(001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal - Rabbi Arthur Segal . It is written for the Modern Jew.
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Parasha Ki Savo: Deuteronomy 26:01-29:08
'He's Making His List, He's Checking it Twice, He's Gonna Find Out Who's Naughty or Nice..."
This parasha gives us the rules of the tithing of the first fruits, and the famous blessings and the infamous curses.
Just before the Israelites were about to cross the
Before I review these twelve commandments, let me review briefly the curses and the blessings. The blessings are given first and the curses follow. The curses are the opposite of the blessings. If there is a blessing to have rain and good crops, there is a curse to have drought and no food. There are 68 verses of blessings and curses. The curses do not paint a pretty picture. If you have watched any World War Two Holocaust movies, these curses come close to describing the horrors of that Shoah. The traditional view is that if you follow the commandments, you will be blessed, and if you do not, you will be cursed. Traditionally, God is the blesser or the curser.
Let us review these 12 commandments. These were mitzvoth (commandments) that were important enough to be written on stones. They were so important, that the entire nation was divided into two. Each half ascended one of two mountains. The Levites yelled these commandments with everyone screaming, "Amen!" (Deut. 27:11-14). Here are these twelve commandments paraphrased:
1. No idols.
2. No degrading your parents.
3. No moving of another's real estate boundary marker.
4. No leading a blind man astray.
5. No perverting justice of the widow, orphan or stranger.
6. No incest with your father's wife.
7. No sex with animals.
8. No incest with your sister.
9. No incest with your mother-in-law.
10. No striking another secretly.
11. No bribe taking.
12. No ignoring "this instruction."
Let's categorize them. Mitzvoth 6,7,8 and 9 are clearly laws against incest and bestiality. Mitzvoth 5 and 11 are telling us to have fair and honest court systems. Number 2 is similar to honoring one's parents but does not give the positive command of honoring, just the negative command of not degrading. Number One is not telling us to believe in God, or the God of the Jews, but just not to make or worship idols. Commandments 3 and 4 are mitzvoth not to steal, but also to have fair business practices. We have learned that a person coming into a shop or even a professional's office is "blind" and can be easily mislead. The idea of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) is not a Jewish idea. Number 10 is both an admonition not to hit, but also not to murder. It is also a warning not to do loshan hara (evil speech) or gossip, as these acts can kill one's reputation. The 12th commandment is telling us to pay attention to these eleven commandments, so there are really only eleven commandments folded into six categories. Do these six categories sound familiar?
In the chapter on Noah, which we studied before and will do again in Autumn, we read about the seven Noahide laws. These are the seven laws that all peoples must follow to be considered righteous. They are: no idols, no blaspheming God, establishing courts of justice, no murder, no adultery or incest, no robbing, and no eating meat cut from a living animal. The Deuteronomy categories have the law about not degrading your parents added, but have the laws against blaspheming God and eating live animal flesh deleted. If we assume that we can combine the rules against blasphemy and idol worship, and if we further assume that the eating of live limbs from animals stopped after Noah's time, negating the need for such a law, we are really left with the Noahide laws. Von Rad in his text, Deuteronomium, calls these twelve laws the Shechem Dodecalogue and says they are the oldest list of prohibitions in the Torah.
The Levites are not shouting about kosher dietary rules from the mountaintops. They are not exhorting about the laws of sacrifice. They are not even yelling about Shabbat or other Jewish holidays. They are admonishing the nation of
Traditionally the entire Torah portion is chanted on Shabbat and seven different people are called to the Torah to either chant the Hebrew, or make a blessing and allow the Rabbi to chant for them. The honor of being called up to the bimah (pulpit) is called an alliyah (from the Hebrew word meaning "to go up"). However it was considered a dishonor to be called for an alliyah to chant these curses from this Torah portion. Sometimes the sexton of the synagogue would be paid to do this duty. Instead of being called up to the Torah by his name, as is the custom, he would be called to the bimah as "he who wishes." When these curses are read, they are read quickly and in hushed tones.
In some congregations, the community's worst sinner would be called up to take this alliyah. One cannot refuse this calling to the Torah. The story is told of a gabbai (the one in charge of giving out bimah honors) who was a tailor in an eastern European town. He did not get along with a competing tailor whom he suspected of using cheaper materials, stealing his business, and working on the Sabbath. In those days, everyone in town, except the very ill, showed up for Shabbat services. So the gabbai-tailor called his competitor to the bimah to take the alliyah of the reading of the curses. This was a major insult to the second tailor whose entire family and clients were in the synagogue. A shouting match ensued which turned into a fistfight on the bimah. Our negative actions can bring about our own curses.
As we have learned in this D'var Torah, one of the six major categories of heinous crimes is "striking a man in secret." Our sages interpret this as doing loshan hara, as well as murder. Loshan hara is not only gossiping untruths about another, it is even uttering negative truths about another. But the rules of loshan hara as defined by Rabbi Israel Kagan of 20th-century
As Jews, we have an obligation to compromise, communicate, and get along. We have to be polite, assertive and honest with one another. Saying that it is a Southern way to smile at someone and then talk behind their back is not a valid excuse. If we are to be the people of Shalom (peace) and be a light unto the other nations to help bring about world peace, how can we show that we can achieve Shalom Olam (world peace) when we cannot accomplish Shalom Bayat (peace in the house)? We cannot expect our individual congregants to grasp this concept if they were not taught it. However, even the most liberal of the Jewish movements' guidelines for officers of a Holy Congregation do teach these ethics. If our leaders, or even rabbis and their rebbetzins (wives, or now even husbantzins) engage in lashon hara, how can we expect our congregants not to follow suit?
The Mishna teaches, "whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah for its own sake merits many things. He is called a friend and a beloved. He loves God and he loves God's created beings. He brings joy to God and he brings joy to God's created beings. The Torah garbs him in humility...it keeps him far from sin and closer to meritorious deeds. The Torah (not man) bestows upon him royalty, authority, and judgment. He becomes a fountain that flows with ever-increasing strength. He becomes modest, patient, and forgiving of insult." We are told that in Torah, we were "given good teachings" (Proverbs 4:2). We are told in the same verse "not to forsake them." As we have learned in this series, there is so much more to Torah than laws of ritual minutia. It really can be a way of life. Yet those who study it in modern temple are sometimes considered odd and out of place.
Some congregants actually feel threatened by Torah or Talmud study in their temples or threaten by those who know more than they do. Those who do not study Torah regularly, including board members in some of our modern temples, are missing out on beautiful instructions that will help them lead and guide ethically and fairly.
To those who see Torah study as a threat to their way of prayer, or their interpretation of Judaism, I say that it is not. If anything, Torah study shows that all are beloved of God. Even the Talmud, which our traditional brothers and sisters think is the word of God, says that abbreviated prayer in your own language with spiritual concentrated attention is better than a complete Hebrew prayer service with no understanding. Modern Judaism is about choice. And just as we abhor those in other movements who call modern Jews "not real Jews," we would abhor anyone in our own Temple calling Jews who choose not to attend class or services "lesser Jews." We would abhor anyone calling Torah study attendees "too Jewish." Frankly, it becomes anti-Semitic, and I do not use this term lightly, for secular Jews, to snub liberal Jews in their midst who have found God via Jewish Spiritual Renewal.
Liberal Judaism is open and welcoming like Abraham's tent. There is no litmus test in spiritual Judaism. There is no halakah (Jewish law codes) to follow. We are all equal. And whether we say "Shabbat Shalom" or "Good Shabbos," whether we wear Kipot (skull caps) or not, or whether we like the Friday night services with Hebrew melodies or the Saturday morning service with classical hymns, we are all beloved by God. We need to be beloved by each other as well. This is our blessing.
Shabbat Shalom:
Rabbi Arthur Segal
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Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
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member Temple Oseh Shalom
 Click to Order | THE HANDBOOK TO JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice into a step-by-step process to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality in a concise easy-to-read and easy-to-follow manner. If you find yourself wishing for the strength to sustain you through the ups and downs of life; if you want to learn how to live life to its fullest without angst, worry, low self-esteem or fear; or if you wish that your relationships with family, friends and co-workers were based on love and service and free of ego, arguments, resentments and feelings of being unloved...this book is for you. Price: $19.99 254 Pages Published by: Amazon's BookSurge |
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 Click to Order | A SPIRITUAL AND ETHICAL COMPENDIUM TO THE TORAH AND TALMUD Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us. This companion to The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew brings the Torah alive with daily relevance to the Modern Jew. All of the Torah can be summed up in one word: Chesed. It means kindness. The Talmud teaches that the Torah is about loving our fellow man and that we are to go and study. The rest is commentary. This compendium clarifies the commentary and allows one to study Torah and Talmud to learn the Judaic ideals of love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and peace. A must read for all Jews and deserves a place in every Jewish home. Price: $24.99 494 Pages Published by: Amazon's BookSurge |
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(001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal
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In The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality.
- Price : $19.99
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(002) A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud
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A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us.
- Price : $24.99
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(003) Tzadakkah Bundle
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The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal and A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud. Purchase both books as a set, and I will donate a portion of the sales price in your name to the tzadakkah of your choice. -- Rabbi Segal
- Price : $44.98
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