A Quick Torah Thought

I made 4 cups of coffee for Arab workers who were hooking up the water, and electricity lines in a local park; I was told that I had transgressed a severe Torah infraction.  Taken literally, I had indeed done so. The Torah states "Lo techonem," which is interpreted in three yet similar ways; you are not allowed to give non-Jews a permanent dwelling place in our ancestral land, you are not allowed to bestow excessive favor on non-Jews, to the detriment of your Jewish kin, and you are not allowed to give a free gift to a non-Jew. The latter is the one in question.  I had no connection to the workers, hoped to gain no benefit from them, and wanted to just do a kind deed. According to the letter of the law, it would seem to be forbidden; at the same time, given the fragile state of affairs in our country and how soft power, diplomacy of deeds, seems to out-joust hard power, in my humble opinion, it is certainly something even recommended or praiseworthy.  Thus, as a public ci...

A friend of mine, Ari Zelligman, expounded upon the sheer preponderance of detail as the book of Bamidbar kicked off. When I think of the desert, I think of the wilderness, vast, unending sun-scorched expanses, a hidden world that fails to meet the eye. Animals coming out in the nocturnal coolness, if only a brief respite from the day's laziness. It was on that note, that Ari caught me off guard. Speaking this past Friday night about what would seem to be the monotony of the formation of the Jewish encampment, he said that his take on it was entirely different: the Jewish people were entering military formation, seemingly preparing for war. The holy ark would never leave the encampment unless it was "battle-ready," and the holy breastplate, or God, or Moshe himself, had sanctioned a campaign, or attack.  He shared, though, that there seemed to be a more profound message, here, one that perhaps - I would add - resounds in different phases of the annals of our people, and t...

  The Sefer Hachinuch makes a fascinating comment about one who doesn't observe the Yovel, or Jubilee cycle. He writes that one who fails to do so, undermines the belief in the creation of the world, the underpinning of our very existence on this Earth. As such, there's something particularly unique to the observance of the Yovel, the 50 th year of a cycle that terminates the count of 7 Shemita cycles, culminating in the 50 th year. As we now approach the holiday of Shavuot, we can see that there's unique significance to the number 50, a number that signifies the culmination of a national aspiration to recognize Hashem's presence in the world by recognizing on a more palpable level that Hashem created the world. Were one to count the years from the beginning of time then that would have far less significance – but when one has the ability to break up time, he or she can revel in the accomplishments, achievements, and newfound revelations made with its passage. And, ...

One of the hardest passages for me to read in the Torah is the one in this past parshah, Emor, that discusses handicaps, or blemishes that invalidate one from serving in the temple. It is in stark contrast to Lazarus's words, engraved on the base of the "Statue of Liberty:" “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” The Torah gives one example after the next of the people whose service is not sought, desired, or accepted in the temple. In fact, the Chinuch writes that all together, there are 140 different blemishes, or defects, that make a person unfit to serve. The rationale is, the Chinuch writes, that when a person comes to the Beit Hamikdash, he seeks perfection in action, appearance and deed. It was the glory - like a Communist military parade - that drew people, brought them closer, dazzled them, and en...

Even within Jewish thought - some would say, especially in Jewish thought - there has long been a debate about the meaning of the word "holiness." Rashi and the Ramban famously debated the question, each taking what would seem to be starkly divergent approaches. On the face of it, Rashi says that it was vital to give over the laws and tenets applying to the breadth of human relations in a national forum, old and young, men and women all congregated together to hear about the nuances of behavior vital for the social fabric - and, in light of the above, Rashi then goes on to explain, "When Hashem says you should be holy, it applies to abstinence from forbidden sexual relationships, because the avoidance of these relationships is  always juxtaposed with the concept of hallowedness in the Torah." What Rashi does not say here is that holiness=sexual propriety, but rather that acting in a way that forebears sexual impropriety, such as a relationship between a father and ...