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7/20/18 Eric/Dr Julie Schindler
7/27/18 Tawanda Wooten

torah

Torah

Torah Portion of the Week— Matot & Mass’ei

In parashat Matot, Numbers 31:1, God tells Moses נְקֹם נִקְמַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֵת הַמִּדְיָנִים, אַחַר תֵּאָסֵף אֶל עַמֶּיךָ, Take vengeance for the Children of Israel against the Midianites; afterwards you will be gathered unto your people.

The immorality and idolatry that resulted from the harlotry of both the Midianite and Moabite women resulted in the death of 24,000 Jews from a plague (Numbers 25:1-9). Rashi states that because Ruth, the ancestress of King David, was destined to descend from Moab, God spared the Moabites. Nachmanides, the Ramban, suggests that the Moabites were spared punishment because they acted out of fear while the Midianites were motivated by sheer hatred of the People of Israel.

The Torah, in Numbers 31, notes that each of the 12 tribes sent 1,000 men to do battle with the Midianites, totaling 12,000 soldiers. Although Pinchas the son of Elazar, now a Kohen, did not personally fight, he was present during the battle, and stood with the sacred vessels and the trumpets sounding in his hand to encourage the soldiers. The Torah states that the Israelites killed every Midianite male and that Bilaam the son of Beor was among those slain by the sword. The women of Midian, their young children, the Midianites’ cattle, flocks and all their wealth was taken as spoils. The homes of the Midianites and their palaces were burnt in fire.

When Moses saw that the Israelites had allowed the Midianite women to live, he was angry and ordered the soldiers to kill every woman who had previously lain with a man, as well as all the male children. The spoils of the war, the booty, were distributed equitably–half to the soldiers and the remaining half to the rest of the People of Israel.

Of course, this is not the only instance in which Israel is instructed by God to make war. In the war with Amalek (Exodus 17:8-13) the Israelites killed all the inhabitants–men, women, and children and even their animals. And so it was with the battles with the seven Canaanite nations when Israel conquered the Promised Land with Joshua as the leader.

Of course, all this took place in a different era, over 3,000 years ago, at a time when the prevailing values were much different than contemporary values, and yet it is quite evident that Judaism was extremely sophisticated in its rules of warfare.

Nothing in Judaism is more sacred than the sanctity of human life, whether that life is Jewish or non-Jewish. In fact, the utopian dream of peace is articulated by the prophet, in Isaiah 2:4:

And they [the nations] shall beat their swords into Plowshares,
And their spears into pruning-hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.

Rashi on Exodus 20:22, cites the Midrash Mechilta that explains that iron and implements of iron are forbidden to be used in the construction of the altar because the stones of the altar were intended to atone for the human being’s sins and to prolong life. Iron and weapons of iron shorten life. King David was forbidden to build the Temple in Jerusalem because of the blood he shed in warfare (I Chronicles 22:8).

Maimonides in the Laws of Kings 6:4, remarkably claims that members of the seven Canaanite nations and even those of the detested nation of Amalek, who were prepared to accept the Noahide principles of basic common humanity could be spared. The operating assumption is that the Canaanites and the Amalekites were non-Noahides. They would not abide by, nor accept, the seven Noahide principles: the prohibition of idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft, eating an animal’s limb while the animal is still alive, and establishing basic rules of law and business. Thus, these nations–literally barbarians, who refused to accept even the lowest common denominator of human conduct, were killed. All others were spared.

The laws of conduct in warfare in Judaism are quite remarkable and far ahead of any other people of their time. Everything possible must be done to avoid war. However, there are times when war is not only justified, it is mandatory. The Talmud in Sanhedrin 72a, therefore proclaims, “If a person intends to kill you, be first to kill him.”

The Torah demands that the leaders of Israel must first sue for peace when they go to war. If the enemy agrees to live by the seven Noahide principles, they may be spared. According to Maimonides, it’s forbidden to besiege a city on all four sides–there must be an open avenue of escape. One is not permitted to cut down fruit-bearing trees even in times of war, even when Jewish soldiers’ lives are at stake. One is not permitted to destroy property for the sake of destruction. One is not allowed to close up wells and divert the waterworks. A Jewish soldier has to carry a spade with him in order to properly get rid of his bodily wastes.

While Judaism is not a pacifistic religion, it abhors the wanton taking of life. In ancient times, Israel was able to declare wars of self-defense and even wars to expand the borders of Israel as David did, as “mitzvah wars.” With the exception of “mitzvah wars,” a king could generally not declare war independently; he needed the approval of the 70 sages from the Sanhedrin in order to go out to battle.

Yet, there are strains of pacifism that may be found in Judaism. The fact that every Jewish soldier has to give a half shekel, (Exodus 30:12), as a “redemption for his soul,” implies that no matter how noble the cause, a soldier who takes another human being’s life is a sinner, and is thus required to pay atonement for his soul. Shabbat Shalom

Torah Portion of the Week

TORAH PORTION OF THE WEEK – DEVARIM

The book of Deuteronomy is known in rabbinic literature as מִשְׁנֶה תוֹרָה, Mishneh Torah, which means, a repetition or review of the Torah. During the last five weeks of Moses’ life, the fortieth year after the Exodus from Egypt, Moses conveys his final teachings to the People of Israel.

Moses was concerned that once the people enter the “Promised Land,” the new generation would succumb to the powerful influences and temptations of the local Canaanite inhabitants. He reasoned that if the previous generation of Israelites, the parents, could continually sin even though they were surrounded by constant miracles, what would happen to the new generation who were confronted by the blandishments of the idolatrous Canaanite nations?

Moses therefore, gently rebuked the new generation to prepare the people for the new reality. According to Rashi, Moses offered his rebuke in an indirect and mild manner, rather than forcefully.

The book of Deuteronomy opens with the following prologue (Deuteronomy 1:1): אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן, בַּמִּדְבָּר, בָּעֲרָבָה, מוֹל סוּף, בֵּין פָּארָן וּבֵין תֹּפֶל וְלָבָן וַחֲצֵרֹת וְדִי זָהָב, These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel on the opposite side of the Jordan, in the Wilderness, in the Arabah, opposite the Sea of Reeds, between Paran and Tophel and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.

Rather than forcefully reprove the people for the terrible sins they had committed as they wandered in the wilderness, Moses alludes to the sins obliquely by referring to the various places where these sins were committed: בַּמִּדְבָּר, in the Wilderness, where the people complained that they had been led into a desert to starve (Exodus 16:1-3); בָּעֲרָבָה, in the Arabah. Rashi and Onkelos  explain that this refers to the plain where many Israelites were seduced by the Midianite women (Numbers 25:1-9); מוֹל סוּף, opposite the Sea of Reeds, where the Israelites, who were being chased by the Egyptians at the sea, sarcastically complained: “Were there no graves in Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11). Even when they emerged from the sea, the people cried because they were certain that the Egyptians had escaped drowning and were waiting for them on the other side of the sea; בֵּין פָּארָן, between Paran, which is where the spies were sent from in the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 13:1-15); וּבֵין תֹּפֶל וְלָבָן, between Tophel and Laban. Rashi claims that these places are not mentioned anywhere in Scripture, rather they are allusions to complaints about the manna (Numbers 21:5). Tophel also refers to the tasteless bread–-the manna (Numbers 11:6); וַחֲצֵרֹת, Hazeroth is either the location where Korach’s rebellion took place or where Miriam was stricken for slandering Moses (Numbers 12:1-16); and finally, דִי זָהָב, the Jews were blessed with an abundance of gold (Zahav) when they left Egypt, but instead used this gift to fashion the Golden Calf.

The Torah, in Leviticus 19:17, declares, הוֹכֵחַ תּוֹכִיחַ אֶת עֲמִיתֶךָ, you shall surely rebuke your brother. The Talmud, in Baba Metzia 31a, explains that the repetition in the verse is intended to underscore that one should rebuke his brother repeatedly until he repents. The verse concludes with, וְלֹא תִשָּׂא עָלָיו חֵטְא, and you shall not bear sin because of him. The sages declare that this implies that those who have an opportunity to prevent their friends and neighbors from sinning and fail to do so, commit an unfortunate sin of omission, and must assume at least partial responsibility for the misdeeds they could have prevented. As an example, the Talmud in Shabbat 54b reports that a cow, belonging to Rab Elazar ben Azaria’s neighbor, used to go out on Shabbat wearing a forbidden type of strap. Because he never tried to correct his neighbor’s improper behavior, the cow was known as “Reb Elazar’s cow.”

The regulations regarding rebuke require that one who rebukes a neighbor/friend must do so in a kind and gentle manner with no ulterior motive, and with only the clear intention to help the transgressors mend their ways.

One must not shame a sinner in public without first having tried to rebuke the sinner in private. One who unnecessarily shames or humiliates another person in public, forfeits his share in the World to Come. That is why the rabbis say that Moses did not mention the sinful acts themselves, but rather alluded to them obliquely by mentioning the locations where the sins

The Talmud, in Yevamot 65b, states that just as it is a mitzvah for a person to speak only words that can be understood, so is it a mitzvah for a person to refrain from saying things that cannot be heard or understood. This is what the Yalkut Shimoni means when it said that the people were able to “tolerate” the reproof–that they heard it, accepted it, and used it to mend their ways and attitudes.

A Jew who sins becomes a weak link in the chain of Jewish posterity. Giving rebuke to sinners can often help repair that link. It may also help to strengthen the commitment of those who give rebuke, because they must now live up to the ideal of what they expect of others. Shabbat Shalom

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