Start Elul off on the right track
Dear Congregants and Friends,
This week’s Torah portion is called Shoftim. You will find it in the Book of Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9. The section’s main theme is the development of a system of leadership. The word “shofet” in this context is mistranslated as “judge”. Although it is used in that sense, especially in modern Hebrew, in Biblical times the shofet was than a judge but also the person who made a political judgement. It is around this meaning of the word shofet that we note the transition into the laws concerning war. It was the job of the shofet to make the decisions that would determine if the nation was to go to war and how that war was to be conducted.
As evidenced by the Ten Commandments, Torah preaches peace, but it is also realistic enough to understand that there are times when war happens. In fact, unlike the media’s coverage of the Middle East, this entire week’s section is based on the idea that law must reflect what is rather than what we would like to be. The Torah is not based on the hypothetical but rather on realities . For example, this week’s section has a number of laws dealing with the issue of respect for the dead. Recognizing that the dead cannot care for themselves and that a body is a vessel for the soul, this section provides us with a series of laws teaching us how to respect the dead. Does the violence in the Middle East and the beheading of innocents reminds us that we humans still have much to learn?
Perhaps no where is this sensitivity to reality better stated then in this week’s section’s analysis of who should fight and who should not. The text teaches us that men are to be exempted if they have built a new home but not yet moved into it, if they have planted a vineyard but not yet benefited from it and if they are engaged and have not yet married.
Finally the Torah exempts from fighting men who are fearful or fainthearted. In all cases, the text assumes that people will not shirk their duty, but if one enters battle preoccupied then that man will not be a good soldier. The basic understanding is that war is a tragic reality of life. This is especially true of the last category. The text understands that negativity breeds negativity, that there is nothing more dangerous to an army then a negative person and that pessimists do more harm than good.
The underlying text seems to be teaching us that each of us makes a difference. If we are negative, if we tear down, then the entire society will soon collapse. On the other hand we dare not become blind to realities. Thus, as Ecclesiastes teaches there is “a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to destroy and a time to build”. The choices we make impact not only our lives but the lives of all who come in contact with us. The question the text lays before us is what type of person are you and how do you make choices of life and death, war and peace?
PUTTING THINGS IN PERSPECTVE; FROM Rabbi Tarlow
Our condition, in Israel, has never been better than it is now! Only the television and the media make people think that the end of the World is near. Only 68 years ago, Jews were brought to death like sheep to slaughter. NO country, NO army. Only 65 years ago, Seven Arab countries declared war on little Israel, the Jewish State, Just a few hours after it was established.
We were 650,000 Jews against the rest of the Arab world. No IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) or Air Force. We were only a Small group of stubborn people with nowhere to go.
Remember: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, and Saudi Arabia, they all attacked at once. The state that the United Nations “gave” us was 65% desert. We started it from zero.
Only 45 years ago, we fought three of the strongest countries In the Middle East, and we crushed them in the Six Day War. Over the years we fought different coalitions of 20 Arab countries with modern armies and with huge amounts of Russian-Soviet ammunition and we still won.
Today we have a beautiful country, a powerful Army, a strong Air Force, an adequate Navy and a thriving high tech industry. Intel, Microsoft, and IBM have all developed their businesses here.Our doctors have won important prizes in the medical development field. We turned the desert into a prosperous land. We sell oranges, flowers, and vegetables around the world. We launched our own satellite! Three satellites at once! We are in good company; together with the USA (280 million Residents), Russia (220 million residents), China (1.3 Billion residents) and Europe (France, England and Germany 35 million residents), we are one of the only countries in the world that have launched something into space! Israel today is among the few powerful countries that have Nuclear technology & capabilities. (We will never admit it, but everyone knows.) To think that only 68 years ago we were disgraced and hopeless.
We crawled out from the burning crematoriums of Europe. We won in all our wars. With a little bit of nothing we built an empire. Who are Khaled Mashal (leader of Hamas) or Hassan Nasrallah (leader of Hezbollah) trying to frighten us? They are amusing us. As we celebrate Independence Day, let’s not forget what this Holy day is all about; we overcame everything.
We overcame the Greeks,
We overcame the Romans,
We overcame the Spanish Inquisition,
We overcame the Russians pogrom,
We overcame Hitler, we overcame Germany and overcame the Holocaust,
We overcame the armies of seven countries.
Relax chevray (friends); we will overcome our current enemies.
Never mind where you look in human history. Think about it, The Jewish nation, our condition has never been better than now. So let’s lift our heads up and remember:
Never mind which country or culture tries to harm us or erase us from the world. We will still exist and persevere. Egypt? Anyone know where the Egyptian empire disappeared to? The Greeks? Alexander Macedon? The Romans? Is anyone speaking Latin today? The Third Reich? Did anyone hear news from them lately?
And look at us, the Bible nation – from slavery in Egypt, we are still here, still speaking the same language.
Exactly here, exactly now. Maybe the Arabs don’t know it yet, but we are an eternal nation all the time that we will keep our identity, we will stay eternal.
So, sorry that we are not worrying, complaining, crying, or fearing.Business here is beseder (fine). It can definitely be much better, but it is still fine. Don’t pay attention to the nonsense in the media, They will not tell you about our festivals here in Israel or about the people that continue living, going out, meeting friends.
Yes, sometimes morale is down, so what? This is only because we are mourning the dead while they are celebrating spilled blood. And This is the reason we will win after all.
From Jewish Family Services: