Today I had the honor of studying together with a group of Melton Mini-School alumni in Boca Raton.  In preparation for  Rosh Hashanah,  we considered the Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah (1:2) which states:

At four times the world is judged: On Pesach, for the crops. On Shavuot, for the fruits of the tree. On Rosh Hashanah, all the world passes before Him like benei maron, as  it  says,  “He that fashions the hearts of them all, that  considers all their doings.” (Psalms 33:15) And on Sukkot, they are judged for water.

What is the meaning of benei maron? 

Answering this question has a powerful impact upon the way we understand the celebration of the New Year.

The most common translation is that it means “like sheep” – based on the aramaic word for sheep, pronounced amar.  This translation has paved the road to the imagery conjured up in the central prayer unetane tokef, which presents the metaphor of passing before God on this day like sheep before the shepherd, as he decides the fate of each and every one.

However, versions of the Mishnah found in Eretz Yisrael, even into the 12th-14th century, paint a very different picture.  Instead of claiming that we pass before God kivnei maron, an alternate reading indicates that all of humankind passes before God כבנומרון – kivenumeron – a Greek word meaning a “regiment” or “battalion.” That is to say, that on Rosh Hashanah, all human beings pass before God as legions of soldiers passing before the king.

 What a very different image!  Instead of passing before God in as sheep – weak and submissive – we march before the ruler of the world as legions of loyal soldiers, paying tribute to our king of kings, as He reviews the troops, and acknowledges their tribute.

How might such an image change one’s perspective on the spirit of Rosh Hashanah? 

May we be blessed with a year of great joy, great pride, and great accomplishments.

How does one become a secular Jew? In Israel the term has been thrown around for quite a long time – the “hilonim” –  so they are called.

In a recent report published in the Washington Times online, a survey has indicated that while only 6 percent of all Americans identify themselves as secular – that is, they disbelieve in God and do not follow any religion, one-third of all Jews fit into that secular category.

That is quite a large number! Close to two million!  Two million American Jews that do not believe in God, and do not follow Judaism. 

While it is true that percentage-wise Jews do often excel way beyond their numbers, it is unfortunate that in this category Jews have felt the need to excel as well.

How did we get to this point?

Here’s what I am thinking: Jews did not become secular – Judaism became irrelevant to them, and so they were no longer able to place themselves within the fold.  While for many, the draw of tradition, the connection to something that goes back hundreds and hundreds of generations has great appeal, for others it just does not. 

Secularism – “hiloniut” - is not a rebellion – it is a cry for meaning, for relevance, for vision, and for contemporary purpose: things they cannot find in the Judaism that surrounds them.

On the last day of Moshe’s life, he has much to tell the young nation on the threshold of meeting their destiny in the Land of Canaan.   Nearly the entire book of Deuteronomy is dedicated to reminders and inspiring messages. I focus here one of many jammed packed verses:

The entire matter that I command you, you are to guard in order to perform, do not add to it, and do subtract from it. (13:1)

Traditionally, the sages taught us that this verse bears an important message: it is to be understood as an admonishment not to add to the commandments nor to subtract from them…

Not to sit in the Sukkah for 8 days when the Torah commands only 7 (this is complicated by the two day observance of Shemini Atzeret in the Diaspora, but that’s a separate issue)

Not to shake 5 species, when commanded in only 4.

Not to put 5 Torah portions in the tefillin where only 4 are required.

Not to add a fourth blessing to the birkat kohanimwhere only three are listed in the Torah text itself…  and so on…..

In other words, the sages understood that Moshe was telling us not to manipulate biblical law and observances in ways that add or subtract from what the Torah teaches.  Nonetheless, in another place (17:11) the Torah does give the sages rabbinic licence to add rabbinic laws, but not to call these innovations Torah law (again, complicated issue, for another time).

Actually, I think there is a lot more to this verse, and others like it.

I suggest that  Moshe understood that the nature of the teachings he was going to present to the people – the nature of a written document of any sort – is that no matter what you do, it quickly becomes open to interpretation. 

On the one hand, there will be those who will attempt to read it on many levels, to suggest that it cannot be easily understood – everything word, every letter has significance, and only those who are steeped in learning can even begin to fathom its meaning.

On the other hand ,there will be those who subject it to criticism, who will look for its every seeming inconsistency, every flaw, every indication that it is less than divine, that it is the work of charlatans, or a people looking to justify its self-aggrandizement or the national agenda of its leadership.

In either case, we don’t do the Torah justice.

In the first case, seeing the Torah as a secret code that needs to be unlocked is an act of “adding to the Torah” in a way that distances it from the people, that renders it aloof and almost untouchable. 

In the second case, the Torah is rendered so pedestrian that it is no longer worthy of taking notice of – it’s a important masterwork that serves as an interesting source for an anthropological study of the history of a nation – but so are Shakespeare’s masterpieces.  This is a direct infringement upon Moshe’s second warning: “and do subtract from it. “

I would like to suggest that on the simple pshat level here, Moshe is persuading the people to  preserve the straghtforwward meaning of the words he has conveyed to to them in the Torah.  Never stop learning the Torah text, year after year, gleaning from the simple pshat of the text eternally relevant and meaningful truths, sublime visions, and important lessons for contemporary living. These truths will speak to Jews in all generations…let them read, and let them find deep personal meaning in its teachings. 

Moshe is encouraging the people to preserve the straightforward life lessons articulated directly and through the Torah’s many narratives. 

Preserve it, and you will find reason to observe it. 

Expand it it too far beyond its straightforward teachings, or detract too much from its holiness, reading it as just another historical document – in either case, you run the risk of making it irrelevant to the masses of Jews. 

Millions of Jews today have unfortunately absorbed the message that the Torah is beyond them, or that it is anachronistic – from another time – out of step with our world.  It might very well be that those who have had the very best of intentions in their pursuit of  the truth have, over the years, taken away from the Jewish people the wonder and awe that can come from simply reading a passage in the Torah and deriving from it personal meaning.

Bibles are everywhere to be found, translated and accessible…but how many of these secular Jews have taken the time to read the world’s best-seller? 

But, then again, why should they? For all they know it is at the best an ancient book of irrelevant, complex laws, and at worst, a literary forgery.

Jews must be given more opportunities to dialogue directly, one-on-one with the Torah text.

Jews should be encouraged to go back again as adults and read through passages in the Torah  and the Prophets – without the esoteric midrashic commentary or rabbinic elaborations; doing so, with open eyes, they will, I believe, surely find therein the timeless words of inspiration, meaning, vision, and contemporary relevance for which they have been searching.

Tonight begins a minor Jewish holiday known as Tu B’Av – the 15thof the month of Av.  While just six days ago we marked what is considered to be the absolute saddest day on the calendar, this day, Tu B’Avis considered to be, along with Yom Kippur, the happiest day of the Jewish year. A number of reasons are given for the celebration.  Among them is suggested that while the Jews wandered in the desert for forty years, female orphans without brothers could only marry within their tribe, to prevent their father’s inherited land in Eretz Yisrael from passing on to other tribes. On the fifteenthof Av of the fortieth year, this ban was lifted. (note that Yom Kippur is also a very happy day – what could make one happier than knowing that his or her sins and shortcomings can be forgiven.)

According to the Mishnah at the end of tractate Ta’anit, the celebration, on both days, included young unmarried women going out into the vineyards singing and dancing while young single men, in the market for wives, looked on.  (Hard to conceive of this happening today – for any number of reasons.)

Today, here in Israel, Tu B’Avis celebrated as a day of love, of gifts and romance, withthe main decorative theme being lots of red hearts….the malls are filled with them.

What does the heart symbolize?  What do we mean when we read in this week’s Torah portion “And you shall serve Him with all of your heart and all of your soul.” (Dev. 11:13)

Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvot) understood  ”service of the heart” to be the Biblical source for the obligation to pray.  And therefore, we often carry withus the image of ideal prayer as something that  is “heartfelt” – that is, said with a lot of feeling and a lot of emotion. 

However, associating the heart with love, emotion and feeling may not at all be what prayer is all about.  Many classical philosophers and scientists, including Aristotle, considered the heart - not the brain – to be the seat of thought and  reason, not only emotion.

Perhaps then the original meaning of serving God with all of your heart and all of your soul, meant that we are commanded to be astute and loyal servants of God.   

Surely one should love God, but that love is not to manifested so much in intense, emotional and tearful cryings out to God.  That is something else.  Service of God is meant to be performed through using our God-given blessings of thought and reason.

Here is what I am saying.

We serve God best when we are using our intelligence to reason, to discuss, and to decide responsibly, as individuals, and as a nation.  Service of God is not about throwing ourselves on God’s mercies, on stepping back and leaving Him to drive the order of the day.  We serve God when we activate the unique human blessings of wisdom and reason.

To love and serve God with all of your heart might actually mean, in its original context, to use your head! 

The highest level of service of God is therefore achieved through the study of Torah, for only in that way can one arrive at an informed and educated understanding of the objectives of divine service.  A servant has a keen understanding of what the master wants, what the master would do in any given situation… through study of Torah we bring ourselves closer to acquiring that understanding, to serving God with “all of your heart.”

This past week when the gabbai of our synagogue announced the times and locations for Tisha B’Av services, he prefaced his announcement with the customary preface, “In case the Messiah does not come, and the Temple is not rebuilt before then, services for Tisha B’Av will take place….”

This quaint custom is all part of the annual routine run-up to Tisha B’Av. I myself have a related type of behavior. It is customary to sit close to the ground, like a mourner, throughout the night and into the day of Tisha B’Av. As I get older, it is really very uncomfortable to sit on the ground. A low to the ground chair would be perfect, and I do see many of my fellow congregants who bring such chairs along with them each and every-year. Some of them even refer to them as their “Tisha B’Av chairs.” I cannot buy a “Tisha B’Av” chair – that would be like admitting that Tisha B’av is going to be a part of my holiday cycle from hereon in – not wanting so much to acknowledge that possibility, I will not buy the chair – I guess you could say that it is my own little personal prayer that this be the last Tisha B’Av.

To tell you the truth, I am beginning to rethink my longstanding “chairless prayer”…and not just because I am getting older. I am beginning to rethink exactly what it is we should be praying for and fasting about on Tisha B’Av.

In this week’s Torah reading, Vaetchanan, Moshe retells how he petitioned God to repeal the sentence and allow Moshe to go together with the nation into Eretz Yisrael. God, recalls Moshe, angered and firmly denied the request, answering Moshe with the words:

“Rav lach , al tosef daber elai od badavar hazeh!” (Deut. 3:23)

“That’s enough, do not speak to me further regarding this issue!”

Rashi cites an intriguing alternate understanding of the words: Rav lach - “That’s enough. Stop your beckoning, so that people should not say: The master is so harsh, and the student is overly-persistent.(Sotah 13b)

It would seem from this translation of God’s words that the sages conveyed to us a very serious issue, worthy of  our attention. They seem to teach that there are times when our prayers go over the top – there are times when we pray too much for something that God is not prepared to grant us.  In those times, not only do we find ourselves disheartened, but we may create a situation in which those whose desperate prayers remain unanswered, and we actually begin to question God’s benevolence, or His very existence. 

When prayers for individuals or for the nation go unheeded, there will  be those who blame it on God’s harshness.  And if it isn’t harshness, then it’s powerlessness.  “How could God let this suffering go on for so long?”

When we pray on Tisha B’Av for the restoration of Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the Temple, for a return to “the days of old,” what exactly are we demanding of God?  Are we not asking God to answer a prayer that is not really His to answer? That is, are we not really asking God to do for us what it is that we ultimately have the power to do for ourselves at this point, if as a nation it is what we truly want for ourselves?  

And if the question of a restored Jerusalem and a Temple, and a complete in-gathering of the exiles are really all achievements that are in our hands today, then what is all the praying for? Why do we have a Tisha B’Av at all?  Are we not year after year simply aggravating the situation, pinning the responsibility upon God who perhaps, for good reason, has no intentions of “fixing” this?

Isn’t our fasting and prayer just becoming one very big cop-out; rather than taking responsibility for our destiny, we seem to be pinning the responsibility on God. Do we expect that the 25 hour sacrifice of food, drink and other pleasures will somehow serve to appease God and lead him to grant us our wishes?

And worse, how do we understand the seeming silence to our requests and petitions, year after year? Is not God, in His silence, shouting down to us:

Rav lach!

Therefore, I suggest we look at this annual Tisha B’Av observance in a very different way: Tisha B’Av is not about praying for what we do not have, it is about reminding OURSELVES of why we do not have it….WE ARE THE PROBLEM…not God.

Did you ever ask yourself the question:  What did they do on Tishah ‘Av during the period of the Second Temple? (roughly from 500 BCE-70 CE).

In his commentary to the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1,3), Rambam(Maimonides)states that the Jews in the Second Temple period fasted on Tishah B’av.

The Temple was standing, and yet, according to Rambam, they fasted just as we are about to do.  Why?  What were they mourning for then?

Dr. David Hanschke, of the Department of Talmud at Bar Ilan University wrote as follows:

Perhaps the rationale behind this was that the first destruction had proven that the Temple could be destroyed, and from then on the possibility that G-d would destroy His house and exile His people was a real one. We know that the prophets fought against the belief which stubbornly held that this very idea was a theological impossibility. It could not be possible, claimed some, that the Temple of the Lord, the foundation of His seat in the universe, could fall. The destruction of the First Temple put an end to this certainty: Never again could man put his trust in wood and stone – even the stones of the Temple. From that point on responsibility for the future rests squarely on the shoulders of the people and their behavior. If they deserved it – they would live in their own land in the shadow of their Temple, but if not – the Temple would fall and the people would be exiled.

They therefore fasted on Tishah B’av, all through the Second Temple period. On that day they confirmed their understanding that destruction is always a possibility. No faith can be placed in slogans such as “G-d will help us” because the responsibility for our continued existence as a people is ours alone. The awareness that destruction is possible may very well be the key to preventing it in the future when the Temple is rebuilt. Our sense of responsibility may be a contributing factor toward the eventual rebuilding of the Third Temple, may it occur speedily in our days.

Now this makes a lot of sense…this is the reason we are about to fast and devote the next 25 hours to remember the Temple and the destruction of Jerusalem - to remind ourselves that people just like us brought it about, and until we get our act together, nothing is going to change. 

Tisha B’Av is not a petition to God, it is a day of remorse and national introspection. And there you have it…the reason I am rethinking my “chairless minhag.”  We may be destined to observe Tisha B’Av forever, as an ongoing annual reminder of our own national responsibilities. 

If we pray for anything of God on Tisha B’Av, it should be for the wisdom to realize this.

Have a meaningful fast.

One story in the Torah that I could certainly live without is the the one that concluded last week’s Torah reading, and begins this week’s reading.

And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting.

And when Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand

And he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: ‘Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was very jealous for My sake among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy. (Numbers Chapter 25)

It is not a pleasant story…Pinchas the grandson of the peace-loving Aharon – takes the law into his his own hands and acts with great zealousness.  He takes the lives of the two public sinners, which apparently brings an end to a plague that had brought about the deaths of some 24,000 Israelites.  Pinchas’ act of violence is praised, he is extended God’s special covenant of peace for his actions.

I say that I could live without this story, because I believe it is sorely misunderstood, over and over, generation after generation, by Jews and Gentiles alike.

Each and every generation reads this story and tries anew to understand the message.  Unfortunately, in the State of Israel today, this is not only about wrestling with an age-old textual difficulty, we are living with a whole community of Pinchas wanna-be’s who are taking to the streets in communities all over Israel – particularly of late in Jerusalem – to demonstrate on behalf of the holiness of the Shabbat.

For the past few weeks it has been the controversy over the opening of a parking lot on Shabbat near the old city for the purpose of offering tourists (mainly Gentile)a place to park when they come to tour Jerusalem on Shabbat.  As I write these words, the haredi community is preparing to once again protest en masse in violent public demonstrations that lead to the arrest of a number of the protesters, the injury of protesters and security forces as well.

The Talmud makes it clear that  zealotry of the type displayed by Pinchas is not to be countenanced.

The Elders of Israel sought to excommunicate Pinchas until the Holy Spirit hurried and said: “It shall be for him and his descendants after him a covenant of priesthood for all time, because he took zealous action for his God, thus making expatiation for the Israelites. (Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 9:7)

In other words, the rabbis came out condemning Pinchas for his actions.  (Whether this actually happened or not, the terminology used by the rabbis of the Talmud here demonstrates their strong aversion to zealous acts) Such a deed must be animated by a genuine, unadulterated spirit of zeal to advance the glory of God.

In such a case, who can tell whether the ”zealot” is not really motivated by some selfish motive, maintaining that he is doing it for the sake of God, when he is actually acting for some other reason?  That was why the Elders wished to excommunicate Pinchas, had not God testified that his zeal for God was genuine.

What really motivates the zealots of Jerusalem?  Why is it that if they are not screaming “Nazi” at Israeli policemen, you might find them burning trash in the middle of their own neighborhood streets?

In 2002, Menachem Freidman of Bar Ilan University wrote in an essay entitled Violence in Haredi Society that ” violence  in haredi society results from the fact that it is internally divided and lacks a powerful and accepted leadership with the authority to make binding decisions on the fateful questions confronting it. These conditions afford various zealots the latitude needed both to use violence and to obtain the required protection and support among the various autonomous and competing Torah authorities. In this respect, rather than being directed outwardly at the secular population and its “religious” supporters, haredi violence and zealotry are directed inward, against those political leaders—and even great Torah authorities—who commit the cardinal sin of seeking a modus vivendi with the surrounding Jewish secular society.”

Perhaps this explains why in a survey conducted this past week, haredim themselves DO NOT think that these protests are liable to minimize desecration of Shabbat by the secular world, and on the contrary, just lead to more Shabbat desecration.

What we are seeing on the streets of Jerusalem then is just another form of fake zealotry where people claim they are doing one thing, while in reality, they are doing something else.

And for this reason, in my opinion, Israeli society needs to take steps to “excommunicate” such protesters – to ostracize them and the shallow leaders who send them out to disgrace the city of Jerusalem, the Jewish people, and the God of Israel.  There is no room for further respect of their superficial religiosity.  It must be condemned from the highest places in the religious world – (it is interesting that although the former chief rabbi of Israel – Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau – condemned the activity- the current chief rabbis did not)

These fake zealots have created for themselves a “righteous” platform from which they spout their resentment of something that we Israelis hold dear – the existence of the modern State of Israel that strives to find answers to the many complex issues associated with the maintenance of a modern state.

This morning I found myself reading with jaw dropped about Connie Culp, a very brave woman from  Ohio.  Five years ago she was shot in the face at point-blank range and seriously disfigured.  This past December, she was the recipient of a new face, from a deceased donor, the first such transplant in US history.

On Tuesday she held a press conference and revealed her new face publicly for the first time. Wishing to move the focus of attention off of herself, the 46-year old Culp emphasized that she wants to help foster acceptance of those who have suffered burns and other disfiguring injuries. “When somebody has a disfigurement and don’t look as pretty as you do, don’t judge them, because you never know what happened to them,” she said.

And then I thought about this week’s Torah reading, Parashat Emor…

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things, but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” (Lev 21:16-23)

I read God’s words, I read Connie’s words….I am humbled.

Connie Culp knows well the anguish, the feelings of being ostracized for so long because of a blemish, a mutilation that she bears through  no fault of her own.  How could it be that our Torah would pour so much salt on the open wounds of those who must not only suffer the glances and rejection from their fellow human beings, but must also be cast away by God, banished from serving alongside grandfathers, fathers and brothers…even sons….because of a physical disability or condition over which they have absolutely no control?

A life sentenced to standing outside the Temple, being reminded day in and day out that they are blemished, unfit to serve.

I will share with you an insight of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch which goes a long way in offering significance to this prohibition, although it does not necessarily address the personal anguish that the law would no doubt cause the blemished Kohen. I am not sure that can ever be adequately addressed.

Basically, according to Hirsch, the Temple was the center of Jewish life.  Through service in the Temple, the kohanim were charged with presenting to the world-at-large Judaism’s central teachings. The services in the Temple were to symbolically convey the fundamental goals of our faith, the purpose of our religion.

Jewish faith in God was never meant to amount to the sum-total of what you expect to see outside, under a tent at a religious revival healing service. You know, the kind of spirited gathering where a cripple or deaf person comes forward and the minister heals him through the spirit of holiness.

Judaism was not founded as a quick-fix faith, or a faith for the tired and the weary.

Writes Hirsch about those soothsayers and cult leaders:

They and their sanctuaries speculate on the pain and  grief of the “believers.” It is not the vivacious and happy ones who go to their halls.  It is the blind, the lame, the sick and the weak who wend their way to their altars.  Not as the ruler of fresh pulsating active life, and the joy of life, but the consoler for what they had to endure and suffer and do without, is what religion is to them.

Not so is God and His Temple which Israel is to bear through history as the God of the whole humanity. The Sanctuary of  His Torah demands the full complete life with nothing left out, nothing missing, and promises in exchange a rich full life in which even death and pain lose their sting. (on Lev 1:3)

It is not the afflicted and the infirm, not the blind and the lame, the disfigured and the crippled, the broken and the sick, for whom the Jewish Altar is erected, so that weary, burdened humanity can drag itself up to it to to find compassionate consolation or even miraculous healing.  It is life in its completeness, in its freshness and strength, which there is to gain consecration to an active life of God-serving deeds, and thereby acquire the everlasting freshness of youth and unbroken forces of life.  Life and strength, not death and weakness, lives at the Altars of God….That is why it must be perfect, complete men – not blemished ones – who have to perform the offerings in this Sanctuary of Torah. (Lev 21:17)

Of course Judaism provides shelter and support to the weak and the needy, to the hurt and the anguished; however, that was not the purpose for which Judaism was introduced to the world.

In 1843, a Jewish Karl Marx wrote: Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. –

Some 30 years later, Hirsch would set the record straight – what Marx had described was not the mission of Judaism.

In the Temple, the center from which this message was to emanate outward to the world, the symbolism of every rite, every service or sacrifice, was considered to be of great significance.  Those who were leading the sacred rituals must not appear to be drawn to their service by personal needs for healing or sympathy.  They needed to publicly convey the fundamental principle of the Jewish faith – that Jews are meant to takes their good, complete, stable lives, and dedicate those lives to God’s service.

So too today, ideally we are to come forward before God without demands, without yearnings for personal salvation.  We are to approach God carrying with us  all that is good in our personal and national lives , with a desire to make it even better  in service of God and all of God’s creations

Morey

www.rabbimorey.com

As Jews worldwide ushered in Yom haShoah ve’haGevurah – the day that marks the destruction as well as the bravery of those 6,000,0000 Jews murdered by the Nazi killing machine – the Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked the question on the lips of level-headed people worldwide:

How could President Merz of Switzerland, host of the Geneva Racism Fiasco,  give such a warm welcome to Holocaust- denier and Israel-hater Ahmadinejad – enemy number one of the western World?

Mr. Prime Minister, I am no detective, nor am I any sort of historian, but let me paint the picture for you as I see it.

History Repeats Itself?

For Switzerland, it is just a bad habit.

The Harper Collins book “Nazi Gold” by Tom Bower, subtitled, “The Full Story of the Fifty-Year Swiss-Nazi Conspiracy to Steal Billions from Europe’s Jews and Holocaust Survivors” is a powerful indictment. When the War began, Germany had $100 million in gold, at the end of the War, Germany had sold about $900 million in gold.

The following excerpt from a review by Ann Louise Bardach, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, speaks for itself:

The greatest slaughter in history has, until quite recently, tended to obscure the other horror perpetuated by the Nazis – namely, the greatest robbery in history.

The first order of business for the invading Nazi army as it trampled through Europe was a raid on the national treasury and the hauling of millions of dollars in gold and cash back to the Reichsbank in Berlin. Next were art seizures from museums, galleries and the private collections of Jews. In time, all the valuables and property of Jews would be confiscated, and eventually they, too, would be taken away. Even after their deaths, the thieving would continue. Wedding rings snatched from the corpses, gold wrested from their teeth; in fact, an estimated 72 pounds of dental gold was extracted each day from victims at Auschwitz. Billions of dollars of the looted gold and cash and an estimated $2.5 billion in stolen art were sent to Switzerland, where the Reich’s Swiss bankers attended to its purchase, care and investment. Nazi Germany was, after all, the most important client in the history of Swiss banking.

Before World War II, Switzerland had been a poor country. Thanks to the Third Reich, Switzerland emerged from the war as the second-richest country in the world. In news stories over the last two years, the world has learned that the Swiss were hardly the beset-upon neutrals that they have claimed to be but instead were full partners with the Nazis. Moreover, as Tom Bower’s masterly chronicle, “Nazi Gold,” makes clear, the Nazis could never have prevailed as long as they did without the Swiss. Indeed, as Bower makes clear, the war would most likely have ended a full year earlier had it not been for the financial intervention of Swiss bankers. [derived from the Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, 6 July, 1997.]

Hans-Rudolf Merz (born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) and member of the Swiss Federal Council (since 2004). He is the head of the Federal Department of Finance (the Swiss finance minister) and President of the Swiss Confederation for 2009.

The Federal Banking Commission, an independent agency of the Swiss government within the Federal Department of Finance, supervises most banking-related activities as well as securities markets and investment funds.

What this means is that the current President of the Swiss Confederation is also the President of the Federal Department of Finance, directly involved with Swiss banking today.

Now that the background info is on the table, get a load of this….

May 13, 2008: 9:48 AM EDT

Victims of Hamas and Hezbollah Sue Swiss Bank for

Helping Fund Terrorists

NEW YORK (AP) — American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $500 million from UBS AG, saying the Swiss bank made it possible for Iran to fund the terrorists.

The lawsuit says the Zurich-based bank provided dollars to Iran in violation of trade sanctions and Iran funneled the money to terrorist groups.

“UBS knew full well that the cash dollars it was providing to a state sponsor of terrorism such as Iran would be used to cause and facilitate terrorist attacks by Iranian-sponsored terrorist organizations,” the plaintiffs say.

Their lawyer, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, said in a phone interview from Tel Aviv that the bank is liable “as much as Iran or the terrorists” for the damage caused.   [Nitzana Darshana-Leitner is a neighbor of mine.]

Mr. Prime Minister, I humbly submit that if you look closely at the smiles  of Merz and Ahmadinejad, you can see the word “money” written all over their faces.

If you ask me, though the Swiss claim to be gliding along throughout history in “neutral,” that is just an alibi – behind the scenes they have their foot pressed down firmly of the  “gas” pedal (read: peddler) of the world.

Anticipation of the seder night is in the air!

Guests will soon arrive, the house will fill with the smells of the horseradish and the charoset…the table will be set, and the ancient ceremony will begin.

What will be the most memorable moment at this year’s seder?  Many of us will prepare ideas for discussion, props to keep the kids into it,  and even new tunes that we want to try out. We will enjoy the annual traditions, be reminded of seders of Passovers that have passed, and before we know it…the whole experience will be behind us…again.

For me, this year, I am looking for the seder night to inspire me about the year to come.  I want to dwell less on what happened before, and focus more on what is yet to be…and how I can be a part of bringing that about in the coming year.

As we begin the main section of the Magid – the telling of the story of Pesach utilizing the words recited by the bringer of  first fruits in the Temple in Jerusalem (Deut. 26:5-8….we add verse 9 as well to our seder), the voice of the haggadah commands us:     צֵא וּלְמַד מַה בִּקֵּשׁ לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי לַעֲשֹוֹת לְיַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ.

“Go out and learn what it was that Lavan the Aramean wanted to do to our father, Yaakov!Pharaoh only wanted to kill the males, Lavan wanted to uproot everything.”

I really like those words: Go out and learn. What do they mean to you?

Here is what they say to me.

Learning that stays within a certain limited framework, that doesn’t demand of us to go out of our personal comfort zones and thresholds of our lives IS NOT LEARNING.

Think about it – how much can I learn if I only read and listen to the information that tells me exactly what it is I want to hear?

Let’s go back to Yaakov…he went back to Aram to find a wife. He worked for many years in order to earn the right to marry both Leah and then Rachel (albeit not the original plan).  And yet, although he worked hard, his life was to a great extent put on hold.  He wasn’t living in Canaan, establishing there a stable, permanent home.  According to Ibn Ezra, this is what the proof text means: “My father was a destitute Aramean.” That is to say, because of his years in Aram by Lavan, he never was able to stabilize his life – and this led to the ultimate need to take his family to Egypt…further destabilizing them…which then led to slavery and near destruction, if it weren’t for the mercy of God.

So what does all of this have to do with Lavan?  It is because of what Lavan did to Yaakov – holding him back for all of those years – that the Jewish people nearly came to an end….now let’s consider – was that really Lavan’s goal?  Probably not.  He was looking out for his own needs, his own desire to hold onto to his daughters, or at least to get some good years of work out of the deal.

And that is the rub…although his intentions were purely selfish, the impact of those decisions nearly destroyed an entire nation.

Thinking outside of the box of matza demands that each of us consider the long-term impact of what it is we are doing now – the decisions that we are making for ourselves and our families.  It might mean thinking thoughts that are not comfortable – considering life-changing moves that will take us way out of our comfort zone – but doing so in the name of tze ulemad – going out from under the covers in order to rethink and reconsider some things that we have perhaps grown way to accustomed to and that are stunting our growth.

I will eat the matza, eat the maror, drink the wine….but not only to remember what what was. As I do, I will attempt to consider what  is still just matza in my life – common, predictable, comfortable -  what is still bitter around me, and what could be even sweeter in the year to come.

Chag Sameah!

When it comes to Purim, one who reads through the story as recorded in the Book of Esther should begin to wonder, “exactly where is the miracle?”

The story is dramatic and entertaining.  It has its good guys and its bad guys, its starring roles and supporting actors.  There is suspense, there is irony and and even some humor.

But, in theory, there is no apparent “miracle.”

On the surface, Haman (read: serious Jew-hater) uses his power and position to have the Jews destroyed.  Esther(read: brave Jewess) risks her life in the Persian court to save her people. Haman makes some serious tactical errors, angers the king (read: persuadable super-power), and is killed.

But the story is not over with the death of enemy number-one; the nation fasts, the nation prays, the nation goes to war….and they are victorious in battle.  A lot of Jew-haters in Shushan and all around are killed – we are not told how many Jews lost their lives in these battles…

And so, where was the miracle?

In a recently published book (in Hebrew) called Chayei Shana, Rabbi Adin Steinsalz points out the missing-miracle in the Megillah.  In earlier times, God intervened in supernatural ways, performing what one might call second-order miracles.  For instance, parting the sea, delivering manna to the people during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness of Sinai, the heavenly fires that consumed the worshipers of Baal in the time of Elijah,etc.  However, he points out that none of these miracles turned the nation into followers of Torah, into the faithful nation that our destiny demanded of us.

However, ironic as this might seem, as time moved on and God began interacting with us only in terms of first-order miracles- that is, miracles that unfold in the natural course of things – we became a more faithful, loyal nation. As Rabbi Steinsalz writes:

The implementation of miracles of the natural order did not cease after the time of Mordechai and Esther, nor in the time of Mattityahu and his sons, but has continued throughout the generations. In our days, essentially God says to us: “I no longer want to present you with miracles that every simpleton and child can look at and exclaim- ‘Look! It’s a Miracle!’ – From now on you will experience miracles that you need to think hard about, and to study them.”

It became apparent that these type of miracles demand greater participation on our part. Simply said, the “קיימו וקבלו” (the observance and acceptance of the Purim celebration) of the Jews in the days of Mordechai is still with us til this day, while the influence of the ” השם הוא האלוקים” (of the times of Elijah), was only temporary.

The miracle of Purim is found by making a close reading of the story,  and then, taking a leap of faith. The miracle is there only because we read it into the story.

In our daily prayers, we thank God for “miracles that are with us every day.”  There too we refer to the miracles of a first-order type, the kind that are with us at all times, that we take for granted, until they are, God forbid,  taken away from us, until something unexpected happens, and then we find ourselves praying for the return of the normal everyday things.

So, where is the miracle in the Purim story?  What makes it a miracle?

Not only are our lives governed by natural laws set in place by God that govern our physical existence, such as the laws of gravity, the laws of the harvest, or the biological laws that govern conception of human life, one might suggest that we are also subject to the social-political laws of human nature, these too set in motion by God from the time of our creation.

These social-political laws, corrective measures built into the very fabric of human existence, are no less divine in their nature, and those who suffer the consequences of these laws or ultimately reap the benefits of these laws have also experienced the consequences of divine providence.  When corrupt tyrants are toppled, when evil dynasties crumble, it may be the doings of human beings, but their actions are part of the order of nature – the way that God set up the world that all of us inhabit.  It is no mere coincidence that “evil doesn’t pay,” or that “you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

The miraculous benevolent world, created and set in motion by God, continues to demand patterns of goodness and grace;the miraculous nature of the world that God created will settle for no less.  God’s ongoing presence in our lives guarantees that ultimately all must move in the direction of good.

The miracle of Purim is there because we choose to open our eyes and hearts to the miraculous nature of our lives. The establishment of the State of Israel as well as the reunification of Jerusalem are miraculous in the exact same way as Purim; because we choose to study the facts and draw our own conclusions….this is what makes the celebration of Purim so important to us – it reminds us that the miracles of Jewish history are in the eyes of the beholder – it is up to us all to seek them out, declare them as miracles, and celebrate them with great joy in each and every generation.

Tthe rabbis teach (Midrash Mishlei 9:2)that in the time of the Messiah, all holidays will be annulled except for Purim; if you ask me, the Midrash is teaching that we will only realize that the Messianic era has come if we are willing to read into the circumstances as we did back in Shushan. When we are ready to do that, then the supernatural events of the past will no longer stoke the fires of our faith; we will be transported into a new era where our eyes will be open to what is happening around us and we will readily recognize the hand of God in every turn of events – Mordechai’s clarity of vision will be with us not only at this time, as we celebrate Purim, but each and every day of our lives.

On Tuesday,  a Grad-model Katyusha rocket smashed into the center of Ashkelon.  Israel responded by warning those living in the area of the Philadelphi Corridor that the air force was going to perform the nearly daily post-cease-fire ritual of bombing a few tunnels there.

We warned them to leave.

We gave them a few hours.

They got out of the way.

We bombed the tunnels and warned Hamas that they shouldn’t start up with us…”or else…”

(And let us say, Amen.)

This has been a daily ritual here for six or seven days now. It seems like nothing has changed in Southern Israel.  Our hopes that Operation Cast Lead had brought normalcy back to the lives of thousands of Israelis was short-lived.  Much was accomplished…but clearly, not enough.

I am not a political or military leader – so far be it from me to say that I know what we should have done or could have done – but I do believe that the tales in our Torah are much more than tales – they are blueprints of timeless truths that are pointless to question….

For that reason, it seems to me that what we need to do is to cross the sea again….Let me explain what I mean.

Pharaoh, ruler of Egypt, watched as he and his countrymen suffered ten formidable plagues.  Plagues that caused millions of dollars in economic damage, agricultural chaos, disease, suffering and death…as the first born of Egypt, including Pharaoh’s own firstborn, were taking their last breaths, Egyptian society said enough is enough….

Pharaoh stayed up all night, along with his officials and all the rest of Egypt.  There was a great outcry, since there was no house where there were no dead.  Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night.

“Get moving!” he said. “Get out from among my people – you and the Israelites! Go ! Worship God just as you demanded!”Take your sheep and cattle, just as you said! Go! Bless me too!”

The Egyptians were also urging the people to leave the land.  “We are all dead men!” they were saying.            (Ex. 12:30-31)

And so, that seems to have marked the attainment of the objectives of the original “Operation Moses.”  The Egyptians had suffered the powerful force of the God of Israel.  CNN was broadcasting pictures of the suffering and destruction that Moses and Aaron had wreaked upon Egyptian society.  One might even have felt sorry for the innocent Egyptians who were caught up in the stubbornness of Pharaoh, his delusions of grandeur and irrational resistance in the face of a power much mightier than his own. Innocent Egyptian children – firstborns nationwide – struck down by the mad god of the Israelites, in order to achieve the goals of the operation.

But that was not to be the final curtain for Egypt.

The Israelites hurried out of Egypt….they ran from their persecutors, anxious to be free of their oppressors.  So fast, that the Torah makes a point of stating:

The Israelites baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened (matzah) cakes, since it had not risen.  They had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay, and they had not prepared any other provisions. (Ex. 12:39)

“Driven out of Egypt”? That is a very strange way of describing the outcome of the redemption brought about through  “God’s strong hand and outstretched arm.”

I suggest that here the Torah is not telling us what actually happened…but rather, the way the Egyptians were led to understand it…despite the facts  on the ground…Pharaoh spun the story differently…the newspapers in Egypt the very next day carried the following headline:

ISRAELITE MURDERERS AND CHILD-KILLERS DRIVEN OUT OF EGYPT BY THE POWERFUL PHARAOH, PRAISED BE HE.

While the Israelites were busy celebrating their grand victory 0ver Pharaoh, God saw clearly that the story wasn’t over – He saw that Egypt still venerated Pharaoh, that despite the destruction all around it was Egypt that had declared victory over their adversaries.

Pharaoh had turned the story on its head, and thus, the opening words of this week’s parasha,

Vayehi beshalch Paroh, “And it was when Pharaoh had sent the people out…” (Ex. 13:17). Wait a minute, was it Pharaoh that sent the people out of Egypt?  Why does the Torah here give him credit for the exodus?

It has been an age-old question as to how to understand this expression.

I suggest that this phrase is ultimately the key to understanding the necessity of crossing the sea:  in order to bring an end to Pharaoh and his despotic dynasty – in order to drown Pharaoh and his soldiers, and along with them, all delusions that Pharaoh was  a god, or that the ‘gods of Egypt’ were on his side.

As long as Egyptian society would remain under the impression that Pharaoh was still in control -  the Israelites would never find peace. Pharaoh and his armies would eventually come after them…or after another nation for that matter. The powerful plagues were not enough to destroy the spirit of Egypt. The propaganda machine was still in place. The regime of Pharaoh had to be brought down if the Israelites were going to realize their freedom and carry on with their calling. The Egyptian people would need to be freed of their illusion, freed of the falsehooods and the brainwashing. (Speaking of brainwashing…have you seen this? )

I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will come after them.  I will triumph over Pharaoh and his entire army, and Egypt will know that I am God. (Ex. 14:4)

This was not about revenge.  Unfortunately, there was….and there is…no other option. We will have to cross the sea again.

We must show bravery in the face of this evil. We have no choice but to bring about the end of a regime that would kill infants on the birth stool, that would drown babies in the water. In the war on terror, there are no short cuts. It may not be tomorrow…but there is ultimately no alternative in the war on terror.

“At the end of the day there will be no alternative but to bring down the regime of Hamas, a terrorist organization pledged to our destruction.”  Binyamin Netanyahu, January 13, 2009.

May God give us the wisdom to know what to do, and the confidence to finally do it.

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