After Avram and Lot split up, Hashem promises Avram and his descendants all the land that he can see (13:14). Even if the parsha ended here, I would be happy. But it gets even better with the next pasuk, yud chet. After Avram gets this incredible promise, which is a huge bracha, where is the first place he goes to live? CHEVRON!!! Anyone who knows me knows that for some reason I love Chevron. I feel some kind of weird connection to the city. Maybe it's because of the incredible history we have there, rooting in parshat Lech Lecha. Or maybe it's because of the crazy political impact the city has for the Land of Israel. Or maybe it's just because of the symbolism that comes with the city, everything it represents. Chevron represents the beginning of some pretty integral parts of my belief (more to come when I write about Chayei Sarah, I'm sure). And because of this love for Chevron and what the city stands for, this promise Hashem makes to Avram feels even more significant. When Hashem says, "Avram. It's all yours. Forever..." the first place Avram pitches his tent, the first place he puts this promise into action, is Chevron!
In perek yud daled, we learn about the famous war of the 5 kings versus the 4 kings. Avram hears that
Lot and all his things have been taken by the enemy, and he right away gets his crew together to go save him from captivity. What I find interesting is that we never see Lot say thank you to Avram for saving him and bringing him home. While the king of Sdom offers Avram all the posessions he wants as a token of gratitude, Lot kind of just fades into the picture. What's his deal? I really just don't get him. What's his beef with Avraham? First, in perek yud gimmel, his group couldn't get along with Avram's group so they moved away, and now he doesn't even thank Avram for saving his life. Or if he did, it's not included here. I'm a bit curious about how Lot responded to this whole ordeal.
Everything up until this point I wrote before vacation. I'm extremely happy I waited to write the rest of this post because it was nice to think about some of these things in Israel instead of in America. It gets better than that, though. Yesterday I went to the one and only Chevron. Yet again, I was fortunate to experience the first place in Israel where Avram decided to live. He saw some other places on the way, but when he got to Chevron, he knew it was the right choice. And it was in Chevron that our history as Jews really begins. It was here that Hashem made Avram the promise of all promises, the brit bein habetarim. Avram was promised descendants as many as the stars AND the land of Israel. So there it is folks, our biblical claim to the land of Israel. The root of why it means so much to us as Jews. It all started in Chevron.
So here is what I find a little bit ironic. It was in Chevron that Hashem made this tremendous promise, yet it is in Chevron that we fight for the right to live in our city. Every time I visit this city of both spiritual and historical significance, I am reminded of the mind-boggling statistics. Out of the entire city of Chevron, only 20% is under Israeli control, with the other 80% under control of the Palestinian Authority. According to Wikipedia, the Israeli 20% is home to 166,000 Palestinians, but only about 500 Jews. And THIS is the place where we were promised everything? It's not that Jews don't want to live in Chevron, it's that they can't get permission for more property. There is even a waiting list to get in to the community! Something seems a bit off. Back in biblical times, Eisav had a birthright that he foolishly gave up. Now, we have a birthright, and we need to stand up for it. In this place where the brit bein habetarim happened, the brit should also be fulfilled. I always hear about how important it is to take lessons from Tanach and its characters. So here's one for everyone. Hashem said to Avram, “lech lecha”, and Avram went. Not only did he go, but his first stop was Chevron. Does lech lecha still apply? Well, if you believe that the Torah is eternal, then yeah, it probably does. So do what Avram did. Go to Israel. And even better than that, go check out Chevron.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Noach
1. The flood
One thing that I was thinking about for awhile is what must have been going on in everyone's heads throughout the entire ordeal of the flood. By everyone I mean Noach, his family, and everyone being punished. Overall, it seems like it would be very scary and traumatizing for everyone.
First I'll consider Noach. He had a week to build the ark, so he was probably pretty busy. Often, being busy can be pretty powerful in terms of taking your mind off other things. If I were Noach, I would probably be so focused on the fact that I had to make such an intense ark and get together all the animals that I wouldn't have much time to think of what was really going on. Everyone he knew, except for his wives, sons, and daughter-in-laws, was going to die what were likely slow and painful deaths. Sure, everyone was corrupt-- but they were still Noach's neighbors and cousins.
The word "tzadik" is used to describe Noach, but not his sons, even though they were allowed to come on the ark. Were they nearly as corrupt as everyone else, but perhaps not on such an extreme level and luckier because of their lineage? After all, some people needed to stick around to repopulate the world. I think they may have been more ilkely than their father to associate with these corrupt people. Some of them would have been their wives' immediate families. And, since they themselves weren't "tzadikim", the sons probably hung out with some of the less desirables, even if they weren't AS bad. But let's be real. We know they aren't perfect. Just note the later occurrence of Cham's reaction to finding Noach passed out drunk.
That said, now I'm thinking about what happened once they were on the ark. Until the flood started, everyone probably laughed at them. Civilization continued normally. Was Noach's family witness to the destruction? Did they see their neighbors and cousins and business partners get swept up by the torrential rains? Did they hear them screaming for help and watch them drown? Even if they didn't, they must have known it was happening. That's just scary.
2. Aftermath
Finally, in perek tet, they are out of the ark and back on land ready to live life. But before they start the rebuilding process, Hashem has a few thing he wants to outline. Animals are there for man to kill and eat. But, if a man kills another man, he himself should be killed because man was created in the image of G-d. I'm a little bit torn about this. On one hand, it almost seems like a classic example of "two wrongs make a right". If, because man was created in the image of G-d, taking the life of a man is such a big deal, how could the response be taking the life of another man, who was also created in the image of G-d? On the other hand, I understand the need to have major consequences for majorly wrong actions, especially at a time like this. Everything was just destroyed because the world was in such a corrupt state. Maybe the reason for this terrible state of the world and its inhabitants was a lack of consequences for actions.
Hashem makes a pretty strong covenant with us, saying that He will never again destroy the entire world with a flood. How does He know that this won't be necessary? Perhaps the step of beginning to incorporate clear-cut consequences into humanity is a way to avoid the world evolving into such a deplorable state again. When consequences are laid out from the get go, things won't get as out of hand.
3. Noach gets crunk
At the end of perek tet we have the incident with Noach and his sons. Noach got mad drunk one night. After finding him, Cham definitely messed up by telling his brothers. But still, did he really deserved to be cursed for that? Especially by his own father?! This irks me. Lots of kids mess up. A lot. Even on purpose. Some teenagers go crazy and try to sabotage everything. But do really good parents curse them? Or do they try to figure out what character flaw is at the root at the problem and then try to help their kids? I'm not saying that Noach was a bad parent. Clearly he had been through a lot in his lifetime. But I am still bothered by the fact that he cursed his own son, Cham. Maybe this kind of highlights the idea of Noach as a tzadik only relative to his own generation. Would a tzadik of all tzadiks curse his own son for embarrassing him, even if it was done maliciously? Noach's curse seems like more of a spontaneous emotional reaction than a thought out consequence. It's a tough call. After all, I've never met Cham. Maybe he was a real jerk and deserved it.
One thing that I was thinking about for awhile is what must have been going on in everyone's heads throughout the entire ordeal of the flood. By everyone I mean Noach, his family, and everyone being punished. Overall, it seems like it would be very scary and traumatizing for everyone.
First I'll consider Noach. He had a week to build the ark, so he was probably pretty busy. Often, being busy can be pretty powerful in terms of taking your mind off other things. If I were Noach, I would probably be so focused on the fact that I had to make such an intense ark and get together all the animals that I wouldn't have much time to think of what was really going on. Everyone he knew, except for his wives, sons, and daughter-in-laws, was going to die what were likely slow and painful deaths. Sure, everyone was corrupt-- but they were still Noach's neighbors and cousins.
The word "tzadik" is used to describe Noach, but not his sons, even though they were allowed to come on the ark. Were they nearly as corrupt as everyone else, but perhaps not on such an extreme level and luckier because of their lineage? After all, some people needed to stick around to repopulate the world. I think they may have been more ilkely than their father to associate with these corrupt people. Some of them would have been their wives' immediate families. And, since they themselves weren't "tzadikim", the sons probably hung out with some of the less desirables, even if they weren't AS bad. But let's be real. We know they aren't perfect. Just note the later occurrence of Cham's reaction to finding Noach passed out drunk.
That said, now I'm thinking about what happened once they were on the ark. Until the flood started, everyone probably laughed at them. Civilization continued normally. Was Noach's family witness to the destruction? Did they see their neighbors and cousins and business partners get swept up by the torrential rains? Did they hear them screaming for help and watch them drown? Even if they didn't, they must have known it was happening. That's just scary.
2. Aftermath
Finally, in perek tet, they are out of the ark and back on land ready to live life. But before they start the rebuilding process, Hashem has a few thing he wants to outline. Animals are there for man to kill and eat. But, if a man kills another man, he himself should be killed because man was created in the image of G-d. I'm a little bit torn about this. On one hand, it almost seems like a classic example of "two wrongs make a right". If, because man was created in the image of G-d, taking the life of a man is such a big deal, how could the response be taking the life of another man, who was also created in the image of G-d? On the other hand, I understand the need to have major consequences for majorly wrong actions, especially at a time like this. Everything was just destroyed because the world was in such a corrupt state. Maybe the reason for this terrible state of the world and its inhabitants was a lack of consequences for actions.
Hashem makes a pretty strong covenant with us, saying that He will never again destroy the entire world with a flood. How does He know that this won't be necessary? Perhaps the step of beginning to incorporate clear-cut consequences into humanity is a way to avoid the world evolving into such a deplorable state again. When consequences are laid out from the get go, things won't get as out of hand.
3. Noach gets crunk
At the end of perek tet we have the incident with Noach and his sons. Noach got mad drunk one night. After finding him, Cham definitely messed up by telling his brothers. But still, did he really deserved to be cursed for that? Especially by his own father?! This irks me. Lots of kids mess up. A lot. Even on purpose. Some teenagers go crazy and try to sabotage everything. But do really good parents curse them? Or do they try to figure out what character flaw is at the root at the problem and then try to help their kids? I'm not saying that Noach was a bad parent. Clearly he had been through a lot in his lifetime. But I am still bothered by the fact that he cursed his own son, Cham. Maybe this kind of highlights the idea of Noach as a tzadik only relative to his own generation. Would a tzadik of all tzadiks curse his own son for embarrassing him, even if it was done maliciously? Noach's curse seems like more of a spontaneous emotional reaction than a thought out consequence. It's a tough call. After all, I've never met Cham. Maybe he was a real jerk and deserved it.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Bereishit
1. Creation
The story of creation really highlights the idea of creation and the creative process in general. Look at how much satisfaction can be gotten from being involved in the creative process---Hashem keeps saying "vayehi tov". I remember back when I was in camp, we were learning about the 5 levels of pleasure. According to what we were learning, the greatest level of them all is the pleasure you get when you are involved in creating something. It seems to be ringing true. At the end of the sixth day of creation, not only was it good, but it was very good. And then finally, Shabbat. After Hashem finished creating the world, he took a day to just sit and appreciate how amazing it is. This day is so special that He blessed it, and we take this one day every week to think about creation and to think about all we created in our week.
Moral of the story? Take the time to do something creative, even if you aren't especially talented at it. Play music, do something artsy, or plan a super fun activity or event. And at the end, when it is all finished, you can sit back and see how great of a job you did. Now THAT is pleasure.
But don't bask in it for too long. There's still more you can do. After all, and THEN G-d gave man his soul.
2. And guys finally start to learn...
I know that it always takes guys awhile to figure things out, and that they are often less than perceptive when it comes to girls, but come on---it took until perek vav for the guys to start noticing the girls and realizing that they need to play the game?? That's a whole lot of generations away from Adam and Chava. Noach already has kids by this point! Oh, and what I'm taking from pasuk bet ("vayikchu lahem nashim mikol asher bacharu") is that guys are meant to MAN UP and take some initiative. GUYS---get with the program. It took them long enough to learn then, and it's taking them long enough to learn now:)
3. Accountability
One theme that I keep noticing in Bereishit is the lack of people taking accountability for their actions. Adam, Chava, Kayin. Each of them either makes excuses, tries to pin the blame on someone else, or even pretends that they didn't do anything wrong. This is one of my biggest pet peeves, and something that everyone today really needs to work on. If you mess up, it's okay. Just own up to it. You aren't expected to be perfect, just honest and responsible.
So there you have it: my first real post. I have no idea what the next ones will bring, whether they be more tanach-esque or more journal-esque. Only time will tell!
The story of creation really highlights the idea of creation and the creative process in general. Look at how much satisfaction can be gotten from being involved in the creative process---Hashem keeps saying "vayehi tov". I remember back when I was in camp, we were learning about the 5 levels of pleasure. According to what we were learning, the greatest level of them all is the pleasure you get when you are involved in creating something. It seems to be ringing true. At the end of the sixth day of creation, not only was it good, but it was very good. And then finally, Shabbat. After Hashem finished creating the world, he took a day to just sit and appreciate how amazing it is. This day is so special that He blessed it, and we take this one day every week to think about creation and to think about all we created in our week.
Moral of the story? Take the time to do something creative, even if you aren't especially talented at it. Play music, do something artsy, or plan a super fun activity or event. And at the end, when it is all finished, you can sit back and see how great of a job you did. Now THAT is pleasure.
But don't bask in it for too long. There's still more you can do. After all, and THEN G-d gave man his soul.
2. And guys finally start to learn...
I know that it always takes guys awhile to figure things out, and that they are often less than perceptive when it comes to girls, but come on---it took until perek vav for the guys to start noticing the girls and realizing that they need to play the game?? That's a whole lot of generations away from Adam and Chava. Noach already has kids by this point! Oh, and what I'm taking from pasuk bet ("vayikchu lahem nashim mikol asher bacharu") is that guys are meant to MAN UP and take some initiative. GUYS---get with the program. It took them long enough to learn then, and it's taking them long enough to learn now:)
3. Accountability
One theme that I keep noticing in Bereishit is the lack of people taking accountability for their actions. Adam, Chava, Kayin. Each of them either makes excuses, tries to pin the blame on someone else, or even pretends that they didn't do anything wrong. This is one of my biggest pet peeves, and something that everyone today really needs to work on. If you mess up, it's okay. Just own up to it. You aren't expected to be perfect, just honest and responsible.
So there you have it: my first real post. I have no idea what the next ones will bring, whether they be more tanach-esque or more journal-esque. Only time will tell!
Monday, December 7, 2009
What is My Tanach Journal?
My Tanach Journal is exactly what it sounds like: my Tanach journal. As I make my way through learning my Tanach, I'll be writing down my thoughts about each parsha, including what I'm learning from it, what's bothering me, or even just what's going through my head.
My goal is simple: I want to learn Tanach again, this time through different eyes. I would like to connect to the themes, characters, and even laws on a more personal level than before. I want to learn FROM Tanach itself, instead of about it, because I think it really has a lot to offer. Wish me luck:)
Stay tuned!
My goal is simple: I want to learn Tanach again, this time through different eyes. I would like to connect to the themes, characters, and even laws on a more personal level than before. I want to learn FROM Tanach itself, instead of about it, because I think it really has a lot to offer. Wish me luck:)
Stay tuned!
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