Hertz p.623
Soncino p.860
Shabbat ends in London at 10.23pm
| Sidra Lite | |
| Clothes maketh the Man | Rev Michael Binstock |
| Brit Milah | Rabbi Daniel Roselaar |
| Terror | Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks |
| Israel A-Z, G - Gordon | Simon Goulden |
| Riddle of the Week | Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis |
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CLOTHES MAKETH THE MAN
The Maftir of this week's Sidra will be very familiar indeed. It is Parashat Tzitzit, the section that forms the third paragraph of the Shema. Significantly, in the order that they are written in the Torah, this third paragraph precedes the first two paragraphs which are to be found in the next and final Book of Devarim. However, Parashat Tzitzit is recited last in our statutory services because the mitzvah to wear tzitzit only applies during the day whereas the other two paragraphs contain laws that apply both during the day and night.
At first glance, the inclusion of Parashat Tzitzit at the end of this Sidra seems to be quite haphazard and unrelated to the main narrative, which recounts the sad episode of the twelve spies. But such a thought would be quite erroneous, as there is nothing haphazard in the Torah. So why is it inserted here?
The great Rabbinic leader of German Jewry, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch suggests the following idea. He draws a parallel between the sin of the spies and the subsequent mitzvah of tzitzit, with the sin of Adam and Eve who eat of the forbidden fruit, the account of which is followed by G-d providing them with garments. (Bereishit 3:21). We learn from this that when man acts as a "boged", a traitor, G-d offers him a "begged", a garment. This will act as a reminder of his moral weakness and hopefully help him to become a penitent.
Therefore, the mitzvah of tzitzit is a means to an end. It serves to remind us of our obligations as Jews. The great Biblical commentator, Rashi, explains that the gematria (numerical value) of the letters of the word "tzitzit" equals 600. When we add the eight threads and five knots, we have 613, which is the number of commandments in the Torah. Our tzitzit are thus a constant reminder of our duties towards G-d and also highlight the unique relationship that G-d has with us. When we fulfil the directive of ure'item oto uzechartem et kol mitzvot Hashem "And you shall look at it and remember all the commandments of Hashem", we have the opportunity of focusing our thoughts towards Heaven and feeling a closeness to G-d. This in turn should spur us on in our duties towards Him. But the crucial point is the way we look at it. We could see nothing more than a plain inanimate object, or we could see something of great spirituality far beyond woollen fringes.
Had the spies used their G-d given powers of perception properly, they would have seen a land truly flowing with milk and honey. Tragically, their vision was impaired and therefore it prevented them from seeing the truth of G-d's promise of blessing and prosperity.
Next time we take our tzitzit in our hands as we recite this familiar paragraph from our Sidra, let us take a fresh look at this special mitzvah that is designed to bring us closer to G-d.
BRIT MILAH
Following the birth of a baby boy, his father should arrange for him to be circumcised when he is eight days old.
The day on which the child is born is regarded as the first day and the second day begins after nightfall. Halachic guidance should be sought if a child is born round about sunset, in order to establish which day should be counted as the first day.) On the eighth day the brit milah ceremony should ideally take place as soon as possible after sunrise - since it is appropriate to demonstrate an eagerness to fulfil such an important mitzvah - but may take place at any time before sunset.
Normative halachic rules would proscribe a brit from being performed on Shabbat because of the fact that a surgical procedure is involved, and also because of the improved status acquired by the child who is circumcised. However, a specific word in the Torah teaches that the mitzvah may be performed even on Shabbat and festivals, and mohalim frequently walk long distances to ensure that the brit takes place on the correct day. Exceptions to this rule include if the baby was born by caesarean section, if he was born during twilight at the onset of Shabbat (because there is an halachic doubt as to whether Shabbat is the eighth or ninth day), or if for some reason the circumcision is not taking place on the eighth day.
Interestingly, the halachic codes discuss the validity of such a brit if it was performed on Shabbat.
TERROR
Terror has become the plague of the 21st century, threatening not only Israel but all free societies. Time and again carnage has occurred since 9/11: in Bali, Mombassa, Djerba, Istanbul, Casablanca and recently Madrid. Television and the press are filled for a day or two with devastating pictures of the atrocities, but its long term effects are far more shocking.
On a choral mission to Israel in February we visited hospitals to meet the injured and bereaved. We sat with an eleven year old boy who'd lost half his family when a bomb went off in Maxim's restaurant, and he himself was now blind. We sat with a 13 year-old girl who bravely told us she was fine. The doctors told us that if the ambulance had been two minutes slower, she would have died. We met other children who'd been on their way to school when the bus exploded, killing their friends and changing their world for ever. Terror leaves behind shattered lives, scars, trauma and a grief that may never fully heal.
Terror is far worse than war. In war there is a battlefield; in terror a shop, an office, a train, can become a battlefield. In war there are targets; in terror anyone is a target - the innocent, the uninvolved. In war there is a logic. In terror there is no logic, because there never was nor ever will be anything achieved by it that could not have been achieved by other means. No responsible government can ever negotiate with terror, because to give in to it is not to end it but to invite yet more.
The reign of terror is the world before the Flood, when "the earth was filled with violence," and "The L-d was grieved that He had made man on earth, and his heart was filled with pain." The story of the Flood tells us that random violence and murderous terror are more than crimes. They destroy the very trust and order on which civilization depends.
After the Flood, G-d vowed never again to destroy all life, but He made a covenant with all mankind. Its central rule is: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of G-d has G-d made man." The Torah recognises that war is sometimes necessary, especially for self defence, but it is equally insistent on the ethics of war, of which the first principle is that it is only permitted after attempts have been made to make peace, and these have failed (Maimonides, Hilkhot Melakhim, 6). Intentional violence against the innocent is never permitted. It is a blasphemy against the image of G-d himself.
There can be no defence of terror. It is born, not of despair, but of contempt. It is the ultimate evil: destruction for destruction's sake.
G - Gordon
Aharon David Gordon ( A D Gordon) remains one of the most influential of the early Zionist philosophers. Born in Russia in 1852, he worked as an estate official to the fabulously wealthy Baron Horace Gunzburg, the leader of the Jewish community in St Petersburg. An enthusiastic member of Chovevei Zion, he settled in Palestine in 1904 and he worked as an agricultural labourer around the country, finally in the first kibbutz, Degania, until his death in 1922. His teachings were a great influence in the Labour Movement in Palestine, especially the Hapoel ha Tzair party.
Gordon believed fervently that physical labour was the basis of all human existence and that culture had worked to our detriment, removing us from Nature. The solution was to return to the soil, but not by individual effort. Unlike the communists, Gordon felt that this should be accomplished by a new attitude to work and the elimination of the passion for power. He wrote that self realisation was the duty of every person, as influence could only be exerted by living example and not by demands on others. Whilst a major influence on the kibbutz movement in the past, his philosophy would appear not to have such a strong influence today.
Last week's questions:
1. Explain: Upside down today and inside out on Simchat Torah.
Answer:
There are two ("nun's") that are inverted in Parshat Beha'alotcha.On Simchat Torah some perform hagbah by turning the Sefer Torah inside out.
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Dr J Jacobs of Hampstead Garden Suburb.
Which name of a person is given in one chapter of Bereishit three times as a female and six times as a male?
Answer:
Anah. (Bereishit Chapter 36.)
This week's question:
1. Fill in the missing item in this sequence:
Succot, ---------, Pesach, Shavuot, Tisha BeAv.
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE
Which one of the 613 mitzvot must be performed on "wings"? (The answer is in today's Sidra.)
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