Parshat Devarim
YOU SHALL NOT BE PARTIAL IN JUDGEMENT . . . YOU ARE NOT TO BE IN FEAR OF
ANY MAN, FOR JUDGEMENT IS GOD’S. (Devarim 1:17)
Said Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korha: From where do we know that if one sits before a judge, and you know a point in favor of the poor against the rich, you may not remain silent? Says Scripture: “You are not to be in fear of any man.” (Tosefta, Sanhedrin 1:4)
“FOR JUDGEMENT IS GOD’S” – When you render judgement, you are
performing Heaven’s work. This is not your matter, from which you may desist at
will; judgement is God’s, and you
are required to effectuate it.
Therefore, do not hide in your hearts a just verdict out of fear of
flesh and blood; you may depend on God’s assistance, for you are performing His
work. So said the Sages: “Every judge who judges truthfully . . is considered by the Torah as though he
has become a partner with The Holy One, Blessed Be He, in the act of Creation” (Shabbat 10a), for judgement forms mortals’ way of
life, giving them the shape which God had intended for them at Creation, for
Man was created only to freely realize the will of God. Only to this end did
the Creator place Man upon His earth.
(Hirsch,
Devarim 1:17)
Dedicated to the memory of Noam, son
of Rabbi Yehoshua Stampfer, whose life was cut short a month ago.
WE ARE LIKE SODOM?
The words of Isaiah in this week’s Haftara are not the first (nor perhaps the last) echo of acts attributed to the inhabitants of Sodom in the book of Bereishit (Chap. 19). Ramban, as he read the story of the “Concubine in Giv’ah” in the book of Judges (Chap. 19-20), sensed clear allusions to the two messengers’ visit to Lot already at the very beginning of the narrative:
·
When the Binyaminite says to the Levite: “Do not on
any account spend the night in the square”, we hear an echo of the
messengers saying: “We will spend the night in the square.”
·
When the people of Sodom gathered around Lot’s house
and demanded “to be intimate” with his guests, he replied: “I beg of you, my friends, do
not commit such a wrong,” offering in their place his two virgin daughters
– “Look, I have two daughters who have not known [been intimate] a man” -- whereas when the Binyaminite demanded of the old
master of the house “to know” the man who came to his house, he replied “I beg of you,
my friends, do not commit such a wrong”, offering instead two women – “Here
is my virgin daughter and his concubine; I will bring them out and you may do
to them as you please.”.
Even though the Levite’s concubine died as a result of the gang rape perpetrated by the Binyaminites, Ramban argues that the behavior of the Sodomites was more severe:
For the matter of the Concubine in Giv’ah, despite its similarity to this matter [of Sodom], does not compare with its evil, for those scoundrels [in Giv’ah] did not intend to drive them [the guests] away, but they were awash with promiscuity, lustful for sexual intimacy with the guest, and when he brought out his concubine they were satisfied.”
According to Ramban the animosity of the Sodomites towards visitors to their town was much more severe than the desire of the Binyamites to commit an act of “abomination” upon a wayfarer!!
Ramban’s
forgiving attitude towards the promiscuity of the people of Giv’ah, as compared
with the xenophobia of the Sodomites does not derive, of course, from personal
considerations nor from environmental influences. It is rooted in the words of
Chazal, primarily in “measure for measure” style which appears in midrashei
halacha and in the Tosefta. We read in the Tosefta Sotah (Leiberman edition, based upon the Ehrfurt manuscript):
The Sodomites’ pride was caused by wealth . . . they said: “Since silver and gold come out of our land, we do not need people to come to us, for they come only to deprive us. Said to them the Omnipresent: You cause visitors to be forgotten in your midst – I shall cause you to be forgotten in the world.”
Chazal,
who were careful not to employ the term “act of Sodom” [ma’aseh S’dom] for
“homosexual intimacy” [mishkav zachar], preferred to emphasize the evil of
Sodom’s social policy rather than the town’s prevailing sexual laxity. The midrash quoted in the Tosefta
concludes with a quote from the harsh words of the prophet Yehezkiel (16:48-49)
to his contemporaries – words which have relevance to our generation:
As I live – your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do what you and your daughters did. Only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquillity; yet she did not support the poor and the needy.
The prophet emphasizes their disregard for strangers “who come only to deprive us.” The sexual laxity of the Sodomites, still reverberating in the Book of Judges, seems insignificant in comparison with their social offenses. It would appear that the “extremists” of the religious and ultra-Orthodox parties, some of which are directly responsible for the shaping of policy regarding the poor and the stranger, should adopt this order of priorities. Should they not do so, there exists real danger that – God forbid – we may become like Sodom and be overturned like Sodom.
Prof.
Elimelech Horowitz, member of he Oz-VeShalom – Netivot Shalom directorate,
teaches in the Faculty for Jewish History in Bar Ilan Univ.
IS AN
EXPRESSION OF ITS UNIVERSAL MESSAGE
“On the other side of the
Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moshe undertook to expound this Teaching” (Devarim 1:5)
“To expound this teaching” -- he explained it in
seventy tongues. (Rashi)
“And on those stones you shall
inscribe every word of this Teaching, explained well.” (Devarim 27:5)
“Explained well” – in
seventy tongues. (Rashi)
In the Tractate Sotah (32a), Chazal elucidate
“explain well” in line with “Moshe undertook to expound this
Teaching”. “Explained well”, then, teaches that the words must be
elucidated and understandable. From this they learned that that copy of the
Torah included translation so as to facilitate comprehension by the nations of
the world. Israel is far from the particularism attributed it by others; from
the outset it saw its mission as bringing spiritual and moral salvation to all
humanity. With the entry of the Torah into Eretz Yisrael, future redemption of
both Israel and all nations commenced. Yet more. The Talmud (ibid.) teaches that this translation included the reason for the expulsion of the
Canaanites tribes: “lest they teach you to do all that . . .” – this
reason, too, was brought to the attention of these nations, and was repeated
and explained in this copy of the Torah, so that this be known and understood
by all the nations of Canaan; they can expect expulsion if they persist in
their views and their idolatrous ways. If, however, they return to observance
of the general mitzvot of humanity, there is no reason to deny them the right
to dwell in the land. (Hirsch, Devarim 27:8)
“. . . but (in the time of) the Second Temple, when they engaged in
Torah and mitzvot and good deeds – why was it destroyed? Because there existed baseless
hatred, thus teaching us that baseless hatred is comparable to three sins –
idolatry, incest, and bloodshed. (Bavli, Yoma 9b)
“. . . for the Second Temple was
destroyed because of baseless hatred, and – because of our many sins – we are
still not cleansed of this sin; therefore the son of Yishai has not yet come.
The conclusion, then, is that the sins of the First Temple were between man and
the Omnipresent, i.e., idolatry, which is the opposite of “You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul,” and the sin of
the Second Temple was between man and his fellow, i.e., baseless hatred, which
is the opposite of “You shall love your fellow as yourself.” (Sefer HaShelah, Taanit 57)
What is the connection between Parashat Devarim,
the Vision of Isaiah, and the Ninth of Av?
Shabbat “Devarim” is “Shabbat Hazon” the Shabbat of the Vision, the Shabbat preceding the Ninth of Av . . . at first blush there would seem to be no connection between this harsh haftara and the parasha itself. The parasha does not deal with destruction, but with building; it is Moshe’s summing up of the journey of the Children of Israel on their way to the Land. He recounts all the failures occasioned by the generation of the desert; but despite all these failures, they reached the Land . . . they had already conquered the lands of Sihon and Og, converting them into lands of Israel; it is assured that they will conquer all the land and will replace the earlier inhabitants, and the land will be an inheritance for them.
One
gets the impression that the people will inherit the land, and that others will
make way for them, regardless of Israel’s character, its behavior, and its
actions. This would seem to be something new in history. The words are quite
explicit: “Behold, I have given you the land . . . come and inherit the land
which God swore to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov, and to their descendants after them.”
But
let us consider: Amidst all these words which imply a uniqueness of the Jewish
people in terms of its God-decreed historical destiny, there are references to
other nations, to neighbors of the Jewish people and their lands, including
nations which are Israel’s historical enemies. This is quite surprising, for it
would seem that there is no direct connection to the matter of the giving over
the Land of Canaan to the Jewish people. With regard to Edomites: “Do not
stir yourselves up against them, for I will not give you of their land so much
as the sole of a foot can tread on, for as a possession to Esav I gave the
hill-country of Se’ir.” The same terms of inheritance or dispossession
appears in reference to another nation, one which is not only the Israelite
nation, but is actually its enemy. . .
And
just like in the case of Israel’s displacing of the Canaanites, we are told
that in that in the very same land which is today the Land of Moab, there once
dwelt the Emites, and they were destroyed by the Moabites. . .
What
is the significance of all the accounts of other nations’ histories, of
conquests and displacements at the hands of others? It is to teach us that
Israel’s uniqueness lies not in historical events. All human history – that of
the Jewish people and that of all other nations of the world – is either
totally the natural course of events, or is totally divinely determined. If
there is something unique about the Jewish people, it lies not the conquest of
the Land nor in its settlement, nor in its displacement of other nations – it
lies in its obligations within this land, in the responsibilities imposed upon
it and not upon other nations. God also displaced other peoples to give the
nations their land. Therefore there lies deep significance in the fact that
these matters are read on Shabbat Hazon, before Tisha B’Av.
(Leibovitz, Remarks on the Weekly
Parasha, pp. 111-112)
“. . . but (in the time of) the Second Temple, when they engaged in
Torah and mitzvot and good deeds – why was it destroyed? Because there existed baseless
hatred,.” (Bavli, Yoma 9b)
““If we were destroyed -- and the entire world was destroyed
along with us -- because of groundless hatred, we shall be rebuilt – and the
entire world will be rebuilt – by gratuitous love.” (Orot Hakodesh, Rabbi
Avraham HaCohen Kook, zt”l, III, 324)
As in past years, this year we will again visit
On the eve of Tisha B’Av, Motsaei Shabbat,
Parashat Devarim, 28.7.01, at 21:15
Organized in cooperation with “Temurot”.
Approved and organized entrance via the military cemetery.
Entrance by car up to the parking lot adjacent to the grave. The walking path will be lit up.
Please bring kinot, Megillat Eicha, and candles.
Temurot: 02-6730123/4
On Monday, 10 Menachem Av, (30/07/01) at
20:00, a symposium will take place on the subject of:
Yerushalayim, City of Three Communities; Stories from the Past, and Shared Hope of a Better Future
The speakers, members of different religious communities, are from old Yerushalayim families. Included are Avraham Hevelio, Dr. Ali Qleibo, and Dr. John Tleel
Our member Dr. Devora Waysman, will chair the discussion.
The symposium will take place at “Beit Shmuel”, Sham’ah Street in Yerushalayim, and will be conducted in English.
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