BALAK 5778
LAID BARE BEFORE THE WORLD
June 27, 2018
15 Tammuz 5778
Balaam, a noted Gentile prophet and sorcerer, was no friend of the Children of Israel. He undertook the commission of the Moabite King, Balak, to curse the Israelites despite the Divine caveat that he would only be able to articulate what God placed on his tongue.
Most well-known of his praises, "How how goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel" (Numbers 24:5) is the opening prayer for our morning services. The rabbis picture him gazing at the Israelite encampment and noting that the tents were arranged so that no one opening faced that of another. Every family was thus assured of maximum privacy.
The Talmud legislates that the doors of houses that circle a courtyard must be constructed to assure that each home is shielded from outside viewing. This makes privacy not only a common courtesy but a religious requirement. In our day, most legal scholars contend that privacy is a fundamental right comparable to freedom of speech assembly. While not specifically included in the Constitution, it is an implied right that must be assured to every citizen and family.
George Orwell's classic work, 1984, describes an oppressive society where cameras were installed in every home to ensure that every citizen's actions and words were politically correct.
The theme of a recent conference in Jerusalem's Hartman Institute was derech eretz, (literally, the way of the world) a term for acting decently toward others. It is the manner in which a mensch behaves. It challenges us to place a moral compass on our actions and all words. Thus, respecting the privacy of others is behaving with derech eretz.
Advances in technology have made intrusions on our privacy easier and easier. Apps, such as Uber and Lyft, are aware of your present location. Google and Amazon sell advertising to specific merchants to help them reach customers who formerly purchased their products or those that are similar. Records of our conversations and contacts are easily accessed by the inevitable hacker and, of course, the government itself. Privacy is obviously seriously compromised by the ease with which any miscue act or misstatement is easily and immediately bared before the world on various social media platforms.
We appropriately bemoan these unwanted intrusions into our privacy, but the power of the behemoth of ever increasing technology exceeds that of any one of us. Yet, as individuals, we can and should adopt behavioral standards of derech eretz to respect each other's privacy. The clear condemnation of lashon hara (literally, evil speech), whether it be idle gossip or actual calumny, requires we not bandy about the deeds and actions of others, in public or one on one.
Millennia ago, Balaam admired and extolled the derech eretz of the Israelites so clearly evidenced by the care taken in positioning their tents. How wonderful it would be if a modern-day prophet would be able to witness and extol such care in our technologically advanced society and, more importantly, in our respectful behavior toward one another.
—
From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and blessing.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
CHUKKAT 5778
ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT MOSES
June 21, 2018
8 Tammuz 5778
This week the Torah portion records three personal tragedies that befell Moses. The forty-year trek in the desert was about over. The generation of the Exodus had perished and now their children and grandchildren were poised to enter the Promised Land. What should have been a moment of great triumph in celebration for Moses was suddenly transformed into very dark moments. In less than the flicker of an eye, Moses suffered the personal loss of his two siblings, Miriam and Aaron.
Then there was another water crisis. God instructed Moses to speak to the rock so that water would flow from it. Moses, however, angered at yet another "water demonstration," struck the rock and, as water came forth, the people were gratified. Not so God, who confronted Moses with his failure to speak to and not strike the rock. His punishment was swift. He would not be the one to lead the people into the Promised Land; he would not even set foot in it.
Moses had been leading a content and peaceful life in Midian. He was the son-in-law of its high priest, and his wife, Tziporah, had borne one son and was again pregnant. Moses was a successful shepherd and apparently enjoyed his pastoral life. All this came to an abrupt halt as God commanded Moses to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites to freedom and to the Promised Land. Moses first resisted being taken away from his peaceful life, but God prevailed and the rest is history.
Leading the Israelites was a mixed experience. There were the high moments at the Sea of Reeds, the revelation at Mount Sinai, and the construction of the Mishkan (Desert Tabernacle). Then there were the dark moments of the Golden Calf, Korach's mutiny, and the community meltdown following the pessimistic report of ten of the twelve men dispatched to scout out the land, and the several water crises.
Looking back on his life and especially the last 40 years, was Moses satisfied? Psalm 90 is the only one of the 150 inclusions attributed to Moses. He contrasts God's eternal presence with the brief human presence on earth. Mortals may attain the advanced ages of 70 and 80, but God is forever.
It is human nature to experience despair when we become painfully aware of our mortality. Then there are the times when we wonder whether life is just worth the effort. Psalm 90 captures this angst, but not without its moments of optimism. We can be productive in the time allotted to us. Thus, the Psalm's concluding prayer is that the work of our hands will be firmly established. It's a blessing to do good work and thereby fashion a legacy of accomplishment and fulfillment.
Moses may have been quite content to live out his life in Midian. He had misgivings about having to tear himself away from the idyllic existence, but he did have the satisfaction of 40 years of leadership of what was ultimately to become the Jewish people. He did have a prime role in the early stages of his people's development.
Included in the Psalm is the prayer to teach us to count the number of our days, i.e., to be aware that their numbers are finite. It's also a challenge to make the days really count. In the broad sweep of history, I believe Moses did just that. None of us is Moses, but we all have days, and may we succeed in making them count.
—
From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and blessing.
Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman
