Shlomo's Thoughts on the Torah

Israel Independence Day is on Iyar 5, this year it will be celebrated on May 14. It occurs during the Omar, a period of mourning over the loss of the Bar Kochba Revolt. It is no accident of history but God's hand in the world.

The Torah was the first religious book that tied religion with morality. This is because God stresses that He is a moral God and wants us to be a moral people.

Today is the memorial day for the Jews murdered in Europe during the Holocaust. It is also to remember the bravery that those facing death showed. The defeat of our enemies is not only that we survive but we survived as Jews.

The beginning of the Portion states "You Will Become Holy." Then it explains how to become holy through our interactions with our fellow man.

The reason that the Jews had to put blood on their doorposts was to rid them of the slave mentality. The purpose was not only to free them but to build them up to be free people.

The Hagadah goes out if its way to show the unity of the Jewish people. That when some Jews are suffering then alll Jews are suffering.

We are taught that, while we should be involved in the society around us, that we should remember that we are also separate. To protect ourselves we should maintain our own customs and traditions.

There were Jews who probably told to compromise with Pharaoh.. Moses knew that there was no compromise on the issue. It was a matter that Egyptian society was rotten to the core. There is no compromise with evil.

The Haggadah that we read on Passover is to remind us of the reason that God took us out of Egypt. That we should be a light unto the nations by our actions.

Yesterday we received the sad news of the passing of Tom Weiss. He was a fixture in our community for all the good deeds that he did with his sunny personality. May his memory be a blessing to us all.

This week we are reminded of the importance of Brit Milah. It is to tell us that the real defeat of our enemies is that we continue as Jews, from generation to generation.

The Torah commands us to celebrate life. While we honor the dead, we do not celebrate death. We have to remember that this is one of main differences with our current enemies. The celebrate death, not life.

There is no Hebrew word for tragedy. The reason is that in the view of the Torah our fates are not predetermined. We can change our lives by our actions.

The disease mentioned in the Torah seems to be a spiritual disease. It is an affliction that comes upon us for speaking ill of others. We have to be careful of not only what goes into our mouths but what comes out as well.

History teaches us that we will suffer tragedies in our lives. It is not that we will suffer them but what do we learn from them and how do we get up and rebuild.

The hubris of Aaron's sons was what lead to their downfall. The fact that Aaron did not correct their behavior shows that a parents' responsibility is to make sure their children do not fall into the trap of hubris.

The big mistake that Aaron's sons made was that they assumed that they would inherit the status of their father without having earned it. This is to teach us that just because your parents are great does not mean that you will be. You have to earn it.

When the sons of Aaron brought an unauthorized offering in the Tabernacle they were punished with death. This is to teach us that we should do what is right, not what we feel is right.

All great things in the history of the Jewish people begin in the month of Nisan. That is the real Jewish new year since that is the month the Tabernacle first began to operate.

The Torah uses the number eight to teach that we are both physical and spiritual beings. Our physicality is expressed by our having bodily needs. Our spirituality is expressed by our commands to make ourselves better.

Moses was told to anoint Aaron, his brother, to be High Priest. This is to teach us that we all have limitations. And we should know them.

Part of the thanksgiving offering was 10 loaves of 3 different types of unleavened bread and 10 loaves of leavened bread. This is to teach that we are on a path. We are not there yet but will arrive.

The Daily Offering teaches us to be excited about daily Mitzvot. The can get boring but if we approach them with right attitude it can change our lives.

Every morning the first thing that a priest had to do in the Temple was to clean the ashes from the day before. This is to teach us that there is no honest work that is beneath our dignity.

Shushan Purim is celebrated in cities that were wall at the time of Joshua. Why, since Joshua lived centuries before the story took place. This is to teach the centrality of Jerusalem to the Jewish people.

The question is why the Jews are the only people who have faced genocide throughout history. The answer is simple. The Jews represent a morality from God. And many people do not want to be moral.

God seemingly does not appear in the Book of Esther. The truth is we see God's providence in all that takes place.

The Fast of Esther is to remind us that we should be aware of problematic leaders. We should be alert to the dangers facing us in these situations.

While Mordechai wanted to something due to the danger the Jews were in, Esther explains that only she is able to deal with the situation since she knew how Achashverosh operated, what made him tick.

When Jews stand up for their rights they achieve them. When they don't then they are mistreated. This is the lesson of Purim and Jewish history.

While we know about Aaron's sons and grandsons, we do not know about Moses's sons and grandsons. This is to teach that leadership is not inherited but achieved through merit.

The Torah goes out of it way to praise Betzalel and Oholiab for their contributions and talents. This is to teach us to praise those who do the right thing and encourage others to emulate them.

In the Book of Esther we read that When Esther points out that she would be placing herself in danger to bring the plight of the Jews before the king, Mordechai points out that God is in charge.

While the Tabernacle had a spiritual mission, it was a physical building. As such money was needed for the building and maintenance of the Tabernacle. This is why we say, without flour there is no Torah.

The goal of the Torah is to teach us ethical monotheism. That we worship an ethical and moral God Who wants to be ethical and moral.

The prohibition of the creation of fire on Shabbat is to remember that God created the world & that fire is one of the few acts that we humans do that shows our uniqueness.

The Torah keeps reminding us of the importance of keeping the Shabbat. That Shabbat overrides the building of the Tabernacle. That is to remind us that more than the Jews have kept Shabbat, the Shabbat has kept the Jews.

Moses called for donations to the building of the Tabernacle. The Jews gave so much that he had to ask them to stop giving. This is the nature of a truly religious people. When asked to give, they give.

The reason that the Jews built the Golden Calf was that they thought that without Moses that they would not have been redeemed. The lesson is that our leaders are vessels for God. They succeed when they do what God expects.

After giving the instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle, God reminds the Jewish people of the importance of keeping the Sabbath. This so that we remember why we have the Tabernacle.

Betzalel was chosen to fashion the tools of the Tabernacle. His name means "In the shadow of God." This is to teach us that our talents, be they what they are, are from God.

The sin of the Golden Calf was that it assumes that our rights come from a man. The Torah is pointing out that our rights are God given. That they cannot be taken away by the government.

The story of the Golden Calf seems to be out of place. It should have been recorded after the events at Mt. Sinai. This is to teach us that the Torah is more interested in our actions rather than beliefs.

Malicious gossip is detrimental to both the speaker and the listener. The whole purpose is to bring down the subject. Instead of trying to build themselves up and improve they want to tear down.

The purpose of the shew-bread was to remind the priests that their job was to serve the rest of the people. That they should be prideful of their position.

The Vilna Gaon looked at the US & understood that a Jew could become president. To him this meant the beginning of the redemption. So he sent his top students to Israel to begin the process of rebuilding the land.

While a republican form of government is considered the best, there are some things that are not up to a vote. Torah Law is one of them.

The Torah is detailed oriented about how a priest should dress while serving in the Tabernacle. The question is why. The answer is we behave better when dressed properly.

The priests were commanded to burn the entrails of the sacrifices in the Tabernacle. This was to lead the Jewish people away from the Egyptian culture which used the entrails to divine the future. It was meant to get Egyptian culture out of the Jews.

The lesson on how the priest in the Temple were to be dressed is to remind us that we are the representatives of the Jewish people and therefore of God. How we dress and behave tells the world what we are.