A Gathering To Unite - If Only...

Parshat Vayelekh

by Rabbi Avi Billet

 Shabbos Shuva is named for the first word in the Haftorah, but it also refers to the fact that the Shabbos falls between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, at a time when our people are experiencing the “Aseret Y’mei Teshuvah” – the Ten Days Of Repentance.

 How do we repent? What needs to be done. I suppose the classic answers have been talked about – not saying Lashon hora, treating each other nicely, and of course, making amends with God over our misdeeds. 

Devarim 31:10-13 contains what the Sefer Hachinukh lists as commandment number 612, the mitzvah of “Hak’hel.” This commandment is fulfilled every seven years at the end of a shmittah year, as all of the Jewish people gather in Jerusalem during the holiday of Sukkot to hear portions of the Torah read aloud. While this Biblical commandment is time dependent, the category from which women are generally exempt from obligation, this is one of the exceptions to the rule (the others are Shabbat and eating matzah on Pesach – see Kiddushin 34a-b) (there are many time-dependent Rabbinic commandments to which women are bound). 

Collectively the entire nation would hear the king read different portions, altogether over half, of the book of Devarim.

 Surely this spectacle was memorable, with the king at the center and trumpets sounding. The Torah was heralded between the king and the high priest and the members of the “Knesset” (not Israel’s modern day parliament), and the king would recite seven blessings praising God, the Jewish people, and the relationship they shared, before he actually read the Torah.

 A once in seven years experience is certainly a source of inspiration. Ask anyone who has been to the Siyum Hashas. But even such inspiration often falls short of lasting through to the next gathering of the masses, if it even lasts one month.

 Hak’hel was never the same as the tri-annual “aliyah l’regel” of the holidays. Not everyone went every holiday, and not everyone could afford to make the trip so often. But once every seven years gives people enough time to budget and to plan, to make sure they are there to fulfill this great mitzvah.

 How could the event of Hak’hel serve as the inspiration it is meant to be if it only takes place once every seven years?

 It would seem every seven years Jews are meant to have a unifying moment. We go to our homes, to our communities, to our own lives and we tend to lose sight of the greater picture of the Jewish community, what we collectively share and value and do to enhance our lives. Hak’hel serves as a reminder for this.

 The hak’hel moment is meant to inspire other experiences, to inspire a lifestyle, to inspire a regimen of continued education and learning that reflects all the spiritual grandeur invoked in the heartfelt reading of the Jewish king on that day in the Beit Hamikdash on the holiday of Sukkot. Hak’hel should be the climax, not the initiation. We should be living an ongoing life of inspiration which reaches its pinnacle moment when we gather after an extended period of separation.

 This year has its own rules for the use of Etrogim that come out of Israel, owing to the completion of the recent Shmittah (Sabbatical) year. Hakhel’s seven year cycle was related to Shmittah, so we have a deeper connection than usual this year to this special mitzvah.

 But in the absence of the Beit Hamikdash, we do not experience Hak’hel. So what can it mean for us today?

 The answer is quite simple. Hak’hel is a gathering most symbolic of the unity of the Jewish people. It is a time when the Jewish people were reminded that “there is more that unites you than divides you.”

 This message is particularly poignant at this moment in history. I have had a number of political debates with religious Jews over the Iran deal. It seems to be a done deal, and we hope for the best.

 But I have a very difficult time understanding how Jews who advance all the talking points of the proponents of the deal think they know what’s best for Israel’s security, and are critical of Israel’s prime minister for looking out for the security needs of his country, in a very hostile and dysfunctional Middle East.

 Even US politicians who support the deal say Iran can’t be trusted. And Israel is much closer to Iran geographically than the United States is to Iran.

 I don’t know if sins in political moves require teshuva. And truth be told, it is hard to make a judgment call of who is right or wrong, especially when people have very strong opinions that will not be swayed.

 But the Jewish people need to be united, because, as the old saying goes, “United we stand” while “divided” – as we surely have been over these political dealings – “we fall.”

 If only we could create a real hak-hel, we’d see how much we have in common. If only.

The Clarity of Having Consequences

Parshat Ki Tavo

by Rabbi Avi Billet

With the Ashkenazic community beginning Selichot this Saturday night, with Rosh Hashana around a week and a half away, bringing with it the Day of Judgment, we are left to examine our deeds, our choices, our lives, and look at where we have brought ourselves, and where we are headed.

 At this particular juncture in history, we are also faced with the stark reality of an economic “peace” deal with a rogue terrorist nation that may become the reality of our world in the near future.

 Irrespective of one’s political views and loyalties, it is hard to imagine how an “agreement” with Iran, an avowed enemy of the United States and Israel, will be followed by that enemy, when the leadership of Iran has no track record of being honest in any effort towards fostering peace in the world.

 With so much at stake, with Israel being geographically so close to Iran, one wonders what it all means? Is this a test? Could we wake up one morning to see the landscape of the Middle East altered forever? I certainly hope not. Which is why we must do whatever we can to tell our representatives that this will not be good for the U.S. or Israel.

 Jeffrey Goldberg wrote an article for The Atlantic, dated August 27, 2015, entitled “10 Questions for President Obama About Iran.” The questions are Robert Satloff’s and the fifth question includes this: “You refused to spell out the penalties Iran would suffer for violations of the agreement… [as it might] potentially lessen the deterrent effect… [yet] as a constitutional law professor, you can appreciate that having clarity in terms of penalties for lawbreaking is a basic element of our legal system.”

 When one looks at our parsha, one can’t help be overwhelmed by the penalties declared upon the Jewish people for breaking God’s law. History has proven over and over again that God’s law is meant to triumph over man’s whim. And it has.

 To be fair, the Torah also proclaims the blessings for good behavior and for following the Torah, and it is this focus which gives a positive side to an otherwise depressing Torah portion.

 When looking at the section of the Tochacha (Rebuke), what is the most frightening sentiment in there? I suppose this question, polled to 100 people, might get close to 100 different answers. But I think that the opening statement is the scariest thought. “If you do not obey God your Lord and do not carefully keep all His commandments and decrees as I am prescribing them for you today…” (28:15)

 Forget about the rest of the sentence. It doesn’t matter. Can we imagine the Jewish people – who lived a miraculous existence in the wilderness, who were one generation removed from Revelation at Sinai (some of them may have experienced Revelation as children and were not subject to the decree of dying in the wilderness), even considering not obeying God?

 And yet we see it all the time. We are ourselves guilty often enough, of not obeying and keeping the commandments. And we excuse our behavior with the “li’l ole me” argument: Does God really care what li’l ole me does? Is my being unscrupulous really such a big deal – I’m just one little person? Is my violation really going to shake the world, I’m a nobody anyway! And besides, look how humble I am!

 The answer to these questions is irrelevant. There are plenty of instances in the Bible where one person made a difference, for good or for bad, either saving the entire nation, or causing massive destruction. Some of the good ones include Pinchas (Bamidbar 28), Yael (Shoftim 4), Yonatan (Shmuel I 14). The bad ones include Korach, Zimri (Bamidbar 28), Achan (Yehoshua 7).

 In this particular time, when Christians who support Israel often quote the verse from Bereshit 12:3, when God promises Avraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you, I will curse,” it behooves us to deserve being called the children of Abraham. And we earn this honorific by honoring our God and following His laws to the best of our abilities.

 We do not have a crystal ball to know what the future will bring. We need to do our part to communicate with our representatives, and we need to pray that God will give them the proper guidance to do what is best for the United States, for Israel, and for the world.

 And, particularly as we head into the High Holiday season, we need to not only vamp up our prayers, but we need to raise the bar on our commitment, so God can never say about us “If you do not obey God your Lord and do not carefully keep all His commandments.” We understand quite well what consequences are. Our people have suffered much since the destruction of the Temple.

 If consequences were made clear for what violations on Iran’s part would translate to, there might be a different perspective to be had. But with no consequences, Iran has nothing to lose in following its veteran ways of marching to their own drum.

 Hopefully if we do our part, the blessings of the parsha will come true, and Iran will no longer be a threat to our People across the globe, especially in Israel. Amen.