God in the Israel- Palestinian Conflict

 I live in NYC and am Jewish. My kids are grown adults with families, and I'm sure like many of you, our WhatsApp chats are filled with a variety of opinions on who is wrong and who is right in the current Gaza conflict.

I want to write about something that is not a popular topic on our chats. Where does God fit in? That question has been weighing on me. As I scroll through the massive number of opinions, ‘facts,’ and posts, everyone seems to weigh in on our physical or moral responsibilities—but nowhere is God mentioned.  I suppose that's taboo in the media world. They claim to deal in 'facts'—and perhaps, in their minds, God does not qualify as one.  When I respond with an answer that includes God on the WhatsApp chat, I am met with a variety of emojis… like my belief in God, or my understanding of how God expects us to behave is up there with conspiracy theorists.

I hate that I feel the need to offer a disclaimer, but that’s the world we live in.  I consider myself open minded, and educated. I have struggled with the Torah text, and I accept that my view is one of thousands. However, to discount what faith has to do with this conflict in my opinion is only providing half the story. I also want to say that when I use the term "statutes of God" I am not referring to any particular way that the Jewish people today follow the statutes, I am referring to them in a general sense.

So let me share what I believe. I believe in the ONE God.   I believe that this God created the world and all beings in it. I believe in the Torah, and I believe that Torah was given to us at Mount Sinai. I believe that in a world of many gods, Abraham found and acknowledged the ONE God and for that he and his children were rewarded with the very special land of Israel.

I also believe that God made a covenant with Abraham, his sons and also the Children of Israel. Israel is a holy place, and the land is holy. The people inhabiting it, need to treat it as such. The covenant that God made with the Children of Israel was clear. As long as you follow my statutes, you will remain in the land, but if not, the land will "spit you out".

In the days of our prophets we were told through them when we were failing in our mission. We did not listen and we were summarily exiled. We can blame Assyria or Babylon, but ultimately we as Jews bore the ultimate responsibility. The other nations were "messengers from God" to carry out the decree that was set because we failed to adhere to the statutes.  By the time of the second temple we had no prophets, so the Rabbis provided insight as to why the Temple was destroyed and we were exiled.  Whatever reason they provide, though, the responsibility ultimately fell on the shoulders of the Jewish people.  Our relationship with God was fractured and our relationship amongst ourselves was in disarray.  

The Jewish people were subjected to living in the diaspora, working on repairing their relationship with God, and always praying and hoping that one day, God will allow them to return to the land that was promised to them. This was not a colonizing idea; we were not raising armies, this was prayer that in the same miraculous ways God brought us to the land of Israel in the past, God would do the same.

I could be boring and provide a history of the birth of Israel the State, but that is not my point. I believe that the UN vote to create the State of Israel, in the vicinity of the ancient Jewish Homeland was a miracle. I believe that the defensive Wars that Israel has fought, have been miracles from God, and yes, I believe that God's hand is actively involved in the ongoing Gaza War.

However, I also believe that God views all humankind as "his children". I believe that God believes in preserving life. I also believe that God allows the humans of the world to make their own choices and as we have seen through history, many of the choices have cost millions (not only Jews) their lives.

As a Jew, I can empathize with many sides of this debate. I believe that God does not want anyone to go hungry, and as Jews we are required to ensure that we care for the poor, so from a Torah view, one may say we have an obligation to ensure that the innocents are being fed. On the other hand, God also says that if someone is trying to kill you, you can defend yourself, what this means practically, has been debated by the rabbis for thousands of years, because ultimately we believe in protecting life.

I can only imagine the debates and conversations our ancient rabbis would have over the ethics of this War, because that is what we do. There are hostages, and the Torah tells us we need to redeem the hostages— but the rabbis warned about this. In their times, the other nations kidnapped Jews all the time because they knew that the Jewish people would redeem them for money. The debate raged, how are we, humans, supposed to put a value on a human life?

I am aware that Jews are divided on how to interpret the Torah, but the country of Israel, was built on the values that Judaism instilled in us, and so the debates continue in the name of what as Jews is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, none of us are privy to the answer the God has in mind. In a world without prophets, I believe God must be in the equation with everything we do. We have been raised to understand that the world is complex, that each situation comes with its own set of parameters and there should be no cookie cutter answer. I believe that God put his faith in us, all of us, to collectively find the right answer.  The Torah is not silent on how a people should live and defend themselves, especially in morally complex situations like war.

The Torah is and has always been our guide. God told us very clearly that we need to follow the statutes, we need to be active, but also TO TRUST IN GOD. The story of Amalek I think can help shed light on what our responsibility needs to be.  In a class recently given by Dr. Yael Ziegler she taught that Amalek, although listed as a people in the Bible, was also a philosophy.

Amalek, according to my teacher, Dr. Ziegler, who based her understanding on Rav Medan’s assessment.  , were a group of nomadic people, who do not invest in the future. They are only interested in things that are useful to them "now". They are not interested in fighting a war as much as they are interested in what they can gain in the short term. In his article on Amalek, Rabbi Medan hypothesizes that the Amalekites saw an opportunity to attack a defenseless group of people, and perhaps their goal was not to kill them but to kidnap them and sell them back to the Egyptians. Thus, the group struck from behind, at those most weak and defenseless.

Rav Medan also notes that the Amalek attack comes right after the story of Mei Meriva—named for the quarrel (riv) of Benei Yisrael and their testing (nasotam) of God, saying, "Is God in our midst or not?" He argues that this was a triple failure by the Jewish people. The first, their lack of faith in God, the second, their quarrel against Moses, to the point that Moses feared he would be stoned, and three their focus on their selfish needs, and their lack of concern for the nation as a whole.

He understands the narrative that to get the water, Moses, Joshua and the elders left the camp to walk to the mountain of Horeb, where there they witnessed Moses hitting the rock. Rabbi Medan argues that the Israelites did not see this miracle, they only saw the water as it flowed from Horeb to Rephidim. However, the leadership was not there, and the chaos that ensued from everyone trying to help themselves to the water was the result. Rav Medan says this is where Amalek came in. He writes: "Amalek saw before them a nation that was thirsty and tired, with no internal cohesion and with no leadership - in other words, lacking the most basic conditions to defend itself and fight back."

This is the philosophy of Hamas. They are not concerned with building, with the future of their people. The weak and the infirm among them are useless, unless they help to fill a narrative. Kidnapping is a means for their immediate gain.  When they send missiles they do so indiscriminately into Israel. They did not attack the Israeli army, they attacked innocent towns, communities filled with elderly, women, and children. They hide behind women and children when they attack. They are not concerned with feeding their people, because that does not suit their immediate needs. This character trait is supported in 1 Samuel 30 with the attack on the city of Ziklag.   In many ways, this ancient mindset continues to manifest today.

Once Amalek attacked, in addition to assembling an army to fight them, Moses stood on a mountain with his hands up. The verse in the Torah says "The hands of Moses were heavy, and they took a stone and placed it under him and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on this side and one on that. And his hands were steadfast until the sun set." (translation from AlHatorah)

Isn't this strange? Moses, God's instrument in Egypt when it came to the plagues, needed help from others to raise his hands? Why? Perhaps, because unlike the miracle of the plagues, which was sent by God as a demonstration of strength, the battle against Amalek can not be won alone. The word in Hebrew that is used in the verse is "Emunah". Moses held his hands up in "Emunah" and that has been translated into steadfast.

In that chapter, we note that Joshua did not destroy Amalek, just weakened them, and Rashi the sage, in his prophetic wisdom said that Joshua killed the strong ones, and left the weak ones alive". After this "war" we are instructed by God to remember what they did.

From a moral perspective, God is speaking to a nation that is about to build its own society. God, in a sense, tells them don't be like them, build for the future not just for the present.  God is also saying, remember how they got to you. You lacked faith in me, you attacked your leaders and you did not think about others. You lacked unity and cohesion. This is what we must remember. Our physical fighting against them can only be successful with our “steadfast” belief in God, a healthy respect for our leaders and a concern for everyone in our nation.

This is why the word Emunah was used and this is why Moses needed for Israel to see that Aaron and Hur were flanking him, helping him to raise his hands. We have only been around since our exile because of our Emunah.   That does not mean we lay down our weapons.   The Torah is there to teach us important lessons. The lesson from Rephidim seems clear.  Our society should be based on the society that God laid out for us. We need to have faith in God, and we need to be unified.  But respect for our leaders?  Even Moses needed two righteous people at his side to support him.  Our leaders should learn from that too.  However, we the people have a powerful tool to use should our leaders not be as steadfast in their Emunah.  Our prayers to God, our unity, our consideration for each other has the power to storm the heavens and force God to look.  

Faith is not easy—it is a challenge. Even Moses needed two people at his side ‘until sunset’.  To truly fight Hamas we need to lift our hands, we need to pray.  No matter where you stand in this conflict,the one thing that can unite us is our prayers.  Our prayer for peace, our prayer that God is  “the God who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness” and we need to continue to follow the statutes of God, and treat each other with respect, and kindness.  

I recognize that the intricacies of this war are beyond my expertise and I know that everything I read is sprinkled with bias, or purposefully missing important information. I am not asking us to stop debating, again, that is part of our nature. I would ask that we remember that we are way stronger when we debate with love. However, at the end of the day, we should be able to sit with each other, perhaps pray with each other.  Instead of group protests, we should arrange group prayers. This is what truly unites us.   When our divisiveness is visible, it weakens us, and allows Amalek to penetrate our defenses.

Easier said than done, I know because even Moses needed help, but faith in God and prayer to God needs to be part of our daily plan of action. The Jewish people are famous for debating, and we do that because  we are  just trying to push towards that society that God outlined. We can not control others, we can only control how we behave. Our belief in God is what unites us, the prayers we have are unifying– let’s spend a few minutes a day praying to God, and I believe that will yield miracles of unprecedented levels. If we want the world to see us as more than just a people in conflict, let them see us as a people of prayer, faith, and unity.   So while WhatsApp chats and media debates may rage on, let’s not forget to ask the most important question—Where is God in all this? And more importantly, where are we, in our relationship with Him?

1.     Within the vast corpus of Talmud there are many reasons given for the destruction of the Temple

2.    I heard of the concept of "Amalekism" from my teacher, Dr. Yael Ziegler. She expanded on Rabbi Medan's explanation of Amalek's characteristics. https://www.etzion.org.il/en/holidays/purim/amalek-moral-argument

3. Exodus 17: 1-7

4.     Samuel 1:  30:2- The Amalekites burned the community and took the women and children as hostages.  When David went to pursue the Amalekites he came upon an Egyptian boy who was left by the side of the road by his master the Amalekite because he fell ill

5.    Exodus 17:12

 

Study day 2

Hello all
Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch a lovely shiur on you tube given by Rabbi Trugman.  It was on Devarim, and it seems it combined both parsha and chassidut  Parshas Devarim, is the link if you want t read the summary.

I also continued to listen to the mishna shiur.... and this is where the internet is BAD.  What I thought was a really wonderful website (which it probably is), it is run by a man that is not so wonderful and based on what I read, and what people have told me, I am not inclined to listen, to share or to speak about it again.

I am sorry for not doing due diligence prior to my posting, or telling others to use it.

I am at this point looking for audio or video shiurim in Mishna that I can learn along with.  I have Sefaria, which is a great tool to use to read in both English and Hebrew and allows me to see the commentary on the particular Mishna that I am reading...  I also found that YU Torah has Mishna Yomi, and it is fine, but he reads the Mishna and explains it in English.no additional commentary.  -- suggestions are requested.

I will keep you informed of todays activities...

Learning - Day 1

So I am going to attempt to write what I learned today.
I began with Mishna.
I am using the website Master Torah, I downloaded the audio files of Mishna Brachos and began there.
so the Mishna starts with when do we say shema at night.  It is referring to the words from Devarim which we say in Shema ושכבך  ובקומך.  So since the phrase begins with ושכבך, that is likely why the mishna begins with the evening part too.  The definition of the word ושכבך is in question in this.. does it mean when you are sleeping, when you lie down, before you sleep etc.. so we will see what the Mishna says.
The Mishna will also discuss, when we say it, how to say it and under what circumstances.  So the Mishna goes on to say you can say it from the time that the Kohanim are able to eat the Teruma.  This refers to the evening how do we know, well we know that the Kohen went to the Mikva during the day and would have to wait until the sun went down to go and eat the Terumah.  So from there they get the rule that it is said at night.  The next question, until when?  Well there will be three opinions.  1- Rabbi Eliezer says until the end of the first watch.  (divide the night into three), and according to him, the end of the first portion of the night is the last time you can say shema.  He likely said that because the first third of the night is when people likely went to sleep. So his interpretation of ושכבך is when you lie down to sleep.
2 - the חכמים say until חצות-- it seems that they take the view that ושכבך is when people go to sleep, but they seem to think people go to sleep a bit later.  The other option is that they interpret ושכבך as while you are sleeping (during the hours that you are sleeping)
3- Raban Gamliel says until morning-  he takes the opinion that ושכבך is during the time that people are sleeping.
There is the story of the sons of Raban Gamliel, they came home from a party probably after חצות, and they did not say Kriyat Shema.  They wanted to know what the חכמים would say in this case.  He said to them, if the sun has not risen yet, you can say it.  So the question remains, why did the חכמים say until חצות if you can say it all night.  The answer goes back to the הקטר חלבים,   it is suppose to burn all night, and you can eat it until morning.  He said that whenever, the חכמים use the phrase עד חצות it really means until morning.  (like all the offerings that are brought they say can be eaten until morning), but why do they say until chatzot?  כדי להרחיק אדם מן העבירה.  So that you dont miss your opportunity and fall asleep accidentally.  
So we talked about beginning and ending evening shema, what about the second part of the verse.. ובקומך,  Unlike ושכבך, there is no question as to what this means.  All agree it means not when you are standing, but when you wake up.  Upon arising from sleep.  So when do people get up.  Well it says you can begin when it is light outside, when you can tell the difference between the blue and white in your tzitizs, but Rav Eliezer says no that is still to dark, when you can tell the difference between your tzizis and כרתי (green), or other colors., and you must finish by the time the sun rises (a really small window.) Rabi Yehoshua says until the third hour into the day (dividing the day by 12), and what is his rationale? Because it is the way of kings, they would wake up at the end of the first three hours and we are considered sons of kings.  If you missed the time, then you wont get credit for saying shema in the morning, but you do not lose out, because you get credit for reading the torah on that day.

I know that was a short class, but I wanted to listen and repeat.. it took about 30 minutes to listen and to take down notes on both pesukim.
some comments I have:
interesting how the mishna (and I think its the first book), begins with Shema. If it is truly the first book, then it provides strength to what we learned at Nishmat regarding Shema.  It is is essential, perhaps the essential thing that we need to do as a people.

After the Mishna I continued with the Parsha (devarim)
some questions in devarim from the getgo...
moshe says in pasuk 10: that Gd has multiplied them and they are today as numerous as the stars...but that is not exactly true... you can not count the stars in the sky, and yet just a few weeks ago, we just counted bnei yisroel
here is a nice line from 1:16 in Devarim:  וָאֲצַוֶּה֙ אֶת־שֹׁ֣פְטֵיכֶ֔ם בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖וא לֵאמֹ֑ר שָׁמֹ֤עַ בֵּין־אֲחֵיכֶם֙ וּשְׁפַטְתֶּ֣ם צֶ֔דֶק בֵּֽין־אִ֥ישׁ וּבֵין־אָחִ֖יו וּבֵ֥ין גֵּרֽוֹ׃.  Why do I like this?  Because so far, Moshe can be talking to Bnei Yisroel back then, or it could be Moshe talking to all future generations..in which case, our leaders need to to be just leaders and they need to look at the judgment between man and his brother, or between a foreigner.  In the Pasukim that follows it talks only about being fair to one another, it does not talk about Gd, or how to serve Gd.  
interesting in pasuk 25, the story of the spies, came back good.... and it was the bnei yisroel who chose to complain, but the first perek ends that Bnei Yisroel will be going into Canaan, but they can not take Esau land.  I tried to read several mefarshim on this... for instance why Moshe said that because of the sin of the spies he will not be going into Israel... I have to admit, it was and is still difficult, although I am understanding a bit more as the days go on.  
Anyway, this was my day today...

Devarim and relating to Tisha B'av

Today we had a Yom Iyun at our shul.  It was special, it was actually a partnership Yom Iyun of two Lower East Side shuls.  The Rabbi from one of the shuls spoke first, about what caused the Churban, and then an expert on Israel, gave a presentation on the song Jerusalem of Gold, and how it was composed.  Both presentations were fascinating.  The first part presented presented the various texts of our Torah, and provided a unique perspective on how to view the Churban back then as well as now, and the second part was an interpretation of a hebrew secular song(poem), written about Jerusalem, with what seems clear indications that the author used the tanach, and the Torah Shebaal Peh as her basis.  What marred what would have been a beautiful day, was the vitriol that I received from other people in my neighborhood about the program, who was part of it and whether or not we can consider the Rabbi an orthodox Rabbi or not.  This question always bothered me.  What does it mean to be an orthodox Rabbi in the 21st century?  Why are there such fights amongst the jewish leadership on this issue.  So please excuse my naivete, and my lack of knowledge and understanding of all of halacha, when I try and work through this.
Part of the direction we received at Nishmat was to study the parsha each day.  So that is what I did.  I started with the Parsha, and before I got very far, I read Devarim 1:12-1:16.  So here in Devarim Moshe is about to give his last speech to Am Yisroel before they go into Yisroel.  He is reminding them that they have become too big for him, and he appointed leaders for each tribe. In fact, in Devarim 1:12 his first word is איכה, to me very coincidental considering the week we are in, and wht we will be reading in less than a week.  In the prior sefer we learned about how each tribe will be split up in the land.   Meaning, that they will not be all together, as they were in the desert, and they will have to rely on their leaders to lead them.  One can imagine that given the distance, there may be times when the leader of one tribe will provide a different insight into a situation than a leader of a different tribe, however, when Moshe ordained Yeshoshua and the 70 Shoftim, I am guessing he knew this too.  This is likely the reason when the תורה שבעל פה was written down, there may have been questions on exactly what was meant.. and why there are constant conflicts that occur throughout the Gemara.
In my quest I found several what I can call words of wisdom regarding loving your fellow man, and loshen harah (by chofetz chaim, and daat zekainim) which of course provided me with no insight as to why someone would say something about a fellow jew in public, but certainly helped me understand that loshon hara, and that we are all created with hashems likeness, are essential to who we are as a jewish community and  a human people.
Since I was having problems finding an answer, I figured I would find out about what exactly constitues semicha... First, as I mentioned above, I found that the first ordination would be from Moshe to Yehoshua and then to the 70 shoftim., and they in turn ordained their followers.  The history of "classic semicha" went on until I believe after the Jews were expelled from Spain.  When some Rabbayim tried to bring it back, it was rejected by others and after that semicha became a different process and can be very specific or can be diverse, regarding the parameters of an individual receiving semicha.  Interestingly enough I found a question posed to Rav Sperling on Yeshiva.Org, where someone asked what constitutes a valid ordination... and his answer was pretty simple...  of course the Rabbi in question from what I understand holds a highly respected ordination, and of course this furthered my question on why someone or some people feel it is appropriate to behave in the way that they do.  (As I am quoting a question, I want to add that Rav Sperling did mention to the individual who asked that if there was some impetus to the question, perhaps it should be asked separately, or offline-- his was a general response to the question)
The more I researched, the more I found that there was no true answer to any of the questions.
We were at shul for a day of learning.  The people in question, have firm beliefs in the halachic process, in both תורה שבכתב and תורה שבעל פה, there are just some debate on how to handle sensitive questions on halacha, which as a matter of jewish history and jewish halacha has been the norm for the longest time.  I think in the age of technology, and the age in which we live, the question of community is the all encompassing issue.  Community for the longest time, was always subjugated to a location, if you live in Spain, you follow the Rabbi of Spain etc.... Now, the definition of community is not about where you live, but to whom you belong...I believe this, is the crux of the issues here on the Lower East Side.  Many people here identify community as we live here and follow the Rabbayim that live here, and others, identify community in a more global perspective.  However you interpret the word community in the sense of the specific leader you follow, we are all part of the whole "jewish community", and that is different than individual communities.. as a jewish community there are basic values, and beliefs that we all share.   Unfortunately we do not live in a time that Gd is going to come down and tell us what to do... as a community it seems there are many answers to specific questions and depending on which specific faction you are part of and who is your leader..In the end though, its gotta be about serving hashem and respecting our fellow man...Sinas Chinum and Lashon Horah have no part in that, and now, as we are coming upon Tisha B'av that is gotta be the theme and the thought throughout the week   Bein Adam L'chavero

My Summer at Nishmat

August 4, 2016

Summer is usually the time when you relax, go on vacation....however, over the past few years I have been consistently taking classes in Torah study, (mostly Tanach, philosophy, and some halacha). My friends who spend their summers in Israel suggested that I join them for three weeks at a Torah study seminary in Jerusalem. I kept thinking.... is it worth it?  I, who live in NYC have been very satisfied taking classes here, and was torn as to whether I should take three weeks, alone, and go to Israel to study full time.  As it happened, several small things inspired me to say yes.. I will do it... and not only will I go and study there, I will dorm there too, FULL immersion. I was extremely nervous, aside from my few friends, (who were not dorming), I pictured myself as an older woman among a group of 20 somethings, I figured I would feel left out and isolated, but I also figured I would learn a great deal.  Instead, what I came to realize was that it did not matter how old I was, how young they were, nor did it matter what our backgrounds were, we all were there for the same purpose and that purpose broke any barrier that may have been in the way.  The women who attended were caring, educated, and in many ways I was no different than any of them. We were there with a common purpose, to study Torah, to engage in the texts, to be excited about breaking through a difficult concept and to be humbled that  with all we had learned throughout our lives there was so much that we did not know.   That in itself was a learning experience for me. 
The Nishmat teachers were smart, engaging, caring, funny, but most of all they were true to themselves and to us in every way, and they showed us how we can be true to ourselves in our way, using the Torah as our guide.  They taught me the basics, they taught me to ask questions, and they taught me to trust a system that I sometimes came to doubt. With every class I took I felt the love that the instructor had for the material and for teaching.  Each teacher brought with them a passion that added excitement and personality to a class, even if the class was at 8:00pm.
The three weeks went by too fast and of course there was never enough time for anything.  For me, it was clear why some boys and girls love studying for a year or more in Israel... or just studying in general...  The learning was like an addiction, I found myself wanting to learn after the class, I would sometimes get caught up while in the Beit Midrash and realize it was after midnight, sometime I couldn't sleep because I was thinking of a discussion we had that day or a problem I was trying to solve... I wanted it to go on.  The experience was stimulating and I am just now trying to figure out how to ensure that I get my daily dose.
In addition to the learning, Nishmat offered us wonderful opportunities to bond and to do other things... we made beautiful paper cutouts and visited the Israel Museaum.  The highlight for me was our Shabbaton in the north, we took a morning tiyul and then went to a yishuv to see how technology has made simple things like milking a cow more efficient and productive.  Shabbat however was incredibly special.. To spend it with women who sang, danced and who helped make Shabbat feel like kadusha was the most inspirational shabbat I have spent in many years.  I am so happy that I had the opportunity to experience the full three weeks, night and day.  If I have the opportunity to return I absolutely will, until then, I am using this as my attempt to give myself, and anyone else a daily dose of something... (at least I will try)