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Category: Rabbinic Thoughts

  • Noach—a righteous man?!

    Noach, the central figure of this week’s parshah, is a bit of a conundrum. On one hand, he is described as ‘a righteous man, blameless in his generation’ (Gen. 6: 9), but on the other hand, when told by God that every living thing on earth is about to be wiped out in a huge flood, he doesn’t turn a hair. He doesn’t protest – as Abraham does later on, when told by God of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – and he doesn’t rush off and warn his contemporaries. In fact, he doesn’t say anything at all to anyone until he comes out with a curse against his grandson Canaan and a blessing for his sons Shem and Japhet. For most of the parshah he silently obeys God’s commands, but shows no reaction and no initiative.The rabbis of the midrash were aware of Noah’s shortcomings, and interpreted the phrase ‘blameless in his generation’ to mean that, in any other generation – such as that of Abraham – he wouldn’t have been considered particularly virtuous (Midrash Tanchuma, Noach: 5). He, so the rabbis, is not a bad person, but he has a certain passive quality that holds him back from true greatness.Another midrash (Tanchuma, Noach: 14) compare Noach and Abraham as follows: Noach invents agriculture, cursing, slavery, and drunkenness – one positive and three negative. Abraham is responsible for old age, suffering, hospitality and inheritance – three positives (depending on how you view old age!) and one negative. There seems to be a continuum here, from the negative pole , through to the positive pole of Abraham.Thus the rabbis see Noach as someone with potential, but limited by a lack of maturity, independence, and imagination. Abraham represents the next stage in the long, slow process of perfecting oneself: he is more active, more questioning, more likely to take the initiative and act, whether in welcoming strangers, defending sinners, or rescuing those in trouble, but not perfect, as we can read in a short while, when he is willing to sacrifice his own son.We can learn something from both these figures, and in particular, can resolve to move on from our Noach-level to a more engaged and energetic Abraham-level.Shabbat ShalomRabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz)

    Torah Reading Shabbat Noach—Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan (01 Cheshvan 5778)

    Genesis 6:9-11:32, Reading: Gen 7:22-8:22, Plaut p.61; Hertz p.29Haftarah: Isaiah 66:1-13, 23 (Rosh Chodesh),  Plaut p.1492; Hertz p.944Summary:

    • * God decides to cause a flood that will destroy the world, sparing only Noah’s family and the animals that Noah gathers together on the ark. (6:9-8:22)
    • * Life starts over again after the Flood. The Noahide Commandments are listed, and God uses a rainbow to make a symbol of the first covenant. (9:1-17)
    • * People start to build a city and the Tower of Babel. God scatters the people and gives them different languages to speak. (11:1-9)
    • * The ten generations from Noah to Abram are listed. (11:10-29:2)

     

  • A holy chutzpah – reflections on Yom Kippur and Sukkot

    According to the Jewish tradition, the period of repentance continues after Yom Kippur until the end of Sukkot. These days may continue to be an opportunity for reflection, but these final days of the holidays are days of celebration. Though none of us know what our fates hold for us, we act as if the process of Yom Kippur granted us atonement. We can begin our year feeling refreshed and renewed. Though many disagreements and injuries take more than a holiday to make up for, the holidays are ideally, a time to successfully reflect on our goals for the year to help us face new challenges with confidence.During the month of Tishrei, we bring together two seemingly contradictory emotions: humility and chutzpah. On the one hand we humble ourselves: throughout the season, we go through the long process of self-reflection that leads us to teshuvah—repentance. On Rosh Hashanah, we imagine God as the ruler of the universe and evoke a sense of awe as we stand before God. On Yom Kippur, we publicly confess our communal sins and afflict ourselves to show that we recognise our collective responsibility. And on Sukkot we make ourselves vulnerable to the elements by leaving our houses to dwell in the sukkah.As hard as we try, though, these attempts at humility depend on a stronger sense of chutzpah. Throughout the festivals, we assume that we will receive forgiveness. Throughout the liturgy of the High Holidays, we constantly recite verses and invoke stories where God forgives Israel. We constantly remind God about the desire to see each and every person achieve a state of atonement, and the way that God’s nature is to be compassionate.When we invoke this, we express the assumption that God will forgive us. Our Torah is a testament to God’s forgiving nature, but also teaches us that forgiveness must be active. A holy chutzpah backs our liturgy and prayers, but our acts and deeds must reflect them, otherwise our chutzpah is nothing else than cockiness.Wishing you a meaningful Yom Kippur and a joyful Sukkot and Simchat TorahRabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: R’ Philip Gibbs)Please remember that we will celebrate the Festival Morning Service of Sukkot (5 October) at Beit Emanuel (38 Oxford Rd., Parktown) at 09h30. All other services will be held in our new Shul.

    Blessing over the Arba Minim (Four Species)One of the commandments of Sukkot is to take the arba minim (four species) and wave them each day of the holiday (traditionally not on Shabbat). This is normally done during morning services in synagogue, before the Hallel prayers, but you can do it also at home anytime during the day . Both customs are common and acceptable. Stand facing the north (or whatever direction Jerusalem is from where you are).Take the etrog in your left hand with the stem (green tip) up and the pitam (brown tip) down. Take the lulav (including the palm, myrtle and willow branches bound together) in your right hand. Bring your hands together and recite the blessing below.After you recite the blessing, turn the etrog so the stem is down and the pitam is up. Be careful not to damage the pitam! With the lulav and etrog together, gently shake forward (north) three times, then pull the lulav and etrog back in front of your chest. Repeat this to the right (east), then over your right shoulder (south), then to the left (west), then up, then down.Chag Sameach!Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melech ha-olamBlessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universeasher kidishanu b’mitz’votav v’tzivanuWho has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded usal n’tilat lulav (Amen)to take up the lulav (Amen)

  • Take the choices into our one hands

    The Torah declares: “Surely, this instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.”  (Parashat Nitzavim, Dtn. 30)On Rosh Hashanah we affirm that we can change. We proclaim that we can fix our mistakes and mend our ways. We believe that human beings are capable of repentance and change. Change however comes with difficulty. We all know that we all have the tendency to resist it. This is part of our human nature. Everyone wants to hold on to the past and in particular their imagination of that past. But, when we attempt to hold on to such imaginings we never serve the future. We find ourselves alone and comforted only by memories. Thus, change is necessary. It is required for our society. It is required for our people. It is required in our personal lives. We must regularly reinvent ourselves.On Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate our ability to change. We dip the apples into honey and say, “May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our ancestors, to renew this year for us with sweetness and happiness.” The Hebrew word for renew is hadesh. We make new. We make the old new. We are never trapped in our old ways. Our lives are not predestined. Our choices are not predetermined. We can change. We can be different.Too often we feel that our lives are beyond our control. To be sure, there are things that we cannot determine. Our health is not entirely in our own hands. Sometimes as well, other people’s choices affect our own and help to determine the directions of our lives. Yet our choices remain in our own hands. This is what we can change. And this is what we mark on Rosh Hashanah.More than other day, this holiday offers us the opportunity to reinvent ourselves and to take the choices into our own hands. Let us celebrate this day and seize this opportunity.Chayim joins me in wishing you and your families a blessed New Year filled with love, peace, joy, health, prosperity and Yiddishkeit.May you be inscribed and sealed for a good new yearRabbi Adrian M Schell 

  • Parashat Ki Tavo: Past, present and future

    In Ki Tavo the Israelites are commanded to bring their first fruits as an offering: “When you come into the land that the Eternal your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Eternal your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Eternal your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. And you shall go to the priest that shall be in those days and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Eternal your God that I have come into the land that the Eternal swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Eternal your God.”In this brief passage we see the past, present and future, as the text attempts, in its day, to secure the future by means of its being embedded in the past. It envisions a future in which the Israelites will have inherited the land promised to them by God.In a commentary on this portion, Nehama Leibowitz reminds us of the passage in the Pesach Haggadah that says that in every generation every Jew is obligated to see him or herself as if he or she personally had gone out of Egypt. Similarly, this passage concerning first fruits seeks to secure the future through attachment to a narrative about a shared past. It would not be enough for the Israelites of the future to complacently consider the land merely an inheritance from long dead ancestors. They would have to behave as, and therefore come to believe themselves to be, one with the very generation that had been so dramatically redeemed. Thus, the bringing of first fruits was not only a ritual of recollection but also of re-enactment.A matter of days separates us from the Days of Awe. The month of Elul offers each and every one of us the possibility to review our past, to see where we are, and to create a vision for the future. By doing so, we make sure that our decisions and acts are based on solid ground, and strong enough to carry us into the next year.Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Adrian M Schell(Source: Cantor Gershon Silins, Ki Tavo) 

    Torah Reading Shabbat Ki TavoDevarim 26:1-29:8Reading Dtn 26:1-27:10Plaut p.1350; Hertz p.859Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22(Plaut 1368; Hertz p.874)In our Torah portion:* The Israelites are instructed to express their gratitude to God for their bountiful harvests and freedom from slavery by tithing ten percent of their crops for the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.* The people are told to display on large stones God’s commandments for all to see.* The Levites are to proclaim curses upon those who violate God’s commandments.* The Israelites are told that if they obey God’s mitzvot faithfully, they will receive every blessing imaginable. They are also told that if do not fulfill their brit with God, many curses will descend upon them.* Moses reminds the Israelites of the miracles they witnessed in the wilderness and commands them to observe the terms of the covenant so that they may succeed in all that they undertake.

  • Approaching the High Holy Days: The one key, you like to start with.

    Do you have also a bunch of unmarked keys at home which you know that the each key must fit somewhere? Perhaps to an old box or door, perhaps to a lock, to your car, a gate, a diary, a neighbour’s house, or to a cupboard. You haven’t had the time to check every key and to mark them, but you know that they are too important to just ignore or even  throw over board.Elul, the current Jewish month, is the month where we traditional occupy ourselves with a spiritual introspection. We are looking for our shortcomings, where we missed the bar we set for ourselves, and where we transgressed the boundaries our Jewish tradition has drawn up for us. We are doing so, in order to make T’shuva; the going back to the point where we erred and to use this new gained knowledge to follow the right direction in the future.Part of this process, and perhaps the most painful one, is to acknowledge that we have been wrong, to admit our failures – not to others, but to ourselves. To open the door to our soul and to make reality test whether our actions, thoughts and deeds of the past, are really what we hope them to be—or if we have created a myth around them— is not easy and not always pleasant. We all know that…and if we do find the courage to start the process, we are often faced with another question: how? Where do we start? And, how can this become a meaningful journey for us?Our Jewish liturgy is like the bunch of keys I mentioned in the beginning. Many of the prayers, poems and wisdoms we encounter in our prayer books are keys to our inner selves. The right word hopefully triggers something in us that helps us to understand what we have done and how we perhaps could have done it differently. Once discovered, we can use them again and again to monitor our lives and actions.Yes, some of the prayers we read are heavy, especially during the High Holy Days. Some seem to be outdated and more than once we are willing to throw them over board. But, please wait before you do so! As much as not every key opens the first door we approach, so too every prayer doesn’t reveal  its value immediately. Sometimes, we need to be already on the journey, as some doors already need to be open, and others locked again. In other words, T’shuva does not happen over night, and even the whole month of Elul plus the 10 days of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur might be not enough. But, we can start, we can find one prayer, one moment, one word that will lead us in a new direction, at this time. And in a next step, we continue from there.I am sure that honest, small steps are much more meaningful than a spiritual sprint. And so, I invite you to open your siddur, your high holy day machzor, and to find the one prayer, the one key, you like to start with.Shabbat ShalomRabbi Adrian M Schell 

  • Mitzvah School—Igniting the potential in everyone

    Our Parasha for this week directs our attention on building a just society with a strong and independent judicial structure. While last week’s parasha called us to have mercy and compassion for those of our society who are less fortunate, this week’s message is that mercy misapplied can be just as tyrannical as overzealous justice. Why is that?Last Sunday, the SAJBD had its annual conference. Key note speaker was the former public protector Adv. Thuli Mandonsela. In her thought provoking speech, she made a point that resonates with our parasha: We need to be careful not to create new victims and not to allow that former victims become villains. Our parasha calls us in the same way not to be single sided if it comes to justice:“You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. Justice, justice shall you pursue …. (Dtn 16:18-20)”The other point I took from her speech was her appeal to see the potential in every member of our society, and that we need to create opportunities to develop them. The most successful way to give Tzedaka is – according to Maimonides – to empower the other to sustain themselves, and not to keep them on the level of beggars.This is what our Mitzvah school is doing and what Molly Smith and Lesley Rosenberg have been rewarded for. They saw, 30 years ago, the potential that is embedded within those kids who needed help to continue their education, and they never stopped to see this spark in others since. They never pampered one learner, Matric at Mitzvah School is not a simple and easy thing, it needs and demands hard work of every single student, but all students have finished the year stronger, self-aware and conscious of their own potential. At Mitzvah there are no victims, but the next generation of builders of a just society.Shabbat Shalom—Rabbi Adrian M Schell

    Torah Reading Shabbat ShoftimDeuteronomy 16:18–21:9 – Reading Dtn 16:18-17:20Plaut p.1294; Hertz p.820Haftarah: Isaiah 51:1-52:12(Plaut 1316; Hertz p.835)In our Torah portion:* Laws regarding both sacred and secular legislation are addressed. The Israelites are told that in every dealing they should pursue justice in order to merit the land that God is giving them.* The people are warned to avoid sorcery and witchcraft, the abhorrent practices of their idolatrous neighbors.* God tells them that should an Israelite unintentionally kill another, he may take sanctuary in any of three designated cities of refuge.* Laws to be followed during times of peace and times of war are set forth.

     

  • Welcome to the new Israeli Ambassador

    This week we, the Jewish community in South Africa, welcomed the new Israeli Ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and  Mauritius, Lior Keinman and his Family into our happy, sometimes a bit difficult Diaspora community. At an event, hosted by the South African Friends for Israel, I had the pleasure to meet him for the first time, and to read a blessing for him .I think that there is no coincidence that the beginning of Ambassador Keinman’s  tenure is in that period of the year when we read Moses speeches to the Israelites and when we start to prepare ourselves for the High Holy Days. This is a time of transition, a time where the words of Moses call us for reflection and to action.While the text of our portion reminds us again that any action has consequences, we are also encouraged to do the right thing. To reach out, especially to the poor of our society. We are reminded that compassion has no limits and that we can expand the boundaries of good in this world.At the SAFI reception were many of our Christian friends from all different parts of the South African society present, and in his address to the guests, the Ambassador emphasised the role Israel has in finding solutions for those parts of our country that are in need of stable water supply, and medical progress.This is for sure one way of bringing Tikkun Olam into this world. And, I see us, the Jewish community at large, as the ones who can build the bridge to make this transfer of  knowledge and support stronger, expanding the boundaries of hope and shrinking the places of suffering.This coming Tuesday, the beginning of the month Elul is our first milestone on our journey into the New Year. May this month bring you the strength to open your hearts and minds to find your place in live and the path you want to follow.And may the new Ambassador be granted success to his endeavours, in the pursuit of his sacred mission.Rabbi Adrian M Schell

    Torah Reading Shabbat Re’eh5 Moses 11:26-16:17Reading Dtn 12:29-13:19; Plaut p.1263; Hertz p.804Haftarah Isaiah 54:11-55:5 (Plaut 1290; Hertz p.818)In our Torah portion:* God places both blessing and curse before the Israelites. They are taught that blessing will come through the observance of God’s laws.* Moses’ third discourse includes laws about worship in a central place ; injunctions against idolatry and self-mutilation; dietary rules ; and laws about tithes, debt remission, the release and treatment of Hebrew slaves, and firstlings.* Moses reviews the correct sacrifices to be offered during the Pilgrim Festivals: Pesach, Sukkot, and Shavuot.

  • The upswing of hope—Shabbat Nachamu and Tu b’Av

    This Shabbat is also called Shabbat Nachamu— Shabbat of consolation. Last week Tuesday we commemorated the 9th of Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew Month Av, which is considered the most sad day in Jewish history. It is something like the black Friday for us Jews, and most tragic events in our history have been associated with this day, most prominent the destructions of both ancient temples in Jerusalem.The Shabbatot surrounding the Ninth of Av carry a clear message relating to the day. The prophetic readings for the three weeks preceding the holiday–the first two from Jeremiah and the third from Isaiah– are full of warnings in preparation for this mournful time. Following Tisha b’Av, there are seven prophetic readings of consolation–all from Isaiah–providing comfort after this sombre occasion and preparing the individual emotionally and spiritually for the upcoming High Holy Days. Shabbat Nahamu, which provides words of consolation, embrace Tisha b’Av from opposite sides, cushioning the blow of the day of destruction, allowing the mourners to go into it, knowing there is salvation and emerge from it, reassured that redemption will come.The upswing of hope that begun on the afternoon of Tisha b’Av continues only some days later on Tu b’Av, the 15th day of Av (this year this coming Monday, 07. August). Whereas Tisha b’Av is the day when [tradition says] God declared that the Jews would wander 40 years in the desert (until the generation that knew slavery died out), Tu b’Av is the day when, 40 years later, the remaining Israelites of the desert generation were told they would be able to enter the Promised Land. God was able to forgive the Jewish people on this day, even for the sin of having built and worshiped a Golden Calf.In the Talmud (Ta’anit 4:8) we read that Rabbi Simeon ben Gamliel said “there never were in Israel greater days of joy than the 15th of Av and the Day of Atonement.” On these days the daughters of Jerusalem used to walk out in white garments that they borrowed in order not to put to shame anyone who had none. The daughters of Jerusalem danced in the vineyards exclaiming, “Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself. Do not set your eyes on beauty but set them on good family. Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman that fears God, she will be praised.”Rabbi Simeon’s linking of Tu b’Av and Yom Kippur is at first disturbing. Why does the Jewish year end with a celebration of love? The answer says a lot about Judaism’s unique perspective on relationships, a perspective that could enhance courtship today. Tu b’Av, like Yom Kippur , is about introspection and new beginnings concerning our relationships and personal values.  Tu B’Av tells us to look beneath the surface when looking for (or at) a life partner, just as Yom Kippur forces us to look deep into ourselves before God grants us life anew. Like Yom Kippur, Tu B’Av is a time for reflection and introspection.Tu B’Av is a great day for weddings, commitment ceremonies, renewal of vows, or proposing, for spending time with your partner. It is a day for enhancing current relationships and defining anew what your partnership is about.Wishing you a Shabbat of comfort and a week of love and happinessRabbi Adrian M Schell  (Source: My Jewish Learning)

    Torah Reading for Shabbat Va’et’chanan (Nachamu) Deuteronomy  3:23-7:11 – Reading Dtn 6:1-9 – Plaut p.1201; Hertz p.769Haftarah Isaiah 40:1-26 – (Plaut 1222; Hertz p.776)In our Torah portion:* Moses pleads with God to let him enter the Land of Israel with the people, but God once more refuses his request.* Moses orders the Children of Israel to pay attention and follow the laws given by God in order to be worthy of the land they are about to receive.* Specific areas of the land are set aside to serve as cities of refuge.* The covenant at Sinai and the Ten Commandments are recalled. Once again, the people are exhorted to heed God’s commandments.* Moses speaks the words of the Sh’ma, the credo of Judaism, and commands Israel to show their love for Adonai and keep God’s laws and ordinances.* Moses warns the people not to commit idolatry by worshiping the gods of the nations they will conquer in Israel.

     

  • Parashat Devarim: And charge the people as follows

    “Then the Eternal said to me: You have been skirting this hill country long enough; now turn north. And charge the people as follows: You will be passing through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Se-ir. Although they will be afraid of you, be very careful not to start a fight with them. For I will not give you of their land so much as a foot can tread on; I have given the hill country of Se-ir as a possession to Esau. What food you eat you shall obtain from them for money; even the water you drink you shall procure from them for money. Indeed, the Eternal your God has blessed you in all your undertakings.”(Deuteronomy 2:2–7)  The news and pictures coming from Israel these days left many from us shocked. Again, violence and hate has risen and is challenging our dreams and hopes for Israel. Looking for an answer for my own questions, I found this short D’var Torah on our Torah Portion for this week written by my colleague Rabbi Fred Greene which I’d like to share with you: “Those of us who are committed to a secure, prosperous Israel ache each day that the conflict with the Palestinians persists. Despite the anger we might feel toward the Palestinians, Deuteronomy 2:2–7 reminds us that God did indeed promise land to other nations in the region beside Israel. The Bible reminds us that despite our feelings, we must live according to our ethical and religious precepts.While we stand in solidarity with Israel, we must resist the temptation to demonize the Palestinian people en masse because of the sins of their leaders and the terrorists who live among them. Reform Judaism has always maintained that the Palestinians are entitled to coexist side by side with Israel and has also challenged the efficacy of settlements in the West Bank.Our focal passage illustrates God’s desire for integrity and peace among peoples. Israel was given a land to build and to make holy, but it is only to be considered so when God’s presence lies therein. Rabbi Jonathan Magonet argues, “It is God’s presence that ensures the holiness of the land, not any special nature of the land itself. Indeed, God cannot be present in the land, so to speak, when it is polluted by the actions of the nations that preceded Israel—or by those of Israel itself.” (“Covenant and Holiness: Help or Hindrance in Seeking a Reform Theology of the State of Israel” in Journal of Reform Zionism, vol. 1)This parashah reminds us that no matter what the original boundaries of Eretz Yisrael were (and there were variations), Israel needed—needs—to be righteous and just; and her neighbours, despite their conflicts with Israel, were—are—entitled to their own land.The beauty and challenge of Reform Zionism is to continue to build Eretz Yisrael–not necessarily its roads and highways as in yesteryear but its promise for peace and its democracy—in partnership with Israel’s citizens. It is our understanding of k’dushah that drives us to implement our conviction of hope for the City of Peace, Y’rushalayim.”May this Shabbat may bring peace to Israel and its neighboursShabbat ShalomRabbi Adrian M Schell(Painting: “The Children of Israel Crossing the Jordan” by Benjamin West, 1800)

    Torah Reading for Shabbat Chazon/Devarim  Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22; Reading Deuteronomy1:1-25 ;Plaut p.1161; Hertz p.736Haftarah Isaiah 1:1-1:27; (Plaut 1180; Hertz p.750)Tisha b’Av begins this coming Monday evening and ends on Tuesday evening (31.7. to 1.8.2017)In our Torah portion:* Moses begins his final words of instruction to the Children of Israel, focusing first on recounting their physical journey.* Moses reviews the people’s reactions to the negative reports of the spies and the appointment of Joshua to succeed him.* Moses recounts that all of the Israelite warriors who left Egypt died, as God had intended, and the people continued their wanderings and defeated their enemies.* Moses reiterates that the Land of Israel was allocated to the Israelite tribes.

     

  • Parashat Devarim: And charge the people as follows

    “Then the Eternal said to me: You have been skirting this hill country long enough; now turn north. And charge the people as follows: You will be passing through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Se-ir. Although they will be afraid of you, be very careful not to start a fight with them. For I will not give you of their land so much as a foot can tread on; I have given the hill country of Se-ir as a possession to Esau. What food you eat you shall obtain from them for money; even the water you drink you shall procure from them for money. Indeed, the Eternal your God has blessed you in all your undertakings.”(Deuteronomy 2:2–7)  The news and pictures coming from Israel these days left many from us shocked. Again, violence and hate has risen and is challenging our dreams and hopes for Israel. Looking for an answer for my own questions, I found this short D’var Torah on our Torah Portion for this week written by my colleague Rabbi Fred Greene which I’d like to share with you: “Those of us who are committed to a secure, prosperous Israel ache each day that the conflict with the Palestinians persists. Despite the anger we might feel toward the Palestinians, Deuteronomy 2:2–7 reminds us that God did indeed promise land to other nations in the region beside Israel. The Bible reminds us that despite our feelings, we must live according to our ethical and religious precepts.While we stand in solidarity with Israel, we must resist the temptation to demonize the Palestinian people en masse because of the sins of their leaders and the terrorists who live among them. Reform Judaism has always maintained that the Palestinians are entitled to coexist side by side with Israel and has also challenged the efficacy of settlements in the West Bank.Our focal passage illustrates God’s desire for integrity and peace among peoples. Israel was given a land to build and to make holy, but it is only to be considered so when God’s presence lies therein. Rabbi Jonathan Magonet argues, “It is God’s presence that ensures the holiness of the land, not any special nature of the land itself. Indeed, God cannot be present in the land, so to speak, when it is polluted by the actions of the nations that preceded Israel—or by those of Israel itself.” (“Covenant and Holiness: Help or Hindrance in Seeking a Reform Theology of the State of Israel” in Journal of Reform Zionism, vol. 1)This parashah reminds us that no matter what the original boundaries of Eretz Yisrael were (and there were variations), Israel needed—needs—to be righteous and just; and her neighbours, despite their conflicts with Israel, were—are—entitled to their own land.The beauty and challenge of Reform Zionism is to continue to build Eretz Yisrael–not necessarily its roads and highways as in yesteryear but its promise for peace and its democracy—in partnership with Israel’s citizens. It is our understanding of k’dushah that drives us to implement our conviction of hope for the City of Peace, Y’rushalayim.”May this Shabbat may bring peace to Israel and its neighboursShabbat ShalomRabbi Adrian M Schell(Painting: “The Children of Israel Crossing the Jordan” by Benjamin West, 1800)

    Torah Reading for Shabbat Chazon/Devarim  Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22; Reading Deuteronomy1:1-25 ;Plaut p.1161; Hertz p.736Haftarah Isaiah 1:1-1:27; (Plaut 1180; Hertz p.750)Tisha b’Av begins this coming Monday evening and ends on Tuesday evening (31.7. to 1.8.2017)In our Torah portion:* Moses begins his final words of instruction to the Children of Israel, focusing first on recounting their physical journey.* Moses reviews the people’s reactions to the negative reports of the spies and the appointment of Joshua to succeed him.* Moses recounts that all of the Israelite warriors who left Egypt died, as God had intended, and the people continued their wanderings and defeated their enemies.* Moses reiterates that the Land of Israel was allocated to the Israelite tribes.