Bereshit D'var Torah

By Zalmen Richmond-Shazeer

This week’s parshah, Breishit, is a pretty well known one as parshahs (parshiot?) go. The first one in the Torah, Breishit is the story of creation. God creates the world in six days, including light, heavens, earth, trees and plants, the sun, moon and stars, fish and birds, wild land animals, and finally people. On the seventh day, God rested. While this part of the story is very interesting and truly a very speedy creation of the world (just like the writing of this dvar will be as time is running short), the part of the story that I want to focus on is the story of Adam and Eve. God created this beautiful paradise of a garden called the Garden of Eden. God put Adam in the garden and Adam had a great time naming all the animals and eating the delicious fruits (a juicy kumquat sounds just splendid right now). But Adam was lonely as the only human in the garden, so God put Adam to sleep and performed a quick easy surgery and BOOM! Where before there had been a rib there was now a woman. Eve. Adam and Eve had a great time in the garden but they were forbidden one thing. The fruit of the tree of knowledge, for if they ate that, they’d become like God and know the difference between good and evil. A snake tricks them into eating some delicious fruit (mmmm kumquats!) and they come to know good and evil. As a punishment, God banishes them from the garden of Eden, throwing them into a hard life where they have to work for what they have.

This is generally not viewed as something particularly good. Humanity disobeys God, loses its immortality, and gets banished from the beautiful garden of Eden and its delicious fruits(a supple grape would really hit the spot right now). I’d like to argue that this was inevitable and generally not that bad. First of all, if Adam and Eve stayed in the garden of Eden, none of us would have been alive and the world wouldn’t have been graced with the presence of Zalmen Richmond-Shazeer. Secondly, I think while Adam and Eve had a harder life outside the garden, it was also a more fulfilling one. While in the garden there was nothing to do, outside there were things to accomplish, from simply surviving to starting a family that would eventually become the human race. They could earn what they had, and build their own happiness, instead of having everything handed to them. I also think that eating from the tree of knowledge was something God would have wanted to happen eventually. Before then, the humans were little more than the animals they lived with. When they ate the fruit, they gained an understanding of morals, of right and wrong. One of the big ideas of creation was that there would be beings that could think for themselves so they could choose to serve God. For that to happen, Adam and Eve had to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. This is further supported by something I remember Rabbi Liben saying once in a dvar. He interpreted the way Adam says that he would eat the fruit again not as something to be said out of spite, but simply an honest self assessment. Adam was put in the garden to eat from the tree.

So if this was something that had to happen, why make the garden of Eden in the first place? Why forbid the Tree of Knowledge? I have a few ideas about this. I think God needed to create the garden of Eden so people could see what it was like when life was peaceful and creatures lived together in harmony. They needed to see how good life could be so they could have a goal for what they wanted to create on earth when they were banished. God had to forbid the Tree of Knowledge so that they could make the choice to eat from it, knowing the consequences of banishment and eventual death. They had to choose for themselves to strive after God even if in doing so they lost their lives. They had to choose to leave the garden of Eden and create something of their own, the first humans to create and innovate and learn.

Well, that’s the end. God made the seventh day a day of rest and that day is approaching quite quickly. Shabbat Shalom!

USY Update #2

 This is Gabe Klawans, the co-President of Natick USY. 

So far this year, we have had a successful run of events, including our kickoff lounge, a Friday night dinner, and mini-golf, which we all had lots of fun at! Looking into the near future, we have a lounge in the sukkah (Thursday, 10/13) and another lounge (10/19). Looking a little further ahead, Haner USY's regional kickoff is at Patriots Place in Foxborough, with Topgolf Virtual Reality, a scavenger hunt, and frozen yogurt (10/23). We are all so excited to be with our other local chapters! As Shabbat starts to end sooner, we are looking forward to some movie nights starting in mid-to-late November and continuing throughout the winter and onwards. We also will have more information about the Junior USY Board this year coming soon. We hope everyone has a great holiday and joins us in our events!

Gabe

September SATO Snap

It’s no secret that school can cause stress, but when does it cross the line? The CDC studies show that 1 in 6 students have a mental disorder, most commonly anxiety. It also shows us that prekindergarten expulsions are 89% higher when classrooms don't have access to a mental health professional. More children with mental disorders are likelier to drop out of school, which is dangerous because people without a high school education live for 9.2 years less than graduates. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a large increase of students seeking mental health resources, as well as staff members voicing concern for the mental health of their students. One big problem, especially when it comes to younger students, is that it can be very hard to recognize when you need help. As parents, guardians, older siblings, and family members, it is important to support younger children in school. Make sure to check in on the child, but rather than simply asking "how was school today", ask them about how they are feeling, regardless of school. Make sure to ask about both the good and the bad, and pay attention to both sides equally. It is also key to model healthy habits, as children are likely to mirror your habits. For example, learn how to deal with stress healthily, so your children can do the same. Using unhealthy coping mechanisms in stressful situations is likely to lead to your child copying that behavior. For older kids in school reading this, remember that it is always ok to ask for help when you need it. Try not to hold yourself to such a high standard, as that can lead to self-doubt and disappointment. Remember that no one is alone when it comes to struggling with mental health, and it will always get better. Lastly, all students and parents need to work together to help schools support mental health. This can be done by educating staff and trying to implement basic mental health training and teachers, creating a campus wellness center, and ensuring a positive and welcoming school environment.

USY Update #1

Hi everyone!

This is Matthew Koltenuk, co-president of Natick USY for the 2022-23 year along with Gabriel Klawans. We will be starting a new feature this year to update the community about events that USY has participated in over the past month while looking forward to the upcoming month.

Yesterday, we held our first board meeting of the year as we welcomed a large portion of our board back from camp and other adventures! It was held outside at the picnic tables, but we also had Zoom running to connect with our friends who weren't in the area. We discussed goals and responsibilities for the upcoming year while also beginning to plan events for the next few weeks.

We will be having a youth lounge on this Wednesday, 8/31, where we will be playing kickball! The next week, we will have a Friday Night Dinner on 8/9 and Mini-Golf at Trombettas on 9/11 at 4:30.

You will start to see some of our first blog posts this month, including an Israel Affairs Update by Asher Blacker and a SATO Snap by Isabel Pravda. D'varim will resume after Simchat Torah.

I hope everyone has a great start to their school year!

Beha'alotecha D'var Torah (Last one of the year!)

Beha’alotecha Summary

God told Moses more rules about Levites, and then rules about how to do the Passover sacrifice. God then had Moses have two silver trumpets made, which could be used for a variety of purposes, like making the whole community assemble at the Tent of Meeting (two long blasts), making only the chieftains assemble (one blast), making the different groups move forward (short blasts), or during war and while making sacrifices.

Then, the Israelites were ready to leave Sinai and start moving through the wilderness. During the beginning of their journey, here are some things that happened:

-The Israelites were complaining about God, so God set the outskirts of their camp on fire.

-Then, they were hungry, and didn’t like the manna they were forced to eat, so God gave them meat for a month.

-Miriam got leprosy, and was exiled from the camp for a week.

Nasso D'var Torah

Nasso Summary

God gave Moses instructions about the Gershonites and Merarites, and what their jobs would be in the Tabernacle. God also gave more instructions about Nazirites (One who takes a Nazirite vow wouldn’t be allowed to drink wine, shave, or go near dead people).

Then, the Tabernacle was finished and ready to be dedicated, so every tribe gave a offering of “one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; one goat for a sin offering; and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs.”

Bamidbar D'var Torah

Bamidbar Summary

After getting the rules about it from God, Moses and the Israelites took a census and counted the population (which was 603,550). God then told Moses about the arrangement that the tribes of Israel were expected to live in, and they then moved into that formation. God also gave special instructions about the roles of Levites and Kohanim, who would be involved with sacrifices and the priests.

Behar-Bechukotai D'var Torah

Behar-Bechukotai Summary

God gave Moses more instructions about things like Sabbaticals, trading with others, slaves, and not using idols. God then explained what he would do in exchange for the Israelites following the rules, like helping their food prosper, and keeping peace and helping the Israelites to victory in wars. But, if they didn’t follow the rules, God would make it so their lives were miserable.

Emor D'var Torah

Emor Summary

God gave more instructions to Moses (a very common theme throughout Leviticus) that were specifically about Aaron and the priests, and how they should act, like how all offerings should be unblemished animals.

Then, God told Moses about specific times when special things would happen. This includes Shabbat (“on the seventh day there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred occasion”), Passover (“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a passover offering to the Lord, and on the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Feast of Unleavened Bread. You shall eat unleavened bread for seven days.”), not working on holidays (“On the first day you shall celebrate a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations.”), Yom Kippur (“the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.”), Sukkot (“On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths to the Lord, [to last] seven days.”), and Shavuot.

Acharei Mot+Kedoshim D'var Torah

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim Summary

God gave Moses instructions for what Aaron should do on the “day of atonement” (Yom Kippur) involving sacrifices. God also said that no one can eat blood, and that they shouldn’t be romantic with their family members.

Next, God continued to give Moses more commandments about things like keeping the Sabbath and to not steal or lie.

Tazria+Metzora D'var Torah

Tazria-Metzora Summary (frequently combined as a double portion, this will be read this week and next week):

God gave Moses more rules, including rules about rashes, leprosy, pregnancy, plagues in a house, and events that would be considered unclean, and what offerings to do after some of these things.

Shemini D'var Torah

Shemini Summary:

Moses gave the priests instructions about how to do their jobs. This included that they couldn’t drink wine or be intoxicated, and they had to eat leftovers from offerings beside the altar, where it was most holy. Then, God told Moses the kashrut laws, rules about what they could and could not eat.

Tzav D'var Torah

Tzav Summary:

God told Moses how to make certain offerings and the rituals that should occur. Moses then assembled all of the Israelites outside the Tabernacle, and Aaron, Moses, and the priests made an offering to God.

Vayikra D'var Torah

Vayikra Summary:

God gave Moses specific instructions for how the Israelites should choose, present, and make sacrifices. This includes burnt offerings, meal offerings, sacrifices of well-being, sin offerings, and guilt offerings.

SATO Snap by Asher Blacker

Ukraine is at the center of the world's attention due to the current Russian invasion. This is the largest conflict in Europe since the second world war. This invasion has caused an international backlash to Russia; companies have stopped selling products in Russia and nations have been piling tariffs on Russia. Even Russian citizens have been fighting back against the invasion protesting and getting arrested and even some Russian oligarchs have begun to speak out against the invasion. Ukrainian citizens are fighting back as well, regular citizens are taking a stand against Russia. We can only hope that Ukraine survives the conflict and that Russia does not succeed in their invasion of Ukraine. 

Pekudei D'var Torah

Pekudei Summary

The Tabernacle was eventually finished, and the first offering was made to God. 

Vayakhel D'var Torah

Vayakhel

Moses gave the Israelites the instructions for building the Tabernacle, and they started working. One of the leaders of the process was a man named Betzalel.

Fun fact: Vayakhel and Pekudei are very similar to Terumah and Tetzaveh (which we read two weeks ago), as those portions were God explaining how to make the Tabernacle and these portions are the people actually making the Tabernacle. One main difference, however, is the use of the word ויעש (Vayaas, he made) since this portion describes the actions taken to make the Tabernacle.

Ki Tissa D'var Torah

Ki Tissa Summary:

God started by giving instructions for taking a census, which involved every Israelite paying for an offering to God to make sure they were counted. God then gave people special skills so they would be able to successfully build the Tabernacle. He also told Moses to tell the Israelites that they still must keep Shabbat, and not work on the Tabernacle on Shabbat. 

While Moses was on Mount Sinai, Aaron and the Israelites made a golden calf to idolize God. When Moses came down, he saw this and was so mad that he broke the tablets God had given him. He then burned the golden calf, put the powder in water, and made the Israelites drink it. Moses then said “Whoever is for the Lord, come here!” and all of the Levites came to him. He then instructed them to kill the other Israelites. They did so, and over 3,000 died that day. Moses met with God again, and God brought a plague upon the people as additional punishment. Next, God said to Moses to “Set out from here, you and the people you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying ‘To your offspring I will give it’,” and God also said he would drive away other people and allow the Israelites to go to “a land flowing with milk and honey.” God also agreed to let Moses see his back (but he would die if he saw God’s face). Moses then made two new tablets and went back up to Mount Sinai, where he made a covenant with God. The covenant ordered the Israelites to always worship God, to never join with other groups of people because they would want to follow other gods, to observe Passover, and to observe Shabbat, among other things. In return, God would help lead them to Israel. Moses stayed and fasted on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, and he wrote those commandments down and went down the mountain. 

Commentary:

In this portion, God gets very angry at the Israelites. When God sees that the Israelites were bad by making a golden calf to worship, he initially wants to kill all of the Israelites and start the people over with Moses. But, Moses doesn’t like this idea, so he convinces God not to kill the Israelites. He reminds God about his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he helps God realize that freeing the people from Egypt only to kill them in the mountains would be tyrannical. So, God hears this reasoning and decides to renounce his original punishment idea. However, when Moses comes down the mountain, he decides that the people do need to be punished for their actions once he sees what they actually did, and he makes the Levites kill thousands of the other Israelites along with making everyone drink water with the ashes of the golden calf in it. He is also disappointed in Aaron for leading the people in making the calf, and God casts a plague upon the Israelites. So, although the Israelites survived complete annihilation by God for creating the golden calf, many still died and the group was punished severely.

February SATO Snap

         The winter Olympic Games are currently going on, but I’m sure you don’t know the extent of the impact it has on the environment. The Olympics have a history of contributing to climate change, deforestation, and water pollution. The 2016 Rio Games produced over 17,000 tons of waste, used over 29,000 gigawatts of electricity mostly from non-renewable resources, and has used up over 23,000 liters of fuel. The Rio Games emitted 3.6 million tons of carbon into the air, even when Brazil claimed to use energy efficient and low carbon strategies. The Tokyo Games in 2020 have been considered the most environmentally conscious Olympics in history however. Energy used in the athletes village was 100% renewable, and it was actually considered carbon negative. It wasn’t perfect however, as the plywood used in sitting areas for the audience sourced from tropical forest caused tons of trees to get cut down. Since there was such an absence of an audience, the forests that were cut, were cut for no reason. So what's going on with the winter Olympics right now? Two words: Fake Snow. Sure you may be aware that fake snow is impacting athletes' ability to perform at the top of their game, but the environmental impact is much worse. This year is the first ever winter Olympics with all fake snow, and although China has claimed the Games will be powered by all green energy, the way they make their fake snow is still an issue. They use over 350 snow guns and reservoirs or water that China claims not to be pulling from drinking water. Maintaining the supply of snow uses 49 million gallons of water, which makes up 4% of the water supply in Yanqing, China and 2.6% in Zhangjiakou, an area of 14,000 square miles. When the Paralympic Games take place, snow production is likely to increase. One scary thing is that researchers haven’t examined what could happen with 100% fake snow melting rapidly over a huge area, plus, it is impossible to save all the water that was used. Previous research suggests that this can cause sediment erosion, loss of plant life, and changes to the arrangement of plant species, impacting their local wildlife. 

Tetzaveh D'var Torah

Tetzaveh Summary:

God told Moses to make Aaron and his sons priests, and then told Moses how to make the special clothes that the priests would wear. He then told Moses how to ordain Aaron and his sons, which involved a sacrifice at the altar. He also gave instructions to regularly slaughter two lambs every day. Finally, he told Moses how to build and use an altar for burning incense.

Commentary:

Two fun facts- first of all, God instructed Moses about how to make special clothes for Aaron and his sons (the priests) because if they didn’t wear the clothing while going into the Tabernacle, they would be instantly killed by God. Also, the Israelites had to sacrifice two lambs every day, one in the morning and one at night to please God!

Terumah D'var Torah

Terumah

(Note: Starting with this portion, the Torah portions become a lot more dense, explaining lots of specific rules and instructions rather than telling a story like most of the previous portions. Due to this, in these dvarim, I am not doing to explain every single detail of these portions in as much depth as the previous portions, instead I will give a short summary of what the overall topics of the portions are. There also may not be commentary for every portion (like this one) because it’s hard to find interesting things to write about in some of these portions.)

While Moses was on Mount Sinai, God told Moses to have the Israelites bring gifts for God. These gifts would be used for building the Tabernacle, a sanctuary to God. The rest of the portion is God explaining many specific instructions on how to build the Tabernacle.

Mishpatim D'var Torah

Mishpatim Summary:

God explained many rules and commandments to Moses, about things like how to treat slaves, that someone who murders another person must be killed, and what happens if an ox kills someone. He also commanded them to start celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the Feast of the Harvest (Shavuot), and the Feast of the Ingathering (Sukkot). God then called Moses to come up Mount Sinai to write down everything God had just said, so Moses went and stayed there for forty days and forty nights.

Commentary:

As mentioned above, this portion has a lot of rules about what to do in situations involving murder and killing. One thing it says is, “He who fatally strikes a man shall be put to death. If he did not do it by design, but it came about by an act of God, I will assign you a place to which he can flee” (Exodus 21:12-13). This is interesting because it makes a distinction that a person who kills another person is not always held responsible and punished for it. Torah commentator Abraham Ibn Ezra’s interpretation of this line says, “The meaning of our clause is that God caused and arranged things so that this person would die at this individual’s hand even though he had never intended to kill him. God caused this to happen to him so that he would be exiled from his place because of some other sin which he committed.” So, God apparently can control the world to make someone kill another person so that the killer can be punished for another bad thing they did. Once again, the theme of God making selfish decisions that we first saw a few weeks ago has appeared, for this seems like a lot of unnecessary casualties just to punish a person!

Yitro D'var Torah

Yitro Summary

Moses and his father-in-law, Jethro, were reunited. Jethro saw that Moses was taking on a large burden and responsibility as the leader of the Israelites, and he recommended that Moses delegate some of his work of settling disputes to other trustworthy people who could work with smaller groups from the population while bringing major disputes to Moses. Moses agreed to this plan, and he selected his new judges. Later, the Israelites went towards Mount Sinai, and God instructed Moses to come up the mountain while God appeared to the Israelites. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, and when Moses came back down, the people were scared of God but willing to obey Moses’ instructions from God.

Commentary:

God had an interesting test for the Israelites this week with the goal of strengthening the loyalty of the Israelites to Moses and to God. While God was giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, he created a big scene on Mount Sinai with thunder, lightning, horns, and fire. The people were scared, and they stood far away like Moses had told them to. When Moses came down, the people told him, “You speak to us, and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:16). The people feared God, so they were more willing to listen to Moses just because they didn’t want to encounter God. Moses then answered, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray” (Exodus 20:17). So, God appeared to the Israelites in order to make them fear him and maintain their loyalty. God then gave Moses an additional message/explanation for the Israelites: “You yourselves saw that I spoke to you from the very heavens: With me, therefore, you shall not make any gods of silver, nor shall you make for yourselves any gods of gold” (Exodus 20:19-20). So, God made the Israelites fear him by appearing while also confirming his existence in order to enforce one of the goals from the Ten Commandments (no worshipping other gods or idols). This is one case where God actually came up with a clever leadership method to use on the Israelites- God wanted the Israelites to fear how much they loved him.

SA/TO Snap by Asher Blacker

  Right now, Texas is a battleground. The new Texas abortion law is extremely controversial. If you are wondering what the law is, it is a law that makes all abortions illegal in Texas. The law isn’t enforced by most laws, rather it is enforced by citizens who can sue someone for participating or aiding in an abortion. Even if someone drove their friend to get an abortion they could get sued for up to $10,000. This law is controversial since there are no exceptions even if the abortion is being sought due to incest or rape. Also, even the law allows abortion before six weeks of pregnancy, it is almost impossible for someone to get an abortion. Most women don't realize that they are pregnant at six weeks since there are not any signs at that point. The law will most likely stay in place but we should keep an eye on the case and see where it leads.

USY Shabbat!

There is no d’var Torah that will be posted on the blog this week; come to USY Shabbat to hear our thoughts on this week’s portion, Beshalach!

Bo D'var Torah

Bo Summary:

The eighth and ninth plagues of locusts and darkness occurred, and Pharaoh still refused (or God refused to let Pharaoh) let the Israelites go. God decided that the tenth plague would be the death of the first born child of all the Egyptians, and he marked that month as the first month of the year (Nisan) and the day as a day when a lamb should be sacrificed in a special way (the “Passover sacrifice”) with some of the blood put on the doorposts of the Israelites’ houses so that God would pass over their houses while killing the first born children. He said that this day would become a holiday, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Israelites would eat unleavened bread for seven days. After the first born were killed, Pharaoh finally allowed the Israelites to be free.

Commentary:

One interesting thing about the plagues is that after many of the plagues, when the Torah says that Pharaoh still refused to let the Israelites go, it says that is because God “stiffened” Pharaoh’s heart. At the beginning of this portion, God explains the reasoning behind this decision: “I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that I may display these my signs among them, and that you may recount in the hearing of your child and of your child’s child how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed My signs among them—in order that you may know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 10:1-2). So, although God could control Pharaoh and make him let the Israelites go, God decides to make Pharaoh say no so that the Egyptians can suffer from plagues and be embarrassed just so that they realize that God is real. Just like how we saw many biblical leaders make poor, selfish decisions throughout Genesis, God starts to take up that role throughout Exodus (as we’ll see more throughout later portions), and this is a prime example of it- God made a whole country suffer just so they recognized him as “The Lord.”