NO, To Religious Hypocrisy

נפש כי תחטא ומעלה מעל בה ’וכחש בעמיתו בפקדון או בתשומת יד או בגזל או עשק את עמיתו
והיה כי יחטא ואשם והשיב את הגזלה אשר גזל או את העשק אשר עשק

And HaShem spoke to Moses saying: When someone sins and commits a mistake … deceiving his neighbor … for theft, or for extortion … he will return what he took by stealing, or what he obtained by extortion, and [just] then he will bring to the priest his atonement offering … for HaShem
Leviticus 5: 22-25

This week’s Parasha TSAV continues with the description of the qorbanot: the sacrifices that were offered at the Bet HaMiqdash, and that had various functions. Some were part of the daily service of the Jerusalem Temple. Others were offered during the festivities, and some qorbanot were individual offerings, to thank God. There were also sacrifices that were an atonement for some transgression. Let’s see an example of this last category.

The Tora describes the asham guezelot, a sacrifice that was brought when someone stole and then repented and confessed its crime. The sacrifice, in this case was the last step of his atonement, the way in which his fault was finally forgiven.
There is a very important point about this qorban that teaches us about the moral height of the Jewish people and our Tora.
The Tora clarifies that the qorban or sacrifice was to be offered only “after” having restituted what was stolen to the victim. In this way the Tora affirms that the qorban, a religious act, cannot replace restitution, an act of human justice. As in the case of Yom Kippur, one cannot claim that God will forgive his or her faults towards his neighbor unless he first obtain forgiveness from his neighbor. He must first settle his debt with the victim of his crime and only after that, he has the right, and duty, to seek religious atonement.

The Midrash Tanchuma says that this idea is explicitly formulated in the words of King David in Tehillim, Psalm 24. There, the greatest King and poet of Israel asks: ‘מי יעלה בהר ה Who is the individual that deserves to rise to the mount HaShem, and stand in the place of His sanctuary? . Entering the Temple of Yerushalayim was not appropriate in all circumstances. King David’s immediate response was: נקי כפיים  “An individual whose hands are clean”, and the Midrash Tanchuma (Parasha 1) explains: “Only a person whose hands are clean of robbery or theft has the right to enter the Temple of Jerusalem”.

The God of Israel does not accept sacrifices and offerings coming from corrupt people, before these people corrected their actions. Sacrifices, as any other religious act, cannot be offered as a bribe to God. It is unacceptable bringing an offering to God to seek Divine forgiveness without first having repaired the damage he caused to another individual, and having obtained his or her forgiveness first.

Our Parasha, Tehilim and Midrash indicate the same message: “NO” to religious hypocrisy, something that was not uncommon in other peoples and religions.

SHABBAT SHALOM



SHEMOT: A story of Brotherhood and Envy

We finished the book of Bereshit. And this week we start the book of Shemot. The story is more or less known. Bereshit tells how the first Jewish “family”, bene Israel, was formed, while the book of Shemot tells us how the Jewish “people”, ‘am Israel, was formed.
The Tora is not a simple book. Among the things that make the Tora a unique book is that “behind” the main plot you can find hidden sub-stories interwoven with the main plot, but somehow independent of it. I will show you one. The story of Brotherhood vs. Envy
The tension between brothers is already evident from the beginning, Cain and Abel. In this case, envy is generated by looking for Divine attention. HaShem accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. And Cain, instead of striving to do it better, as his creator suggested, decided it was easier to kill (literally!) the competition.
Twenty generations later, Yishma’el, according to the Midrash, tried to kill his brother Isaac, Abraham’s favorite.
The children of Isaac, Ya’aqob and Esav, who were twins, compete from the womb for the birthright. After what happened with the blessing of Isaac, Esav threatened Ya’aqob with death. In the end there is a reconciliation between the brothers, but for the brotherhood to be maintained, the brothers, ironically, have to live apart from each other.
The point of highest tension between brothers comes with the sons of Ya’aqob. Yosef, who enjoys the favor of his father, awakens the envy of his brothers.  And this envy is transformed into hatred. And this hatred, into planning the murder of Yosef. In the end, they sell Yosef as a slave, a virtual death sentence.
Twenty years later, the brothers expressed their remorse for what they did and in a huge act of altruism Yosef forgives them. And thus, apparently, the cycle of envy and resentment between brothers, which began with the first inhabitants of the planets, comes a to closure.   But Bereshit is not finished yet. And the story of brotherhood continues. But now it improves The last brothers to be mentioned in Bereshit are the sons of Yosef: Ephraim and Menashe. For the first time it is the grandfather and not the father who assigns the birthright and decides to whom it belongs. Ya’aqob blesses them “putting Efraim, the youngest, before the older, Menashe.”
And when it seems that the wounds are going to reopen, and that Menashe is going to threaten, kill or sell Efraim … none of that happens. Menashe, despite having a valid reason to envy his brother, lives in peace with him. For the first time the love between brothers overcame the power of envy. Menashe successfully passes the test of fraternal envy and the book of Bereshit ends (for this reason, by the way, we bless our children with the blessing of Ephraim and Menashe, wishing them to be good children and also good siblings) .
Now a new book begins, Shemot. Which also has sub-stories interwoven with the main story. The main story tells that Moshe is assigned as the envoy of HaShem to rescue Israel from captivity. Moshe asks for help for his mission and HaShem sends him as his assistant… his brother Aharon! This is a big potential problem Aharon is the older brother. And according to the norms of those days, the older should be the leader of the family, for whatever was necessary …. Now instead, Aharon is going to be Moshe’s assistant, his shadow …
We all suspect now that envy will overcome brotherhood. The most optimistic might assume that Aharon is not going to get angry. Following the steps of Menashe, he will control his envy.But the Tora has a beautiful surprise reserved for us.The reaction of Aharon was unprecedented, and shows us the best of the humankind. Aharon not only that he does not envy the position of Moshe. Aharon is happy for Moshe וראך ושמח בליבו, “And when Aharon sees you, he will rejoice in his heart.”   The book of Bereshit began with fratricide: one brother killing the other. But with Menashe brotherhood evolved into harmony. What could be higher than the acceptance of the other’s success? Aharon changes the history of sibling rivalry by 180 degrees. And taught us one of the most beautiful lessons in life: learn to rejoice for the success of your brother. Be happy for another person’s happiness.



Bil’am, and the lessons he learned from his donkey

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

This week’s Parasha is really unusual. We are not watching the same movie we were watching last week: the events of the Jewish people in the desert. The Tora’s camera now focuses on another scene, behind enemy’s lines. For a brief moment we are privileged witnesses of the dialogues and plans of those who want to destroy us. We see how they perceive us, and how they prepare to confront us.  Three chapters of the Tora are dedicated to giving us a detailed look at the perspective of the adversary. A unique case in the Scriptures.

WHO WAS BILAM?

Although this Parasha is named after the King of Moab, Balaq, the main character is a very mysterious individual named Bil’am (Balaam). Who is Bil’am? According to our rabbis Bil’am was granted nebuá (prophecy), God revealed Himself to him, as He revealed to Moshe Rabbenu (Moses).

But we should not fall into the mistake of thinking that because God communicated with Bil’am, Bil’am resembled Moshe. Actually, the Sages point out, although both Moshe and Bil’am received a similar level of a prophetic message, the experience was processed by each of them in a completely different way.

MOSHE’S EXPERIENCE

The power to communicate with God made Moshe realize how small and limited he was. Moshe had questions, many questions to ask God. One of the issues that puzzled Moshe, for example, was the understanding (or lack of understanding) of God’s justice. How can it be that if God is all good (omnivolent) and all powerful (omnipotent) and yet many righteous men suffer? However, after his encounter with God, this and other questions Moses had disappeared. But NOT because Moshe found a good answer to these issues; but because getting closer to God allowed Moshe to realize his insurmountable limitations. Communicating with God made Moshe Rabbenu understand why he was not able to understand. As he approached the Infinity of God, Moshe became aware of the infinitud of human smallness. Trying to understand “God’s though” is completely beyond the cognitive abilities of a human being, however wise or intelligent he or she might be. That is why after experiencing the revelation of HaShem, Moshe, who was already a humble man, behaved with more humbleness. And it was thanks to the way he was able to process his closeness to God that Moshe became “the most humble man that ever was on the face of the earth” (Bamidbar 12:03).

THE EXPERIENCE OF BILAM

Bilam, on the other hand, also had a close encounter with God. A similar overwhelming epiphany experienced by Moshe Rabbenu. But Bil’am’s reaction to this experience was exactly the opposite of Moshe’s. When God revealed himself to Moshe, Moshe focused on God. But when God revealed to Bil’am, Bil’am focused on himself. Bilam thought that if God communicated with him, it was because he, Bilam, was a very special person. A unique individual. The chosen one. Bilam was convinced that he was the most important man on the face of the planet. And he acted that way. In this Parasha we see Bil’am behaving with extreme arrogance. Bil’am, for example, refers to himself in the third person (only Pharaoh acted on a similar manner). Bil’am also boasted that God spoke “through his mouth,” as if he were His exclusive spokesman. Bil’am boasted of having the ability to destroy an entire nation, Israel, with the power of his word. Bilam thought that he could “force” the Divine will, and “make God  do whatever he wanted.” At one point he uttered the most arrogant phrase that has been written in the Tora,  yode’a da’at ‘Elion, “[I am Bil’am], the one who understands the mind of the Almighty.”

A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

We see how the same spiritual experience, the revelation of God, affected Bilam and Moshe Rabbenu in completely opposite ways. Moshe became the most humble man in history. And Bilam, the most arrogant.

A religious experience, ironically, can be “parve”, neutral. There are religious leaders, of all faiths, who use their spiritual talents to help, to teach, to inspire. And there are others who in Bil’am’s fashion, see their religious investiture as a way of feeling above others. Some religious leaders pretend to posses supernatural powers, and use them to take advantage of their naive congregants. 

Nothing new under the sun…

WHEN DONKEYS SPEAK

As for Bil’am’s conceited pretensions, our Rabbis pointed out that Bil’am received a lesson of humility from his donkey. When Bil’am was on his way to meet Balaq riding his donkey, the animal saw an angel, which frightened the donkey and made it turn off the road. Bil’am punished his donkey and threatened it with his sword. God, then, “opened the mouth of the donkey” and she revealed to Bilam that she had seen an angel.

Our rabbis explained:

Bil’am boasted that God “spoke through his mouth.” Now, Bilam saw that even a donkey, who was never considered a very intelligent animal, could also speak and convey a Divine message, if God wanted it that way. Bil’am was not superior to his donkey!

Bil’am also claimed that he could destroy the entire nation of Israel with its magical curses. But then why did he have to resort to his sword to kill his donkey? Bil’am’s superpowers were fake news! 

Finally, Bil’am claimed that he understood the Mind of God. However, God shows Bil’am that he did not even understand the mind of his own donkey!

SHABBAT SHALOM



Egypt and the Zoo. By Shemuel Bitton

The most important event in Jewish history is the Exodus, the freedom from Egypt. We mention it during the Shema Israel, during Kiddush, during many Mitsvot and all the three major Jewish holidays are based on it. There were many miracles that happened when the Jews were leaving Egypt. But what was the most impressive miracle? Was it the Ten Plagues, or the splitting of the sea? Was it in the Man that fell on the dessert on the way to Erets Israel? Or perhaps, was it something which we do not even realize was a miracle to begin with.

In order to understand this miracle, we should think about animals in a zoo. Do they know they are trapped? Well, if they were taken from the wild, then they know what freedom looks like: roaming free in the jungle and hunting. But what about a wild animal that was born in a cage? An animal whose parents and great grandparents were born and raised in captivity? They never lived in the wild and they don’t know any home besides for the zoo. I’m sure they cannot be thinking about going back to the jungle. They do not know any better than the zoo.…

Now, think about the Jewish people in Egypt. They had already lived as slaves for many generations. But in an unexplainable way, they “complained” about slavery. In other words, they realized they were slaves and they realized there is something called freedom! This is a huge deal!

What was their inspiration to strive for freedom?

We can try to look at the reason why slaves in the USA were able to overcome this, and run away in the 19th century. Looking at most of these runaway slaves, almost none of them were slaves born into slavery, without a previous taste of freedom. Most runaway slaves were either taken into slavery after being free for a time, or they have had encountered freedom in a different situation. Like Fredrick Douglas, one of the most famous runaway slaves and a leader of the Abolitionist Movement. He was born into slavery. What encounter did he have in his lifetime that made him fight for freedom? Douglas’ encounter with freedom came through education. At the age of 12, his master’s wife, Sophia Auld, taught Fredrick to read. Douglass described her as a kind and tender-hearted woman, who treated him “as she supposed one human being ought to treat another”.  It was this kind and loving treatment that opened Douglas’s eyes. Her husband, Hugh, foresaw the consequences and disapproved of the tutoring, claiming that literacy would encourage slaves to desire freedom.

What was that one thing that kept the Jewish people aspiring and praying to HaShem for freedom?

There is a famous that credits Jewish women for our liberation from Egyopt: “ בזכות נשים צדקניות נגאלו בני ישראל ממצרים”  “Thanks to righteous women, the Israelites were saved from Egypt”.

What did the women do in Mitsrayim? Men were at work all day under the sun, getting sunburnt, and getting whipped with lashes, while doing excruciating work. This made them be physically slaves and mentally slaves. They had zero resting time and zero control over their choices. 

But, there was one daily space of freedom: when they arrived home at the end of daylight. The Jewish wives wanted their homes to be a slavery free environment, physically and mentally. And they made a huge sacrifice. They would go to the Nile during the day and gather some fish from the overflown shore. Then, they would make a nice delicious real dinner for their husbands, who were eating only Matsa during work. Then the wives would use the fish oil and make a cream for the husbands backs and heal the sunburn and bruises from the whips. When the Jewish men arrived home, they were served a freemen’s dinner, and they were taken care as if they were free men, not slaves. These acts of love from their spouses made them realize that slavery wasn’t how life was supposed to be. Freedom, not slavery, was normal, and they had to figure out how to end it right away. This is when they prayed to HaShem, complained about slavery, and asked HaShem to gran them freedom. The rest is history.  

My name is Shemuel Bitton and I am writing up this Halakha of the Day in honor of an amazing organization that has a kind of a similar goal. Chai Lifeline helps out kids with cancer and other illnesses. They do such amazing work helping these families with anything imaginable and one of the most incredible things they do is hosting a camp for all of these kids. In these camps, they allowed these kids to experience happiness and freedom, in others words, they help them to feel better and inspire them to aspire more happy times.  These incredibly positive environments give them the extra motivation to fight as hard as possible and to pray to HaShem to get healthy. 

I will be running a marathon very soon and would truly appreciate your help to reach my goal and assist this wonderful organization. 

Tizku Lemitzvot and may we always be striving for more in life.

https://www.teamlifeline.org/team-lifeline-miami/shmuelbitton



IN THE BEGINNING: What Happened During the Second Day of Creation?

One of the least understood topics in the Biblical story of the creation of the world is what happened on the second day of Creation. The text says that on that day God separated “the waters above from the waters below,” which clearly alludes to the creation of the rain.

Previously I have showed that a similar idea about waters above and below (or around us) is commonly used in science today.   John Lynch, the author of the BBC book “The Climate” (p.84, 1996) describes the clouds with words that are a very similar to the words used by the Tora : “We live on a water planet. The seas dominate the world … there is an ocean around us [the water of the sea] and an ocean above us [the clouds] “. The Tora explains that the Creator dedicated a whole day, the Second Day , to establish the miraculous mechanism that transforms ocean water into the most precious liquid in the entire universe: rain.

But for different reasons, especially the erroneous (according to Tora Shelema) interpretation of a Midrash that describes the prayer of Adam, the first human, for rain, the important act of the second day of creation was reinterpreted in different ways: separation of metaphysical entities; water that exists in the stratosphere, beyond our planet, etc. Incredibly, these interpretations are seen as the most conventional explanation of God’s creative work on the Second day; something that can be confirmed simply by asking the following to any student of any Jewish school in the world: “What did God do on the Second Day of Creation?”.  I did this little test and got incredible results: Not a single student (or their teachers!) Answered: “Rain”.

The mechanism of the water cycle, which allows the production of rain, was established by the Creator on the second day of Creation also according to Maimonides (More Nebukhim 2:30), by dividing the upper waters (clouds) of the lower waters (oceans) . This is also explained, but in much more detail, by Rav Moshe Hefets in his extraordinary book “Melekhet Mahashebet” (pages 10-11, Vienna edition), and by Rabbi Menashe ben Israel in his book (written originally in Spanish) “The Conciliator” .

When the creation of the rain (and the climate system) is ignored, new questions arise that take away from the Creation account its deliberate realism and comprehensibility by humans (דברה התורה בלשון בני אדם). For example: How could vegetation – created during the third day – exist without rain?.  There are other points that become clearer when we do not overlook the creation of rain, as for example, the concept of “progressive creation”, that is, the notion that the elements created on day 1 are necessary for day 2 –and the following days– and the elements created on day 2 are necessary for day 3, etc. Let’s see for example what Rashbam, the grandson of Rashi (France, 1085-1158) explains in this sense. Rashbam states that the wind mentioned in the second verse of the Torah was used by God to separate the seas from the continents on day 3. Once God established “dry land” , on the same Third Day, God created the plants, which are necessary for the production of free oxygen and for the feeding and surviving of animals, created on the Fifth Day.

Incidentally, Rashbam confirms with his commentary that the words “Ruah Eloquim” in the second verse of the Tora do not mean “Divine spirit” (a concept too close to the non-Jewish idea of ​​”holy spirit”) but they indicate: ” a mighty wind “, as explained by Eben Ezra and Radaq, or “a Divine wind [a wind that serves as an instrument of God’s creation]” which is what Targum Onquelos, Maimónides, etc. explained.  For Rashbam the Creator used a mighty wind to separate the continents from the oceans and establish the dry land in a similar manner that God used a powerful wind to open the Red Sea when we left Egypt. The only difference is the adjective that is given to the noun “wind” in each of these events: the wind of Creation is called “Ruah Eloquim” (Eloquim, used as the superlative of “powerful”), while the wind that God uses in the opening of the sea, much more limited in its spectrum, is called “Ruah (qadim) aza”,  a strong wind.

For the creation of the rain and the climate system, another element is needed: the sun. Leaving aside the interpretation of the majority of the sages (Ribbi Aqiba, Rashi, Maimonides, etc.) in most Jewish schools I know the students learn that the sun was created during the Fourth Day of creation. Something that also awakes a number of questions of physics or elementary biology: How could there be rain, or plants, without the sun? How could day and night exist without the sun? These questions disappear when we follow Ribbí Aqiba’s explanation –widely accepted by the Rabbis of the Talmud, but for some reason ignored by most modern Jewish teachers– that explains that the sun was created in the first act of Creation: Verse 1.

The subject of the creation of the sun during the first day (and the ensuing question: what was created then on the fourth day of creation?) is fascinating but not easy tu summarize.

To the readers who wish to learn more about the story of the Creation of the world  following the Targum, and the commentaries of Radaq, Maimonides, etc. I suggest to read my book Awesome Creation.

See HERE


Humility and Leadership in the Jewish People

Ancient civilizations admired the physical power of their leaders (Hercules); their military wit (Alexander the Great), or their cunning (Hermes). Humility never deserved to be exalted as a virtue, especially by pagans. On the contrary, humility was associated with weakness.
The Tora, however, never emphasizes the military force or physical power of a leader: victory on the battlefield, ultimately, is granted by God.
This is the reason why I think Moshe, our greatest leader, would have been considered as a very “powerful” leader and warrior by other nations, because among other things
* Moshe confronted and defeated Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world at that time.
* Moshe brought three million people from slavery to freedom.
* Moshe triumphed in the glorious battles against Sihon and ‘Og.
What the Torah emphasizes about Moshe however, is his character and personality. Particularly, his humility.
What is the humility of a Jewish leader? And why is it so important?
A leader can have two types of agendas: his or her public aspirations and his personal aspirations. Public aspirations consist of what the leader wants to do for the good of his community, his people or his nation. Personal aspirations consist of what the leader wants to do for his personal benefit: his wealth, his narcissism, his self-image, etc. Sometimes these two dimensions might coexist harmoniously and in balance, and sometimes they become inversely proportional: if the main objective of the political leader is his personal benefit, the leader will be willing to sacrifice the benefit of his community to achieve his personal goals.
There are many examples of this type of leadership. But there are no many examples of inverse situations. Namely, when a leader is willing to sacrifice his own honor, his material goods and even his dignity, when is not about the benefit of his people.
Let’s look at some cases of Moshe Rabbenu’s leadership to uncover what kind of leader he was.
THE GOLDEN CALF
Moshe reacts with indignation and anger when he descends from Mount Sinai and sees the people worshiping the golden calf. They had replaced HaShem with an Egyptian idol and they were worshiping him. The indignation of Moshe was so intense that he broke the Tablets.
PEOPLE COMPLAIN
In this week’s Parasha, when the people complained with chutzpah that they “only” had the manna to eat in the desert, and they started to voice aloud what they were eating in Egypt, Moshe was also aggravated (ובעיני משה רע ), although those complaints were not directed towards the person of Moshe.
MORE COMPLAINTS
In the desert, people complained again saying “Why did HaShem take us out of Egypt and bring us into this wilderness to make us die of thirst and hunger?”
The people complained to HaShem, but Moshe reacted with anger, calling the people of Israel “rebels” (שמעו נא המורים).
These three cases, in which Moshe reacts with anger, have something in common: the complaints are not directed towards Moshe: the people, unfortunately, were behaving with ungratefulness and insolence towards HaShem
Now that we know that Moshe is able to react with anger at certain offenses, we will briefly see other types of situations, that should have normally triggered a similar or more severe reaction on Moshe’s part.
PERSONAL COMPETITION
In this week’s Parasha, two individuals, Eldad and Medad, were “prophesying” in the camp of Israel. “Prophesying” was an exclusive prerogative of Moshe, until then. This “irreverent” event was noticed by Yehoshua, who immediately informs Moshe and proposes to neutralize these two men, Moshe’s competitors. What was Moshe’s response? (Bamidbar 11:29): “And Moses answered (to Yehoshua): Are you jealous for me? I wish all the people of HaShem would prophesy, and [hopefully] HaShem will grant their prophecy [also] to them!
PERSONAL OFFENSES
In another episode, also in our Parasha (Bamidbar 12: 1-2). “Miriam and Aaron speak falsely against Moshe …”. On this occasion, again, Moshe does not get angry, or react. There is no jealousy, no reproach, no counterattacks. Moshe lets it go and remains silent.
Why?
Because Moshe is “offended”, feels aggravated and reacts with passion when it comes to the honor of HaShem. Moshe passionately cares about the cause and honor of HaShem. HIS MAIN AGENDA IS THAT THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WOULD BEHAVE PROPERLY AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD. And this public aspiration, became his “exclusive” aspiration.
That is why, when it comes to personal matters, offenses which would affect his personal, Moshe does not bother. Nor is he offended. Acts with zero arrogance. THERE ARE NO PERSONAL AGENDAS FOR MOSHE. For him, it is enough to know in his heart his own integrity. And he does not care about competition or jealousy. On the contrary: he wants to stimulate it.
These gestures are a clear indication of what humility means in Judaism: moving our personal interests to the periphery and establishing the Divine cause at the center of our lives. Moshe, as an individual and as a leader, represents the epitome of humility.
And that’s why the Tora says about Moshe:
“And Moshe was a very humble man, more [humble] than any other man on the face of the earth”
שבת שלום


Words that hurt, words that heal. By Rabbanit Coty Bittón

Balak, king of Moab, feels threatened by Israel’s presence in the area. He knows that conventional weapons will not be enough to combat this people who counts with the help of HaShem and an army of 600,000 soldiers. Balak decides to use a more sophisticated strategy. He hires Bil’am, a famous wizard, for the power of his words. Bil’am knows how to invoke curses and use magic words that supposedly destroy the enemy. Nothing more suited to defeat this unconventional enemy. But God intervenes and does not allow Bil’am to curse Israel. On the contrary, Bil’am is forced to pronounce blessings for Israel. Some of them so beautiful that we have incorporated them into our daily Tefilot.
Words are very powerful. Human beings were granted the incredible ability of language. HaShem gave us this gift that allows us to communicate with each other and express our ideas, thoughts and feelings.
A person’s speech reflects his or her intellectual and spiritual level. An educated and refined person will stay away from bad words and negative language. We have a number of Mitsvot in the Tora warning us about the pain that negative words can cause others.
As parents we must take every opportunity we have to teach our children to stay away from using toxic language. For example, if I hear my daughter talk to her friends about another friend, I must remind her the damaging effects of Leshon haRa. Obviously, the most effective teaching process happens when my children observe that my husband and I, in our conversations, stay away from negative comments.
But it is not all about being careful with negative speech. We must also realize the power of positive speech. For some reason, Balak did not think that the best way to help his army would be to bless them, instead of looking to curse the enemy. Bil’am and Balak were only able to think of cursing and criticizing.
We are different. We know that good words, blessings, praise, have enormous power to do good to others. When someone is having a hard time, is sad or depressed, the words of support from a friend give him courage and lift his spirit. Same with words of gratitude and recognition to the efforts made by others. Sometimes doing Hesed with others it’s so easy! All you need is only a handful of positive words that can do so much good.
Once again, in this area we must teach our children by example as well. We criticize them when they do something wrong, right? Well, we must learn to praise them when they do something right!. The power of praising is amazing. And we need to use it. Usually we correct the negative behavior of our children and very often we forget to praise. No doubt there are so many positive actions we can acknowledge. If our children only receive criticism they will likely suffer from low self-esteem. And it is quite possible that they would also become critics. 
We must learn to find a balance between constructive criticism, which as parents we have to exercise, and praise, words of encouragement and appreciation to our children that will nurture their self-esteem and will allow them to become good people, men and women who know how to use positive language.


The beginnings of Antisemitism: DEMONIZATION

The origins of anti-Semitism can be traced back to Ancient Egypt. The anti-Jewish attitude of Pharaoh was not directly related to something the people of Israel had done wrong. Pharaoh’s antagonism to Jews had to do with a new political situation: Pharaoh’s opposition to the previous government, which was friendly to the Jews, especially because of Yosef. 
This is the first example of an incredible paradox that repeated itself numberless times in Jewish history. Being loyal to a present local government leaves Jews exposed to the whims of a new government, coming from the opposition. Let me explain: In exile, Jews were always very loyal to the local government. And thus, for example, when the son of the previous king succeeded his father,  Jews were respected by the new monarch, for the loyalty Jews had shown towards his father. But if the previous King was not succeeded by his son, if the previous King, for example,  was dethroned or overthrown by the opposition, now the Jews would have to pay for their loyalty to the previous government.
Is this what happened in Egypt when a new Pharaoh came to power? Everything seems to indicate so. And based on the plain narrative of the Biblical text (peshat) now the new Egyptian King inspired in the heart of the masses a new antagonism to the Jews.  And this when, for the first time, we will find a very distinctive element of anti-Semitism: anti-Semitic propaganda. 
In Parashat Ki-Tabo the Tora refers in one word, to this type of anti-Semitism. It tells us that before torturing us with hard labor the Egyptians  yare’u otanu (וירעו אותנו המצרים ויענונו). This sophisticated Hebrew word vayare’u is usually translated as “damaged us” or “they did bad to us” .  But there is another possible reading of this word, without forcing the delicate semantics of this term. Rather than translating “they did bad to us” this verse might be telling us something deeper: the Egyptians “made us bad”, i.e., “made us look bad” or in one word, “demonized us.” They spoke ill of us and falsely accused us of horrible acts. Pharaoh demonized us suggesting that Jews became rich by robbing the Egyptians. Or that because Jews are a separate people, their loyalty to Egypt is questionable…. This fake propaganda was necessary to justify their case for persecuting, killing and destroying us.     
The demonization of the Jews was, and unfortunately still is, the first step in any Antisemitic campaign. For centuries Jews were falsely blamed for the most heinous crimes: poisoning  wells of water (in the time of the Bubonic plague, 1350), killing a god, killing children to eat their blood in the Matza, etc. Some of these ridiculous allegations, incredibly, are still spread until today. The “demonization” of the Jews was, is and will remain a prerequisite to pursue and condemn the Jews. 
Pharaoh continues his inflammatory speech:
הבה נתחכמה לו: “The Jews are smart, let us outsmart them” The Jews had a reputation for being smart, studious, a people who appreciate the value of education. Pharaoh does not deny this. But in his anti-Semitic rhetoric Pharaoh “demonize” the intelligence of the Jews and presents it as a kind of negative and evil “cunning” which will eventually lead them to betrayal.
ונוסף גם הוא על שונאניו ונלחם בנו ועלה מן הארץ
“They will join our enemies, they will fight against us and abandon the land”.   Pharaoh’s speech is a typical demagogic discourse of a dictator. Note that Pharaoh does not address his court or his cabinet (‘abadav) as he does when threatened by the plagues. He speaks directly to the people (on national TV).
Pharaoh ends his speech with the most popular, harmful and unfounded anti-Semitic accusation. “The Jews will betray us, they will join our enemies and take our wealth with them.” Pharaoh is trying to sow fear in the Egyptian population, and like many other tyrants he used the essential characteristic of the Jewish people, their sense of community and unity, to demonize them. The greatest strength of the Jewish people is used by the anti-Semite as their greatest vulnerability. Thus, even it is a lie, it is credible to accuse of disloyalty a people that resists assimilation ….


SHEMOT: The Nature Of Antisemitism

We just finished reading the book of Bereshit, Genesis. Bereshit is not a book of laws. It is a book about the origins of humanity and particularly about the beginning of “Israel”. The book of Bereshit, however, does not mention the “people of Israel”, only the “children of Israel”. In the book of Shemot, Exodus, the family of Ya’aqob is transformed into a people, a nation. It is here, in our Parasha, where we find for the first time the word ‘am: people, nation, to define “Israel”.
The words עם בני ישראל, “the nation of the children of Israel” is first mentioned by none other than Pharaoh, and in a very particular context. Pharaoh refers to the people of Israel in a negative, hostile, today we would say “anti-Semitic” tone. Pharaoh speaks directly to his people warning them about the threat posed to Egypt by the Jewish people and presents a plan for getting rid of them. Isn’t ironic, and incredible, that in the first scene in which “the Jewish people” appears the “final solution” appears for the first time as well ?
In the coming days I would like to take a more profound look on the speech of Pharaoh, his evil plan and its execution. I think that this exercise will help us understand better the deep roots of anti-Semitism.
How did antisemitism begin in Egypt?
In Shemot pasuq 1:8 the Tora presents the events that led to it.
 “And a new Pharaoh arose in Egypt, who did not know Yosef”
Why would a new Pharaoh ignore the contributions of Yosef and wish to destroy the Jewish people? The Tora only mentions explicitly the surging of a new King. Following one of several interpretations I would say that we are dealing here with a very common political phenomenon. When a new government, say the “opposition”, takes over, it is natural that the allies of the former government would automatically become the enemies of the new government. Example: In a 180 degrees change from the previous government, the new Argentinian government does not consider Venezuela, Cuba and Iran as allies.
If in Egypt a new pharaonic dynasty surged, or as some historians suggest, if the native Egyptians regained the power that the Hyksos usurped two centuries earlier,  in either case, it would be nothing but expected that, if the former government was friendly with the Jewish people, the new government won’t.
Following this assumption we can learn a great lesson about the nature of antisemitism. The hatred toward Jews is not necessarily the effect of something bad Jews have done to the non Jews. Sometimes, many times, antisemitism arises for reasons that are far beyond what Jews can do or avoid doing. When Jews live in exile, and a government is friendly with us, it does not mean that the next government will treat us well too. Even though we would do nothing wrong to deserve being mistreated. This phenomena happened hundreds of times in the history of the Jewish people in exile. For centuries the Jews lived in peace, tranquility and relative prosperity in Spain until 1492. Something similar happened in Germany before 1938. But when a new Pharaoh arose in Spain, Germany, England, France, etc. things turned very bad for the Jews, without deserving it….
Accordingly, anti-Semitism had nothing to do with what Jews did toward the non-Jew. For Hitler the Jews were Communists, for Stalin we were capitalists. When the antisemitic tyrant wants to hurt us , the only thing that changes is the excuse.
What we are going to explore now is the anti-Semitic propaganda by which the tyrant justified his determination to hurt, expel or eliminate the Jewish people.
אשר לא ידע את יוסף  “A new Pharaoh who did not know [that is, who chose to ignore] Yosef”. The first thing an antisemitic tyrant in power would do is to ignore the contributions of the Jewish people. The more important or impressive those contributions were, the bigger the effort to conceal them (revisionism, demonization, etc.). The Nazi government ignored the participation and loyalty of the Jews who fought for the “motherland” Germany during the First World War. Nazi Germany chose to ignore the contribution of Jews in medicine, science, arts, etc. Men and women who contributed greatly to make from pre-Nazi Germany one of the most advanced countries in Europe.
The Spanish kings ignored the contribution of the Jews in the fields of medicine (think of Lorenzo Badoz, the physician to Queen Isabel), astronomy and navigation (think about Rabbi Abraham Zacuto) and especially in the area of trade and commerce, the main profession of Jews in pre expulsion Spain. .
Today we experience a similar phenomena. The world systematically ignores the enormous contributions of the State of Israel to the modern world. Israel excels in the fields of medicine, technology, agriculture, optical, irrigation, etc, etc. (see below). But instead of considering Israel as the most amazing country in the world, for their incredible contributions to humanity despite being the only country whose existence is threatened, Israel -the Jew among the nations- is according to a BBC poll, the country “that threatens world peace more than any other country”
Anti-Semitic propaganda did not change. In any case, it became more sophisticated.

 



YOSEF, and the secrets of his success # 6 EMUNA

Before we discuss the Emuna of Yosef, we must clarify what Emuna is all about. Emuna is usually translated as “faith,” and it is defined as the “belief” in the existence of God. Yosef’s Emuna, and the Emuna of a good Jew, as we will explain in the following lines, goes far beyond that kind of “faith”.    Emuna is to remember God, think about Him and make Him present in our lives.

Now let’s talk about Yosef’s Emuna. There is a fundamental difference between Yosef and his ancestors. While HaShem spoke directly with Abraham, Isaac and Ya’aqob, He never spoke “directly” to Yosef.  On the other hand we see that HaShem was very close to Yosef. The Tora tells us (Gen. 39:23) that thanks to His Divine intervention Yosef prospered in all his endeavors ואשר הוא עושה ה ‘מצליח.
Now, what did Yosef do to merit having HaShem near him, if God did not speak directly with him?
HaRambam, Maimonides describes a simple but very profound way to ensure that we are always under HaShem’s radar. Maimonides says that HaShem is as close to us as we are to Him. When we think of God and we make Him present, His Presence,  כביכול gets “synchronized” with our thoughts of Him.
And this is exactly what happened to Yosef. In all circumstances in which he lived, Yosef had HaShem always in his mind.
Yosef made HaShem present when he was provoked by Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39: 9). As explained by our Hakhamim, Yosef saw a vision of his father, who reminded him that what could potentially happen with Potiphar’s wife, would not be correct in the eyes of HaShem.
In the worst moments of his life, when he was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and with no logical hope of getting out, Yosef did not forsake HaShem. Many people probably would had not persisted in their Emuna in a similar situation. Why? Because when someone is really bad, especially when one is the victim of an injustice, one might think that HaShem abandoned him, or that God does not exist, ח”ו. But Yosef persevered. He had HaShem present in those moments and he did not stop thinking about HaShem and mentioning him (40: 8).
When Yosef sees that his time of glory was coming, when he effectively interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, he also mentioned HaShem (Gen. 41:32). Any other person would have probably boasted of possessing a great wisdom and superpowers. But Yosef did not. He attributed to HaShem the dream’s interpretation.
And when Yosef finally got to the highest position, he also continued to think about God. HaShem was present in his mind and in his words when he forgave his brothers (50: 19,20). This is probably the most important achievement of a person of faith, remembering HaShem when one is rich and healthy. Many people fail in the challenge of wealth and welfare. They forget HaShem in those circumstances because they feel that now, they do not need God anymore in their lives, ח”ו.  Our Hakhamim warned us about this phenomenon when they told us that  “the challenge of wealth (remembering HaShem when one is rich) is more difficult than the challenge of poverty גדול נסיון העושר מנסיון העוני.
Now we can better understand why the Tora says that God was with Yosef. HaShem was with Yosef because Yosef had HaShem in his mind at all times. We also learn from Yosef that if we ever feel that Hashem is far from us, it is surely because we have moved away from Him.