This coming Sabbath I will be in Fletcher,

Transcription

1 Shabbat Nachamu - Vehitchanan Shabbat 4 August Ab 5772 Website: Web Ministers: 1 Newsletter n 488 Tisha Be Av is a day of sorrow, tears and repentance. Photo from Israel365.co.il, Rabbi Tuly Weisz Bring us back to you Hashem and we shall return, renew our days, as of old. Mdqk wnymy Cdj hbwcnw bwcnw Kyla hwhy wnbych LAMENTATIONS (5:21) News Shabbat Nachamu This coming Shabbat is called Shabbat Nachamu, nachamu means comfort in Isaiah 40:1. The people of Israel remembered last Sabbath the destruction of Jerusalem and the time of exile, they wept, prayed and repented for their sins. In their prayer as Daniel did in the chapter 9 of his book. They repent to ask God to forgive them for their sin, and to send the Messiah as soon as possible to install the kingdom of G-d. Special Sabbath in Fletcher This coming Sabbath I will be in Fletcher, North Carolina in my way to Cincinnati, to celebrate with the Beth Bnei Tsion their 10th anniversary of this congregation. Three meetings will be held during the Sabbath, on Friday evening we will start the Shabbat together, through a Kabbalat Shabbat, we will worship together on Shabbat morning and I will lead an afternoon meeting at 3:00 PM.

2 2 Newsletter Overview Vehitchanan Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 Although Moshe is happy that Yehoshua will lead the nation, Moshe nevertheless prays to enter the Land of Israel in order to fulfill its special mitzvot. Hashem refuses. Moshe reminds Israel of the gathering at Sinai when they received the Torah that they saw no visual representation of the Divine, but only the sound of words. Moshe impresses on the people of Israel that the Sinai revelation took place before an entire nation, not to a select elite, and that only Israel will ever claim that Hashem spoke to their entire nation. Moshe specifically enjoins Israel to pass over the Sinai event to their children throughout all generations. Moshe predicts, accurately, that when the people of Israel dwell in Eretz Israel they will sin and be scattered among all the peoples. They will stay few in number but will eventually return to Hashem. Moshe designates three refuge cities to which an inadvertent killer may flee. Moshe repeats the 10 Commandments and then teaches the Shema Israel, the central profession of faith of the Tanach, that there is only One G-d. Moshe warns the people not to succumb to materialism and thus forget their purpose as a spiritual nation. The parasha ends with Moshe exhorting Israel not to intermarry when they enter the Land of Israel, as they cannot be a treasured and holy nation if they intermarry, and they will become indistinguishable from the other nations. Who Gives Possessions? The Torah states: When you beget children and grandchildren and will become old in the Land, you will grow corrupt and make an idol, the image of anything, and you will do evil in the eyes of the Almighty, your God, to anger Him (Deut. 4:39). The Hebrew word, venoshantem, becoming old. If one becomes accustomed to what he has, then he no longer appreciates it. If he no longer appreciates it, he no longer feels a sense of gratitude to the Almighty. And without a sense of gratitude, a person will not only neglect his obligations to God, but can turn against Him. The same principle applies in our relationships with our fellow human beings. Therefore, we must always focus anew upon our possessions and the favors we have received. Each day look at your possessions as if you just received them that very day. This will ensure gratitude. This will enhance our lives and those around us! Remember and Guard In the we have a repeat of the Ten Commandments. Although the Ten Commandments are the same in Deuteronomy as in the Book of Exodus, there are some variations in their wording. One of the differences is in the commandment of observing Shabbat. In the Book of Exodus, the Torah says, Remember the Shabbat to keep it holy. (20:8) Deuteronomy states Guard the Shabbat to keep it holy. (5:12) Rabbi Zalmen Marozov reminds us, Our sages say that when G-d said the Ten Commandments He said the two expressions of Remember and Guard in one word. The Jewish people at Mount Sinai heard both expressions together. But when the Ten Commandments were recorded in the Torah they were written separately. Shema Isr ael In this week s we find the Sh ema Hear O Israel the L-rd is Our G-d the L-rd is one. And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might ( B chol M odecha ). (Deut 6:4-5). The Sh ema prayer is recited three times daily; in the morning prayer; in the evening prayer and before going to bed. With the Sh ema we affirm our belief in G-d and our love for Him. The words B chol M odecha can also be translated, with every measure. Meaning, that even if G-d acts with us in a measure that may not seem good, we must love Him just the same. Rabbi Zalmen Marozov says Our sages say that, One must bless G-d for the bad just as for the good! For, no matter whether experiencing good and happiness which shows G-d s kindness in a revealing

3 way or when one, G-d forbid, experiences suffering, one s love for G-d must not waiver. when we recite the Shema we cover our eyes and close them. It is because we must have total concentration upon the meaning of the words and the affirmation of total belief in G-d. Thus, covering our eyes is so that we will not be distracted while reciting this verse. On Your Heart The Torah states: And these things which I command you this day shall be upon your heart (Deut. 6:6). Rabbi Packouz asks the question: What lessons for life can we learn from this verse? Rabbi Shalom Schwadron frequently said in the name of his Rebbe, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Chasman: Just as with the commandment of tefillin when it says on your hand it means without any obstructions, so too when the Torah says on your heart it means without any obstructions. You must remove faulty character traits and emotions from your heart before you will experience love for the Almighty. The Kotzker Rebbe commented on this verse: At times your heart might be closed and the concepts and ideas you accept intellectually do not penetrate and become part of you. Still, keep them on your heart. Once they are on your heart -- then as soon as your heart opens up, they will immediately fall right in. Intermarriage The Torah states: The L rd did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you are the fewest of all peoples (Deut 7:7) How can we understand this verse of the Torah? Is it really about numbers? Let s remember that G-d promised Abraham that his descendants will be like the stars of the heaven, the sand on the seashore and the dust of the earth, uncountable. Abraham will be the father not just of one nation, but of many. Targum Yonatan interprets Deutenomy 7 to be not about numbers at all, but about self-image. He translates it not as the fewest of peoples but as the most lowly and humble of peoples. Rashi gives a similar reading, citing Abraham s words, I am but dust and ashes, and Moses and Aaron s, Who are we? The choice of Israel was motivated by Love, But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you (Deut 7:8) God is Love, and this love is manifested hundred of years after the promise was pronounced. Today the Jewish is far from being the most numerous people of the earth. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks put it: Historically, Jews were and are a small people: today, less than 1/5 of 1 percent of the population of the world. Then we can ask the question why a so small people after 4000 years of existence? Rabbi Sacks answers, There were two reasons for this. First is the heavy toll taken through the ages by exile and persecution, directly by Jews killed in massacres and pogroms, indirectly by those who converted in fifteenth-century Spain and nineteenth-century Europe in order to avoid persecution (tragically, even conversion did not work; racial anti-semitism persisted in both cases). The Jewish population is a mere fraction of what it might have been had there been no Hadrian, no Crusades and no anti-semitism. And he added his second reason, The second reason is that Jews did not seek to convert others. Had they done so, they would have been closer in numbers to Christianity (2.2 billion) or Islam (1.3 billion). In fact, Malbim reads something like this into our verse. The previous verses have said that the Israelites are about to enter a land with seven nations: Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (Deut 7:1). Moses warns them against intermarriage with them, not for racial but for religious reasons: They will turn your children away from following Me, to serve other gods. (Deut 7:4) Malbim interprets our verse as Moses saying to the Israelites: Don t justify intermarriage on the grounds that it will increase the number of Jews. G-d is not interested in numbers. That is why even today when people come to Jewish Rabbis for conversion, Rabbis are very prudent and test them to be sure that their conversion is sincere and true and will last forever. In history Christians have converted Gentiles by thousands and millions. But these conversions were made at the cost of compromises. The more Gentiles were converted, the more the church departed from the teaching of the Bible. It is good to bring people to G-d and to be a light to the nations, but not at the cost of truth. s 3 Newsletter

4 4 Newsletter Shabbat s Candles The story is told of a husband and wife who always quarreled when it came to lighting the Shabbat candles. He wanted her to use olive oil, like his mother did, and she wanted to use candles, which is what her mother used. They finally came to Rabbi Chaim of Tzanz for his decision. The rabbi told them, Our sages instituted the lighting of the Shabbat candles in order to bring peace into the Jewish home, so how can you be fighting over the Shabbat candles? He then turned to the husband and said, Our sages gave the mitzvah of lighting the Shabbat candles to the women and it is her choice to use whatever lights she wants. Losing Control Mr. Baal HaBayit comes home from shul on Shabbat morning and finds that the table is not set and the food is not ready. He turns to his wife and asks, Why can t you have everything prepared on time? His wife realizes that he is in no mood for explanations, so she silently speeds up the preparations. Then the meal starts, and the children are a little too overactive. Why are you making so much noise? Mr. Baal HaBayit shouts. The children quiet down for a short while, but soon enough, the rowdiness starts once again. This time, Mr. Baal HaBayit decides that enough is enough. I WANT SILENCE! he shouts, his face taking on a deep crimson hue. THE NEXT ONE WHO MAKES NOISE IN HERE IS GOING TO GET IT! he adds for good measure. What happened? All the children did was act their age. Why did Mr. Baal HaBayit lose control? The problem is that Mr. Baal HaBayit considers his will to be the final word, so he cannot handle the impudence of those who don t defer to his supremacy. In other words, he considers himself god. Mr. Baal HaBayist does not stop to consider that perhaps Hashem willed that he wait a few minutes for his Shabbat seudah to be ready, or that Hashem ordained that his children should be noisy and boisterous, like all other normal children. HE wants quiet; HE wants his meal on time. HE was probably already insulted when he came home because the gabbai gave him chamishi (five) instead of shishi (six), and because the guy sitting next to him in shul didn t greet him with the respect that HE deserves. Who is god in Mr. Baal HaBayit s mind? HE, himself. This parable may be exaggerated; not all of us become upset over these sorts of things. But most of us have our own little pet peeves that vex us and cause us to lose control. We may no longer have any passion to serve little graven images of hand-constructed gods, but many of us still engage in I dolatry. If I am so absolutely important that anyone who challenges my overblown image of myself makes me lose control, then I am serving an I dol, not Hashem. s EDITOR A newsletter published by the World Jewish Adventist Friendship Center Under the umbrella of the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission Richard-Amram Elofer 4, Abraham Lincoln Jerusalem Israel Tel Fax richard@elofer.com web: jewishadventist.org

5 Haftara Isaiah 40:1-20 This Shabbat is the first Shabbat after Tisha B Av. It is called, Shabbat Nachamu ( Shabbat of comfort ), as the Haftarah for this week begins with the words Nachamu Nachamu Ami - Comfort, comfort, my people. There are seven weeks from Tisha B Av until Rosh Hashana. This period is called, Shiva D nechemta Seven weeks of comfort. These seven Haftarot are prophesies of comfort and hope for Israel and God s people at large. Haftara: The root of the Hebrew word for comfort Nachem, nun-chet-mem can refer to comforting the nation as well as to comforting an individual after the death of a loved one. If the people of Israel are to be comforted, it is because the L-rd is coming very soon. The text says, A voice rings out: Clear in the desert a road for the LORD! Level in the wilderness a highway for our God! Let every valley be raised, every hill and mount made low. Let the rugged ground become level and the ridges become a plain. The Presence of the LORD shall appear, and all flesh, as one, shall behold For the LORD Himself has spoken (Is. 40:3-5 JPS). It is interesting to notice that the Brit Hachadasha, which is an interpretation made 2000 years ago applied this text to the coming of the Mashiach. This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight (Matt. 3:3). Matatyahu spoke about Yochanan HaMatbil who prepared the way of Yeshua in the desert near Jericho. What is interesting is that the brit Hachadasha did not apply verse 5, The Presence of the LORD shall appear, And all flesh, as one, shall behold, (JPS) to Yochanan because this part of the verse will be applicable only at the end of time for the definitive presence or coming of the Mashiach, what we call the Second Coming of the Mashiach. Then all flesh (from everywhere in the world) shall behold. Then we will see the real comfort and consolation of Israel. As it is written, That her iniquity is expiated; for she has received at the hand of the LORD double for all her sins (Is. 40:2). They have been pardoned for all their sins and they will enjoy eternal rest. Our mission today is to comfort Israel and to prepare Jerusalem for that great day, Nachmu Nachmu Ami - Comfort, comfort, my people. (Isaie 40:1) Brit Hachadasha Mark 12:28-34 In this parasha Moses repeats the commandments to the people of Israel, and after giving the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5, Moses says These are the commands, decrees and laws the L-rd your G-d directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess (Deut 6:1). Then follows the central profession of faith of the Torah and the Tanach, the Shema Israel: Hear, O Israel: The L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is one (Deut 6:4). In our text of the Brit Hachadasha, the Pharisees and the scribes came to Yeshua and asked him Which is the first commandment of all? (Mark 12:28). What a surprise! Yeshua doesn t quote directly a commandment, but the profession of faith of Israel, which is considered as a commandment. That means the G-d one, is not only a knowledge, but a commandment. One of the 613 commandments is Hear, O Israel: The L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is one and according to Yeshua it is not a commandment but it is the first of all the commandment (Mark 12:29). The first doesn t mean the first which was given, the first chronologically, but the first means the most important. The Jewish people was surrounded by pagan people, the Jewish people was the only one people who were monotheist, the Romans and all the other groups of people in the Middle East were worshipping several gods, Israel affirmed that there was only one G-d and only Him. Some of the Jews could have been tempted to be like other people and to worship the Romans G-d, the Greek G-d, and some others. But the Shema Israel is not only the first sentence, which is recited in deep concentration, with closed eyes and our right hand on the eyes but it continues Vehaavta et Adonai elohecha bekol levavecha, uvchol nafshecha uvchol Meodecha (Deut 6:5) that is why Yeshua says Love the Lord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30). For Yeshua what is important is Love, not a superficial love, but involving our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. Yeshua is not staying in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), the Torah is a whole and now goes back to Leviticus to complete his answer to the scribes he said Love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31 & Lev 19:18). It is the second commandment and then Yeshua says There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:31). 5 Newsletter