Shabbat HaGadol- the Great Shabbat

The Shabbat prior to Pesach is called Shabbat Hagadol, The Great Shabbat. Traditionally it was one of the two Shabbbatot when rabbis would give a long sermon in preparation of the hag. The Shibolei Haleket, Zedekiah ben Abraham Anaw, 13^th century scholar, wrote this was the reason it was called gadol, because the rabbis would speak for so long. However, the traditional reason given in Midrash, and backed up by scholars throughout the centuries, refers to this Shabbat as a time when those Israelites who had been drawn into Egyptian practice returned to Judaism.

Although it is said that the Israelites never gave up their Hebrew names or practices, and maintained a separate community even while in Egypt, after generations of settlement in Egypt many Israelites had begun to take on Egyptian practices, including the worship of certain animals. One of those sacred animals is the lamb. On Shabbat Hagadol the Israelites received the mitzvah to prepare the pesach, the lamb for sacrifice. For days the lambs were secured to ensure they were prepared and ready. Once they received this mitzvah, the Israelites abandoned their worship of animals, and returned to God. But even beyond their return to God, the Egyptians were helpless to stop the slaughter of the animals. The Tur reports this was a nes gadol, a great miracle, giving the name to the Shabbat prior to Pesach.

The Pri Hadash, a commentator on the Shulchan Arukh, writes that the Israelites’ willingness to fulfill the mitzvot given to them, especially this first mitzvah, was like the moment when the Israelites went from being like children to being like adults, going from katan to gadol.

Interestingly, Pesach is still a time when Jews connect with God and the mitzvot. The Pesach seder is the most observed Jewish ritual in the world. More than 80% of Jews around the world attend some form of the seder. It is still a time when we aim to connect with God and with the general community, a time when we seek to exert our generational connection to our history and the continuity of the Jewish community.

I join with Sean, Jesse, Gavriel & Keren in wishing you a hag kasher v’sameach, a kosher and happy holiday, celebrating our creation, history, and continuity as a Jewish community. 

She Never Ceases to Amaze Me

Keren is amazing.  Her self-assuredness impresses me daily.  On Mondays and Wednesdays I kick-box while she's in karate class.  She's a brown belt, and slightly scary.  I can hear her yell over the music and through the closed door.  She's louder than the rest of her class combined.

Keren loves the stage.  She's recently discovered Les Mis.  She loves the song Castle on a Cloud, sung by Cosette.  Recently she heard that Les Mis is coming to Toronto.  It is, but it's not scheduled yet.  Then she heard they're looking for a Cosette.  She's decided she wants to audition.  Turns out they're not auditioning for Cosette, but that doesn't really matter.  It was the pronouncement that was impressive.  She makes a decision, and she sticks with it.  She is poised and self-assured, and all together impressive.

She never ceases to amaze me.

Parashat Vayakhel-P’kudei - What's Work Got to Do With It?

Sheishet yamim tei’a’she melacha uvayom hash’vi’i yiyeh lachem kodesh Shabbat shabbaton lAdonai…

Six days you shall melacha, and on the seventh you will have a holy day, a Shabbat of rest to the Lord… (Shemot 35:2)

When discussing Shabbat people often say to me, “But I don’t understand why I can’t do that.  I find it relaxing.” We have fallen into the trap of trying to understand halakhah in English terms. “Six days you shall work, and on the seventh you will have a holy day, a Shabbat of rest to the Lord.” It’s the word “work” that gets us in trouble.  There is a common Italian phrase “Traduttore traditore.” It means the translator is a traitor. In every translation there is a commentary, an interpretation of the text that cannot fully encompass the original meaning of the words. While it’s true that the word melacha means work, all work is not created equal.  Melacha refers to a very specific category of work. In English we have the word “work,” but in Hebrew we have melacha, avodah, peulah, esek, la’amol, and even asakah. Each of these refers to a type of activity. While it is true that in English we speak of work and of rest when referring to Shabbat, in Hebrew we say “tei’a’she melacha” to do melacha, and only melacha.

According to the Sages, there are 39 categories of melacha.  Each of these categories refers to an act related to the construction of the Mishkan. Once we have moved beyond these categories, any action is permitted on Shabbat.  The common example I give is you may carry a couch up and down you stairs, but you may not carry a feather outside your home without an eruv. We are a people of rule and of law. However, it is said that for everything God forbade, there is something permitted. Each Shabbat there are 39 categories of work, and all their sub-sections, which we cannot do, but there are so many other activities we can do. By forbidding the creative actions involved in the building of the Mishkan, God has taught us that despite the importance of the work we do daily, there are activities and values beyond it that must come first. Even when we were building the Mishkan, the dwelling place for God’s presence on earth, when Shabbat came, all melacha ceased in order to allow us to maintain our being in the image of God, resting and renewing on Shabbat, a Shabbat for us and for God. It maintains and keeps us.  As Ahad Ha'am said, “more than the Jewish people have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jewish people.”

Ki Tissa- A Mitzvah for Everyone

Zeh yitnu kol ha’oveir al hap’kudim machatzit hashekel b’shekel hakodesh esrim geirah hashekel machatzit hashekel t’rumah LaShem... He’asher lo yarbeh v’hadal lo yam’it machatzit hashekel…
This is what everyone entered into the record shall give- a half-shekel according to the sanctuary weight- twenty gerah to the shekel- a half shekel as a gift to the Lord… The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than half a shekel…


Everyone shall pay- The half-shekel offering that is set in Parashat Ki Tissa is set low enough that every person could have a part in the creation of Ohel Moed, the Tent of Meeting. This became the centre of the Israelite camp. It is an opportunity for everyone, no matter his/her economic standing to have an equal share in the support of the community. The mitzvot given to us are intended for all of us. Whether the mitzvah is Shabbat, kashrut, or machatzit hashekel, it must therefore be attainable by all of us.
This idea is carried into the rules of tzedakah. Each person, no matter his/her financial standing must give tzedakah. Unlike g’milut hasadim, which are specifically acts, tzedakah refers to a monetary gift. Even the poorest person, who him/herself receives sustenance, is supposed to give something back. It’s an incredibly empowering idea, that no matter how bad things seem, you too must give something to another, even if it is only half a shekel.

In fundraising, organizations often go after their big donors forgetting the smaller donors. When this happens, thousands of dollars are lost along with the connection these individuals have to the organization and the community. On the other hand, many charities are sustained by the almighty penny; the change that no one wants to bother with is dropped into the pushke. One congregation I know invited everyone to participate in their High Holyday appeal. Every person’s name who donated before start of Rosh Hashanah was printed on large posters hung in the synagogue lobby. More posters were added before Yom Kippur. It wasn’t the most beautiful collection of donor plaques, but the sheer number of participants was awe-inspiring. People who had never been able to afford to see their name hanging in the shul stopped to read the lists and find their names. Children pointed out their own names to their parents and their friends, and everyone who walked past those posters held their head a little higher that year.

Machatzit hashekel- it’s not a lot, but when we bring them all together they can build a community of which we can all be proud.

Parashat T’tzaveh- The Eternal Light in Our Life

V’ata t’tzaveh et b’nei Yisrael v’yikchu eileikha shemen zayit zakh katit lama’or l’ha’a lot ner tamid. B’ohel moed michutz laparokhet asher al ha’eidut ya’arokh oto Aharon uvanav mei’erev ad boker lifnei Hashem chukat olam l’dorotam mei’eit b’nei Yisrael.

And you shall command the Children of Israel to bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for lighting the ner tamid. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is over the [Ark] of the Pact , Aaron and his sons shall set them up [to burn] from evening until morning before Hashem; it is a statute for the Children of Israel for all time.

The Ner Tamid, which is the menorah, burns in the Tent of Meeting outside the curtain, where all of Israel came to speak with God. This flame is a ner tamid, an eternal light, burning continuously as a symbol of Hashem and His covenant with Israel. The continuously burning flame of the Ner Tamid is a symbol that has resonated with individuals and communities for centuries. Fire gives off warmth and light, creating comfort and enhancing vision. Mishlei (Proverbs) says, “Ner mitzvah v’Torah ohr; Mitzvah is a lamp and Torah is light.” Light is a tool and an inspiration. The Ner Tamid allows us sight in the dark, both actual and theological. In the glow of this light we can fulfill God’s covenant; we can come together as a community; we can reach inside ourselves, and work to communicate with the Divine.

Talmud Bavli in Niddah teaches the midrash that in utero a light shines above the head of the embryo. This light illuminates the world from end to end. During this time the soul learns all of Torah. 

This Ner Tamid continues to burn in our lives. The menorah is the symbol of the Jewish People and the modern State of Israel.  The Ner Tamid illuminates our sanctuaries. Our holy days are begun and ended with flame, as are our lives. Our learning as individuals and as a people continues to connect us to that first light in our lives- the ner tamid that burned for our people in the wilderness, for each of us in utero, and throughout our lives in our connection to our congregation, the Jewish community, and the people Israel.