“Moses repeated the
commandments to the people, who answered: “All the things that the
Lord has commanded we will do!” Moses then wrote the commandments
down.”
This week’s Torah portion,
Mishpatim, literally “Laws,” is a long list of
rules and laws given by God to the Jewish People, and is sometimes
referred to as “The Covenant Code.” While last week’s
list of the ‘Ten Statements’, or as they are more commonly
referred to, the ‘Ten Commandments’, dealt primarily with
spiritual matters, this week’s portion delves into Civil and Tort
Law. Here is the “short list” of items covered by God: homicide,
assault, theft, kidnapping, judicial integrity, sorcery, seduction,
humane treatment of the enemy, wronging the disadvantaged, and my
personal favorite, insulting a parent. Mentioned several times
in the portion is the concept of ‘not oppressing the stranger.’
We are reminded over and over again to be attentive and sensitive to
the stranger, as we were once strangers in a strange land – Egypt.
As Jews interpreting
Torah we tend to see many of these laws as unique to us; being handed
down from God to Moses in a very dramatic moment. However upon
examination we find that quite a few laws are not
much different
from those found in Hammurabi’s
Code, or the ancient
law codes that predate the Code of Hammurabi.
How then, do we come to see
these laws and rulings as uniquely “Jewish”? What
differentiates the Laws of Moses from those in other early societies
is that the Law, as it is presented to Moses and the people, is bound
up in the relationship God has with his people. These laws create our
value system and demand of us a higher regard for life, integrity,
and social justice.
Yes, God initially gives the
laws to Moses. But unlike some religions whose laws are held
closely by a designated hierarchy, Moses in turn reads God’s
covenant aloud to the people, who once again affirm that they will
follow it.
Which brings us to why there
are so many Jewish lawyers! Our religion asks of us
to not only understand the festivals and observances, but to be
intimately aware of how we must conduct ourselves in every part of
our lives, making each Jew a lawyer, obligated to learn and
understand the Law. Long before there were Law Schools, perspective
lawyers “read” the law. Each Jew must “read the Law”,
and not just leave it up to “professional Jews.” It was and
still is God’s intent that we each stand before God with an
understanding of the Laws of Moses. Of course each generation
is then left to reinterpret the Law within the context of their time…
while never straying far from the original intent of the Law.
We are
meant to be not just “a people of the book” but in a small way a
nation of lawyers, always aware of our obligations to God and each
other!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rose Jacob
“
Whoever destroys a soul, it is
considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a
life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”
- Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5; Babylonian
Talmud Tractate
Sanhedrin 37a
For Goodness Sake - What does that have
to do with Mayor Michael Bloomberg?
Poor Michael Bloomberg – well, not
literally ‘poor’ – the man is worth $25 billion. Perhaps
just misunderstood. Say his name out loud and you may hear
cries of “Nanny State.”
Michael Bloomberg, the philanthropist, is in
the news this week for having donated $350 million to Johns Hopkins
University. Comedian Jay Leno speculated the funds would build the
“Michael Bloomberg Center to Eradicate 16 Ounce Sodas”… and
that the structure would look like a “Big Gulp.” In reality, the
money will go to fund 40 professors who will work across disciplines
to solve some of the worlds most pressing problems. The rest of the
money will fund over 2,500 financial aid scholarships.
With this latest donation, Bloomberg becomes
the single largest financial donor to any American university in our
history. His total giving to that institution is now over 1
BILLION dollars. His first donation to the university, one year after
his graduation, was five dollars. His greatest giving has been in the
areas of Public Health, and Nursing, as well as a children’s
hospital wing named after his mother.
So nu? Who is this man who tries to tell
everyone in New York what to do? We (well, the media) think of him as
the ‘Politician from New York who banned large sugary drinks; who
took the trans-fats out of food in the Big Apple; who forced
restaurants to list the calories in their foods; who is actively
trying to reduce the sodium in NYC food; who deprives new mothers of
baby formula to convince them that breast feeding is healthier; who
made it impossible to smoke in public places as well as restaurants
and anywhere else inhalation takes place; and who wants taxi’s to
have lower emissions.’
Well this is America, and as we all know, we
are free to do what we please, even if it kills us!
Michael, if I may call him by his first name,
is a mensch. He is the kind of mensch who puts his money where his
mouth is, where it does the most good, and he allocates that money
GLOBALLY. His Bloomberg Foundation has launched a $375 million
initiative to combat tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries,
where more than two-thirds of the world's smokers live. He’s
pledged $125 million for five years to fund road safety interventions
in 10 countries working to reduce traffic accident deaths and
injuries through the Association for Safe International Road Travel.
His foundation has also created a pilot program in Tanzania to reduce
maternal deaths by providing training for emergency obstetric care in
rural communities. It is hoped that this program will be transferable
to other countries with high infant mortality and maternal deaths.
As I stated previously, Michael is a Mensch. He
learned to give and to serve from his parents. He gives large and he
gives without fanfare. He is modest in his acts of Tzedahkah. But
most importantly he truly models the Talmudic passage “
whoever
saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”
Along with Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda
Gates, Bloomberg has vowed to give away half of his total wealth for
philanthropic use before his death, or upon his death.
Michael Bloomberg may not be able to save New
Yorkers from themselves, but almost every initiative he has
undertaken to improve health in NYC has been adopted by other US
cities. Over time, what seem to be outrageous laws and limits have
become commonplace all over America.
In observing a lifetime of Michael Bloomberg’s
initiatives in both the public and private spheres, I am reminded of
a lesson from Pirke Avot,
the Ethics of the Fathers. Hillel said it best "If I am not for
myself, who will be for me? And when I am only for myself, what am
'I'? And if not now, when?”
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rose
Dateline: March 22, 1965 – Negro
Marchers from Selma Wear Yarmulkes
“
Hundreds of Negro freedom marchers today
wore yarmulkes (skullcaps), in respectful emulation of rabbis who
participated in demonstrations in Alabama as Jewish participation in
the march from Selma to Montgomery.” (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The story, which may or may not be apocryphal,
is that way before the Selma to Montgomery March, several rabbis had
joined a prayer service at a black church. When asked what the
meaning of a yarmulke was, a rabbi explained, “that one’s head
must be covered in the presence of the Lord.” The response to
this was, “wherever the freedom movement is, God is to be found
there.”
The African-Americans wore them and called them
“Freedom Caps.” The Alabama State Police called them
“Yankee Yamakas.” (The demand was so high that an
order of 1,000 skullcaps was wired to New York City to be delivered
to Montgomery, in time for the great demonstration at the state
capitol.)
There were many Jews from the North who came
down for the March. (In fact five rabbis found themselves locked up
by the Police in the Selma Jail for Shabbat!) Among the rabbis
who participated in the march was Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel, of the
Jewish Theological Seminary, the seminary for Conservative rabbis.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked Dr. Heschel to take a position of
honor at the head of the marchers. A famous photograph shows Dr. King
and Dr. Heschel marching shoulder to shoulder.
One of the northern rabbi’s who participated
in the march was my husband’s rabbi from Rhode Island, Rabbi
William Braude. He was the spiritual leader of a large Reform
Congregation in Providence. In line with Reform practice, yarmulkes
were not worn at his shul; not even for those ascending the Bimah. It
was considered too “old world.”
Rabbi Braude spoke before his congregation and
gave the stirring details of his experiences in Montgomery, including
a description of the unifying and symbolic wearing of yarmulkes by
Jews and Blacks alike during the march. What happened next was totally
unexpected. Rabbi Braude took a yarmulke out of his pocket and
put it on his head. There was a long silence, then nothing but the
sound of people getting up and walking out. Here and there, in
this very large sanctuary, people stood up and left, affronted by the
donning of the head covering.
The following Shabbat, boxes of yarmulkes had
been placed at the entrance to the sanctuary, for those who wished to
wear one. This tradition continues.
Let’s not forget the Selma March, the Jewish
college students who flocked to Alabama to register voters, those
1,000 yarmulkes in Montgomery, and the unifying passion of people like
Dr. King and Dr. Heschel. Our histories, and the history of the
Civil Rights Movement, are forever intertwined.
Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob
-->
“
To Love Another Person is to See the Face
of God”
Victor Hugo
The last thing I expected when we went to see
LES MISERABLES, the new film based on an English translation of the
French musical theater adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel,…was to
have a RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE!
I am familiar with the novel, the lyrics and
music and saw the stage production when it came to DC. The film
doesn’t contain any spoken dialogue and is completely sung, like an
opera. I was prepared for a lush Hollywood production, beautifully
orchestrated, with Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway
lighting up a VERY LARGE screen. What I didn’t anticipate was the
extreme, intense visual, visceral experience detailed down to the
last drops of blood, sweat, tears and suffering of each tortured
soul; or the blood literally running in the streets or the oceans of
effluent streaming through the sewers of Paris. Above all, what I
truly didn’t expect amidst all of this, was a feeling that God was
present, there in the theater.
God’s hand is in every scene. Not religion,
but God. Not Jesus, but God. Hugh Jackman, in his role as Jean
Valjean, a felon who is given a chance at redemption, has a most
personal relationship with his God. With every note, every
word, every look, every movement he asks for divine guidance and to a
much lesser degree, divine intervention. When other men would have
buckled under his burden, he receives his strength, both physical and
moral, from God. He is a man of uncompromising integrity. He is
a man, who, when given the chance at redemption, seizes it with
passion and intent.
What struck me is that while invoking God’s
name, he doesn’t make deals with God, but rather he asks for God’s
grace. Each superhuman challenge he undertakes is an act of devotion.
Each accomplishment is an affirmation of God’s hand in the action.
His life is lived as if every challenge was an opportunity to perform
just one more MITZVAH!
How many times, in dark hours, do we ask “Where
is God?” or “Why doesn’t God intervene?” When we look at our
own petitions to God, we usually invoke God’s name to give a
favorable outcome. It is almost like we ask the impossible just to
prove that there IS no God. Victor Hugo’s character, however draws
his strength from God and uses that strength to perform the MITZVOT
that will BRING ABOUT God’s miracles. Jean Valjean doesn’t ask
WHY is the world this way, but rather, what can I, as an individual,
do with God’s help to change the outcome!
While the film is rated PG-13, I wouldn’t
recommend it for a teen under the age of 15. If bringing a teen, it
would be helpful to do a little “history lesson” before hand so
that they can have a better grasp of the subject matter.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rose
It was off to the movies for us on
New Year’s Day. A very popular destination as there wasn’t a
single empty seat in the theater when we went to see Spielberg’s
“LINCOLN.” It was a wonderful film with Daniel Day-Lewis in the
title role. Abraham Lincoln has oft been called, among other things,
a wonderful leader, a great orator, and the American Moses.
Coincidentally, this week we begin
the book of Exodus, which brings us the life and events of the
“original” Moses. This week’s parasha, Shemot ,
commences with the birth of Moses and continues on to the events that
bring him to the leadership of the Israelites and his role in
securing their exodus from Egypt and their journey from slavery to
freedom. Both Moses and Lincoln have, historically, been linked
with the concept of leading the enslaved to freedom. And both men
have made their place in history as remarkable leaders.
But what are the qualities of a
really good leader? England’s Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, in
response to the question, “who is a leader?” responds thus: the
Jewish answer is, one who identifies with his or her people, mindful
of their faults, to be sure, but convinced also of their potential
greatness and their preciousness in the sight of G-d. “
Lincoln’s leadership certainly
fits the description, but he led with greater confidence than Moses!
When God taps Moses for the job of
going before the Pharaoh to intercede on the part of the enslaved
Israelites and lead them out of Egypt, Moses has a list of reasons
why he isn’t up to the job. He points to his speech impediment…”no
sweat” says God, “Aaron will speak for you.” Moses wonders why
the Jews would listen to him or believe he was acting on behalf of
THE invisible God. “No problem,” says God, “I’ll give
you some magic tricks including this walking stick that converts into
a snake and then back again”, and then God instructs him on how to
turn Nile water into blood. Still questioning God’s ability
to back him up, God tells him to stick his hand in his robe then pull
it out. YIKES it is covered with white, scales of LEPROSY! On
God’s command he sticks his hand back in, and VOILA, when he pulls
it out the scales are gone. Even with God’s assurances that Moses
was up to the task AND that the people would listen to him, he was
the most reluctant of leaders.
Certainly, Moses was filled with
insecurities and self -doubt. But remember, he wasn’t just a
shepherd. He had been raised in the Pharaoh’s palace, as a Prince
of Egypt, able to see and study, first hand, the ins and outs of
power and leadership as he grew to adulthood.
His big worry is that he knows that
the Israelites are a ‘stiff-necked’ people. They’ve already
expressed how they feel about Moses years prior to these events, with
one person even sneering “Who made YOU ruler and judge over US?”
And after the first visit with Pharaoh, the people despise Moses even
more, for making their lives even more difficult. But God reminds
Moses that they are, despite all their shortcomings, a worthy
people. Also, God points out that He had promised to fulfill a pact
with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and this included
giving them a land of their own and making them as numerous as the
stars in the sky, promises that can only be kept of the Chosen depart
from Egypt. It is up to God to calm his doubts, not those regarding
his capabilities, for they could be overcome. But his real
insecurity, the ability to work with the people he is supposed
to LEAD! He knows what a handful the Children of Israel can be,
and can only imagine what is in store for the journey ahead. God
understands his concern and addresses Moses thus, “Those people of
whom you have doubts,” said G-d to Moses, “are believers, the
children of believers. They are My people, and they are your
people. Just as you believe in Me, so you must believe in them.”
From this, let us learn that the
key to true leadership is not just to inspire and direct but to
believe and have faith in those you lead.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rose
