"כל קהל ישראל " even -or The purposeful use of the term " "עדה would seem to point to a connection between the

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Magdalene Tyler
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1 פרשיות אחרי-קדשים=תשע"ג. It was a solemn Monday evening when Dr. Alisdair Conn addressed the media. Dr. Conn, chief of emergency services at Massachusetts General Hospital where many of the victims of Monday s bombing were brought, said that the scene of the carnage and horrific injuries was reminiscent of the news we hear from Baghdad and Afghanistan. When questioned about how they were able to cope so efficiently with the sheer numbers of wounded and dying, the doctor responded: Well, in actual fact, about two years ago we asked the Israelis to come across and advise us. They helped us set up our disaster team so that we could respond in this kind of manner. The American-Israeli who initiated this educational program -the one who built the bridges between the Israeli and American medical communities -the doctor who developed the emergency response initiative in Israel -and brought it to American hospitals and trained Israelis to teach it to American doctors -was a remarkable man by the name of Dr. David Applebaum Ten years ago, after one of his lecture tours in the US, Dr. Applebaum returned to Jerusalem for his daughter s wedding There, in a terrorist bombing of Café Hillel on Emek Refa im, Dr. Applebaum and his daughter were murdered, the night before her wedding "דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם 'קדושים תהיו'..." Today s second,פרשה that of,קדושים opens with the command given to משה רבינו to gather the entire nation כל עדת בני ישראל- פרשה that we find in the מצוות - and relate to them all of the 51 This special header for the portion -this unique opening -led Rashi to quote the Midrash in Torat Kohanim that explains this anomaly: "משום שרוב גופי תורה תלויין בה " -the most essential commandments of the Torah can be find therein. What remains unexplained, however, is why the term " "עדה, congregation, is used 1

2 "כל בני ישראל " stated -when the Torah could have simply "כל קהל ישראל " even -or The purposeful use of the term " "עדה would seem to point to a connection between the פרשה word and the And so, this morning, I choose to consider that word and its etymology, to see if there might be something we can learn from its usage Rabbi Menachem Liebtag points out that the word עדה stems from two possible Hebrew roots: which means to testify or affirm.or -ע,ד- which -י means to designate or appoint,ע,ד- Logically, when the nation is called " "עדה it would mean that Israel must serve as a witness people Alternatively, it could mean that we are called upon to fulfill a mission, -that we ve been designated for a specific purpose So if the opening words of our reading this morning call for Israel to be holy - for Hashem is holy "קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ד' "- Then, in effect we are told that by acting as a holy nation, we testify -both to ourselves and to others -that G-d exists and He is holy This past Monday, 6,000 miles away from Boston, Israelis were marking Yom HaZikaron -a day dedicated to the memories of those soldiers who fell defending our land -and those innocents targeted by terrorists because they were Israeli The timing of this week s attack, therefore, is especially significant You see, Israelis know from horrible experience that three dead doesn t fully express the impact and effect of the attack, - three dead is only part of the story of lost limbs, years of challenge and pain, ongoing suffering and destroyed lives -it is an individual and national tragedy The targeting of innocent runners and bystanders on Patriot Day was certainly calculated to inflict maximum casualties -but also meant to wound the very soul of the country We feel anger and hatred toward those who committed this atrocity 2

3 -feelings that are certainly understandable -feelings that are acceptable -and, indeed, I would argue, feelings that are necessary! We should hate evil We should loathe the wicked We should despise those who preach malevolence And we should spurn all those who support and encourage evildoers We are told that the country was changed this week -that life will not be as it was in the past Millions will be frightened and wary Billions of dollars will be spent on security There will be increased vigilance by law enforcement agencies And getting around the country will take more time For such is the impact of evil - one or two individuals can change millions of lives -and one senseless act can pull down the carefully constructed house of civilization Over this past century we have witnessed how one thousand years of building can be vaporized by the madness of one ימ "ח Hitler, -Adolf ימ "ח Stalin, -Josef -Mao Tse Dong -Kim IL Sung -Pol Pot -and the list can go on An entire culture destroyed by any new ideology of insanity -Nazism -Communism -Islamic Fundamentalism This is the new improved? modern world in which we live = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = But let us get back to today s Parsha -and the message we hope to learn from it A simple question still remains: 3

4 Why does G-d need a witness people? Why is their testimony required?? "עדה " an Why this insistence to speak to And the answer is quite obvious: Because G-d is transcendent -it is difficult for Man to perceive His existence כל עדת בני ישראל And so, G-d commands -the entire עדה of Israel מצוות -to keep these special which will help create a society which reflects Hashem s holiness מצוות- -and, thereby, testify to His existence Truly, this is our " "יעוד, our purpose and mission G-d designated Israel to be witnesses of G-d s existence through living lives of holiness and sanctity Now you may ask: How do we speak of holiness in the midst of the madness of Boston? It is actually simple. You see,.. We must get back to that moral outrage we felt on Monday We must stop trying to understand evil and start fighting it When we learn of the perpetrators of this crime, we will be comforted by the fact that they are mad -or fanatics -or troubled And that is why they kill But that is not so!! The Holocaust should have taught us how millions of simple Germans could become insensitive murderers And we saw the same in Rwanda -and in the cultural Revolution in China -and in Cambodia And we will continue to see repetitions of these massacres as long as we allow it -as long as we dismiss these acts as part of a changing world -or a new reality 4

5 of Israel עדה G-d demands from the entire "קדושים תהיו " -a demand we must make of all of society as well Pundits reassure us that we will come out of this week stronger than we were Perhaps But will we come out more moral than we were? We will reject evil rather than accept it as part of life? Will we pay more than lip service to the challenge of destroying evil? Will our moral outrage last for more than a day, or a week, or a month Will we put our feelings into action? The simple truth is that this type of evil will continue -it will become part of normal life -as long as we make compromises with it Make no mistake: As long as the civilized world allows the supporters of evil a voice-evil will continue As long as democracies turn a blind eye to those who fund terrorists-evil will flourish As long as the world meets with and accepts governments that train murderers of the innocent-evil will triumph! We must teach others that there can be sanctity in this world As designates of the Holy G-d -we must show that evil must be rejected and eradicated And witnesses to the existence of the Eternal One -we must prove that קדושה is attainable in this world All we need do is show that there are Dr. David Applebaums And that we all need to strive to be such a person Loving our enemies and expecting their love in return is naïve and probably dangerous Moral outrage is just not enough. But being the true witnesses and designates of Hashem קדושים of עדה An Is what our time demands And what we should demand of ourselves -and all of mankind! Let the cry be heard!!! "קדושים תהיו " 5

The Jewish view of civilian casualties in war

Sat 30 Aug 2014 / 4 Elul 5774 Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Congregation Adat Reyim Lunch and Learn in honor of Maurice s 65 th birthday B H The Jewish view of civilian casualties in war Motivation -Hamas targets