Continuing Revelation

Shoftim

Deut. 16:18-21:9

Précis: The parasha Shoftim (literally, “judges”) is devoted primarily to various themes of justice, and includes warnings against false testimony, idol worship, and the dangers posed by mortal kings. The parasha also warns the people against false prophets, magicians, soothsayers and witches. It establishes requirements for cities of refuge in the Promised Land. In short, the parasha is devoted to ways to create a just society in the Land of Israel.

Deut. 17:8-10 “If a case is too complicated for you to adjudicate, whether it is a controversy over a homicide, civil law, or assault-matters of dispute in your court-you shall quickly take it to the place where God has designated [for such disputes]. Appear before the Levitical priest or the judge who will be in those days and present your problem. When the verdict has been announced, you shall carry it out from the place God chose, attending meticulously to the details of the decision.”

            Rabbi Adam Raskin, in his d'var torah to Congregation Har Shalom (8/25/12) suggested that there is a deeply radical message embedded in this parasha. He says that the verse establishes the “very basis of rabbinic authority, the capacity for change, and the continuity of our tradition…. a handful of verses that are nothing short of a theological revolution...”

            In these verses, human beings are commanded to participate in the evolution of Jewish law and tradition. The Torah is the basis of law, but it must be implemented by human beings. In effect, the judgment of these human judges is the articulation of the Divine Will!  This is what we call “ongoing revelation.” Jewish law and thought are not to be frozen forever.

            For centuries, rabbinical authorities have issued t'shuvot (responsa) on all aspects of Jewish life; this is a process which continues today, with respected authorities from each branch of Judaism issuing thoughtful explications of law on a range of issues which were not considered 3,000 years ago: how are we to deal with issues of scientific discoveries, complex commercial concerns, or how the 21^st century impacts on our ritual observances.

            The Conservative Movement maintains that the Torah's intent is for an evolving Jewish perspective on all aspects of life which is based on the text as well as on the thoughtful exegesis of generations of scholars. Those of other branches may disagree (and they do!) with responsa issued by the Conservative Movement’s rabbis, and there are heated debates within every branch of Jewish thought. Most will at least acknowledge that Jewish thought and life have in fact evolved over the centuries and millennia. How we evolve, and the way in which we hold the text and tradition sacred is the cornerstone of the concept of continuing revelation.

These were not "fine people"

Re’eh

Deut. 11:26 - 16:17

Précis: Moses begins by quoting God, saying “Behold (re’eh), I set before you a blessing and a curse this day.” The blessing flows from observance of the laws and the curses result from violations. A concern with idolatry permeates the following verses. The parasha explains that there will be a single site for sacrifices. A test for a false prophet and the punishment of an idolatrous city are included. The parasha then shifts to other subjects: a prohibition against self-mutilation, the biblical basis of the laws of kashrut, tithing so that the needs are met for the Levites, the "stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.” Remission of debts, freeing of Hebrew slaves, and the dedication of firstborn cattle are discussed, as are the commandments for the observance of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

Deut. 11:26–28 “Behold I set before you a blessing and a curse this day; a blessing if you obey the commandment…and a curse, if you will not obey the commandments…”

            The parasha begins with the word “behold” (re’eh) which in Hebrew is a singular verb. But the second word, “before you” (“lif’nechem”) is in the plural.   What does this grammatical oddity mean?  The rabbis suggest in the Talmud that the mitzvot were given to the Jews as a single group (hence the singular “behold”), but the plural “before you” means it is up to each individual to accept the blessing or the curse. This is not an issue of so-called moral equivalence: there are blessing and curses which derive from our actions to perform or abstain from mitzvot.

            This past week, we observed Nazi, KKK, and other “alt right” white supremacists hold a torch-lit parade through the UVA campus, and the following day they instigated a horrific melee with counter-protesters, ending in death and injury caused by an American white terrorist, who seemed to have “learned” from ISIS the technique of driving his car into a crowd of “others” who he opposes.

            Our President, after an unseemly delay, initially said there were “fine people” on both sides. The following day, he deplored the KKK and the neo-Nazis. Yet, in following days, he doubled-down and then tripled-down on his belief that there were “bad actors” and “fine people” on both sides of the dispute.

            There are no “fine people” among Nazis and members of the KKK or other white supremacist groups. Their beliefs are antithetical to American values. A torchlight parade to support the retention of a statue honoring the leader of the rebellion against the United States is all too reminiscent of the torchlight parades of the 1930’s in Germany.

            As our parasha reminds us, there is indeed a stark difference between good and evil, and there are starkly different outcomes for those who observe the mitzvot and those who don’t. While it is true that it appears that the willingness of evil to speak out is growing – and even to gain the tacit approval of the President on some level – we need to remind ourselves that our tradition demands justice and concern for the least among us, and that it is our duty to oppose evil wherever we find it. As Jews, we must stand up to the anti-Semites who comprise a significant segment of the so-called "alt right."