Monthly Archives: May 2016

Jeremy’s Notes

B’chukkotai

Did you know that, if you have any slaves in your house, you must release them and their children at the next jubilee year? Also, if any of your close relatives have been sold into slavery, you must redeem them as soon as you can get the funds together. Actually, the jubilee, every fiftieth year, does not apply when all the tribes are not living in Israel. At least that is the general opinion. Still, the principles are good ones and go well together with the commands not to take advantage of those in need by lending at exorbitant interest, returning property to its original owner at the jubilee via a system of purchase similar to that applied to leasehold properties today, and letting the land rest every seven years. All these rules are laid out in B’har, which comes before this week’s parsha of B’chukkotai. Here, God lays out the rewards for obedience and the punishments for disobedience, a theme which will appear again in D’varim. The rewards are comforting, the punishments frightening, but there is always the promise of God’s forgiveness in the event of repentence, something we most imperfect of beings must rely on.

There is more in the parsha than I can fit here, despite B’chukkotai and B’har being particularly short parshiot. You can find out a great deal and join together in another wonderful Shabbat experience by turning up this Saturday at 10.30. Adam Feldman will be leading us.

Chazak, chazak v’nitchazek!

Jeremy’s Notes

Emor

K’doshim reiterates many of the laws already announced, particularly in Mishpatim. There is a different emphasis now, reflected in the name of the parsha, i.e. holiness. “You must be holy, since I am God your Lord and I am holy,” God tells Moses. The ethical weight of the laws is palpable and again there is an insistence on justice, fairness and compassion. “Do not falsify measurements… Do not curse, even the deaf… Do not pick the incompletely formed grape clusters……the above must be left for the poor and the stranger.” Not harvesting every single ear of corn nor every grape has an ecological meaning now, over and above the original consideration given to the needy. Today’s super-mechanised harvesting techniques mean that nothing falls to nourish birds, dormice and other creatures in the period when they need to store fat for the winter to come.

The parsha is punctuated with a refrain reminding the people of the holiness of God and the holiness they are being expected to share in. And this leads naturally to Emor and the even higher level of holiness demanded of the priests. The rules governing their behaviour are followed by those marking out the most holy periods of the year, starting with Shabbat and continuing through the festivals from Pesach to…. Well, to reach the end, you should come to the service on Saturday at 10.30. Pat Lipert will be leading the service.

This Thursday is Yom Ha-Atzma’ut, Israel Independence Day.

News

Pesach 5776

At the recent Seder, a good time was had by all, despite the absence of esteemed Newsletter Editor and stalwart Seder chef Pat Lipert, and Treasurer and general logistics wizard Leslie Lipert, who crossed the Atlantic to sample an American Pesach. The potential imbalance of populations was restored by the movement the other way of Rachel Brown’s parents   , who travelled from New York to Cornwall to spend Pesach with daughter and grandchildren.  Kehillat Kernow Chair Harvey Kurtzfield and Vice-Chair Adam Feldman led the service with great verve. The food was carefully and tastefully prepared by members of the community and the afikomen was found by Isaac Feldman, the last time he will qualify to take part in the search. Once again, we experienced the moving yet joyful story of the Exodus.

Elkan's View

Elkan’s view from natanya

ELKAN’S VIEW FROM NETANYA – WEEK ENDING  7TH MAY 2016 

Rabbi Dr Joseph Ber Soloveitchik (1903-1993) was the major leader of Modern Orthodoxy in the United States during the 20th century. In his essay “Kol Dodi Dofek  – Listen – my beloved knocks”, Soloveitchik discusses the religious significance of the creation of the State of Israel and the obligation that its existence imposes upon all Jews. 

 In one chapter he traces six occasions when he believed that Gd specifically intervened to ensure the establishment of the State of Israel, and he describes these as “knocks” that “The Beloved”, Gd himself, made. 

 The first was in the political arena. It was unbelievable in 1947 that Russia and America should both vote for the partition resolution which established the State of Israel. He believes the United Nations was specially created to pass it because “one cannot point to any other concrete accomplishment on the part of the United Nations”. 

 The second knock was on the battlefield. Gd heartened the hearts of the Arabs who went to war instead of accepting the 1947 Partition Plan. Had they done so the State of Israel would have been without Jerusalem, most of the Galilee, and much of the Negev. As there was a battle, so Israel was able with divine assistance to defeat its enemies. 

 The third knock was theology. Soloveitchik understood the doctrinal assertion that there was a “new covenant” under which Christianity had the right to the land of Israel. The victory of Medinat Yisrael and its possession of the Holy Land totally overturned this false concept.  

 The fourth knock was on the heart of those who were trying to forget their Jewishness. The existence of Israel raises a level of Jewish consciousness even amongst those who are most assimilated. 

 The fifth knock is that our enemies have discovered that Jewish blood is not cheap and that we have the ability, indeed the duty, to defend ourselves.  

 The sixth knock is “a new phenomenon in the annals of our history”, that every Jew is entitled to find safety and habitation in Medinat Yisrael – who knows what might have happened if the State of Israel had been born before the Holocaust.  

Jeremy’s Notes

Acharei Mot and the last day of Pesach

Last Saturday, being the first day of Pesach, the parsha was different from normal and we would have read of the Exodus and, interestingly, from Deuteronomy, of the danger of forgetting God in times of prosperity. Of course, this is the main reason why we celebrate Pesach: to remember, and there is so much to remember. “…the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders.” We lived in tents, in the desert for forty years, agreed to accept the Covenant and gradually grew into a nation, ready to embark on a huge social experiment inspired by the word of God. We were slaves and we became free. In a way, we all repeat this journey in our own lives.

Now we return to the story in hand. Acharei Mot opens with God giving instructions to Moses for the sacrifices to be offered on Yom Kippur, one of which gives origin to the concept of the scapegoat. Ironically, the Jewish people themselves have often been made scapegoats for the misfortunes of the nations among whom they have lived. The parsha continues with the prohibition against eating blood. And then there are the sexual laws. I will say no more, but leave it to our service leader, who this week will be Liz Berg. Come along at 10.30 to hear her, to pray and to share the Sabbath with like-minded souls.