The New Year

This coming Monday night is Erev Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the New Year – 5769... five thousand, seven hundred and sixty-nine years since the creation of the world, according to Jewish tradition. We pray that the coming year is a year of blessing and peace for Israel and all the world.

We are now at the end of a special year in the Hebrew calendar. The past year was a "leap year" of the Hebrew calendar (a year of 13 months), symbolizing harmonious unity among different systems, a balance between the cycles of the moon and the sun and a balance among the seasons of the year.

This was also a Sh'mita (sabbatical) year in the 7-year cycle – a year when it is customary to refrain from working the land and devote oneself to more spiritual activity. From all points of view, this was a year of opportunity for a great spiritual development.

The coming New Year is also expected to be a very special one. In the Jewish tradition it is called "Hakhel"- a year in which the Jewish nation gathers together at the Temple in Jerusalem on the holiday of Sukkot, in order to hear the king read the Torah.

During a Hakhel year, we have special ability to come together (in Hebrew, L'hitkahel - to get together), to connect with our friends, family and many others in a sense of unity and love. In addition, the New Year will be one in which we read Birkat HaChama – the blessing of the sun – at the eve of Passover. There will be a special blessing and ceremony – and it is held only once every 28 years, when the sun is situated exactly where it was during the creation of the universe, on the fourth day of the creation.


Our Torah portion Nitzavim, Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20, always is read the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah. It begins with the words: "You are standing here, today, all of you, before the L-rd your G-d…" The Torah reminds us that as we stood together at Mt. Sinai, the Jewish people remains standing today… and we are standing together with many different people who have come to know our G-d.

This week, a terrorist attacked a group of soldiers and civilians standing at I.D.F. Square, just outside of the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. They had come to Jerusalem for special prayers at the Western Wall preceding the High Holy Days. Once again, an off-duty soldier killed the terrorist. Once again, many innocents were injured, although this time, thank G-d, only the terrorist died. We are again reminded how precarious our life is here in the Middle East, how important it is for us to be standing together before G-d, and how much we are blessed by the people who stand with us.

May you all of us, standing together, be blessed with a year of joy and miracles, blessing and peace.

L'shanah Tovah uM'tukah -

Rabbi Jeff and Stephanie

September 19 ..When you enter the land....

This week’s Torah portion is Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8. By the way, this translation was taken from the Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh:

Chapter 26
1 When you enter the land that the Lord your G-d is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your G-d is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your G-d will choose to establish His name. 3 You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, "I acknowledge this day before the Lord your G-d that I have entered the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to assign us."

4 The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your G-d.

5 You shall then recite as follows before the Lord your G-d: "My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. 6 The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. 7 We cried to the Lord, the G-d of our fathers, and the Lord heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. 8 The Lord freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, O Lord, have given me."

You shall leave it before the Lord your G-d and bow low before the Lord your G-d. 11 And you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that the Lord your G-d has bestowed upon you and your household.

To recap: when we enter the Land that the L-rd our G-d has given us, we shall plant and harvest and place the first fruits of our labor on the altar in the Temple and recite our history before G-d. It is a fascinating passage. Throughout the Torah we learn what to do, how to dress, what to use, what not to do… so many things about what happened in the Temple when it stood in Jerusalem long ago. But rarely does Scripture tell us what was said in the Sanctuary. This is one of those rare occasions.

And, what is it we are commanded to say? We’re told to tell our story, the story of our people, from Abraham, through the Exodus, to our aliyah to the Land. When offering our first fruits, we remember all those who came before us and all that they did… and all the miracles the L-rd has performed for us, to get us to where we are today. And, it is with that story of our people and our faith in mind that we thank G-d, share our bounty with others and enjoy, as G-d commands when verse 11 ends, “all the bounty that the Lord your G-d has bestowed upon you and your household.”

It is what G-d commanded us to do in ancient times, when the Temple stood. It remains a commandment for the Jewish people still.

The appropriate translation of the opening two words of the Torah portion, Ki Tavo, is “when you come…,” but the words can also be translated “when she comes…” so let’s consider the coming to power of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. She prevailed in the Kadima primary, defeating Shaul Mofaz (who announced his temporary retirement from politics) by 431 votes – 43% to 42%, with the balance split by Sheetrit and Dichter – and now heads the Kadima Party, replacing Ehud Olmert. She now has slightly more than 40 days to confirm the current coalition (getting all the current partners to remain in the government) or recruit other parties (Likud or Meretz - ?) to replace current coalition parties that may bolt (Shas or Labor - ?). She could form her government as early as Sunday’s cabinet meeting. She might fail for form a government within the allotted time, in which case a new nation election will be called for next March. And, during this process (which may last days, weeks or months), Ehud Olmert remains prime minister. The situation does fit these days before Rosh Hashanah when we contemplate change and renewal and turn to G-d for forgiveness and strength.

Let us all pray for Israel’s leaders, may G-d grant them wisdom and strength. And, may the miracle of our story, from G-d’s call to Abraham, to our teacher Moses, to our aliyah to this Land, serve them today as it has served us throughout the ages.

Shabbat Shalom!

Elections

B’Aretz, we’re watching the American election campaign closely. It is very important to us… all 7,000,000 of us… not only the 25,000 citizens of Israel who are also American citizens and can actually vote in the American election (like me). The Israeli-American relationship is Israel’s and America’s most important. We’re watching your election closely.

B’Aretz, we’re in an election cycle, as well. This week, the ruling Kadima party will conduct a primary. Members of the Kadima party will be voting for a new leader of the party. The current party leader and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is not standing for election. He faces serious criminal charges and may soon be indicted. He has announced that as soon as a new party leader is in place, he will resign. That could happen before the end of the week.

Four people are running for the leadership of Kadima: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, Minister of the Interior Meir Sheetrit, and the Minister of Internal Security Avi Dichter. Today’s polls indicate Livni will receive 47% of the vote, Mofaz (who, if elected, would be the first Mizrahi – non-European-origin – Israeli prime minister) will receive 32%, Sheetrit 8% and Dichter only 6%. It is likely that by next Shabbat, the Kadima party will have its first female leader and Israel will be well on its way to having a woman as prime minister for the second time.

B’Aretz, we hear a lot about the families of John McCain, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Sarah Palin. We know about marriages and children and divorce and addiction. It seems to us, B’Aretz, that the American public seems to crave way too much personal information about politicians and their families. B’Aretz, those kinds of things don’t seem to matter.

This week, I decided to engage in an experiment. I decided that for two days, everyone I would meet, I would ask the following questions about the person apparently most likely to become our next prime minister. I asked:

1. What is Tzipi Livni’s husband’s name, how long have they been married and what does he do for a living?

2. How many children does Tzipi Livni have, how old are they and what are their names?

Well, my experiment was very interesting. I spoke to about two dozen people and from each and every one I received exactly the same response. To question #1, everyone replied with another question (as Jews sometimes do): “Tzipi Livni is married?!?!?!” and question #2 always received the same astonished response: “Tzipi Livni has children?!?!?!?” And, it isn’t just Tzipi Livni. The responses would have been the same if I asked about Mofaz, Sheetrit or Dichter. I can remember living in Jerusalem in 1977 and people wondering the same things about Menachem Begin (does he have a wife? Does he have children?) Our President Shimon Peres’ wife lives apart from him and plays no role as First Lady of our country. When it comes to the family lives of our leaders, the public is uninformed and unconcerned. How different it seems in America!

I’m tempted to leave it there. But, I know you Americans. You want to know the answers to the questions! OK, here’s what I know about Tzipi Livni: Her parents were Irgun activists, close personal friends of Menachem Begin, and both were arrested by the British in Mandate days, sentenced to long prison terms, only to escape from British custody. They were the first couple married in the State of Israel - May 14, 1948 - and their daughter Tzipporah (Tzipi is short for the name of Moses’ wife) grew up “a Likud princess” spending every Shabbat with her parents and the Begins. She is married to Tel Aviv accountant and advertising agent Naftali Spitzer, whom she married in 1984, after her army service and a brief career in the Mossad. Livni and Spitzer have two teenage sons, Omri and Yuval. One more very important fact: Foreign Minister Livni is a vegetarian.

Tzipi Livni will be answering many questions in the coming days… questions that probe her knowledge and position on Islamic terrorism and the defense of Israel, the economy, the sorry state of our schools, and lots, lots more. But she won’t be answering questions about her family. No one will ask any. Seems to be the way it should be.

If Tzipi Livni becomes prime minister, we may see her husband and sons beaming proudly as she is sworn in. They may be asked (especially by the American press) how it feels to have a wife/mother as the leader of the nation. Perhaps, but probably not. Just one of those things that, Ba’Aretz, we do a little differently.

Shabbat Shalom!

Justice

Our Torah selection this Shabbat (remember: we read the Torah in order, so this week’s portion follows last week’s) is Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9, which begins:
18 You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the Lord your G-d is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. 19 You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. 20 Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the Lord your G-d is giving you.

Upon our entrance into The Land, we were commanded to set up a system of courts “… to govern the people with due justice…” for, as verse 20 makes clear, our living and thriving in The Land depends upon our pursuit of justice.

The Torah is a little stingy with words… an economy of words, Biblical scholars call it. The Bible never wastes a word nor does it ever employ a word extraneously. So, when we see a word twice in the same Biblical verse, as we do here in verse 20, we know something exceedingly important is going on.

This rare doubling of the word “justice” (tzedek in Hebrew) serves to remind us always of the central role justice serves in our relationship with G-d. We are commanded to seek out injustice and correct it. And, pursuing justice – not loving justice or doing justly or acting just – literally, running after justice and making it ours, is the responsibility of each and everyone.

A four-way summit was held in Damascus this week. French President Sarkozy, the Syrian Dictator Assad, the Turkish Prime Minister and the Emir of Qatar met and, at the end, Syria professed hope for peace with Israel while reaffirming its commitment to Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists. Support for mass murderers mixed with professions of peace in hopes of reclaiming the Golan Heights – an unjust solution to the sixty-year long war between Syria and the State of Israel.

It strikes me more than ironic that, thanks to media coverage, more Christians and Jews in the West know that the Muslim month of Ramadan began earlier in the week than know that so did the Jewish month of Elul. Fasting, prayer and feasting are some of the features of Ramadan. During Elul, the month before the High Holy Days, we prepare for our annual confrontation with self, soul, and God… the process of at-one-ment for which we strive. This month, we sound the Shofar and read Psalm 27 every day.

I hope you’ll join me and millions of Jews Ba’Aretz – throughout The Land – as we recite this psalm daily:

http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2627.htm

Happy Elul… and Shabbat Shalom –

Rabbi Jeff Kahn

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