Deu. 29 : 10 - 31 : 30 Listen to the children

[Yitzchak]

This week, we celebrate the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah {the Jewish New Year}. We also recognize, more importantly that Rosh HaShanah is also known as Yom Teruah (The Day of Trumpets).

This Shabbat we read the double parsha of Nitzavim/Vayelech.

"Atem nitzavim {You are standing} ha'yome {today} kulchem {all of you} before Hashem your G-d. [29:9]"

It is believed in Judaism that the above verse speaks of Rosh HaShanah, as it is also viewed as a day of judement, and thus we will all stand before HaShem on this day.

One wonders why it was necessary for Moshe to use the word "kulchem" (all of you} when Klal Yisrael was there. The Rabbi's teach that this alludes the idea that "nitzavim" speaks of standing firm. That it is through the community, by attaching oneself to the commonwealth of Israel that they are able to stand firm before HaShem on the day of judgement.

Rabbi Akiva made the statement that to love your neighbor as yourself is the foundation of . A greater Rabbi than He made this statement. His name was Rebbe Yeshua HaMoshiach.

When we act on the words of Messiah, and enter into the true commonwealth of Israel promised to Jacob, and then reiterated by Rav Shaul in Romans 11, and again in Ephesiah 2, we of course will be able to stand firm before HaShem on the day of judgement. We will do so through the sacrifice of Messiah.

Here is an interesting story to show how the love of neighbor and sacrifice can bring the blessings of Adonai.

A man once approached Rav Sholom Shwadron zt"l after he had delivered his Friday night talk and told him the following story. (Found in The Maggid Speaks by Rabbi Paysach Krohn.)

The time after World War I was one of relative freedom for the Jews of Russia. I was involved in diamonds and things were going very well.

Every morning I was at my office at 8:00AM and I was busy all day. One morning I went to my office a bit early to get some paperwork done, carrying, as usual, my valise of diamonds and jewelry. On the way I heard a man calling out from a small synagogue, asking for 'a tzenter,' the tenth man to complete the minyan {quorum}. When he saw me turn towards him, he shouted to me, "Come in, come in, we need you for the minyan."

Realizing that I had time to spare I decided to help out and be the tenth man. However, upon entering I saw that there were only three other men beside myself and the man at the door who by now had resumed his search for 'a tzenter.'

A bit upset at having been duped, I turned to the man at the door complaining that I wasn't the tenth but the fifth! "Don't worry," he called back. "Many Jews pass here and we'll have a minyan in no time."

I began reciting T'hillim {Psalms} for the next ten minutes. By that time he had only managed to find one more person so I got up to leave. "Please," he began to plead with me. "Today is my father's yahrtzeit {day of passing} and I'm trying to get a minyan together as fast as possible in order to say Kaddish {mourner's prayer}. Please stay."

"I can't stay any longer," I protested. "I must be in my office right now."
At this point he turned a bit nasty. "I'm not letting you out! I have yahrtzeit and I have to say Kaddish. As soon as I get ten together you can go."
I reluctantly returned to my T'hillim but when another ten minutes had only yielded two more people I again began to make my way toward the door. He pointed his finger at me and said: "If you were the one saying Kaddish for your father you'd want me to stay and I would. Now I want you to do the same for me!"

His pointing out how I would feel in his shoes made me view the whole situation differently and I decided that come what may, I would remain. At about 8:30 he finally got his minyan together. I thought he would say a Kaddish and let us go but he instead began at the beginning of services. I calculated that I wouldn't reach my office until well after 9:00.

I kept hoping that an eleventh man would enter the synagogue, allowing me to duck out but it didn't happen. I was stuck there until the final amen was answered after the final Kaddish.

He then thanked us profusely, served some cake and drinks and let us leave.

When I and my valise filled with jewelry came within two blocks of my office a man I knew came frantically running over to me. "The Bolsheviks took over the government and some of them came in and killed the Jews at the diamond exchange. They're now busy looting as much as they can. Run for your life!"

I ran for my life, hid for a few days and was finally able to get out of Russia.

Love your neighbor as yourself, and as such, stand before Hashem on Rosh Hashanah.

Shalom,

Yitzchak

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

Thank you brother for sharing that. Very good!

Chag sameach b'shem Yeshua HaMashiach,

Reuel

[Mark]

There is an interesting but haunting phrase in Deuteronomy 29:16 that I would prefer to skip over. It grabs hold of me and reminds me that I have not always been pursuant of a lifestyle of worship. In fact, everything I know and understad, accept and believe is tainted by familiarity with what is unholy and profane.

Here’s the phrase, and I would like you to take particular note of the personal pronouns:

For YOU know how WE have dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how WE came through the nations which YOU passed by…

Distinction is made between the old folks, really just Moses, Joshua and Caleb at this point, and all the other people to whom he was speaking. "We" touched the idolatry and were exposed to it directly while "you" passed by at a distance.

It is our culture to honor all knowledge and experience, even bad stuff. Those who have come out of difficult or godless circumstances are very much honored in our religious communities as having a direct knowledge of things that many of us do not really understand. At the same time, a child who is hearing the Word of God read for the first time is not recognized as having something legitimately valuable to offer. This is backwards.

In Deuteronomy 31:12-13, the people are commanded to gather everyone together. Don’t leave the kids with Grandma, don’t shuffle them off to the nursery. This is important for them, and not only so, it is important for us to understand what these things mean from the purity of their understanding.

Messiah said, "Let the little children come unto me, for such is the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:14). There is no person in the world with a clearer scope of distinguishing between right and wrong than a three-year-old. Have you ever seen one of these litle buggers clean house? Order is implicit. Shoes go there. There is no gray area for a three-year-old. There is no justification of why it is okay to do it this way just this one time.

As we grow older, as we have our own experiences of pleasure and understanding, we tend to justify the things that we enjoy, that we don’t see any problem with, that we don’t want to give up or over to Adonai. It is important to allow our lives to be evaluated by the three-year-olds. It is important to be exposed to the fresh perspective of those who haven't’ been through this over and over, who are looking at things for the first time.

It is important that we honor the "hoary heads", the men of wisdom and renown who have had training and experiences, who can parse the original languages and who can distill the hidden things. But it is also important, maybe even more so, to listen to our children, to understand what they are learning from the Word of Adonai, not incumbered and uninhibited by the idolatry and carnality which we have passed through.

[alon]

This weeks Par'shah