Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Yitro 76 - Is it the Individual or the System and Environment

  The parasha deals with the 10 Commandments and God's revelation on Mount Sinai. It concludes with some additional commandments including  (a) not making images, gods of silver and gold, ………….,  (b) when making an altar of stones one may not cut the stones with iron tools, and that  (c) steps may not be used to ascend to the altar, 'so that your nakedness will not be uncovered upon it.' The prohibition of idolatry has already being mentioned in the 10 commandments, so what is the Torah adding here.? The Sages explain that only 2 golden statues of the ' cherubs' that were placed upon the Ark could be made, not more or less and only from gold, not from silver. Replicas could not be made to enhance religious worship. Any deviation from the divine commandment concerning the cherubs in the tabernacle would also be considered as an act of idolatry.  We are taught that the spectrum of  the prohibition of idolatry goes way beyond the classic idol worship but it expresses an internal feeling of commitment to the Divine will and authority and certainly not feeling a touch of arrogance of being the one who decides how to worship. The altar of stones may not be cut from iron tools, for iron, as the raw material of the sword shortens life, while the Altar offers people the opportunity of repentance and atonement lengthens life. Our sensitivity to the command   they shall not to murder goes beyond the act of murder. We give expression to this internal feeling and sensitivity to the act of murder by not using iron in the making of the stones for the altar. The reason why steps could not be used to ascend to the altar, but instead a 'ramp' should be made for this purpose, is that  when using steps, the raising of the legs would ' seem to ' expose their private parts to the steps, even though the priest-kohen wore trousers. A style of walking that would expose the steps to immodesty if the person was not fully dressed in the shows a lack of modesty and contempt for the altar. The 10 commandments talks about the prohibition of adultery- sexual immorality, but a sensitivity to sexual immorality makes one refrain from any hint of immodesty. The truth is that when the Torah and specifically here by the 10 Commandments talks about idolatry, murder and adultery – sexual immodesty it refers to them in widest terms as we have explained the last commandments of this parasha. It is only when the value underlying the prohibitions of idolatry, murder and sexual immorality is internalized do these prohibitions take on new meaning.

 The sages note that if the Torah demands a certain sensitivity and respect for inanimate objects – the stones and the ramp of the altar, how much more so we should be sensitive to the feelings of other people. We need to be aware of how we are able to create atmosphere and create an environment by our presence and at the same time we can destroy an atmosphere or have a negative impact on the environment. The environment is important because it supports our internal feelings, and our intrinsic values that are inspired by the Torah. The problem is when the environment and ' system ' do not support the internal values that we want to pass on to our children. In society the conservatives talk about the individual's responsibility to be accountable for their own achievements as man has the freedom to choose. The socialists focus more on the environment and privilege and how that impacts on the individual. The Torah focuses both on the community- the environment and that the individual and people do well when the environment is supportive.

In the home and school, parents and teachers create the 'system and environment ' which drives behavior and learning. Learning is driven by our need to control and so we use extrinsic motivators like tests, grades, degrees and diplomas, prizes, honor rolls, rewards and competition. Our need for control is even greater when it comes to behavior. Kids are motivated to behave by a discipline code that manipulates and reinforces their behavior with rewards, punishments, consequences and praise. Character education stresses the truth, integrity, kindness, consideration, altruism , responsibility and caring  , commitment, doing teshuva, repenting, learning from mistakes , making amends  grit, self –discipline etc . Kids are told that they should develop a love for learning and become life-long learners.  The problem is we expect noble character and a love for learning, but our system and the environment focuses on control and it leads kids to try and get the best grade in the easiest possible way, learn only if it is on the test, focus on the grade and not on the learning, see others as obstacles in their way in the competitive environment rather than learning from other kids and supporting them in a cooperative learning environment. It does not teach that ' mistakes are our friends ' and that's how learning takes place. The learning has certainly no inherent value and no internalization will take place. It is not relevant to them and they are certainly not involved in making meaning of the world around them. Teachers want to hear answers that they consider are right rather than learning in parallel with kids focus on the kid's thinking and his perspective.  The focus on grit, self –discipline and responsibility is more about the teacher's need for control and compliance. Responsibility is taught not by teaching kids to follow instructions but by participating in the decision making process, generating solutions and solving problems in a collaborative way , based on mutually satisfying solutions. The discipline code promotes lying to avoid punishment or even not offering help when one has injured somebody so as not to be caught. It teaches that the problem is being caught – the consequences, not the consequences and impact that one's actions have on others. The discipline code teaches kids to ask – what will I get if I do this or what will be done to me – what's in it for me. It certainly does not teach kids to reflect on what type of people they want to be and if their actions reflect their true values and inner beings. When consequences are imposed we take away the child's chance to engage in an autonomous way in the moral act of restitution and reparation.

The lesson from the altar and ramp and the demands for a ' walking style' that is modest teaches us that the environment and system to need support values and character growth. Unfortunately the parenting and educational environment and system negates the very values we are trying to teach and instill in our kids and students  

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Beshalach 76 - Questions and Discovery lead to Song and Faith







Thursday, January 14, 2016

Bo 76 - Being a Master over Time

The narrative leading up to the 10th plague of the firstborn is interrupted by commandments that deal with the relationship between God- Hashem and his people -  (a)  the Jewish calendar= the sanctification of the New Moon- Rosh Chodesh and (b)  the laws of Pesach- Passover. The timing of the laws of Pesach is obvious, but why was the calendar-the sanctification of the New Moon given now. And also why was' kidush ha'chodesh' – the sanctification of the new moon given such prominence as being the first commandment given by God to the Israelites as a nation.

An insight and understanding of the Oral laws concerning the sanctification of the New Moon will answer our question - see R' SR Hirsch, Timeless Hirsch R' Adlerstein.  The Jewish calendar is based on the moon and regulated by the sun, so that the month of Nissan and the holiday of Pesach –Passover will fall in the spring. Unlike other calendars which are absolutely predictable as they follow the path of the sun or moon, the Jewish calendar is based less on ' calculation ' and more on the actual visual sighting of the moon and when the Beit Din's proclaims and sanctifies  the New Moon. So in a case where the witnesses said that they sighted the beginning   and renewal of the new moon on Monday night= Tuesday and it is known that this sighting was viewed by lots of other people, but Beit Din only managed to perform the declaration and sanctification ceremony on Wednesday, Wednesday is Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the new month, and  not Tuesday, the day of the sighting of the new moon. The Beit Din can manipulate Rosh Chodesh- the first day of the new month, so that Shabbat does not come before or after Yom Kippur, as it  would cause hardship for people. The declaration of the court has finality, even when it is later learned that the testimony of the witnesses was inaccurate, whether by error or intentionally.  It was important for communities to know when Rosh chodesh fell so as to know on which day the holy holiday would fall. Distant communities ,  because of this lack of predictability and they  did not yet hear which day the court declared as Rosh chodesh,   would have to observe an extra day , the second day of the  holiday in the diaspora , not one day because  of  this doubt.  Because of the exile and that there were longer judges who were   properly ordinated and had semicha needed for the sanctification of the new moon process, Hillel the second, instituted a fixed calendar. What remains of the authentic Jewish calendar is that communities  outside of Israel observe 2 days of holidays-- the 2nd day of the diaspora and don't rely on the fixed calendar.

The downplaying of the astronomical calculation and the fact that the witnesses and the Beit Din process ' trumps' following ' nature and its laws'  means that man has become master over time and is able to transcend time.  While slaves in Egypt the Israelites were not owners of their time, it was their masters. When they became free, there was still the danger of becoming a ' slave of time' and nature and not being the ones who control time, rather time controlling them. A fixed calendar, following predictable astronomical events and linking the holidays to them would give the impression that we were worshiping the dutiful periodicity of Nature, something glorified by the pagan Egyptian culture. It would imply that the relationship between man and God is fixed, static and constrained. It is the ' oral law' that gives man a role, collaborating with God  in the on-going process of creation and elevating nature making Judaism a dynamic religion which can deal with the challenges of time and yet remain authentic  to the Torah given at Mount Sinai and not become a fossilized religion. The waxing and waning of the moon and its renewal are  merely symbols for us , like the rainbow in Noah's time, modeling the rhythm of life and encouraging us to rejuvenate ourselves and renew our dedication to God. ' It is not the astronomical first appearance of the moon , the Rosh chodesh that has us count the days till the holiday , the mo'ed , the special days that we meet and encounter God. It is the renewal and newness that takes place within ourselves that allows us to spend time with God on the special days of the year. Because we can change and move towards Him, we experience something powerful when He makes Himself available to us. Without that change, we would be commemorating the past, and it would not be a moe'd, a meeting and encounter. In other words, Rosh Chodesh is not determined by the moon as by the way it is noticed and perceived by us. It is man that declares the new moon, not the moon itself. Although today we use a fixed calendar , the second day of Yom Tov- holiday keeps alive the spirit of sanctification of the new moon by the Beit Din –law  court  '- R' Adlerstein.

When it comes to our kids we can not only model behavior that shows we are masters over time and can transcend time, but also give kids the tools and skills to manage their time, avoid procrastination, prioritize, engage in sequential thinking, acquire a wider perspective of time beyond the moment, and respond to changes in schedules and unexpected events. We use time to create ' structure and boundaries' which enables one to get totally lost in an activity and in this way transcend time. Punctuality and respecting other's time is an important value. We need to learn from King David who said I  will awaken the dawn. The reason we have problems with punctuality is that we aim at coming on time and not arriving before the time. If we do that, plan to come before the time,awaken the dawn, we will come on time. By over-scheduling kids, we make them slaves of time, but when they have a say and participate in the decision making process, they can become owners and masters over their time

.It is the so-called inefficient process that consists of visually sighting the moon and proclaiming and sanctifying the new moon that gives expression to a value of being a master over time and nature. In contrast , the fixed calendar with its astronomical accuracy makes us slaves of time and nature.This lesson was crucial to the Israelites achieving true freedom and not becoming slaves of time and nature.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Vaerah 76 - Sustaining Change or the Teshuva- Repentance of Pharaoh



