As Moses is about to climb Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the Israelites gather at the base of the mountain, and affirm their commitment to fulfilling God’s commandments. Interestingly enough, they have not yet heard what those commandments will be! Nevertheless, they make a commitment to obey God’s word: “All that the Eternal has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8).I like to think of the Ten Commandments as Ancient Israel’s mission statement. God and Moses both knew the Children of Israel needed a document that stated the purpose of the people, and pointed them towards their destiny. It had to be a statement broad enough to encompass a variety of interpretations, yet compelling enough to be shared by everyone.The variety of opinions concerning the Ten Commandments today testifies to the sheer power and success of this most influential document. The Ten Commandments formed the Israelite people: a disparate people with competing agendas, into a unified nation with a shared purpose.Having a shared purpose defines community. For us at Bet David, it is our bond with the Jewish tradition and all Jews, and our understanding that all humans are equal, regardless of race, gender identity, age, disability, national origin, and sexual orientation. Our goal is to make this world a better place – step by step, and we share this with many Jews all over the world.But reality proves that not everyone is sharing those values with us, and too often these others are fellow Jews. Last week’s Jewish Report (http://goo.gl/x69hI6) contains one of those hurtful examples in which the respect we offer to others, is rudely rejected. Vilifying progressive rabbis as “uneducated”, and not worthy of being addressed as rabbis is outrageous, because it destroys the idea of Klal Israel, one Jewish people. It uses the same methods anti-Semites use in their approach to de-legitimise Israel as an unworthy state. But as much as the anti-Semites are wrong, the author of this statement in the JR is wrong in his approach to make us second class Jews. With his hate-speech, he is leaving behind the common ground our ancestors once created by accepting the Torah.We have reached out to the Jewish Report, and some of us have sent letters to the editor. Hopefully, this will have an impact. Whatever the outcome may be, we will continue to strive for equal rights and opportunities for all Jews regardless of their background. As progressive Jews we can be proud of what I call our mission statement, our modern interpretation of the Ten Commandments.Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Adrian M Schell
Category: Torah
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Parashat Yitro: Progressive Jews are not second class Jews
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Parashat Beshalach: do not pray – just act
Torah Sparks: Tu BiShvat – celebrating the birthday of all trees“Then the Eternal One said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. And you lift up your rod and hold out your arm over the sea and split it, so that the Israelites may march into the sea on dry ground.’” (Exodus 14:15-16).God seems to be saying do not pray – just act. With all of the power that God demonstrates in this Torah portion (by splitting the sea), why does God need Moses? The answer seems to be that God requires human initiative. Judaism, as I understand it, is a religion of activism, not quietism. God does not right the wrongs of society but requires that we do it.This coming Monday we “celebrate” Tu-BiShvat, the 15th day of the Month of Shvat. According to our tradition, Tu BiShvat is the birthday of all trees. But why?Scholars believe that originally Tu BiSh’vat was an agricultural festival, marking the emergence of spring. Each year, the Israelites were expected to bring one-tenth of their fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem, where they were offered to God and also helped sustain the priestly class and the poor. Since fruit from one year could not be used to tithe for another, the Rabbis had to determine when a crop year would begin and end. They chose the month of Shvat as the cut-off date, for this is when, in Israel, the sap begins to run and the trees start to awaken from their winter slumber, before beginning to bear fruit.Although the celebration of Tu BiShvat seems to be more practical and down-to-earth, the theme most commonly ascribed to the holiday today is the environment. It is considered a festival of nature, full of wonder, joy, and thankfulness for God’s creation in anticipation of the renewal of the natural world. The holiday has become a tree-planting festival in Israel, in which Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees and/or support an initiative to protect the environment.Doing that, we recall the sacred obligation to care for God’s world, and the responsibility to share the fruits of God’s earth with all, what connects it to the idea of our Torah portion: Being God’s sh’lichim (representatives) that connect earth and heaven, and transform the world.Shabbat Shalom and Tu BiShvat Sameach – Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: reformjudaism.org)
Torah Reading for Shabbat Shirah – Parashat BeshalachExodus 13:17 – 17:16 (Reading Ex 14:15-15:11; Plaut p.436; Hertz p.268); Haftarah: Judges 5:1 – 5:31 (Plaut p.464; Hertz p.283)The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues on Shabbat, 23 January at 08h45“The Prayers of our Siddur”– class with Rabbi Schell continues on Thursday 4 FebruaryPodcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Sermons Tuesdays on Radio Today (10h30) or: http://goo.gl/LsHQrY.
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“How would you like it that every time you made a mistake, a red light would flash and thousands of people would boo?”
Torah Sparks on Parashat Bo
Imagine living in a world in which violating the laws of morality leads unavoidably to consequences in the world of nature. When we read Parshat Bo, with Pharaoh refusing to let Israel go and with nature responding to his stubbornness with plague after plague, we find exactly this. And we cheer on Moses and our ancestors in their struggle to be free of Egyptian slavery. But, are we still fine with this concept if we compare it to our days?Given the weather of the past weeks (the heat wave, El Niño), it is easy to argue that this might be a punishment for us, too. But, the idea that if one person sins the entire world suffers does not meet our own morality test. What would be fair about one person sinning and the whole world suffering? Why should one person’s disregard of Torah make the rains fail to fall and bringing famine and hunger to the entire country? From the point of view of nature, however, this may not be such an unusual thing. If one person or one corporation pollutes a stream or the air, everyone suffers. When one person smokes a cigarette in an enclosed area, everyone is subject to second hand smoke. But what would it mean if every immoral act we performed directly caused a bad natural phenomena? If we told a lie it would turn our water into blood, the bigger the lie, the longer the blood would flow.The question is whether we would be better people in such a world, where fear of getting caught determine our acts, or not? I need to state the obvious here: The fear of getting caught is not the reason we should be doing good and living moral and ethical lives. Fear of punishment is what we teach children to get them to behave, but it is not a good method to get adults to behave. The only reason for doing the right thing is that it is the right thing to do. The Torah/our Judaism is our conscience. Torah is the mirror we use to look at ourselves to see how we look in the light of what God has asked us to do. We are committed to doing the best we can every day we are alive. We do make mistakes and we do slip into sin, but, thankfully, we can repent; we can resolve to do better and we can have a chance to try and do better in the future.God does not strike us with lightening when we sin. God does not afflict us with suffering or disease. The world is a difficult enough place to live without nature coming after us as punishment for our sins.Still, what we do, for good or evil, does affect the world. We can choose to live in a kind, caring and considerate manner, or we can live lives of infamy and cruelty. The Torah tells us the price of sin, but also tells us to choose the good, to choose the right and to choose life.Shabbat ShalomRabbi Adrian M Schell(Source: Rabbi Konigsburg, Temple Beth El, Birmingham, AL)Torah Reading for Shabbat BoExodus 10:1-13:16 (Reading Ex 10:1-23; Plaut p.406; Hertz p.248);Haftarah: Jeremiah 46:13-28 (Plaut p.427; Hertz p.263)The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues on Shabbat, 23 January at 08h45“The Prayers of our Siddur”– class with Rabbi Schell resumes on Thursday 21 JanuaryPodcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Sermons Tuesdays on Radio Today (10h30) or: http://goo.gl/LsHQrY. -
Parashat Vaera: What in God’s Name is God’s Name?
This is one of the more profound theological questions. To be able to name something or someone is to have a specific relationship to it or them, even a form of control. One can call out not just “Hey, You!” but “Hey, David!” or whatever, and expect some form of response. By using a name one potentially opens a dialogue. It is, therefore, no coincidence that most prayers begin with “Baruch Atah – Something.” “Blessed are You…”and then a Name.The problem is: The Name. What is the name, what can we use to address God, what does it mean?In Exodus 3:14, God has refused to answer Moses directly, saying simply, “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh”, “I am Who I Am”—or even “I Will Be whom I Will Be”. So no name for God, or?We have the Four-Letter Name, the ‘Tetragrammaton’ which is used at many places in the Torah for God’s name. Traditionally, one reads instead of the consonants ‘YHVH’ “Adonai” – but this is only a tradition because we have to say something. The fact is that No-One actually knows. Which makes it theology, not physics.At the outset of this parasha (Ex. 6:3) God simply tells Moses, “I am the same God who appeared under a different name to your ancestors”. That’s a bit of a relief, because we can learn from here that God has not only one name and that there are more ways to encounter God. And it opens up a range of other possibilities when God appears but is described as something or someone else; it leaves the gender issue open; it allowed the rabbis to determine whether different names indicated different qualities—such as justice or mercy. It allows modern theologians to discuss whether ‘God’ and ‘Allah’ are the same, it allows archaeologists to place bits of inscription with ‘Shaddai’, and it allows translators to find alternative words like ‘Lord’ or ‘The Eternal’ or ‘The Creator’, and so on. But being honest, No-One knows, God’s name remains a secret for us.In the end, I suppose that what is important is that we pray, that we say ‘Baruch Atah’, Blessed are you – that we open a dialogue regularly—and that God knows who God is, and will listen, and may respond.– Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Rabbi W Rothschild on Vaera)Torah Reading for Shabbat VaeraExodus 6:2-9:35 (Reading Ex 7:1-29; Plaut p.384; Hertz p.235); M’varchim Chodesh Sh’vat.Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25-29:21 (Plaut p.401; Hertz p.244)The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues this Shabbat, 09 January at 08h45“The Prayers of our Siddur”– class with Rabbi Schell resumes on the 21 Janurary at 18h00 to 19h30 (Foyer).Podcast of Rabbi Schell’s weekly Sermons Tuesdays on Radio Today (10h30) or: http://goo.gl/LsHQrY. -
Parashat Vayeshev : Was it God’s plan?
Ellen Frankel (Author of “The Five Books of Miriam”) askes the following, thought-provoking question: “Why doesn’t Joseph tell his dreams to the women of the family? Why does he tell his two dreams – of his brothers’ sheaves bowing down to his sheaf and of the sun, moon and 11 stars bowing to him – only to the men, as it is written: ‘And when he told it to his father and brothers’ (Gen 37:10).”Ellen Frankel interprets this as “a foolish act of Joseph”, because women would have “recognised in these fantasies nothing more but the intemperate arrogance of youth,” while “his brothers, interpreted his dreams as an expression of his ambition to lord it over them.” She concludes that the Joseph story, and by that the story of the Jewish people would have been different, if he would have told the women too.Using the same narrative, Rabbis have been discussing to which degree God is guiding our fate and the fate of the Jewish people. For most of them the Joseph narrative is “the” example of how God is governing history. No matter what the conclusion of the family members would have been, at the end of Genesis, Joseph and his family would have lived in Egypt, because it was God’s plan. Without this prelude to the Exodus, so the rabbis, couldn’t have been the liberation of the Israelites by God, the normative event of our people.I am not sure I can agree with either one of those interpretations, as the whole narrative is for me neither an example of prevision (thought by the rabbis), nor about gender related perspectives. I view it as a parable about acts and consequences, trust and mistrust, failures and growth. All members of the nuclear Jewish family are deeply human beings, trying to find their place in history, full of emotions, and the ability to make big mistakes. For me, Joseph’s life is like a re-run of Genesis. He is facing great highs, but also downs. His dreams resemble the story of Babylon, and his acknowledgment of God reflects the closeness of Abraham to God. Once again, the Torah provides us with a role model to find our own way in life.Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Adrian M SchellTorah Reading for Shabbat VayeshevGenesis 37:1-40:23 (Reading 37:1-28; Plaut p.246; Hertz p.141) – M’varchim Chodesh Tevet (Sa/Su)Haftarah: Amos 2:6-3:8 (Plaut p.263; Hertz p.152)The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues on Shabbat, 12 December 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 Sermons Tuesdays on Radio Today (10h30) or: http://goo.gl/LsHQrY. -
Parashat Vayishlach: Taking Jacob-Israel as a paradigm
In parshat Vayishlach Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, not once but twice. The first time, in 32:29, Jacob is named by a “man” after spending all night wrestling with him.
In 35:10 Jacob receives the name Israel directly from God. According to Rashi, the name change signifies a change in Jacob’s character. He moves from “Ya’akov,” (יעקב) whose root means ankle and recalls his cunning (עָקְבָה) in tricking his brother, to Yisrael (ישראל), which contains the word (שר) “sar,” meaning leader. Yet despite being renamed twice, Israel continues to be called Jacob. In fact, after both incidences, he is immediately called Jacob again. So what was the point of the name change?It seems to me that Jacob’s journey is a journey of returning. Even when he flees his brother Esau, he is running away to his mother’s homeland. Years later, when Jacob leaves Laban’s home after having acquired wives, children and wealth, he returns back home to Canaan. Jacob’s journey is circular. His return is an illustration of both continuity and change in his life story. His names also reflect this-his new identity of Israel is not a negation of who he once was.Like our forefather, we are known as Jacob as well as Israel. We can take Jacob/Israel as a paradigm. Unlike Abraham, whose change is a complete break with his past, we can allow ourselves to change throughout our journeys but realize that this need not be a negation of who we were in our past. It is in this dual state as both Jacob and Israel that we can truly receive Balaam’s blessing (Numbers 24:5) “How good are your tents oh Jacob, your dwellings oh Israel!”Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: Rabbinical Student Nathan Roller, Illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible(Wikipedia))Torah Reading for Shabbat VayishlachGenesis 32:4-36:43 (Reading 32:4-31; Plaut p.219; Hertz p.122)Haftarah: Hosea 11:7-12:12 (Plaut p.241; Hertz p.135)The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues this Shabbat, 12 December 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 Sermons Tuesdays on Radio Today (10h30) or: http://goo.gl/LsHQrY. -
Parashat Vayetzei: If you give me – then I promise to go to synagogue every Shabbat
A joke is told about the New York man driving around desperately seeking a parking place. He can’t find one, and so in desperation, he says, “Oh God I pray that you give me a parking space, if you give me a parking space then I promise to go to synagogue every Shabbat, I promise to give more money to tzedakah and I promise to be more observant of mitzvot.” At that moment in front of him a parking space opens up and the man says “Oh never mind God I found one.”In our lives we often engage with this “If”. If this happens, then I will do such and such. We set up the negotiation, the exchange between ourselves and God or between ourselves and the fates of the universe, imagining that that gives us some element of control.In this week’s Torah Portion, we get a very strange parallel moment of “If”. Jacob, having left Be’ersheva on his way to Haran, has this amazing dream of a stairway leading up to heaven where he sees angels going up and coming down. Then God speaks to Jacob informing him that he, God, will be with his descendants, and that they will receive the land upon which he is sleeping as an inheritance. In the morning when Jacob awakes he is in no doubt about the significance of the dream. However, Jacob is then quoted by saying “If, God remains with me, If God protects me on the journey that I’m taking and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear and If I return safely to my father’s house, then Adonai shall be God and this stone which I establish as a pillar shall be God’s abode.”After all that Jacob has just seen in that dream, after all of the promises which God gave to Jacob, Jacob feels the need to make a vow beginning with “If”. There is the “If” of uncertainty, the “If” of doubt, and possibly even the “If” of fear. And so in trying to regain some control even in this moment after all that he has seen, Jacob says “If”.We often use the word “If” without all the signs and wonders presented to Jacob. And we do it for similar reasons, because we seek to regain that sense of control. Unfortunately, our lives are not arranged around certainty and control, and from time to time we need to let things happen as they happen. It was a long learning process for Jacob to accept that most things are out of his control, too, and he struggled with God for the rest of his life, but he also understood that this is the real sense of a partnership – the partnership with God.Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: limmud.org)Torah Reading for Shabbat Vayetzei:Genesis 28:10-32:3 (Reading 28:10-29:14; Plaut p.195; Hertz p.106);Haftarah: Hosea 12:13-14:10 (Plaut p.214; Hertz p.118)The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues this Shabbat, 21 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: http://betdavid.podomatic.com/. -
ParashatToldot: Isaac represents the ideal – the messianic world
This week’s Torah portion begins with the phrase, V’eileh toldot Yitzchak ben Avraham, “This is the line of Isaac son of Abraham” (Genesis 25:19), indicating that the text is now going to focus on Isaac, the second of the Patriarchs of our tradition.And, indeed, he figures prominently in the stories of this portion. However, he still seems to play a subordinate role to his father, Abraham, and his son, Jacob. In the stories of two of the major incidents of his life, the Akeidah (Genesis 22) and the blessing of his sons (Genesis 27) he is not even the central figure. Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut notes that “Of the three patriarchs, Isaac’s personality is the least clearly defined” and he is primarily “the bridge between Abraham and Jacob, the essential link in the chain of greatness“. While it is easy to overlook Isaac and his role in the biblical narrative, we can learn quite a lot from three aspects of his life that distinguished him from both his father and his son:- Isaac never leaves the Land of Israel
- he only has one wife and only fathers children with one woman
- his name is not changed.
What are we to make of these three differences between Isaac on the one hand and his father Abraham and son Jacob on the other? Abraham and Jacob seem to characterise the realities of this life: wandering from place to place with no place to call home; the need to reinvent oneself because of the challenges one faces; the difficulties of life when faced with realities. Abraham and Jacob represent this world, the challenges that we face as individuals and as a people, life in all of its messiness.Isaac, on the other hand, represents the ideal, the messianic world we strive to become: a person (or people) with a place to call home; the ability to be true to oneself (ourselves) and not need to reinvent oneself (ourselves) because of circumstances beyond our control; the ability to remain faithful and loyal to one person.In the midst of all the challenges of the Israelites in the ancient world, and in the midst of the all too real challenging stories of Abraham and Jacob, the Torah offers a glimpse of what it will be like some day when we have mastered the challenges we face to be able to live where we want to live and be true to who we are.Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Adrian M Schell (Source: reformjudaism.org)Torah Reading for Shabbat Toldot: Genesis 25:19 -28:09 (Reading 25:19-26:6; Plaut p.173; Hertz p.93);Haftarah: Malachi 1:1-2:7 (Plaut p.191; Hertz p.102)The Torah Study with Rabbi Schell continues this Shabbat, 21 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: http://betdavid.podomatic.com/.
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Parashat Chayei Sarah: Honouring our matriarchs
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: -
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/.
