Rabbi's Sermons

Shabat Shalom!

The large portion of the Torah reading this week is called KI TETZE, and its four chapters in the book of Deuteronomy, handles a large number of issues, many related to morality, some more difficult to understand than others. Chapter 23 mentions foreign peoples who can convert to Judaism. From the outset, the Torah excludes the Ammonites and Moabites, that no longer exist in our days, and are eternal enemies of the people of Israel. However, it does allow the Edomites and the Egyptians, under certain conditions. In verses 8 and 9, it reads:

לֹֽא־תְתַעֵ֣ב אֲדֹמִ֔י כִּ֥י אָחִ֖יךָ ה֑וּא: לֹא־תְתַעֵ֣ב מִצְרִ֔י כִּי־גֵ֖ר הָיִ֥יתָ בְאַרְצֽוֹ׃

“⁸ Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother. Thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land”.

בָּנִ֛ים אֲשֶׁר יִוָּלְד֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם דּ֣וֹר שְׁלִישִׁ֑י יָבֹ֥א לָהֶ֖ם בִּקְהַ֥ל ה'׃

“⁹ The children who are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation”.

This is without any conversion process, the grandchildren of a couple of Egyptian and Israelite are automatically received as part of the Jewish people; of course, all according to the written Torah without considering the “fine print” that is part of the Oral Torah. Rashí - Rabbi Shlomo Itzchaki, the quintessential commentator of the entire Bible and the Talmud, whose commentary is considered basic for understanding the texts, points out, that the Egyptians can convert and eventually marry native Jews, because they accepted Yaakov Avinu, our Patriarch, his children and grandchildren, in Egypt during the period of hunger in Canaan. Therefore, as a sense of appreciation, they can be accepted.

But the question is, should we appreciate their help, received in those times? We should remember that the abundance in Egypt during the most prosperous years, of the “seven fat cows”, was under the watchful eye of Yosef. Yaakóv's arrival in Egypt occurred during the second year of hunger of the seven years, symbolized by the "seven skinny cows". But what happened many years after? They turned us into slaves, beat us and forced us to work. They exacerbated working conditions by refusing to supply straw for the bricks while maintaining the same production quota. They killed our children by throwing them into the Nile. Then, according to Rashi, how could we be bound to some kind of appreciation for this nation that proved to be morally corrupt?

Rabbi Eliyáhu Dessler, one of the most prominent personalities and thinkers of the Mussar (Morality) movement of the last century, wrote in his compilation: “Michtav Me'Eliyáhu”, that, although the years spent in Egypt were full of misery, it still does not take away the validity of that act, no matter how petty they were throughout many years after. And yet, the Torah requires from us to show appreciation, that extends until TODAY. We must remember that during the Pesach´s Seder, we spill some wine when reading each of the plagues, remembering those affected innocent people who lived in those days in Egypt. Today, we may have had serious problems with someone, but if that person showed signs of generosity to us at a certain time, it is our duty to show our gratitude and receive him/her back, just as the Torah asks us to receive the Edomite and the Egyptian.

Rabbi Dessler continues further, and reminds us that our mission in life is to foster our awareness of God, and emulate His ways. We can see in the Torah, that this "sense of appreciation" of God is wonderful. A few chapters earlier in Deuteronomy chapter 7 it is shown:

^ט וְיָדַעְתָּ, כִּי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים: הָאֵל, הַנֶּאֱמָן שֹׁמֵר הַבְּרִית וְהַחֶסֶד לְאֹהֲבָיו וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי מִצְו‍ֹתָו, לְאֶלֶף דּוֹר.

“⁹ Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations…”

Can you evaluate how many years one thousand generations would be? A generation is defined as approximately 30 years, so it becomes 30,000 years! This just to fulfill mitzvot and lead a moral life, acts that ultimately are for our benefit, and do nothing for God! God does not need the fulfillment of the commandments for his benefit or his existence, God was, is and will be, God, with or without our fulfilling the commandments of the Torah. We understand that when we read the book of his prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah), when God tried to bring us back to his service, the prophet begins, in chapter 2:

“¹ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ² Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord: ‘I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown‘”.

In fact, when the Israelite nation followed God in the desert, they had just witnessed the most fantastic series of miracles, and ALREADY KNEW that God was all-powerful and only sought the best interest of his people; they were also motivated to follow him to ensure his survival! God has no inherent need for followers, fans, TikTok messages, Tweets or Likes on Facebook, God declares that the decision of the Israelite people was a huge demonstration of faith, because they expressed their gratitude for trust in God, and therefore compensates them with their infinite goodness. Nowadays we face with bigger and bigger challenges to take advantage of mitzvot opportunities: while absorbed in our daily routines, at work, with the kids, the everyday tasks, our bosses… whatever you may think of. The verses of this week's portion are a call to remember, that we are touched by God every day, generously by his goodness, in response to our genuine embrace of Divinity and its mitzvot, and protects us in situations that we might not even imagine. Every time I happened to cross into a terrible road accident, I remembered this fact, and I thank God that it was not me or my family involved in that accident. Every time I know of anyone that has a terrible disease, I do not hesitate even for a moment to thank God, from the bottom of my heart for MY health. Every time I watch a disabled person on crutches or a wheelchair, I don't stop for a moment and raise my gratitude for having my legs and hands, my whole body and with good health! If you open your prayer books, you will notice that three times a day, we recite at the end of the Amidah:

מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְ שֶׁאַתָּה הוּא ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֶאֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ לְעוֹלָם וָעֵד,

צוּרֵנוּ צוּר חַיֵּינוּ, מָגֵן יִּשְעֵנוּ אַתָּה הוּא לְדוֹר וַדוֹר.

נוֹדֶה לְךָ וּנְסַפֵּר תְּהִלָּתךָ עַל חַיֵּינוּ הַמְּסוּרִים בְּיָדְךָ

וְעַל נִשְׁמוֹתֵינוּ הַפְּקֻדּוֹת לָךְ, וְעַל נִסֵיךָ שֶׁבְּכָל יוֹם עִמָנוּ,

וְעַל נִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ וְטוֹבוֹתיךָ שֶׁבְּכָל עֵת, עֶרֶב וּבֹקֶר וְצָהֳרַיִם.

“We give thanks to You for our lives which are in your hands, for our souls which are ever in Your keeping… for your continuous goodness which You bestow upon us all times: at night, in the morning and afternoon…”

If God, in response to our actions, which aren’t really necessary or useful for Him, blesses us with such kindness 24/7, at all times, how much greater is our obligation to those who grant us goodness and even more, to those who need them!

We are just three weeks away from the beginning of the great celebrations of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. During these days of Elul, a month of introspection and analysis of our actions, we can be aware of all that endless goodness that comes from God. We can be able to imitate the Divine, by approaching and taking the hand of everyone who is far, of everyone who needs our help and thus fulfill our part and our mission as a united people: Israel together in one voice with the Divine.

Shabat Shalom!

Rabbi David Laor

September 13^th 2024