Midway Jewish Center
Going Strong Since 1953
THE CYBERSHUL

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This CyberShul has been dedicated by:

Barbara and Richard Esterow
in honor of the birth of their grandson
Jonathan Spencer Fortunoff,
son of Jennie and Louis Fortuno

This Week’s Torah Reading

Shoftim

Shoftim means judges, and that is precisely what Israel must appoint once they enter Canaan. For a society built on justice, the Israelites learn to judge without bias or bribes. Sacrificial animals must be without blemish—God doesn’t need our second-hand goods. Idolatry will not be tolerated. Capital cases may only be decided on the basis of two or more witnesses. In difficult cases, the ruling of the kohaNIM (the priests) is final. The king whom you appoint in Israel must be an Israelite. He may not own many horses; have many wives, amass gold or silver; or send the people back to Egypt. The king must be a student of Torah. The Levites shall own no territory, but will be supported by the contributions of the people. Children may not be offered as sacrifice. Sorcerers are not to be consulted. A prophet that follows the one God may lead the people, but not one who speaks in the name of many gods. Three aREI mikLAT, cities of refuge, must be set up to protect those who accidentally killed others, and as many as six when the Canaan is fully conquered. Murderers are to be put to death. Boundaries are sacrosanct. False witnesses are not to be tolerated. Enemies must first be offered peace, but war must be fought with courage. There are certain peoples with whom negotiation will be impossible—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizites, Hivites, and Jebusites—and war with them will be inevitable. Fruit-bearing trees should not be destroyed in war. Where a murder victim is found, and the murderer remains at large, a ceremony to remove guilt from a town is outlined. The people of Israel must always live in innocence and with justice.

A Shabbat Thought

I haven’t failed. I’ve found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

~~ Thomas Edison ~~

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During the month of Elul, it’s time to start thinking about Rosh Hashanah!

AURAL TORAH

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GOOD OR BAD

Dear CyberRav,

I find myself avoiding television news programs and newspapers because the news is so bad. What is wrong with this world? The killing, the murders, the theft, the fraud, a crumbling economy because of the greed of mankind… If God created such a perfect world, then why is it so horrible?

CYBER RAV ANSWERS

Dear Disappointed,

I don’t believe everything I read in the newspapers, and although we buy newspapers that print all the news that’s fit to print, sometimes I think that newspapers only print the news that fits, and everything else gets tossed.

Is the world really as terrible as you say it is? Without denying the existence of evil, and those who perpetrate it, if you look in the right places, you’ll find tremendous good in this world. You’ll find people helping the vulnerable, engaging in philanthropy, volunteering their time and talents to the community, counseling those who are lost, and trying to do the right thing. Why don’t we hear about these people? Maybe because we foolishly depend on the media for our portrait of the world. But the media isn’t going to portray the world as it is, but only compile the aberrations that would pique our interest. War, rape, theft and epidemics will sooner sell than girl scouts selling cookies, millions of people enjoying good health, children honoring parents, and families attending church or synagogue together. I don’t fault the media for focusing on evil—after all, they have to succeed and success is a matter of sales and so the news they print is the news that sells. On the other hand, we should all take care to not depend on the media for our understanding of what the world is actually like. That’s just plain foolish.

So, my friend, cheer up. There are millions of people who go to work each day, fulfill their responsibilities, take time out to say a kind word to another, share their talents with others, shudder and the telling of a lie, and so forth. I think they deserve a little credit. To dismiss their actions as insignificant, deny them the credit they deserve or remove them from the portrait of what this world is really like, is itself dishonest. Let’s be sure to not commit the very crime that we condemn the rest of the world for committing. There’s plenty of evil in this world, but there’s plenty of good as well. Our God urges us to forever work toward creating greater good than evil and thus become partners with Him in creating and recreating this beautiful world that He began.

Rabbi Rafi Rank
CyberRav

Shabbat Shalom Everyone!!

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