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This Week’s Torah Reading

Ki Tavo

Part of this paraSHAH is known as the tokheHAH (warning) in which the people are warned of all the trouble that could befall them if they do not follow God’s law. It is a section of Torah generally read quickly and quietly. But the section does begin in an upbeat way. When the Israelites have settled in the land of Israel, they are to give the first fruits of their harvest to God and recite a special formula that recounts the nomadic background of the people, their enslavement in and redemption from Egypt, and their settlement in Israel. When in certain years a tenth of the produce is given to Levites, strangers, orphans and widows, the farmer recites another formula which attests to having fulfilled the rules and God’s greatness. Upon crossing the Jordan River, the people are to set up large plaster-coated stones and inscribe the words of “this Teaching” (probably a part of Deuteronomy) upon them. There they must also build an altar of unhewn stones and make sacrifices to God. Six tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim and the other six will stand on Mount Ebal to hear words of blessing and curse. Cursed are those who will make sculptured images, insult their parents, alter boundaries, misdirect blind people, trip up the vulnerable, murder, take bribes, or engage in immoral sexual activity. Blessed are those who follow the law, and who will enjoy numerous children, plenty of food, and security. And then the full tokheHAH begins: if the people do not follow the laws, much trouble shall befall them, including disease, war, famine, family dissolution, criminal activity, and ultimately, exile from the land. Moses ends his oration to the people by noting that he has lead them for 40 years and throughout those years, they have witnessed miracle after miracle. It is now up to them to remain holy onto God.

A Shabbat Thought

To tell whether an action is right or wrong, ask what would happen if everyone did it.

~~ Anna Quindlen ~~

WEB OF THE WEEK

http://www.e-dologic.co.il/kapara/

Kapparot* gone bad…
*Kapparot is the custom of transferring one’s sins onto a chicken while twirling it around one’s head. The chicken is then slaughtered and given to the poor for a Yom Tov meal.

Shalom from Yerushalayim

Please let me thank you once again for sending warm greetings with pizza and other gifts to our soldiers in the past. It is now ten years since we began sending gifts to Israeli soldiers on behalf of people like you all around the world.

Another year is now coming to a close. Terrorism is still everyone's number one enemy. Our soldiers put their lives on the line for all of us in this worldwide struggle. For this we all have much to be thankful. On one hand we all pray for peace, but the vigilance of the army must be maintained, putting immense personal pressure on the soldiers. Iran poses new threats with which our army may have to deal in the near future. An attack on this pariah state will have serious repercussions here in Israel.

We are once again giving you an opportunity to let our soldiers know that you appreciate their hard work on our behalf. Send them Rosh Hashanah greetings with pizza or burgers. Or wish them and their families a happy, fruitful New Year with our traditional package of Honey, Chocolates and Honey Cake.

For further details on all of our projects, please click here on http://www.PizzaIDF.org.

A SPECIAL REQUEST FROM A CYBERSHULER

It will be six months tomorrow that Alan and I lost our son the day before he was expected to be born. In that time, we have dealt with the worst that parents have to face, but also have come to appreciate life so much more than ever before.

I'm writing today because Alan and I have begun completing the requirements to adopt a newborn baby domestically. Even if we were given full medical clearance to pursue another pregnancy, there is just no way - at least at this moment - that Alan and I can go through another nine months of anticipation and worry. We decided on adoption because we are ready to become parents now (we were actually ready last February).

We are calling on you because the next step is the most difficult - finding a birth mother. We are adopting privately, which means we are not using an agency and it is up to us to find the birth mother. We can do that by placing ads in newspapers and magazines (yes, like Juno), but the best means of finding a birth mother is through word-of-mouth. We will go anywhere in the nation, if it means finding the right birth mother - and for her to find the right pair of parents for her child.

If we can answer any questions, please let me know. Thanks again for your kind words and support throughout this unbelievably difficult year for us.

Elyse and Alan: elyse_pegler@yahoo.com  

AURAL TORAH

The Source of Punishment

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ON RUTH AND RUTHLESSNESS

Dear CyberRav,

One question raised is how do rabbis explain that Moabites were forbidden to become Jewish, yet Ruth, a Moabite, is welcomed into the Jewish people. I look forward to you reply.

CYBER RAV ANSWERS

Dear Fan of the Book of Ruth,

Good question.

In Deuteronomy 23:4, we learn that a Moabite shall never be admitted into the congregation of the Lord. Based on that verse, it would seem that no Moabite would ever be permitted to convert to Judaism. And yet, Ruth, a Moabite, does just that and, in fact, Jewish tradition holds her in high regard. This difficulty was not lost on the rabbis and they did address it. In chapter 23 of Deuteronomy, the phrase, "shall not be admitted into the congregation of the Lord" applies to several categories of people--

A Moabite
An Ammonite
A mamzer, or one born of an illicit relationship, like a brother and sister who bring a child into the world
A eunuch
A man with crushed testes

Since the phrase is applied to all these different categories of people, the rabbis surmised that it had to mean the same thing for all these categories. In regard to a eunuch or a man with crushed testes, they could not conceive that such a person would be banned from the Jewish people simply because of an unfortunate physical condition. And so they concluded that the phrase "shall not be admitted into the congregation of the Lord" must have something to do with marriage. Since bringing children into the world was such a blessing, and a eunuch or a man with crushed testes could not do that, the rabbis concluded that the phrase "shall not be admitted into the congregation of the Lord" must refer to men who--for some reason--are not permitted to marry Israelite women. In other words, a eunuch or a man with crushed testes would not be permitted to marry an Israelite woman since he could give her no children, and so too a Moabite or Ammonite could not marry an Israelite woman. That being the case, Ruth, a Moabite, and obviously a woman, could be permitted into "the congregation of the Lord." According to the rabbis, the rule simply did not apply to Moabite women.

This is certainly one way of looking at the problem, but someone is going to say, not without justification, that the rabbis' reading of the text is forced. The rule in Deuteronomy 23 is pretty sweeping, and makes no mention of males not marrying Israelites. Is there another way to understand the biblical prohibition?

One of the myths that we grow up with as children, and all too often carry with us into adulthood, is the idea that the Bible is consistent with itself. There is this sacred work called the Tanakh or the Jewish bible, and it gives the Jewish people a clear direction of how to live life. One section of the Tanakh will confirm another and vice versa. But the fact is that whenever you have a work that is created over centuries, as the Bible clearly is, you are going to get contradictions because people change, they grow, their ideas evolve, and their understanding of God matures. Hard to believe, but theologically, we actually can point to progress in how humankind thinks of itself and its relationship with God. And so if we take a look at one of the great prophets in Jewish history, Isaiah, and we zero in on his words in chapter 56:1-8, we find a prophet who is directly taking issue with Deuteronomy 23. In these few verses, Isaiah pleads with the Jewish people to not permit a foreigner to feel shunned by the Jewish people, or eunuchs to feel isolated from their community. "For thus said the Lord: 'As for the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, who have chosen what I desire and hold fast to My covenant--I will give them, in My House and within My walls, a monument and a name [yad vashem], better than sons or daughters. I will give them an everlasting name which shall not perish" (Isaiah 56:4-5). And Isaiah then comments on foreigners who are sabbath observant and mindful of God's covenant. Isaiah envisions God as saying, "'I will bring them to My sacred mount and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices shall be welcome on My altar; for My House shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples'" (Isaiah 56:7).

Now one could argue that the verse poses no contradiction with Deuteronomy 23 because Isaiah does not mention Moabites or Ammonites by name, so Isaiah may be referring to foreigners, but certainly not to Moabites or Ammonites. And yet, Isaiah's specific reference to eunuchs would undoubtedly remind us of Deuteronomy 23 and its specific exclusion of them along with the Moabites and the Ammonites. Isaiah seems to be opening the doors to the people of the world to become one with the Jewish people, and he does so by claiming that God Himself desires this by making His Temple "a house of prayer for all peoples," which brings us to the Book of Ruth.

What is the Book of Ruth? A great tale, an inspiring story, a juicy rendering of an old man finding young love? Biblical tales were usually not written for purposes of entertainment, entertaining though they may be. What we seem to have in the Book of Ruth is a narrative, adopted by the Jewish people as sacred, about how in fact the time has come for a sincere Moabite, who has connected her fate with the fate of the Jewish people, to "be admitted into the congregation of the Lord." The Bible is at odds with itself presenting us with two paradigms of Jewish life--one very exclusive and one more inclusive. I would not regard one paradigm as bigoted and the other as enlightened. I think in their own day and own time, each paradigm was important and reasonable. But just like us who sometimes find a biblical ruling difficult to fulfill, our biblical ancestors could also find a biblical ruling hard to fulfill. And when they did, they did not rebel against God, but rather heard God speaking to them with a different tone. Isaiah, the prophet, heard God speak in a tone very different from the way the Deuteronomist heard God speak. And that is okay, because truly religious people are always ready to hear the word of God spoken in their own time and their own context.

So which shul would you belong to? The one that said--"Sorry Ruth, you can't join us"? Or the one that said, "Ruth, you're welcome here any time!" Shall we be like Ruth or shall we be ruthless? Your choice.

Rabbi Rafi Rank
CyberRav

Shabbat Shalom Everyone!!

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