The Power of Perspective

In the aftermath of the splitting of the Red Sea and the ensuing drowning of the Egyptians, The Torah uses these three words to introduce the Shirat Hayam. The Midrash offers a perplexing comment on the choice of the word Az:

Amar Moshe Lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu: “Yodeia Ani Shechatati lefanecha b”Az” …… l’kach ani meshabeichacha b’Az’.”

          The Midrash refers back to the beginning of the Exodus story in Parshat Shemot (5:23). At that time Moshe was reluctant to represent Hashem in the process of redemption. Only after Hashem promises Moshe that his efforts will be met with success does he agree to embark on the mission. However his first meeting with Pharaoh was a complete disaster. Instead of things getting better for the Jews Pharaoh decrees that the slavery will intensify; no longer will the Jews be provided straw, and their output of bricks must remain at the same level. Moshe, feeling dejected and embarrassed, turned to God and says, “Why have you caused evil to this nation? Why have you sent me?” “Umei’Az bati el Paro ledaber bishmecha, heirah l’am hazeh- Since I went to speak to Pharaoh in Your name, God, things have just gotten worse.”

          Fast forward to today’s Torah reading, Beshalach. After the Egyptian army has been decimated and the Jews are free, the Torah chooses to use the word Az once again to introduce the Song at the Sea, indicating that Moshe wishes to atone for his usage of the word Az at the beginning of the story by using it again here.

          Rabbi Moshe Amiel, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv in the 1930’s explained that this Midrash is teaching us a lesson about the power of perspective. Our perspective can be a description or an aspiration. Sometimes our perspective is based on the reality as it seems. That is how Moshe used the word “Az” at the beginning of the story. After initially meeting Pharaoh Moshe could only see the reality as he confronted it; his meeting met with utter failure.

          The Torah comes back to the word “Az” to introduce the Shirat Hayam- once again spoken by Moshe but this time with a completely different meaning. Here Moshe is leading a people that is tasting its first moments of freedom. The possibilities at that moment are endless and Moshe capitalizes on the moment by using the word Az, but this time to indicate the potential that Bnei Yisrael now have under the direction and protection of Hashem. Using the word Az here indicates Moshe’s realization that man has the capacity to see the world not only as it is, but also as it can be.

          We all experience moments of inspiration and insight. Moments when we are inspired to take action. Moments when we realize change is in order. Moments when we understand that the way things have been need not be the way that things continue to be. By noting the word Az here and how it is compensating for its earlier usage, Chazal want us to understand that Moshe (and Bnei Yisrael) experienced such a moment of inspiration and insight at the Yam Suf.

With Our Youth and Our Elders

At the beginning of Parshat Bo, Pharaoh’s advisers urge him to acquiesce to Moshe’s demand to allow the Jews a three day spiritual retreat. Taking their advice, Pharaoh tells Moshe that the Jews can go, but then he asks “Mi VaMi HaHolchim?” ie “Who are you taking with you on this three day journey?” Moshe responds (10:9): 

יֹּ֣אמֶר משֶׁ֔ה בִּנְעָרֵ֥ינוּ וּבִזְקֵנֵ֖ינוּ נֵלֵ֑ךְ בְּבָנֵ֨ינוּ וּבִבְנוֹתֵ֜נוּ בְּצֹאנֵ֤נוּ וּבִבְקָרֵ֨נוּ֙ נֵלֵ֔ךְ כִּ֥י חַג־ה, לָֽנוּ:

Moses said, “With our youth and with our elders we will go, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our cattle we will go, for it is a festival of the Lord to us.”

      In Egyptian society, knowledge and religious service was reserved for the elite class. Knowledge is power. Spirituality provides meaning and purpose to one’s life. In a democracy, we have come to expect everyone to have the freedom to learn as they wish and to worship as they wish.  Yet we know that that is not the case, even today, in many parts of the world. That was certainly not the case in ancient Egypt. The Egyptian nobility wanted to keep the masses ignorant so that they would not challenge their authority. Even when Pharaoh agrees to allow the Jews to leave, he assumes that Moshe will be going with just a select group of the Jewish men. Even if Moshe was proposing the radical notion that all men should be allowed on this excursion, Pharaoh could not fathom any good reason to include women and children. In his response, Moshe makes clear the difference between Egyptian and Jewish society. In Egyptian society, there are important people who rule and the rest of the people are forced into an obedient, lesser role. In Judaism, everyone is important. Different people may have different roles, different specialties, and different focuses, but everyone is special and integral and needed: men, women and children.

      Moshe’s call for inclusion and the importance of every member of the community resonates with me each year on this Shabbat. According to Halacha once ten men gather in prayer they can constitute a minyan. Do we care if an eleventh or twelfth man comes to shul? What about women who do not count towards the minyan? Is there any reason for them to attend? Do we care if children (of either gender) participate in Jewish communal life, or do we not care until they reach Bar/ Bat Mitzvah? From Moshe’s response to Pharaoh the answers are clear. We were not leaving Egypt without everyone. We need everyone’s presence and participation in order to function our best as a community.

      Many people have not been to shul since last March. Due to the pandemic we are still unable to offer youth groups and babysitting on Shabbat morning.  Much of our programming has been moved online. Some who have returned to shul like it the way it is now. There are no “noisy kids” in shul. There’s no noise at all, as people sit too far apart to talk to their neighbor during davening, not to mention the masks. I am here to tell you that we committed to the charge, first expressed by Moshe in this morning’s Parsha. We will not be satisfied until we are able to welcome back all of our community members, men and women, young and old. We know that we must remain patient. It will take time for people to feel comfortable enough to come back. Others may have found alternate prayer arrangements for themselves during the pandemic. We must look to accommodate different prayer preferences as we invite everyone back to shul, over the weeks and months ahead. Only when we are able to accommodate all segments of our community can we declare a festival to Hashem, may it happen soon B’Ezrat Hashem.

The Power of Shabbat

 

In a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, US Congressman Chip Roy from Texas wrote that he is taking an indefinite leave from social media, inspired in part by how he saw Jews in Israel celebrate Shabbat. “We were inspired by seeing our Jewish brethren in Israel celebrate Shabbat, which reminded us of the Sundays we grew up with in the 1970s and ’80s,” he writes. “Ever since, one-seventh of our time has been immeasurably better, and Sunday dinner is a highlight of our week.” Congressman Roy continues, “I’m doing so not to make a political statement, but in the hope that America can return to kitchen tables, churches, taverns, coffee shops, dance halls (it’s a Texas thing) — whatever it takes to look others in the eye and rebuild our communities and humanity.”

      Shabbat is a gift that allows us to disconnect from lots of the noise and distraction that we encounter during the week. Shabbat provides us with the opportunity to be fully in the moment and fully present with others. Even Pharoah understood the power of Shabbat. The Midrash Rabbah writes that Moshe convinced Pharaoh to give the Jews a day off from their hard labor. He sold Pharoah on this idea by explaining that overall production will increase if the Jewish slaves were given a day off to rest and recuperate. Pharaoh agreed to this request, for his own self interest. In his wisdom, Moshe suggested Saturday as their day off. Soon enough Pharaoh had a change of heart (one of many that we read about):

תִּכְבַּ֧ד הָֽעֲבֹדָ֛ה עַל־הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֖ים וְיַֽעֲשׂוּ־בָ֑הּ וְאַל־יִשְׁע֖וּ בְּדִבְרֵי־שָֽׁקֶר:

Let the labor fall heavy upon the men and let them work at it, and let them not talk about false matters. (Shemot 5:8)

      Here the Midrash explains that Moshe had encouraged the Jews to utilize Shabbat not only for physical rest but for spiritual rejuvenation. To help with that, Moshe gave the Jews scrolls to learn. Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky suggests that these scrolls contained lessons about God’s dominion over the universe (even Pharaoh!) and the beauty of Shabbat. Pharaoh found out about this and realized that if the Jews were using Shabbat in this spiritually uplifting manner, then there was a significant risk that the Jews would no longer view themselves as slaves to Egypt, but rather servants to Hashem. In response, Pharaoh called these scrolls “false matters” and cancelled Shabbat, even though it was also to his detriment in terms of production. Pharaoh understood the power of Shabbat. Do we?

 

      Although Shabbat only occurs once a week, its lessons are meant to stay with us and influence our entire week, on an ongoing basis. This is Hashem’s message at the beginning of our Parsha

“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob with [the name] Almighty God, but [with] My name YHWH, I did not become known to them.”

      The name Sha-dai is derived from the word Dai – enough (like Dayeinu).

      The name Hashem (4 letter name that we do not pronounce as it is spelled) is a contraction of the words: Haya Hove Yihyeh. It refers to God’s Omnipresence- all the time; past present and future.

Hashem told Moshe that in the times of the Patriarchs, God appeared on an as-needed basis. But now that this clan has turned into a nation, it is necessary for God’s Presence to be manifest on an ongoing basis.

      We need Shabbat, today more than ever. Let us take advantage of the 25 hours of Shabbat and allow its lessons to influence and improve our lives during the other 143 hours per week of Chol (weekday).

 

 

Protecting and Strengthening Our Country

      On Wednesday a mob stormed the Capitol building, inflicted damage, and violently clashed with police. This riot was preceded by a protest rally featuring President Trump at which the results of the presidential election were questioned and rejected as fraudulent. January 6, 2021 will be a date that lives on in infamy. The events will be recorded in history books and taught to students. First political commentators and then historians will offer analysis and theories as to both the proximate and underlying causes of the unrest.

      Some have already declared the event to be a coup, an assault on our democracy and our country. These types of uprisings happen in other countries, not America. The world looks to the US as a beacon of democracy. One major indicator of the strength of American democracy has been the peaceful transfer of power, regardless of how heated the elections were or how much the candidates disagreed with one another.

      This peaceful transfer of presidential powers has always begun with the losing candidate conceding to the winning candidate. Until this year. There is no requirement for a concession to be offered, but it is a way for the losing candidate to demonstrate that the campaign was about a cause greater than him/herself. A concession indicates that win or lose, country, and the values upon which America was built, come first.

      We are living in hyper-political times. Extremism is too common and moderation is viewed as a weakness, along with compromise. Too many people live in echo chambers, never bothering to listen to different points of view. It starts with not listening, and it ends with demonizing those with whom you disagree.

      While there is still much to digest about the events of January 6, 2021, I’d like us to consider two thoughts that come to mind. First, we need to learn how to be good winners and good losers. In life we sometimes win and we sometimes lose. The rules of sportsmanship that we teach our kids when they’re young are no less important for us to live by as adults. Some might argue that when the stakes are high we are no longer bound by the proper conduct of winning and losing. The opposite is true: the higher the stakes, the more important it is for everyone to commit to not being sore losers or sore winners.

      Over the last two months I am reminded of what I would tell my kids all the time when they are playing games with others: Just because you lost, doesn’t mean that the other person cheated. Such a simple and basic lesson of sportsmanship has been lost on so many people today, with tragic outcomes for our democracy.

      Second, we should not always trust our feelings. In explaining why President Trump was pursuing legal challenges to the election, a campaign official said, “ Last time I checked the people were still in charge of the United States of America and there are about 74 million people out there who do not feel like the result of this election that's been presented is accurate.” Feelings can be terrible indicators of facts. We can acknowledge our feelings and try to understand why we are feeling the way we are. But before we trust our feelings we must investigate them and find facts that either support or challenge those feelings. Even after the facts prove your feelings wrong, it’s still Ok to feel a certain way, ie disappointed or angry. So long as you realize that your feelings are not consistent with the facts, because otherwise you enter into the dangerous arena of delusions.

      Every Shabbat we proudly pray for the welfare of the Unites States of America at each minyan. As we do so this Shabbat, let us remember that God helps those who help themselves. We must do what we can to protect and preserve a country and a form of government and political discourse that has been so beneficial for all American citizens and especially American Jews.

  

Trust In All the Right Places

 

At the end of Parshat Vayeshev, Yosef correctly interpreted the dreams of the royal baker and royal butler. He pleads with the butler to remember him when the butler returns to service as part of the Egyptian royal court. Parshat Miketz opens with the words “וַיְהִ֕י מִקֵּ֖ץ שְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֑ים” thereby informing us that it was only two years later, when Pharaoh experienced some inexplicable dreams, that the butler remembered to mention Yosef. This began a series of events that ultimately led to Yosef’s ascension to viceroy of Egypt.

The Midrash explains that Yosef was destined to remain in jail for two additional years as a punishment for his request of the butler.

אַשְׁרֵי הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר שָׂם ה' מִבְטַחוֹ (תהלים מ, ה), זֶה יוֹסֵף. (תהלים מ, ה): וְלֹא פָנָה אֶל רְהָבִים, עַל יְדֵי שֶׁאָמַר לְשַׂר הַמַּשְׁקִים (בראשית מ, יד): זְכַרְתַּנִּי וְהִזְכַּרְתַּנִּי, נִתּוֹסַף לוֹ שְׁתֵּי שָׁנִים

 “Praiseworthy is the person who has made Hashem his trust” (Tehillim 40:5) – this alludes to Yosef. “and did not turn to the arrogant”- (this also refers to Yosef). As a result of Yosef asking the butler twice to remember him (Bereishit 40:14) two years were added to his imprisonment.”
(Bereishit Rabba 89:3)

This is a very difficult Midrash. First, how can the Midrash identify Yosef as both a model of trust in Hashem, and at the same time criticize him for his lack of trust in Hashem? Second, how are we supposed to understand this Midrashic critique of Yosef? He was merely doing his due diligence, leaving no stone unturned in his effort to gain his freedom. While we value trust in God we also believe in the importance of human initiative. Experience has shown that often in life God helps those that help themselves.

Rav Moshe Avigdor Amiel explained that the Midrash is teaching us an important lesson. We are supposed to trust in God. We are supposed to trust in our own abilities and utilize those abilities to act. However we are not supposed to fully trust others. We make a mistake if we depend completely on others for our own salvation. As Rav Amiel puts it, quoting from the verse in Tehillim 40, Yosef was a “Gever” a man of action. He was a dreamer, and tradition teaches that dreams most commonly reflect the conscious thoughts of the dreamer. Yosef dreamed about leadership because he had ambition and passion. The greatness of Yosef was that he paired this ambition and hard work with an awareness and acknowledgement of the role of God at all stages of his life. God was with him as viceroy of Egypt, just as much as God was with him in the pit into which he was thrown by his brothers, and at all moments in between.

Yosef’s mistake was depending exclusively on the butler. Humans are fickle. Humans are forgetful. Humans make mistakes, sometimes in innocence and sometimes with malice.  Yosef’s plea to the butler was not an example of self-reliance, nor was it an example of reliance on Hashem. It was an example of relying exclusively on another human, an act that someone as righteous as Yosef should have known better to avoid.

This week people in the US (and in our community) began to get vaccinated against CoVID. It is a momentous occasion, some might even consider this achievement an overt miracle. As we marvel at human ingenuity and thank Hashem for allowing us to reach this milestone, we should learn from Yosef’s mistake. Trust in God. Trust in yourself. But never put all your trust in others.

No Flash Photography

 

      Last month I went with my son Eitan to Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch of the first manned commercial space rocket. A joint project of NASA and SpaceX, we watched as four astronauts entered the Falcon 9 space capsule and were rocketed into space to spend three months on the International Space Station. Before the launch a NASA educator who was providing narration for the event gave all of us first time launch watchers a piece of advice:

      Don’t try to take pictures or record the launch. First you will see the rocket launch. Then you will hear the noise of the rocket (as the speed of sound is slower than the speed of light). Then you will feel the reverberations of the launch – even though we are 7.6 miles away from the launch site. Take in the experience as it unfolds in real time. And then when you get home, find a cool launch picture online and send it to all of your friends.

      Too often we focus on recording our experiences instead of enjoying those experiences in the moment. For example, a person who spends more time photographing their meal and posting it to social media and less time enjoying the flavors of the dish or the company joining them at the restaurant has fallen victim to this mistake.

      After we light the Chanukah candles we say the brief prayer of Hanerot in which we say:

Throughout the eight days of Chanukah, these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make use of them, but only to look at them, in order to offer thanks and praise to Your great Name for Your miracles, for Your wonders and for Your salvations.

      In today’s world full of distractions, the Chanukah lights remind us of the importance of being fully in the moment. When we reflect on the candles, we will naturally be filled with gratitude –  for the miraculous events of the past and for the blessings in our lives today.

      In Parshat Vayeshev we learn about the sibling rivalry that existed between Yosef and his brothers. The rivalry was exacerbated when Yosef told his brothers about his dreams. Dreams are about the future. When Yosef’s brothers heard these dreams they had a choice how to respond. They could have said “Yeah, right” or “let’s see”. With these responses the brothers could have defused the situation for the time being. Instead, the brothers decided to focus on the potential future repercussions of Yosef’s dreams. If they had decided to remain in the moment, and pay less attention to the future implications of Yosef’s dreams, things may have turned out very differently. Rav Soloveitchik explained that the severity of the Egyptian exile was due in large part to the callous manner in which the brothers treated Yosef. This callousness can be traced back to the brothers’ inability to live in the present and focus on the here and now.

      Let us learn from the brothers’ mistake. Let us internalize the message of the Chanukah lights. As they burn, let us look at them intently and commit to living in the moment, appreciating every day. And then let us take a similar approach to our family, friends and acquaintances. Instead of looking at people and seeing any past flaws or potential future problems, let us see them with fresh eyes and appreciate them and our relationship with them. In this way the lessons of Chanukah can enlightened our lives beyond the actual days of the holiday.

 

From Challenge to Strength

 

In Parshat Vayishlach we read how Rachel names her second son just before she dies (35:18)

וַיְהִ֞י בְּצֵ֤את נַפְשָׁהּ֙ כִּ֣י מֵ֔תָה וַתִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ בֶּן־אוֹנִ֑י וְאָבִ֖יו קָֽרָא־ל֥וֹ בִנְיָמִֽין:

And it came to pass, when her soul departed for she died that she named him Ben Oni, but his father called him Benjamin

What was the disagreement in names between Rachel and Yaakov really about?

Ben Oni according to Ibn Ezra: means ben Aveili: son of my mourning. Related to the word onen- a person who has lost a close relative; before burial and the start of shiva- a person is an Onen- exempt from positive mitzvot and from displays of joy such as consuming meat and wine.

According to Rashi: Ben Oni means ben Tzaari- son of my pain. Both interpretations makes sense as Rachel died in childbirth. 

Yaakov, in response called the child Binyamin. According to the first explanation of Rashi- “Son of my right” the Torah’s compass is oriented East towards the sun, when facing East, the South is to your right. According to Rashi, Yaakov is indicating that Binyamin is the only child to be born in Canaan- for Yaakov traveled south from Charan to reach Eretz Yisrael. Binyamin was Yaakov’s Sabra child. The Netziv takes it one step further and suggests that Yaakov was noting that not only was Binyamin born in Eretz Yisrael, but in the southern portion of the Land. Historically the major centers of Torah- Yerushalyim, Yavneh- were in the south. The name Binyamin therefore alludes not only to Eretz Yisrael, but also Torat Yisrael.

We call this child Binyamin. It seems as though Yaakov’s name stuck. By all other eleven tribes, the mother named the child. Why should this child be different?

 Ramban explains that in truth this is no different than the other tribes.  Rachel called the child Ben Oni- and Yaakov also called the child Ben Oni.

 Rachel meant Ben Oni “son of my pain and mourning”. Yaakov meant ben Oni as “son of my strength”- like the word Oni is used in Parshat Vayechi in Yaakov’s blessing to Reuven: “Reishit Oni- first of my strength.” The word Oni can mean sadness and it can mean strength. Yaakov says to Rachel, “you are right, his name is Ben Oni. But it means he is a son of strength.” Binyamin is not a different name for the boy- His name was Ben Oni. Binyamin is Yaakov’s interpretation of the name that Rachel initially gave him.

Ramban puts it beautifully: “V’Aviv Asah Min Oni- Kochi”

Yaakov translated Ben Oni as Binyamin: sadness and challenge- into strength.

The Vilna Gaon once said that if you want to know what your purpose in life is- don’t focus on what you’re good at, what comes easy to you. Think about your greatest challenges- for it is in confronting and growing from your biggest challenges that you will find why you were put in this world.

Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas write about the Crucibles of Leadership; one common trait found in all leaders is their ability to learn and grow from adverse situations and difficulties. It can be a major crisis or a moment in which they felt challenged- externally or from within. It is through those challenges that leaders grow and maximize, and realize their abilities. Let us each in our own way Asah Min Oni- Kochi: appreciate the potential for renewed and expanded strength that exists in every challenge.