Have you noticed how “matriarchal” Genesis is? It is true that the “founders” of Judaism are the three patriarchs – three men – but it was their mothers and not their fathers who determined who carried the mantle. Abraham had two sons. Did his firstborn, Ishmael, become the standard-bearer of the new faith? No, Sarah’s firstborn and only son, Isaac, did (and God made it clear that being the son of Abraham was not sufficient to secure the tradition; the heir must be the son of Sarah). Isaac had two sons. Did his firstborn and preferred son, Esau, get to inherit the birthright? No, Rebecca’s favourite, Jacob, did; Rebecca made sure of that. The mother’s plans overrode the archaic birthrights. Jacob grew up and had twelve sons of his own with four women. Did Jacob’s firstborn, Reuven, become the focus of the last fourteen chapters of Genesis? No, but Rachel’s firstborn, Joseph, did. Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel determined the early direction and formation of our Jewish family; it was the women of Genesis who anointed our patriarchs and set the tone in our covenant with God. As progressive Jews we honour this fact by not only calling out the names of the avot, the fathers, but also the ones of the imahots, the mothers, in our prayers.Besides that, I am aware that the biblical tradition is not always in favour of women rights. There are many parts in the Torah where women are only regarded as men’s property. One exception to this is a short episode in our parasha for this week: As part of the marriage arrangements for Isaac and Rebecca, her brother and mother said “We will call the maiden, and hear what she says,” from which Rashi teaches that “one may not give a woman in marriage unless she agrees. And from her response, ”I will go” we learn further that a woman may marry even without the agreement of her parents” – a revolutionary change in a world where women had no say in whom they were going to marry. This little episode serves us as an example that we need to change procedures if we see that they are unjust and unequal.Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Schell (Source: Janice Garfunkel)Torah Reading for Shabbat Chayei SarahGenesis 23:1-25:18 (Reading 24:1-26; Plaut p.156; Hertz p.82); M’varchim Chodesh Kislev (Th/Fr)Haftarah: 1 King 1:1-31 (Plaut p.169; Hertz p.90)The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues this Shabbat, 07 November at 08h45 (Rondavel).“The Prayers of our Siddur”– class with Rabbi Schell every Thursday from 18h00 to 19h30 (Foyer).Podcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Radio Sermons Tuesdays on Radio Today (10h30) or online:
Category: Rabbinic Thoughts
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Parashat Chayei Sarah: Honouring our matriarchs
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Women of the Wall are no threat
A haredi Orthodox lawmaker in Israel compared the Women of the Wall organization to the Muslim Murabitat, a banned group of women who harass Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount.
“The Murabitat women receive money from the Islamic Movement to create provocation and prevent Jews from ascending the Temple Mount,” Rabbi Yisrael Eichler of the United Torah Judaism party said. “Whereas the Women of the Wall get money from the Reform Jews to create disturbances at the Western Wall.”Eichler made his comments on Sunday during a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. He said in response to criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he made the statement in order to see that it was recorded into the minutes of the meeting, the Israeli daily Maariv reported. Lawmakers Zehava Gal-on of the Meretz party and Shelly Yachamovich of the Zionist Union denounced Eichler at the meeting: “Eichler represents a very extreme Jewish minority who see the Kotel as their own private synagogue,” Women of the Wall said in a statement. “Women of the Wall’s struggle threatens this ‘Haredi Kotel’ vision, and in his perspective, anyone who does not agree with him is the enemy. If it were up to Eichler, women would be all together excluded from the Kotel or forced to dress up like the Taliban in order to enter.”Women of the Wall gathers at the Western Wall at the start of each Jewish month for the morning prayer service. Its members have clashed frequently with staff from the office of the rabbi of the Western Wall and the holy sites of Israel, and with police for holding services that violate the rules enforced by the office. A 2013 Supreme Court ruling acknowledged the women’s right to pray at the Western Wall according to their beliefs, claiming it does not violate what has come to be known as “local custom.”Aiden Solovy, a teacher in Hebrew Union College, wrote a very strong response to this accuse. I urge you to read it. Unfortunately to the space limitation I can’t publish it here, but please follow the link: http://goo.gl/6zDydI .Wishing you a peaceful weekend. Shabbat Shalom. Rabbi Julia Margolis -
Parashat Vayera: Say no, and stand for it!
Our parashah for this Shabbat continues with report of Abraham’s and Sarah’s journey. Both welcome the three unknown visitors and learn from them that Sarah will soon bear a son, despite of her old age. As the visitors had predicted, Sarah bears her son whom she names Isaac. The narrative then focuses on the lives of the two sons of Abraham. Sarah persuades Abraham to send Ishmael away, (together with his mother Hagar), which he only does, after God tells him that he “will make a nation of him [Ishmael].” Several years later, God tests Abraham’s faith by ordering him to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. Isaac is saved at the last moment by an angel, sent by God.The stories of Sarah’s request to send away Ishmael, and Abraham being called by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, are considered as one of the most important events in the Torah, because they raise the questions of faith and loyalty to God and to the people we share our lives with. How far can we go, if we are asked to do something that is wrong in our eyes; at which point turns faithfulness into religious fanaticism?Rabbi Harvey Fields gives us a helpful guideline: “Loyalty to God does not mean ‘blind faith.’ Sometimes it means asking difficult questions about what it is that we should or should not be doing. Sometimes it means being willing to take risks for what we believe is just and right. Sometimes it means delaying action until the facts are analysed carefully. Sometimes it means being willing to reconsider opinions and to make changes when presented with new evidence or better perspectives.” And sometimes it means to say no, and to stand for it.Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi SchellTorah Reading for Shabbat VayeraGenesis 18:1-22:24 (Reading 18:1-22; Plaut p.123; Hertz p.63)Haftarah: Second Kings 4:1-37 (Plaut p.149; Hertz p.76)NEW: The Prayers of our SiddurContinuing this Thursday (29 October), Bet David offers an additional weekly learning opportunity for adults. Rabbi Schell will be leading Shiurim every Thursday evening (18h00-19h30) discussing the Prayers of our Siddur. He will explore with you the history of the prayers, their context and meaning, including the Hebrew original. This Shiur; is open for everyone; no background or Hebrew knowledge is needed. The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues this Shabbat, 07 November at 08h45.Podcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Radio Sermons on Radio Today, follow http://betdavid.podomatic.com/. -
Changing lives, one light at a time
“Mitzvah”, a wonderfully expressive Hebrew word, has two distinct meanings. The first is a commandment of the Jewish law; the second is a meritorious or charitable act. For the “Mitzvah Day 2015” on 22 November 2015, various religious groups have committed themselves to working together on a theme of “Bringing light to the people of South Africa.” Our campaign is aimed at making a difference to many who live in abject squalor and poverty in the dreadful squatter camps that are such a blight on our society. These families have no access to electricity, no lights, no heating, and are forced to rely upon paraffin lamps which, while being fairly ineffective, are at the same time frighteningly dangerous and have resulted in tragedies too numerous to mention.But we have an answer: specialized solar lights, that can provide up to 60 hours of cost free light, are charged by exposure to sunlight, and which simultaneously protect the environment from the damaging effect of pollution.For a mere R100 per unit, the lives of these families will be irrevocably changed, but for the better. And this is where you can help – your much appreciated donations will bring light into their lives. Can we count on your support? I hope so – because that is the essence of Mitzvah day: doing meritorious or charitable acts for those who have so much less. Please join BET DAVID in this important event.Details available at the office: admin1@betdavid.org.za -
Parashat Lech Lecha: A life changer
The Torah tells us very little about Abram’s early life. We are only informed that he and Sarai, along with his nephew Lot, were brought by his father, Terach, from Ur to Haran. After Terach’s death, Abram was commanded by God to leave Haran and promised that he would become “a great nation”, a call that changed his life forever.Since last Sunday, during the Mitzvah School Prize giving, I have been thinking quite a lot about one incident that can change your life forever. In the Torah it is the call from God “Lech Lecha – Go!” that changed Abram’s life, last Sunday it was the awarding of stipends that changed the life of the students, hopefully forever, too. It was my first prize giving that I attended, and even though I have talked to some of the students before, I never imagined to what degree the Mitzvah School influences the future of these young people, and the society around us; in only one year they get a broad and deep education that not only helps them to graduate from school on an high level, but also to find a good job or to enter the university.Often we don’t know the background of the students, we don’t know what they had experienced in their lives before they have entered the school, and I would say, it doesn’t matter. What matters is, what they have done as soon as they came here, and how serious they are about their own future. There are many Midrashim that try to reveal why God chose Abram, and how he grew up, but at the end, it is not important. Important for us is that God saw something in Abram and that Abram trusted God. And this is exactly what I witnessed last Sunday, the confidence of the teachers and the students that this one year at the Mitzvah School is a life changer.Pictures and video clips from the prize giving can be found here: http://betdavid.org.za/kehillah/mitzvah-school/.I am asking you all to support our “4-Fore-Four” Charity Golf Day on Tuesday 03 November 2015, our major annual fundraiser for the Synagogue and the Mitzvah school. Thank you!Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi SchellPodcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Radio Sermons on Radio Today, follow http://betdavid.podomatic.com/. -
Parashat Noach: He was a righteous man
Have you asked yourself how life would be for you if you were born into a different time? Somewhere in the past or in the future? Would you be a different person? In this week’s Torah portion, as we read about Noach, we’re introduced to him as an “ish tzaddik tamim hayah bedorotav. He was a righteous man, he was blameless in his generation.” For the rabbis, this led to a great debate as to how righteous, how blameless he really was. Many commentators read this “in his generation” as if had Noach been born in another time, he might not have been that special person, suggesting that if Noach was born to a different generation, God wouldn’t have perhaps even noticed his righteousness. This leads into the comparison between Noach and Abraham that takes place contrasting these two biblical figures in the way that they behaved. Ultimately the rabbis seem to conclude that Abraham was the more righteous person and that’s why the covenant of the Jewish people started with him.But I think this misses the important point about saying “in his generation”. Noach was born in a generation which was so bad, so wicked, so evil that God decided to destroy the whole earth, but to save Noach, who was worthy of being described as tzaddik righteous and tamim blameless. Perhaps we should therefore elevate Noach even further, because in the situation in which he found himself, to be righteous and blameless was a very impressive state.Noah therefore comes as a reminder to each one of us, that it doesn’t matter how we would have behaved had we been born 50 years earlier, or how we would have behaved had we been born 50 years later, we’re born into the context in which we are born and we have to make the best of it, living our lives in a way which can be described as righteous. We don’t choose when we are born but we choose how we live our lives and what we do with that birth. In his context, Noach was the one man worthy of saving the world and for that, he was righteous then and we should still consider him righteous today.Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Schell (Source: Rabbi Burkeman on Parashat Noach)Podcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Radio Sermons on Radio Today, follow http://betdavid.podomatic.com/. -
One Jerusalem ?!
The ambition in many quarters in Israel is that now when the peace process is going nowhere and the Oslo Accords are falling apart, we should abandon the idea of a two-state solution and work towards one state with a Jewish majority. With the help of the high birth-rate among the ultra-Orthodox and anti-Semitism in Europe that brings more Jews to the Jewish state, Israel would be able to retain its Jewish majority.Part of the ambition is that by giving Palestinians more economic incentives and perhaps some further social integration they’ll adjust to living in a Jewish state, at least as much as the many, though by no means all, of Israel’s Arab citizens seem to have done.Palestinians who also have a one-state ambition: their return to all of Israel that they consider as their homeland and which Jews call the Land of Israel. They would be prepared to live with a Jewish minority in a Palestinian Muslim state.Coupled with the ambition is the myth of a united Jerusalem that Jews like to describe as Israel’s eternal capital and Palestinians see it as their city. The acts of terror offer a horrible illustration of what would become regular occurrences in the one-state. As hard as it may be to defend a border with enemies on the other side, it’s well-nigh impossible to live in a country where the enemy is your next-door neighbour.That’s why Israeli politicians who mouth the “undivided Jerusalem” mantra now also want, ostensibly for security reasons, to seal off East Jerusalem and its Arab population from the largely Jewish side of the city thereby exploding the myth of one Jerusalem. They don’t seem to see or acknowledge the contradiction between their ideology and their security demands. Jerusalem may have been formally united in the eyes of Israel, but in reality it’s not one city. All the terrorists in the capital and elsewhere in the land have come from Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem. So much for full integration.Responsible and sensible politicians would read the signs and decide that as bad as they think it’s to have two states living side by side, the alternative is much worse. In a sane world, the present situation would prompt the leaders of Palestine and Israel to come together, hold their noses if necessary and agree on permanent borders also in Jerusalem, perhaps to start with under international supervision.But the politicians in power on both sides do the very opposite. They hurl accusations at each other with the usual “arguments” and “proofs.” Israel is said to have asked the members of the so-called Quartet the task of which is to promote peace in the region not to come just now. What harm would they have done by being here and talking to both sides? There’s no evidence that the Palestinians are more interested in international intervention beyond using its forums for grandstanding and flag waving accompanied by meaningless threats to take Israel to the International Criminal Court for killing terrorists before they can kill more Israelis or inflict further damage.It’s not too difficult to describe the problems, even to point to possible solutions. But it seems impossible to make politicians act in the interest of their people instead of holding on to irrelevant and harmful ideologies. – Jerusalem 14.10.2015 Rabbi Dow Marmur. Rabbi Dow Marmur of Toronto, a prominent contemporary Jewish thinker and philosopher, very precisely analyzes my views of the conflict and its solution in this column for The Star. He is a Holocaust survivor and a leader within the Reform Movement. – Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Julia Margolis -
Images of terror just do not fit
It doesn’t matter how many years you live in Jerusalem, if that is all your life or just some years, the magic of this holy city fills your soul, and your heart. You can close your eyes and see all the small streets of the old city, feel the smell of the spices of the shuk … images of terror in the town just do not fit – they don’t belong.It was absolutely heart breaking to read this morning about two Israeli males who were killed, while a 22-year-old woman, along with her two-year-old baby were wounded on Saturday night by a Palestinian attacker in the Old City near Lions’ Gate.One of the deceased was later identified as a Rabbi for the IDF. He lived near the area where the terror attack happened and he rushed to the scene of the attack with his handgun to stop the attacker, but was stabbed instead and the Palestinian took his weapon. The other deceased was a father carrying his baby on their way to pray at the Western Wall. The mother is in critical condition in the hospital…. It’s a surreal picture.It’s absolutely wrong when citizens do not feel safe to walk in the evening during the festive season to pray. The place that is magical becomes once again a heart breaking spot of blood and violence between Israelis and Palestinians. It could all be different, I will always believe there is another way than this… there is a way where peace can be accomplished between two sides.Holy One of blessing, we pray for the soldiers who are called to defend the people of Israel.Keep them safe.When they are weary give them strength.When they are scared give them courage.May they find strength and faith in the days ahead.Holy One of blessing, we pray for the people of Israel who long to live under your canopy of peace.Keep them safe.When they are threatened protect them from harm.When they are wounded and bereaved grant them healing and comfort.May they find strength and courage in the days ahead.May our voices carry prayers of hope that the people of Israel know that they are not alone.Dear God, give us strength and know that there is nothing more sacred than peace.Grant us dear God, Faith, Courage and Wisdom.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Julia Margolis
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Sukkot and Simchat Torah
“You shall live in Sukkot seven days; all citizens of Israel shall live in Sukkot, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in Sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 23:42-43)
SUKKOT: Sukkot is a harvest festival, but it is also a holiday that marks the Exodus from Egypt. Many of you may be thinking “isn’t Passover the holiday that marks the Exodus from Egypt?” And indeed it is. However, the story of the Exodus from Egypt is such a formative moment in the history of the Jewish people that there are many moments throughout the year and even on a daily basis during which we can commemorate this important event.Sukkot marks the Exodus from Egypt just as Passover does, but Sukkot marks it in a slightly different way. With Passover we are concerned with every aspect of the Exodus story, but with Sukkot we are specifically marking the journey from Egypt to the land of Israel, when the Jews travelled through the desert. We celebrate this journey on Sukkot and we re-enact it, by building and eating in the Sukkah, the little hut that becomes our temporary home during the holiday of Sukkot.Therefore, part of what Sukkot is really about is the journey. Not just the physical journey from Egypt to Israel, but a metaphorical journey, a spiritual journey. A journey to transform ourselves as people, to find where we need to be in life, to find what our goals in life should be, whether professional, spiritual, or family goals.SIMCHAT TORAH: We can all appreciate the dramatic moments in our lives. Pleasure and excitement can be found in glorious events and magnificent landscapes. Joy and celebration are easily experienced in times of grandiosity. But can we expect to discover anything of significance in the circles of daily life? During the “regular,” unspectacular moments, which occupy most of our lives, when nothing breath- taking is happening – does any of it matter? Does anybody care? Is anybody watching? We know how theawesome power of prayer can pierce the heavens and change destiny. But what about our simple, mundane activities?Simchat Torah gives us a wonderful hint to answer these questions. As life, also the Torah has many – let’s say – not so exciting parts that even seem to be boring if we look at them only as sole readings. But at large they form an astonishing text that is full of small and magnificent teachings. The unspectacular parts provide the context to the peaks. On Simchat Torah we celebrate the Torah in it’s whole, with it’s ups and downs. And so we must see our lives. At large, they are full of miracles, worth to be celebrated and enjoyed at every single moment. Chag Sameach – Happy Holiday! – Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Rabbi David Kalb, mlc) Podcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Radio Sermons on Radio Today, follow http://betdavid.podomatic.com/.
