Shabbat Shalom!
In our state, around the country, and across the world, we can think of many examples of people seeking to expand their rights in one way or another. Such an expansion requires change, and, as we know, change doesn’t always come easy to a community or even to one person. The push for change and, hopefully, progress, might take the form of reasonable discussion leading to a new realization of what must be done through legislation or, even better (and more difficult), through adopting a new perspective and attitude. Sometimes, as we well know, change only comes after the creation of a movement that could involve peaceful demonstrations, violent protest, or many modes of expression in between.
In the Torah reading for this Shabbat, the daughters of a man named Zelophehad went before Moses to ask for their rights of inheritance after their father had died. In most societies in the ancient Near East, women had no rights of inheritance. If there were no sons, all property and possessions (and wealth) would pass to other relatives. In that context, this request was revolutionary in its own way: “Our father died in the wilderness…he has left no sons. Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen!”
The daughters of Zelophehad could have encountered outright rejection or a temporary rebuff at that moment. The passage in Numbers Chapter 27 states that “Moses took their case before the Eternal” (whether that represented direct communication with a divine voice, subtle inspiration or a process of pondering morally and spiritually). The answer came to Moses: “The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just: you should give them a hereditary holding among their father’s kinsmen: transfer their father’s share to them.”
There are situations that arise that may not have been considered when creating the rules that govern a community or a nation. Changing those rules may not come as readily in every case as it did for the daughters of Zelophehad. It is, however, always important to raise the possibility of greater consideration among group members or citizens that might bring about a new approach to community based on a broader vision. Taking that first step down the path towards change is crucial for the growth of society and the human spirit!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Larry
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Number our Days
The Rabbi’s Study - Temple Israel of Dover, NH Kesher Newsletter July, 2009
Number our Days
Psalm 90:12
• Teach us to count our days rightly, that we may obtain a wise heart. (The Writings,Jewish Publication Society, 1982)
• Teach us to use all of our days, that we may attain a heart of wisdom. (The
• Book of Psalms, Gershon Hadas, 1964)
• So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom. (Healing Psalms, Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman, 2003)
• Make known to us the best way to count our days so that we may develop hearts of wisdom. (Our Haven and Our Strength: The Book of Psalms, translation by Martin Samuel Cohen, 2004)
• To count our days rightly, instruct, that we may get a heart of wisdom. (The Book of Psalms, Robert Alter, 2007)
• Teach us how short our time is; let us know it in the depthsof our souls. (A Book of Psalms, Stephen Mitchell,1993).
It may be that one translation would have been enough to make the point of this often-quoted verse from Psalm 90. I wonder, however, if we sometimes forget its message. There have been many events in recent days that remind us of life’s fragility and finality. It didn’t take the death of Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, or the victims of recent accidents in the air to remind us that our lives can potentially go on for many years, but that there is a point when our time comes to an end. The Psalm itself, in the declarations leading up to verse 12, speaks of how everything comes into being and then passes, and that much of what we do is all too focused on excessive pride, choices we make that we might eventually regret, and disappointments that we have experienced or may yet see in our lives. What I believe this Psalm is telling us is to savor every moment and to consider the GOOD that we can do every day, to take our focus off of ourselves, and to consider the divine perspective which takes all of humanity and all of creation into account. Martin Samuel Cohen, in his commentary on Psalm 90, suggests that this Psalm intentionally juxtaposes the short span of ourlives with God’s timelessness. Yet, we can taste what is timeless in any moment when we do something godly. Share a kind word or a special moment in your life in a generous way. Consider someone else’s feelings. As my mom would tell me when I was not feeling well (and I hear her voice now a week after surgery), “Stop thinking about yourself—think about someone else.” At Temple Israel, we have many challenges to face together, and we will be able to do our best at meeting those challenges if we think about someone else—in this case, about each other, about how we can work together. Let’s begin
now, today, to count our days as members of a community so that we will share
in a heart of wisdom!
Number our Days
Psalm 90:12
• Teach us to count our days rightly, that we may obtain a wise heart. (The Writings,Jewish Publication Society, 1982)
• Teach us to use all of our days, that we may attain a heart of wisdom. (The
• Book of Psalms, Gershon Hadas, 1964)
• So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom. (Healing Psalms, Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman, 2003)
• Make known to us the best way to count our days so that we may develop hearts of wisdom. (Our Haven and Our Strength: The Book of Psalms, translation by Martin Samuel Cohen, 2004)
• To count our days rightly, instruct, that we may get a heart of wisdom. (The Book of Psalms, Robert Alter, 2007)
• Teach us how short our time is; let us know it in the depthsof our souls. (A Book of Psalms, Stephen Mitchell,1993).
It may be that one translation would have been enough to make the point of this often-quoted verse from Psalm 90. I wonder, however, if we sometimes forget its message. There have been many events in recent days that remind us of life’s fragility and finality. It didn’t take the death of Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, or the victims of recent accidents in the air to remind us that our lives can potentially go on for many years, but that there is a point when our time comes to an end. The Psalm itself, in the declarations leading up to verse 12, speaks of how everything comes into being and then passes, and that much of what we do is all too focused on excessive pride, choices we make that we might eventually regret, and disappointments that we have experienced or may yet see in our lives. What I believe this Psalm is telling us is to savor every moment and to consider the GOOD that we can do every day, to take our focus off of ourselves, and to consider the divine perspective which takes all of humanity and all of creation into account. Martin Samuel Cohen, in his commentary on Psalm 90, suggests that this Psalm intentionally juxtaposes the short span of ourlives with God’s timelessness. Yet, we can taste what is timeless in any moment when we do something godly. Share a kind word or a special moment in your life in a generous way. Consider someone else’s feelings. As my mom would tell me when I was not feeling well (and I hear her voice now a week after surgery), “Stop thinking about yourself—think about someone else.” At Temple Israel, we have many challenges to face together, and we will be able to do our best at meeting those challenges if we think about someone else—in this case, about each other, about how we can work together. Let’s begin
now, today, to count our days as members of a community so that we will share
in a heart of wisdom!
Temple Israel Dover Torah Commentary - Balak - July 3, 2009
How do we create a positive image for ourselves about our character? Self-esteem is a possibility for anyone to maintain on their own and with encouragement and affirmation from other people. There are, however, times when feedback might make it harder to maintain self-esteem and that positive view (one book I recently read spoke about this in terms of “the dipper and the bucket,” where the “bucket” is one’s self-esteem and the dipper is a comment or action that lowers or can add to the positive feelings that a person has for himself or herself). Such comments may have some foundation, and it’s up to us to sift through them to be sure that how we think of ourselves mostly matches how others see us. There are times when that feedback from the outside has little or nothing to do about what is on the inside of the recipient of a comment, but, instead, says more about what is on the inside of the one making a negative comment that may not be constructive in any way.
As the Israelites passed through Moabite territory, Balak, the Moabite king, called on Balaam, a prophet from a nearby land, to curse the Israelites. However, as much as he tried, Balaam couldn’t offer one negative proclamation about this large multitude of the future Jewish people traveling along their journey. He thought he could, but he had to keep telling Balak that he could only say what God had allowed him to say. One of those declarations is MAH TOVU – How good are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel.” Condemnation, almost automatically, turned to admiration as Balaam looked down on this people that continued to journey along its road to freedom.
We don’t always have Balaams around us – an external “seer” who, through it all, can only admit that we have every reason to preserve our self-esteem and positive self-image because our “tents” and “dwellings” – the general effect of our character and our actions – do bring something desirable and productive to our community and blessing to the world. In moments when we need that extra voice on our side, we can think of Balaam and remember the many people who have seen what good we can do and what impact we can have that have, without solicitation, offered us the blessing of their support. May we remember to find that good in our fellow community members (and, I would add on July 4th weekend, fellow citizens) and speak it freely, whenever we can!
How do we create a positive image for ourselves about our character? Self-esteem is a possibility for anyone to maintain on their own and with encouragement and affirmation from other people. There are, however, times when feedback might make it harder to maintain self-esteem and that positive view (one book I recently read spoke about this in terms of “the dipper and the bucket,” where the “bucket” is one’s self-esteem and the dipper is a comment or action that lowers or can add to the positive feelings that a person has for himself or herself). Such comments may have some foundation, and it’s up to us to sift through them to be sure that how we think of ourselves mostly matches how others see us. There are times when that feedback from the outside has little or nothing to do about what is on the inside of the recipient of a comment, but, instead, says more about what is on the inside of the one making a negative comment that may not be constructive in any way.
As the Israelites passed through Moabite territory, Balak, the Moabite king, called on Balaam, a prophet from a nearby land, to curse the Israelites. However, as much as he tried, Balaam couldn’t offer one negative proclamation about this large multitude of the future Jewish people traveling along their journey. He thought he could, but he had to keep telling Balak that he could only say what God had allowed him to say. One of those declarations is MAH TOVU – How good are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel.” Condemnation, almost automatically, turned to admiration as Balaam looked down on this people that continued to journey along its road to freedom.
We don’t always have Balaams around us – an external “seer” who, through it all, can only admit that we have every reason to preserve our self-esteem and positive self-image because our “tents” and “dwellings” – the general effect of our character and our actions – do bring something desirable and productive to our community and blessing to the world. In moments when we need that extra voice on our side, we can think of Balaam and remember the many people who have seen what good we can do and what impact we can have that have, without solicitation, offered us the blessing of their support. May we remember to find that good in our fellow community members (and, I would add on July 4th weekend, fellow citizens) and speak it freely, whenever we can!
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