Family Values
We have heard a great
deal recently about family values. For a while, the phrase was mocked and
ridiculed. Then it enjoyed a shift in popularity, and everyone claimed to be
its champion. Today, it is universally acknowledged in our society that family
values are important. But what exactly are family values, and how are they to
be transmitted to our children? These questions remain points of serious
contention.
Let us look into this
week’s portion to see what the Torah has to say about this subject. The Jewish
people are standing on the Plains of Moav, about to enter the Land of Israel.
Moses, however, knows that he will not enter the Land and that he is about to
die. “I have placed before you life and death, blessings and calamity,”
he admonishes the people from whom he will soon be parted, “and you shall
choose life, in order that you may live, both you and your children.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)
These words are a
veritable enigma. Why did the Jewish people need to be instructed to “choose
life”? What sane person, when presented with a choice between life and death,
would not choose life? And how would “choosing life” ensure that their children
would live as well? Wouldn’t the children be presented with the same choices as
their parents?
The famous medieval
commentator Rabbeinu Yonah of Gerona, author of the classic Shaarei Teshuvah,
explains that our decision to embrace the values of the Torah should not be
based solely on our obligation to G-d to obey His will. Rather, we should
embrace it with a profound appreciation of its awesome power and eternal truths.
We should appreciate fully that the Torah, which is the Word of the Creator of
the Universe, is the true source of life – the only source of life. He goes on
to explain that the importance of developing this outlook with regards to
developing a relationship with G-d is not only in order to ensure that we have
the proper attitude. It is to raise us to a higher level, to make us servants
who serve their lord out of exuberant joy rather than sullen obedience.
With this in mind, a
great sage explained how “choosing life” affects one’s children. If parents
fulfill their obligation to G-d as if it were a burden upon them, the children
may choose to do even less. However, if children see their parents living by
the wisdom and guidance of the Torah with joy and enthusiasm, the children will
associate their precious Jewish heritage with the essence of life itself. Then
they too will “choose life.”
There was once a noted
scholar who taught many disciples and received people from early morning until
late at night. To his great disappointment, however, his son was wild and
displayed little interest in his studies. Down the street lived a simple
shoemaker whose son was a budding young scholar. One day, the scholar paid the
shoemaker a visit.
“Tell me, my friend,”
he said, “what do you do that has earned you such a fine son? I want to learn
from you.”
“It is very simple,
rabbi,” said the shoemaker. “Friday night, you come to the table exhausted from
your holy efforts. You rush through the meal, give the children a few minutes
of your time and go to sleep. On the other hand, the highlight of my whole week
is Friday night when I can linger over the meal, sing songs with my family and
review the events of the week in the light of the wisdom of the Torah. The
spirit of Shabbos is alive in my home, and my children love it.”
As we face the new
year, let us take these lessons to heart. Family values begin with ourselves.
If we know what to value in life, if we appreciate the priceless gifts of the
Torah, our own enthusiasm will automatically be transmitted to our children.
And when they are presented with the awesome choices of this week’s Torah
portion, they will undoubtedly “choose life.”
Text Copyright © 2009
by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.
Rabbi Reich is on the
faculty of the Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education
Center.
A Benevolent Curse
“You are standing today, all of you…”
(29:9)
Rashi relates that
after the terrible curses recorded in last week’s parsha, Bnei Yisroel are
petrified. Therefore, Moshe calms them by stating “atem nitzavim hayom” – “you
are all standing here today{1}.” It is impossible that Moshe is claiming that
since Bnei Yisroel are still alive, the curses are not as terrible as they may
seem, for in that case he would be questioning the efficacy of the curses. How
then, does the fact that Bnei Yisroel are standing here allay their fears?
The Midrash Tanchuma at
the beginning of this week’s parsha states that when Hashem punishes the wicked
they do not recover, yet the righteous always recover from their punishment{2}.
Would this not be obvious, being that the wicked receive harsher punishments
than the righteous? However, the Midrash addresses this problem, citing a verse
from Malachi which states that only one barrage of arrows will decimate the
wicked, while the entire batch of arrows will not overcome the resilience of
the righteous{3}. The Midrash is emphasizing that the difference between the
wicked and the righteous in their ability to withstand punishment is not the
severity of the blow; on the contrary, the righteous receive harsher
punishments. How then, are the righteous able to survive, while the wicked perish?
In addition to allowing
us to earn a place in the World to Come, observing mitzvos serves another
purpose; a mitzva gives a person a sense of reality in this world as well. When
a person performs more mitzvos, his vitality and will to survive are strengthened.
A person with a strong will to survive is more capable of overcoming life’s
adversities. Transgressions create within a person a despondence for life, a
feeling that life is transient. The wicked, who lack the resolve to live,
cannot cope with the failures they encounter in life, and collapse from these
challenges. The righteous, who are driven and motivated to live, possess the
strength to endure all of life’s adversities. The same holds true for
relationships; a person’s ability to overcome the difficulties which might
arise within a relationship is commensurate to the extent that he is driven to
maintain that relationship. In
contemporary society we lack confidence in most of our relationships, which
explains why, at the first sign of adversity we dissolve them.
Bnei Yisroel approach
Moshe terrified by the immense burden they feel from the horrific curses they
have just heard. Moshe responds by telling them that they have the wrong
perspective concerning the nature of a curse. Reward and punishment represent
the extent to which a relationship either exists or has been dissolved. A curse
reflects Hashem’s desire for a relationship to endure. The curse is the tool
which Hashem uses to coerce and cajole Bnei Yisroel into appreciating their
relationship with Him. The very existence of curses proves that Hashem will
stop at nothing to assure that Bnei Yisroel appreciate their relationship with
Him, and that He will not abandon this relationship. Therefore, Bnei Yisroel
standing before Moshe, alive and well, indicates that their relationship with
Hashem is in good standing; even if there will be times when they will be
subjected to the curses, they should take solace in the fact that the curses
themselves are indicative of Hashem wanting the relationship to endure.
1.29:9
2.Tanchuma Nitzavim 1
3.3:6
2.Tanchuma Nitzavim 1
3.3:6
Moses’s Legacy Goes On
Posted on September 21, 2011 (5771) By
Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein
| Level: Beginner
Moshe can no longer
lead the Jewish people. He informs us that he is no longer allowed “to forth
out or to come in.” He whose eyes did not dim even in death is now shorn of his
superhuman powers and subject to the mortality that faces us all. At that
moment Moshe does not wallow in sadness nor does he seem to review in detail
his life’s achievements and the disappointments that occurred in his lifetime
of greatness.
He expresses no regrets
and voices no complaints. He does not refer to those who persecuted him,
injured his pride, questioned his worth or doubted his words. Rather his whole
focus is on the future of the Jewish people. He points out that their future
failings will clearly lead to tragedy and defeat but never to complete
destruction. He cautions them against falling into the trap of adopting new
ideas and mores simply for the sake of change or newness.
He makes it
abundantly clear that the covenant of Israel with G-d and His Torah contains no
escape or cancellation clauses. The bond is an eternal one. He sees the future
and continues to look forward to new generations and recurring challenges. To
the end he remains the leader and not the historian, the teacher and not merely
the observer.
It is the presence of
this implicit spirit of innate optimism, even in the face of known problems and
Jewish failings, which characterizes Moshe’s relationship with the Jewish
people and his guidance of Israel through all of its generations. That is why
“there arose none like Moshe” in all of Jewish history.
The Torah teaches us
“Vayelech Moshe” – Moshe went and walked and proceeded. Immediately thereafter
the Torah records for us that Moshe said “I cannot go forth or return any
longer.” So which is it? Did Moshe walk forth and proceed or did he remain
housebound and passive. It is obvious that Moshe’s inability to go forth and
return describes the physical limitations placed upon him on his last days on
earth.
But “Vayelech Moshe” –
Moshe’s goings and comings are the spiritual guidance and moral vision that he
invested in the Jewish people that remain vital and active in all later
generations of Israel even after Moshe’s passing. Leadership and inspiration is
rarely judged by physical criteria.
Franklin Roosevelt was
afflicted with polio before he rose to become the president of the United
States. He certainly is to be reckoned as one of the strongest and most
influential presidents in American history though he could not physically go
forth or come in. If we see this truism in the life of a “regular” human being
such a Roosevelt, how much more so is this obvious in the life and achievements
of the superhuman Moshe.
Vayelech not only means
that Moshe once went but it also implies grammatically in Hebrew that Moshe is
still going forth. The Jewish people are still guided by Moshe’s Torah and
teachings and his spiritual legacy continues to inspire and instruct. As long
as there are Jews in the world, Moshe will continue to go forth and come into
our hearts and minds.
Shabat shalom,
Rabbi Berel Wein
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