Parshat Ki Teitzei

Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue

Parshat Shoftim

Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9

Synopsis

Upon entering the land, the Israelites are commanded to establish courts of law within their settlements. Judges are told to be fair and impartial, never accepting bribes or favoring anyone.

Again, Moses warns the people against idolatrous worship. An individual accused of establishing alien worship is declared guilty only upon the testimony of two or more witnesses. The penalty is death.

A case too difficult for a judge to decide is brought before the Levitical priests or magistrates for a ruling.

Should the people choose to establish a monarchy after they take possession of the Land, Moses provides them with a framework for how this is to be done. The king must be an Israelite. He should not have numerous wives or acquire great wealth. The teaching (Torah law) is to guide him at all times.

Moses instructs the people not to become involved in soothsaying or sorcery, for these are idolatrous practices of other nations.

Moses warns the people against false prophets and tells them how to identify a true prophet. Moses continues his discourse by describing the cities of refuge - three cities on each side of the Jordan set aside for individuals who accidentally kill someone. Moses further instructs the people to increase the number of refuge cities as their territory increases.

As the portion concludes, Moses discusses the rules by which Israel is to conduct its wars, exempt individuals from wars, and deal with unsolved murders.

For your Shabbat table Torah discussion:

• In each of these final portions of the Torah, Moses repeats himself quite often. Why do you think he spends so much time reminding the Israelites of everything that has been told to them?
• This parsha is called Shoftim, which means "judges." In this portion, Moses reminds the people that judges must be fair. Is it difficult to always be fair? What qualities must a judge have that would help to keep him/her fair?
• There are many rules in the Torah, many of which are repeated here. How do rules help to make things fair? What makes a fair rule? What makes an unfair rule?

This week's g-dcast cartoon:

Rosh Hodesh Elul

Today is the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul, the month immediately preceding the High Holy Days and a time of personal reflection. I encourage you to take a look at the Jewels of Elul website - http://jewelsofelul.com/- (you can have them delivered to your email every day, as well!) as a way to begin to prepare yourself for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Additionally, I'd like to reprint a listserve article I received last year from Doron Kornbluth, an educator in Israel. You can sign up for his listserve - many of the articles have proven to be thought provoking. I hope you enjoy this one as my offering for Elul - Keeping Your Family Jewish.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keeping Our Families Jewish
By Doron Kornbluth

Yes, You Can

We tell it to our kids. We tell it to our employees or students. We sometimes even tell it to ourselves. One step at a time. Slowly but surely. Small steps. Baby steps. Patience. There are many ways of saying the same thing – the only way to learn is to start slowly, learning each piece of the puzzle one by one. If you try too much too quick you are bound to fail. The Talmud actually has an ancient phrase for it: “Tafasta Meruba, Lo Tafasta” – which means, “If you have grabbed too much, you have grabbed nothing.”

Lurking behind the phrases is the simple notion that we can indeed learn many new skills as long as proceed slowly. In other words, these phrases actually contain two ideas, not one: (1) we CAN learn new things; (2) as long as we proceed slowly.

My wife is a dance instructor. I’m not (to say the least). True, I’m not naturally athletic or graceful. No matter how much I worked at it, it is highly unlikely I would ever be a great dancer. But the main reason that I am not even a competent dancer is that I’ve never actually tried. How many hours have I put into dancing? Zilch, almost.

On the other hand, last week I rented a stick shift car for the first time. First day, near-whiplash. 2^nd day, less painful. 3^rd day, even less painful. Put some time in and you can develop competency in most things in life.

The point is obvious. So obvious that we don’t even pay attention to it and therefore miss its importance. Put simply, we CAN learn new things.

As Jewish parents – indeed, as Jews, we should always be trying to improve. As Rosh Hashana approaches, it is a good time to start thinking about choosing from a number of possible steps to strengthen your family’s Jewishness. Possibilities are endless. Here are a few popular choices:

You CAN learn to say a simple blessing over the wine and bread on Friday night in order to bring some Jewishness into your weekly schedule. It’ll take a few times to get the Hebrew right. Net investment, MAYBE, 20-30 minutes. The biggest challenge for many people is getting over the embarrassment of being a university-educated successful person who can’t pronounce Hebrew. Relax. Most university-educated successful Jews can’t pronounce Hebrew. Modern life. But you CAN learn this short prayer, and making a Friday night Shabbat dinner is SO worth it.

You CAN learn the basic rules of making your home Kosher. Most of the food you buy is probably Kosher already. There are only a handful of symbols. And a few basic rules. Transition? Yes. Doable? Definitely. More and more families are doing it.

You CAN learn Torah. Torah study is the engine that keeps Jews Jewish. When communities and families learn Torah, their survival rates are extraordinary. When communities and families don’t …well, you can guess the rest. Torah study is not just for Rabbis, “the Orthodox”, men, Hebrew speakers, or any other subgroups of the Jewish people. It is for everyone. It is, can and should be exciting, interesting and motivating. One hour, once a week. Ask your local rabbi for classes or ask me and I’ll track something down for you.

You CAN learn to pray. No offense to any readers, but taking G-d out of the Jewish picture is like …removing the picture. Of course there is art and culture and tradition and scholarship etc etc…we are a great civilization, but a religious civilization. We brought the knowledge of G-d into the world, our entire tradition, holidays, etc are all based on developing a relationship with G-d. You may not believe, or believe clearly, or know how to pray or want to pray or know what prayer is, or ..or …or. Just means you are a normal modern person. But you CAN learn to connect to G-d. To pray. To open up your spiritual side. Doing so radically increases the chances that your kids will connect to their identity in a deep (and thus lasting) way. It’ll also touch your heart and life in a more beautiful way then you’ve ever imagined.

These are only a handful of examples of things that you CAN learn to do in order to deepen your (and your family’s) connection to Judaism. Each and every Jewish person, no matter how observant or non-observant they are, should be constantly seeking to strengthen their Jewish identity. It doesn’t mean radical changes – they usually don’t last anyway. But it also doesn’t mean stagnation – that is not inspiring to the next generation.

We should all choose one or two things to add to our Jewish lives this year. A weekly class. Friday night dinner. Kosher meat in the home. Sabbath prayer. There are endless possibilities and variations. Choose something that appeals to you. Something that seems doable. And remember, whatever you choose: Yes, you can!

'Keeping Our Families Jewish' is a free e-newsletter written by Doron Kornbluth. It is designed to help Jewish parents, grandparents, educators and activists keep Jewish identity strong. Sponsorships and Dedications are welcome. To join the list, or contact Doron directly, email info@doronkornbluth.com or visit www.doronkornbluth.com.

Defining a People

Parshat Re'eh

Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17

Synopsis

Moses tells the people that he has set before them a blessing and a curse - a blessing if they obey God's commandments and a curse if they choose disobedience. The choice is given to Israel. In order to possess the Land, the people must follow the laws established by God.

Moses continues his speech to the people detailing all the laws the people must observe. First, they must destroy the worship sites of foreign gods. The Israelites must then establish a permanent and central worship site. They may slaughter and consume meat in their settlements, but they are not to eat of the tithes set aside for the sacrifice.

The people are twice commanded in this portion to consume no blood of the animals they slaughter.

Moses admonishes the people to be wary of false prophets who might try to lure them into worshipping other gods. The penalty for such worship is death.

Moses reiterates the laws of kashrut to the people.

Moses instructs the people to put aside a tenth part of what they harvest and the firstlings of their herds and flocks as tithes. These are to be consumed at the central sanctuary. If the people live too far away from the sanctuary, money equal to the tithe is to be brought there in place of the actual harvest. They must then purchase food and provisions for a celebration before God.

A portion of the tithes brought by the Israelites is to be used to support the Levites, the orphaned, and the widowed. Israel is to observe a Sabbatical year every seventh year. Laws concerning Hebrew slaves are repeated.

The portion closes with Moses detailing the observance of the three pilgrimage festivals: Feast of Unleavened Bread - Passover; Feast of Weeks - Shavuot; and the Feast of Booths - Sukkot.

Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• In Parshat Re'eh, Moses teaches the Israelites that they should be different from those around them and not copy their ways - they are not to worship other gods and they are to eat differently than their neighbors, observing the laws of kashrut. What are some ways a Jewish home is different from other homes? What makes your home a Jewish home?
• Some commentators have written that the purpose of maintaining kashrut is hygiene; others say it is to achieve holiness. What do you think?
• Rules are detailed telling the Israelites to support people in need - the Torah says widows and orphans, but we can take that to mean anyone who is in need of help and support. What are some ways you and your family help others in need?
• What would you be willing to give up in order to provide food, clothing, and shelter for others?

This week's g-dcast - a music video on Re'eh from Israel!

Jewels of Elul

The Hebrew month of Av, which usually falls during July and August, is mostly known for the holiday of Tisha B'Av. It is immediately followed by the month of Elul, a month in which Jews around the world begin to ready themselves for the solemnity of the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, occurring only a month away in Tishrei. Every day in synagogue, the shofar is sounded, as if this trumpeting sound could awaken ourselves to take stock of the year coming to a close and readying ourselves for the days we spend in prayer and personal reflection.

I have recently become aware of a lovely web-based resourced called Jewels of Elul, started by Craig Taubman (for more information on this very talented musician, see his website - Craig 'n Co: Soundtracks for Life). For the past six years, he has collected short stories, anecdotes, and introspections from some famous and fascinating people, including Natan Sharansky, Rabbi Naomi Levy, Dr. Shelly Dorph, Jeremy Ben Ami, Rabbi Mark Borovitz, and even Lady Gaga! I encourage you to take a look at these Jewels of Elul, found at www.jewelsofelul.com. You can sign up to receive a Jewel a Day to your email or your Facebook - just follow the instructions on their web page.