Rabbi Eytan Kenter's blog

This week's portion begins with the Israelites leaving Egypt the long way.  The reason that God gives for this is that the Israelites would go to war too soon and then want to return to Egypt in response.  That challenge would be too much for them to bear.  Interestingly enough, God seems to be wrong about this one.  Throughout the portion, the Israelites complain about literally everything.  At every turn, they complain about having been taken out of Egypt.  They complain about being trapped between the sea and the Egyptians, they complain about the water being too bitter, they complain about not having food and then about not having the right food and then complain about not having water to drink.  Throughout the story, they long to go back to Egypt.  So when the Israelites go to war with the Amalekites at the end of the portion, of course this will be the final straw.  They'll complain about this too and call to return to Egypt, right?

But, no!  This is the only event in the entire portion (excluding actually getting through the split sea) that the Israelites do not complain about.  They go to battle without a word and are inspired by their leader Moses who, until this point, was mostly the source of their laments.   So it appears that the primary concern that God had regarding the Exodus was wrong.  It was not war that led the Israelites to want to go back, it was the lack of daily services and basic needs.  This might be why Maimonides suggested that the Israelites went the long way to get used to hardships so that they'd be ready for any future challenges. 

I see an interesting comparison in our own world.  One might think that challenges to life and limb would push people away and terrify them.  People would say that it is too much for them to handle.  But in reality, those times where Israel is truly in danger, 1967 for example, is when people went their in droves.  Look at how America responded to the attacks of 9/11, uniting on for one of the few brief moments in recent history.  Much like Amalek's attack, most of us did not complain about the circumstances or what might have been avoided.  We banded together because we finally needed to.

In our story, as long as the Israelites  know that God will be there to save them, they continue to complain and are negative.  Only when they have the need/opportunity to stand up for themselves do they unite as a people and realize the blessings they have in their lives.  Let's not have to wait that long ourselves.  Let's realize the blessings we have in America and in Israel and not take them for granted.  Rather than complaining, let's appreciate all that we have and do all we can for them and make this entire world a better place.

Among my favorite parts of rabbinical school were those moments when two great teachers would go toe to toe expressing contradictory beliefs with extreme passion.  There was one time where a senior sermon led to two professors of Talmud each speaking week after week responding to the other expressing differing opinions and another when a panel of teachers gathered to passionately articulate their worldviews just to name a few.  To experience both the knowledge and the passion were such a treat and continue to inspire me. 

In that spirit, I was so pleased to see both Rabbi Dov Linzer's Op-Ed piece in the New York Times on the recent struggles between the Ultra-Orthodox and women in Israel (NY Times Op-Ed)  as well as Professor Shaul Magid's response.  I have been wondering for some time whether there was an interesting counterpoint or other side to the issue of the persecution and maltreatment of women by Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel.  We can sign on to a statement opposing it, but who would ever disagree?  It isn't particular bold or polarizing to speak out against a clear injustice so while it will allow us to distance ourselves from them, it probably wouldn't, in the long term, serve much good. 

And then came Professor Magid's letter to Rabbi Linzer.  It was a call to the larger community to look at these issues in themselves rather than simply condoning the behaviors of others.  It calls on all of us to think about how our tradition continues to undermine and undervalue certain segments of our community and explore what that means for all of us as Jews.

Therefore, I'd encourage all of you to read these articles some time this week.  I'd love to talk with you about it.

Shabbat Shalom

What do you think about this?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The article

 

Parashat Vayakhel

Construction

 

"You shall kindle no fire...on the sabbath day" (Exodus 35:3).

 

 

For Preschool Parents:

Why would anyone do that to themselves?  Spend a whole day without heat, light, cooked food, and entertainment?  It's one thing to keep Shabbat and rest, but what are you supposed to do all day without fire?  The same is true today.  How are we supposed to keep our kids entertained with no video games, television, dvds etc...? Taking Shabbat as a family day, a time to unplug, get outside is an incredible way to benefit the family and the individual.  While we are so used to the electronics, taking some time away from them can only better ourselves as we build family time spent together.

 

 

For K-2^nd Grade:

Why do we light candles on Friday night?  We do it to mark the beginning of Shabbat and many spiritual explanations are also given for its practice, but in reality it started so that we could see.  Could you imagine eating Shabbat dinner with no lights? Food would be spilling all over the place, people would be tripping over each other, it would be madness. That is why we were told to light candles right before Shabbat starts, so that those lights would shine through dinner and allow us to eat and celebrate Shabbat.  Often times we think everything in Judaism has some spiritual reason, but this one also has an entirely practical purpose.

 

For 3^rd-6^th Grade:

While this teaching is probably meant to describe actual fire, some rabbis have also understood it to mean that Shabbat is a day where we should not argue and get angry with each other.  Shabbat is a day of rest and a day of peace.  That is why we wish people a Shabbat Shalom, a peaceful Shabbat.  We try to make this day a day of relaxation and loving.  In that spirit, we should not light a fire within ourselves and embrace what Shabbat is really about.

 

For 7^th Grade and above:

This commandment is the basis for not using electricity on Shabbat.  But those of us familiar with electricity know that there is no fire involved in many uses of electricity, so how come many say that something like turning on a light is prohibited?  One reason is because it feels like fire for rabbis who may not have understood how a circuit truly works may have thought that there must be some spark involved in the process.  For me, that is not the reason why I do not use electricity.  My reason is because what fire was to the ancients, electricity is to us.  What did they use fire for?  Cooking, heat, entertainment, light, etc... Today, that is exactly what we use electricity for.  Therefore, in order to keep the spirit of the law, I also do not use electricity to separate that day from the rest of the week and truly to make it a day of rest. 

Shul is great!

 

There is one verse that stands above the rest in this week's portion.  Exodus 25:8 states, "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them."  Every rabbi, at some point in his/her career, has spoken at length about this verse because it has at its core such an important message.  The idea is that the people are not building a structure so that God can live in it, but rather they are building a tabernacle so that God can dwell among them.  God does not live in the sanctuary, but with its existence, God is able to dwell in the people's midst. 

 

Today, we often think that the synagogue is where God lives and that the sole place where we can interact with God is the shul.  But in fact, it is by having the synagogue as our center that allows us to bring God into our own lives wherever we are.  It teaches us the tools for experiencing the divine in our lives and gives us the perspective that enables us to find God in the more sublime and ordinary of moments.  By being a part of constructing and supporting this Jewish center, we are able to really feel God all around us. 

 

Just So

 

Would you let someone else pick out all of your clothes or design your house?  Probably not.  They wouldn't know your style, your taste, and what function you would need out of your rooms.  That is why most of us buy our own clothing and like designing our own spaces. 

 

God is no different.  God gives incredibly explicit instructions about what he wants his wilderness sanctuary to look like.  Every small detail is accounted for.  While some might say that it is unnecessary to be so specific and deliberate.  But if we want things done a certain way, we need to be clear about exactly what we want.  Just as we often like things done to our satisfaction, so too does God and we do our best to fulfill God's wishes. 

 

In this week's portion we have the last three plagues. As each plague passes, Pharaoh still refuses to let the Hebrews go. The question that could be asked is "Why are all the Egyptians punished when Pharaoh is the one who is not letting the Hebrews go?" One answer is that the Egyptians are equally as responsible as Pharaoh because they either participated in the persecution of the Hebrews or just stood by and watched.

            In school we are learning about bullying and silent witnesses. Silent witnesses are bystanders of the bullies' who see the bullying occur but don't do anything to help because they are either afraid of being the next target or because their friends are the bullies. Studies show that 88% of students in middle schools are bystanders or silent witnesses to bullying and often think that they aren't doing anything wrong because they aren't doing the bullying itself.  We know, however, that doing nothing is really just as bad or if not worse of the bullying. So too in this case are the Egyptians being punished because of their earlier actions even if they didn't do the enslaving themselves, because they were responsible because they watched and let it happen.

In our lives, its important to always to stand up for those in need because if you don't who will?  

 

 

           By Maya Shapira and Charlie Burstiner (with comments by Rabbi Kenter)

Parashat Vaera

Plagues!

 

For Preschool Parents:

"Not all hazards are marked"

Of the ten plagues that befell Egypt, three of them (every third one actually) came unannounced.  When the people were warned, at least they had the chance to prepare, but the unannounced plagues left no time to prepare and needed to be dealt with immediately. 

 

In our own lives not every peril and challenge is announced.  Some we are utterly unprepared for.  While we wish that we would always know the difficulties ahead in our own lives and our children's we are not so lucky as to have that opportunity. Those occasions are much more scary but often can also bring out the best in us.  It gives us the chance to trust our instincts and not over think, which is sometimes the best course. 

 

 

For K-2^nd Grade:

This week's Torah reading is all plagues all the time.  While we are meant to take pride in what God can do and know that the plagues are necessary to bring about our freedom, we are still sad about all the destruction that befalls Egypt.  That is why, when we are at the Seder, we take some wine out of our cups.  We aren't entirely happy about being free because others had to suffer. 

 

From this we can learn that we don't need to put others down in order for us to succeed. When others don't get something that we do, we should be happy to have it but also appreciate how the other person feels as well.  Being aware of and sensitive to others, is also really important.

 

For 3^rd-6^th Grade:

In this week's Torah portion, both God and the Egyptians are able to bring frogs forth from the Nile, but only God was able to remove the frogs from Egypt.  What does this show?  I'd suggest that it means that sometimes its harder to make things go away than create them.  Here is one example:

 

A Chasidic tale vividly illustrates the danger of improper speech: A man went about the community telling malicious lies about the rabbi. Later, he realized the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He went to the rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do anything he could to make amends. The rabbi told the man, "Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds." The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the rabbi that he had done it, the rabbi said, "Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers."

 

Speech has been compared to an arrow: once the words are released, like an arrow, they cannot be recalled, the harm they do cannot be stopped, and the harm they do cannot always be predicted, for words like arrows often go astray.

 

This week's portion teaches that it is important that we be careful what we do because we can't always take it back. 

 

For 7^th Grade and above:

One of the biggest theological struggles of the Bible is why God hardened Pharaoh's heart.  Don't we all get free will?  By hardening God's heart, God kept the Hebrews enslaved and caused the death of thousands.  What kind of a God is that?

 

One explanation for why this happened is that it is all part of human nature.  At first, we have a choice of what to do, but after a while of making certain choices we get trapped into those choices and even though we are able to change our minds, we feel obligated to stick to our guns and stay the course.   Our hearts become hardened to our opinions and there is no escape.  While we are technically able to change course, we are trapped by our choices and in that way a heart can be hardened even with free will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parashat Shemot-Names

The beginning of the story of the Exodus

 

For Preschool Parents:

"These are the names" (Exodus 1:1)

What do names have to do with the book of Exodus? Our rabbis suggest that the reason the Israelites were saved from Egypt was because they kept their names. 

While many of us have English names, almost all of our children also have a Hebrew name. Though we live in a non-Jewish world, one of the things that we all keep even if we don't observe Shabbat or keep Kosher is that we still give our children Hebrew names, identifying them as Jews. 

This would be a great week to make sure that your children know their Hebrew names, what they mean, and where they come from.  That way they can learn about who they were named for and a little about your hopes for them as people.  Knowing their Hebrew name, ties your children to their past and in many ways, at least according to this portion, assures their future.

 

(If you have any name questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  Email me at rabbi.kenter@bnaitorah.org)

 

For K-2^nd Grade:

Have you ever gotten your hopes up for something that didn't happen right away?  So did the Israelites.

 

As soon as Moses gets back to Egypt he meets with Pharaoh and tells him to "Let My People Go!"  But Pharaoh does not listen and refuses.  The people are disheartened, they had hope that God would finally save them, but in fact, it got even worse rather than better.  But God reassures Moses saying not to worry and that the Israelites would be saved, just give it time. 

 

In our own lives, we get our hopes up all the time.  We hope to get a part or to score a basket or to create a beautiful work of art, but it doesn't always happen right away.  But just because it doesn't happen right away, doesn't mean it will never happen. If we keep on believing, great things can happen, just as long as we don't give up. 

 

For 3^rd-6^th Grade:

"A certain man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman"

(Exodus 2:1)

In most hero stories, our hero is of special origins.  He has a heavenly parent or secretly comes from a royal lineage.  In this case, our hero is perfectly ordinary.  His parents are not even named. They are just two people from a certain tribe.  So what is the message of this unique idea?  I believe it is to teach us that greatness can come from anywhere.  It is not only for the people with special or privileged upbringings.  Any of us can be great regardless of whether we grew up wealthy or in a famous family. Anyone can be great, just look at Moses.

 

For 7^th Grade and above:

"The God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God Jacob" (Exodus 3:6)

 

Sound familiar?  Beyond being the beginning of the prayer at the focal point of our services, the Amidah, this line originates in this week's portion during the account of the Burning Bush.  When God identifies Himself to Moses, God uses that name to describe Himself.  But, of all the names that God has, why does God use this one?  Perhaps it is to draw us to our history. God is speaking to Moses the same way that he spoke to his ancestors.  Just as God promised good things to our forefathers, so too is He actualizing those promises through Moses.  Additionally, so much our lives today are shaped by who came before us.  We are our parents' children and theirs shapes our lives.  As we begin our Amidah and as we read this story, we recognize that we are so fortunate to have learned from our parents' lives and that we are lucky enough as Jews to still be around saying the same prayers as we have for generations.  As we say the words, "The God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God Jacob" we are connecting ourselves to chain of tradition and can feel that connection with our grandparents' grandparents., which to me is pretty special.

Parashat Vayechi-"He lived"

 

For Parents:

He blessed them that day and said, "In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'" (Genesis 49:20)

 

One of the great pleasures for parents is the opportunity to bless their children.  Every Friday night, parents are instructed to bless their children.  Either individually or as a collective, the parents can hold them close, place their hands on their head(s) and share with them the blessings that they hope for them in the week to come.  To this day, I still get my blessing over the telephone just about every Friday and if we miss each other, it is usually there waiting for me on my voicemail. 

 

While no words can truly describe your love for your children, we have chosen the words that the priests would say in olden days to symbolize God's blessings for us. If it's good enough for God, it's good enough for us! 

 

If you want to bless your children, the blessing goes as follows:

 

For Boys:

Ye-sim-cha Elohim Ke-eph-ra-im V'chim-na-sheh

Ye-va-re-che-cha adonai v'yish-me-re-cha

Ya-er adonai pa-nav e-lei-cha ve-yi-chu-ne-ka

Yi-sa adonai pa-nav e-lei-cha v'ya-sem le-cha shalom

 

May God bless you like Ephraim and Menasheh

May Adonai bless you and protect you

May Adonai show you favor and be gracious to you

May Adonai show you kindness and grant you peace.

 

 

For Girls:

Ye-sim-ech Elohim Ke-Sarah Rivka Rachel VeLeah

Ye-va-re-che-cha adonai v'yish-me-re-cha

Ya-er adonai pa-nav e-lei-cha ve-yi-chu-ne-ka

Yi-sa adonai pa-nav e-lei-cha v'ya-sem le-cha shalom

 

May God bless you like Sarah Rebecca Rachel and Leah

May Adonai bless you and protect you

May Adonai show you favor and be gracious to you

May Adonai show you kindness and grant you peace.

 

For Kids

So why Ephraim and Menasheh?  What made them so important?  I can understand wanting our daughters to be like our mothers, but what is so special about those two brothers?

The answer that I like is that Ephraim and Menasheh (much like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah) grew up in a world that was not Jewish.  They were surrounded by people who did things differently, but they still embraced the tradition and became important members of the Jewish community. 

 

Today, we all live in a world surrounded by people who observe different holidays, eat different foods, wear different clothes, and lead different lives than we do.  But, our hope is that our children will be like Ephraim and Menasheh and embrace their religion in the face of all those challenges.  If they could it, so can we!

Parashat Vayigash-"He went up"

Page 198

 

For Parents:

"Their Sister Serach"

Women usually are not mentioned in genealogies but in this week's portion we are introduced to one of Asher's daughters, Serach.   She not only is mentioned here, but is also mentioned among those leaving Egypt hundreds of years later.  She must be important, but what did she do that makes her so relevant?

 

The Rabbis suggest that it is because she broke the news to Jacob that Joseph was alive in a way that would not shock him in his old age.  By speaking to him in that way, he was able to handle the shocking revelation. 

 

Often we are so concerned with what to say that we do not also concern ourselves with how we say it.  We learn from Serach that how we speak to people can sometimes be as important as what we say.  Through speaking to people in a way that they can handle, everybody wins.

 

 

 

For Kids

Parashat Vayigash contains one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible.  Joseph has just reconnected with his family and the entire family has moved down to Egypt.  Joseph is nervous about introducing his family to his boss (Pharaoh) and gives some helpful hints to his brothers for when they meet him. Joseph requests that his brothers tell Pharaoh that they are breeders of livestock rather than shepherds because shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians.  Joseph then selects his favorite brothers to meet Pharaoh and the first thing that Pharaoh asks is, "So what do you do for a living?"  And without missing a beat, the brothers say, "We are shepherds just like our fathers before us."

 

 I can only imagine what Joseph's reaction must have been, after having warned his brothers not to do exactly what they did.  He cannot have been pleased.

 

But immediately after hearing this, contrary to Joseph's thinking, Pharaoh places Joseph's brothers as the overseers of his own livestock and gives them the finest land for grazing to live.

 

Often times, we assume that we know what people will think, so we hide what we think or who we are.  In the end, in many cases, you will be accepted if for no other reason, because you are confident about being who you are.  Be proud of who you are and don't let anyone tell you to be anything else.