Guest Dvar on Parashat Pinchas - A Perspective for Today

Dvar Torah on Parshat Pinchas 

by Warner Ferratier

Delivered At Congregation Moreshet Yisrael, Jerusalem, Israel 

on Monday Morning, July 7, 2014

Boker Tov!

In this week's Parasha, we learn about the aftermath of Pinchas's actions,  an additional census, the apportionment of the promised land among the tribes, and the ritual sacrifices for the various holidays. In the section about apportioning land, we first meet the five daughters of Zelophechad. Zelophechad died without male heirs, and the daughters request that their father's name not be allowed to die, and that they be allowed to inherit. Moses takes their case before God, who acknowledges the justice of their claim. 

What interests me is that when the daughters explain their case, they say that their father died, not because of participation in the rebellion of Korach, but rather for his own sin. The Torah remains silent about the nature of that sin. Rashi, however, comes to assuage our curiosity. He cites two possibilities: according to Rabbi Akiba, Zelophechad was the one executed for gathering wood on the Sabbath, and according to Rabbi Shimon, he was one of the people who dared to ascend the mountain after it had already been forbidden to the Children of Israel.

While the two possibilities are interesting, the truth is that we don't really know what his sin was. We are to understand that his death was an act of Divine justice in one way or another. What seems most significant to me is that despite his status as a sinner deserving of death, there doesn't seem to be much question that his descendants are due an inheritance. Indeed, the only issue seems to be whether daughters can inherit, not whether there should be an inheritance at all. The children of a sinner, whether daughters or sons, are still part of the community of Israel.

I think there is an important lesson in this for us. Too often, we tend hold the sins of one person against those around them. We get angry at one person, and not only give the silent treatment to him or her, but also to that person's friends and family. When a person from one population commits an act, we tend to globalize the guilt to all members of that group. We, of all people, should know better. For centuries, Jews have been accused of deicide, blood libel, and theft. When it comes down to it, most acts of revenge end up being carried out against someone besides the perpetrator.

In our Torah portion, God does not punish the children of Zelophechad for Zelophechad's sin. When we remember Zelophechad, we remember him because of his daughters. We should all be so lucky as to be remembered for the merits of our children, rather than the sins we have committed. 

May we take this example so that when justice is exacted, it is exacted only against the guilty. May we be blessed with the compassion to recognize the merits of the innocent, rather than punishing them for the deeds of others.

Ken Yihi Ratzon 

Warner Ferratier is a student at the Conservative Yeshiva.
He will be starting rabbinical school this September. 

My Prayer Experiences: Part I – Where I Prayed

This morning I davened Shacharit (morning prayer) with the Conservative Yeshiva (CY) at Ezrat Yisrael, the “non-Orthodox” section of the Kotel (the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall). What and where is that? It’s a new section of the Kotel, in or near what has been called Robinson’s Arch, a few dozen yards south of the existing plaza, next to the Rambam Gate. The longstanding plaza that one thinks of when visualizing the Kotel still stands  – the large plaza divided in two by a mechitza, a divider/fence of sorts separating a large men’s section from a smaller women’s section. 

But now, if one goes off to the right, past the entrance to the Dome of the Rock, a new mini (and I mean mini) platform has been built where men and women can pray together in an egalitarian, pluralistic manner, unimpeded, 24 hours a day. Prior to this platform being built, access to egalitarian Robinson’s Arch area for prayer had time restrictions. I am happy that the time restrictions are off but personally I'm not so happy about the small space available for prayer. To me the area, while still quite impactful, has lost some of the raw power that it had before the platforms were built.  

Ezrat Yisrael - One can pray under the umbrellas - a bar mitzvah was happening as I took this picture last week. 

Another view. Here the umbrellas are closed. If you look to the right of the umbrellas, there is a triangle of yellow cloth. The space between that cloth and the Wall is where we prayed this morning. Very small. You can see the dug up rocks in the foreground of the picture. 

There was just something so primal in the davening that I would do when I was sitting on the ground, amidst the upheaval of the rocks and uneven pavement that remained from days gone by. The upturned stones are still there, you can see them, but not sit amongst them. 

One of my most powerful prayer experiences was in just this space on Tisha B’Av in the summer of 2009. Tisha B’Av occurred during the second summer session at CY. A group from the CY went to Robinson’s Arch and observed Tisha B’Av evening services along with another group of Conservative Jews, Russians, if I recall. I listened to the aching lament of Eicha (Lamenations) while sitting on the ground amongst the ruins of the Temple by Robinson’s Arch. During our time there we heard church bells ringing and the Muezzin (the Muslim call to prayer). We also heard a huge commotion – some kind of protest outside the old city – punctuated by horns honking and other modern and ancient sounding noises.

What an experience that was! Sitting on the ancient ground, candles lit, listening to Lamentations, hearing the multicultural noises around me – part of that evening seemed to transcend time and space. For the first time I began to feel what it might have been like during the destruction of the Temple – the chaos, the noise, the surreal quality of the experience. It was a Tisha B’Av that I will never forget. And it was only able to happen because of the city where it was located, because of the ground upon which I was seated, and of course because of the wonderful community of the Conservative Yeshiva that I was a part of.

For a blog posting of another experience at Robinson's Arch, go to

http://theitinerantrabbit.blogspot.co.il/2011/07/shacharit-morning-prayer-at-robinsons.html

More to follow.....

Update July 8, 2014 - I was happy to learn that there is a plan to clear stones and make a larger space on the ground.  

Parshat Balak: Second Chances

Parshat Balak: Second Chances

Numbers 22:2-25:9

  (This dvar Torah will appear in the Washington Jewish Week on July 3, 2014)

        

            In this week’s parsha we meet two of the more interesting characters in the Tanach, Balaam and his donkey. We meet Balaam son of Peor, a non-Jewish prophet, in the beginning of chapter 22.  Balak, King of the Moabites, reaches out to Balaam for help in cursing the Israelites. We meet Balaam’s donkey several verses later in Numbers 22:21: “Va’ yakom Balaam ba’boker, vayachavosh at atono…” “In the morning Balaam arose, and saddled his she-donkey….”

            This sentence is worth delving into because of its use of the expressions “arose” (va’ yakom) and “in the morning” (ba’boker) in the same sentence.  It seems redundant to use both expressions when just “arose” would do. Also, in biblical times, the early rising and saddling of one’s own animal was quite unusual for men of stature, the norm was to have servants carry out menial tasks. What is this verse trying to tell us?

            Talmud brings in a verse from Genesis (22:3) to help us understand. The verse states that, “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey...” Again we see the seeming redundancy of wording - rising early and in the morning. The Sages explained that Abraham rose early in his haste to perform a commandment (going to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac) and he saddled his own donkey because “Love [of God] disregards the rule of dignified conduct.” (Pesachim 4a, BR 55:8).

            Interestingly, the rabbis reacted quite differently to Balaam and noted that he shouldn’t try to pattern himself after the righteous Abraham. Rashi wrote, “From here [we learn] that hate causes a disregard for the standard of dignified conduct, for he saddled it himself. The Holy One, blessed is He, said, “Wicked one, their father Abraham has already preceded you…” (Mid. Tanchuma Balak 8). Balaam may act as if he were rushing to do God’s will, but he knew that he was doing something wrong in going with the Moabite dignitaries. This is where Balaam’s donkey comes in.

             Balaam’s donkey is an intriguing character.  She not only talks, but she speaks words of wisdom and in doing so becomes the hero of our parsha. The Torah utilizes one of the least intelligent of animals to out maneuver the wisest of men.  Where did this ability to speak and reason come from? To show the uniqueness of this animal, we are taught in Pirke Avot 5:9 that ten things were created at twilight between the end of the sixth day of Creation and Shabbat eve. Many of these are mystical items have seemingly magical properties and among these are the mouth of Balaam's donkey. Surely a donkey’s mouth created at this mystical time was intended for a specific purpose.

            There is one last tale that needs to be told.  There is a midrash that tells us that Balaam was one of three advisors to Pharaoh at the time our ancestors were slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh had a bad dream and called on advisors to help him interpret it. Balaam was one of those advisors. Before he went to advise Pharaoh, our forefather Jacob gave this wondrous donkey as a gift to Balaam. The purpose of the gift was to convince Balaam not to give evil counsel to Pharaoh concerning Jacob’s children. When the time came, Balaam either advised Pharaoh to throw all Israelite male children into the Nile (Sanhedrin 106a) or to force the Israelites to make bricks (Midrash Aggada Numbers 22:21). In this midrash, it is clear that Jacob’s gift did not do the trick. The donkey might have been able to influence Balaam but we will never know for she kept silent; she did not speak and the Israelites were not spared. 

            This week’s parsha seems to bring the story of Balaam and his donkey full circle. Both Balaam and his donkey are involved with Jacob and the Israelites in Egypt. As Balaam actively works to bring evil upon the Israelites, the donkey passively and quietly stands by and says nothing. Fast forward to our parsha and both Balaam and the donkey have a chance to redeem themselves. Balaam was known as a prophet with a connection to God; the donkey’s mouth itself was specially created by God. Although Balaam actively tried to continue on his path to bring evil upon the Israelites, the donkey chose to use this opportunity to redeem herself. She spoke up, used words of wisdom and logic, and tried to save both Balaam and the Israelites. 

            Second chances are rare and precious gifts. When we are presented with the gift of a second chance, we have to decide if we will be like the wise donkey and take advantage of the opportunity or the evil Balaam and let it all slip away.

Food for Thought:

Wisdom often comes to us from the most surprising places. Can you think of a time when you were taken off guard by the source of a piece of wisdom or good advice? Did you ever disregard good advice because of its source?

Take a look at the parsha, particularly chapter 22, verses 21-33. What do you think of the relationship between Balaam and his donkey? If you have a pet, does this remind you in any way of the relationship that you have with your animal? What do you think your animal would say if it could speak?

This Dvar Torah is dedicated to the memories of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Sha'ar and Naftali Frankel, the three teens who were kidnapped while on their way home from school in Gush Etzion and whose bodies were found yesterday. May their memories be for a blessing. 

My Complete Lovely Day

Hello from the Conservative Yeshiva (CY) in Jerusalem!

My intention had been to write a daily blog about my learning and teaching at the CY during my 6 weeks here - but classes started on Sunday and this is my first post. Something about this visit seems different than my previous visits but I don't know what it is.

I've been in J'slem a week now and have yet to wander about the city or go to the Old City/Western Wall at night. That's very unusual for me.  Also, the Yeshiva feels different to me - or perhaps it's that I've been feeling different at the Yeshiva. It might be because it's my first time there as a proper rabbi - whatever that is.   But also, I had really looked forward to doing my favorite thing - learning in the Beit Midrash and until today, my learning has been very flat.  Even my daily writing has been flat. But today that all changed.

Today was a near perfect day. I woke early and was at the Yeshiva before 7. I was able to spend a good 20 minutes meditating in the sunshine before anyone else arrived. This was very important for me as I teach a Learner's Minyan* (LM) each morning so I only get to daven 3 out of the 5 days of classes. I LOVE teaching the LM but I didn't realize how much I'd miss the structure that actualizing my daily personal spiritual practice provides me. The meditating this morning grounded me and I will continue to do it from now on.

*(Learner's Minyan - a class teaching the hows and whys and structure of daily prayer)

It's interesting - in the LM I made a point of telling the students in LM that our studying together each morning - with the occasional chant and prayer - is a form of prayer. And I stand by that. We are gathering together as an intentional community to study and learn liturgy and to learn/practice ways to increase our connection to the Awesome One. That is prayer. But even though I am totally energized by teaching this class of wonderful, thoughtful, interested people, my daily spiritual needs are not being met. So now they will be with the meditation. Thus the wonderful day began.

My intention is to spend the mornings writing - high holiday sermons, other divrei torah, curriculum, etc. To date I have not gotten very far. Today I was researching a dvar torah on parashat Balak and had an incredibly productive morning. Amazing how much there is to learn about Balaam's ass!

Afternoon learning was a class called "Shema, Tefilla and Bracha" taught by my friend and favorite teacher Rabbi Joel Levy, the Director of the CY.  A class with such a title has great promise as it focusses on my favorite topics (how egocentric I am!).  In this class we are looking at how the rabbis tried to create an infrastructure for spirituality and Jewish identity in order to sustain Jewish life in the diaspora.

In the first two classes we studied the mishna on the Shema and the parameters of when one is allowed to say the evening and morning Shema.

The message of this chapter, according to Rabbi Joel, is to provide a look at how the rhythms of our life are reflected through text and liturgy. The rhythms of our life are the rhythms of the Jewish people - and the story being told is how our individual stories and rhythms interweave with the rhythms of our people.

It reminds me of one of my favorite concepts - the idea of being one in a minyan. (I've written about this before).  Exercising the status and obligation of being one of ten people in a minyan is a powerful action. One makes a statement of belonging, believing and of peoplehood. One also is meshing or interweaving one's individual story and rhythm with the rhythm of our people. To participate in a minyan is to an individual that is part of group but also to be part of a group that is made up of individuals.  It proves that there is a way to be a member of a group, to be obligated and to fulfill that obligation without giving up one's individuality. For it is that very individuality that enables the group to exist and act on its purpose.

What does this have to do with the Shema class? Everything and a bit of nothing. But the point is the class got me thinking, B"H. And I'm pleased. My inner nerd is ecstatic. My inner yeshiva girl is dancing about and grinning widely.

I finished my day at the yeshiva doing more research on Balaam. Did you know that midrash has it that he buggered his ass b/c his affection for her was as if she were his wife? Scary, right?

Evening was spent getting a massage and then finishing the day with a group meditation session. The day was well rounded; I was grounded and centered; I got to teach; I was blessed with interesting learning both on my own and with a fantastic teacher. And I walked around Jerusalem a bit in the dark - one of my favorite activities.

Truly a complete and lovely day!

Tel Aviv

The Diaghilev, LIVE ART Boutique Hotel 

This is where I stayed in Tel Aviv. On Mazeh street. Great name, right? Mazeh means "what's this" in Hebrew! 

The hotel was lovely - artsy, spacious, clean, the people working there were friendly and helpful. 

A few more pics of Tel Aviv before I leave for Jerusalem:

Modern and tropical.  Beautiful. Also went to the beach and saw a lovely sunset and had dinner by the water. 

Tel Aviv coast

But there is a grittier side to Tel Aviv too, filled with the reality of urban living. 

 These pictures are two views of the Tent City that remains in Tel Aviv, leftover from the 2011 Israeli social justice protest which, according to Wikipedia, "are a series of ongoing demonstrations in Israel beginning in July 2011 involving hundreds of thousands of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds opposing the continuing rise in the cost of living (particularly housing) and the deterioration of public services such as health and education. A common rallying cry at the demonstrations was the chant; "The people demand social justice!"."

There were still people in those tents as I passed. 

Beit Hatfutsot - Diaspora Museum (Wednesday last)

Spent an afternoon at Beit Hatfusot - the Diaspora Museum.  It had been nearly 30 years since I had last been there; as one can imagine, many changes had taken place.

My favorite area was still there, The Gate of Faith section with 18 miniature synagogue reproductions from around the world. Included were two synagogues I was familiar with - Beth Shalom Synagogue in PA designed by Franklin Lloyd Wright and Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI. 

I have fond memories of visiting Touro Synagogue back in 8th grade with Mrs. Twersky z"l Hebrew Day School. We were on a day long field trip to Newport and were only allowed to speak hebrew while we were there. What fun that was! She was an amazing teacher.

Also saw interesting films about the role of Jews in paintings and religious art as well as a general timeline of the cultural history of the Jews. 

Beit Hatfutsot - Diaspora Museum on the Campus of Tel Aviv University

The "enduring understanding" of the museum

MMK!!!

  

On my way to the Promised Land... with a stopover at Heathrow

So the day has finally arrived. My good friend Kate and I packed our bags (me with 3 times as many bags as she, as usual) and my dear husband drove us to the airport. Flying on British Airways - so far so good. 

Watched two movies. Frozen, in order to see what all the fuss was about. I fast forwarded through most of it but did enjoy the ice and snow graphics and the happy ending. 

I also watched Saving Mr. Banks. It's the  movies about Walt Disney and Mrs. Travers, the woman who created Mary Poppins and their interesting relationship or negotiation over 20 years to turn the books into a movie. It was an interesting and touching movie, particularly at the end. Lots of "psychology" about childhoods - good and bad - and life, and making do and remaking oneself.

Saving Mr. Banks reminded me of the two different stories of the spys - the three actually - one in Shlach Lecha, another in Deuteronomy Chapter 1 (a retelling with a twist of the of the original story) and a final story in Joshua  Chapter 2 that takes place 40 years later, Joshua send spies to scout out Jericho but learns from his predecessor Moshe's mistakes and sends out only 2 spies and does so in secret. 

(to learn more about the spies, read my last post: A Question of Faith) 

Why do I bring up the spies in relation to a Hollywood movie? Both the stories of the spies and Saving Mr. Banks reminded me of the prayer in birchot hashachar - pokeach ivrim, where we thank God for opening the eyes of the blind.  

For those who are not blind, the prayer is a means of thanking God for allowing us to see what is not readily apparent. What is present right in front of our eyes yet we are unable or unwilling to see it. The spies were greatly in need of that prayer during their expedition that day. 

Back to Saving Mr. Banks.  How was she saved? Pokeach Ivrim. Her eyes were opened. Her memories were examined, her past revisited and reanalyzed and her present was remade as a consequence. Amazing where tefilla references will pop up!