The Golden Calf

In this weeks Torah reading we read about the Golden Calf.How is it possible that after all the miracles that the Children of Israel experienced in leaving Egypt at the Red Sea and at Har Sinai and  at the giving of the Torah, they abandoned G-d for an idol? There are two very different views on the nature of the sin. Some see the sin as one of betrayel, which shows that miracles and heavenly signs are not enough to change people, only commitment and education can change people.
There is however a very different view. Rav Yehuda Halevi in the the KUZARI offers a different explanation for the Golden Calf incident.The children of Israel did not betray G-d for another god, the opposite is true.They wanted to find a way to be close to G-d. The problem was that they did not know how to connect with G-d in the absence of Moshe.G-d was too abstract they needed some physical object to connect to.They expected Moshe who was the man of G-d to bring from Sinai some physical item that they could relate to inorder to be close to G-d. When Moshe did not return from Sinai they made the Golden Calf in order to relate to G-d through the Golden Calf.This service is called Avoda Zara alien or foreign worship but it  is not idol worship. It is a serious sin because G-d specifically forbade making any images to worship.
The Rambam writes that the commandment to build the Mishkan came after the sin of the Golden Calf.The Mishkan was the antidote or remedy for the sin. The Children of Israel would now have a place to focus their connection to G-d.The ritual in the Mishkan would allow and facilitate connection with G-d. Today in the absence of a Mishkan or Temple prayer fullfills this need.
Is their Avoda Zara today? Today there are many people who can not be satisfied with prayers in the synagogue or the various rituals which we keep. They like their ancestors need more, they need something concrete and physical to hang on to. Often visits to the graves of great Rabbis fulfills this need. Visits to the graves of great Rabbis Zadikim can be a very positive act, it also can be a very negative act which borders on Avoda Zara.If a person's visit to a grave gives him the ability to pray to G-d with more devotion than the act is positive, however if he believes that the mere fact that he visited a grave is significant or if he prays to the Zadick and not G-d this may be Avoda Zara.Unfortunately many noted Rabbis have made a business of taking wealthy business people to visit graves which are not in Eretz Yisrael.These businessmen assume that if the visit the grave, give a donation to the Rabbi and mumble a short prayer their business ventures will succeed.They have made a deal with G-d.They donot have to commit themselves to being better Jews , to operating their buisnesses honestly and fairly, a short visit a donation and a prayer is all that is needed.
This practice is Avoda Zara!

Sermon on Shmot

This week parsha tells us about the enslavement of the Children of Israel and that they were forced to build the storage cities of Pitham and Ramses.I want to ask and attempt to answer the following questions. Why was it necessary for the Israelites to be in Egypt and why does the Torah tell us they built Pithan and Ramses.My approach to the answer is based on geography and the spirit of Prof.Jared Diamond and not on theology or mysticism. The children of Jacob were shepherds nomads who lived in tents.They lived like Bedouins today. If they were to conquer the land of Canaan as G-d promised them they needed to increase their numbers in order to have suuficient soldiers for the task. In Canaan they did know about farming and water preservation.Even if they managed to have many children in the absence of sufficient water or food the children would die.They had to live in Egypt an advanced civilization, with enough food and water to feed a growing population.They had to build Pitham and Ramses to learn how to build cities and in particular Storage cities.The Israelites who were slaves in Egypt became a people with enough numbers to conquer Canaan, and they learnt from the Egyptians the skills and knowhow necessary to allow them to keep Canaan .

A Sermon on Parshat Miketz and Hanukah

Parshat Miketz is always read on Hanukah.The fact that this parsha is always read on Hanukah can not be a coincidence and must have some significance but it seems odd. The story of Miketz and the Message of Hanukah seem to be directly in opposition to each other. In Miketz we read how Yosef comes to Egypt as a slave and becomes the the vice-ruler of Pharoh. His insights on Pharoha's dream allows him to explain to Pharoah not only what will happen but more importantly what must be done to prevent massive starvation in Egypt. Yosef does not rebel against Egyptian civilization, he empowers it indeed he saves it. He ingratiates himself with the elite i.e. the priests and marries into the caste. He obviously uses them in the administration he set up as they are the literate caste. He is careful not to turn them into enemies and exempts them during the severe famine from the need to pay for their food. Yosef is the ultimate Golus Jew , who is an integral part of the establishment, he is the first one but certainly not the last such Jew.
The Rabbis teach the message of Hanukah as rejection of the values and practices of Greek Hellenistic civilization. The Hashmonaim are not impressed by the dominant civilization of their day. They rebel against the Hellenstic rulers and fight against Hellenistic Jews. The fact that Geek civilization was more advanced culturally and technologically than that of the Jewish civilization of the day did not impress the original Hashmonaim . It did of course influence the later Hasomonaim rulers. This brings us back to my original question, what is the connection between Parshat Miketz and Hanukah? The Hashmoanim rebelled against the dominant civilization of their day, Yosef did not he saved it. Perhaps the message is that they balance each other. We Jews learn from Hanukah that we must maintain our identity and remain loyal to the commandments of the Torah, however we can not be ethno-centric. We can and must learn from the achievements of the societies around us. Like Yosef we must address universal problems and work to find solutions. We need to be cautious because Yosefs efforts for Egypt were forgotten by those he saved but The Torah does not criticize what he did. Once again we learn that life is not simple and rarely are their simplistic solutions to complicated issues. We need to find the right balance and hope and pray that with G-d's help we will.

Was the treatment of Hagar just

This weeks sermon is on the Parsha of Lech Lacha which has the the fascinating story of the triangle Abraham Sarah and Hagar.


Sarah is Abrahams partner. She like Abraham is involved in the campaign to spread the message that there is only one G _d. She is also a very beautiful woman. When Abraham is forced to leave Cannan for Egypt he suddenly realizes that Sarah is a very beautiful woman. Rashi struggles to understand this sudden realization , and after offering a number of explanations says the simple pshat is the fact that the beauty of Sarah is now a problem. Sarah like many beautiful women of her day and indeed today as well is no longer a subject she is an object thing an instrument who can be given away in exchange for gifts. Sarah was saved from her fate of being another plaything or sexual object in the Harem of Pharoah only by the active intervention of G-D.

It is ironic that the incident with Pharoah caused Hagar to be a maid servant of Sarah. Rashi writes that Hagar was the daughter of Pharoah, who said is better to be servant of such a person than a Lady of some one else. One would have thought that Sarah after undergoing the trauma of being an object a tool, would have shown more empathy with Hagar. Sarah treated Hagar as an object a tool to fulfill Sarah's needs .Sarah could not have a baby, the solution Hagar would have a baby, who would be from the seed of Abraham but the baby would the child of Sarah , an ancient form of surrogate Motherhood. It did not work out as Sarah planned. There is a famous saying in Yiddish Der Mensch Tracht and G-t Lacht. Sarah did not take into consideration how Hagar would react, how she would react and how Abraham would react.The Torah states that Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a "wife" She was not to be a Pilegesh but a co-wife.When Hagar became pregnent she refused to be subservient to Sarah. She was right she was no longer a maid servant she was the wife of Abraham. Sarah was angered by the attitude of Hagar and she asked Abraham to punish her. Abraham who wanted to keep peace with Sarah agrees to return her to Sarah, who then mistreats Hagar and opresses her. The Ramban is very critical of the way Abraham and Sarah treat Hagar and says because of their mistreatment the seed of Abraham will be oppressed by the Egyptians in the same manner as Hagar the Egyptian was treated. The Radak writes that the behavior of Sarah was not moral or  proper. Abraham had allowed her to do as she wished with Hagar, she should have passed the chance to put Hagar in her place,and even if she had the right to act as she did it is not he way pious people act to do all they can to people who they control. She should have been forgiving and not tortued Hagar.
What is truely amazing is that Hagar remains loyal to Abraham , in spite of the way she is treated with Abrahams consent. After the death of Sarah Abraham remarries Keturah. Rashi insists that Keturah is Hagar who is called Keturah because she did not have  a relationship with another man.
The moral of the story is we must never treat people as objects or as tools,regardless who they are or what their status is in society.