Is there nothing new under the sun?

Shabbat Chol Moed Sukkot 

On the Shabbat which falls during the festival of Sukkot, we read the Book of Ecclesiastes, attributed to the “son of David” (usually assumed to be King Solomon), It is a collection of sayings, many relating to the “futility” (sometimes translated as “vanity”) of life. It suggests “There is nothing new beneath the sun” meaning that whatever happens will have happened before, and that which happens has occurred before as well.

This year, we read these words in the midst of what appears to be an unprecedented Presidential election in the United States. On its face, this certainly seems to be something new and unique, if only for the antipathy with which each of the major candidates are held by their opponent’s supporters. But is this really so unprecedented? American history is filled with campaigns which have denigrated the opponents based on policy grounds as well as on personal qualification and integrity. Jefferson and Adams, in the first contested election, each hired professional “journalists” to dig up dirt on the other. Jefferson supporters accused Adams of wanting to establish a monarchy; Adam’s supporters accused Jefferson of supporting the excesses of the French Revolution, and fathering children with Sally Hemmings, his slave. women. Van Buren was called illegitimate, Lincoln was called an ape (and a descendant of blacks). McKinley’s extramarital affairs became campaign fodder, and FDR was called a communist. Vicious anti-Catholicism prevented a member of that faith from becoming President until John F. Kennedy prevailed in 1960. “Hey, Hey, LBJ, how many kids have you killed today?” was the chant which help drive Johnson out of the race for a second term.

Today’s so-called debate is indeed not unprecedented, but it is nevertheless troubling and sad. Is there nothing new beneath the sun? Kohelet concludes his work with the following:

            “The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind: that God will call every creature to account for all their conduct, be it good or bad.”

May the peace and security which the sukkah provides spread over all of us this Shabbat and in the coming months.

Past and Prologue

Haazinu

Deut. 32:1-52

Précis: The parasha, the shortest in the Five Books, containing only 52 verses, begins with the “Song of Moses,” a hymn sung by Moses within sight of the Promised Land. The song contrasts God’s fidelity with the faithlessness of the People, and the need of the People to learn from their history under God’s care. Moses predicts that Israel’s enemies will be overcome. He is told to climb a mountain to see the Promised Land he will not to enter, as he prepares for his death. This is the last parasha read on Shabbat in the annual cycle: the final parasha (V’zot Habracha) is read traditionally on Simchat Torah.

Deut. 32:1 “Give ear, skies, so that I may speak and let the earth hear what my mouth says.”

             We usually read this parasha with a feeling of pity for Moses, whose dreams of leading the People into the Land of Israel are ended, and we connect with his evident disappointment when he is limited to looking where he will not go. Rabbi Kerry Olitzky has offered (MyJewishLearning.com, 9/22/15)  a markedly different interpretation of Moses’ last days. He finds this week’s reading contains a subtle difference from the usual way the parasha is viewed.

            He notes that Moses will not be allowed to enter, primarily because of his disobedience when he angrily struck the rock for water (Num. 20: 2-13). However, Moses is allowed to see the future from atop Mt. Nebo, a privilege no one else is given. Olitzky ponders whether this is indeed a punishment, or rather a precious gift: Moses is able to “see” that his work has succeeded. Unlike those of us who have recently contemplated our mortality for the coming years, Moses is assured that although his life will end, his purpose in life has succeeded.

            Moses’ last song teaches another important lesson: the past is never to be forgotten, even when terrible. The past has been a step towards where we have come and to where we will go. Moses devoted more than 40 years of his life to the Exodus and the travails of the Wilderness. Olitzky suggests that reaching the Promised Land was the goal, and that the Torah would not have provided so much detail about the journey if it was not also important.

            Those of us who are continuing the Jewish journey should “give ear” to the past, while we look towards the future of the Jewish People.