I received inspiration for this d’var from a podcast discussion between the host Jonathan Silver of the Tikvah Project and his guest, Rabbi Daniel Gordis of Shalem College in Israel. They discussed the growing divide between Israeli and American Jews. No longer do we live in an American society where support for Israel is automatic and where Israel can do no wrong. Not only are we as Jews attacked by far-right extremists, but we now experience the far-left who question Israeli policies especially in the area of the Occupied Territories. And this anti-Israel sentiment is now heard from our fellow Jews as well. Religious belief in America is diverse across a wide spectrum of beliefs, but Israelis are typically either Orthodox or Secular with a few who find themselves involved in the Mesorti or Conservative sect and the Reform sect.

I have given the dvar for Bamidbar for the last five years since it is my Bar Mitzvah parasha. This year, I went back and reread the parahsa with a different mindset. Bamidbar means, “In the Wilderness”, but in English this book is called Numbers. We completed the book of VaYikra last week and now transition to wandering in the desert where the revelation occurs. Tomorrow we celebrate Shavuot which celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai which begins the establishment of a formal book of law.

Verse 2 begins with G-d speaking to Moses, “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head.  You and Aaron shall record them by their groups, from the age of twenty years up, all those in Israel who are able to bear arms.  Associated with you shall be a man from each tribe, each one the head of his ancestral house”.  This census begins the lineage of the Jewish people as 603,550 males over the age of 20 were counted.

The census, organized by tribe, establishes the numbers which defend the nation of Israel. The tribes flew their flags in the formation of the encampment. The count and the structure established a position of strength in hopes of avoiding war. Was there any premonition to the future that each of these tribes would spread the Jewish people to different parts of the world in the future? What would happen to the strength in numbers when there was no longer a single presence as one nation?  A common set of beliefs and morals were established to build the basis to form a nation based on the laws of the Torah. Would anything have changed knowing the state of modern day Judaism and the events leading up to present time over the past thousands of years?

The English Oxford Living Dictionary defines a religion as, “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal G-d or gods.” A nation is defined as, “a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory.” So, where do we as Jews fit into these definitions? Most Americans think of Judaism as a religion first. The basis of our Jewish upbringing revolves around receiving a Hebrew School education, having a Bar Mitzvah, attending shul and building a social network of other Jews. In Israel, I believe people see themselves as a nation first and as a religion second. Those of us outside Israel do not inhabit a common land or speak Hebrew fluently.

Recently, in some heated Congressional politics here in the US, the allegiance to America over Israel was questioned. It is Jewish nature to feel a bond to Jews everywhere and especially to those Jews in Israel. But it cannot be disputed, that the vast majority of American Jews are patriotic to their home country. It is not just a yes or no or a right or wrong answer. As Jews, we owe our allegiance to both our home country and to our ultimate homeland, Israel. We as Jews have never been treated better in the history of the diaspora than we have been treated here in the US. Most people have created a successful and comfortable life. Let’s hope we never find ourselves forced into a position of having to give-up our dual loyalty.

The answer to the question – Are we a people or are we a religion is not so simple. The answer depends on where you live and the individual perspective you take. For those in the US we are part of a religion that has survived thousands of years in various locations because of our belief in a fundamental value system originating at Mt. Sinai. The argument can be made that we are a single people that have taken up residence in various host countries over the years and carried with us the same fundamental beliefs. But a people or a nation requires a common system of laws, a common culture, a common language and political structure to support everyday life. The only place that all these aspects exist today is in Israel. As American Jews, most do not understand and speak Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people.

Religion provides the underlying structure that governs the laws, the culture and the language that the state of Israel is built on. Just last week Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to form a government because of a single issue – the requirement from the opposition that all Israelis serve in the military no matter their religious beliefs. Will a three-year absence from formal study negatively impact a segment of society devoted to Torah study and the future of Judaism? I believe not. What happens to a nation formed on the foundation of religion if the Jewish people continue to exist, but the Jewish religion slowly fades away? Is it possible to have a Jewish People without Judaism?

Shabbat Shalom

The following refrain is from the 1982 song performed by Quarterflash. When I read this week’s parasha, Va’era, this song popped into my head.

I’m gonna swallow my tears
I’m gonna harden my heart
I’m gonna turn and leave you here

Anyone remember that one? It certainly received its fair share of radio play.  And it brought forth once again the notion the lessons of the Torah are timeless and adaptable to various situations.

This week we read about the first seven of the ten plagues. We read the words numerous times, “ואני אקשה את לב פרעה” – “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”.  G-d commands Moses and Aaron to initiate each of the first seven of the ten plagues: turn the water to blood, frogs inhabit the land, lice infest the Egyptians, swarms of insects, cattle plague kills off the livestock, boils break out on man and beast, and torrential hail comes down on the land. And after each plague Pharaoh throws up his hands and says, “enough”. But G-d steps in and hardens Pharaoh’s heart. As soon as the plague goes away, Pharaoh changes his mind and does not free the Israelites.

Does G-d take joy in the suffering of the Egyptians? If G-d is benevolent and compassionate, why does he want to see them continue to suffer.

How do we resolve the continual inflection of pain upon a people because of the behavior of their ruler? We read in Chapter 9 verses 15 and 16, “I could have stretched forth My hand and stricken you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been effaced from the earth.  Nevertheless, I have spared you for this purpose: in order to show you My power, and in order that My fame may resound throughout the world.” G-d makes it clear that he has the power to end the suffering in a single action but deems it more important to use the ten plaques to prove his power to the entire world.

Throughout history we witness accounts of suffering at the hands of an unjust tyrant. Do we blame all Germans for the Holocaust? Is it wrong that all of Egypt except for the region of Goshen, the region where the Israelites lived were obliterated by the hail storm for the sake of proving the power of the Lord? Unfortunately, during any act of war, there are innocent civilians that suffer. How we deal with the suffering is what sets us apart.

During the Passover Seder, the custom of dipping your finger in a cup of wine and letting a drop fall to your plate began in the medieval times. The custom is not to rejoice in our eventual victory by recalling each of the plagues, but to slowly decrease our joy of the Israelites liberation while recalling the pain suffered by the Egyptians. The Chabad rabbis teach that reciting a prayer over a cup of wine allows us to ingest the words of the holiness of the barucha recited prior to drinking. Many adhere to the custom of everyone sharing from the same Kiddush cup of the one saying the blessing so that all ingest the words of holiness. During the recitation of the plagues we spill out a small portion of wine upon the calling out of each plague, so the wine left in the cup that we eventually consume is filled only with blessings.

How would things have changed if there was cable news during the time of Pharaoh? Imagine how the coverage of the seventh plague, hail, would be broadcast.

On CNN – An ancestor of Anderson Cooper would be standing outside with his heavy-duty rain slicker while being plopped on the head by the hail.

On MSNBC – The story line would center on how the hail storm has nothing to do with the plague initiated by G-d but rather is caused by global warming that is predicted to happen thousands of years in the future. An interesting aside, is this where the term “an act of G-d” originated?

On Fox News – The hail storm is nothing more than a conspiracy dreamed up by the Jews to place blame on Pharaoh and his loyal followers. The hail is not caused by the G-d of the Israelites, but by the magicians Aaron and Moses.

If there was cable news or some other form of mass communications could we assume the Egyptians would still have blindly followed the directive of Pharaoh? Would the outcome have been different during the enslavement of the Israelites? Today, are we complicit with the acts of our federal, state or local governments regardless of our personal views? Mass media and social networking are critical for a society to maintain freedom and ethical behavior. We know the treatment of the masses is very different in countries which practice strict forms of censorship. 

I admit at times I can become addicted to cable news, podcasts, newspapers and any other form of information available to me. During the month of December, I tried to not watch cable news, but did read the New York Times daily. I did feel happier wrapped in my cocoon of not knowing every detail of what was going on in our country, in Israel and the rest of the world. However, I now realize that ignorance does in fact make one complicit.

We as a people must continue to fight against acts of violence, oppression and discrimination. Without knowledge, we too become guilty by association. I hope one day distant in the future, people are not dipping their fingers in their wine glass to commemorate the pain and suffering of us or any other population of people.

Shabbat Shalom

“We are all going to die and that makes us the lucky ones”. And no, the scene is not set in a lake full of alligators where death by drowning is better than being eaten alive. This quote is from Richard Dawkin, an atheist. I may be the only one delivering a Yom Kippur talk quoting an atheist. While shocking to hear at first, this thought from Dawkin makes sense. All of us are destined for death, and yes, that makes us the lucky ones because we have had the opportunity to live and to share special times with family, with friends and with community.

This summer I read a book by Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, which advocates the positive in the world rather than our natural inclination to focus on the negative. It is difficult to see the positive around us when we are constantly bombarded with bad news. It is unfortunate that ratings are always higher when broadcasting tragedy rather than the good side of the news. We see endless hours of reporters standing in the wind and rain during a hurricane, constant coverage of political infighting or the breaking news of a tragic event like a school shooting. In contrast, we may see a thirty-second clip of people helping others in times of need. I believe our concern for others draws us to these tragedies, but why is more attention not given to the good in the world?

In fact, overall the world is a better place than it has ever been.  There is less poverty, the illiteracy rate is down, and the developed world has become a safer place to live.  Yes, the acts by terrorists are increasing, yes there are still shootings in our schools and other public places, yes there are vehicles deliberately driven into crowds of people, and yes there is a rise in anti-Semitism in this country and even more so in Europe. But there were no babies born with Aids in Africa last year and there are less children dying around the world due to the advancements in health care funded by both government and philanthropic efforts. Pinker writes, “Most people agree that life is better than death. Health is better than sickness. Sustenance is better than hunger. Abundance is better than poverty. Peace is better than war…”.

In the past month, two national figures died, John McCain and Aretha Franklin.  They both rose to national prominence during their lifetimes.  The country was enthralled by their funerals held one and two weeks after their deaths. In contrast, we Jews bury our dead as quickly as possible. Our practices of mourning during the shiva and sholshim periods, has proven psychological benefits. In the African American, Christian culture, the funeral is known as a Homegoing.  Death is not just about mourning, but a moment of joy and celebration of going home to the Lord – going home to heaven. The funeral starts out with solemn prayer, the reading of scripture, and then transitions to the joyful and uplifting gospel prayers. Our custom is to transition the mourner back to the normalcy of life slowly while they begin the transition the same day. The reality sets in that death is a natural part of living.

Aretha Franklin’s funeral was an all-day service, about the same length as our Yom Kippur service. However, I am sure they were provided nourishment periodically during the day and were entertained by A-list celebrities singing gospel hymns.

Who needs celebrities when we have our wonderful troupe of chazanim to lead us in spiritual and uplifting prayer. We recited Unetaneh Tokef, the masterful and timeless piyyut during the Rosh Hashanah Musaf Amidah, and we will recite it again shortly. One of the most recognizable parts of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur service, this piyyut is remembered for the lines, “Who shall live and who shall die.” During the days leading up to Yom Kippur, we extend wishes of גמר חתומה טובה, literally translated as, “May your final sealing be good” or more commonly known as “May you be sealed in the book of life”.

The book of life does not just mean living. Being sealed for life is essential, but Unetaneh Tokef also focuses on being sealed for a quality of life.

“…Who shall be at peace and who shall be pursued,
Who shall be at rest and who shall be tormented,
Who shall be exalted and who shall be brought low,
Who shall become rich and who shall be impoverished.”

The questions are asked. Your behavior, as Larry so beautifully spoke about on Rosh Hashanah, will lessen the decree and determine the answers.

Despite the growing anti-Semitism in Europe and the US, we live in the diaspora as Jews with more influence, with more freedom and with more wealth than any time in history. We have opportunities that our grandparents and in some cases our parents would never have dreamed possible. And their wish of a better life for their children and grandchildren has come true. For those of you who are parents, I know your wish is for your children to have a comfortable and fulfilling life.

Sitting in Shul this High Holidays brings back pleasant memories. During the Musaf service on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, Shelley evoked a wonderful memory of a time when I would take my grandfather to High Holiday services at Shearith Israel in Atlanta.  The joyous tune Shelley used for ארשת שפתינו  immediately following the Shofar blasts was the same tune the cantor and the men’s choir used in Atlanta. I recall a pre-Bar Mitzvah boy in the choir who would belt out in his tenor voice singing Tekiah, just as we did.  Feelings I have not felt for 30 years. Memories that will never depart.

Like the news, it is easy to forget the good and dwell only on bad memories. Leave those thoughts behind and think of the joyous times you have had with parents, with grandparents, with children and with other family members. Think about how fortunate you are to have shared these experiences during your life. Take these experiences and the values passed down to you that have been essential to our survival for thousands of years and develop new memories. Our future as a people, your future and the future of generations to come is defined by these traditions, the passing down of values and the living of a righteous life.

As the book is closing, now is the time to remember these cherished relationships in the new year. Focus on the positive and minimize the negative around you. We all start tomorrow with a clean slate with G-d. Reach out to a family member you have not spoken to recently, repair relationships that may be damaged, do something to help those less fortunate than you. At sundown tonight, may the sound of the shofar awaken us to begin a year filled with health, happiness and memories to be made for generations to come.

Today we begin the reading of the book of Bamidbar or In the Wilderness of Sinai.

Bamidbar is also known in English as The Book of Numbers because it begins with the census taken of the Israelites at the beginning of their 40-year wandering through the wilderness. In Verse 2 G-d is speaking to Moses, “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head.  You and Aaron shall record them by their groups, from the age of twenty years up, of all those in Israel who are able to bear arms.  Associated with you shall be a man from each tribe, each one the head of his ancestral house.”

And thus began the lineage of the Jewish people as 603,550 males over the age of 20 were counted in the census.  Why only count the men and not the women?  It made practical sense that only the adult males should be counted to know the potential strength of the Israelite army.

Have you ever stopped to think how much in our lives revolve around numbers?  It takes ten people to make a minyan, we work for a salary, we live at an address, we look around the room to count how many people are here. Numbers are a convenient way to both differentiate us and group us into units. Moses and Aaron grouped the Israelites into the 12 tribes based on their ancestry.

Many events throughout the Torah encompasses numbers.  The story of Bereshit counts the days of creation, Noah took two of each animal, the building of the tabernacle goes into meticulous numerical and geometric details, Larry mentioned the Shmita last week which takes place every seventh year.  The involvement of numbers in our lives is ever present.

There are numbers that leave us with lasting impressions.  Six million is a number we remember all too well.  During the Holocaust, one of the darkest periods of our time, names were replaced with numbers tattooed into arms. Shaved heads, prison uniforms and yellow Stars of David took away any sense of individuality.  In his d’var two weeks ago, Bill spoke about the victims as those that died as Kiddush Hashem, for the sake of G-d’s name.

It is estimated that only 400,000 Holocaust survivors remain and most are eighty or ninety years old. A recent study published by the New York Times reported that 41% of Americans and 66% of millennials do not know what the Holocaust is.  We just celebrated the 70th birthday of Israel.  What will the general population remember about the Holocaust in another seventy years. Who will make sure their story continues to be told.

Our news today is unfortunately filled with numbers. Seventeen high school kids killed at Parkland;  59 people killed by a sniper in Las Vegas, twenty-seven people killed in a Sutherland Springs Church and just yesterday in the 22^nd school shooting of 2018 ten people were killed at Santa Fe High School near Galveston. Will it ever end?

This week we celebrated the official opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.  What a glorious day to see our country acknowledge that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people. Unfortunately, there were adverse consequences of this embassy move that the world focused on. While we celebrated, sixty-two Palestinians were killed in Gaza during their violent “protests”. The move of the embassy may have initiated the uprising, but the source of the hostility goes much deeper.  We have seen this story of hatred of the Jews played out not only in recent history, but for thousands of years.  Most likely, it will never change.

While the movement of the embassy provided the Palestinians backed by Hamas a reason to express disdain for Israel and hatred of Jews around the world, it does pain me to see how Hamas uses women, children and the disabled as pawns.  There was an excellent opinion piece, Gaza’s Miseries Have Palestinian Authors, written by Brett Stephens in the New York Times on Wednesday of this past week.  If you did not have a chance to read the article, a link will be included in the text of this d’var posted on the website after Yom Tov. In his piece, he summarizes the recent history of the Hamas led insurrections in Gaza and references the statement by a Hamas official that 50 of the 62 people killed were Hamas operatives and three more were claimed by Islamic Jihad.

Moses and Aaron took a census to make sure there were sufficient numbers to fight off the enemy. Today, thousands of years later, we are still building armies to fight off our enemies.  But this census was different to the census taken in parashat  Ki Tissa where a half shekel was collected and the coins were counted to determine the size of the population.  The key element of the census taken in this week’s parashat is the census is a “listing by name”.   Ramban comments that the essence of this census taken is that each person is recognized as an individual as they are counted before Moses and Aaron.

It is too easy to take human lives and turn them into a statistic.  Each and every one of us are individuals.  In any tragic loss of life, it is the lives of individuals that make up the referenced group.  It is not the 6,000,000 Jews killed in the Holocaust, but individuals, our relatives.  It is not the seventeen victims of Parkland, but individuals including Alyssa Alhadeff, Jaime Guttenberg,  and Aaron Feis.  It is not the fifty-nine victims in Las Vegas, but individuals including Heather Alvardo, Carrie Barnette and Jack Beaton.  And it is not sixty-two innocent Palestinian victims killed in the protest, but fifty-three terrorists and nine unfortunate civilian casualties, each with their own unique identity.

We belong to the Jewish people, a people that have survived despite continual attempts of annihilation.  Even though it is important to maintain our individual personalities and our unique place in the world, we have survived because we collectively remain members of the Jewish people.  And we will continue to survive as long as we remain עם אחד – one people.

Shabbat Shalom.