EKEV 5777
YOUR SACRED SPACE – AND MINE
August 10, 2017
18 Av 5777
In this week's Torah portion Moses instructs the generation that is poised to cross the Jordan to conquer and to inherit the land. They were commended to expel the indigenous population and to destroy their worship sites. This iron-fisted policy was to protect the Israelites from being corrupted by the Canaanites idolatrous practices and their overall culture.
Merely a cursory reading of the Book of Judges makes it clear that this did not happen. Judges records the constant tension between the Israelite tribes and the people that that were on the land prior to its conquest by the Israelites. The subsequent diatribes of the prophets testify that as our ancestors settled in Canaan, they embraced the worship of idols that Moses clearly condemned as a violation of the Commandment, "you shall have no other gods besides Me" (Exodus 20:3).
Fast forward to our day. Clearly from our perspective such an expulsion of communities and families runs counter to our understanding of Judaism's moral teachings. The destruction of the native shrines and sites of worship flies in the face of our contemporary embrace of a pluralism that calls upon us to respect and not to desecrate; to protect and not to destroy the sacred space of other faiths.
Such has also been Israel's policy from the day it declared its independence. It has been fastidious in protecting all churches, mosques, shrines and sacred sites within its borders. Yet despite this positive policy Israel has been – and continues to be – pilloried by the Palestinians and Muslims as waiting for the right moment to destroy Al Aksa, the imposing mosque on the Temple Mount. This century old canard, dating back to 1922, when the then Mufti of Jerusalem coined this battle cry, Al Aksa is in danger." To this day the alleged threats to Al Aksa continue to be a red flag for Muslims worldwide.
Israel is aware that the Mount so holy to us, is equally sacred to Muslims that they call Haram al Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), and has wisely ceded hegemony over the area to Muslim leadership. Israel continues to honor this status quo despite ongoing agitation and pressure from a zealous minority that agitates for the right to ascend and to pray on the Mount.
The recent cold blooded murder of two Israeli police officers was carried out by three Palestinian terrorists using weapons that had been smuggled into Al-Aksa. Israel's response was to place metal detectors at the Mount's entrance to prevent weapons from being smuggled into this sacred space. This safety measure would hopefully preserve a peaceful status quo on the Mount. The Palestinian response was to accuse Israel of violating its commitment to maintain the status quo. The irony is that the status quo was tragically shattered by the murder of the Israeli police officers.
Israel continues to tread very lightly when dealing with the Temple Mount, but the time has come for the State to be forthcoming in combating the Muslim battle cry Al Aksa is in danger. Israel should be vigorously and proudly proclaiming its commitment to protect all religious institutions in the country including Al Aksa.
We continue to embrace the pluralism that honors and respects the faiths of others. In our long history we have all too often experienced the desecration and the destruction of countless synagogues, and we are sensitive to attacks upon the sacred sites and houses of worship of other faiths. Together with all who revere freedom of religion, we decry such wanton acts as the recent bombing of the mosque in Bloomington Minnesota. As Americans we are proud of this "status quo," and are equally proud that this enlightened policy is embraced by Israel. May every house of worship where people gather to pray for God's grace be blessed with ongoing peace and security.
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From Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach – a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
VA'ET'CHANAN SHABBAT NACHAMU* 5777
PRAYERS FOR WHOM?
August 3, 2017
11 Av 5777
I pleaded with the Lord at that time saying… Let me I pray cross over… the Jordan… but the Lord was wrathful with me and would not listen. (And) said, enough never speak to me of this matter again (Deuteronomy 3:23-26).
This week's Torah portion opens with Moses standing before the generation poised to cross the Jordan to inherit the Promised Land. He openly shares with them his angst when God unequivocally rebuffed him as he sought to ameliorate the decree that he would not enter the land.
Moses was deeply hurt and frustrated. High on his bucket list was to lead the Children of Israel over the Jordan and into the Land. God not only rejected his prayer for an extension of time but admonished him never again to raise this issue. The Divine decree was final.
I suspect that Moses had an undimmed memory of two other occasions when his heartfelt prayers were fulfilled. When his sister Miriam was punished with leprosy for speaking ill of her brother, Moses brief heartfelt prayer: "O God, please heal her." (Numbers 12:13) was accepted by God, and Miriam was healed. The Midrash draws our attention to the impact of even a brief prayer that comes from the heart.
Moses undoubtedly had a clear recollection of another prayer recited following the debacle of the Golden Calf. God, incensed by this blatant lapse into idolatry, informed Moses of His intent to destroy this sinning community and make a new nation from Moses' descendants. Moses unhesitatingly responded with a prayer that God forgive the sinning Israelites. Here too his words were simple and direct: "Forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us for Your own." (Exodus 34:9) Moses while undoubtedly dismayed about his flock's sinful behavior must nonetheless have been elated to hear God's response, "I have forgiven as you have requested."
Each of these prayers—two successful and one unsuccessful– is grounded in different aspects of our identity. Moses' request of God that he be permitted to carry on reflected an understandable self-interest. He desperately wanted more time and appealed to God more than once hoping that even as his prayers on behalf of Miriam and the sinning Israelites were successful, so would the petition on his own behalf.
We can identify with Moses. We have all faced personal crises when we beseeched God to answer us in our time of need. One such powerful prayer in our liturgy is: "Cast us not off in our later years, as our strength begins to abate, do not abandon us." There are those instances in life when we understandably pray on our own behalf.
Moses prayed for his sister. As human beings, we are born into a family that nourishes us, and we, in turn, desire to nurture it. Prayers for the welfare of parents, siblings, children and all who are part of our mishpacha are normal. We do so in the privacy of our hearts and often in the synagogue by including the name of our beloved in the list for whom prayer for healing is recited.
Moses prayed for the welfare of his community, and our liturgy is replete with prayers for the welfare of Jews in stress. One such example is: "As for our brothers (sic) in the house of Israel who are in critical danger, may God have mercy upon them and bring them forth from darkness to light and from sorrow to joy, speedily in our day."
The focus of our prayers is not to be limited to personal and family interests and crises. The circle of our concerns must be widened to embrace others and to be sensitive to their welfare. John Donne's words are eternally relevant: No man is an island unto himself. We are all part of something far larger than the self—our family, our community or humanity overall. Following the Golden Calf, Moses' selfless prayer for Bnei Yisrael were positively answered, and so may ours for Israel, for America and for all who inhabit this planet. May our heartfelt prayers be acceptable to God.
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From Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach – a Shabbat of peace and of blessing.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
*Each of the Haftarot of the seven Shabbatot, immediately following Tisha B'Av, is a selection from the last chapters of the Book of Isaiah in which the prophet reassures the community that has suffered defeat at the hands of the Babylonians and was in exile. These selections are thus called the hafatorot of consolation. The first begins with the words, Nachamu nachamu ami, Comfort ye, comfort ye My People, sayeth your God (Isaiah 40:1).
