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Parshat of the Week -- Vaera

12/31/2021

Our parsha this week begins with an editorial conundrum. What is the name of G-d? Chazal (our blessed sages) seem to tell us that the ambiguity in the approaches to the Divine name are all based on the dynamic relationship between each individual patriarch, their unique relationship with G-d, rooted in the specifics of the history and communication between them. Maybe the Name is connected to the ineffable name which is revealed to Moshe. But what is that name? Depends where you’re coming from. Is G-d to be named with the un-namable, or with some sort of unique personal connection? Is G-d a conceptual construct for you? A physical being that you observe and worship, but don’t really understand? Or the opposite; you get the liturgy, but not the theology?

Therein lies the beauty of Judaism.

In this week’s parsha, G-d says to Moshe that He has revealed himself to the Patriarchs, has understood their travails, and will rescue them. How great is our hope, and how deep is our trust?

We prey to a Deity whose name we can’t pronounce and can’t read. Our G-d is accessible and simultaneously inaccessible. G-d wishes for our embrace, but who will all too easily slip from our grasp.

It takes faith and concentration to get our hands around something which resists holding. Even more so to embrace it with our minds.

Vaera…and I (G-d) appeared. Every generation gives us a unique connection to G-d. Let us make that connection anew, and strengthen it with each passing of the years.
Shabbat ShalomRabbi/Hazzan David B. Sislen

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Parshat of the Week -- Shemot

12/24/2021

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Our foray into the second book of the Chumash begins with a linguistic conundrum; why does the text read “And these are the names of the children of Israel” as opposed to simply saying, “These are the names….?’ Many of the m’forshim (commentators) connect this verse with the parallel verses in Genesis which introduce or enumerate the genealogy or ancestry of our predecessors. But if the waning chapters of B’reshit (Genesis) are to be tied to the opening chapter of Exodus (Shemot), why repeat the genealogy?

The commentaries give us several reasons. B’nai Israel are transitioning into a new phase of existence; they will be enslaved, but will then be freed. As his beloved people, G-d recounts their names as a way of showing His love for us, prior to describing the national trauma which befell us. Rashi offers that the leaders of this generation are listed as exemplars, since the fealty of their descendants was not guaranteed. Other commentators and the Midrash go even further, likening the twelve sons of Jacob to stars whose light will only be seen after the brilliance of Jacob’s sun has been extinguished. Only then will their potential and accomplishments be seen, since, as the sun’s light suppresses that of the stars, so too did the light of Jacob suppress that of his descendants. Absent his brilliance, they (we) were free to achieve our full potential.

Therein lies our challenge. When our skies darken, we must use the light of our stars to illuminate our path. Any and every glimmer of hope or inspiration can be showing a path to accomplishment. Have you fallen down? Look up, because you now have a new perspective on life. Have you suffered a loss? You now have a new way to plug a hole in someone else’s life experience.

Remember the names, the Shemot, of those who came before us. Each person, each personality, and each star shines down upon us and gives us strength and wisdom. Let their light shine, equally between those who dominated the light and those whose subtlety gave meaning to the darkness. On this shortest Shabbat of the year, let’s give meaning to the darkness. Perhaps we can be inspired by what we are meant to see as much as what we can see.
Shabbat ShalomRabbi/Hazzan David B. Sislen

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Parshat of the Week -- Vayechi

12/17/2021

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As we finish the book of B’reshit (Genesis), we encounter a familiar theme which has woven itself into the fabric of our national pre-history: Blindness.

From our earliest generations, the inability to see or “see” has been part of the story. Adam was blind to, and has no reaction to, the enmity between his sons. Same thing with Abraham and his sons. Isaac, famously, can’t tell the difference between his sons and gives the primary blessing to Jacob over Esav. But now we reach Jacob. On his deathbed, wanting to bless Joseph’s children and promote them in status, he is physically too blind to recognize them in person, but spiritually and prophetically astute enough to reverse his hands so that Efraim receives the greater blessing over his brother Menashe. This, of course, echoes the reversals of merit over birth order which we have seen multiple times in B’reshit. But the last of the original patriarchs continues with his farewell poem to his children, where he breaks the mold of blind-as-metaphor-for-ignorant. Due to his failing sight, Jacob may not have recognized his grandchildren, but he can certainly see through their uncles in terms of character. The Rabbis elevate Jacob’s insights to the level of prophecy; connecting them to future events which occurred later within the tribes bearing their names. Such is the power of a blind person with G-d given vision.

In Greek mythology, and echoed in literature through the generations, the character of Tiresias is viewed as the ironic epitome of the blind man with the greatest powers of prophecy and insight. While beset by human limitations, he (well, they, since the myth also has them living as a woman) is able to learn , grow, and become influential. Let’s learn from their example. If we can be aware of what we cannot see, we can learn volumes about what we must accomplish. By shining a light into the dark corners of our lives, we can illuminate untold generations to come. The famous hymn says that “I once was blind.” I’m convinced that that fate is one of choice. However we are able, we should want to have clear vision. What we may lack in sight can and should be overcome by insight. Then we will truly see.

Shabbat ShalomRabbi/Hazzan David B. Sislen

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Parshat of the Week -- Vayigash

12/10/2021

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In chapter 46 of Genesis, as the Children of Israel prepare to reunite in Egypt to wait out the famine, the Torah takes the opportunity to give us a genealogy and census of the family. Jacob’s sons and their descendants are listed, divided according to their mothers. According to the Torah, there were 70 who made the journey. The problems with the math start almost immediately. To begin with, the text only lists 69 names. Of them, only two women are named; Leah’s daughter Dina, and Asher’s daughter Serach. How is it possible that of 53 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, only one of them was a girl? The Rabbis and the Midrash offer numerous commentaries and explanations. Among them: the 70th soul was Jacob himself. Alternatively, the Divine Spirit which accompanied the family on their journey rounded up the threescore and ten. A fascinating commentary, first mentioned in the Talmud and expounded by Rashi, is that the 70th was Yocheved, the mother of Moshe, who, according to the story, was conceived inhe o Canaan and born upon the family’s arrival in Egypt. This would have made her 130 years old when Moshe was born and would add yet another miracle to his lineup. Other Rabbis dispute this assertion, however, wondering how the Torah missed this little fact, opening up a discussion about the nature of miracles and whether every supernatural occurrence needs to mentioned, since every moment of every day is inherently a miracle. Other commentaries dispute who is actually counted, since Joseph and his two sons were already in Egypt, so they technically didn’t make the journey. As to why only two women are listed (and various disagreements as to whether they are counted), presumably, the Torah is holding to its normal style of only mentioning the males in a genealogy, unless there is a female who figures prominently in the story. The Midrash and Talmud provide a number of possibilities as to why Serach is singled out, including that she was the one who gently told Jacob that Joseph was alive and that she lived until the Exodus whereupon she showed Moshe the location of Joseph’s tomb, warranting entry to The World to Come alive, like the prophet Elijah.

I would suggest another possibility for either the “rounding up” or the lousy math, take your pick. In the Torah and elsewhere, 70 is traditionally a number of completeness, of wholeness, being comprised of 7 (as in the days of creation) times 10 (Commandments, Minyan, etc.). Indeed, after all the divisiveness which has occupied this family up to now, the fact that the family is reunited, prosperous, and at relative peace is noteworthy. Consider this: this is the fifth time in the Torah that the phrase B’nai Yisrael, (the Children of Israel) is used in reference to the actual children of the original Israel, Jacob. The name will be used in this fashion only twice more; thereafter it will refer to the nation, not the family. That’s right. A total of 7.
Shabbat ShalomRabbi/Hazzan David B. Sislen

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Parshat of the Week -- Miketz/Shabbat Chanukah/Rosh Chodesh

12/3/2021

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More often than not, Miketz is read on Chanukah. The confluence of the two is a calendrical coincidence, but not without significance, Consider: At the core of this point of the biblical narrative is the desire to primarily overcome a famine, but also to re-unify the family of Jacob into one holistic corpus which can move forward, unified, as a group, to the future. The Maccabees were fighting an international force which desired to deprive them of their access to the rituals and practices which defined them as a people. The true miracle was that a small group of upstarts were able to defeat an accomplished army. One day’s worth of oil lasting for eight was the cherry on the cake, or the sour cream on the latke, which made it all worth the effort.

But look at the symbolism: The Greeks wished to upend our normality by forbidding our basic practices: keeping kosher, circumcision, traditional worship of the Divine. They attempted to seduce us into their secular practices by replacing ours with theirs. The Maccabees were instrumental in combining the two; creating a paradigm for what has become a dual structure, where we live within and without in total harmony. Chanukah is not a microcosm which celebrates a short term victory. It’s a holiday which celebrates opening a door of invitation and involvement, inviting all to enter. Where there was exclusion, we invite participation. Where there was division, we open the door to partnership. Jacob’s family comes back together as the Jewish family restores their practices and values. As you light your candles in the waning days of this Chanukah, do so in the spirit of connecting the days of Chanukah past to the days of Chanukah yet to come. May one day’s effort have eight-fold effects.

Shabbat ShalomRabbi/Hazzan David B. Sislen

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