Parasha of the Week

The Faithful Shepherd was Moshe rabbenu (Moses our Rabbi).  In fact, the mystic tradition always refers to Moshe this way, as the “ faithful shepherd.”  He was the shepherd who kept faith throughout all his trials in Egypt and in the forty-year sojourn in the desert.   Leadership was thrust upon him.  Unlike a political leader who runs for office for personal aggrandizement or for altruistic reasons wanting to change the world for the better Moshe tried hard to evade the call of leadership.  Humility was Moshe’s hallmark and he argued with God against become the man who would confront the mighty Pharaoh to deliver his people.   Why Moshe?  Why did not God choose someone more ambitious, perhaps a bit more assertive and aggressive with a drive to fight against tyranny? The midrash tells us that when he was a young man tending the flocks of his father-in-law in Midian, he found that the tiniest of ewes was...

Pinchas was a man of instinct and full of zealotry.  He was moved by what he saw wrong with his people and acted forcefully, violently. In the aftermath of his actions, Pinchas was given a permanent “covenant of peace.”  Interesting that Pinchas, the zealot was given an award that did not jibe with his disposition.  Yet a great lesson inheres in this week’s Torah parasha.  There are times when we are on the right side of history but not behaving in a way that we want others to emulate.  For example, wars are often fought but they should never be glorified.  Wars may be necessary to protect lives that that does not mean we exult when people die.  The same can be said of any kind of suffering or punishment. In fact, the whole idea of jailing someone for crimes is unknown in the Torah.  What is the purpose of placing someone in jail?  To satisfy society?  As an act of punishment for wro...

What we say matters.  It matters so much that there is a whole tractate in the Talmud on the import of the words that we speak.   In this parasha there are two particular kinds of speech that are given attention.  The first is a neder .  A neder is a personal vow that we made to and for ourselves.  It may be that we make a neder to not eat bananas, or study Torah, or give tzedaka.  That neder is heard Above and God accounts it to us as if it were a contract.  That is why once a year we have a service called Kol Nidrei , which is about all the vows we said we would undertake but did not fulfill.  We beg God to forgive us for being unfaithful with our speech and promises. The other kind of speech mentioned in Mattot is when we swear.  Swearing involves invoking the name of God and declaring that such and such is true (like in a court of law).  When we make such an oath (shavua, in...