On the Blindness of Justice and Morality

Parshat Shoftim

by Rabbi Avi Billet

On July 25, Brett Stevens (not to be confused with Bret Stephens) wrote on amerika.org that the Israel-Hamas conflict shows the true nature of liberalism. 

 Some of his points suggested that liberalism focuses on appearance and nothing more, arguing for the moral high ground. However, he contends, that supporting the weaker party in a struggle does not automatically translate to being in that moral high ground. Supporting a militarily weaker group whose ideology is irrational, destructive, and murder-focused does not bode well for those who claim morals drive them.

 In Stevens’ view, “Conservatism thinks about results, so it picks the action which will bring best results. Liberals think about appearances, and so choose whatever option makes them look good, and then ignore the consequences [until after] disaster unfolds.”

 His conclusion: “[W]e have people out of their heads on the drug of artificially boosted self-esteem that liberalism provides, cheering for the genocide of the group that the last world war was fought in part to protect.”

 Political ideologies aside, in light of the opening of our parsha, Mr. Stevens couldn’t be more correct. The Torah tells us, “Do not bend justice and do not give special consideration [to anyone]. Do not take bribes, since bribery makes the wise blind and perverts the words of the righteous.” (16:19) With reference to inter-human dealings, the Torah, from which only truth emerges, couldn’t come up with a truer insight into human nature.

 It’s not that the liberal media (i.e. The New York Times) takes bribes. Nor is it the case that all of the protestors in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, and all over Europe are taking bribes.

 But they have been made blind because, as Dennis Prager has put it, were the two sides of the conflict described as neutral parties – group A and group B – every sensible person in the world would side with the group that describes Israel’s perspective. However, since one of these groups is called “Israel,” a word which triggers the most irrational form of judgment, it is automatically painted as the guilty party by bigots and anti-Semites who refuse to acknowledge their bigotry and anti-Semitic natures. We have all seen videos of protests, with horrific small-scale or larger-scale violence, profanity, despicable name-calling (“Nazis,” “baby killers”) aimed at those who present Israel’s rights to live peacefully, and to defend itself when attacked by rockets and terrorists (excuse me, “freedom fighters.”)

 Before he was President, John Adams defended the British soldiers who had fired on civilians at the so-called “Boston Massacre.” Adams won the case. Did it matter that the soldiers were trained fighters, better armed, and in a place where some (ignorants) might have called them “occupiers?” No! Because justice is supposed to be blind. And the judges who judge cannot be blinded by greed. The soldiers in that case had been provoked and were fearful for their lives. They fired in self-defense. And just because someone dies in a shooting does not mean the dead was the innocent party.

Even President Obama, whose support for Israel is suspect, declared years ago that "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing." I think he has less of a problem with Israeli shooting down missiles (which is why he supports Iron Dome), and much more of a problem with Israel actually attacking the source of the missiles. Stop the rockets once they’re mid-air, yes. But don't allow them to be shot from the ground, because if you attack the rocket-launcher, people will die. Sigh.

 Targum Yonatan explains what bribes do to judges: “It causes utter stupidity to happen upon them.” It doesn’t matter if the person is judging correctly in the case, or judging incorrectly. The judge who takes a bribe becomes blind to realities and justifies things that are unjustifiable.

 And so it is with those who judge with pre-conceived notions. Those who believe that Jews whose “genocide the last world war was fought to prevent” (as Stevens put it - though that was really an outcome and not purpose for fighting - FDR was no tzaddik -) are the bad guys are buying into the oldest bribe in the world, the worst stereotype to plague the history of humanity, that the evils of the world are the fault of the Jews.

 The Ro”sh on this verse puts it rather succinctly: “Bribery (however defined) causes the judge to become evil,” for not seeing the case for the sides it truly presents. When it comes to defense and preservation of self, John Adams got it right. If the soldiers who were threatened and who caused the deaths of “civilians” in self-defense could be acquitted, a Jewish State which defends itself (while suffering deaths of civilians, including children) and causes the unfortunate death of civilians in the process is completely in the right.

 Those who see it otherwise, don’t understand what Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, had to say in his recent visit to Israel. “Had a good time visiting Jerusalem and Gaza Strip today. If Israel did not react, the rockets would continue anyway. If Hamas halted rockets, Israel would not attack them. Peace.”

 When the world ceases to be morally blind (instead of taking the liberal “moral highground), and will judge a case based on merits without pre-conceived notions, maybe there will be Peace indeed.

The Place God Has Chosen

Parshat Re'eh

by Rabbi Avi Billet


The instructions given to the generation entering the land of Canaan are clear: “Do away with all the places where the nations whom you are driving out worship their gods, [whether they are] on the high mountains, on the hills, or under any luxuriant tree. You must tear down their altars, break up their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah trees, and chop down the statues of their gods, obliterating their names from that place.”

This follows a theme in the Torah to eradicate paganism and idolatry in order to advance monotheism.

In modern times, such a guiding principle would be viewed as extremely radical, and as a stain on the morality of those bringing about the destruction. At a minimum it is politically incorrect. Shrines and places of worship, regardless of purpose, are generally viewed as “untouchables.” Particularly on a world stage, the removal of a single brick, even from an abandoned house of worship, is at times a call for activists to stage a protest.

But the concept of eradicating all these places of worship to advance monotheism in “the place that God has chosen” (a phrase that repeats several times in Chapter 12) is a fundamental tenet of the Jewish faith. That place, as we all know, is what even the Arabs call “The Temple Mount” as it is unquestionably the place where King Solomon built the first Temple (destroyed by Babylonians), and where the second Temple was built in the time of Ezra and beautified in the time of Herod (destroyed later by the Romans).

 Were the Romans living today, I like to think they would have been hammered by world media for destroying a centuries old edifice which had been the central Temple of the Jewish faith. (CNN would probably blame the Jews for their Temple being destroyed, while the “Romans” might explain that it was “really” the Jews who were behind it. While Roman children dance in the street as they are given candy by their parents.)

 If this location were so significant, why is it referred to in the Torah by way of hints? Why doesn’t the Torah say “It is Har HaMoriah?”

 Maimonides explains (Guide 3:45) three reasons for the identification of the spot remaining hidden in the text. Firstly, if the nations of the world only knew how special that place was, they would all want it. The fights and killings that would take place to gain control of the land would be outrageous. Secondly, if the Canaanites knew that the plan included the Israelite nation reclaiming the Land that had been promised to their ancestors and establishing a religious center in that place, they would have destroyed and defiled the space using whatever methods were at their disposal. Thirdly, if the tribes knew the location, they’d all fight over which tribe would inherit that area. It was therefore better for them to settle the land first, and then have the place be revealed, as it eventually was to King David. 

There is a debate amongst Medieval scholars as to whether the religion of Islam is considered by Judaism to be a form of idolatry. Maimonides’ view, that it is not idolatry, is the pervading opinion, though obviously there are those who disagree.

 The building that currently stands on the heart of the Temple Mount has been there for over 1300 years. What the motivation behind building it was (as it is a shrine and not a house of worship – though during the Crusades period it was used as a church) may have been a combination of being inspired by other houses of worship as well as an effort to compete with other houses of worship (Wikipedia), and, perhaps, a fulfillment of what Maimonides later described as the motivation for wanting that spot: the understanding that its unique qualities make it a special place to connect with God.

 That the Jews did not rebuild the Temple first came from a combination of being oppressed, continually beaten back by the Romans, not being in a position of strength to arrange for it to happen, and not having the right kind of leader, perhaps even with a prophetic or divinely inspired demeanor to serve as a guide for such an endeavor. Even absent such an effort, Maimonides second explanation being fulfilled may be the reason why the Jerusalem gate closest to the Temple Mount is called Dung Gate (Shaar Ha’Ashpot).

 In the modern, liberal world in which the State of Israel exists, there will not be a change in real estate or a rebuilding on the Temple Mount, absent some miraculous event that will change the world, such as a Messianic era.

 In peace, and with our hearts, minds, and bodies ready to jump at a moment’s word, we await such a time that we can adequately fulfill, once again, the instruction of Devarim Chapter 12. We look forward to the day when the world will fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah 2:2-3, and the world will come to know that the House of God, on that space is the place to be.

 “And it shall be at the end of the days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be firmly established at the top of the mountains, and it shall be raised above the hills, and all the nations shall stream to it. And many peoples shall go, and they shall say, "Come, let us go up to the Lord's mount, to the house of the God of Jacob, and let Him teach us of His ways, and we will go in His paths," for out of Zion shall the Torah come forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

Amen.

To Remove All Illnesses

Parshat Eikev

by Rabbi Avi Billet

The promises the Torah gives to the Jewish people for following the ways of God are quite idyllic. It does seem that simple, that if the Nation of Israel were to merely follow the Torah and observe its commandments without sin, that nothing bad would ever happen to them.

                

The reality is, however, that we are human, therefore imperfect, and we all make mistakes. While I shun saying that lack of observance is the cause for calamity (an absurd thought!), the Torah does suggest that imperfection in Jewish people leads to imperfections in the existence of the Jewish People.

                

The inverse, of course, is true as well. When you fulfill God’s will and follow His ways, “You’ll be blessed above all nations. There will not be an infertile male or female among you or your animals. God will remove from you all illness, and all the maladies you had in Egypt He will not place upon you, but He will place them on your enemies.” (7:14-15)

                

With so much pain and suffering in the world, one wonders what this means. With so much time, effort, money dedicated to “research” on every illness known to mankind, it’s hard to imagine that the cure to it all is not some not-yet discovered antibiotic but is merely a firm dedication to observance of the Law.

                

How could it be? Haven’t there been so many tzadikkim (righteous people) who have suffered? Can’t we all think of individuals who didn’t deserve the illness that they suffered through for so many years, or the illness that ultimately stole their lives away?

                

One answer is that even the greatest tzaddik or tzadeket will call himself or herself a sinner, and will probably cry more on Yom Kippur than the rest of us. Humans can work on themselves and can become amazing people. But perfect, with no flaws whatsoever, meriting this blessing from God? It seems to be impossible.

                

Which leaves me with 2 questions. How can this promise be made, if our end of the deal is impossible to uphold? And, is there another way to understand God’s promise of “removing all illness?”

                

The commentators raise a few suggestions as to what “all illness” means. Baal Haturim notes how “kol choli” (all illnesses) has a numerical value of 98 – suggesting “God will remove 98 curses from upon you.” This turns the promise into a code which does not actually assure the eradication of all illnesses.

                

Seforno suggests that illnesses which are inflicted upon enemies will not be contagious – while enemies fall from illness, the Israelites won’t be affected. (This notion has been fodder fuel for many a pogrom in Europe during the Middle Ages) The Ktav V’Hakabbalah jumps on Seforno’s tail and says that when you face your enemy in battle, God will take the illness which plagues you and place it on your enemy who will have to contend with this illness as battles wage, while you maintain your health.

            

The Talmud Yerushalmi (Shabbat 14:3) interprets the removal of illness by listing a number of calamities that will be defeated through this proper connection to God. One of them, said in the name of Rav Avon, is the destruction of the yetzer hara, the evil inclination, whose front is sweet, but whose rear (or “end”) is bitter.  The Torah Temimah explains this interpretation through a translation of the word “choli” as meaning “sweet” (see Shimshon’s riddle Shoftim 14:18 and the Aramaic translation, and Shmot Rabba 43:3 explaining Moshe’s prayer as trying to turn the bitter into sweetness).

                

This latter approach suggests that if you follow God’s ways, the “sweetness” of that which the Yetzer Hara tries to get you to do will be removed. You won’t appreciate the “joy of sin” or the pleasure of sin anymore, and all you’ll want to do is God’s will, for its sake. 

                

Using these interpretations it is much easier to see how our task is not impossible. We’re not looking for independence from illness (though that would be nice). We’re seeing how we can benefit from doing God’s will as best we can, or from being part of and identifying with Jewish peoplehood.

                

In these days when anti-Semitism is rearing its dark head over Europe and the morally blind liberal media, and even parts of mainstream United States (especially university campuses), we must tap into what makes the Jewish people unique, and why people who don’t know Jews and have nothing to do with Jews hate us with a passion that doesn’t exert itself anywhere else in their lives. And, is completely irrational when you replace the word “Jew” with “person.”

                

We pray that this illness “choli” ends. We pray that this sweet-hatred “choli” (it must be sweet to those who harbor it, because they get such a rush out if it) becomes bitter and disgusting to them, so hatred will cease in the world.

                

And who knows? When I watch Israel make a field hospital near Gaza to treat those who are sick or wounded (in some cases from Israel (after warnings to go away which Hamas makes its people ignore), and in some cases from Hamas brutality or misfired rockets), all I can say is “God, you have removed all ‘Choli’ from us. You helped us understand that people who need help, need help regardless of ethnicity, skin color, and their being part of a group. We must truly ask, “Mi k’amkha yisrael  - who is like Your nation of Israel?”

                

Finally, being “blessed above all nations” may be a reference to Jewish innovation. It is well-known that Jews hold an out of proportion ratio of Nobel Prizes. Israeli medical innovation is of the most-cutting edge in the world. Maybe the promise means that it will be Jews who will discover the cures for the worst diseases known to mankind. (I personally don’t care who discovers a cure for these illnesses - I pray for the end of the suffering of those in pain, and that it should be soon, with a positive recovery)

                

And if we could find the solution to the hatred that plagues the Middle East, wouldn’t that be a true miracle?

You Are All Alive Today

Parshat Va'Etchanan

by Rabbi Avi Billet

In times like these, one feels a sense of helplessness. A sense of unworthinesss.

                

Now that Hamas has resumed their rocket attacks, and Israel has been drawn in again to war, we shudder with the thought of every new story that comes out of Israel, of the short life of a fallen soldier, which has and will continue to make us wonder if we are doing our part for the sake of the Jewish people. How many of us, were we fit and trained properly, would be willing to go to the front lines, or send our sons to the front lines, knowing we or they might not return?

                

We are here, at Shabbos Nachamu, looking for comfort, and yet the words of Eichah 1, “There is no comfort” (repeated four times in the chapter), are what resonate. How can we be comforted when so many young men, true “giborim” fell at the hands of the enemy?

                

There is no comfort.

                

I have read of a Hamas plot for this coming High Holiday season that may have been averted on account of Operation Protective Shield. If true, it might be a slight comfort.

                

But who knows? I, for one, would rather have every one of these soldiers and teenagers back now, and deal with the next challenge when it comes.

                

Alas, this is the price of war. Fallen soldiers, lost sons, brothers, fathers, husbands, fiancés, and families bereft.

                

And yet, a united nation. From the left to the right, Israelis have supported this war and understand its validity and necessity. When a bereaved mother can say “Am Yisrael Chai” (the nation of Israel lives!) and that “Ahavah t’natzeach” (love will win the day), a world of sensible people looks on with admiration and in awe.

                

The Torah tells us, “You, who cling to Hashem your God, you are all living today.” (4:4) The translation doesn’t do justice to the Hebrew “Chayim kulkhem hayom.” You are all “Chayim.”

                

Understandably, the specific context of that statement was Moshe speaking to the generation about to enter the Land of Israel. Their parents had lost a connection with God on account of the Golden Calf and the sin of the spies, but the present generation Moshe was addressing had never sinned in such a manner.

                

Why does Moshe tell them they are living? Obviously, if he’s talking to them, they are alive!

                

Because the concept of living has different meanings. The first definition of “living” is obvious to us all – blood flowing, brain functioning, a person who contains the breath of life. Living also refers to what we are doing with our lives. We may be alive, but is the life in which we exist one in which we live it to the max? A life of meaning and of purpose? With goals?

                

And there is also the living that comes after death. Every Shabbos, we say the prayer of “Av Harachamim” which invokes some of the language King David used to eulogize King Shaul and Prince Yonatan who fell in battle. “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they have not departed.” (Samuel II 1:23)

                

They have not departed because they still live in us. If Rashi “says” (present tense) and Rambam “says” - they are both still living. If David’s friendship with Yonatan never ended, Yonatan was always alive to him. If we can welcome Eliyahu at every bris, it is because Eliyahu is still “living.”

                

The Or HaChaim takes this several steps further when he offers a number of interpretations on our verse. He notes that the tetragrammaton can have a prefix added to it, but the prefix does not attain the holiness of God’s name. In Ba’Hashem or La’Hashem the bet or lamed can be erased. However, when a suffix is added to the name “Elokim,” the suffix attains a level of holiness akin to God’s name, and cannot be erased.

                

The Or HaChaim says “You who cling to Hashem your God” is a message to those who cling to Hashem in the manner of “Your God” – who attach themselves to God in such a way that we achieve holiness and can’t be erased as being not really part of God’s name – “you are living today.”

                

When the nation of Israel, in Israel and abroad, can unite under the banner of a united People under God, when Jews the world-over can say the Shema, recite Tehillim, gather to pray, the nation and its people live. When we count every soldier who falls as a lost son, and pay no attention to whether he was from a left-wing kibbutz, a secular family, a Hesder yeshiva, or a Nahal Haredi, we are living. And the memory of the soldier, who gave his life for the highest purpose, lives on.

                

If on Tisha B’Av we still remember those martyred during the time of the Second Temple, the Ten rabbis who were murdered in the 100 years following, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Chmielnicki massacres, the Holocaust, and all those who have fallen since the establishment of the State of Israel, then those who “were pleasant and beloved in their lives, and in their deaths have not departed” becomes true for us and future generations.

                

We mourn because we are broken and sad by the loss of these beloved soldiers. And we shout Am Yisrael Chai because we cling to God in a manner that makes us all holy as well. When one of us falls, a piece of God’s holiness is lost in this world. This is why we all feel it, and why it is so hard to find comfort.

                

May we be able to find comfort soon, when the IDF completes its mission, and the entity of Hamas is destroyed forever. When the Land of Israel is free of attacks our people will merit to fulfill all meanings of “Chayim kulkhem hayom” – that those who cling to God find the fullest meaning in life itself. 

The Victory That Comes From Doing God's Will

Parshat Devarim

by Rabbi Avi Billet               

Moshe said, “God was also angry at me… [as He] said, ‘You too shall not go there. Yehoshua bin-Nun… is the one who will apportion it to Israel. As for your children of whom you said ‘They’ll be taken captive,’ and your children who did not know good from evil this day – they will come there. To them shall I give it and they shall possess it.’” (Devarim 1:37-39)

                

Without going into too much of the background, in this passage Moshe outlines who will be inheriting the land – as the apportioner and the apportionees – and who will not be involved in the process (Moshe himself).

                

His focus on the children being the ones to inherit – along with the emphasis on good and evil – prompted the Midrash Tanaim to explain that this is a reference to war. “They have to know that it is God who wages war for you, and that you do not have to fight when you are doing God’s will.” The Baal Haturim goes along similar lines when he says exile would have never happened had the people not turned to sin.

                

Rabbi Yehuda Amital, the founding Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion (“the Gush”), was appropriately critical of people (i.e. certain contemporary rabbis) who would look at any event and ascribe causality to it. “This tragedy happened because…” is in an ineffable statement to make. We don’t explain rockets, destruction, wars, and a Holocaust. We are not prophets. We do not know why these things happen.

                

God-fearing people say “This is God’s will. It is part of His Master Plan,” and continue to live their lives in the service of God, trying to get closer to Him despite the sadness that may pervade at any particular point in time. Rav Amital, whose fifth yarzeit was this past week, was in several labor camps during the Holocaust and lost his entire family. In response to the question of how he could have faith in God after the Holocaust, he explained that if he had lost his faith that wouldn’t bring his family back. It wouldn’t answer any of his questions about God’s hiding His face during that era of darkness.

                

But the message of the Midrash Tanaim is still worthy of consideration. We do not understand how the “doing of God’s will” plays a role in the upper spheres. But every one of us can probably pinpoint a time in our lives when we knew we were doing things right, and other things in our lives fell into place. Whether it was a job, a promotion, a family member getting better from illness, or life just being good. It happens all the time – we just don’t always notice.

                

And so it is up to us, particularly at this time of year with Tisha B’Av approaching, to ask ourselves if we are properly doing God’s will. The great prophets and Sages were granted the insight to say the first Temple was destroyed because of murder, idolatry, immorality, and the Second Temple was destroyed on account of baseless hatred. And while we don’t dare make similar pronouncements in our times (and shame on those who do!), we can certainly improve in those areas! Idolatry and murder are, thank God, not big challenges for our people. But immorality is. And baseless hatred certainly is.

                

There’s a reason many of the “al chet”s we include in our Viduy confession are for sins of the eyes and the mouth, because it is through these channels that most of our sins are committed – whether we ourselves look at things we should not be looking at and say things we should not, or whether we cause others to look at things they should not see or have them hear things they should not be hearing.

                

The good and evil that the Midrash Tanaim says refers to war could have two meanings. The esoteric meaning is for the internal battle that a person fights between the yetzer hara (the evil inclination) and the yetzer hatov (the good inclination).

                

But in a practical sense, it refers to the battles which were to soon be waged by the Israelite armies entering the land. And Moshe is recalling how 39 years earlier he told the generation that was not going to be entering the land that it would be up to their innocent children, who had not yet tasted good and evil, to lead the charge in inheriting the land.

                

The verses which follow show the response of the people when they heard this pronouncement:  “We have sinned to God! We will go up and do battle according to everything that our God has commanded us!” (1:41)

                

And the Exodus generation was told not to, because God was no longer with them and would not fight their battles any more.

                

Are we reliving this history? Every generation in Israel has borne the responsibility of fighting the battle that the previous generation did not finish. It is the “children” (18-22 year olds are young men, but they are all sons of the nation of Israel) who are fighting, the children who learn quickly about the difference between good and evil. Many of these “children” are older reservists, and they too are battling in the trenches.

                

Our job is to love them, to care for them, and to do our part through doing God’s will. Unlike the generation who left Egypt, who were told (when they messed up with the spies) that God is no longer with them, we must assure, for the safety of our soldiers and our People in Israel and around the world, that we are doing God’s will, so God will in-turn be with us.

                

When the enemy is so evil and only cares to rack up deaths on both sides, we must know where we stand. War is sadly a necessary evil. And it brings great sacrifice in pursuit of a hopefully attainable and sustainable peace. The attitude of Tzahal (IDF) through all of this has been inspiring.

                

May our efforts, not just during the Nine Days, but throughout the year as well, sway God to continue to guide the soldiers of Israel in their important work, and may all of Israel merit to live peacefully under the banner of the promise that “your children who did not know good from evil this day – they will come there. To them shall I give it and they shall possess it.” In safety, in peace, and – much like has been demonstrated in Israel in support of the soldiers – with a complete sense of Ahavat Chinam, loving our fellow Jew.