A thought on Parshas Noach

"...es kashti nosati b'anan...""...My rainbow I have set in the clouds..." (9:13)

The rainbow is a sign above and from Above to signify HaShem's pledge to humanity that never again will flood waters encompass the globe. What symbolism is associated with this rainbow?Rabbeinu Bachya observes that the bow (the Hebrew word keshes means "bow", from whence the English word "rain-bow") is a weapon of war, and it takes on the name keshes which comes from the word ka'sheh, meaning tough or taught, which is what happens to a bow string when it is tugged. The bow takes on its power only when a person tugs on the bow-string. Notice, he writes, that the rain-bow is facing Heaven, and not facing earth. The arch is aimed skyward, for otherwise, it would be pointing toward humanity as if symbolizing that Heaven was set to wage war against us.

The bow faces Heaven and has no string attached. No one can pull the bow into shooting position without that string. This signifies the important realization that when times are difficult between G-d and man that it is our own doing. HaShem does not seek to take shots at us. He does not aim to harm or harass us. Any shooting that takes place takes place only when we launch our own anger or recklessness toward Shomayim. HaShem is not a sniping force taking random acts of violence or vengeance against His creations.
When we strike out against Torah and against our Creator, we are, symbolically, attaching a string to this bow and arming it ourselves. We convert a symbol of peace into an instrument of destruction.

This is the deeper meaning of the bow in the sky. HaShem pledges that He will never take aim against people. Our relationship with Above is entirely within our hands.

Each of us needs to work on being a straight arrow.

Good Shabbos. D Fox

A thought on Parshas Breishes

"...yom sheni..."
"...the second day..." (1:8)

This year I will be studying the commentary of Rabbeinu Bachya. Living in Spain during the end of the thirteenth century, Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher (often mispronounced as Rabbeinu B'chai'yuh) was a disciple of the great Rabbeinu Shlomo ben Aderet, who we refer to as the Rashba, the luminary rishon of Sefardic Jewry during that era. He is not the same Rabbeinu Bachya who authored Chovos HaLevavos, Duties of the Heart. His commentary to the Chumash was first published in 1492. He approaches the parsha by presenting the essential meanings, augmented by Chazal's wisdom on the verse, embellished by depth understanding based on Kabbala and often followed by ethical inferences.

Rabbeinu Bachya tells us that the number two, sheni, is a reference to shinui or change. Before there was a universe, there was One. Creation began with emanations of one-ness. This concept changed the moment there was change in the universe: the sun and the moon were ready to function, the waters were divided and land arose from the depths, the heavens were formatted into cosmic planes, dimensionality and time were possible.

The power of sheni - division and change and transformation and difference - energized and empowered all subsequent change in the world, including machlokes - difference of opinion and division among peoples. Even the time concept captured in the word for year, shanna, asserts this. Time is clocked by the passage of the earth around the sun, and by the rotation of the earth as the moon spins in orbit, and those two heavenly bodies, the sun and the moon, represent the concept of two equals difference. Two great objects in the sky serve different functions at different times.

This is the way the physical world is meant to be. There are differences, there are separations and changes which are necessary. There is nonetheless a harmony within creation except when humanity confronts difference. In our struggle to make sense of our own internal two-ness (not the capital of Tunisia of course, but my effort to distinguish One-ness, which is only possible Above, from the mortal limitation of requiring plurality), we end up struggling with the intellect, the heart, the soul, the conscious, the unconscious, the self versus the other... and we feel the strain within ourselves known as conflict. When we encounter forces which vie and compete for energy and attention, we experience our ambivalence and the range of positive and negative senses and thoughts which lead to strife and tension within ourselves and between each other.

Of course, the Divine plan includes the goal of conflict resolution and interdependence. But so many people fail to value that goal and plurality is equated with divisiveness. This is why the recurrent phrase ki tov - "and it was good", does not show up on the second day. We fail so much of the time to see our way through differences.

Wishing you a good Shabbos, for a change. D Fox

A thought on Parshas Vzos Habracha

"u'l'Levi...l'aviv u'l'imo lo r'isiv...yoru mishpatecha l'Yakov...""...and as for Levi...he said about his parents "I cannot see them"...
he will instruct Your justice to the Jews..." (33:8-10)

Moshe captures the history of each tribe within the words of his blessings for their destiny. He connects Levi's history of saying "I cannot see my parents" with the blessing that they will guide the Jewish people in law and justice. What do these cryptic words presage?The Chezkuni offers that this is a reference to the Cohen branch of the Levites who were forbidden to venture out of the Temple even to tend to the burial of a family member (VaYikra 21:11-12). They had to conduct themselves with purity, even when this would seem as if they were saying "I am not permitted to see my parents", averting their eyes and hearts from family anguish. That was a great feat and clearly not an easy one. Remaining focused on their avoda took precedence even over a funeral. What were the ramifications, or rewards and consequences of such devotion to their sacred work?

The Chezkuni answers that this is, in fact, the meaning of the verse that follows:
"they will instruct Your justice to the people".

One role and function of the priests of Levi was to instruct and judge the nation (see earlier 17:9 - "...and you will come to the Levite Kohanim and they will rule for you...") By demonstrating their ability to stay focused and set aside family allegiance and partiality, they proved their ability to remain objective without being swayed by personal issues and feelings. If so, Moshe's bracha to Levi flows clearly for us:
"since you were not affected by personal demands,
you are fit to serve as impartial, fair judges"

So many times we find ourselves in the position of having to assess a situation, rendering a judgement or an opinion that may affect other's future, property, life... and yet it is often difficult to remove our own "negios" and to determine what is fair, what is valid, what is true, what is right.

Some will contend that the sense of fairness is almost inborn, meaning you either have it or you don't. Some will contend that you need to develop it by studying ethics. Others claim that one must have role models who they can observe and study in order to develop that sense of knowing what is right and what is wrong.

The Chezkuni is not taking a stand on the matter, but he is saying that the Levitic Cohanim worked on developing this ability through great personal sacrifice in being able to set aside strong personal and familial feelings. Even with such practice, they still required a bracha from Moshe that they would be able to channel that self-containment into judicial objectivity.

Hearing, seeing, thinking and reasoning with emes and clarity are challenges.

I once read an anecdote about a man who went to a high power attorney to discuss a case. "My partner did this, this and that and when I tried to respond by saying such and such, he turned around and did this and that. What should I do?" The attorney answered "this is an open and shut case. Every thing he did was illegal and you have an air-tight claim against him that any judge will support. He cannot win and you cannot lose!" The man thanked the lawyer and got up to leave. "But wait, are you going to hire me and bring him to court?" asked the lawyer. "No point," the man answered, "all of the things that I said that my partner did were really things that I did to him. As you just said, his case against me is air-tight. I cannot win."

It is so hard to detect the bias that creeps in when we evaluate and judge!
With this parsha we come to the end of the Torah and I will be saying goodbye to the Chezkuni. He has been an enlightening mentor to me this year and I will miss his depth, his creative insights and his manner of brining nuances to light by careful analysis of words and context. May HaShem bless us and may the merit of learning from Rabbeinu Chezkiah ben Rav Manoach be a great zechus for us and may he be a melitz yosher for us and for our people.

Good Shabbos and good yom tov. D. Fox