Coming Sunday (5 June/28 Iyyar) we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, one of several Jewish holidays com-memorating events of war in the modern State of Israel. This one recalls Israel’s regaining of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967. Despite these modern memorial days, it seems safe to say that we Jews generally don’t think of ourselves as military people. Yet the coming together with our annual reading of the opening portion of the Book of Numbers, beginning with a census of all Israelite men, might give us pause to question our assumption.Our parasha begins with God’s instruction to Moses to count the people: s’u et-rosh kol-adat B’nai Yisrael, “take a census of the whole Israelite company”. The commentators notice the way God describes the head count: s’u et rosh, “lift the head.” Nachmanides (a rabbi from the thirteenth century) points out that the phrase can be positive or negative. Joseph uses the same phrase positively back in Genesis when interpreting the dream of the imprisoned cupbearer: “in three days’ time, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your post.” But Joseph also uses the phrase negatively a few verses later while interpreting the baker’s dream: “in three days’ time, Pharaoh will lift your head from your body and hang you on a pole . . .”Imagine our scene, though, Moses and Aaron lifting each young man’s head, gently touching the chin of each soldier-to-be, looking him in the eye -thus acknowledging the humanity of each one – and recognising the real “risks” of war. Will this young man’s head be lifted up to greatness or fall in battle?S’u et-rosh, “Lift up the head” of each one, says God to Moses, as if to say, touch them, look them in the eyes, write down their family names, because even though you are counting them, these men are not just numbers. A wise man once taught that if you look deeply into the eyes of another, you will find there the Presence of God. Would we really be able to send people into battle if we spent the moments before looking deep into the eyes of our soldiers?As we shall see in the weeks to come, despite its stories of fighting, rebellion and violence, the Book of Numbers also delivers the message that God would rather encourage the people Israel toward a gentler way of being, and to realise that the price we have paid in any war was more than just a soldier. She or he was a human being, created in the image of God.Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Rabbi Lisa Edwards.)
| Torah Reading for Shabbat B’midbarNumbers 1:1-4:20(Reading Num 1:1 – 35; P p.899; H p.568)Haftarah Hosea 2:1-22 (P 917, H 581)The first portion of Numbers, which shares the name of the book itself, takes up where Exodus left off, beginning with a census of men of military age and a description of tribal encampments and priestly clan assignments. Torah Study this Shabbat morning at 08h45Podcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Sermons Tuesdays on Radio Today (10h30) or: http://goo.gl/LsHQrY.Rosh Chodesh Sivan occurs on Tuesday in the coming week. |
I’d like to share with you an open letter to Rabbi Goldstein I received from Dr Nontando Hadebe, supporting us in our efforts to achive real equality for women in public Jewish events. Warm Regards Rabbi Julia Margolis Dear Rabbi GoldsteinShalom! Sawubona! I greet you in the name of peace and a shared African and faith tradition. I am writing in both my personal capacity and that of Coordinator of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians in support of Rabbi Julia Margolis with regard to her court cast against the Jewish Board of Directors and in opposition to the decision to ban her from this board.The issue that Rabbi Margolis raised namely women singing in a public space in commemoration of a public historical event namely the memory of the holocaust/Shoa is not an intra-religious issue that excludes the concern of outsiders. If you can recall that it took the intervention of outsiders in this case the allied forces who shared the same values of the dignity of all human persons as the basis of their being willing to risk their lives in waging a war against Germany. This historical interference based on violation of human rights is what turned the war around and also helped in establishing the declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations as a global commitment signaling a new era where the world will no longer tolerate any form of discrimination against any human being based on sex, ethnicity, race etc. Equally important is the decision to respect the rights of religions to practice their faith. The issue that Rabbi Julia raised is not an intra-religious issue but the expression of this in a public sphere that is committed to the equal rights of all citizens. As women who are part of this public space we are profoundly affected by this decision against Rabbi Julia Margolis and register our opposition. I personally was so traumatized and hurt by the statements about women and the intent to exclude women from singing in a public event that is part of the shared history of humanity. The historical events are already traumatizing without also adding the exclusion of women from singing and banning Rabbi Julia.I appeal to you honorable Rabbi in the name of Ubuntu, equality, democracy to act justly towards Rabbi Julia Margolis as a celebration of our shared values of the dignity and value of all of humanity.Looking forward to a favourable responseYours in Ubuntu and equalityDr Nontando HadebeCoordinator of Southern African Chapter of The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians
Hello friends, Gilad here; I wanted to say some things that are important to me: We are getting approaches from a range of sources regarding two matters: the court case and a possible settlement; and the proposed colloquium. These are approaches in the form of extending feelers, not a formal approach. People call and sound me out about talking to the Board, about what a possible solution could look like.Here’s what I say:I won’t talk to intermediaries. If the Board wants to talk, my phone number is known to them. My email too. No intermediaries needed. The Board has never spoken to me since we filed papers. Ever. Not once. That’s despite their professing to being open to talking. Just saying.I will talk to the Board anytime they call, if they ever do, as long as the banning order on Rabbi Julia Margolis has been lifted, and she is invited to re-take her seat on the Board of Deputies in Johannesburg. I tell people that Rabbi Margolis was anxious about joining my court action, for months, saying that if she signed up, she might be booted off the Johannesburg Board, and that she wanted to stay on the Board so as to keep the lines of communication between communities open. Guess what? She didn’t sign in her own name, helped SACRED to sign instead, and still got booted off the Board because she is Head of SACRED! So I am not talking settlement while the banning order is still on Rabbi Julia Margolis. She stood with me and I stand with her. She should not be doubly muzzled: in singing; and in speaking her mind. Stop punishing and muzzling women, I say. If the Chief Rabbi can write to every Jewish home with comments about a woman’s singing voice being the same as her unclothed body, and not lose his job, then Rabbi Julia should be able to oppose the Board’s view, and still have a place at the table to express her views. This is not North Korea. If Rabbi Liebenberg in Cape Town can write about women’s “promiscuity of the mouth”, and still keep his day job, Rabbi Julia can stand up for equality and keep her place on the Board. They need to reinstate her before talking settlement. But they haven’t called me – ever – and may never call. They seem bok for a court battle. A colloquium must be fair and independent. The Board can’t be player and referee. It may want to be, but it’s a party to a court action. A colloquium can’t be rigged so as to publish a “constructed consensus” afterwards. The zealots will have the loudest voice. The person who publishes the report after the colloquium holds all the power. A colloquium shouldn’t take place with a banning order still in place on Rabbi Julia Margolis. Finally, I am keen to settle. I don’t want to go to court. I don’t like this battle, hate being called “a traitor”, and wish life could return to normal. The key to settlement is simple: no discrimination. That’s it. I am not a choral agent, and don’t have a passion for singing, women or men. I abhor discrimination on a senseless basis, such as race or gender. If a woman sings, even 30 seconds, we can all get on with our lives.
Once upon a time there was a king who had a wonderful and very large palace. The palace was decorated so beautifully that it took people’s breath away when they entered. There was, however, one very long and wide hall that was empty, for the king couldn’t decide what to do with it.The king decided to hold a contest and looked at the works of all the artists in the realm. He chose two artists to compete for a huge prize and gave each of them one of the long walls of the hallway to use as a “canvas.” He gave them one year to complete their side and promised unlimited resources. The artist who had the right side immediately went to work planning, and in about a month he started work with dozens of assistants.On the 365th day in the morning, he finished his work and it was magnificent. Anyone who looked at it felt like they were transported to the Garden of Eden. The artist who had been assigned the left side began on day one by pulling up a chair and staring at the wall. He did the same on the second and third days and, in fact, he simply sat in that chair and stared for 364 days! He did not do anything at all until the other artist finished his work on the morning of the last day. Finally, at the end of the day, the king greeted the two artists outside the hall in great expectation. He looked first at the right side of the hall and was speechless. He couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. He had never seen anything like it. He then turned to the other wall and saw that it was an exact replica of the first one. Every shape and colour was there exactly as it was on the other side. There was just one difference – he, himself, stood in the midst of the garden wearing exactly what he was wearing at that moment. He gasped! He went closer to that wall and saw that the second artist hadn’t painted or created anything on it. He had simply lined the wall with mirrors – floor to ceiling!I hope you agree that this is an interesting story, but what does it have to do with our Torah portion that contains a series of blessings and curses? In our parashah we are being told that the Land will be fruitful if we obey God’s commandments, but following this picture of prosperity and tranquillity, we read, “But if you do not obey Me …, I in turn will do this to you….” (26:14-16.) After raising us up and inspiring us, why does the text need to bring us down with fear? Immediately after I heard the story the first time, I understood our difficult issue in a new light. It occurred to me that the blessings and the curses are like the work of the two artists. Perhaps the blessings are the original artwork and the curses are the mirror image. And, perhaps it is human nature that we need a mirror image, the reverse of the original, to see ourselves in a place of beauty and blessing. The curses, thus, may provide the mirror that lets us know what we might have, if we truly focus on the blessings of holiness.Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Adrian M Schell(Source: Rabbi Robert Tornberg.)
After several chapters about purity and the sacrificial system, our Torah portion “Behar”, feels necessary to refer back once again to the time of the revelation of the Torah. This chapter appears as if it is an afterthought, something that Moses had neglected to mention until now.I am saying this due to the sheer fact that we have read the last few weeks more or less nothing else than how to do sacrifices or to maintain holiness. Leviticus is actually not a history book. Its first part seems more to be the User’s Manual for the sanctuary – with its instructions and events. Leviticus effectively occupies just four weeks and that means that even by Leviticus 25 we are still in the early days of what is to become a forty-year odyssey through the wilderness. The Israelites are still a disorganised rabble, they have no land, no crops, no harvests – they have no need for any Sabbatical years, and their journey will in any case eventually stop short of the time required for a Jubilee as well.And right there, we are switched abruptly back to the top of Sinai, receiving instructions that seems to be out of context: ”When you come into the land which I will give you….”Suddenly we are thinking long-term, strategically, we are thinking in terms of land and vineyards and fields and orchards, we are thinking in half-centuries and what to do to correct any imbalances in land-ownership that may develop. We receive a wonderful vision of a society based on checks and balances and respect for the mortality of man and the shortness of human ownership and the eternity of a Covenant and a God. So – Why is it necessary to state suddenly that these laws were given on Mount Sinai? – It is as though the Torah text, having got distracted into allowing itself to muse upon the problems of skin diseases and issued decrees concerning the moral duties incumbent upon all to care for and ‘love’ the blind, the crippled, the deaf, the poor, the stranger – suddenly has to pull itself together and return to the mode of ”As I was saying……”.Having dealt with some inconvenient and rather messy incidents in the present, the Torah can now look again to the future – the presumed future, the presumed imminent future. God will give us the Land, and all we can do is to possess it in a form of leasehold; the terms will be strict; the Land must not be bled dry, its resources wasted, we need to protect it for the next generations to come. The early Zionists took this vision and worked hard at it, building up an Israel worth claiming as our homeland, even though it is not perfect (yet), and creating a model for many to follow.Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Rabbi Dr. Walter Rothschild.)
A teacher asks his student, “What is the essence of the Shabbat?” She responds, “The essence of Shabbat is that it is a sign of God’s creation of all things in seven days.” “No,” the teacher responds, “that is not the real essence of Shabbat. What really represents the fundamental meaning of the day?” The student tries again. “Shabbat is the eternal sign of God’s bond with the Jewish people” The teacher shakes his head, disappointed. “What you have said is true,” he says, “but that is not the most important thing you have to remember about the day.” Puzzled, the student gives in, and waits to hear about the real meaning of Shabbat. “The real essence of the day,” he tells her, “the thing you most have to remember, is… we do not rip toilet paper on Shabbat.” (R’ Alexander Kaye)This story is comical, but also tragic. As it happens there are laws about toilet paper on Shabbat, and many other things besides. But these laws are not meant to obscure, but rather to express and enhance, the values that lie behind them. At its base, this tale represents a question that many Jews confront frequently. Reading the Torah and seeing law after law, restriction after restriction, how can we learn to approach Judaism for what it really is – a positive commitment to principles of infinite value?Three times within the Torah we find a formulation that deals with compensation for physical harm inflicted by one person upon another. In our Torah reading for this week we are told: “… if a man maim his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him: breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he hath maimed a man, so shall it be rendered unto him. (Leviticus 24.17-22)”This law of compensation as stated in the Torah has not only been for centuries an accusation by anti-Semites that the law of the Torah is brutal, it has been also for interpreters of the Torah a challenge. Rabbinic interpretation has never regarded the elucidation of the Torah as a literal instruction for compensation, to the contrary. For them the “Lex talionis”, the law of retaliation, is based upon the principle that “the punishment must fit the crime.” Rather than calling for the deliberate physical injury to others as revenge, the Torah created “a law of equivalence”. E.g. if an eye was lost, one paid the worth of an eyes. But rabbinic tradition also refined the principle of equivalent compensation by ruling that payment must take into consideration disability, pain, cost of medical care, loss of earnings, and shame.Realising that injury to the body or the loss of a limb, can never fully compensated and could spark bloody revenge, Jewish tradition mandates a just form of compensation and reconciliation. In doing so, it advances the cause of justice, the pursuit of peace, and reveals for us a positive commitment to the principles of the Torah and how we should approach the laws of the Torah.Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Adrian M Schell(Source: Harvey J Fields, Parashat Emor)
We have over the years met and spoken on several occasions, I have also had the opportunity of hearing you speak at various community events. It is clear to me that you are a deep thinker, an inspirational orator and an incredibly committed human being. I have on most occasions certainly found myself nodding in agreement with what you’ve been saying. I read carefully your ‘open communication’ on this year’s Yom HaShoa, and after deep thought felt strongly to write this. I do so (knowing that we have a very serious disagreement on this point) and I do so with respect to you and your office.It is evident from your communication, that this matter (Kol Isha) concerns you greatly. In this (while we find ourselves on opposite ends) we share a commonality of great concern. We (SACRED) and I give you every assurance, are not using the day to “score political points,” we are though specifically drawing attention to this day, precisely because it aligns with such precision, and such importance – to the “principal and grave dangers of discrimination” – in any of its forms.As you so correctly pointed out “Hitler did not care if a Jew was a man or woman, reform or orthodox.” In his mind – a Jew was a Jew – and that alone licensed him to discriminate. If one allows, condones or encourages “discrimination” in any form, (even if subtle at first,) it most often leads straight down a slippery slope.I often wonder why we as Jews were, and to this day are continually discriminated against, with the sheer force that we are? Sometimes in a quiet moment I am reminded of an ancient Jewish sect that separated themselves from those of their time. They lived on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, and lived ostensibly by seven laws. The first of which is very well known; “like attracts like” or behave to someone the way in which you’d expect them to behave towards you.As their laws continue they become more subtle, but nonetheless powerful. I shall only draw to your attention the next, or second of their laws which says; “you will attract to you, that which you judge” – That is to say, if you are an honest person, but hold a deep-seated judgment (discrimination) against dishonest people – you will attract dishonest people to you – it appears on the surface as a contradiction to the first law, but some deeper thought will show that it is actually not.If we as a nation Judge (discriminate) against one another (to the extent that we do, Ashkenazi/ Sfaradi/Reform/Orthodox/man/woman etc.) then as a nation, we will attract this to ourselves – which we do. Above all, this (discrimination) is man-made, that is to say (while you are respected as my senior in years/ experience and stature etc.) Still, as one Rabbi to another, you are well aware that NOwhere in our Torah does G-d (or any other sage) say that a woman cannot sing in front of a man – NOwhere – what comes after is “interpretation” and rest assured such “interpretation” was done by man or more-so a group of men.You say that “Kola Isha” is to protect me, and there may have been an element of truth to that many years ago, but today it is to portray us as “potential victims” which victim I am not. Today instead of moving forward, we have taken a giant step backwards, even your predecessor Rabbi Harris had no issue listening to a woman sing, and so too his predecessors?Lastly, two of the speeches really moved most anyone seated there; Veronica Philipps and as well the German Ambassador Walter Lindner (I shudder to imagine being in his shoes,) having to stand up there straight after Veronica’s tremendously moving speech, but he did, he came and he spoke to us – he was there. I look at the Germany of today (whom the ambassador represents) and marvel at such a phenomenal success story.I remember too even though I was a young daughter of the Soviet Union, hearing President Ronald Reagan saying to my President (Gorbachev) “Mr. President, the wall must come down, it must come down.” Germany then healed from within, East and West became one Germany – became such an incredible success story. Chief Rabbi Goldstein, the discrimination must come to an end – it must end!With greatest respectWarm Regards Rabbi Julia Margolis , Chairman, SACREDLink to an interview given by Rabbi Margolis on this issue: 
The word kadosh is usually translated as “holy,” as in the Holy Land, the Holy of Holies, the Holy Ark, and the High Holy Days. Three times a day, in the K’dushah part of the Amidah, the standing prayer, we say “Holy, Holy, Holy is Adonai Tz’vaot,” which is one of God’s names (Isaiah 6:3). Shabbat is also called Shabbat Kodesh–the holy Sabbath. The prayer we say to sanctify time on Friday evening is the Kiddush, a word directly related to kadosh, “holy.” And this week’s Torah portion is called Kedoshim, the plural of kadosh.Clearly, the word kadosh–holy–appears over and over again in our tradition. And yet, what does this common word actually mean when we say it? Do we think about its meaning? Do we understand its implications? I do believe that this week’s parashah opens the doors to a better understanding of what the word “holy” can mean for us. The portion begins with the words “The Eternal One spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them“. So, it is clear that what follows is meant for all of the Israelites–not just the priests, not just the leaders, not just the men, not just the adults. Everyone was to be addressed! So what are the words that are so important that everyone must hear them? Here is what follows: “You shall be holy, for I, the Eternal your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). What an inspiring message. We shall be like God. We shall be holy because God is holy.What follows our somewhat astonishing sentence about being holy, is an extensive list of commandments, some of which I will summarise here: We are told to revere our parents, keep Shabbat, not turn to idols, take care of the poor, and not steal, lie, or profane God’s name. There are warnings about defrauding people, abusing those with disabilities, and treating strangers badly, and we are instructed to pay workers immediately after their work is completed. We cannot eat the fruit of a tree until it is four years old and we should not eat blood. There are many laws about sexual relations included here as well. But perhaps the most famous rule in this part of Leviticus is “Love your fellow as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).I would argue that these laws provide us with a clear definition of the word “holy,” at least for human beings. In short, if we want to be holy like God is holy, we can certainly understand this parashah as a guide to achieving that status. Observe these commandments and you will be holy! If we read this Torah portion carefully and figure out which of these commandments can fit into our lives, our lives will be greatly enriched and maybe, just maybe, we will get a taste–and only a taste–of what being holy like God can mean.Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: 
South African Association of Progressive Rabbis (SAAPR) – A Statement on Yom HaShoah and Kol Ishah As we prepare to remember the tragedy of the Shoah on Thursday, the SAAPR renews its request to the Board of Deputies to remove their ban on the voices of women singing at the ceremony. Silencing women does not increase the inclusivity of this ceremony, it makes what should be a tribute to those who died in the Holocaust an instrument of repression. Recognising that there are those in the community who hold that “the Voice of a Woman is Nakedness” we believe that there are numerous ways to accommodate those who should attend without their religious practice being compromised, and we call upon the Board to use the options available to them to ensure that all can participate.
