Rabbi's Blog

This Dvar Torah should be a zchus for Yocheved Bas Yitta for a Refuah Sheleima

As I sit on this plane, flying back to San Diego from Israel, I find myself reflecting upon my unexpected trip to help with an acute family medical issue. Out of approximately one hundred twenty hours spent in Israel, one hundred of them were with my parents in their home and or with my mother in Shaarei Tzedek hospital. I have never previously spent any considerable amount of time in an Israeli hospital, and I was witnessing something that I have heard about but never previously saw first-hand.

By ethical code hospitals are a unique haven on earth; they treat everyone! The fact that a hospital treats everyone is not unique to Israel, but what is different is who is providing the care. You find Jewish and non-Jewish, Israeli and Arab, men and women, religious and non-religious, observant and non-observant people making up the medical staff, the business office, the cafeteria and any other area that is part and parcel of the hospital. Perhaps I, as an outsider, am able to view and question the comfort level that exists between all of the cross sections of responsibilities that different people administer.  My parents (who should live and be well until 120) have home care around the clock. Their caregivers are a very gentle man named Rusty, who comes from the Philippines, and Irit, a compassionate, caring non-observant Sephardic Jewish woman.  These workers have entered a world of elderly, American, observant Jews who have lived in Israel for  only a few years. In addition, they artfully interact with my sister and family, observant, religious Zionists who have lived in Israel for twenty years. Add to this, the elderly couple’s Charedi-looking son, me, flying in from the distant planet, California. Despite these multi-level differences, a homogenous atmosphere settled comfortably within the walls of the home.

Anecdotally, Jews view and question the action, dress and behavior of other Jews. I will choose the Chasidic garb - payos, wearing of a gartel during davening, the long coat and beard  - which causes some Jews to look at with chagrin.  - Recently, however, I saw someone with long, curly payos down to his shoulders sporting jeans! I have seen many Jews wearing a kippa sruga (knitted Yarmulka) gird himself with a black gartel for davening. It is all a matter of breaking things down to their core and understanding each distinct characteristic, making it all become acceptable as part of the whole. Some elements resonate with us but not always the entire picture. But why can’t we departmentalize and see patterns and customs that I myself do? Once we get past a certain barrier, the entire wall is able to fall and will converge rather than polarize the world in general and Jews in particular.      

One could argue that outside this scenario we wouldn’t sit down and talk to each other.  Unfortunately, and sadly, that is all too true. Nevertheless, once we find ourselves all in something together, focusing and working for a common cause, the relationship tends to develop and grow beyond the original reason for coming together.  It may even grow to the extent that we would put aside our differences and sit down for a chat over a cup of coffee or invite the ‘other’ individual to a personal event in life. While  I know this is nothing new or revealing to you,  this happens to be the very opening words of the Mesilas Yesharim, the Path of the Just :“that I am not here to teach you anything new, rather to remind us all of what we already know. In fact, there are many mitzvos Sichliyos - common sense commandments - that are spelled out in the Torah. Why?

God gave the Torah to human beings, and God created human beings. Hashem knows the way the human mind works;  despite something being so obvious and matter-of-fact, there is reason why God nevertheless commanded us in those obvious areas. This week’s Torah reading contains many mitzvos that are in the man-to-man category. Many of them are obvious, but nevertheless emphasized and illustrated shortly.

In this week’s Parshas Mishpatim 22:20, 21 the Torah states “V’Ger Lo Soneh V’Lo Silchatzenu……Kal Almana V’Yasom Lo S’Anun”. “And a stranger you should not wrong, nor shall you oppress him….Any widow or orphan you shall not afflict”. Most Jews recognize the three individuals the Torah calls out to be treated with extra special care: the convert, the widow and the orphan. These are the most obvious people who, logically, emotionally and psychologically require this special recognition and attention, yet Hashem feels it necessary to mention it anyway. I will take some literary license and suggest that perhaps the answer to the “obvious” may be found in the short two pesukim that appear right before this section.  22:17 the Torah states: “MeChasheifa Lo S’Chayeh” and 22:18 states: “Kal Shocheiv Im Beheima Mos Yumas” - a sorcerer shall not live and one who lies and fornicates with an animal shall be put to death. It is important to realize these two mitzvos are in their own separate section and, oddly enough, are placed in the middle of monetary considerations before  and monetary discussions after the statements

The M’Chasheifa, sorceress, is not limited to the literal definition of black magic but to the purpose and goal of what it accomplishes. The purpose of magic is to change the reality of a certain thing or situation. The Mitzvos of the Torah are in effect today just as they were thousands of years ago. Some Mitzvos manifest themselves in different ways and situations. For example, today we do not have sorcerers and black magic, nevertheless the mitzvah applies and its fulfillment arises in a different way. The Sorcerer of today tells us we are  not to make believe or create the disappearance of a certain reality, i.e., we are not to come up with a rationalization or excuse explaining why we do not have to have extra compassion to an orphan, widow or convert. Sometimes a person may say about a widow, “Oh, don’t worry about her. Her husband had a big insurance policy. Or… She has a lot of family support and money”. Or to say about the orphan, “Oh, he or she will be an adult soon.” Or to say about the convert, “Well, didn’t they know this is what they were getting into”? These and similar thoughts are the inner workings of Kishuf/magic to change the reality that stares us in our face.

Once we start to figure out ways not to have compassion, we are acting like  animals. Therefore, the Torah juxtaposes the two commandments of magic and not lying with an animal together, immediately before the portion of where we need to have more compassion and extra sensitivity. Life in general presents different social challenges within our immediate community and the community at large. We must observe these particular Mitzvos in today’s world by not changing a situation with our perception. Rather, Hashem tells us that these Mitzvos of compassion and care must be upheld despite our crooked thinking. By violating these particular mitzvos we continue to polarize our families and the Jewish people. If we observe this Mitzva properly, we will create a stronger sense of Achdus/Unity and ultimately bring B’Nei Yisrael closer together as one big family.

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky