Yerushalayim in/out times for Shabbat parshat va'etchanan
Candles 7:06PM � Earliest 6:15PM � Havdala 8:22PM � Rabbeinu Tam 8:59PM

Rabbi Avi Berman

I was recently listening to a Hebrew radio show which encourages people to call in and share what�s on their minds. A man called in and said that he is bothered by the way some children of all ages don�t respect their parents properly. He was a religious man and cited sources in the Shulchan Aruch that explain to what degree a person should go in order to respect one�s parents - not sitting in their chair, standing up when they enter a room, not contradicting them, not interfering in their work, talking to them with the utmost respect, and so on. 

He then shared, and you could hear him choking on his words, that he only realized how special and valuable the Mizvah of Kibbud Av V�Em is after his parents passed away. He said that he screams with pain inside when he sees children not showing proper respect to their parents. �Don�t wait until it�s too late,� he said, encouraging everyone to learn about the beauty of the Mitzvah of Kibud Horim now because you never know until when you will be able to fulfil this special Mitzvah.

After someone passes, there is a concept of doing Mitzvot Leilui Nishmat that person (to elevate the soul). The concept of Leilui Nishmat is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. Our sages teach, after a person passes from this world their soul can be uplifted through the Torah and good deeds happening in their merit. For example, if someone wrote a Sefer during their lifetime, the Torah that is learned from that Sefer after his/her passing elevates the soul. If a person is blessed with children and grandchildren who do good deeds, those good deeds can add merit to the deceased. Similarly, if Torah, Chesed, Kiruv, Brachot, and other Mitzvot are dedicated Leilui Nishmat a loved one, you can elevate the soul of your beloved. 


This past Sunday, Tisha B�Av was my Bubby�s 16th Yahrtzeit. Bubby was the sweetest of the sweet, as humble as one could imagine, and was a true educator and role model for all of her students and especially her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren. I pray that the Torah, Chesed, Tzedaka, and Maasim Tovim of all of her descendants are elevating Bubby�s holy Neshama.


I was extremely touched when Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz ZT�L�s son Rabbi Meni Even-Israel approached me about dedicating Torah Tidbits Leilui Nishmat his beloved father on the occasion of his first Yahrtzeit on the 17th of Av. I had the Zechut of meeting Rabbi Steinsaltz Z�TL many years ago and have many friends and relatives who were students of his. Rabbi Steinsaltz ZT�L was a giant in Torah and education. His scope and impact on Klal Yisrael is enormous, both in his lifetime and after through the Torah and Miztvot being done as a result of his Sefarim and personal example. 


In addition to translating the entire Shas and making Gemara attainable for so many, Rabbi Steinsaltz ZT�L published Seforim on Torah, Shas, Chassidut, and other topics. He established the Mekor Chaim Yeshiva High School which has a reputation for serious Torah study. His legacy of learning and spreading Torah continues through the Steinsaltz Center which is currently working on numerous publications and initiatives (please see below to learn how you can get involved in the learning). 


I want to take advantage of this opportunity, to encourage you to utilize the Torah Tidbits platform in memory of or in honor of your loved ones or special occasions (Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, birthdays, Aliyah-versaries, weddings). We offer various sponsorship opportunities ranging from an entire edition to your favorite article. A few weeks ago I wrote about my parents wishing me happy birthday in Torah Tidbits when I was a child, and it warms my heart to this day. You can surprise your child or grandchild by sponsoring our new Torah Tidbits comic the week of their birthday. For more information, please contact Ita Rochel at 02-560-9125 or ttads@ouisrael.org.


I view each of you dear readers as part of the OU Israel family, and it would be a Zechut to mark your family Smachot and Yahrtzeits through Torah Tidbits, sharing Torah and inspiration with so many each week.

Avi,
Executive Director, OU Israel
aberman@ouisrael.org 
The Steinsaltz Center is in the final stages of publishing an annotated edition of the Mishnah in Hebrew. This is another stage of the publication of annotated editions of all the treasures of the Jewish Torah: The Bible, the Talmud, Maimonides, the Tanya. We invite the public to take part in this important project. In addition, in the two weeks between the Rabbi�s birthday (3 Av-July 12) and the Yahrzeit day (17 Av-July 26), we will be able to study Mishnah, through the Steinsaltz Center�s new app, �Steinsaltz Daily Study� (the app includes a daily page, a weekly Bible page, Mishnah, Rambam and more), and together we will finish the Shas Mishnayot by the day of the Yahrzeit (17 Av-July 26).


Your participation in the project will allow you to donate and dedicate Mishnayot, chapters, and tractates to your loved ones, which will appear in the new edition of the Mishnah. Together we will continue the Rav�s legacy to Let My People Know. For more information: www.steinsaltz-center.org


Aliya By Aliya Sedra Summary
Rabbi Reuven Tradburks
Director of RCA Israel Region 


1st aliya (3:23-4:4) I beseeched G-d to allow me to enter the Land. He refused: ascend the mountain, gaze at the Land that you will not enter. Charge Yehoshua, for he will lead the people. Now, Yisrael Shema, listen to the commandments so you will remain in the Land. You saw what occurred with Baal Peor: those who followed Baal Peor were punished while those who did not, survived.


In this aliya, Moshe�s speech pivots.  In Parshat Devarim he spoke of the march to the Land: the hiccup of 40 years because of the spies, the resumed march and its victories over Sichon and Og. The march to the Land was the topic. This first part of this aliya should really be in last week�s parsha. I too want to enter the Land, but G-d refused, allowing me only a glimpse. Then the next theme in Moshe�s speech begins: life in the Land. Perhaps G-d�s refusal to allow Moshe into the Land is the perfect preamble to the discussion of life in the Land. Know this: living in the Land is a gift, a Divine gift. He gives. And He takes. You have no claim on this gift. I know from experience. Live so that you deserve it.  


2nd aliya (4:5-40) Keep the mitzvot, for they are wise. The nations will look at the mitzvot and say:  what a wise people. And who has a G-d as close as ours is to us? Or who has noble laws as our Torah? Remember the day at Sinai, the mountain on fire and the darkness of the cloud. The Voice emanated but there was no form. Make no images. I taught you the mitzvot; keep them, for they are the covenant G-d commanded from you. Your children will make images and be exiled, flung to the ends of the earth, serving idols there. They will return to G-d, seeking Him with all their heart. He will not forget His covenant. Is there another people who has heard G-d�s voice amidst fire? Or another one Who took His people with wonders from amidst another? Know and take to heart that there is none other than G-d. 


Moshe emphasizes 2 unique things we enjoy: our G-d and our Torah. Other nations recognize this. The implied message here is: why go running to other gods and other religions when yours is so profound that the other nations recognize it. If they see our religion as profound, we to ought too. 


3rd aliya (4:41-49) Moshe separated 3 cities of refuge for those who kill accidentally on the east side of the Jordan. Moshe taught these laws on the east side of the Jordan in the Lands already conquered. These conquered Lands extend from the Dead Sea all the way to Mt. Hermon.


Moshe�s choosing 3 cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan, is his confirmation of the right of Bnei Gad, Bnei Reuven and half of Menashe to dwell there. Rav Yoel Bin Nun contends that this vast area over the Jordan becomes part of the promised Land. Moshe was told in the 1st aliya to ascend the mountain and look west, north, south and east. Well, looking east would be away from the Land of Israel. Why look there? Hence, he maintains that the defeat of Sichon and Og was the beginning of the conquering of the Land and that those Lands became part of Eretz Yisrael. Moshe looks east because that Land is also part of Eretz Yisrael.  Moshe himself does participate in at least the beginning of the conquest of the Land of Israel.    


4th aliya (5:1-18) Mt. Sinai. Moshe called the people: Shema Yisrael to the commandments for our G-d made a covenant at Sinai. He made it with you, face to face amidst fire. I communicated it because you were afraid. And He said: I am G-d who took you out of Egypt.  Do not make images. Or take My name in vain. Guard Shabbat as a day of rest to remember that you were slaves in Egypt.  Honor your father and mother. Do not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, covet.  
Moshe describes the giving of the Torah at Sinai. In doing so, he emphasizes the brit, the covenant. It is this covenant that animates the entire rest of the book. There are 2 covenants: the brit made with Avraham to give his children the Land. And the brit made at Sinai, which is mitzvot that we are to keep. The first brit, to give us the land, came with no particular expectations. Not so the second brit. And that is what Moshe is now emphasizing. Don�t stop at brit 1: it is bound to brit 2. The giving of the Land is bound up with the mitzvot. Not that it is contingent on it. It sounds from Breishit that the promise of the Land is without expectations. But the success in the Land is bound up with brit 2, the mitzvot. The promise of the Land never wanes; success in the Land can. Moshe introduces this theme here, at the outset of his long speech to the people; and it is this theme that will resonate through the entire rest of his speech.


5th aliya (5:19-6:3) When you heard these words amidst the fire and the cloud you were afraid.  You approached and said: now we know man can hear G-d�s voice but we are afraid we will die.  Moshe, you hear from Him, not us.  G-d agreed and said to me: you stand with Me and I will tell you all the commandments to keep in the Land.


The word Shema appears 8 times in the first 7 verses of this aliya. The people heard the Voice at Sinai but were afraid. So Moshe, you hear it for us.  And G-d heard their suggestion and said it was good. Fine, Moshe will hear G-d�s voice. But, who hears is not the issue. The issue is who hears.  I mean, who hears the voice with his ear; that can be Moshe. That�s fine.  But who hears, I mean, hears, gets it, understands it, accepts it; that is you. Hence the last verse in the aliya, 8 verses later comes back to Shema: Shemata Yisrael, you heard Israel and hence, keep the mitzvot. There is hearing and there is hearing.  Moshe is your hearing aid to hear; but you are the ones who need to hear.


6th aliya (6:4�25) The Shema.  Shema Yisrael, G-d is one. You shall love G-d, and have that in your heart constantly; teaching of it to your children, speaking of it, at all times and in all places.  Be bound with love of G-d; let it guide you and your home.  When you come into the Land, you will find things that you did not build: large and good cities, homes full of wonderful things, cisterns, vineyards, olive groves. But be careful to not forget G-d.  Fear Him, serve Him.  Do what is moral and good in His eyes and He will do good for you.  When your children ask you about all these commandments, tell them: we were slaves in Egypt, G-d took us out to give us this land.  These commandments are to cultivate awe of Him and bring us merit, to preserve us in this land.



While we love the first line of the Shema, it is the second that is the emphasis of the paragraph.  Love of G-d.  All your heart, all your soul, all your might. We are used to saying this line so we become numb to its power. Moshe is speaking to the people: pour yourself into this. Let it go. Put all you�ve got in this.  No inhibitions. Love of G-d is to animate all of your life: bubbling over to your children, percolating in you in your travels, your actions, your thoughts, your home. Wow. Little wonder that this paragraph is the heart of our daily tefila.  We need to be G-d obsessed.  I don�t belittle the complexity of what belief is.  But Moshe is plain as day here:  love G-d with all your heart, soul and might.  All in.


7th aliya (7:1-11) When you come into the Land, conquer the seven nations. Do not make any covenant with them. Do not marry them, for that will lead to idol worship.  You are G-d�s holy people. Not because you are numerous but because He loved you and made a covenant with you.  Know: He keeps His covenant.  You too keep the mitzvot.


Alex Israel makes a trenchant comment (in a shiur on the Virtual Beit Midrash).  There are 2 distinct types of idol worship.  In the 10 Commandments we are told not to make images. In other words, even if you believe in G-d, but you want an image, don�t do it.  Right G-d, but no representation.  Here we are told to be wary of serving other gods. Wrong gods. This is the allure of a group belonging.  Marry a woman, join her faith group, enjoy the fellowship, camaraderie, belonging that a faith community brings.  There are a lot of wonderful and satisfying elements to any faith community.  But.  That is a complete violation of your unique relationship with G-d (in addition to the folly of these gods).  It is not the mind that attracts you; it is the community that comes with the wife.  Marrying the non-Jew begins the process of idol worship.  Hence, no intermarriage. 


Haftorah 
Yeshayahu 40:1-26


This week�s haftorah is the first of a series of seven �haftarot of Consolation.� These seven haftarot start on the Shabbat following Tisha B�Av and continue until Rosh Hashanah.


This section of Yeshayahu begins with G#d�s conveying to the prophet: �Console, O console My people . . . Announce to Jerusalem that her period of exile has been fulfilled and that her sins have been forgiven.�


Yeshayahu�s prophecy describes some of the remarkable events that will unfold with the onset of the messianic era. These include:  the return of the exiles to Yerushalayim, the revelation of Hashem�s glory, and the rewards and retribution that will then be meted out to the nations of the world.


The navi then goes on to comfort the people, describing G#d�s power and might, and reassuring them of His care for His people.



Stats
45th of 54 sedras; 2nd of 11 in D'varim 
Written on 249 lines in a Torah, rank: 7 
21 parshiyot; 5 open, 16 closed, 7th (tied with Ki Tavo) 
122 p'sukim - rank: 17 (2nd in D'varim) same as Vayak'hel & Ki Tavo - but larger 
1878 words; rank: 10th (2nd in D'varim) 
7343 letters; rank: 10th (2nd in D'varim) 


Mitzvot

Va'etchanan's p'sukim are longer than average, hence the jump in rank from 17th for p'sukim to 10th for words
12 of 613 mitzvot: 8 pos., 4 prohibitions and many more that are counted elsewhere - this is so for several sedras, but it really shows for Va'etchanan (e.g. Aseret HaDibrot in Yitro has 14 mitzvot, repeated here but not counted here)


A short Vort Rabbi Chanoch Yeres

Immediately preceding the well known Pasuk of �Shema Yisrael�, the Pasuk says (6:2)


�To keep all His statutes and His commandments�. you and your son, and your son�s son, all the days of your life.�


Why is this an introduction to �Shema�? Furthermore, should not the order of the Pasuk be reversed like �All the days of your life, you and your son, and your son�s son�?


This question is asked by Meshech Chochmah, Rabbi Meir Simcha Hacohen M�Divinsk in the late 19th century. It can be related to the Mishna in Pirkei Avot (2:5) �Do not be sure of yourself until the day of one�s death.�


The Pasuk is to be understood that even though you may be at an age where you have children and grandchildren and you might think the impulse to sin is too faint, you still must guard and hold vigilant in keeping the Mitzvot. The Pasuk tells us �You shall fear Hashem and devise safeguards for the commandments of the Torah, to keep yourself from transgressing its precepts�you and your son, and your son�s son.�


Even at that period of life, which I may think any evil impulse has passed its time, even then, you still must not be sure of your immunity to sin. As it says, �all the days of your life�, as long as life is within us, we should only double our efforts keeping our strong covenant with Hashem.


Now, we can understand this introduction to the �Shema�. Shema Yisrael are the words stated by the Jewish people, evoking belief and trust in G-d at all ages, from childhood to senior life. The Pasuk of watching all His Statutes precedes by emphasizing our side of the commitment. No matter what stage of our life we are, we still guard the Commandments because He is our One, forever.

Shabbat Shalom 

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb


What, Me? Worry?!

I?am a worrier. My friends and family tease me about it.


I sometimes worry about personal matters, and sometimes about professional concerns. More often, I worry about things that are going on in the community or in the world.

I worry about the economy, and I worry about Iran�s development of nuclear weapons.

Because of my background in psychology, I sometimes compare my worrying to the thoughts of patients who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder. Like them, I sometimes have one worry on my mind and can think of nothing else. But I long ago decided that my worrying, though it may seem obsessive, is far from an indication of mental illness. Many people worry.

It is only very recently that I came to consider the possibility that, although my worrying was not a sign of a psychological disorder, it might be a sign of a theological disorder, a spiritual fault.

What prompted that consideration was a passage in the writings of Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, the late 19th century head of the Yeshiva of Volozhin, in Eastern Europe. In the introduction to his commentary on Deuteronomy, Rabbi Berlin, or the Netziv, as he is known, makes a remarkable statement:

�Reading carefully the words of instruction contained in this book, Deuteronomy, words which were divinely inspired and uttered by Moses our teacher, each person will find �milk and honey� in accordance with his spiritual level... Therefore, each person should read it contemplatively, according to his ability, and he will find a straight path upon which to walk� So let this book be a source of illumination for one�s life journey��
I decided to heed the Netziv�s counsel in reading this week�s Torah portion, Parshat Va�etchanan, (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11). But I immediately found myself facing a dilemma. Among the many themes and topics in this week�s Torah portion are some strong words prohibiting idolatry. �Do not act wickedly and make yourself a sculptured image in any likeness whatever... You must not be lured into bowing down to them or serving them.� (Deuteronomy 4:15, 19)


How does this apply to me? What �milk and honey� can I find in proscriptions against idol worship? When was I last tempted to make for myself a graven image, or to bow down to the sun or moon or stars?

The only answer I can find to resolve this dilemma is to profoundly redefine the meaning of the prohibition against idolatry for our day and age.

Idolatry in ancient times was a process by which primitive men identified a single object to worship. They turned away from the vastness of the universe and its complexity and isolated either a heavenly body or some artifact of their own making, and came to believe that it, and only it, was worthy of their adulation. They became fixated upon a small fraction of reality. They became obsessed with one thing, and that thing was far from representative of the whole picture.


In more modern times, the process of idolatry took a different turn. Instead of fixating upon an object, human beings fixated upon an ideology. They came to believe that the vastness of the universe could be reduced to a set of ideas. Those ideas included the Enlightenment, nationalism, scientism, socialism, fascism, and communism. Those are but several of the idolatries of more recent history.


What they all have in common is a fixation or obsession with one set of ideas, as if that is all there is to life. That is where my nasty habit of worrying comes into play. The worrier becomes consumed with one fear, which may be trivial or may be monumental, but which is only a small part of the totality of existence.


When worrying is conceived of in this manner, it becomes apparent that worrying itself may be a form of idolatry. When one is consumed by worry, the person is limiting his or her attention to one idea, or fear, or concern. Such individuals are ignoring the fact that there is a big world out there with a lot going on. They are certainly forgetting all the positive blessings that probably surround them.


Admittedly, this is a novel interpretation of idolatry, but it is one that fits our modern circumstances much better than sun worship or offering animal sacrifices to a totem.


This redefinition allows for a deeper understanding of another passage in this week�s Torah portion, the Shema. �Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One�. Only the Lord is One, because only He is all-encompassing. Nothing else is One in that sense � not the sun or moon, and not the currently popular ideology. They are all but parts of the greater whole.


Only of God is it said, �He is the place of the world, and the world is not His place.� He contains the world; the world does not contain Him. This is the real meaning of monotheism. Not that there is one God, but that God is One. Only He is big enough, complete enough, total enough, to be worshipped. Everything else is partial, fragmentary, and fractional. Everything else, including our worries, are mere idols which do not deserve the devotion we give them.


Perhaps the cynical Alfred E. Neumann of the comic books of my childhood was making a profound theological statement when he said, �What, me? Worry?!�


Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l


The Fewest of All Peoples

Buried inconspicuously in this week�s parsha is a short sentence with explosive potential, causing us to think again about both the nature of Jewish history and the Jewish task in the present.

Moses had been reminding the new generation, the children of those who left Egypt, of the extraordinary story of which they are the heirs:
Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?�(Deut. 4:32-34)


The Israelites have not yet crossed the Jordan. They have not yet begun their life as a sovereign nation in their own land. Yet Moses is sure, with a certainty that could only be prophetic, that they were a people like no other. What has happened to them is unique. They were and are a nation summoned to greatness.


Moses�reminds them of the great Revelation at Mount Sinai. He recalls the Ten Commandments. He delivers the most famous of all summaries of Jewish faith: �Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.� (Deut. 6:4) He issues the most majestic of all commands: �Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.� (Deut. 6:5) Twice he tells the people to teach these things to their children. He gives them their eternal mission statement as a nation: �You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.��(Deut. 7:6)

Then�he says this:


The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you are the fewest of all peoples.�(Deut. 7:7)


The fewest of all peoples?�What has happened to all the promises of Bereishit, that Abraham�s children would be numerous, uncountable, as many as the stars of the sky, the dust of the earth, and the grains of sand on a seashore? What of Moses� own statement at the beginning of Devarim: �The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky��(Deut. 1:10)?


The simple answer is this. The Israelites were indeed numerous�compared to what they once were. Moses himself puts it this way in next week�s parsha: �Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky��(Deut. 10:22). They were once a single family, Abraham, Sarah and their descendants, and now they have become a nation of twelve tribes.


But � and this is Moses� point here � compared to other nations, they were still small. �When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations�the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations�larger and stronger than you����(Deut. 7:1). In other words, not only were the Israelites smaller than the great empires of the ancient world. They were smaller even than the other nations in the region. Compared to their origins they had grown exponentially but compared to their neighbours they remained tiny.


Moses then tells them what this means:


You may say to yourselves, �These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?� But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.�(Deut. 7:17-18)


Israel would be the smallest of the nations for a reason that goes to the very heart of its existence as a nation. They will show the world that�a people does not have to be large in order to be great.�It does not have to be numerous to defeat its enemies. Israel�s unique history will show that, in the words of the Prophet�Zechariah (4:6), ��Not by might nor by power, but by My spirit,� says the Lord Almighty.�

In itself, Israel would be witness to something greater than itself. As former Marxist philosopher Nicolay Berdyaev put it:


I remember how the materialist interpretation of history, when I attempted in my youth to verify it by applying it to the destinies of peoples, broke down in the case of the Jews, where destiny seemed absolutely inexplicable from the materialistic standpoint . . . Its survival is a mysterious and wonderful phenomenon demonstrating that the life of this people is governed by a special predetermination, transcending the processes of adaptation expounded by the materialistic interpretation of history. The survival of the Jews, their resistance to destruction, their endurance under absolutely peculiar conditions and the fateful role played by them in history: all these point to the particular and mysterious foundations of their destiny.


Moses� statement has immense implications for Jewish identity. The proposition implicit throughout this year�s�Covenant & Conversation�is that Jews have had an influence out of all proportion to their numbers because�we are all called on to be leaders, to take responsibility, to contribute, to make a difference to the lives of others, to bring the Divine Presence into the world. Precisely because we are small, we are each summoned to greatness.


S. Y. Agnon, the great Hebrew writer, composed a prayer to accompany the Mourner�s Kaddish. He noted that the children of Israel have always been few in number compared to other nations. He then said that when a monarch rules over a large population, they do not notice when an individual dies, for there are others to take their place. �But our King, the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He � chose us, and not because we are a large nation, for we are one of the smallest of nations.�We are few, and owing to the love with which He loves us, each one of us is, for Him, an entire legion. He does not have many replacements for us. If one of us is missing, Heaven forfend, then the King�s forces are diminished, with the consequence that His kingdom is weakened, as it were. One of His legions is gone and His greatness is lessened. For this reason it is our custom to recite the Kaddish when a Jew dies.�


Margaret Mead once said: �Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.� Gandhi said: �A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.� That must be our faith as Jews. We may be the fewest of all peoples but when we heed God�s call, we have the ability, proven many times in our past, to mend and transform the world.

Probing the Prophets

Rabbi Nachman Neil Winkler


�Nachamu, Nachamu Ami� � Are there any better expressions of comfort to leave for a nation in mourning than the one which opens this week�s haftarah? 

�Nachamu, Nachamu Ami� � Are there any more fitting prophetic cries with which to begin this post-Tish�a B�Av season of consolation? 

�Nachamu, Nachamu Ami� � And are there any other well-known biblical expressions that are as widely misunderstood as this one?

Let me explain. This expression is not a call from Hashem to Israel to be consoled, nor is it a call from the navi Yishayahu (or any other navi) to the grieving nation to be comforted. These oft-quoted words are actually directives from G-d addressed to the prophets themselves, charging them to reach out to Israel and deliver His message of solace and succor. 

And perhaps one of the reasons why this call to the chosen leaders was selected by our scholars to serve as an introduction to the subsequent haftarot of consolation was to remind the religious guides of all future generations that their primary mission to a suffering community is �Nachamu, Nachamu Ami� � to go out and comfort the nation! 

We often listen to the prophecies of the �nevi�im acharonim� and, quite understandably, we regard their function as one of reproach, criticism and condemnation, to be a call to the nation to repent and to repair their wayward ways. Yet, Hashem cries out to the prophets �Nachamu, Nachamu Ami� � your purpose is not one of censure alone but of reproach tempered with the message of consolation. Indeed, when Hashem describes the mission charged to the prophet Yirmiyahu (in the haftarah we read just three weeks ago), He tells him (Yirmiyahu 1; 10) �lintosh v�lintotz, ul�ha�avid v�laharus�� � �to uproot and smash, to destroy and raze�. But He then adds another part of the prophetic task: ��livnot v�linto�ah� � �to build and to plant�.

You see, a true leader must do more than censure his people; he must offer them hope, he must promise them a future.

�Nachamu, Nachamu Ami�

Seventy three years ago, when our nation was still mourning the loss of one third of its people, a loss of life that surpassed the number of martyrs sacrificed during destructions of both Temples combined(!), this grieving nation �built and planted� and revived its ancient land, its ancient language and its ancient dream. No. It was not yet perfect nor is it now yet perfect. But how should we, and our religious and political leadership seek to perfect it? Should it be done only through messages that focus on what is wrong and what is IMperfect? Is that what real leaders should preach? Our haftarah reminds us: �Nachamu, Nachamu Ami�, that, added to the �not-yet-perfect� message must be words of comfort and promises of a bright future. It is these promises that are essential in bringing the �perfection� that we seek.  

As we use these weeks of comfort as a season to prepare for the Yamim Nora�im, the time of teshuva, we would be wise to keep in mind the charge given to our nevi�im and to remember that repentance is best achieved through words of comfort and through prophetic assurances that G-d is also proclaiming:  �Nachamu, Nachamu Ami�.


Rabbi Shalom Rosner

Love Isn�t Just Emotion

In Parshas Va�eschanan we encounter the famous pasuk that we recite daily � Vea�havta es Hashem Elokecha � the imperative to love God with all our heart and soul.  How can Hashem demand that we �love� Him? One can force another to act in a certain manner, but cannot demand one to experience an emotion that is detached from one�s volition or will.  How then, can the love of God be included as a positive commandment? 


Rav Baruch Halevi Epstein in Tosefes Bracha offers an explanation based on a gemara in Yoma 86a.  Perhaps for this very reason that one cannot force an emotional response, the gemara interprets this mitzva as requiring action. The gemara derives from this pasuk that we are to act in a way that would make Hashem beloved in the eyes of others. If one conducts himself in an honest and straightforward manner, others will recognize that such a pious person is acting in accordance with the precepts of the Torah and it will increase their respect for, and admiration of, Hashem.  


In a similar manner, we are instructed to respect and fear our parents rather than to merely love our parents. The command is formulated so as to instruct us how to act, provide with food, don�t sit in their seat, rather than how to feel.  
Perhaps that is why Hillel interprets the pasuk of �love your neighbor� as don�t act towards others in a way that you would despise others acting towards you.

Ma SHESANU ALECHA AL TAASEH LECHAVERCHA. When the simple formulation in the Torah relates to an emotion, it is often �converted� into actions that are to be taken. 


Rabbi Norman Lamm offers an alternative explanation in his sefer Drashot L�Dorot. Citing the Sefas Emes, Rabbi Lamm posits that if the Torah commands one to �love� God � then there must be ingrained in every Jewish heart a deep and abiding love for God and for Torah.  Sometimes that emotion needs a spark to ignite it, but it is present, albeit dormant at times.  


A story is told of the famous sculptor Michelangelo, who created a statue of Moses. A bystander amazed at the work of art, commented on how amazing it was that he created an image of Moses from a solid piece of stone.  Michelangelo replied that his task was simple. He saw the image of Moses beneath the stone and all he did was chip away at the stone to disclose the figure. Similarly, at times, we need to spark or uncover our inner feelings and emotions. Today psychologists adopt a similar technique. Rather than force an idea on a child, they encourage educators to empower the child to arrive at the conclusion from within. 

As we celebrate Shabbos Nachamu, being comforted after mourning the destruction of our Beis Hamikdash, may we internalize these messages. First, to always conduct ourselves in a manner that is mekadesh shem shamayim, and to be able for ourselves and others to uncover the inner emotion of love of our Creator!

Rebbetzin Shira Smiles

Multiplicity of Meod

The Shema is our quintessential tfilah of connection and belief in Hashem. In it we declare that we will love Hashem with all our heart, soul and meod. What can possibly be greater than one�s heart and soul? What does meod even mean?


Rashi (Devarim 6;5) offers two explanations. One should love Hashem with all of one�s money and possessions. Be�er Mayim Chayim explains that meod means very much; one desires to acquire very much of the physical items and substance available in this world. Meod is mentioned last, signifying those who treasure their money more than their lives. Rav Schorr in Halekach Vehalebuv adds a further dimension. He writes that a person�s possessions are imbued with his/her spiritual essence.  One�s material belongings are in a sense an extension of the self since everything we possess should be used to further our relationship with Hashem. Thus, this passuk is a directive to serve Hashem with every inner resource, heart and soul, as well as all outer resources and possessions that have been acquired. Honest introspection vis a vis all that we have can ensure that our priorities are authentic, that we are using our earthly assets to bring greater kedushah to this world.


Rashi�s second idea relates the word meod to middah, measure. The Slonimer Rebbe in Netivot Shalom points out that Hashem customizes every person�s experience and circumstance to most beneficially   develop his full potential. Thus, we can appreciate all that transpires as measured out precisely and be prepared to serve Hashem with acceptance. The Shema includes a call to relate with equanimity to all of life�s travails and triumphs with the intention to grow from these experiences.  


The Lubavitcher Rebbe offers a deep chasidic insight into these words. Meod means very or more so. There is a level beyond serving Hashem with all one�s desires and one�s complete soul. This is a level of transcendence, serving Hashem beyond the limitations of self. It is easy to be satisfied with a more-or-less approach to developing one�s potential. Often, we ourselves even block our inherent potential, believing this state to be out of reach. The Torah however urges us to yearn for an even higher level, to go beyond and discover the deeper self.  Indeed, this very beyond-ness is what meod is all about. Strikingly, the word adam and meod are composed of the same three Hebrew letters.  When one accesses the meod within, he becomes the adam Hashem envisioned upon his creation. He will thus discover that this is really his true self.


Rabbi Judah Mischel

Shabbat Nachamu: From Pain to Hope It Will Not Help Them! 


Menachem Ussishkin z�l, Secretary of the First Zionist Congress, was the head of the Jewish National Fund and one of the great builders of the Land. He dedicated his life to encouraging aliyah, and strengthening agricultural settlement and made a great impact in the renewal of Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael. Having just returned from an overseas trip, on Erev Rosh Hashanah 5690 (1929 just a bit more than a month after the murderous Arab pogroms in Tzfat, Yerushalayim and Chevron, Ussishkin went to daven at the Kotel and recorded an account of his experience: 


�Jewish Jerusalem was still wrapped in mourner�s black and the impact of the frightful occurrences had not yet subsided. Somber and depressed, I entered the Old City. On the entire route to the Kotel, I met virtually no Jews; only police and Arabs filled the narrow streets.


Soon, I found myself before the Kotel... That wall, a reminder of our great and glorious past... and only two Jews were standing there, the shammas and myself. The entire plaza in front of the Kotel was filled with British policemen; above, near the mosque on the site of the Temple, Arabs stood looking down on the Jewish ruins; and I stood silently in my distress...


I do not remember how long I stood there with these depressing thoughts. Dusk fell and darkness began to engulf the Kotel plaza, lanterns began to glimmer nearby, yet here it was forbidden to light them. I detected the sound of approaching footsteps. Out of a darkened side street stepped an elderly Jew of stately appearance, attired in traditional yom tov garb, who was accompanied by two men��


Ussishin recognized �the elderly Jew�. It was the revered leader of the Yishuv haYashan, Rav Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, zt�l, the righteous �Guardian of Jerusalem�. As founder of the Eida haChareidis, Rav Zonnenfeld represented unwavering traditionalism and uncompromising dedication to kedusha. Ussishkin was awe-struck in the presence of the tzadik:


�I did not move or approach him, for I did not want to disturb his awesome reverence. He approached the Kotel with bowed head and began to kiss its stones with holy fervor. A deep sigh escaped his lips. He raised his head, gave the stones a final embrace, and turned to leave. Then he noticed me and approached.


�How happy I am,� said the Rav, �that I have found here a brother who shares our anguish and pain. In recent years I have not visited the Kotel on Erev Rosh Hashanah, for I find walking this distance difficult. But after such events, I felt compelled to come and see this remnant of our past glory.�


With the dark shadow of a painful summer hanging over them, the elderly tzadik of the Old City and the dedicated builder of the Land shared a few heavy, silent moments together in the desolate shadow of �the remnant of our destroyed holy Temple�. Suddenly, Rav Zonnenfeld looked up, and with his eyes shining with hope, exclaimed, �Es vet zei nisht helfen! It will not help them (the Arabs) � let us not be dejected!  �this too shall pass.� We will soon return to this holy place, not with bowed heads and through the broken, narrow alleyways, but with pride, in a rebuilt Yerushalayim!�

On this Shabbos Nachamu, may all of us, brothers and sisters who have �shared anguish and pain� be blessed to share joyous occasions, see and experience revealed good, with the restoration of Jewish pride and wellbeing, with the arrival of the complete and true Redemption. 



Rabbi Moshe Taragin

Geulas Yisrael 
Which Comes First, Redemption or Repentance?

Western civilization views history as evolutionary and open-ended. The future is completely unknown and is solely a product of human decision. Judaism views history very differently: it is predetermined and cyclical. History is constantly surging toward a terminus which resembles the genesis: a perfect world in which the Divine presence is uncontested by Man. Our world isn�t static but is always �coursing� toward the conclusion of history, which we refer to as redemption or geulah. 


The second premise of geulah is that humans and particularly Jews influence the pace and texture of redemption. Religious breakdown reverses the process; when we lost Yerushalayim the process stalled. However, we can also advance or even accelerate the process through faith and religious commitment. Jewish redemption redeems all of humanity and, as Kabbalah reminds us, also affects multiple universes which lie beyond our realm. Redemption and the Jewish capacity to shape it, are cornerstones of Jewish belief. 


Clearly, Jewish redemption of history is pivoted upon teshuva- both personal and collective. Sadly, we betrayed Hashem and fractured our world. A spiritual �turning-back� to Hashem is vital to redemption. What is less clear is whether historical redemption is contingent upon repentance. If the Jewish people do not repent will the process stall? Will history be left in the lurch? Parshat Va�etchanan certainly suggests as much. Moshe describes the corruption and religious decline of the Jews when encountering the pagan culture of Cana�an. Our disloyalty to Hashem caused our exile from the land and introduced historical suffering. Out of the pain of suffering �batzar lecha� we repent, return to Hashem and are restored. In Parshat Va�etchanan human-initiated teshuva must trigger geulah. 


Interestingly, this question was debated between Rebbe Eliezer and Rebbe Yehoshua in a dispute cited by the gemara in Sanhedrin (97). Notably, the Rambam endorsed Rebbe Eliezer�s view that redemption can only emerge in the aftermath of national teshuva. Redemptive history awaits the Jewish return to Hashem.


Even if we concur with Rebbe Eliezer and the Rambam that teshuva is a prerequisite for redemption, perhaps it doesn�t precede redemption. Perhaps, a preliminary Messianic event will prompt teshuva which, in turn, will activate a final and complete redemption. For example, the Rambam portrays the Moshiach as a King who inspires a national spiritual reawakening. In the Rambam�s Messianic narrative, Moshiach arrives prior to comprehensive teshuva with the task of driving us toward that complete repentance. Chazal attribute similar duties to Eliyahu Hanavi who arrives before Moshiach and inspires teshuva. Either way, teshuva isn�t independently initiated by our people � it is aided by agents sent by Hashem. Teshuva is absolutely vital for complete redemption but Hashem dispatches proxies to steward the process. 


Must �teshuva-catalysts� be people such as Moshiach or Eliyahu Hanavi? Perhaps, alongside the people who will steer teshuva, divinely choreographed events will spark national teshuva. Yechezkel (chapter 34) describes Hashem retrieving His scattered sheep and herding them safely in the Land of Israel. Having been reassembled securely under the shepherding of Hashem, we turn our hearts back to Him. This redemptive image of sheep-herding implies a unilateral redemptive process launched by the shepherd. Sheep don�t perform teshuva but are forcibly herded. For Yechezkei the actual return to Israel facilitates geulah. 


We are living through the prophecy of Yechezkel. Our return to the Land of Israel has shifted history and has launched a revolution of Jewish consciousness. Shepherding Jews back to Israel has sparked both teshuva as well as pre-teshuva responses. Religious-minded people process our return in religious terms. We sense a profound shift in our relationship with Hashem. Torah and spirituality are flourishing as we witness renewed Divine miracles. If Hashem our shepherd has once again expressed His love for us, we should wink back with love, commitment and teshuva. 


For other Jews, the State of Israel does not generate religious awakening but does entrench profound nationalistic identification. Millions of Jews deeply identify with the prospect of being �shepherded home�. These sentiments are more nationalistic than they are religious, but they do provide a historical bond which fastens millions of Jews to our common destiny. Might this national awakening be the �platform� for a future �history-altering� spiritual awakening? The Jews in Egypt abandoned almost all of their rituals and beliefs and descended to the moral and religious depths of their slave masters. Yet they retained their national identity, proudly preserving Hebrew language, dress and culture. This �national pride� formed the cornerstone for eventual religious awakening. It appears as if we are living through similar conditions. Jewish history is cyclical. What happened before will happen again.


Rabbi Sam Shor

The Shabbat following Tisha B�Av is known as Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of nechama - of comfort or consolation. Following the three weeks of mourning and reflection for the churban  the destruction of the Batei Mikdash (Temples) and of ancient Yerushalayim, we transition to focus more on the future, the comfort we find in the survival and growth of the Jewish People.

However, if we look at the opening verse of the special Haftarah that is chanted for Shabbat Nachamu, Yeshayahu HaNavi�s words suggest an added dimension to this Shabbat of comfort and consolation.

The pasuk reads: Nachamu, nachamu Ami, yomar Elokeichem - Comfort, Comfort my People says your G-d.

What is the significance of the apparent redundancy in this verse, that the word comfort is repeated twice? Who is comforting whom?

The Kedushat Levi, the great Chasidic Master, Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, zy�a, explains this verse as teaching us that really we should be comforted not only in knowing that our period of sadness and affliction has passed, but that comfort is amplified, is a dual comfort, through the knowledge that it is HaKadosh Baruch Hu who is responsible in bringing that comfort and tranquility.

The Lev Simcha zy�a, the Gerrer Rebbe, offers a further novel explanation of our verse. The Rebbe points to an interesting passage in the Midrash Rabbah. The Midrash states, al tikri nachamu nachamu Ami (my people), eleh Imi (rather with me). The Lev Simcha explains that not only do the Jewish People feel comforted on this Shabbat of nechama, but Hashem experiences comfort as well, Hashem is comforted in knowing that our pain is lessened, in knowing that we are healing and comforted.

This, explains the Lev Simcha, is the dual comfort mentioned in Yeshayahu HaNavi�s words, and this, explains the Rebbe, is the powerful message we are meant to take to heart on this special Shabbat. Hashem  is with us always, Hashem is pained when we are in pain, and shares in our comfort when we heal and are comforted. May we all be blessed to feel that dual comfort this Shabbat, and each and every day.



Menachem Persoff

An Eternal Link

Our rabbis have taught us to take notice of the eternal nature of the covenant that Hashem made with us in Horev � namely, that the Torah was not intended for one generation alone, but �also for him who is not here with us this day�(Devarim 29:13-14).


Indeed, we live with the Talmudic concept (Shevuot 39a) that every Jew took an oath of allegiance at Sinai. That is to say that at a certain metaphysical level, our souls were present at the Revelation. Perhaps this is a reference to the verse from our Parsha (ibid, 6:6) that we say daily in the Shema: �And these matters that I command you this day shall be upon your heart,� implying, as Rashi comments, that �this day� is today, every day.


Nechama Leibowitz takes these ideas to remind us not to consider the Torah as obsolete, as an anachronistic tome left to dust on the shelf. Instead, we should internalize that the Torah�s halachot are timeless and that the biblical narratives are more than historical episodes.


Indeed the term Torah indicates teaching. The Torah is intrinsically the word of God, and it represents the Will of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Further, the Zohar designates that God, the nation of Israel, and the Torah �are one.�  For Rabbi Riskin, this maxim denotes that Hashem may be experienced through those phenomena that are also perceived as eternal. �Since Israel is eternal [by Divine oath, Bereishit: 15] and since the Torah is eternal, God/Israel/Torah are inextricably linked by common eternity.�


Moreover, the Torah is our guide. Indeed, of the Torah, it has been said, �The Torah is not (just) descriptive; it is prescriptive.� No wonder, then, that the Shema prayer urges us �to set these matters on your heart� and ensure that the everlasting Mesorah be passed on through our children consistently through the generations. 


In a world full of symbols, icons, and ultra-progressive clich?s, it is of no surprise that the Torah inculcates in us our own treasured and perpetual emblems, such as the Mezuzah, Tzizit, and Tefillin. These proudly serve as badges announcing our unique link to Hashem and our ongoing connection to a covenant 3,500 years old.


Rabbi Ezra Friedman
Flowers During Shemitah


Types of flowers


The halachah regarding flowers during shemitah depends on the characteristics of the flower. Authorities distinguish between types of flowers and their shemitah status. Flowers that are grown for eating or smelling, such as sunflowers or carnations, have different halachic guidelines than flowers that are only grown for decorative use.


Kedushat Shevi�it


Fruits and vegetables that have reached a certain stage of growth during shemitah have a special holiness (see Sefer Hashemitah 7:1), called kedushat shevi�it. According to some opinions, there is a positive mitzvah to consume such produce (see Megilat Esther on Ramban Shechichat Asin 3). The holiness of the produce has numerous halachic implications. For example, produce that has kedushat shevi�it may be eaten only in Eretz Yisrael, and only by Jews (in most cases). One may not do business with such produce, nor may one actively ruin it. 


Poskim debate whether flowers grown during shemitah have kedushat shevi�it, leading to numerous halachic questions. Would it be permitted to sell flowers from one�s garden? Could a kallah use flowers for a bouquet? The Mishnah (Shevi�it 7:6) explicitly lists certain flowers that have kedushat shevi�it. The Chazon Ish (14:9) explains that the flowers mentioned in the Mishnah are edible and meant for human consumption. This implies that non-edible flowers do not have the holiness of shemitah. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Shevi�it 7:1) discusses the question of herbs and scented flowers, but leaves the issue unresolved. Rav Shmuel Wosner (Responsa Shevet Halevi 2:202) distinguishes between three categories of flowers. The first group is of flowers that are meant for eating. These have kedushat shevi�it. The second classification is of flowers that are normally used for their pleasant scent. These are also kedushat shevi�it. Lastly, flowers that have neither fragrance nor flavor do not have kedushat shevi�it. Rav Eliezer Waldenberg (Tzitz Eliezer 6:33) agrees with Rav Wosner regarding the first and third categories, but maintains that flowers with a nice scent do not have kedushat shevi�it. 


The consensus among poskim is that flowers that are used for their fragrance or are grown for eating have kedushat shevi�it, and therefore should not be sold for receptions or smachot (see Mishpetei Eretz 14:2). However, flowers that have a pleasant scent but are actually marketed for their nice appearance do not have kedushat shevi�it (Chut Shani p.246-247; Halichot Hashevi�it 17:22). When they are not grown for consumption and have no fragrance, flowers do not have kedushat shevi�it (Sefer Hashemitah 7:4, Minchat Shlomo 51:11).


Shemitah labor for flowers


Poskim discuss how one should tend to flowers in one�s garden. In general, during shemitah the halacha holds that any labor to maintain the plant or to prevent damage is permitted. Labor which is meant to improve the plant or its fruit is prohibited. However, watering plants is permissible with certain limitations. Regarding flowers, even though their loss is minimal, one may still water flowers in the garden (Responsa Hamabit 2:64), but less frequently if possible. One should consult a competent halachic authority regarding the issue of how often one�s flowers may be watered (The topic of watering flowers in one�s garden will be discussed in further detail in a future article).


Flowers may be picked from trees. Since the removal of flowers may sometimes benefit the tree or the fruits, when picking the flowers, one should not remove the entire stem, but rather cut the flower from somewhere along its stem (Halichot Hashemitah 10:8).


One may place flowers in a vase full of water, even if they continue to grow slightly. However, this should be done only indoors, in a walled and roofed structure (Derech Emuna 4:17).


In summary:
The laws of shemitah also apply to flowers.
Flowers grown for consumption or for their pleasant scent have kedushat shevi�it and should not be used for decoration.
Flowers that are merely ornamental, even if they have a nice scent, do not have kedushat shevi�it and may be used in a regular fashion.
One may water flowers in one�s garden during shemitah, although minimally.
Flowers may be picked or cut from trees during shemitah, although one should cut them slightly higher on the stem.
One may place cut flowers in a vase of water as long as this is done indoors.



Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider

The Soul of the Shema


The Shema, like other texts that a Jew is obligated to recite, exists on two planes. On the one hand it is a standardized text that we are obligated to verbalize twice daily. However, it is much more than a codified formulation; its specific words and language encapsulate ideas. Therefore, we must ask, what is the telos of the Shema and what religious experience does it capture? In other words, what is the essence of the mitzvah that the Torah itself commands?


Perhaps the key to answering this query can be found in the birchot Kriat Shema (the blessings that precede and follow the Shema).


Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik held that the Birchot Kriat Shema are integrally necessary for the fulfillment of the mitzvah. For this reason he held that it is preferable to pray without a minyan and recite the Brachot of Shema along with the Kriat Shema itself, rather than daven with a minyan that davens before or after the proper time Kriat Shema should be recited. (Nefesh HaRav, p.114). Embedded in these blessings is found the true meaning of the Shema. 


In this context, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt�l noted that the most complex bracha in our prayers is the opening bracha of birchot Kriat Shema, from two perspectives; its wording and conceptual meaning. (Al HaTefila, Grodner, p.77)


These are the words of the bracha: Blessed are you Hashem...who forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all.� First question: Why mention darkness if this is the blessing recited in the morning? And secondly, why mention �peace� and �creates all� in this context?


The text of this blessing, says the Talmud (Berachot 11a), is based on a verse in Yeshayahu (45:7).There it says [I am the one] who forms light and creates darkness, who makes peace and creates ra, evil.� The Sages emended the last word from ra (evil) to hakol (all) in order to teach that from a perspective of the Divine where �totality� is the reality, evil vanishes.


The opening blessing teaches that we bless God not only for the �light� but also for the �darkness.� We have faith that kol, all, emanates from God. There is no division. There is only yichud Hashem, oneness of God and God is the source of all existence and reality.


This bracha directly relates to the character of the Shema and the kavanah we are to garner when reciting the Shema. Shema is not a prayer. It is a declaration of faith. In the language of the Sages it is proclamation of our belief in yichud Hashem and accepting upon oneself �ol malchut shamayim�, �the responsibilities of the heavenly King.� (Mesorat HaRav Siddur, p. 108, p.111)


Supplication vs. Testimony


The Rav contrasted prayer (i.e.reciting the Amidah) and reciting the Shema. Reciting the Shema does not demand the state of consciousness required for prayer. The notion of an encounter with the Divine Presence is not the objective here. Instead, the intention required for the Shema expresses itself in the form of declaration, a profession of faith (ibid. p. 111).


Rabbi Norman Lamm, a close student of the Rav, who wrote an entire volume on the Shema points out that the Shema�s motif of religious commitment is graphically symbolized in the text of the Torah scroll itself. Scribal tradition prescribes that the last of the three Hebrew letters of the word shema, the ayin, be written large. Similarly, the dalet, the last letter of the last word, echad, is also enlarged. Two reasons have been offered for these peculiarities, and both reinforce the notion that the Shema is an expression of a pledge or testimony.


The famed Rabbi David Abudraham (14th century) in his classic commentary on prayer explains that the two letters, ayin and dalet, read together, spell ed, the Hebrew word for witness. Reciting the Shema is an act of testifying our faith before God, before our fellow humans, and before ourselves.


The second reason offered for enlarging the ayin and dalet is complementary to the first. Not only must we testify to our faith, but we must also guard against betraying it, even inadvertently.


Thus the letter ayin is given prominence in order to distinguish it from an alef, which would spell a homonym of Shema, sounding similar but meaning something quite different: ���, �maybe� or �perhaps.� Similarly, if we were to mistake the dalet for its look-alike letter, resh, we might read the word of the verse as acher, meaning �other, another,� implying another god, an idol. The enlarged ayin and dalet caution us to leave our doubts and hesitations behind. (The Shema, Lamm, pp. 16-17)



Rabbi Gideon Weitzman

Who Can Use the Eggs?

Last time we saw the intricacies of the Nachmani case and the court�s decision to allow Ruth to use the frozen fertilized eggs. Afterwards, Daniel Nachmani appealed again but the court refused to change their decision and suggested that the couple seek arbitration in order to solve their problems.

The arbitration was successful and the Nachmanis were able to arrange an agreeable divorce arrangement that enabled Ruth to use the fertilized eggs. She did so but they did not survive the thawing process and were not able to achieve a pregnancy.
This case generated a rich collection of halachic articles mostly centered around the question of whether the wife can force her husband to have children, or to divorce her to enable her to have children.

The Gemara (Yevamot 65b) relates how a woman came to Rabbi Ami demanding a divorce from her husband since she wanted children but he refused. Rabbi Ami initially rejected her request since a woman is exempt from the obligation to procreate. The woman did not give up and asked what would be her lot when she would get older. Rabbi Ami acquiesced and agreed that in such a case we can force the husband either to have children or to grant her a divorce.

In another case a woman appeared before Rav Nachman and claimed that she wanted children in order to have �a help for her old age and someone to bury her�. Rav Nachman agreed that in such a case a woman can either force her husband to have children or he must grant her a divorce.

These cases suggest that having children is not only a halachic imperative, but an existential need for men and, even more so, for women. This is sufficient reason to force the husband to have children or divorce his wife and enable her to have children with another husband.

If we can translate this concept to the Nachmani case it would be the basis for the permission for Ruth to use the frozen embryos. Even though Daniel strongly opposed her use, she could claim that she wants to have a child.


The question here regards the use of the frozen fertilized eggs by one of the couple against the wishes of the other spouse. But they are using them in order for themselves to achieve a pregnancy.


Our original question some weeks ago was regarding the use of fertilized eggs by another couple. Can one of the partners agree to give the eggs to another couple even though the other spouse disagrees?

More on this next week.


Rabbi Daniel Mann

Homeopathic Remedies on Shabbat

Question: Is it permitted to ingest homeopathic remedies on Shabbat?  


Answer: We start with our approach to �alternative medicine,� which includes homeopathy (some use the terms interchangeably). Alternative medicine is subject to disagreement, from the grass roots to health agencies. As in most realms, extreme opinions are likely incorrect. Some treatments under the umbrella of alternative medicine are helpful; others are quackery and serve as a placebo at best (although sometimes placebos are useful). The efficacy or even safety of some medicines and treatments (homeopathic or conventional) is uncertain or varies from person to person. We are not in the position to take a stand on which treatments fall into which category. For the purpose of this general question, we will treat the remedy in question as one to which the user legitimately attributes medicinal efficacy and about which the objective observer is rightly skeptical. 


It is prohibited to perform medical procedures, including ingesting medicine, to cure or calm a non-severe malady (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 328:37). The rationale is concern that one who is involved in such activity might violate Shabbat in the process, i.e., by grinding herbs (Shabbat 53b). The cases in which the prohibition does not apply fall into two broad categories: 1. When the need justifies certain halachic compromises (see Shulchan Aruch ibid. 17). Nafal l�mishkav (needing to lie down) is a classic description of such need (Rama, OC 328:37). 2. When the procedure is not considered dealing with illness or is otherwise dissimilar from cases in which there is a concern of chillul Shabbat. 


In category #1, since normal Halacha is compromised, the steps taken must be truly warranted. Therefore, the Magen Avraham (328:1) allows chillul Shabbat to save a life only if the medicine is known (not theorized) to be effective (based on the Rama, Yoreh Deah 155:3 regarding eating non-kosher medicine). Therefore, even if someone is sick or suffering enough to allow medicine, he should not be allowed to use a homeopathic medicine if that is not scientifically accepted (as Halacha grants medical experts authority to determine the medical situation in a given case (Shulchan Aruch, OC 328:10)). 


However, our case is different from the Magen Avraham�s in a couple of ways. On the one hand, there the need is to save a life, which brought the Pri Megadim (ad loc.) to ask why one may not try even an otherwise forbidden treatment of unknown efficacy if it is the only chance at survival. On the other hand, the violations to be waived are of a Torah level, whereas here we only need to waive a Rabbinic violation, so might even an unproven remedy not suffice? Actually, the Pri Megadim says that it is specifically by a Rabbinic prohibition and not life-threatening illness that we need a proven medicine. 


Might one argue that if the medicine is legitimate, it should be permitted based on need, and if it is not, it should be permitted because it is a non-medicine? Halachic logic dictates that it is not the status of medicine that causes the prohibition but that a sick person is searching for a cure that is close enough to cases of possible chillul Shabbat. In that way, homeopathic medicine is no better than conventional medicine.


Therefore, we believe that most homeopathic (see Shevet Halevi V:55) and other unproven treatments are forbidden on Shabbat (we will not get into defining what activities might be outside the realm of medicine and therefore permitted � see Mishna Berura 306:36). If one wants to use them for nagging situations that are not nafal l�mishkav, standard medicines are also problematic. Usually little is lost if one takes doses right before and after Shabbat. Presumably, one can use the leniency of inserting the medicine into a food or drink so that it is indiscernible before Shabbat and then eating on Shabbat (see Shulchan Aruch, ibid. 21; Orchot Shabbat 20:131). In unique cases, one who perceives great need and no alternatives should contact his rabbi and/or doctor.



Rabbi Moshe Bloom

Educational & Community Gardens During Shemitah

Question: Over the past few years, I have had the privilege to be involved in gardening as part of a community project and as part of a school project as a teacher of agriculture. What do I do next year during the shemitah year?!?! I planned on planting on a detached platform, but I saw on your website that it is only permissible for a major need and for educational purposes. I will explain about two of the projects I�m involved in:


The community garden in a neighborhood in crisis. We have tried to set up a community garden for several years. Finally, this year, the project took off. It is an educational community project, which gives hope to the neighbors and solves many neighborhood problems.

I am a teacher of agriculture. I teach various grades in a mixed religious and secular elementary school. We mostly plant seasonal vegetables, hoe, and cultivate many areas on the school grounds. We also have a hothouse. Is it permissible to do anything in this situation? 

The first case is a project that would otherwise be buried and will be very difficult to resuscitate if temporarily discontinued. The second gives to and educates children.


Answer: A community garden set up for therapeutic and social welfare purposes is considered a major need. For this reason, it is possible to be lenient as we are with agricultural cultivation whose purpose is to provide food for the general population and a livelihood for farmers.


On the practical level, you can sow, sprout, and plant vegetables ahead of shemitah. These vegetables will have kedushat shevi�it (shemitah sanctity). 


Furthermore, you can prepare a hothouse with platforms detached from the ground. There you will be able to perform various agricultural activities throughout the shemitah year, including planting and sowing.


In terms of general gardening during the shemitah year itself, it is forbidden to hoe the ground to enhance it. It is preferable to spray or mow the weeds. If needed, it is possible to teach children how to perform various types of mowing with a weed whacker, and the like, but not with a hoe.


OU Parenting Column Sima Gordon


The OU Israel Parenting Center was recently launched in partnership with the Jerusalem Municipality. The goal of the parenting center is to help anglo Olim navigate the challenges of parenting through lectures, workshops, an advice line, and parenting articles.


Sabra or Sensitive: Boon or Blessing


One of my favorite Aliya stories occurred over thirty years ago on a trip that my husband and I  took to the USA.  At the time, I was living in Yerushalayim and as we all did back then, I ordered a Nesher taxi service to take us to the airport.  Nesher drivers were notorious for their �patience� and sure enough, our driver was fuming about some pickup on his route where the couple were delayed.  The driver was VERY upset and then the couple who looked to be in their eighties were gently and graciously seated into the van with help by �.none other than our Nesher driver!

Fast forward to the end of our trip at the O�Hare airport. 

We are saying our goodbyes to our family, not knowing when we will meet again. 

An overly smiley airport clerk gently requested that we get moving. When we took a few more seconds to finish our hugs, Mrs. Smiley, through her gritted teeth made her request more forcefully. 

So as far as Sabras go, we have to remember that they are soft on the inside. But why do they have to sometimes be so prickly on the outside??

As Americans and more so as American Jews we give a lot of value to the midda of being sensitive. Oftentimes we feel that this sensitivity may not be serving us or our children well, certainly  in the Israeli cultural climate but perhaps even in any climate! We watch our sensitive children  suffer from bullying, not having friends or not getting onto a bus because they did not push to get on. Being sensitive is a sensitive issue indeed!

Is there a way to infuse and encourage our children to be sensitive while making sure they are not suffering for it?
I decided to get started on tackling this question. I would google a definition for �sensitive�. What I found was quite telling and actually begins to bring us closer to an answer. 

The Cambridge dictionary had a number of definitions listed. Two of them went as follows:


Having or�showing awareness and�understanding,�especially of other people�s�feelings�and�needs.


Easily�upset�by the things�people�say or do, or�causing�people�to be�upset,�embarrassed, or�angry.


Two seemingly conflicting definitions. This is exactly the issue!


Some of us are born with a stronger propensity towards being sensitive and some with less. Obviously we try to give our children the chinuch that being sensitive is good by encouraging them to be sensitive to the needs of others through our own modelling and other chinuch methods. The issue lies where a child feels hurt or vulnerable due to his sensitivity. Sometimes the child cannot function in his school because he cannot bear the insensitive actions of other students or even teachers. How do we deal with that ramification of sensitivity?


I think we need to start with awareness. A child should be  made aware of the fact that he is sensitive and given the understanding that this is a gift that Hashem gave to him It allows him to perform many mitzvot in a way that others without this midda might not be able to do or to do as well as he can.  That being said, the child should also be made aware that this gift comes with some challenges which includes a heightened vulnerability to be hurt by others or even by his own perceptions. The child needs to be given tools to protect himself from being vulnerable to the point that he is no longer safe in his environment. Of course the discussion and tools have to be age appropriate to be effective. 


Let me give you a personal example: One of my sons has a tendency towards being shy. (Not the ones you know, obviously!). Now being shy is actually a great midda. It is listed as one of the ways that you can be identified as a descendant of Avraham Avinu. BUT if that shyness is negatively affecting your ability to make friends then if it is important to you to make friends you have to leave your comfort zone and be �less shy�.  I told my son what a great midda he has and that he can be really proud of the midda. I then added that I was impressed that he was making the effort to be more �out there� so he could make the friends that he wanted. I was shocked at how grateful my son was for first appreciating his good midda and only then noticing his efforts. (And he was an adolescent at the time!!).


How can we use this model for a sensitive child? We can point out how proud we are when he thinks or gives to siblings or friends in a healthy way. AND we can listen and notice when there might be an unhealthy exchange, when our child feels hurt or feels he is obligated to give something that he does not want to give. We can then discuss the situation. Is it the child�s perception that is creating a problem? This is often the case with a sensitive child. It is very important to give the child a glimpse into how others might think and act so that he can learn to realize that this is not really about him. If the situation is objectively a problem, then he might need to react differently or distance himself to be safe. 


Looking at both sides of the sensitive coin is essential for maintaining the positive parts of being sensitive. When we don�t do that and are hurt by being sensitive we may develop some prickly skin to protect ourselves. The problem is that prickly skin can prickle others too! It can even develop into other coping methods which are very harmful to ourselves and others.  The key is to be sensitive to others while being aware of our own feelings and protecting ourselves when necessary.  


So as for Sabras, you have to know how to peel them i.e. perceive them. They are not all so prickly! If you do  have to deal with a particularly prickly one, please use the advice above for guidance.


Sima Gordon is a mother of 6 living in RBS. She made aliya over 30 years ago to Jerusalem. 
Mrs. Gordon has dedicated the majority of her professional career to assisting anglo families with the social. emotional and educational challenges that arise mainly during their childrens' adolescence..  She founded an alternative Bais Yaakov high school and developed and directed a highly successful mentoring program for  teens and pre-teens at Kav L'Noar. In addition to these contributions she presents and writes on topics connected to mental health, teens and aliya.
Rakel Berenbaum

Nachamu Nachamu & The Sheperd


Starting from the first Torah portion of the year, Bereshit, the Haftora that we read each Shabbat relates in some way to the portion that is read. A good example of this is for Parashat Beshalach which includes the song that the nation sang after we miraculously, crossed the Red Sea. The Rabbis chose for the Haftora a section from the book of Shoftim (4:4-5:31)that includes the song that Dvora sang after the general Sisra was killed and Israel miraculously triumphed over and defeated the army of Yachin the King of Canaan. But from the 17 of Tamuz to the end of the year there�s another criteria that the Rabbis used for the choice of the Haftora as Tosefot tell us in Megila (31). These portions from the prophets are chosen to relate in some way to the events of the calendar. From Shiva Aser B�Tamuz till Tisha B�Av we read the three Haftorot dporanut, three sections from the prophets dealing with the tragedies God brought on us as punishments.


Then for the seven weeks after Tisha B�Av, we will read Sheva  D�Nechemta � seven different sections from the prophets that bring us words of consolation, and then we end the year with two related to Teshuva. The �three of troubles� are there to remind us why the land was destroyed. The prophets warned the nation and told them to repent and improve their ways � but they didn�t listen.


This week we start the series of Sheva D�Nechemta � seven of consolation. They were chosen from the book of Yeshayahu � who is known for his prophecies of consolation. Nechama Leibowitz points out that in the verses from chapter 40 of the book of Yeshayahu (10-11) from our Haftorah we find two different descriptions of God. The verses begin � Behold God will come as a mighty One, and His arm will rule for Him�, and continue��Even as a shepherd that feeds his flock, that gathers the lambs in his arms, and carries them in her bosom, and gently leads those that give suck.�


In the first verse God is depicted as a mighty God. In the second verse, God is pictured as a  shepherd leading His flock. Why is this second allegory needed? What is added by this second comparison? Nechama Leibowitz explains. In order to impress upon us the dread and awe of the Creator, His might and transcendence, the text depicts a general who �comes as a mighty one.� In order to enable us to feel, at the same time, His love and kindness, and His gentleness, the text depicts Him as a shepherd.


In both cases the word �arm � is used. �Behold the Lord will come as a Mighty One and His arm will rule for Him.�, �Even as a shepherd that feeds his flock, that gathers the lambs in his arms�. In the first case, the arm represents His might sent forth to execute judgment and justice.  In the second, His arm is stretched forth to gather in the dispersed and cast outs.  God�s care and providence is not only exercised, in general, on the whole flock (of Israel), but also, individually, for each Jew, as the shepherd cares for each lamb. God is depicted both in His might and as well in His gentleness. This is the consolation that we must remember, knowing that God is there both in His strength and punishments, but also as a shepherd that cares for each one of us.


Nechama Leibowitz continues saying that just like God is pictured in two aspects, might and gentleness, so we demand that the mortal king, the leaders of the people unite within themselves these two qualities. She quotes from the Rambam ( Laws of Kings 2:1) �Just as Scripture obliged all to honor the king, so it commanded him to be humble and not conduct himself over-haughtily with Israel�He should be gracious and compassionate to both great and small, and attend to their desires and work for their good and be careful of the honor of the lowliest of his subjects�Scripture called him a shepherd�and the way of a shepherd is explained in the Prophets : even as a shepherd feeds his flock, that gathers the lambs in his arms, and carries them in his bosom, and gently leads those that give suck.�
May we be consoled that God treats us like a shepherd and may we merit to have leaders that model God, and act like shepherds. 



----In this Haftara God is described as a shepherd that cares for each individual lamb. So this week�s recipe will use ingredients that the shepherd would feed his sheep. They are herbivores - eating grass, legumes, and forbs, so here�s a recipe for a colorful summer salad. And if you are looking for something to do with your kids or grandkids this week it might be a nice activity to go see some shepherds with their sheep. 


HERBIVOR SALAD
4�medium zucchinis, 2 sliced into�1/2�inch rounds, 2 sliced lengthwise into�1/4�inch strips
1 teaspoon�of oil
1 cup cooked corn kernels, fresh or canned
1/2 teaspoon�salt
4 cups�salad greens, use different kinds to add more color to the salad
A few handfuls of alfalfa sprouts
1/2�cup cooked chickpeas,
2 cups�shredded purple cabbage
A handful of sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon�dill fronds
Dressing
1/2 c tehina
Lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced
Salt & pepper to taste
Toss zucchini with oil and grill on high for 3-4 minutes, turning once. Layer the salad ingredients in a nice bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients. and pour over salad.


Torah4Teens by NCSY

Gavriel Novick, Director of Regional Development
Looking Forward


In Va�etchanan Moshe warns Bnei Yisrael against turning away from Hashem after he dies and describes the tragedies that will occur if they do so. Following that passage the Torah relates �Then Moses decided to separate three cities on the side of the Jordan towards the sunrise� (Devarim 4:41). Moshe designates three cities of refuge, arei miklat to the east of the Jordan River. Why does this happen now? After all, as Rashi points out, these three cities don�t actually take effect as arei miklat until Yehoshua sets aside further arei miklat in the Land of Israel.


Rashi answers that Moshe wanted to do a mitzvah right away. Even if the arei miklat were not yet effective, Moshe wanted to designate them to accomplish that mitzvah. Perhaps there is yet another deeper approach. 


Following the description of tragedies to take place if (or when) the Jewish people turn away from Hashem, Moshe needed to find some comfort. He is about to transfer the leadership and say goodbye to his people. His comfort comes from thinking of the future, from looking forward. He can see a hopeful future where Yehoshua conquers the Land of Israel and sets aside further cities of refuge. So, Moshe does his part now in setting the stage for that future reality by separating cities as arei miklat.


I sincerely hope that since this article was written our Tisha B�av has become one of celebration. But, if  this is not the case, how do we move on? How are we comforted when we are still in churban? Perhaps our comfort comes not from seeing where we are now, but from looking forward and taking steps towards a brighter future. That has always been at the core of NCSY Israel where we �inspire the Jewish future in Israel.�