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PARASHA KI SAVO
DEUTERONOMY 26:01-29:08
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL
DEUTERONOMY 26:01-29:08
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC
BLUFFTON, SC
"He's Making His List, He's Checking it Twice, He's Gonna Find Out if You're Naughty or Nice..."
(I was asked to define Chumash and Parasha :
"He's Making His List, He's Checking it Twice, He's Gonna Find Out if You're Naughty or Nice..."
(I was asked to define Chumash and Parasha :
To start, the word Chumash for the Five Books of Moses is simply from
the Hebrew word for the number five. A parasha is a section of the
Chumash. We usually have one parasha for each Shabbat and special ones
for the Holy Days and holidays. The Chumash and all of its parashat
(plural of parasha) is read on a yearly cycle that begins and ends on the
holiday of Simchat Torah, in which we rejoice in the giving of the
Torah. This is 8 days after the fall harvest festival of Sukkoth (feast
of Booths, i.e., the Jewish Thanksgiving) begins.)
This Shabbat's parasha gives us the rules of the tithing of the first
fruits, and the famous blessings and the infamous curses. To read why two
tailors had a fist fight on the bimah as well as more insight into this
portion, please read on.
Just before the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan and enter the
Land of Israel, Moses read them a series of 12 commandments. The
Israelites were commanded to write "this Torah" (Deut. 27:04) on stones
covered in plaster. It is clear that it was to be this particular
teaching (the Hebrew word Torah means instruction), and not the entire
Chumash which would have been impossible to fit onto two stones. The
sages in Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah 32A say that the entire Chumash was
inscribed on these two stones. Rashi adds that it was done in the 70
known languages of the time as well. Rabbi Saadiah Gaon (Saadiah the
Genius of the ninth-century C.E. Babylon) says the stones had only the 613
commandments and not the text of the Torah. Other scholars, quoting
Josephus (first century C.E. Jewish-Roman historian), say it clearly means
the stones had only these 12 commandments from this parasha.
Before I review these twelve commandments, let me review briefly the
curses and the blessings. The blessings are given first and the curses
follow. The curses are the opposite of the blessings. If there is a
blessing to have rain and good crops, there is a curse to have drought
and no food. There are 68 verses of blessings and curses. The curses do
not paint a pretty picture. If you have watched any World War Two
Holocaust movies, these curses come close to describing the horrors of
that Shoah. The traditional view is that if you follow the commandments,
you will be blessed, and if you do not, you will be cursed.
Traditionally, God is the blesser or the curser.
Let us review these 12 commandments. These were mitzvoth (commandments)
that were so important that they were to be written on stones. The were
so important, that the entire nation was divided into two. Each half
ascended one of two mountains. The Levites yelled these commandments with
everyone screaming "Amen!!" (Deut. 27:11-14).
Here are these twelve commands, paraphrased:
1. No idols.
2. No degrading your parents.
3. No moving of another's real estate boundary marker.
4. No leading a blind man astray.
5. No perverting justice of the widow, orphan or stranger.
6. No incest with your father's wife.
7. No sex with animals.
8. No incest with your sister.
9. No incest with your mother-in-law.
10. No striking another secretly.
11. No bribe taking.
12. No ignoring of "this instruction."
Let's categorize them. Mitzvoth 6,7,8 and 9 are clearly laws against
incest and bestiality. Mitzvoth 5 and 11 are telling us to have fair and
honest court systems. Number 2 is similar to honoring one's parents but
does not give the positive command of honoring, just the negative command
of not degrading. Number One is not telling us to believe in God, or the
God of the Jews, but just not to make or worship idols. Commandments 3
and 4 are mitzvoth not to steal, but also to have fair business
practices. We have learned that a person coming into a shop or even a
professional's office is "blind" and can be easily taken advantage. The
idea of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) is not a Jewish idea. Number
10 is both an admonition not to hit, but also not to murder. It is also a
warning not to do loshan hara (evil speech) and gossip behind the
someone's back, as this can kill one's reputation. The 12th commandment
is telling us to pay attention to these eleven commandments, so there are
really only eleven commandments folded into six categories. Do these six
categories sound familiar?
In the chapter on Noah which we will come to this November, we will read
about the seven Noahide laws. These seven laws are what all peoples are
to follow to be considered righteous. They are: no idols, no blaspheming
of God, establishing courts of justice, no murder, no adultery or incest,
no robbing, and no eating of meat cut from a living animal. The
Deuteronomy categories have the law about not degrading one's parents
added, but have the laws against blaspheming God and eating live animal
flesh deleted. If we assume that we can roll the "no blasphemy" rule
into the "no idol" rule, and if we further assume that the eating of live
limbs from animals stopped after Noah's time, and therefore no law was
needed for this practice at this time, we are really left with the
Noahide laws. Von Rad in his text, Deuteronomium, calls these twelve
laws the Shechem Dodecalogue and says they are the oldest list of
prohibitions in the Torah.
The Levites are not on the mountain tops yelling about the kosher
dietary rules. They are not screaming about the laws of sacrifice. They
are not even yelling about Shabbat or other Jewish holidays. The are
admonishing the nation of Israel to be righteous in their dealing with
their fellow human beings, Jew and non-Jew alike. Any nation that treated
each other in a way opposite these six category's rules would fail within
time. God would not be the agent of the curses. Man himself would be his
own agent.
Traditionally the entire Torah portion is chanted on Shabbat and seven
different people are called to the Torah to either chant the Hebrew
themselves or make a blessing and allow the Rabbi to chant for him. The
honor of being called up to the bimah (pulpit) is called an alliyah (from
the Hebrew word "to go up"). However it was considered a dishonor to be
called for an alliyah to chant these curses from this week's Torah
portion. Sometimes the sexton of the synagogue would be paid to do this
duty. Instead of being called up to the Torah by his name, as is the
custom, he would be called to the bimah as "he who wishes." When these
curses are read, they are read quickly and in hushed tones.
In some congregations, the community's worst sinner would be called up to
take this alliyah. One cannot refuse this calling to the Torah. The story
is told of a gabbai (the one in charge of giving out bimah honors) who
was a tailor in an eastern European town. He did not get along with his
competitor tailor who he suspected of using cheaper materials, stealing
his business, and working of the Sabbath. In those days, everyone in
town, except the very ill, showed up for Shabbat services. So the
gabbai-tailor called his competitor to the bimah to take the alliyah of
the reading of the curses. This was a major insult to the second tailor
whose entire family and many clients were in the synagogue. A shouting
match ensued which turned into a fist fight on the bimah. Our negative
actions can bring about our own curses.
As we learned in this D'var Torah today one of the six major categories
of heinous crimes is "striking a man in secret." Our sages interpret this
as doing loshan hara, as well as murder. Loshan hara is not only
gossiping untruths about another, it is even talking about negative
truths about another. But the rules of loshan hara as defined by Rabbi
Israel Kagan of 20th-century Europe, known as the Chofeitz Chaim, are
more detailed. It is a sin for person A to approach person B with a
negative comment about person C. It is an equal sin for person B to
allow person A to continue the conversation. Person B's obligation,
under the man-to-man laws which modern Judaism has not abrogated, is to
advise person A to talk to person C directly. If person B received a
letter from person A about person C, he should return the letter with
this advice and without further comment. Under no circumstance should
person B go and tell person C that person A has complaints about him, and
worse yet, person B should never say to person C that an unnamed person
has complaints about him. This type of behavior tends to divide people
and not bring them together.
the Hebrew word for the number five. A parasha is a section of the
Chumash. We usually have one parasha for each Shabbat and special ones
for the Holy Days and holidays. The Chumash and all of its parashat
(plural of parasha) is read on a yearly cycle that begins and ends on the
holiday of Simchat Torah, in which we rejoice in the giving of the
Torah. This is 8 days after the fall harvest festival of Sukkoth (feast
of Booths, i.e., the Jewish Thanksgiving) begins.)
This Shabbat's parasha gives us the rules of the tithing of the first
fruits, and the famous blessings and the infamous curses. To read why two
tailors had a fist fight on the bimah as well as more insight into this
portion, please read on.
Just before the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan and enter the
Land of Israel, Moses read them a series of 12 commandments. The
Israelites were commanded to write "this Torah" (Deut. 27:04) on stones
covered in plaster. It is clear that it was to be this particular
teaching (the Hebrew word Torah means instruction), and not the entire
Chumash which would have been impossible to fit onto two stones. The
sages in Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah 32A say that the entire Chumash was
inscribed on these two stones. Rashi adds that it was done in the 70
known languages of the time as well. Rabbi Saadiah Gaon (Saadiah the
Genius of the ninth-century C.E. Babylon) says the stones had only the 613
commandments and not the text of the Torah. Other scholars, quoting
Josephus (first century C.E. Jewish-Roman historian), say it clearly means
the stones had only these 12 commandments from this parasha.
Before I review these twelve commandments, let me review briefly the
curses and the blessings. The blessings are given first and the curses
follow. The curses are the opposite of the blessings. If there is a
blessing to have rain and good crops, there is a curse to have drought
and no food. There are 68 verses of blessings and curses. The curses do
not paint a pretty picture. If you have watched any World War Two
Holocaust movies, these curses come close to describing the horrors of
that Shoah. The traditional view is that if you follow the commandments,
you will be blessed, and if you do not, you will be cursed.
Traditionally, God is the blesser or the curser.
Let us review these 12 commandments. These were mitzvoth (commandments)
that were so important that they were to be written on stones. The were
so important, that the entire nation was divided into two. Each half
ascended one of two mountains. The Levites yelled these commandments with
everyone screaming "Amen!!" (Deut. 27:11-14).
Here are these twelve commands, paraphrased:
1. No idols.
2. No degrading your parents.
3. No moving of another's real estate boundary marker.
4. No leading a blind man astray.
5. No perverting justice of the widow, orphan or stranger.
6. No incest with your father's wife.
7. No sex with animals.
8. No incest with your sister.
9. No incest with your mother-in-law.
10. No striking another secretly.
11. No bribe taking.
12. No ignoring of "this instruction."
Let's categorize them. Mitzvoth 6,7,8 and 9 are clearly laws against
incest and bestiality. Mitzvoth 5 and 11 are telling us to have fair and
honest court systems. Number 2 is similar to honoring one's parents but
does not give the positive command of honoring, just the negative command
of not degrading. Number One is not telling us to believe in God, or the
God of the Jews, but just not to make or worship idols. Commandments 3
and 4 are mitzvoth not to steal, but also to have fair business
practices. We have learned that a person coming into a shop or even a
professional's office is "blind" and can be easily taken advantage. The
idea of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) is not a Jewish idea. Number
10 is both an admonition not to hit, but also not to murder. It is also a
warning not to do loshan hara (evil speech) and gossip behind the
someone's back, as this can kill one's reputation. The 12th commandment
is telling us to pay attention to these eleven commandments, so there are
really only eleven commandments folded into six categories. Do these six
categories sound familiar?
In the chapter on Noah which we will come to this November, we will read
about the seven Noahide laws. These seven laws are what all peoples are
to follow to be considered righteous. They are: no idols, no blaspheming
of God, establishing courts of justice, no murder, no adultery or incest,
no robbing, and no eating of meat cut from a living animal. The
Deuteronomy categories have the law about not degrading one's parents
added, but have the laws against blaspheming God and eating live animal
flesh deleted. If we assume that we can roll the "no blasphemy" rule
into the "no idol" rule, and if we further assume that the eating of live
limbs from animals stopped after Noah's time, and therefore no law was
needed for this practice at this time, we are really left with the
Noahide laws. Von Rad in his text, Deuteronomium, calls these twelve
laws the Shechem Dodecalogue and says they are the oldest list of
prohibitions in the Torah.
The Levites are not on the mountain tops yelling about the kosher
dietary rules. They are not screaming about the laws of sacrifice. They
are not even yelling about Shabbat or other Jewish holidays. The are
admonishing the nation of Israel to be righteous in their dealing with
their fellow human beings, Jew and non-Jew alike. Any nation that treated
each other in a way opposite these six category's rules would fail within
time. God would not be the agent of the curses. Man himself would be his
own agent.
Traditionally the entire Torah portion is chanted on Shabbat and seven
different people are called to the Torah to either chant the Hebrew
themselves or make a blessing and allow the Rabbi to chant for him. The
honor of being called up to the bimah (pulpit) is called an alliyah (from
the Hebrew word "to go up"). However it was considered a dishonor to be
called for an alliyah to chant these curses from this week's Torah
portion. Sometimes the sexton of the synagogue would be paid to do this
duty. Instead of being called up to the Torah by his name, as is the
custom, he would be called to the bimah as "he who wishes." When these
curses are read, they are read quickly and in hushed tones.
In some congregations, the community's worst sinner would be called up to
take this alliyah. One cannot refuse this calling to the Torah. The story
is told of a gabbai (the one in charge of giving out bimah honors) who
was a tailor in an eastern European town. He did not get along with his
competitor tailor who he suspected of using cheaper materials, stealing
his business, and working of the Sabbath. In those days, everyone in
town, except the very ill, showed up for Shabbat services. So the
gabbai-tailor called his competitor to the bimah to take the alliyah of
the reading of the curses. This was a major insult to the second tailor
whose entire family and many clients were in the synagogue. A shouting
match ensued which turned into a fist fight on the bimah. Our negative
actions can bring about our own curses.
As we learned in this D'var Torah today one of the six major categories
of heinous crimes is "striking a man in secret." Our sages interpret this
as doing loshan hara, as well as murder. Loshan hara is not only
gossiping untruths about another, it is even talking about negative
truths about another. But the rules of loshan hara as defined by Rabbi
Israel Kagan of 20th-century Europe, known as the Chofeitz Chaim, are
more detailed. It is a sin for person A to approach person B with a
negative comment about person C. It is an equal sin for person B to
allow person A to continue the conversation. Person B's obligation,
under the man-to-man laws which modern Judaism has not abrogated, is to
advise person A to talk to person C directly. If person B received a
letter from person A about person C, he should return the letter with
this advice and without further comment. Under no circumstance should
person B go and tell person C that person A has complaints about him, and
worse yet, person B should never say to person C that an unnamed person
has complaints about him. This type of behavior tends to divide people
and not bring them together.
As Jews, we have an obligation to
compromise, communicate, and get along. We have to be polite, assertive
and honest with one another. Saying that it is a Southern way to smile at
someone and then talk behind their back is not a valid excuse. This is
truly "uga-ly." If we are to be the people of Shalom (peace) and be a
light unto the other nations to help bring about world peace, how can we
show that we can achieve Shalom Olam (world peace) when we cannot
accomplish Shalom Bayat (peace in the house)? We cannot expect our
individual congregants to grasp this concept if they were not taught it.
However, even the most liberal of the Jewish movement's guidelines for officers of a Holy Congregation do
teach these ethics. If our leaders, or even rabbis and their rebbetzins (wives, or now even husbantzins), engage in loshan hara, how can we
expect our congregants not to follow suit?
The Mishna teaches that "whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah
for its own sake merits many things. He is called a friend and a beloved.
He loves God and he loves God's created beings. He brings joy to God and
he brings joy to God's created beings. The Torah garbs him in
humility...it keeps him far from sin and closer to meritorious deeds. The
Torah (not man) bestows upon him royalty, authority, and judgment. He
becomes a fountain which flows with ever-increasing strength. He becomes
modest, patient, and forgiving of insult." We are told that in Torah,
we were "given good teachings"(Proverbs 4:2). We are told in the same
verse "not to forsake them." As we have learned in this series, there is
so much more to Torah than laws of ritual minutia. It really can be a way
of life. Yet those who study it in modern temple are sometimes considered
odd and out-of-place.
Some congregants actually feel threatened by Torah or Talmud study in their
temples or threaten by those who know more than they do.
compromise, communicate, and get along. We have to be polite, assertive
and honest with one another. Saying that it is a Southern way to smile at
someone and then talk behind their back is not a valid excuse. This is
truly "uga-ly." If we are to be the people of Shalom (peace) and be a
light unto the other nations to help bring about world peace, how can we
show that we can achieve Shalom Olam (world peace) when we cannot
accomplish Shalom Bayat (peace in the house)? We cannot expect our
individual congregants to grasp this concept if they were not taught it.
However, even the most liberal of the Jewish movement's guidelines for officers of a Holy Congregation do
teach these ethics. If our leaders, or even rabbis and their rebbetzins (wives, or now even husbantzins), engage in loshan hara, how can we
expect our congregants not to follow suit?
The Mishna teaches that "whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah
for its own sake merits many things. He is called a friend and a beloved.
He loves God and he loves God's created beings. He brings joy to God and
he brings joy to God's created beings. The Torah garbs him in
humility...it keeps him far from sin and closer to meritorious deeds. The
Torah (not man) bestows upon him royalty, authority, and judgment. He
becomes a fountain which flows with ever-increasing strength. He becomes
modest, patient, and forgiving of insult." We are told that in Torah,
we were "given good teachings"(Proverbs 4:2). We are told in the same
verse "not to forsake them." As we have learned in this series, there is
so much more to Torah than laws of ritual minutia. It really can be a way
of life. Yet those who study it in modern temple are sometimes considered
odd and out-of-place.
Some congregants actually feel threatened by Torah or Talmud study in their
temples or threaten by those who know more than they do.
Those who do not study Torah regularly, including board members
in some of our modern temples, are missing out on beautiful instructions
that will help them lead and guide ethically and fairly.
in some of our modern temples, are missing out on beautiful instructions
that will help them lead and guide ethically and fairly.
To those that look at Torah study as a threat to their way of prayer or
Judaism, I say that it is not. If anything, Torah study shows that all
are beloved of God. Even the Talmud, which our traditional brothers and
sisters think is the word of God, says that abbreviated prayer in your
own language with spiritual concentrated attention is better than a complete Hebrew
prayer service with no understanding. Modern Judaism is about choice. And
just as we abhor those in other movements who call modern Jews "not real
Jews", we would abhor anyone in our own Temple calling Jews who choose
not to attend class or services "lesser Jews." We would abhor anyone
calling Torah study attendees "too Jewish." Frankly, it becomes anti-Semitic, and I do not use this term lightly, for secular Jews, to snub liberal Jews in their midst who have found God via Jewish Spiritual Renewal.
Liberal Judaism is an open and welcoming like Abraham's tent. Their is no litmus test in spiritual
Judaism. There is no halakah (Jewish law codes) for one to follow. We
are all equal. And whether we say "Shabbat Shalom" or "Good Shabbos",
whether we wear Kipot (skull caps) or not, or whether we like the Friday
night services with its Hebrew melodies or the Saturday morning service
with its classical hymns, we are all beloved by God. We need to be
all beloved by each other. This is our blessing.
Judaism. There is no halakah (Jewish law codes) for one to follow. We
are all equal. And whether we say "Shabbat Shalom" or "Good Shabbos",
whether we wear Kipot (skull caps) or not, or whether we like the Friday
night services with its Hebrew melodies or the Saturday morning service
with its classical hymns, we are all beloved by God. We need to be
all beloved by each other. This is our blessing.
Let us resolve during
the last two weeks of this month of Elul to make our lives a blessing.
When the New Year comes in Tishrei we will know we have all done our
best to bring blessings to our congregations and not curses.
Shabbat Shalom,
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL
the last two weeks of this month of Elul to make our lives a blessing.
When the New Year comes in Tishrei we will know we have all done our
best to bring blessings to our congregations and not curses.
Shabbat Shalom,
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC
BLUFFTON, SC
ORIGINAL VERSION WRITTEN WHEN SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE AT CONGREGATION TEMPLE MICKVE ISRAEL, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
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