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EDGWARE MASORTI SYNAGOGUE
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Chaim Pearl Community Centre Phone: 020-8905 4096 |
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30 July 2010 |
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EDGWARE MASORTI SYNAGOGUE
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Chaim Pearl Community Centre Phone: 020-8905 4096 |
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© 2001-2009 Edgware Masorti Synagogue. All rights reserved. |
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The reward for obedience, Moses told the Children of Israel in his second farewell discourse, would be prosperity, vitality and good health. God would help them to conquer the nations whose lands they were entering - "there shall be no man able to stand against thee" - but all forms of idolatry had to be destroyed following such conquest. The purpose of the forty years' wandering in the wilderness, said Moses, was to demonstrate the lesson that "man does not live by bread alone." The Lord had provided for them and they were not to forget this. If they did so, they would perish as other nations had perished before them. Nor were the Israelites to think that their victories over the Canaanites were due to any exceptional merits of their own. Rather, they were the result of the wickedness of those nations and the fulfillment of God's promise to the Patriarchs. Indeed, the Children of Israel had committed many acts of rebellion and provocation as, for example, the making of the golden calf. After spending forty days on Mount Horeb preparing to receive the tablets of stone, Moses had descended to witness their sinful behavior and had destroyed the golden calf. On four other occasions, the people had similarly misbehaved. Moses had pleaded with God to forgive the Israelites and had been recalled to the mount to receive the second tablets of stone, which he had placed in the ark. Aaron had died. Eleazar had been appointed to replace him. The priests and the Levites were to conduct the sanctuary service and permission was granted to proceed towards the Land of Canaan. Fear and love of God and observance of his commandments were what the Almighty asked of the people. They had seen with their own eyes what God had done for them. In return, they would have plentiful harvests, but these would be denied if "your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside and serve other gods and worship them." On the other hand, acquisition of extensive territory would follow love and obeisance to God. Questions and possible answers. 1. You are to know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his child, (so) the Lord your God disciplines you. (Deut. 8:5) Just as a man disciplines his child, (so) the Lord your God disciplines you.… The Maggid of Mezeritch once said: I heard a wonderful parable about the suffering of the righteous in this world, which sometimes seems as if God is distancing himself from them, God forbid! A Father who wants to teach his son to walk stands him up and distances himself from him. When the child draws near, the father moves further away. And the more the father distances himself, the more the child desires to get closer and his strength and self-confidence increase. The analogy is this: The more God distances himself from the righteous person, the more he examines his deeds and tries even harder to come close to his Father in heaven, and rises from level to level. (R. Levy Yitzhak of Berdichev) a. Is this a valid understanding of suffering? b. Could it apply to some suffering and not to some others? 2. When you eat, and you are satisfied, you are to bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you. (Deut. 8:10) "And you shall eat and be satisfied"… A very rich man once came to the Maggid of Mezeritch. The Maggid asked him: "What do you eat every day?" He answered: "I limit my food, like a poor persons and I make do with salted bread." The Maggid rebuked him and commanded him to eat meat every day and to drink wine like all of the wealthy. After he left, the Maggid's students asked him the meaning of his command. He said, "If he will eat meat and drinks wine every day, he will understand that a poor man is entitled to at least salt and bread. But if he himself eats salt and bread, he will think that a poor man can make do with even less." (Tales of the Hasidim) a. Isn't it possible that the opposite might be true? b. What is the best way to teach people to have compassion for the poor? ANSWERS 1a. Only if one makes the connection between suffering and punishment. 1b. Yes. There is definitely suffering which we bring on ourselves by bad habits or bad decisions. We should learn from these.
2a. Sometimes it might be useful for a wealthy person to experience what a poor person lives like, but not permanently. 2b. It is best to teach that tzedakah is a mitzvah and that is the reason one should help. |
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Daf HaShavuah |
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