Adas Israel - Mason City, IA

Torah Thoughts 27 November 2020 - Vayetzei

We hope you had a meaningful Thanksgiving there is much to be grateful for. Welcome back to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa, based in Mason City. This week we read Vayetzei (Hebrew for "he departed" ) and you can find it in Genesis 28:10 - 32:3. "Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and went toward Haran."

This begins the interesting tale of Jacob who, for the first sixty-three years of his life studied with his father, Isaac. In was done in the safety of Canaan but now he was going on a journey and live in Haran where Laban was from, a land full of dishonesty. So Jacob, to augment his faith went to study with the Torah of Shem and Eber. Both of whom had lived in a corrosive element. Shem with the Flood and Eber who lived with those who built the Tower of Babel. 

It was his personal effort that earned him the prophecy and the dream of the ladder. And behold Hashem was standing over him, and spoke these words: "I am Hashem, G-d of Abraham your father and G-d of Isaac; the ground upon which you are lying, to you will I give it and to your descendants."  The Torah goes on to make a promise of greatness and that G-d will always be with Jacob.

Pretty impressive huh?

But what was to follow is even more interesting. We all know the story where Laban switched daughters and Leah became the first wife of Jacob but what you may not know is that each of the four wives of jacob had three sons each with the exception of Leah who had a fourth son whom she called Judah. The birth of the name we are known by...the "Jew". Says Leah, "This time let me gratefully praise Hashem" and she called his name Judah. (Gen. 29:35).

Today we remember the dishonesty of Laban at every wedding. How? In traditional Jewish weddings there is the "lifting of the veil" known as the "bedekin". So now you know where that tradition comes from. There is a difference, however, from other faith groups.  In a Jewish wedding the veil is lifted up and placed over the face of the bride by the groom before the pronouncement of the marriage. Ya gotta make sure who is...who.

As the parsha continues we know that as Jacob attempts to build a life for his family it is Laban who continues to change the agreement and Jacob must wait another 20 years before G-d tells him is is time to go home. But Laban follows the tribe saying he has claims that must be resolved. The story finally ends when there is peace and blessings between Jacob and Laban.  

Out of troubling times there can be resolution and peace.

Shabbat Shalom and thank you for reading! 

 

 

 

Torah Thoughts - 20 November 2020 - Toldot

Welcome to our online learning from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa, based in Mason City. This week we read Parsha Toldot (Hebrew for "Offspring") Gen. 25:19 - 28:9. "And these are the offspring of Isaac son of Abraham..."

What is stunning is the small amount of detail we know of Isaac. While the Torah spends lots of time telling us about the life of Abraham and Jacob very little is said about Isaac. The rabbis tell us that all of the patriarchs opened up yeshivas or schools where they taught students about G-d. It is said Abraham had hundreds of students but Isaac had only one...his son Jacob.

It is almost as if Isaac is a "bridge" between the kindness of Abraham and the goodness of Jacob. We know that Isaac and Rebecca had two boys, Jacob and Esau.  Before they were born it was Rebecca that sought out G-d to ask Him what was going on.  The answer was, "Two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated: the might shall pass from one regime to the other and the elder shall serve the younger." (Gen. 25:23)

The two boys represented righteous and wickedness and it was up to Isaac and Rebecca to know the difference and use their strength to set the nation of Israel on the right path. The rabbis say, "Kindness (Abraham) and strength (Isaac) must go together and one without the other can be disaster. "Kindness not tempered by strength can lead to self-indulgence and hedonism, strength without kindness can lead to selfishness and cruelty."

And, we see this played out in the parsha.

Esau sells the birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup. Because of a famine in the land Isaac moves to the land of Gerar with Abimelech the king of the Philistines. It is there where we see a story repeated. Isaac tells the people of Gerar that Rebecca is not his wife but his sister. He does this because he fears these people will kill him and take Rebecca. Remember the story of Abraham and Sarah? 

The king learns of this and confronts Isaac who then tells the truth and Abimelech tells the people to not harm the family. Isaac and Rebecca grow wealthy and the king becomes worried that they are too strong. (Remember the story of Pharaoh and the Jews?) The king then sends the family away.

Now we come to an interesting story about the three wells dug by Isaac. The rabbis say this story foretells the three temples. Follow along here: 

The first well that was dug was named Esek or contention which alludes to the First Temple which fell to the strife of the nations that finally destroyed it. The second well was named Sitnah or hindrance or enmity a much harsher name that alludes to the Second Temple period when the enmity of Israel's enemies was longer lasting and more violent. The third well is named Rehoboth or spaciousness which points to the Third Temple to be built in the era when strife and enmity will be things of the past.

Then, to inflict pain to the family Esau marries two Hittite women and he knows it.

We then have the famous story of Jacob impersonating Esau, on the advice of his mother, in order to receive the blessing as the oldest son. Esau becomes angry and plans to kill his brother causing Jacob to flee to his uncle Laban. Isaac and Rebecca then advise Jacob to marry Laban's daughter.

Esau knows of this and to further spite his parents he goes to Ishmael and marries Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael simply to drive more hurt. Truly...evil.

Now you know where the idea of the modern soap opera comes from...yes?

Thank you for reading and may you have a wonderful Shabbat and please, stay well.

Torah Thoughts 12 November 2020 - Chayei Sarah

Hello friends and welcome to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa and based in Mason City. Also
read on to learn about our Virtual Midrash this Shabbat.

This week we are about to learn a story of comfort in troubling times. The Torah Portion this week is Chayei Sarah which is Hebrew for "life of Sarah" and is found in Genesis 23:1 - 25:18. "The life of Sarah was one hundred years, twenty years and seven years; the years of Sarah's life."

We are told that Sarah died on the day she was told by the Devil that Isaac had been sacrificed by her husband Abraham. We are also told that with her last breath came with the knowledge that she had raised a child who was willing to give up his own life in the service of G-d. Of course we know the story of the death of Isaac at the hands of his father is not true...but still it is remarkable, even in our times, how a lie can become, in the minds of some...true.

What happens next is that Abraham buys a burial plot for his wife, at an exorbitant sum from a greedy landlord and then goes about the task of finding a wife for Isaac. We know that that search ends with finding Rebecca.

Toward the end of the Parsha we read this: "And Isaac brought her (Rebecca) into the tent of Sarah his mother; he married Rebecca, she became his wife, and he loved her; and thus was Isaac consoled after his mother." (Gen. 25:67)

What happened in that tent and why?

The Midrash tells us that when Sarah was alive three miracles happened in her tent. The first was that the candles Sarah lit prior to Shabbat stayed burning all week only to go out in time to be re-lit the following Shabbat. The second was that the dough Sarah made would increase and the third was that a "protective cloud", which represented the divine presence, was stationed above her tent. All of these miracles ceased on the day Sarah died.

However, when Isaac brought Rebecca into his mother's tent...the miracles returned. Thus Rebecca took Sarah's place as the matriarch of the Jewish people. 

What can we learn here?

One of the concepts that we learn from this story is that the matriarchs of the Jewish people lit candles every Friday for Shabbat. According to Maimonides (Laws of Chanukah 4:14), lighting candles on Friday night is of the utmost importance and takes precedence over many other mitzvot. The reason for this is that the Shabbat candles ushers in peace within the home. Maimonides goes on to explain why this is so crucial; “For the entirety of the Torah was given only to promote peace in the world.”

The lighting of the candles, to this day, represents a sense of unity and peace.

Yet, there is another story to tell.

In the Talmud we are told that on the eve of Shabbat a person with a shofar would climb to the top of the tallest building of the community and there he would give the first of three blasts. The first blast blast was to announce to farmers that it was time to put away their tools because Shabbat was coming. The farmers that were closest to the community would wait outside the town until those who came from the farthest fields joined them and they would walk into town...together. (What a unifying experience....)

The second shofar blast alerted shopkeepers that it was time to close up and make their way home and the third blast was to announce that it was time to light the Shabbat candles ushering in a time of calm and peace in the home.

Then the shofar blower would wait. Wait for the time it would take to cook a fish and he would blow once more to announce that Shabbat has now begun. It has been recorded that the time it would take to cook that fish was eighteen minutes.  That is why...today...we light candles eighteen minutes before the start of Shabbat.  There is comfort in tradition and in unity.

There are so many more lessons in this weeks parsha and on Shabbat (Saturday) we'll talk about them during our Virtual Midrash.  Yes, the MIDRASH is back and we'd love for you to participate starting at 10:00AM Central.

To JOIN the MIDRASH simply CLICK THIS LINK and Tracy will connect you.

Remember...light those candles.

Shabbat Shalom and hope to see you for the Midrash.

 

 

 

Torah Thoughts 5 November 2020 - Parsha Vayeira

Torah Thoughts is from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa and based in Mason City. This week we read Parsha Vayeira. "He appeared" in Hebrew. You can find it in your Bible Genesis 18-22. And it opens with, "He appeared to him in the plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day."

"He" is G-d and "him" is Abraham and what is all of this about?

If you remember, from last week, Abraham had just done as Hashem had commanded and circumcised himself and his son Ishmael and all the male members of his house. Abraham was, we are told, ninety-nine years old and Ishmael was thirteen.  As we flip the page for this week's parsha it is now three days past the circumcision and, clearly it's hot. What happens next is a story that resonates yet today with Jews from around the world: Visiting the sick and hospitality to strangers.  You see G-d was about to visit Abraham to check on his recovery.

The rabbis say that G-d created a very hot day to dissuade people from any journey and from passing the tent of Abraham. But, like any religious person, Abraham longed to share the story of G-d with strangers. Ah, but this time the "strangers" were actually angels. Abraham did not know this but still rushed, in fact "ran" to pick out the food for the travelers. Imagine doing this three days post-circumcision.

One of the startling things about this scene is that Abraham was in the midst of a visit by G-d yet he saw strangers approaching and left Hashem to go and greet them. From this we learn in the Talmud that welcoming guests into your home is greater than being in the presence of G-d.  Astounding, but let's continue as to why.

While it’s true that it is a big mitzvah to invite guests into one’s home, we must also remember that the ultimate purpose of mitzvos is to serve the Almighty and develop a relationship with Him. If one is sitting in the presence of the Almighty, how can it possibly be proper to leave His presence to attend to guests? And, here is that answer:

The answer lies in the understanding that the highest level of serving the Almighty is to become G-d-like. This is based on the teaching in the Talmud, “One should strive to emulate the Almighty; just as He is merciful so you shall be merciful, just as He is compassionate so too you should be compassionate."

Abraham understood that the highest level of service is becoming G-d-like, which is even more important than being in His presence. When G-d created the world He constricted his own presence, as it were, in order to allow man to exist in His space. Hence the ultimate emulation of the Almighty is to invite others into our space (our homes) and make them feel like it is their own. That is why he left the presence of the Almighty to attend to his own guests.  And, that is why, to this day Jewish homes, especially on Shabbat, make it a point to invite people to share the Sabbath Meal.

Here, at the meal, we get the first glimpse of not serving milk and meat together.  The Torah says, "He took cream and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed these before them: he stood over them beneath the tree and they ate." Notice that Abraham first served the dairy products because they did not require much preparation. Only after did he bring out the full meal...and the meat.

There is so much in this Torah Portion we could go on for a very long time. I invite you to read the entire parsha and, as always, should you wish to discuss...let's chat. You can connect with me via email at [email protected]

Shabbat Shalom!  And you should know we are soon to have another virtual Midrash!! 

Thank you for reading.