s; vacug s; kl - akj Volume 26 SHELACH LECHA No. 38 Daf Hashavua

14 June 2014 • 16 Sivan 5774 Shabbat ends in London at 10.25pm Artscroll p.798 • Hertz p.623 • Soncino p.860

Judaism and An Introduction Modernity by Rabbi Garry Wayland, Assistant, Youth and Young Families Rabbi, Part 1: Woodside Park United Synagogue

The world has changed almost beyond does the potential for splicing animal genes recognition in the past century. Advance- into humans say about us as being unique, ments in science, medicine, engineering and created in the ‘image of G-d’? What is technology have given us appliances and Judaism’s view on the power and perils of devices that have transformed our daily lives. the modern economic system? Transport and communications have made the world a much smaller place, allowing us Indeed, Judaism has always responded to to travel across the globe and to be in touch change. It has developed halachic ways with people wherever they are. Society, to deal with changes in life and focused business and government are its energies in different ways affected by and engaged with these depending on the needs of the changes at every level. day. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai instituted Rabbinic laws to These changes affect our Jewish enable Judaism to survive and lives in many ways. Sometimes, new thrive without the Temple. technologies require Rabbinic Rabbeinu Gershom (11th century) responses – for example, electricity enacted several famous laws had no clear parallel in classic that were necessary for Jewish Jewish sources; is it forbidden on Shabbat, survival in Christian Europe. The codification and, if so, why? of the Shulchan Aruch in the 16th century, the Chasidic movement that sprouted in the The late former Chief Rabbi Lord Jakobovits 18th, and Zionism in the 19th were all (d. 1999) wrote that traditionally “we bend approaches to new realities. our efforts on solving religious problems in the light of modern conditions. What may be even In this series we will look at the continuation more imperative today is to solve modern of this trend – ways in which modern life has problems in the light of religious conditions.” changed the way we live Jewish life – through halachic responses to new technology and Genetically modified foods could end hunger, Jewish approaches to the issues arising in our yet they carry the risk of destroying the modern context. All of them are rooted in a delicate balance of our ecosystem. Does timeless Torah, handed down with thousands Judaism advocate ‘playing G-d’ in this? What of years of care and study. To Send or Not to Send by Rabbi Ephraim Levine Watford United Synagogue

The central episode in this week’s sidrah is the without being “compelled” by sending of spies by Moshe to the Land of G-d’s command. We can also on a reconnaissance mission. The people had understand why it was this initially come to Moshe and requested that matter, the sending of the spies be sent. Moshe in turn consulted G-d, spies, which G-d left up to who consented, but left the final decision to the ’ free choice. Moshe. Sending the spies was a This represents a departure from the norm. preparation for the entry into Israel. Usually, Moshe would bring matters suggested Receiving the Torah and the settlement of by the Jews to G-d and would not act until he Israel was always the ultimate goal of leaving had received specific instructions. , for it allowed for the establishment of a The fact that he did not receive dwelling for G-d in this world. explicit instructions regarding the Therefore, the manner in which spies should have raised doubts in the Jews approached the his mind. So why did he decide to conquest of Israel was intended send the spies – G-d had already to be carried out in a natural promised the Jews that Israel was manner. It was proper to follow a good land? We even find that the natural course of behaviour Moshe prayed for the success of that any army would take when the mission, which may seem to approaching a foreign land, hint at his own doubts. sending spies. Yet, with the exception of two By leaving the matter up to spies, Calev and Yehoshua (Joshua), the other Moshe’s choice, G-d opened up a new realm of spies made a mistake: instead of under- service – the possibility of serving Him even standing their mission to be assisting in when no direct command is involved. Broadly transforming Israel into a dwelling place for speaking, there are two ways to serve G-d. G-d, they understood it as being their choice as Usually, we fulfil mitzvot as stated in the Torah to whether or not they would enter Israel. This and Jewish legal codes. Yet sometimes there is error caused their entire mission to be ill-fated. no explicit instruction and a person has to This is why Moshe chose righteous individuals work out how they can best reflect G-d ’s will. to carry out the mission, yet still prayed for Although we have free choice whether or not their success so that they would avoid the error to perform the mitzvot, the fact that G-d has they ultimately and tragically committed. commanded us influences our choice. It is in Our connection to G-d must also be carried the areas where there is no explicit command, into the realm of choice - areas where there but one chooses to do good, that our potential is no explicit Torah or halachic command for choice is expressed most completely. regarding what to do and what not to do. In Using this idea, we can now better understand this realm, we must strive for our own personal why Moshe sent the spies. When G-d gave desires to conform to G-d ’s. This parallels the Moshe the choice whether or not to send the sending of the spies to discover the proper spies, he was happy at the opportunity to act path of conquering Israel. Righteous When Anger is Best amongst the Nations Part 3: by Rabbi Z. M. Salasnik, Bushey and District United Synagogue is famous both for the had been done because they apparently were numbers of lives he saved and for the mystery on their way to deport Jews with Swedish of his fate after he was apprehended by the protective passes. If they weren't released Soviet Union. Less famous is his contemporary immediately I would see to it that Vee- Per Anger (1913–2002). senmayer [an SS general] was notified. The German train commander didn't dare risking Per Anger’s first diplomatic posting was in the being reported to the feared Veesenmayer. Swedish Embassy in in 1940. In 1942, I went in to the wagons to call for names, but he became Second Secretary in ’s only found two Jews with protective passes. legation to . His main responsibility With the help of the present Hungarian police was encouraging Swedish–Hungarian trade. officer, Batizfalvy, who in secrecy worked in In spite of his relatively junior cooperation with Raoul Wallenberg position, he was second to the and me, I succeeded, in defiance of legation head, Carl Ivan Danielsson the SS commander’s order, to leave (1880 - 1963), who was reaching the station with 150 Jews towards the end of his diplomatic career freedom, 148 of them without while Anger was commencing his. protective passes." As a neutral country, Sweden was In January 1945, Anger and the other a protecting power for a number Swedish diplomats were detained by of other countries that could not Per Anger (1913-2002) the Soviets. This was separate to maintain embassies in Hungary. In Wallenberg’s detainment. In March 1945, he March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary. Per was released and returned to Sweden. After Anger distributed about 700 Swedish visas to diplomatic posts in Egypt, , , Hungarian Jews to save them from and the , he became deportation. Raoul Wallenberg arrived in Sweden’s Ambassador in , in July 1944, attached to the and . He did all he could to find Swedish legation, although the inspiration out about Wallenberg’s fate. In 1989, German and backing for this appointment was from Chancellor Helmut Kohl phoned Soviet leader the United States. Basing himself on the on Per Anger’s behalf. existing work of Per Anger and of Swedish Subsequently, Anger himself went to Moscow publisher and Red Cross representative to appeal for Wallenberg, but to no avail. Valdemar Langlet (1872–1960) and his wife Nina, Raoul Wallenberg issued between 18 In 1956, following the failure of the and 20 thousand Swedish temporary Hungarian Revolution, Per Anger was at the passports. border to help refugees out of Hungary when one woman approached him and said: Like Wallenberg, Anger bluffed and took risks. “Mr. Anger, this is the second time you have He said: "When Wallenberg one day was saved my life”. somewhere else, I went to a station from where a train with Jews was about to depart. honoured Anger and others in There was no time to be diplomatic with the the Swedish legation as Righteous Gentiles. Germans. I explained that a terrible mistake In 2000, Israel gave him honorary citizenship. This Week in The Attack on Osirak History by David Collins, Executive Director, Tribe

In June 1981, Israel carried out a surprise overhead. He ordered an alert to warn Iraqi attack which destroyed the Osirak nuclear forces, but the message was never received reactor in Iraq, situated just 18 miles south of because of a communication error. Baghdad. In an operation code-named The Israeli Government released a statement ‘Oprah’, Israeli Air Force jets flew low over saying: "The atomic bombs which that reactor Jordanian and Saudi airspace to avoid being was capable of producing whether from detected by radar systems. When briefing the enriched uranium or from plutonium, would be pilots, the then Israel Defence Forces Chief of of the Hiroshima size. Thus a mortal danger to Staff Lt. Gen. Rafael Eitan told them: “The the people of Israel progressively arose." The alternative is our destruction.” One of the attack was strongly condemned in pilots was Ilan Ramon, who trained the international community, as Israel's first astronaut but was including by the US and the UK. tragically killed in the Columbia Jeanne Kirkpatrick, the then US shuttle disaster of 2003. ambassador to the UN described it Until this point, international as 'shocking' and compared it to discussions about the reactor had the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. been inconclusive. The Iraqis claimed This was not the end of the story. that the nuclear reactor could only It was reported that after the be used for peaceful purposes. bombing, Saddam Hussein made However, Israeli intelligence had Menachem Begin covert efforts to obtain nuclear concluded that Iraq could use the capabilities. The Washington Post reported reactor to develop nuclear capability; it would that when inspectors finally gained access be impossible to attack once the reactor went after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, they were ‘live’. The then Israeli Prime Minister Mena- shocked by the extent of Iraq’s nuclear chem Begin considered the diplomatic options infrastructure and how close Saddam had fruitless and worried that prolonging the been to developing a bomb. decision to attack would lead to a fatal inability to act in response to the perceived The bombing of the nuclear reactor created a threat. By the spring of 1979, Begin had sense of relief in Israel. A French expert wrote concluded that an anticipatory attack was in 2003 that had it not been for the raid on necessary. Osirak, Saddam’s forces might have had atomic warheads by 1991. There was therefore The plan was almost thwarted by King Hussein a feeling in the region that if it had not been of Jordan, who was on vacation in Aqaba at for this preemptive attack by Israel, the 1991 the time, and noticed the planes flying Gulf War could have looked very different… .

United Synagogue Daf Hashavua Produced by the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue, together with US Living & Learning Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor in Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Available also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United Synagogue To sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Richard Marcus on 020 8343 5685, or [email protected] If you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please email [email protected]