Parshat Nitzavim; Deuteronomy 29:9 –30:20 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This is the last address by Moses to the people of Israel. Moses is trying one last time to get the message into the hearts and minds of the Israelites. That message is that God’s covenant made with the ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still stands with the people Israel. That covenant requires our adherence to the system of Mitzvot given at Sinai and loyalty to God. Moses reiterates the Jewish intolerance for idolatry and reminds us of the consequences of turning away from God.

But Moses also reminds each person of the blessings that come with steadfast loyalty to God and our covenant. Moses reminds us of the prosperity that is to be found, the satisfaction in life that can come from turning to God “with all your heart and soul” (30:10).

But most importantly Moses reminds each person that we have the power to choose which path we will take. We have the free will to make the decision—“See I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity” (30:15). The Jew must decide for herself whether she is in or out; whether she will accept the responsibility of the covenant or not.

As we approach the High Holy Day Season many Jews are reminded of their connection to our people and to our covenant. While most of the year many opt out—having little to do with the synagogue or formal Jewish community, this season of teshuvah (repentance) calls Jews everywhere to return home—to community, family and temple.

This parasha is read just a couple of weeks before the holy days begins but also we read it on the morning of Yom Kippur. One reason this passage from Nitzavim is that it serves as a reminder to those Jews who connect but once a year of their obligations to our people. As the parasha says, “It is not too baffling for you or beyond your reach (30:11).” It offers sound advice for the practicing Jew as well as for the Jew who connects sporadically to our people that God welcomes those who come home and God welcomes and blesses those who love God and walk in God’s ways. And since the High Holy Days is an opportunity to change our lives and behaviors this is an opportunity, an invitation if you will, to return to the basic observances and responsibilities, and to be welcomed once again into the arms of our community.

Even when we stray, we always have the chance to come home in safety and love.

This is the theme of the portion and indeed the theme of the High Holy Day season.

May you turn in love to God and our people and their find the blessing of prosperity and peace for the New Year.

Parshat Ki Tavo; Deuteronomy 26:1 –29:8 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

The parasha opens with lines that should be familiar to anyone who has sat through endless Passover Seders.
“My father was a wandering Aramaen. He went down to Ebypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to Adonai the God of our ancestors, and God heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery and our oppression. God freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and awesome power and by signs and portents.”
These verses from Deuteronomy (26:5-8) form a section of the Passover Seder.

We traditionally read and study these verses during the Seder and the midrashic commentary upon them so that we can better understand the saga of our people and how we came down to Egypt. Since the Seder experience is recounting our exodus from that slavery and our liberation into freedom and covenant with God, the verses help us to quickly put our story into a context of history and spirituality.
In this portion however, we learn about a different use for these very same verses. These verses are to be recited when offering the first fruits of the harvest in the Promised Land. One goes to the priest at the temple, places the first fruits in a basket and recites these verses. Adding the lines that complete the story: “God brought us to this place and gauve us this land a land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You Adonai have given me. (Deuteronomy 26:9-10)”
At the Passover Seder the story is incomplete—we are in Egypt—just leaving. But now later in the calendar year—in the month of Elul—as we are preparing for the New Year, we are spiritually and metaphorically and in Biblical plot line preparing to enter the Promised Land. We need to know what our responsibilities and obligations are as a people settled and living in covenant with God.
The New Year will be upon us soon. Roughly two weeks from Shabbat Ki Tavo 5766 will begin. This is the Promised Land to us. Because it is a time we can begin anew. We can settle down from the distresses, sins, disappointments and hurts of the last year. We can renew our relationships between people and yes, even with God.
The New Year and Holy Day Season with its emphasis on both justice and compassion can bring to our arid souls a revival and a renewal of our spiritual growth and wholeness.
Our teachers explain to us that the New Year and Yom Kippur are meaningless unless we prepare for them mentally and spiritually. They will just “pass-over” us unless we take the time to connect with our community and with God and of course, with the deepest parts of ourselves. So how to begin this process?
Take a few moments in quiet by yourself. It might be hard to find a few quiet moments. If you have a tallit at home, you might want to wrap yourself in it. If you have a kippah you might want to put it on. Begin by closing your eyes and breathing deeply for a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling. Ask yourself some questions. If I could change one thing for the New Year what would it be? Where did I not live up to my own expectations this past year? Where did I not live up to the standards of my Jewish faith this year? Where did I succeed and go beyond the expectations of myself? What relationships need healing? How can I bring peace into my home and heart? How will I in the New Year, become a better person? How can I become closer to my community and my family? How can I be a better Jew?

Be honest and answer these questions for yourself.

Finally before you open your eyes- offer a prayer from your own heart. Offer a prayer that asks for forgiveness from God and the power to forgive yourself for errors committed in the past year. Offer a prayer for strength in the face of the New Year and to deepen the bonds to your people—the Jewish people. And offer a prayer for peace in the New Year for yourself and your family circle and the world.

This small ritual is not unlike the ritual described in the Torah portion. By bringing the fruits of your harvest—in this case the offerings of your heart to God you will be spiritually ready and prepared to receive the greatest gift of the New Year season—love, forgiveness and a New year of sweetness and peace.

Parshat Ki Tetze; Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Embedded in this week’s very full portion is an obscure verse, which commands us to build our homes with a parapet on the roof. “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you so not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone should fall from it.” A parapet is a low wall or rail that projects from the platform, terrace or roof. It rises above the corner of building or it can even be part of a larger defensive wall of a castle. It is found in many types of architecture and in fact is a requirement in many modern building codes.

Maimonides the great Jewish scholar wrote extensively about this mitzvah:

The height of the parapet cannot be less that two feet so that [a potential] faller will not fall from it and each piece of the parapet has to be strong enough so that leaner can lean upon it and won't fall. Anybody who puts up his roof without a parapet has violated the positive commandment and transgressed a negative commandment -- "you shall not spill blood." Both the roof and any other object of potential danger, by which it is likely that a person could be fatally injured, require that the owner take action... just as the Torah commands us to make a fence on the roof. ... and so, too, regarding any obstacle which could cause mortal danger, one [not just the owner] has a positive commandment to remove it... if one does not remove it but leaves those obstacles constituting potential danger, one transgresses a positive commandment and negates a negative commandment "Thou shall not spill blood."

This passage from Maimonides should give us pause for reflection in a post Katrina world. What is the responsibility of those who knew that levees were an “object of potential danger?” According to the Torah and to Maimonides they have sinned and must be held responsible. They have shed blood and committed murder.

And what about other potential danger? In the last two weeks we have seen what happens to the most vulnerable in our society in a time of emergency and crisis. We have seen the horrific effect of this Hurricane and its aftermath upon the sick and elderly, small children and those who are mired in poverty. We are also taught that this verse in the Torah can be understood as related to a verse in Leviticus 19:16 “You shall not stand by while your fellow’s blood is shed.” We are obligated to be concerned, beyond our own health and safety, with the health and safety of our fellow members of society. Thus the parapet or guardrail that we must build is akin to the safety net that protects society’s weakest and most vulnerable.

In our quest for cheap taxes, high profits, and quick returns on our investments, our society and certainly our politicians in their quest to be re-elected have dismantled the poor’s (ma’akeh) guardrail or protection.

The crisis brought about by Hurricane Katrina brought home to America as never perhaps since the Great Depression the underbelly of poverty. It is time to address the growing chasm between rich and poor in our nation. Even as we scramble to care for those displaced by the Flooding in New Orleans and the destruction along the Gulf Coast, there are still an estimated 90,000 homeless already in Los Angeles. Shouldn’t this verse in the Torah remind us of our obligation to provide protection and yes, housing –to provide protection from the mortal dangers of life on the streets?

Our Torah speaks to us at many levels. The time for political puffery and partisan positioning is over. It’s time for us to care again and help again and yes, solve problems together again.

We have seen with our own eyes what can happen when we ignore these issues in the faces of the citizens of New Orleans. Now let us work together so that we can restore dignity to our fellow citizens both here and there.

Parshat Shoftim; Deuteronomy 16:18 –21:9 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week’s portion begins to set up the judicial and governance systems that the Children of Israel will need when they settle the land. No longer will they have Moses to turn to since he will depart the Israelites before they cross the Jordan. And although there are already elders who help, it is clear that the Israelites will need a more permanent system of administration in the day-to-day life of the people once they settle Eretz Yisrael.

The portion begins to shape the legal system by codifying the laws. It makes it difficult to prove murder in that there must be two witnesses. It describes what happens when a case can’t be decided. It sets up a supreme court of law. And later on the portion outlines the city of refuge that will be needed for those accused of manslaughter. It emphasizes that the legal system must be observed and carried out. Thus teaching this new people the essentials of good governance. Society must have common threads and ideals to function. For a society to hold together there must be civic order and a judicial system helps to create that order. The portion even addresses governance through a monarchy. It describes the conditions for electing a king (only with Godly approval). While this won’t come into play until long after the land is conquered and settled with the crowning of Saul, we already understand that the nomadic society of the desert dwelling Israelites must change dramatically when they become a permanent society.

Thus an entire system is outlined. Perhaps not in great enough detail but enough so that there is a centralized system for adjudicating cases and helping the people build a solid life in the Promised Land.

We have learned that in path of destruction of Hurricane Katrina how important the infrastructure of our day-to-day life really is. Without proper police protection, electric power grids, food and water, courts and transportation how easy it is for normal life to devolve into fear and chaos, gunfire and death. We have seen how a few angry and scared people can quickly turn into a mob. We have felt the helplessness brought on when there is no leader of the people.

And so it good to be reminded by our Torah this week of the importance we must pay to how our lives are governed and how law is applied and justice carried out. The stakes are too grave to have it be treated cavalierly.

As we continue to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, we also pray that our local, state and federal government steps up to its responsibilities in helping rebuild a bright future for the Gulf States region. And we fellow American, Jew and Non-Jew alike must reach out in compassion and kindness to help this rebuilding take place.

The hurricane was a force of nature. It was not punishment by God for sins. It was not because there were casinos in Gulfport or gay people in New Orleans. Hurricanes happen. But the sin of the situation was in the lack of preparedness of our government agencies. We as citizens must demand better accountability from our officials and from their policies.

These are tough lessons to learn in this way. Let us pray that we can heal the hurts and help rebuild lives quickly and speedily. May God comfort those who mourn and may God bring hope to the suffering and displaced. May God protect the rescue workers and bless the work of their hands and hearts.