failing to heed this call as Plutarch wrote of Rome’s descent: “The abuse of buying and selling votes crept in and money began to play an important part in determining elections. Later on, however, this process of corruption spread to the law courts and to the army, and finally, when even the sword became enslaved by the power of gold, the republic was subjected to the rule of emperors.” The judiciary was to be the bulwark preventing corruption from the officials to the army, but once the judiciary was corrupted the empire unraveled.

When reading the opening verses of Parashat Shoftim dealing with the judiciary a seemingly odd two verses appear at the end of Chapter 16 (“You shall not set up a sacred--post any kind of pole beside the altar of the Lord your God that you may make, --or erect a stone pillar; for such the Lord your God detests” 16:21-22) The two verses don’t seem on their face to have much of anything to do with the previous verses (“Justice Justice shall you pursue” & the imperative against bribery). However, upon closer examination the verses correlate beautifully. The Torah is teaching us that the altar and the judge’s bench are both holy and just as the erection of pillars & posts near the altar is hateful to God, so too the presence of bribery in the justice system is equally abominable. The idea that material should influence truth and justice is just as much idol worship as the placement of an “asherah” near the altar of God.

This Shabbat I ask that we meditate on the first verse of this portion. There is a positive commandment for the nation as a whole “You shall appoint magistrates and official...and they shall govern the people with justice.” We must ask ourselves how involved are we in the process of “appointing” our judges? Are we doing our part to insure that they are governing with justice? Although the judges are commanded to “govern the people with justice,” since it is through our “appointment” that they obtain power we are all accountable for allowing indiscretion into our court system. “Justice Justice shall you pursue!” צדק צדק תרדוף