Thursday, July 1, 2010

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL : JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL : DAILY SPIRITUAL GROWTH : LOVE

 
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL : JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL : DAILY SPIRITUAL GROWTH : LOVE
 
Jewish Spiritual Renewal: Shabbat 7/10/10 : A Path of Transformation
 
The JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL class list is hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network, a service of Hebrew College. 
 
Shalom Dear Talmidim, Chaverim v' Rabbanim:
 
For those in the USA,  again a happy Independence Day on July 4th. And to all, I hope you had an easy fast on 17 Tammuz, the 29th of June, 2010. This is the beginning of what is called 'The Three Weeks.' It sadly commemorates the Romans breaking thru the walls of Jerusalem, ending with the Temple's burning 3 weeks later on the Ninth of Av (Tisha B'av) 70 CE. The spiritual aspect for us is to remember why the Talmud says Ezra's Temple was destroyed...sinat chinam...baseless hatred among Jews. During these three weeks, we are to go out of our way, to be kind to all Jews, and all of our fellow humans.
 
Today we will continue with our path of transformation via Jewish Spiritual Renewal, with the first third of  Chapter 11:  '' Daily Spiritual Growth,'' from (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal  or http://www.shop.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/product.sc;jsessionid=5C09106E770F711A24A135C59A7E346E.qscstrfrnt03?productId=1&categoryId=1
 
To those new to the class, Baruch ha Ba, welcome! You can access last week's class, and from there work back with links to the first class, at  http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2010/06/rabbi-arthur-segal-jewish-spiritual_7802.html or
 
 REMEMBER PLEASE: This class is to be read over a week's period, not all at once. Enjoy and savour it.
 
One of the biggest steps in growing spiritually each day is a daily inventory, what we will discuss below as a daily chesbon ha nefesh. For those many of you that have done your large chesbon ha nefesh, way back in chapter 5, this one is a daily small one, to be done before bed time. Simply put, we review our day, and see how we could have done better.  "One who reflects upon his ways is blessed by the Holy One, Blessed is He" (Talmud Bavli Tractate Moed Katan 5a).
 
My dear friend in the San Francisco area, Rabbi Gershon  Steinberg-Caudill sent me the following quotation: "When love-possessed people see the world, living creatures full of quarrels, hatred, persecution and conflicts, they yearn with all their being to share in those aspirations that move life toward wholeness and unity, peace and tranquility.... They want that every particular shall be preserved and developed and that the collective whole shall be united and abounding in PEACE." (Rabbi Avraham Itzchak HaCohen Kook [1865-1935], Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Palestine).
 
If anything sums up what we are trying to achieve with Jewish Spiritual Renewal, to live our lives happy, joyous and free, without conflicts with others, with only love and peace in our hearts, being able to overlook slights, Rabbi Kook says it well.
 
If we see what needs to be repaired and how to repair it, then we have found a piece of the world that God has left for us to complete. But if we only see what is wrong with the world, or others, and how ugly it or they are is, then it is we ourselves that needs repair. And this repairing, this renewal, this teshuvah, is the process we have all been undergoing  by working thru our text, ''The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew.''
 
The below parable, or Midrash if you will, is from Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Nedarim 9:4: "Suppose a man were walking along a path and one of his feet would trip over the other, causing him to fall to the ground and suffer cuts and bruises. Would he seek revenge of the "guilty" foot and refrain from trying to heal its wounds? Would he harbor any ill will toward that foot? Obviously not, for his feet, hands, face, etc. are all parts of one body — his own. If anything, he might reflect upon his deeds, and view his own defects as the true cause of his mishap.''

''Similarly, if a neighbor refuses to do a favor that one has asked of him, or even if he has caused one heartache or has shamed him in any way, one should not seek revenge or bear a grudge against him. For who is "oneself" and who is "one's fellow"? — both stem from the same source, as it is written, "And who is like Your nation, Israel, one nation on earth?'' ''   A good definition of spirituality is understanding we are not 'It'. It is not "All About Me.'' There is a higher power, Whom we Jews call YahWey, the Breath of all Life. And hence we humans are all interconnected. When we hurt someone, we are truly hurting ourselves. When we dishonor someone, we only dishonor ourselves.

'' The Holy One, Blessed is He, said : My beloved children! Is there anything I lack that I should have to ask of you? All I ask of you is that you love one another, that you honor one another, that you respect one another. In this way, no sin, robbery, or base deed will be found among you, so that you will remain undefiled forever. Thus it is written, "He has told you, O man, what is good, and what God seeks of you — only the doing of justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with  your God" (Michah 6:8).''

''If it happens that one's fellow acted improperly towards him, one must not take revenge or bear a grudge. Rather, one must erase the matter from his heart, and seek to do good in every way with that person, just as he would with any other Jew, as if nothing negative had ever come between them. This is what the Torah requires of us, as it is written, "You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge ; you shall love your fellow as yourself" (Lev. 19:18).'' Anyone teaching that love your fellow,  means ''just'' to love another Jew, is missing the point.

The Zohar on Genesis gives us a great example of forgiveness and not holding grudges:'' Note the following: Not only did Joseph not repay his brothers in kind [for their having sold him into slavery], but he acted toward them with kindness and truth. Such is always the way of the righteous. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed is He, forever watches over them..."

A child asked his dad: "Why did God create us with two eyes? After all, we can see even with only one eye?" His father replied, "A person needs two eyes so that with the left eye, he should look at himself in order to find his own faults and correct them.  At another person, however, one should always look with the right eye, with compassion and kindness."

As we grow spiritually, in each journey of our lives we are where we are. We may only be passing through on our way to somewhere else ''seemingly'' more important -- nevertheless, we need to find spiritual  purpose in where we are right now. People want to run away from where we are, to go to find our own ''Jerusalem'' -as if elsewhere we will find perfection. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we  make this time and place a Jerusalem, a city of Shalom inside of us all. Remember, one of God's names is Maqom...  The Place. Wherever we are, living spiritually, we are God-connected. Judaism is not place-bound.

For the past 3 weeks we studied how to ''walk with God hand in hand throughout the day.'' Now we incorporate all the lessons we have learned about ourselves, about others, about life, about spirituality, and live spiritually by  growing spiritually. The Sages in Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah 14a asks : ''How can a person "walk with God", who is described as a "devouring fire"? '' But the meaning for us is to follow the ways of the God. God clothes the naked Adam and Eve; so should we, too, clothe the naked. God visits the sick Abraham; we, too, visit the sick. God comforts mourners like Isaac; we, too, comfort mourners. God buries the dead Moses; we, too, bury the dead. 

Here are a few mantras from Rab  Pliskin: "I accept the Almighty's Will for me in all ways, and this gives me inner peace and a life of appreciation and gratitude." "Adversity will make me wiser and better and will keep developing my character."  "As long as I am alive, I will keep developing my character and continue to build my self-image." "Every act of chesed (kindness) that I do for others makes me a kinder person and gives me more joy." ''Difficult people are my partners in helping me develop my total self.''

Growing spiritually is never ending. We will take 3 steps forward one day, and two steps  backwards the next. We are  not saints nor angels. We are finite humans . Allow me to leave you with this bit of Talmud before getting into the text: ''Who is the greatest hero? The person who can master his own impulses." (Pirkei Avot 4:1); And later, "The person who can turn his enemy into his friend. "(Pirkei Avot, 5:11).


Let us continue exploring our text by moving into an important chapter, "Daily Spiritual Growth,'' which is chapter 11   from  (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal  or http://www.shop.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/product.sc;jsessionid=5C09106E770F711A24A135C59A7E346E.qscstrfrnt03?productId=1&categoryId=1 . We will study the first third of this chapter this week.

 

Chapter Eleven: Daily Spiritual Growth

Daily Chesbon Ha Nefesh

Asking God How to Improve

 

If you're still with me, you have made great strides in Jewish Spiritual Renewal. You now welcome the task of growing spiritually each day. You have studied this process well enough to remember your chesbon ha nefesh from Chapter Four. You now will be able to do the chesbon ha nefesh katon, which is a smaller inventory that you take at the end of each day.

This is basically a checklist that you answer with rigorous honesty. You need to be as honest with yourself as when you did your larger chesbon ha nefesh gadol.

Ask yourself:

Did you show chesed (kindness) to all the people you met today?

Did you show ahavah (love) to all the people you met today?

Did you speak with emet (truth) to everybody you met today?

Did you speak any lashon  ha ra (gossip) today?

Did you have any fears today?

Did you have thoughts of low self-esteem today?

Were you unselfish to all today?

Were you altruistic today?

Did you commit any acts of self-seeking or self-centeredness today?

Was your ego trying to control God's world today?

Were you thinking of what mitzvoth such as good deeds you could do for others or were you thinking about what others could do for you?

Did you have any thoughts of self-pity?

Did you at any time doubt God?

Did you harm anyone today?

Do you owe anyone teshuvah? If so, write their names down, and plan on doing teshuvah the very next day. If the one to whom you owe teshuvah lives with you and is still awake, make your teshuvah now.

When you have gone through the checklist, ask God for forgiveness in prayer. Ask Him how to improve and grow spiritually through meditation.

 Mindfully walking with God throughout your day with the aid of prayer and meditation is an ongoing lifetime process. So is daily spiritual growth. God will help you become the best person that you can possibly be.

"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, and to all who call upon Him in truth." (Ps. 145:18).

"Where is God? Wherever you let him in." (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, Poland 1787).

"To truly love God, one must first love people. If anyone tells you that he loves God and does not love his fellow humans, you will know that he is lying." (Martin Buber, Ten Rungs p. 82).

Loving God, experiencing God and having personal relationship with God should not be like a gas station where you get a fill up spiritually for the week each Saturday morning at services. It is an ongoing process of spiritual growth.

I would like to share part of a psalm by one of my favorite Jewish poets, Bob Dylan. It is entitled, Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie.

Where do you find the hope that yer seekin'?

You can either go to the church of your choice, or you can go to the Brooklyn State Hospital.

You'll find God in the church of your choice.  You'll find Woody Guthrie in the Brooklyn State Hospital.

And although it's my opinion, I may be right or wrong.  You'll find them both in the Grand Canyon at sundown.

The Talmud says: "A prisoner cannot free himself from his own prison." (Bavli Tractate Beracoth 5b). As we have discussed, there is a process to Jewish Spiritual Renewal and teshuvah. If we have locked ourselves into the bondage of ego, God helps us escape. This escape is spiritual growth. Ego is like chumatz (leavening). Chumatz causes dough to become puffed-up. The sages teach that we need to get rid of our puffy egos and learn to be humble like flat matzah.

 

Did you see the recent story in the Jewish News about the theft of egg-enriched dough from a Miami warehouse?

Unfortunately, the theft happened just before Shabbat and it forced many local bakeries to bake their challahs (special bread used on Shabbat and other holidays, explained in detail in Chapter 12) with plain, white flour.

A leading rabbi was quoted as saying, "I'm appalled by the rise in white challah crimes."

 

As you ascend spiritually, your view of reality will change as discussed in the preceding Chapter about the Kabalistic view. You will see things that were always there, but to which you had been blind. You will be able to relate to ideals for which you used to find no purpose, and reject thoughts that you once thought important. And though at first the process will be purely intellectual, eventually it will translate into bodily action and a change of life for the better. As Rabbi Winston posits, "There will come a moment of truth (emet), when our lives become pure Shalom."

The Talmud, in Bavli Tractate Beracoth 32b, teaches that there are four things one needs to have the strength (chizuk) to grow spiritually: Torah study, good deeds, tephila (by which the sages mean all types of prayer and meditation), and derech eretz (treating others properly). Rashi asks and answers: "What does it mean 'strengthening?' The explanation is that a person should strengthen himself in these four actions always and with all his might."

Chazon Ish wrote on the importance of this in Emuna U'Bitachon, Chapter 4:

"However at the root of the matter, there is only one good mida (trait) and one bad mida. The bad mida is to abandon God's natural life and God's ways. And without any effort he will be complete with all the bad middoth. He will be an excellent angry person, an excellent revenge seeker, an excellent arrogant person, etc. He will not lack any of the bad middoth that the Sages have numbered at all. And the single good mida is the total decision to preempt with the feeling of mussar (ethical spiritual God base behavior) over the feeling of desire (i.e. to make sure the positive thoughts and emotions and preparations are awakened before the difficulties come)."

When you do your nightly chesbon ha nefesh katon, and then ask God how to improve and grow spiritually, you are taking one of the steps for this preparation.

 

 Eighty-year-old Cyril was visiting his psychiatrist.

"Doctor, I'm suffering from a lot of anxiety. What's going to happen to me? I'm very worried about my future."

"Cyril," said the doctor, "don't worry, I can help you. All you need do is come and see me twice a week for the next three months. My charges will be $300 per visit, and you'll need to pay in advance, of course."

"Okay doctor," said Cyril, "now that your future is assured, what about mine?"

 

Note how the Talmud tells us that Torah study, treating fellows properly and good deeds are all needed for spiritual growth. Treating fellows properly with derech eretz is evaluated regularly in your nightly chesbon. If your behavior is lacking, your faults will show up during this nightly inventory and improvement can and will be made.

 

In a week, Baruch ha Shem, we will study the second third of the 11th Chapter, ''Daily Spiritual Growth'' of  (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal

 
As usual, a D'var Torah for the Shabbat of July 10, 2010 follows.   Thanks.
Shalom uvracha:
Rabbi Arthur Segal
 www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
 www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
 

Parashot Matot And Masei: Numbers 30:02-36:13

Rabbi Arthur Segal
www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org  
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
www.jewishrenewal.info  
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

"Gimme Shelter"

This double portion ends the Book of Numbers. Borders of Israel are given as well as rules to prevent blood feuds by the establishment of safe-haven towns. If we can have cities of refuge 3,300 years ago, perhaps today we can have cities for refugees. This may help us end our modern blood feud in the Middle East.

Parasha Matot begins with the rules of vows and oaths. Matot means tribes, as these rules were given to the heads of the 12 tribes. A man must keep his word, but a woman's word can be annulled by her father or husband. Then the Israelites battle against Midian. It is a blood bath. All the Midianite men are killed. Yet Moses rebukes his generals for allowing the women Midianites to live. The Israelites then kill all the non-virgin women and all the male children. Laws about purifying the spoils of war are listed and from this the Talmudic rabbis learn the rules for koshering cooking utensils.

Numbers 31:21-24 refers to methods by which the utensils and garments taken in the Midianite war could be used by the Jews. The Talmudic rabbis, by pilpul extension, say these same laws apply to any vessel acquired from any non-Jew.

 If they are new utensils a simple emersion into the mikvah is sufficient. If they were used in cooking, or in today's parlance, were kosher and had non-kosher food on them making them unkosher and now need to be made kosher, more needs to be done.

Since these utensils now have absorbed the taste of non-kosher food or may still have milk on the meat dishes or vice versa, they must be purged through fire. Rashi notes that these laws should have been transmitted by Moses, as they are supposedly another commandment from God. But the Torah says "Elazar, the Kohen" taught these rules. The rabbis decide that Moses was upset and angry (see verse 31:14). Moses was too preoccupied to hear God speak. Therefore Elazar heard God giving these new kitchen-religion laws and transmitted them to the Israelites.

The parasha continues by dividing the spoils of war. Reuben and Gad wish to live outside of Israel in what is now Jordan. Moses compromises with this idea as long as they help the other tribes conquer the land first. It is from the wording of this compromise, that the Talmudic rabbis learn the rules of business contracts.

Parasha Masei begins with a summary of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years. The Hebrew word masei means "journeys." Forty-two locations are listed. In a traditional synagogue these 49 verses are chanted quickly and without pause. There were 14 moves during the first year. There were 8 during the last year. During the middle 38 years the Israelites moved only 20 times, which is an average of two years between each journey. Moses gives them the rules for conquering Canaan. The boundaries of Eretz Israel are delineated. Lots are drawn for tribal territories and tribal leaders are announced.

 Special cities are set aside and maintained for the Levites. Special cities of refuge (Ir Miklat) are set aside for unintentional murderers. Laws distinguishing between the different types of shedding of human blood are given. Inheritance rules in relation to tribal intermarriage are listed.

The cousins of the daughters of Zelophehad appeal Moses' decision to allow them to inherit their father's estate because they have no brothers. The cousins are afraid that if they marry outside of their tribe, the estate would belong to their new husbands of a different tribe. Moses amends his ruling from Parasha Pinchas. He declares that these daughters can only keep their inheritance if they marry cousins within their tribe. The Book of Numbers concludes.

Numbers 35:09-15 tells how six cities are to be set aside in Israel so one could escape if he kills another by accident. This person could live in this special city and be safe from the wrath and vengeance of the dead person's family. The Torah's authors did not want to see blood feuds. This rule applied to both Israelites and foreigners. The unintentional murderer lived in this city under what we would call today house arrest until the Kohan Gadol, the high priest, died. At that time he could leave and remain unharmed within the general population.

In Talmud Tractate Makkot we are told that the Kohan Gadol's family were worried that these unintentional murderers would pray for the high priest's death so that they could leave the city of refuge. It became customary for the mother of the Kohan Gadol to visit these six cities. She would distribute food and clothing and hope that these gifts would deter the inmates from praying for her son's demise.

The Talmudic rabbis taught that these cities were not jails or detention camps. They were places where the reckless and careless could learn not to repeat their life-taking actions. They were under the constant influence of their neighbors, the Levites, who also lived in special cities. The Levites would visit these cities of refuge and teach. The Talmud states that when these unintentional murderers saw the love and care that the high priest's very own mother showed to them, as well as the Levites kind actions, they developed into kinder, gentler, and more careful people.

Numbers 34:01-12 outlines the borders of Israel. The Torah uses a general term to describe the southernmost point as the wilderness of Zin. It then describes the southern border from the edge of the Salt Sea to the east. It then tells of places where the border will pass and go around. It mentions the "Stream of Egypt." Most of these locations, like the places mentioned in the wanderings in the beginning of Parasha Masei, are unknown to us today.

The Great Sea and Kinneret Sea are mentioned, and we know these today as the Mediterranean and the Sea of the Galilee. The Salt Sea is what we call the Dead Sea today. Mount Hor is mentioned as the northern border, but today we are uncertain which mountain this is. We do know that the borders listed take us into modern Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Borders are also given in Genesis 15:18 and Deuteronomy 1:07. These sets of borders are different from the ones set in Numbers. The eastern border in these sets is listed as the Euphrates River in what is now in Turkey or Iraq.

The rabbis of the Talmud Bavli, in Tractate Gittin 8A and Sotah 14A, as well as later sages such as the Totafot, Sforno, Rashi, Rashbam, Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu, Hersh Goldwurm, B'chor Shor, Gur Aryeh, and the Ramban write and argue over the borders. They can reach no consensus. Certainly, there are no suggestions or hints to Jerusalem as a capital city.

 What we do know from history is that the land of Canaan as part of the Egyptian dominion had different boundaries than the land that Joshua conquered, the Kingdom of David, the empire-sized Kingdom of Solomon, the divided lands of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, as well as the land when under Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman control.

Oh, a storm is threat'ning my very life today.

If I don't get some shelter, oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away.

War, children, it's just a shot away. It's just a shot away.

Mick Jagger sang these lyrics in the Rolling Stones hit, Gimme Shelter. Today we are faced with another last chance for peace in the Middle East. When I first taught this parasha to my Torah class in 2000, no good news had been heard from the Camp David peace talks between Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Barak. Barak had proposed dramatic concessions. He had agreed to Muslim sovereignty over the mosques and holy places in Jerusalem with exclusive Muslim access to them. The Palestinian flag would fly over these sites in Israel. He said Israel would allow the Palestinians ultimate control over the strategic Jordan valley. Barak stated he would dismantle dozens of Jewish settlements on Arab land. Barak also agreed to expanded Palestinian municipal authority in East Jerusalem. Thousands of Muslims would be guaranteed jobs in Israel, and billions of dollars would be spent to resettle Palestinians who were in Lebanese and Jordanian refugee camps at the time. Arafat wanted part of Jerusalem as his capital.

Israel wanted to keep East Jerusalem. It has agreed to grant municipal powers to the Arabs there. Barak did suggest he would hand over some Arab neighborhoods around Jerusalem to full Palestinian control. Arafat wanted control of all of East Jerusalem. He said he would allow Israelis access to Jewish holy sites.

The Palestinians wanted Israel's borders returned to the pre-Six-Day War of 1967 lines. Israel wanted to formally annex parts of the West Bank and Gaza. Three million Arabs live on those lands. Some 170,000 Jews live with them in about 145 settlements. Israel offered Arafat 80 percent of the West Bank and Gaza and says it wishes to annex or even rent the other 20 percent where the Israeli settlements are located. Barak said that Arafat could have an independent state on this 80 percent. Arafat called the Jewish settlers illegal and does not want Israeli citizens living in his country. He has said the Jews can remain there as loyal citizens of his new Palestinian state.

Four million Palestinian refugees live is squalor in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. Arafat wanted UN resolution 194 enforced. This would allow them to return to their homes and land that are now in Israeli possession within the prewar borders. Compensation was to be paid for those who do not wish to return and live under Israeli sovereignty. Arafat insisted that Israel was responsible for displacing these refugees in the 1947-1948 war of Israeli Independence. The Palestinians call this war the Naqba, or "Great Catastrophe." Israel refuses to accept responsibility for the refugee problem, but says it would put money into a fund to compensate the refugees for land that they lost.

In Camp David's Laurel Cabin the two sides of 21 American, Israeli, and Palestinian negotiators were arguing over the control of the City of David. Barak slept in Dogwood Cabin, where Egypt's Anwar Sadat stayed in 1978. Arafat stayed in the Birch Cabin, which Menachem Begin occupied. Barak left Israel with three right-wing partners in his coalition government defecting at the time of his departure. Some of the Shas rabbis were quoting the boundaries of Israel as described in this parasha. Rallying behind Barak were 28 retired Israeli generals who said, "Go in peace Ehud Barak...and bring about an end to the historic conflict between us and the Palestinians." At the same time, Ephraim Sneh, the new deputy defense minister, ordered Israeli positions in the West Bank fortified and sandbagged in preparation for firefights with the Arabs.

So much has happened since then. September 11th, the death of Arafat, the Oslo accords bring hope, Rabin's senseless assassination, loss of hope with a new Intafada, total unilateral Israeli pullout in Gaza, a month long war lost by the Israelis in Lebanon, the Gaza war, flotillas incidents,  and still the suicide bombers come into Israel. Sometimes terrorists cause death with bulldozers. President George W. Bush made his first trip to Israel in the last year of his eight-year presidency in 2008.

What can our TaNaK, our Holy Scriptures, teach us about this situation? In the Book of Judges, Chapter 11 we read of Yiftach who was a leader of Israel. The Talmudic rabbis called him "as great as Samuel." In haste he made a vow to sacrifice to God the first thing that he saw upon his return from a victorious battle. Unfortunately, upon his return he first saw his daughter.

We read in Parasha Matot about vows and how to annul them. All Yiftach had to do was go to Pinchas and have his vow annulled through the vehicle of "hatarat nederim" (undoing of vows). The Midrash says that Pinchas, the high priest, was waiting for Yiftach to come to him. Yiftach, the chief political and military leader, was waiting for Pinchas to come to him. Each was trying to protect his honor. In doing so, the life of Yiftach's beloved daughter was lost.

God punished Yiftach and Pinchas for this. Yiftach died from a disease where his limbs fell off one-by-one. He was buried in the cities of Gilead, a limb here and a limb there. Pinchas no longer could receive the Ruach ha Kodesh (the Holy Spirit).

The Talmud warns that many times people do things because their kavod (honor) was slighted. They will do these things, the rabbis teach, even though doing so is clearly a detriment not only to them, but also to their families. People will put their egos and honor irrationally before their own welfare and the welfare of their children. The rabbis warn that one would literally let his children die over loss of kavod.

We as rational modern Jews cannot continue to read the Torah as if it were an exact deed to the land of Israel. The ancient sages could not decide on where the borders were from the Torah's text, and we certainly know Israel is not in modern Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, or Jordan, as some commentators have suggested. For the sake of Torah itself we need to wrestle with its problems and not stand firm on issues because of irrational kavod.

The Torah wants us to follow it on paths that lead us to peace. There will be parts, like the slaughter of the Midianites, that we cannot accept and that actually go against the Torah's own laws of warfare that we will read of in Chapter 20 of Deuteronomy. The beauty of Torah is that we are challenged by one part to reinterpret another part.

 If we believe that we were given a deed of Israel with boundaries defined, and we are also mandated to seek peace, then we have the choice to decide to trade land for peace. We can decide to emphasize the humanistic parts of Torah and not the militaristic or fundamentalist portions. The Torah is ours. As we learned a few weeks ago, it is no longer in the hands of Heaven.

The Torah found it necessary to protect accidental killers from a blood feud with protection in six cities of refuge. The Torah clearly did not want to see more blood spilled on the soil of Israel. These accidental murderers did not need to stay in these towns for the rest of their lives. They only stayed until the Kohan Gadol died and a new one became invested. The Torah allowed the grieving relatives a period of time to think of revenge and to actually carry it out if the accidental murderer left his city of refuge. But the Torah also placed a time limit on revenge and brooding about blood feuds. If we could set aside and maintain six cities of refuge 3,300 years ago, could we not set aside some of East Jerusalem for a city as a capital for today's refugees?

The status of Jerusalem is a sticking point in the peace process even today. The two sides have agreed on economic issues, religious site issues, and refugee issues. Jerusalem has been expanded to include its West Bank suburbs, where Arabs are living now. If Israel gave this area to them for their capital, the Palestinians would have a capital in East Jerusalem and the Israelis will have lost nothing.

The Israel Knesset Parliament building is not in the Old City at the Wailing Wall (Kotel), and the Palestinian government building does not need to be in the Old City at the Dome of the Rock. The Palestinians can have a piece of East Jerusalem, which the Arabs call Al-quds, as its capital. Beit Hanina and Abu Dis are adjoining suburbs in East Jerusalem, which are Arab neighborhoods. The Palestinian authority has already begun to operate in Beit Hanina unofficially. These are already called East Jerusalem. They can be ceded to the Palestinians, and could restore kavod to them.

It is my opinion that the real struggle in the Middle East will be over water, not over the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.

When we read these parashot we can come away remembering to do genocide to our enemies, keep hateful vows for prideful reasons, think of the immutable God-given boundaries of Greater Israel, and sit outside the gates of those who harmed us waiting to seek vengeance when they leave through them. Or we can learn to fight strongly but fairly, release ourselves from prideful vows, understand that Israel's borders have never been unchanging in 4,000 years, and give up feelings of vengeance and hatred for those with whom we have been fighting.

When the poet wrote in Psalm 137: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning," it was written during captivity, "by the rivers of Babylon." This is not a vow for Jews never to give up some of the city in which Jews never lived anyway for peace. The Song of Ascents of King David in Psalm 122 records the Jewish belief about our Holy City more accurately.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

May they prosper that love thee.

Peace be within thy walls,

and prosperity within thy palaces,

for my brethren and companions' sakes,

I will say: 'Peace be within thee.'

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek thy good.

David's brethren were clearly his fellow Jews. His companions were those with whom he shared meals – com (with), panis (bread). There is no halakah forbidding us to share bread with our Palestinian fellows in peace. Once we eat with them we can share with them the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem and of the Middle East.

To quote the Rolling Stones again from Gimme Shelter:

I tell you, Love, sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away. It's just a kiss away."

I pray that so is Shalom. Amen.

Shabbat Shalom:

 
Rabbi Arthur Segal
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RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL : JEWISH RENEWAL : DAILY SPIRITUAL GROWTH : LOVE EACH OTHER

 
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL : JEWISH RENEWAL : DAILY SPIRITUAL GROWTH : LOVE EACH OTHER
 
Jewish Spiritual Renewal: Shabbat 7/10/10 : A Path of Transformation
 
The JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL class list is hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network, a service of Hebrew College. 
 
Shalom Dear Talmidim, Chaverim v' Rabbanim:
 
For those in the USA,  again a happy Independence Day on July 4th. And to all, I hope you had an easy fast on 17 Tammuz, the 29th of June, 2010. This is the beginning of what is called 'The Three Weeks.' It sadly commemorates the Romans breaking thru the walls of Jerusalem, ending with the Temple's burning 3 weeks later on the Ninth of Av (Tisha B'av) 70 CE. The spiritual aspect for us is to remember why the Talmud says Ezra's Temple was destroyed...sinat chinam...baseless hatred among Jews. During these three weeks, we are to go out of our way, to be kind to all Jews, and all of our fellow humans.
 
Today we will continue with our path of transformation via Jewish Spiritual Renewal, with the first third of  Chapter 11:  '' Daily Spiritual Growth,'' from (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal  or http://www.shop.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/product.sc;jsessionid=5C09106E770F711A24A135C59A7E346E.qscstrfrnt03?productId=1&categoryId=1
 
To those new to the class, Baruch ha Ba, welcome! You can access last week's class, and from there work back with links to the first class, at  http://rabbiarthursegal.blogspot.com/2010/06/rabbi-arthur-segal-jewish-spiritual_7802.html or
 
 REMEMBER PLEASE: This class is to be read over a week's period, not all at once. Enjoy and savour it.
 
One of the biggest steps in growing spiritually each day is a daily inventory, what we will discuss below as a daily chesbon ha nefesh. For those many of you that have done your large chesbon ha nefesh, way back in chapter 5, this one is a daily small one, to be done before bed time. Simply put, we review our day, and see how we could have done better.  "One who reflects upon his ways is blessed by the Holy One, Blessed is He" (Talmud Bavli Tractate Moed Katan 5a).
 
My dear friend in the San Francisco area, Rabbi Gershon  Steinberg-Caudill sent me the following quotation: "When love-possessed people see the world, living creatures full of quarrels, hatred, persecution and conflicts, they yearn with all their being to share in those aspirations that move life toward wholeness and unity, peace and tranquility.... They want that every particular shall be preserved and developed and that the collective whole shall be united and abounding in PEACE." (Rabbi Avraham Itzchak HaCohen Kook [1865-1935], Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Palestine).
 
If anything sums up what we are trying to achieve with Jewish Spiritual Renewal, to live our lives happy, joyous and free, without conflicts with others, with only love and peace in our hearts, being able to overlook slights, Rabbi Kook says it well.
 
If we see what needs to be repaired and how to repair it, then we have found a piece of the world that God has left for us to complete. But if we only see what is wrong with the world, or others, and how ugly it or they are is, then it is we ourselves that needs repair. And this repairing, this renewal, this teshuvah, is the process we have all been undergoing  by working thru our text, ''The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew.''
 
The below parable, or Midrash if you will, is from Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Nedarim 9:4: "Suppose a man were walking along a path and one of his feet would trip over the other, causing him to fall to the ground and suffer cuts and bruises. Would he seek revenge of the "guilty" foot and refrain from trying to heal its wounds? Would he harbor any ill will toward that foot? Obviously not, for his feet, hands, face, etc. are all parts of one body — his own. If anything, he might reflect upon his deeds, and view his own defects as the true cause of his mishap.''

''Similarly, if a neighbor refuses to do a favor that one has asked of him, or even if he has caused one heartache or has shamed him in any way, one should not seek revenge or bear a grudge against him. For who is "oneself" and who is "one's fellow"? — both stem from the same source, as it is written, "And who is like Your nation, Israel, one nation on earth?'' ''   A good definition of spirituality is understanding we are not 'It'. It is not "All About Me.'' There is a higher power, Whom we Jews call YahWey, the Breath of all Life. And hence we humans are all interconnected. When we hurt someone, we are truly hurting ourselves. When we dishonor someone, we only dishonor ourselves.

'' The Holy One, Blessed is He, said : My beloved children! Is there anything I lack that I should have to ask of you? All I ask of you is that you love one another, that you honor one another, that you respect one another. In this way, no sin, robbery, or base deed will be found among you, so that you will remain undefiled forever. Thus it is written, "He has told you, O man, what is good, and what God seeks of you — only the doing of justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with  your God" (Michah 6:8).''

''If it happens that one's fellow acted improperly towards him, one must not take revenge or bear a grudge. Rather, one must erase the matter from his heart, and seek to do good in every way with that person, just as he would with any other Jew, as if nothing negative had ever come between them. This is what the Torah requires of us, as it is written, "You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge ; you shall love your fellow as yourself" (Lev. 19:18).'' Anyone teaching that love your fellow,  means ''just'' to love another Jew, is missing the point.

The Zohar on Genesis gives us a great example of forgiveness and not holding grudges:'' Note the following: Not only did Joseph not repay his brothers in kind [for their having sold him into slavery], but he acted toward them with kindness and truth. Such is always the way of the righteous. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed is He, forever watches over them..."

A child asked his dad: "Why did God create us with two eyes? After all, we can see even with only one eye?" His father replied, "A person needs two eyes so that with the left eye, he should look at himself in order to find his own faults and correct them.  At another person, however, one should always look with the right eye, with compassion and kindness."

As we grow spiritually, in each journey of our lives we are where we are. We may only be passing through on our way to somewhere else ''seemingly'' more important -- nevertheless, we need to find spiritual  purpose in where we are right now. People want to run away from where we are, to go to find our own ''Jerusalem'' -as if elsewhere we will find perfection. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we  make this time and place a Jerusalem, a city of Shalom inside of us all. Remember, one of God's names is Maqom...  The Place. Wherever we are, living spiritually, we are God-connected. Judaism is not place-bound.

For the past 3 weeks we studied how to ''walk with God hand in hand throughout the day.'' Now we incorporate all the lessons we have learned about ourselves, about others, about life, about spirituality, and live spiritually by  growing spiritually. The Sages in Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah 14a asks : ''How can a person "walk with God", who is described as a "devouring fire"? '' But the meaning for us is to follow the ways of the God. God clothes the naked Adam and Eve; so should we, too, clothe the naked. God visits the sick Abraham; we, too, visit the sick. God comforts mourners like Isaac; we, too, comfort mourners. God buries the dead Moses; we, too, bury the dead. 

Here are a few mantras from Rab  Pliskin: "I accept the Almighty's Will for me in all ways, and this gives me inner peace and a life of appreciation and gratitude." "Adversity will make me wiser and better and will keep developing my character."  "As long as I am alive, I will keep developing my character and continue to build my self-image." "Every act of chesed (kindness) that I do for others makes me a kinder person and gives me more joy." ''Difficult people are my partners in helping me develop my total self.''

Growing spiritually is never ending. We will take 3 steps forward one day, and two steps  backwards the next. We are  not saints nor angels. We are finite humans . Allow me to leave you with this bit of Talmud before getting into the text: ''Who is the greatest hero? The person who can master his own impulses." (Pirkei Avot 4:1); And later, "The person who can turn his enemy into his friend. "(Pirkei Avot, 5:11).


Let us continue exploring our text by moving into an important chapter, "Daily Spiritual Growth,'' which is chapter 11   from  (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal  or http://www.shop.jewishspiritualrenewal.net/product.sc;jsessionid=5C09106E770F711A24A135C59A7E346E.qscstrfrnt03?productId=1&categoryId=1 . We will study the first third of this chapter this week.

 

Chapter Eleven: Daily Spiritual Growth

Daily Chesbon Ha Nefesh

Asking God How to Improve

 

If you're still with me, you have made great strides in Jewish Spiritual Renewal. You now welcome the task of growing spiritually each day. You have studied this process well enough to remember your chesbon ha nefesh from Chapter Four. You now will be able to do the chesbon ha nefesh katon, which is a smaller inventory that you take at the end of each day.

This is basically a checklist that you answer with rigorous honesty. You need to be as honest with yourself as when you did your larger chesbon ha nefesh gadol.

Ask yourself:

Did you show chesed (kindness) to all the people you met today?

Did you show ahavah (love) to all the people you met today?

Did you speak with emet (truth) to everybody you met today?

Did you speak any lashon  ha ra (gossip) today?

Did you have any fears today?

Did you have thoughts of low self-esteem today?

Were you unselfish to all today?

Were you altruistic today?

Did you commit any acts of self-seeking or self-centeredness today?

Was your ego trying to control God's world today?

Were you thinking of what mitzvoth such as good deeds you could do for others or were you thinking about what others could do for you?

Did you have any thoughts of self-pity?

Did you at any time doubt God?

Did you harm anyone today?

Do you owe anyone teshuvah? If so, write their names down, and plan on doing teshuvah the very next day. If the one to whom you owe teshuvah lives with you and is still awake, make your teshuvah now.

When you have gone through the checklist, ask God for forgiveness in prayer. Ask Him how to improve and grow spiritually through meditation.

 Mindfully walking with God throughout your day with the aid of prayer and meditation is an ongoing lifetime process. So is daily spiritual growth. God will help you become the best person that you can possibly be.

"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, and to all who call upon Him in truth." (Ps. 145:18).

"Where is God? Wherever you let him in." (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, Poland 1787).

"To truly love God, one must first love people. If anyone tells you that he loves God and does not love his fellow humans, you will know that he is lying." (Martin Buber, Ten Rungs p. 82).

Loving God, experiencing God and having personal relationship with God should not be like a gas station where you get a fill up spiritually for the week each Saturday morning at services. It is an ongoing process of spiritual growth.

I would like to share part of a psalm by one of my favorite Jewish poets, Bob Dylan. It is entitled, Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie.

Where do you find the hope that yer seekin'?

You can either go to the church of your choice, or you can go to the Brooklyn State Hospital.

You'll find God in the church of your choice.  You'll find Woody Guthrie in the Brooklyn State Hospital.

And although it's my opinion, I may be right or wrong.  You'll find them both in the Grand Canyon at sundown.

The Talmud says: "A prisoner cannot free himself from his own prison." (Bavli Tractate Beracoth 5b). As we have discussed, there is a process to Jewish Spiritual Renewal and teshuvah. If we have locked ourselves into the bondage of ego, God helps us escape. This escape is spiritual growth. Ego is like chumatz (leavening). Chumatz causes dough to become puffed-up. The sages teach that we need to get rid of our puffy egos and learn to be humble like flat matzah.

 

Did you see the recent story in the Jewish News about the theft of egg-enriched dough from a Miami warehouse?

Unfortunately, the theft happened just before Shabbat and it forced many local bakeries to bake their challahs (special bread used on Shabbat and other holidays, explained in detail in Chapter 12) with plain, white flour.

A leading rabbi was quoted as saying, "I'm appalled by the rise in white challah crimes."

 

As you ascend spiritually, your view of reality will change as discussed in the preceding Chapter about the Kabalistic view. You will see things that were always there, but to which you had been blind. You will be able to relate to ideals for which you used to find no purpose, and reject thoughts that you once thought important. And though at first the process will be purely intellectual, eventually it will translate into bodily action and a change of life for the better. As Rabbi Winston posits, "There will come a moment of truth (emet), when our lives become pure Shalom."

The Talmud, in Bavli Tractate Beracoth 32b, teaches that there are four things one needs to have the strength (chizuk) to grow spiritually: Torah study, good deeds, tephila (by which the sages mean all types of prayer and meditation), and derech eretz (treating others properly). Rashi asks and answers: "What does it mean 'strengthening?' The explanation is that a person should strengthen himself in these four actions always and with all his might."

Chazon Ish wrote on the importance of this in Emuna U'Bitachon, Chapter 4:

"However at the root of the matter, there is only one good mida (trait) and one bad mida. The bad mida is to abandon God's natural life and God's ways. And without any effort he will be complete with all the bad middoth. He will be an excellent angry person, an excellent revenge seeker, an excellent arrogant person, etc. He will not lack any of the bad middoth that the Sages have numbered at all. And the single good mida is the total decision to preempt with the feeling of mussar (ethical spiritual God base behavior) over the feeling of desire (i.e. to make sure the positive thoughts and emotions and preparations are awakened before the difficulties come)."

When you do your nightly chesbon ha nefesh katon, and then ask God how to improve and grow spiritually, you are taking one of the steps for this preparation.

 

 Eighty-year-old Cyril was visiting his psychiatrist.

"Doctor, I'm suffering from a lot of anxiety. What's going to happen to me? I'm very worried about my future."

"Cyril," said the doctor, "don't worry, I can help you. All you need do is come and see me twice a week for the next three months. My charges will be $300 per visit, and you'll need to pay in advance, of course."

"Okay doctor," said Cyril, "now that your future is assured, what about mine?"

 

Note how the Talmud tells us that Torah study, treating fellows properly and good deeds are all needed for spiritual growth. Treating fellows properly with derech eretz is evaluated regularly in your nightly chesbon. If your behavior is lacking, your faults will show up during this nightly inventory and improvement can and will be made.

 

In a week, Baruch ha Shem, we will study the second third of the 11th Chapter, ''Daily Spiritual Growth'' of  (001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal

 
As usual, a D'var Torah for the Shabbat of July 10, 2010 follows.   Thanks.
Shalom uvracha:
Rabbi Arthur Segal
 www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
 www.jewishrenewal.info
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
 

Parashot Matot And Masei: Numbers 30:02-36:13

Rabbi Arthur Segal
www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org  
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
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Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
Hilton Head Island, SC, Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA

"Gimme Shelter"

This double portion ends the Book of Numbers. Borders of Israel are given as well as rules to prevent blood feuds by the establishment of safe-haven towns. If we can have cities of refuge 3,300 years ago, perhaps today we can have cities for refugees. This may help us end our modern blood feud in the Middle East.

Parasha Matot begins with the rules of vows and oaths. Matot means tribes, as these rules were given to the heads of the 12 tribes. A man must keep his word, but a woman's word can be annulled by her father or husband. Then the Israelites battle against Midian. It is a blood bath. All the Midianite men are killed. Yet Moses rebukes his generals for allowing the women Midianites to live. The Israelites then kill all the non-virgin women and all the male children. Laws about purifying the spoils of war are listed and from this the Talmudic rabbis learn the rules for koshering cooking utensils.

Numbers 31:21-24 refers to methods by which the utensils and garments taken in the Midianite war could be used by the Jews. The Talmudic rabbis, by pilpul extension, say these same laws apply to any vessel acquired from any non-Jew.

 If they are new utensils a simple emersion into the mikvah is sufficient. If they were used in cooking, or in today's parlance, were kosher and had non-kosher food on them making them unkosher and now need to be made kosher, more needs to be done.

Since these utensils now have absorbed the taste of non-kosher food or may still have milk on the meat dishes or vice versa, they must be purged through fire. Rashi notes that these laws should have been transmitted by Moses, as they are supposedly another commandment from God. But the Torah says "Elazar, the Kohen" taught these rules. The rabbis decide that Moses was upset and angry (see verse 31:14). Moses was too preoccupied to hear God speak. Therefore Elazar heard God giving these new kitchen-religion laws and transmitted them to the Israelites.

The parasha continues by dividing the spoils of war. Reuben and Gad wish to live outside of Israel in what is now Jordan. Moses compromises with this idea as long as they help the other tribes conquer the land first. It is from the wording of this compromise, that the Talmudic rabbis learn the rules of business contracts.

Parasha Masei begins with a summary of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years. The Hebrew word masei means "journeys." Forty-two locations are listed. In a traditional synagogue these 49 verses are chanted quickly and without pause. There were 14 moves during the first year. There were 8 during the last year. During the middle 38 years the Israelites moved only 20 times, which is an average of two years between each journey. Moses gives them the rules for conquering Canaan. The boundaries of Eretz Israel are delineated. Lots are drawn for tribal territories and tribal leaders are announced.

 Special cities are set aside and maintained for the Levites. Special cities of refuge (Ir Miklat) are set aside for unintentional murderers. Laws distinguishing between the different types of shedding of human blood are given. Inheritance rules in relation to tribal intermarriage are listed.

The cousins of the daughters of Zelophehad appeal Moses' decision to allow them to inherit their father's estate because they have no brothers. The cousins are afraid that if they marry outside of their tribe, the estate would belong to their new husbands of a different tribe. Moses amends his ruling from Parasha Pinchas. He declares that these daughters can only keep their inheritance if they marry cousins within their tribe. The Book of Numbers concludes.

Numbers 35:09-15 tells how six cities are to be set aside in Israel so one could escape if he kills another by accident. This person could live in this special city and be safe from the wrath and vengeance of the dead person's family. The Torah's authors did not want to see blood feuds. This rule applied to both Israelites and foreigners. The unintentional murderer lived in this city under what we would call today house arrest until the Kohan Gadol, the high priest, died. At that time he could leave and remain unharmed within the general population.

In Talmud Tractate Makkot we are told that the Kohan Gadol's family were worried that these unintentional murderers would pray for the high priest's death so that they could leave the city of refuge. It became customary for the mother of the Kohan Gadol to visit these six cities. She would distribute food and clothing and hope that these gifts would deter the inmates from praying for her son's demise.

The Talmudic rabbis taught that these cities were not jails or detention camps. They were places where the reckless and careless could learn not to repeat their life-taking actions. They were under the constant influence of their neighbors, the Levites, who also lived in special cities. The Levites would visit these cities of refuge and teach. The Talmud states that when these unintentional murderers saw the love and care that the high priest's very own mother showed to them, as well as the Levites kind actions, they developed into kinder, gentler, and more careful people.

Numbers 34:01-12 outlines the borders of Israel. The Torah uses a general term to describe the southernmost point as the wilderness of Zin. It then describes the southern border from the edge of the Salt Sea to the east. It then tells of places where the border will pass and go around. It mentions the "Stream of Egypt." Most of these locations, like the places mentioned in the wanderings in the beginning of Parasha Masei, are unknown to us today.

The Great Sea and Kinneret Sea are mentioned, and we know these today as the Mediterranean and the Sea of the Galilee. The Salt Sea is what we call the Dead Sea today. Mount Hor is mentioned as the northern border, but today we are uncertain which mountain this is. We do know that the borders listed take us into modern Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Borders are also given in Genesis 15:18 and Deuteronomy 1:07. These sets of borders are different from the ones set in Numbers. The eastern border in these sets is listed as the Euphrates River in what is now in Turkey or Iraq.

The rabbis of the Talmud Bavli, in Tractate Gittin 8A and Sotah 14A, as well as later sages such as the Totafot, Sforno, Rashi, Rashbam, Vilna Gaon, Aderet Eliyahu, Hersh Goldwurm, B'chor Shor, Gur Aryeh, and the Ramban write and argue over the borders. They can reach no consensus. Certainly, there are no suggestions or hints to Jerusalem as a capital city.

 What we do know from history is that the land of Canaan as part of the Egyptian dominion had different boundaries than the land that Joshua conquered, the Kingdom of David, the empire-sized Kingdom of Solomon, the divided lands of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, as well as the land when under Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman control.

Oh, a storm is threat'ning my very life today.

If I don't get some shelter, oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away.

War, children, it's just a shot away. It's just a shot away.

Mick Jagger sang these lyrics in the Rolling Stones hit, Gimme Shelter. Today we are faced with another last chance for peace in the Middle East. When I first taught this parasha to my Torah class in 2000, no good news had been heard from the Camp David peace talks between Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Barak. Barak had proposed dramatic concessions. He had agreed to Muslim sovereignty over the mosques and holy places in Jerusalem with exclusive Muslim access to them. The Palestinian flag would fly over these sites in Israel. He said Israel would allow the Palestinians ultimate control over the strategic Jordan valley. Barak stated he would dismantle dozens of Jewish settlements on Arab land. Barak also agreed to expanded Palestinian municipal authority in East Jerusalem. Thousands of Muslims would be guaranteed jobs in Israel, and billions of dollars would be spent to resettle Palestinians who were in Lebanese and Jordanian refugee camps at the time. Arafat wanted part of Jerusalem as his capital.

Israel wanted to keep East Jerusalem. It has agreed to grant municipal powers to the Arabs there. Barak did suggest he would hand over some Arab neighborhoods around Jerusalem to full Palestinian control. Arafat wanted control of all of East Jerusalem. He said he would allow Israelis access to Jewish holy sites.

The Palestinians wanted Israel's borders returned to the pre-Six-Day War of 1967 lines. Israel wanted to formally annex parts of the West Bank and Gaza. Three million Arabs live on those lands. Some 170,000 Jews live with them in about 145 settlements. Israel offered Arafat 80 percent of the West Bank and Gaza and says it wishes to annex or even rent the other 20 percent where the Israeli settlements are located. Barak said that Arafat could have an independent state on this 80 percent. Arafat called the Jewish settlers illegal and does not want Israeli citizens living in his country. He has said the Jews can remain there as loyal citizens of his new Palestinian state.

Four million Palestinian refugees live is squalor in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. Arafat wanted UN resolution 194 enforced. This would allow them to return to their homes and land that are now in Israeli possession within the prewar borders. Compensation was to be paid for those who do not wish to return and live under Israeli sovereignty. Arafat insisted that Israel was responsible for displacing these refugees in the 1947-1948 war of Israeli Independence. The Palestinians call this war the Naqba, or "Great Catastrophe." Israel refuses to accept responsibility for the refugee problem, but says it would put money into a fund to compensate the refugees for land that they lost.

In Camp David's Laurel Cabin the two sides of 21 American, Israeli, and Palestinian negotiators were arguing over the control of the City of David. Barak slept in Dogwood Cabin, where Egypt's Anwar Sadat stayed in 1978. Arafat stayed in the Birch Cabin, which Menachem Begin occupied. Barak left Israel with three right-wing partners in his coalition government defecting at the time of his departure. Some of the Shas rabbis were quoting the boundaries of Israel as described in this parasha. Rallying behind Barak were 28 retired Israeli generals who said, "Go in peace Ehud Barak...and bring about an end to the historic conflict between us and the Palestinians." At the same time, Ephraim Sneh, the new deputy defense minister, ordered Israeli positions in the West Bank fortified and sandbagged in preparation for firefights with the Arabs.

So much has happened since then. September 11th, the death of Arafat, the Oslo accords bring hope, Rabin's senseless assassination, loss of hope with a new Intafada, total unilateral Israeli pullout in Gaza, a month long war lost by the Israelis in Lebanon, the Gaza war, flotillas incidents,  and still the suicide bombers come into Israel. Sometimes terrorists cause death with bulldozers. President George W. Bush made his first trip to Israel in the last year of his eight-year presidency in 2008.

What can our TaNaK, our Holy Scriptures, teach us about this situation? In the Book of Judges, Chapter 11 we read of Yiftach who was a leader of Israel. The Talmudic rabbis called him "as great as Samuel." In haste he made a vow to sacrifice to God the first thing that he saw upon his return from a victorious battle. Unfortunately, upon his return he first saw his daughter.

We read in Parasha Matot about vows and how to annul them. All Yiftach had to do was go to Pinchas and have his vow annulled through the vehicle of "hatarat nederim" (undoing of vows). The Midrash says that Pinchas, the high priest, was waiting for Yiftach to come to him. Yiftach, the chief political and military leader, was waiting for Pinchas to come to him. Each was trying to protect his honor. In doing so, the life of Yiftach's beloved daughter was lost.

God punished Yiftach and Pinchas for this. Yiftach died from a disease where his limbs fell off one-by-one. He was buried in the cities of Gilead, a limb here and a limb there. Pinchas no longer could receive the Ruach ha Kodesh (the Holy Spirit).

The Talmud warns that many times people do things because their kavod (honor) was slighted. They will do these things, the rabbis teach, even though doing so is clearly a detriment not only to them, but also to their families. People will put their egos and honor irrationally before their own welfare and the welfare of their children. The rabbis warn that one would literally let his children die over loss of kavod.

We as rational modern Jews cannot continue to read the Torah as if it were an exact deed to the land of Israel. The ancient sages could not decide on where the borders were from the Torah's text, and we certainly know Israel is not in modern Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, or Jordan, as some commentators have suggested. For the sake of Torah itself we need to wrestle with its problems and not stand firm on issues because of irrational kavod.

The Torah wants us to follow it on paths that lead us to peace. There will be parts, like the slaughter of the Midianites, that we cannot accept and that actually go against the Torah's own laws of warfare that we will read of in Chapter 20 of Deuteronomy. The beauty of Torah is that we are challenged by one part to reinterpret another part.

 If we believe that we were given a deed of Israel with boundaries defined, and we are also mandated to seek peace, then we have the choice to decide to trade land for peace. We can decide to emphasize the humanistic parts of Torah and not the militaristic or fundamentalist portions. The Torah is ours. As we learned a few weeks ago, it is no longer in the hands of Heaven.

The Torah found it necessary to protect accidental killers from a blood feud with protection in six cities of refuge. The Torah clearly did not want to see more blood spilled on the soil of Israel. These accidental murderers did not need to stay in these towns for the rest of their lives. They only stayed until the Kohan Gadol died and a new one became invested. The Torah allowed the grieving relatives a period of time to think of revenge and to actually carry it out if the accidental murderer left his city of refuge. But the Torah also placed a time limit on revenge and brooding about blood feuds. If we could set aside and maintain six cities of refuge 3,300 years ago, could we not set aside some of East Jerusalem for a city as a capital for today's refugees?

The status of Jerusalem is a sticking point in the peace process even today. The two sides have agreed on economic issues, religious site issues, and refugee issues. Jerusalem has been expanded to include its West Bank suburbs, where Arabs are living now. If Israel gave this area to them for their capital, the Palestinians would have a capital in East Jerusalem and the Israelis will have lost nothing.

The Israel Knesset Parliament building is not in the Old City at the Wailing Wall (Kotel), and the Palestinian government building does not need to be in the Old City at the Dome of the Rock. The Palestinians can have a piece of East Jerusalem, which the Arabs call Al-quds, as its capital. Beit Hanina and Abu Dis are adjoining suburbs in East Jerusalem, which are Arab neighborhoods. The Palestinian authority has already begun to operate in Beit Hanina unofficially. These are already called East Jerusalem. They can be ceded to the Palestinians, and could restore kavod to them.

It is my opinion that the real struggle in the Middle East will be over water, not over the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.

When we read these parashot we can come away remembering to do genocide to our enemies, keep hateful vows for prideful reasons, think of the immutable God-given boundaries of Greater Israel, and sit outside the gates of those who harmed us waiting to seek vengeance when they leave through them. Or we can learn to fight strongly but fairly, release ourselves from prideful vows, understand that Israel's borders have never been unchanging in 4,000 years, and give up feelings of vengeance and hatred for those with whom we have been fighting.

When the poet wrote in Psalm 137: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning," it was written during captivity, "by the rivers of Babylon." This is not a vow for Jews never to give up some of the city in which Jews never lived anyway for peace. The Song of Ascents of King David in Psalm 122 records the Jewish belief about our Holy City more accurately.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

May they prosper that love thee.

Peace be within thy walls,

and prosperity within thy palaces,

for my brethren and companions' sakes,

I will say: 'Peace be within thee.'

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek thy good.

David's brethren were clearly his fellow Jews. His companions were those with whom he shared meals – com (with), panis (bread). There is no halakah forbidding us to share bread with our Palestinian fellows in peace. Once we eat with them we can share with them the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem and of the Middle East.

To quote the Rolling Stones again from Gimme Shelter:

I tell you, Love, sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away. It's just a kiss away."

I pray that so is Shalom. Amen.

Shabbat Shalom:

 
Rabbi Arthur Segal
www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org  
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
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Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Jewish Spirituality
Eco Judaism
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