Hayei Sarah

As I was rereading this parasha I was thinking how strange it must sound to today's young (and even not-so-young) people.

• Avraham calls his servant and instructs him to find a wife for Yitzhak, his son with his wife Sarah, who has recently died.  
• We have no evidence he discussed this plan with Yitzhak - in fact, we have no evidence that Avraham and Yitzhak ever spoke to each other after the incident we call the Akeidah, when Avraham appears to have been ready to sacrifice his son.
• We read that the servant takes many gifts with him as proof that his master is wealthy.
• The servant describes some sort of magical test by which he will know how to choose the bride-to-be that has to do with her hospitality to strangers and kindness to animals.
• He repeats (with a few minor alterations) his master's instructions to the father and brother of this young woman he wants to bring back home to his master for Yitzhak.
• The father and brother of the bride-to-be accept the offer with no information other than about the wealth of the family.
• The brother and mother of Rivka (the bride-to-be) ask for a few days to prepare her for the journey
• Rivka say's she'll go, and she does - accompanied by her nanny.
• Her family receives many gifts in return.
• She still doesn't know anything at all about the groom to whom she will be married - not even his name!

Well, that certainly doesn't sound much like today's world - except in some cultures we and our students would consider backward and anti-feminist.  So what questions might we raise to make this episode meaningful to today's audience?

Questions to consider:

1. In a time and place when families might live in little contact with other families, how would a young person be able to meet a mate?
2. What appears to be important to Avraham in choosing the mate for his son? 
3. What at first appears to be important to Lavan in deciding whether his sister should go with the servant?
4. What do Lavan and Betuel say is the deciding factor?
5. Does Rivka have a choice?
6. What do you think we are supposed to learn from this story?

Sources:  If you want to read the entire chapter that tells this story, go to Chapter 24 in the Bible. Here are some excerpts:

24:[3]  Swear by Adonai, the God of heaven and of earth, that you won't take a wife for my son from the Canaanite people among whom I live.  [4]  But go to my country, to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Yitzhak

 ... 

[6] And Avraham said to him,  "Be sure you don't take my son back there."

...

[29] And Rivka had a brother named Lavan.  He ran to the man outside, to the fountain.  [30]  And when he saw the ring and bracelets on his sister's hands, and when he heard his sister Rivka's words, 'this is what the man said to me'

...(the servant repeats essentially what Avraham has told him)...

[50]  Then Lavan and Betuel answered and said,  'The thing comes from Adonai.  We can't say whether it is a good or bad thing.  [51]  Here's Rivka in front of you - take her and go,and let her be your master's son's wife, as Adonai has spoken.
...
[55]  And her brother and her mother said, 'Let the young woman stay with us a few more days - after that she'll go.
...
[58] And they called to Rivka and said to her,  "Will you go with this man?"  And she said, "I will go". [59] and they sent Rivka their sister, and her nanny, and Avraham's servant and his men.

Teshuvah

We usually introduce the subject of teshuvah as saying 'I'm sorry', but an article in today's Wall Street Journal highlighted the difference between the two.  In particular, please read the inset here that appears in the article

Saying 'I'm Sorry'

A 'comprehensive' apology is more likely to win forgiveness, researchers say. There are eight elements:

• Remorse
• Acceptance of responsibility
• Admission of wrongdoing
• Acknowledgment of harm
• Promise to behave better
• Request for forgiveness
• Offer of repair
• Explanation

Source: University of Waterloo

Maimonides states the steps of teshuvah as follows:

1. Realizing what you did was wrong
2. Confessing to the wrongdoing
3. Correcting the wrong you caused
4. Acting properly when confronted with the same situation that led to the original wrongdoing

Here are some questions to help you think about the difference between "I'm sorry" and "teshuvah"

• What is the purpose of "I'm sorry"?
• What is the purpose of teshuvah?
• What step that leads to teshuvah is missing from the "I'm sorry" list above?
• How does this help you understand teshuvah?

Akeidah

In an article in the NY Times today entitled Lessons in a Life Well Lived, and Values Upheld there is a charming quotation from the wife of the subject, Alice Hartman Henkin, who writes

A guarantee you that if Abraham had been ordered to sacrifice his grandson, he would have said, "Buzz off"

VaYera

The story about Abraham welcoming his visitors is well-entrenched as part of Jewish wisdom.  We should be hospitable, yada, yada.  There are probably still cultures in which this sort of absolute and unquestioning hospitality is still the norm - but they're not the culture we live in.  If a stranger comes to your door you are more likely to call 911 than to break out the food and drinks, and with good reason.
We understand that reaction, but it's still sad that we have such fears, justified though they may be.  Fortunately there are settings in which we can be more open to new relationships, as expressed in this commentary at Ten Minutes of Torah:  VaYeira, 5771

Please be sure to click on Vayera in the labels column for more suggestion for thinking about this week's parasha.   Also, remember to check Parsha 4 Kids for a ready-to-go trigger you can use with middle school or high school students.  And feel free to comment on the idea at either site, yourself or with your students.

Not Israel's Fault

Today's NY Times, front page article entitled "Parched Earth Where Syrian Farms Thrived"

A problem in the Middle East, and IT'S NOT ISRAEL'S FAULT!!!!!  WHAT A SHOCK!!

News Flash: No Silver Bullets in Education!!!

Everyone's talking about "Waiting for Superman", and with good reason.  I hope they will also talk about this article in the NY Times Lauded Harlem Schools Have Their Own Problems.  Here's what I think is important about both, in no particular order:

Big Ideas in Teaching and Learning

1. Good education costs a lot of money
2. Money alone isn't an answer
3. Complex issues require complex approaches
4. There is no single answer to any complicated problem
5. There are many partial answers, and it isn't always possible to isolate the most important
6. People who want to help have many different skill sets - all of which can and should be utilized to make things better.

These Big Ideas are crucial in general education, and no less so in the Jewish educational world.  Too often we jump on a single bandwagon expecting that what works in one context will work in all.  This simply isn't true.  We should never discourage people with a passion for good outcomes, because we can never be sure what will trigger improvement in any single situation.

Lech Lecha

A month's, no a year's, no again - a lifetime curriculum could certainly be built around this week's parasha, and if you are studying Torah according to the weekly schedule you surely have to pick and choose - especially since you probably have only a short time with the text.

Noach

Please click on Noach in the labels column on the right to view last year's post about the portion.
And please use this parasha to connect yourself and your students to a current issue.
You and your students have heard about the tragic suicide of Tyler Clementi, a college freshman whose private behavior in his dorm room was broadcast on the internet by his roommate.  What connection could this possible have to the Torah portion?  The story of Noach after the flood seems to have something to say about this.  If you teach middle school or high school kids, this is a real opportunity to share Jewish wisdom about privacy and create a connection between what they are learning in the Jewish educational setting with the dilemmas they face in their lives.

I believe the teaching of Torah must reach for Big Ideas and Important Issues.  The posts already on this blog are an attempt to help teachers in Jewish educational settings identify and share these ideas and issues with students.
This year I will be posting weekly to my other blog - http://parshakids.blogspot.com/ - which is specifically designed for use with middle school or high school students.  I invite you to look at that blog and, if you find it appropriate, to use it with your students.
If you would like suggestions for using this blog effectively, please send me a note and I will be happy to share ideas with you and with other teachers.
The posts from last year will continue to be accessible on this blog - http://bettyannsbestbets.blogspot.com/

Please read the new post on Parsha 4 Kids.  If you use it with your students, I urge you to have them post directly to the blog so other young people can share their thoughts in a collaborative effort to understand Jewish thinking in today's world.

V'zot Habrachah

We rarely look carefully at this parasha, as it comes in the midst of the Fall holidays - and there is so much else to think about and study.  But let's consider the last Torah reading of the entire year.

Big Idea #1:
The conclusion of a book/story/narrative/movie often attempts to wrap up loose ends so the reader/viewer/listener has a sense of what the whole thing is about.


Some Questions to consider:

• What is there in this parasha that helps you understand the whole of the Torah?
• If you were writing a concluding chapter for the Torah, would it look like this?  Explain your answer.
• In what way are you satisfied or not with this ending?

Big Idea #2:

If you know your life is coming to an end, there are things you might want to do or say that you had not done or said before.

Some Questions to consider:

• What do you think was going through Moshe's mind in this parasha?
• Most people don't know exactly when they are going to die.  What difference does that make?
• Why do you think Moshe said what he did on this occasion?

Big Idea #3:

The Torah as a whole is the foundation of Judaism

• Why is the Torah so important to the Jewish people?
• What does our tradition mean when it says that "the study of Torah is equal to everything else?"
• Professor James Kugel says the following in his book, How To Read The Bible, on page 362:

The Pentateuch was now viewed, as Ben Sira and other sages attest, as nothing less than divine wisdom in written form, one great book of legal and ethical instruction.  As a result, the Pentateuch as a whole came to be radically transformed:  its etiological narratives now became moral exempla, and its ancient laws became an up-to-date guide for daily life today.  Rather than a record of the past, the Pentateuch became, like all wisdom writings, a set of instructions for the present.  

Agree or Disagree:  No matter how you understand the origin of the Torah, whether you believe it was dictated by God to Moshe or written over time by wise people, as Jews its significance is as Kugel states, "a set of instructions for the present."  Whether you agree or disagree, be prepared to support your opinion in a discussion.

Be sure to look at my other post on this parasha to see some more detailed ideas for studying it with your students or study partners.

Hazak, Hazak, V'Nitchazek!!

Yom Kippur 5771

There are so many facets to Yom Kippur

• laws
• customs
• rituals
• prayer
• text readings
• ideas
• challenges

Where to begin?  Here are some articles to start you thinking:

1. URJ has some wonderful suggestions for study before and during Yom Kippur.  You can see some of them here.  I particularly enjoyed the guide to Avinu Malkenu, which traces the changes in the prayer as written in the Reform Mahzor through time, the study guide for Mishnah Yoma, chapter 8, and the story of Pelimo and the Devil.  You may prefer other sections of the resource guide
2. Rabbi Ami Berlin talks about how Sometimes We are Jonah, examining the Haftorah traditionally read on the afternoon of Yom Kippur
3. A universal suggestion that is related to Rabbi Berlin's description of Jonah as isolated from the world for 3 days, and that may be a wonderful idea for our super-connected times is in this article from the Jerusalem Post
4. Why is reaching the goals of Yom Kippur so difficult?  Donniel Hartman, from the Shalom Hartman Institute, asks: Yom Kippur: Why Doesn’t It Work Outside of the Synagogue?
5. Marc Oppenheimer. writing in Slate magazine, compares the ritual of atonement in Judaism with that in Christianity in his article Sin Offerings
6. On a lighter note, but one that may appeal to some of your students, here is an article by the granddaughter of the famous baseball player Hank Greenberg about how his Judaism influenced him on the High Holidays - Why My Grandpa Was No Hitter on Yom Kippur

I wish you a meaningful Yom Kippur in whatever way you are marking the day.  

Things I Know About Teaching and Learning...

but turn out not to be true.  As is so often the case, 'conventional wisdom' comes up short.  According to this article, Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits, some of what you may have believed about teaching and learning seems to be less-than-written-in-stone, so to speak.

What's the Big Idea?  How can it be that what I knew was true isn't???
And WHAT DO I DO NOW????

I think you do what good teachers everywhere always did -

• you try lots of different things.  
• you have a 'toolkit' of varied and tested ideas
• you stay alert to what is working and what is not
• you are always revising, tweaking, improving based on evaluation of desired outcomes
• you remember that you won't always be successful, but you never stop trying to be better
• you study new ideas but don't necessarily throw out the old ones
• you hesitate to blindly follow every new theory
• you plan, 
• you evaluate,
• you build on success
• you remember that you became a teacher because you love learning
• you do everything in your power to encourage the love of learning in your students.

Remember the wisdom of the statement:

Lo alecha ha-m'lacha ligmor

v'lo ata ben chorin l'hivatel mimena

You don't have to finish the work - but you are obligated to begin it

Nitzavim/Vayelech

It can't be a coincidence that this parasha is read on the Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah every year.  It could not be more closely tied to the concepts that underlie Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.  Let's look at some of the Big Ideas:

Big Idea #1
     Change is challenging

Questions you might want to think about

• What are the changes that are about to occur in the parasha?
• What are the changes that occur in your life at this time of the year?
• What are the changes in the lives of your students?
• How will the Israelites react to their changes?
• How will you react to your changes?
• What do you expect from your students as a reaction to the changes in their lives?

Big Idea #2

     We are responsible for our actions

Questions you might want to think about

• If Moshe has given the people God's instructions for how they are to behave, how do you explain the fact that they disobey those instructions on a regular basis?
• If God knows the people are going to disobey, why doesn't God stop them?
• What does God expect the people to do when they make mistakes?
• Everyone makes mistakes.  Do we always know they are mistakes when we are making them?  What do you do when you realize you have made a mistake?  What does God have to do with this?

Big Idea #3

     We can be responsible for agreements made by others

Questions you might want to think about

• What does it mean when the Torah says,

ט  אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:  רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם, זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם, כֹּל, אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל.	9 All of you are standing today before Adonai your God: your leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel,
י  טַפְּכֶם נְשֵׁיכֶם--וְגֵרְךָ, אֲשֶׁר בְּקֶרֶב מַחֲנֶיךָ:  מֵחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ, עַד שֹׁאֵב מֵימֶיךָ.	10 your little ones, your wives, and the stranger who lives in your camp, from the woodcarver to the water-drawer;
יא  לְעָבְרְךָ, בִּבְרִית יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ--וּבְאָלָתוֹ:  אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, כֹּרֵת עִמְּךָ הַיּוֹם.	11 in order to enter into the brit, the covenant, of Adonai your God--and into God's oath--which Adonai your God makes with you today;
יב  לְמַעַן הָקִים-אֹתְךָ הַיּוֹם לוֹ לְעָם, וְהוּא יִהְיֶה-לְּךָ לֵאלֹהִים--כַּאֲשֶׁר, דִּבֶּר-לָךְ; וְכַאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ, לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב.	12 that God may establish you today as a people, in order to be your God, as God spoke to you, and as God swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
יג  וְלֹא אִתְּכֶם, לְבַדְּכֶם--אָנֹכִי, כֹּרֵת אֶת-הַבְּרִית הַזֹּאת, וְאֶת-הָאָלָה, הַזֹּאת.	13 Not only with you do I make this brit and this oath;
יד  כִּי אֶת-אֲשֶׁר יֶשְׁנוֹ פֹּה, עִמָּנוּ עֹמֵד הַיּוֹם, לִפְנֵי, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ; וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ פֹּה, עִמָּנוּ הַיּוֹם.	14 but with the person who stands here with us today before Adonai our God, and also with the person who is not here with us today--

• How can God make a covenant, a brit, with people who are not there?
• What are some other agreements that you have to follow even though you were not part of the group that created them?
• What would it mean if you were only responsible for things that you personally agreed to?  How would the world be different?

Big Idea #4

     It's not over until it's over

Questions you might want to think about:  What (root) word do the following phrases from Chapter 30 have in common?  How is this related to this season of the year?

• וְשַׁבְתָּ עַד-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
• וְשָׁב יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת-שְׁבוּתְךָ
• וְשָׁב, וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל-הָעַמִּים
• וְאַתָּה תָשׁוּב וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקוֹל יְהוָה
• כִּי תָשׁוּב אֶל-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ

And finally, here are two interesting commentaries on these parashot that you may enjoy reading:

1. You may remember Dr. Aaron Demsky who many of us were privileged to study with throughout the years.  His commentary explains how it came to be that the Torah was read aloud to the people on a regular basis.  The Command of Assembly
2. I'm not sure how to categorize this next link, but I think you may find it unusual and thought-provoking.  Please read it to the very end (and feel free to share your thoughts).  Urban Parsha Nitzavim/Vayelech

Ki Tavo

BIG IDEA:  The future depends on understanding and acknowledging the past.  We understand who we are as Jews today by understanding what our history was.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK:

• What is our history as Jews?
• How do we know that history?
• How does that history impact the way we understand our community today?
• How does our history affect the way in which we understand the broader community in which we live?

Near the beginning of this week's parasha there is a passage that probably sounds familiar:

ה  וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי, וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה, וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט; וַיְהִי-שָׁם, לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל עָצוּם וָרָב.	5 And you shall speak and say before the LORD your God: 'A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
ו  וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ הַמִּצְרִים, וַיְעַנּוּנוּ; וַיִּתְּנוּ עָלֵינוּ, עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה.	6 And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage.
ז  וַנִּצְעַק, אֶל-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵינוּ; וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה אֶת-קֹלֵנוּ, וַיַּרְא אֶת-עָנְיֵנוּ וְאֶת-עֲמָלֵנוּ וְאֶת-לַחֲצֵנוּ.	7 And we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression.
ח  וַיּוֹצִאֵנוּ יְהוָה, מִמִּצְרַיִם, בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה, וּבְמֹרָא גָּדֹל--וּבְאֹתוֹת, וּבְמֹפְתִים.	8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.

Where have you seen this passage?  (If you are not sure, go to this link at JewishFreeware and read beginning on page 30)

Why do you think reciting this passage is part of this particular event?  (I'm not saying what event - you should have found the answer from the link above)

There is a new children's book, Ruth and The Green Book and a new play, by the same author, entitled The Green Book.

• What is The Green Book?
• What is the connection between the book and the play?
• What is the Jewish connection?
• What do you think a young African-American in America might learn from reading this story?
• What do you think a young person who is not African-American might learn?
• What connection can you make between The Green Book and the Haggadah?

BIG IDEA:  It is often a bigger challenge to behave correctly in secret than in public.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK:

• What are some reasons to behave correctly in public, when there are other people watching and listening?
• Are the reasons the same when you are in private?  Explain your answer.
• Which is more of a challenge - public behavior or private?  Why?

Read the following passage:

טו  אָרוּר הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה פֶסֶל וּמַסֵּכָה תּוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה, מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי חָרָשׁ--וְשָׂם בַּסָּתֶר; וְעָנוּ כָל-הָעָם וְאָמְרוּ, אָמֵן.  {ס}	15 Cursed is the man who makes a graven or molten image, an abomination before ADONAI, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret. And all the people shall answer and say: Amen. {S}
טז  אָרוּר, מַקְלֶה אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	16 Cursed is the person who dishonours his father or his mother. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
יז  אָרוּר, מַסִּיג גְּבוּל רֵעֵהוּ; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	17 Cursed is the person who moves his neighbor's landmark. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
יח  אָרוּר, מַשְׁגֶּה עִוֵּר בַּדָּרֶךְ; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	18 Cursed is the person who misleads the blind. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
יט  אָרוּר, מַטֶּה מִשְׁפַּט גֵּר-יָתוֹם--וְאַלְמָנָה; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.	19 Cursed is the person who perverts the justice due to the stranger, orphan, and widow. And all the people shall say: Amen.
כ  אָרוּר, שֹׁכֵב עִם-אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו--כִּי גִלָּה, כְּנַף אָבִיו; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	20 Cursed is the person who lies with his father's wife; because he has uncovered his father's skirt. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
כא  אָרוּר, שֹׁכֵב עִם-כָּל-בְּהֵמָה; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	21 Cursed is the person who lies with any animal. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
כב  אָרוּר, שֹׁכֵב עִם-אֲחֹתוֹ--בַּת-אָבִיו, אוֹ בַת-אִמּוֹ; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	22 Cursed is the person who lies with his sister, either the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
כג  אָרוּר, שֹׁכֵב עִם-חֹתַנְתּוֹ; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	23 Cursed is the person who lies with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
כד  אָרוּר, מַכֵּה רֵעֵהוּ בַּסָּתֶר; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	24 Cursed is the person who hits his neighbor in secret. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
כה  אָרוּר לֹקֵחַ שֹׁחַד, לְהַכּוֹת נֶפֶשׁ דָּם נָקִי; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {ס}	25 Cursed is the person who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say: Amen. {S}
כו  אָרוּר, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָקִים אֶת-דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה-הַזֹּאת--לַעֲשׂוֹת אוֹתָם; וְאָמַר כָּל-הָעָם, אָמֵן.  {פ}	26 Cursed is the person who doesn't accept the words of this law to obey them. And all the people shall say: Amen.' {P}

According to the commentaries, all these things are things done in private.  Therefore, there are no witnesses to report the behavior.

• Why do you think the text specifically mentions these things?
• Are you more likely to behave publicly or privately?  Explain why.
• You might say that what you do in private is nobody else's business.  Besides being done in private, with no witnesses, they have something else in common.  Can you figure out what it is?  If you can, you may want to leave a comment on the blog.

Samson Raphael Hirsch, an important Jewish thinker, believed that this particular passage had another, perhaps deeper meaning:

"All blessing is denied to him who outwardly plays the pious man devoted to God but in secret denies the exclusive existence of One God and His rule; who outwardly is respectful to his parents but inwardly considers himself vastly superior to them; who in the eyes of men preserves the reputation of an honest man but, where it is unobserved, does not hesitate to injure the rights of his neighbor to his own advantage; who is full of enthusiasm for the welfare of his neighbors, in the presence of clever and intelligent people, but pushes short-sighted and blind people into misfortune; who grovels before the powerful but denies the weak and helpless their rights; pretends to be a highly respectable member of society, to wallow in sexual licentiousness in intimate privacy (verses 20-23); who does not dig a dagger into his neighbor but, under the cloak of conversation, murders his happiness, his peace, and his honor; who enjoys the highest confidence in his community but misuses it in secret corruption; finally, also one who, even if he lives correctly and dutifully for himself, still looks with indifference on the abandonment of the duties of the Torah in his immediate and wider circles."  (p 1519, The Torah, A Modern Commentary, W. Gunther Plaut)

• What is Hirsch talking about?
• How is this important? 

Ki Taytzey

The Wall Street Journal had an article in this past weekend's edition entitled The Power Trip, written by Jonah Lehrer, about power and how it affects the ways in which people behave.
Please re-read last year's post about Ki Taytzay and think about what it says concerning power, lack of power, and the restrictions that can and should be placed on power.

Some things to think about:

• Last week we read that a king of Israel, if there is to be one, should have a copy of the Torah in his possession at all times during his reign.  How is this related to this week's parasha?
• Many of the most disturbing passages in this parasha prescribe punishment for certain acts that seem to us to be out of proportion to the acts themselves (like stoning a 'stubborn and rebellious child').  The rabbis of the Talmud and since have explained that such punishments never were used and never will be. (If you want to read a translation of the original text in the tractate Sanhedrin, go to this site and read folios 68 - 71) If this is the case, why was the Torah written as it was?  How do we answer those who say that the God of the Tanach, the God of the Jews, is a vengeful God?
• Some of the mitzvot in this week's parasha are easy to understand - they make sense to us as moral.  Others appear arbitrary and without justification.  Pick one mitzvah which makes sense to you and explain 
• How do you understand this mitzvah?   
• How do you explain it to people who wonder about it?
• What do you think about it in today's world?
• Pick another mitzvah which seems arbitrary - that doesn't seem to have any moral basis.  Try to answer the same three questions as above.  Can you do it?  If you can, fine.  If you can't, what does that mean for how you understand Torah?