Current Parsha

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Shoftim 5763 (2003)

Life After Terror It is like a king who, before he Current Terror can become imbedded in the bone and tis- enters the city, the people of the sue. It can go right down to the cellular level and city go out to greet him in the field. be held there, embraced there, entrapped there There, everyone who so desires is for a lifetime. What can we do for those who are permitted to meet him; he receives already its victim? them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all. And when he goes to the Story Praying In Kharkov city, they follow him there. Later, His one hand held a wooden cane, the other some- however, after he enters his royal how was suddenly on my shoulder. "Can you palace, none can enter into his davven?" he whispered presence except by appointment, and only special people and select individuals. So, too, by analogy, the month of Elul is when we meet What is Prophesy? G-d in the field... (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi) Question How does one become a prophet? What is it like to experience prophesy? Does prophesy exist today?

Thirteen Attributes of Mercy: an Elul Seasons of the Anthology A History of Elul... A Haven in Time... Month of Soul the Bride... I and My Beloved... How to grant a blessing... The King in the Field... all about Elul - - the month that G-d feels closer to us and we feel closer to Him The System The common conception of how Shoftim — Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 the system works is faulty. Parsha "Justice" -- the very concept is said to be a They see a career as "making a Jewish contribution to the world. A glance at living". A career doesn't "make" this week's Parshah (equality before the law, anything. What you receive is gen- due process, protection of criminals from erated above, in a spiritual realm. vigilante vengeance, curbs on the behavior Your business is to set up a chan- of kings, rules and ethics in warfare...) nel to allow all that to flow into the shows why material world.

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Current Prime Minister Ariel Sharon termed them, animals) You Have Made Us Proud who claim to be religious. They claim to live by the letter of G-d’s law. In fact, Raed Abdel Misk (may his By Levi Brackman name be blotted out) — the murderer who carried out the “Massacre of the Children” — was an Islamic religious scholar, whose relatives said that he had been driven to “martyrdom” by “a deep knowledge of the Koran” and that “he would have had no regrets” seeing the dozens of children in the crowded bus before he blew it up. Heaven help us; this is reminiscent of the crusades of 1096 and 1140. Once again, G-d and reli- We Jews have tremendous coping power. This gion have become a cause for the slaughter of Jewish week, this was yet again put to the test. children. The pain and suffering that the “Massacre of the Yet, the response to the massacre by our brothers and Children” caused is beyond belief. Like all of us, I sisters in Jerusalem could not have been more digni- was deeply pained that once again our people are fied. Amazingly, Bracha Toporowitch, whose three- being slaughtered by Arab-Islamic Jew-hating mur- year-old granddaughter Tehilah was massacred on derers. Amongst the blackness of tragedy I was Tuesday, said that she does not hate the homicide yearning for some hope and light. I did not have to bomber. She is bolstered by her faith in G-d and is too wait long. In reading the news reports from Israel in busy caring for wounded survivors, her daughter, the last few days, I found myself repeatedly saying: Chana Nathanson, 26, and another granddaughter, Thank G-d for making me part of this great nation of Shoshana, who is only five months old. Israel. The contrast could not be starker. She explained: “I don’t even think for one minute I On Thursday, Israel assassinated Ismail Abu had any feelings of hatred toward the murderer. I was- Shanab, one of the top five leaders of the murderous n’t even thinking about it. I was thinking about what group that carried out the “Massacre of the we have to do within ourselves, what is the message for Children.” us. What do we want to change to become a better per- The Arab response was tens of thousands march- son? How do we reach out to people, how do we con- ing through the streets of Gaza City chanting nect more closely to G-d?” “Revenge, revenge,” and “Sharon and Mofaz listen Her granddaughter’s name, she pointed out, was very well; our retaliation will send you to hell.” Tehilah, which means praise. “If people can learn even About 15 men marched in long robes, signaling their in the midst of the tragedy to thank G-d for everything willingness to become suicide bombers. He gives us, then I think that it is the high point for the A senior member of another group of murderers human being to reach. If people can live like that, then and terrorists, the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, said their whole lives will be changed, and maybe hate will that due to Israel’s killing of Ismail Abu Shanab, disappear.” Israelis should expect “many suicide attacks.” He Instead of becoming a breeding ground for hate, the added that “the price will be very heavy.” Hamas religious neighborhood where the bombing took place founder, spiritual leader and head terrorist Sheik sported hastily printed posters calling for soul-search- Ahmed Yassin also said that his group would take ing and repentance, “especially for wrongs committed revenge. “This crosses all red lines,” Yassin said of against one’s fellow man.” Smaller notices announced the missile strike. Addressing Israelis, he said: “You that a prayer rally would be held that afternoon at the will pay the price for these crimes.” The cynicism is site. Other notices asked that passers-by pray for the sickening. Murdering Jewish babies is perfectly recovery of the wounded and for the souls of the dead. moral for Yassin, but when Israel kills a known terrorist who orchestrated the attack and was working In this past Shabbat’s Torah portion we read: “For on the next suicide bombing, it is “crossing all red the L-rd your G-d blesses you, as He promised you... lines.” and you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you” (Deuteronomy 15:6). Being Let us not forget that these are people (or rather, as

current You Have Made Us Proud

reigned over is as much a state of mind as a state of being. By not allowing hate and the desire for revenge to consume them, by not allowing themselves to be intimidated by the cowardly and evil murderers, the people of Jerusalem are not allowing themselves to be defeated. Using this tragic event as a springboard for growth is the best type of revenge. This is the Jewish way. We battle our adversaries — Torah law commands that “If someone comes to kill you, be quick to kill him first” — but refuse to succumb to victimhood, vengefulness and hate. It is an attitude that has kept us going throughout generations of suffering. Although the Jewish people have repeatedly been victims of oppression and injustice, we have never allowed ourselves to remain the victim. Because of this mindset the Jewish people have always been able to bounce back from trauma. Many mighty nations have come and gone but we, G-d’s people, have prevailed. The ability to respond to tragedy in this way is truly a blessing from G-d and one that helps us to cope. By tapping in to this response we know that we shall prevail and our morally defunct and godless enemy will be defeated.

Rabbi Levi I. Brackman serves as spiritual leader of the www.myshul.co.uk in London, England

Current the feeling that if this person can die, and that person Life After Terror can die, and this can happen and that can happen... well, then, what exactly is preventing everything from By Jay Litvin happening to this person, he around whom everything else happened? If people are dying, why won’t he?...a black sort of outlook one is handed when all the rules of impossibility and propriety are thrown out. Thus, one starts to feel that death is literally around each and every corner... that whatever is out there that snuffs out life is probably sniffing around for him...” For many terror victims, faith and trust in the very Terror and trauma can, we know from experts like safety of the world, in the very goodness of the world, Dr. Peter Levine and his work on Somatic has been shattered. And while “diplomatic solutions” Experiencing, become imbedded in the bone and tis- are sought to end this possibility for the future, for the sue. It can go right down to the cellular level and be terror victim the past remains the present and is held there, embraced there, entrapped there for a life- moment by moment being projected into tomorrow. time. It can continue to affect our emotional and psy- What can be done? chological responses, shape or reshape our very characters. It can affect how we respond to sounds First, to know and remember. To not be deluded into and sights, fleeting images, and future expectations. the thinking that the past and its effects so quickly heal. The roar of a passing bus, the face of a passerby, the To know that there are thousands of people for whom, smell of burning garbage may, for the terror victim, regardless of new facts on the ground, terror will con- set off a series of uncontrollable responses, some tinue as part of their daily lives. conscious and obvious, some subtle and subter- This realization will bring about a desire to help. ranean, all affecting negatively, often viciously, the And for those who live far from Israel their way will be life and behavior of the “victim”. mostly through money. As they have in the past, so, G- While we tend to think of terror as that moment d willing, will they do in the future: they will donate to when the bus explodes, G-d forbid, or the bullet is help ease the pain — the victims’ and theirs. For the fired, in fact terror can continue its ripple effect, like pain and sorrow of the terror survivor or bereaved is, a shockwave without end, well into the future. There through the unity and bond of one Jewish soul to the is no “road map” to the end of terror for those who other, their pain. And from their pain, they will seek to are already its victims. There is no hudna, no truce, soothe the pain of the other, their fellow Jew in Israel. no peace for the mothers and fathers, the children, Donating money, while only one part in the healing the bereaved who continue to suffer as if the attack of survivors and the bereaved, is good. It helps ease the was yesterday or will, in their psyche, be again financial stress for families and allows grieving to tomorrow. occur without infringement from the electric bill and For many of them, the world was turned upside bank overdraft. For some, it allows healing to occur in down and inside out in an instant. In a literal flash. a room now cooled by a new air conditioner. It enables The goodness of the world became like a childhood a wedding, a bar mitzvah or summer camp for children. fantasy of better days gone by, replaced by the ever- Later, it may allow for a career to be pursued, a possi- present fear of unexpected evil, a questioning of the bility for a future dream that can temper the horror of a very foundation upon which the world stands, upon sorrow-laden past. For many, it puts food on the table which trust and faith once claimed their place. Yes, and clothes on the children. the sun will still rise in the morning, but there is no More than that, the money serves as a physical longer any assurance of what the dawn will bring. demonstration of the caring of others, even those thou- Writer and orphan David Eggers, writing about sands of miles away, who recognize and join in the suf- the sudden loss of both his parents describes it this fering and seek to alleviate it any way they can. It is a way: “...the unshakeable feeling one gets, one thinks, fledgling demonstration that the world continues to be after the unthinkable and unexplainable happens — populated by good people, a gesture that helps rebuild

bones and psyche, we can over time, through our words current and behavior, generosity and kindness, be part of rebuilding the fractured world of those afflicted by ter- Life After Terror ror and thereby become a healing community of Jews. We may not be able to take away the fear (and reality) that, as Eggers says, “death is around every corner,” but we are fully able to demonstrate that so, too, is life. faith in the continued goodness and generosity of the world. It is a building block, a ray of light fighting its Jay Litvin lives in Rehovot, Israel, and is director of Chabad's way through the thick darkness of inexplicable, inde- Terror Victims Project; he also serves as Medical Liaison for scribable tragedy and fracture. It helps heal. Children of Chernobyl, which airlifts children out of the areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. As a regular And for those of us in Israel, close at hand — the contributor to Chabad.org Magazine, Jay has gained a global neighbors, friends, and colleagues, the fellow shop- following for his moving portrayals of his inner life drawing on pers and bus travelers, the social workers and bank his experiences in battling illness and raising his seven children. clerks — there is another challenge. While the goal Jay welcomes your questions and responses to is articles, [email protected] remains the same — to help rebuild trust and faith in the world, to recreate a sense of safety and kindness About the artist: Sarah Kranz has been illustrating maga- — the method is different. zines, webzines and books (including five children’s books) since graduating from the Istituto Europeo di Design, Milan, in 1996. For we must, in our very presence and behavior, Her clients have included The New York Times and Money exude the kindness and concern, so necessary and Marketing Magazine of London precious, that will demonstrate in our smallest acts the goodness and love inherent in our world. We can, The content on this page is produced by Chabad.org, and is copy- through our everyday gestures of concern and gen- righted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this tleness, of politeness in action and generosity of spir- article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with our copyright policy it, become a window of a different reality — one that stands in stark opposition and contrast to the hate and violence that has overpowered and over-shad- owed a terror victim’s reality. And in a deeper, more subtle way, this challenge rests not only with the immediate neighbors of the victims of terror, but with all of us, their fellow inhabitants of earth. For our every act of kindness, our every gesture of faith and trust, reverberates through the global community of which we ultimate- ly are all part. We must, in these days of fear, uncertainty and anxiety, find within ourselves and radiate every ves- tige of faith and optimism and goodness of which we are able. And we must do it consistently, and over the long haul. The trauma of terror can not only be overcome, but transcended. Once broken, the heart and the spirit have the potential to mend and be even stronger than before, more loving and compassionate than before, more filled with faith and connection. But healing and recovery does not happen quickly. And while we may not be therapists and psychol- ogists able to coax the impact of trauma from the

Story heavier he starts eating. Praying in Kharkov Is it for later? Or for his wife and kids? I dare By Shmuel Marcus not ask. Three rows behind me a woman takes a clean empty jar out of her bag. She’s not embarrassed, she’s not alone. The entire room goes silent, bags open and jars close.

One day an elderly man walked into the shul. I lived in Kharkov, Ukraine for one year His one hand held a wooden cane, the other when I was twenty years old. I was one of four somehow was suddenly on my shoulder. young Rabbinical students from a Brooklyn Yeshiva who spent a year in modern USSR. “Can you davven?” he whispered. We weren’t worried. After all, what was there “Yes.” I answered. to worry about? Communism was over, and I “Can I watch?” had winter gloves. I prayed in Hebrew and he stood listening to every word. The old choral synagogue in Kharkov is I finished one chapter and he begged for located on 12 Pushkinskaya Street. In the more. Then he asked me, “Was that one for 1940’s she stood watching as the Nazis came me?” and left, her prayers went unanswered. After The chief Rabbi of Levov was killed in World the war she became a sports center, the holy War I. walls could only cry. His son Nochum was only eight. Recently, in 1992, the shul was given back to her people. True, the sanctuary was Nochum started telling me the Aleph Bet he destroyed in the name of construction, but she remembered. was ours again. That Friday night the locals Only a few Holy letters and sacred memories came to pray in the dark, the faithful danced in would outlive communism. the cold. It was ours again. Years later, in the old shul in Kharkov, Today, 12 Pushkinskaya Street is a func- Nochum thanks me in tears. He finally saw his tioning shul. On Shabbat the shul is full with father pray again. men and women, song and prayer. Children in white shirts and little ties run to kiss the Torah. From Chicken Kiev, by Shmuel Marcus (to purchase the book But 12 Pushkinskaya Street is no ordinary email [email protected]) shul. My friends had told me about it. I saw it Drawing by Chassidic artist Hendel Lieberman once, twice, I saw it every week. The content on this page is produced by Chabad.org, and is copy- I’m sitting up front near the old man in the righted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this brown hat. The prayers are done and the rabbi article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you com- makes Kiddush. Everyone waiting gets a plate ply with our copyright policy of food and a small challah. The man near me first licks the bottom of the challah roll and slips it into his pocket, now breathing a little

Question the Torah as a “one-time-only” command from on high; in such cases, one must follow that instruction even if What is Prophecy? it runs contrary to a universal Torah command. A prophecy, however, will never contain a new mitzvah, AskMoses.com nor the annulment of a mitzvah; a prophet claiming such a communication from G-d proves himself a false prophet. Thus, Isaiah was sent to the messianic era that is the culmination and reward of our efforts. Jeremiah fore- told the destruction of the Holy Temple. Jonah was dis- patched to Ninveh to warn its inhabitants that the city What is a prophet? will be destroyed unless they repent their evil ways. Samuel carried G-d’s message to King Saul to wage A prophet is an individual who receives a message war against Amalek, while Elijah was sent to conduct from G-d to transmit to the people. Maimonides the famous on Mount Carmel (even though that tem- counts it as one of the 13 foundations of the Jewish porarily violated the Torah prohibition against offering faith that “G-d communicates to mankind through sacrifices outside the Holy Temple). But no prophet prophecy.” ever said anything that was the product of his own What’s in these messages? mind. They spoke and acted only at G-d’s behest. The purpose of the messages communicated to How does one become a prophet? individual prophets is not to reveal the purpose of First, one has to make oneself worthy. Maimonides existence or to legislate the laws of life. That’s con- lists the following criteria: one must be wise, and of a tained in the and its 613 mitzvot (commandments), clear and lucid mind; of impeccable character, and which G-d communicated to us all together at Mount utterly in control of one’s passions and desires; of a Sinai. Once G-d got the message across with the rev- calm and joyous constitution; one must shun materiali- elation at Sinai, He pretty much backed off and left ty and the frivolities of life, devoting oneself entirely to it to us to study it and explain it. The Talmud even knowing and serving G-d. relates a case in which Torah sages were debating a point in Torah law and a heavenly voice rang out in All this, however, does not bring on prophecy — it support of the minority view; the sages were unim- only makes one worthy to receive it. The actual recep- pressed, and silenced the voice by quoting the tion of prophecy comes from Above, by Divine elec- Torah’s own statement about itself — “it is not in tion. While “prophecy schools” in ancient Israel would heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12). train aspiring prophets to become conducive to receiving a prophecy, via extensive meditation and a rigorous The purpose of prophecy is to make course cor- spiritual lifestyle, the student-prophet could not cause a rections in the direction of Jewish society, or in the prophecy to come to him through specific actions. direction of society at large. Sometimes a prophet Much like uncontrolled ESP or psychic powers, comes to foretell the future, when G-d deems it nec- prophecy would manifest itself suddenly, without any essary that we should know what’s to come in order warning signals or preparation on the part of the to encourage us in our mission in life. Other times prophet. What happened was that G-d chose a person to it’s to remind us that we’re slacking off on what He speak to and through — not the other way around. expects from us, and warn us of the dire conse- quences this will bring if we don’t get our act togeth- How are prophets verified? er. Sometimes, G-d used a prophet to deliver private Firstly, the person has to be known as one possess- messages to an individual (particularly to an impor- ing the above attributes. Then, if a person of such cal- tant individual whose actions would have a wide- iber announces that he received a prophecy, it is spread effect, such as a king). A prophet may also assumed that he is telling the truth. But the ultimate test convey a specific instruction that is not contained in is the accuracy of his prophesies: if what he said will come to pass actually comes to pass, we know that he

Question What is Prophecy? Who were the prophets? There were thousands of prophets in Jewish history (we also know of at least one non-Jewish prophet, ). The overwhelming majority of them, however, conveyed messages that were specific to the time and circumstances they were sent to address. Their prophesies, therefore, were not recorded for posterity, and even their names are unknown to us. Many of these prophets is a prophet; if not, we know that he is not. were ordinary citizens — students, craftsmen, farmers (This, however, applies only to the prediction of a — who, by virtue of their righteousness and heightened positive event, since once a Divine promise of good sensitivity to spirituality, were selected by G-d to is communicated through a prophet it is never receive a prophecy. Often they didn’t know what hit retracted; however, if the prophet warns, in the name them, only to realize later they’d been hit by prophecy. of G-d, that a calamity is destined to befall, and it Some, like Jonah, knew what it was, but tried to run does not occur, this does not disprove his prophecy, from it (a Torah prohibition, as per above). since a decree of evil can be removed through prayer The Talmud counts 55 “historical” prophets whose and repentance. Of course, simply predicting the prophesies were recorded in the Tanach (Bible) because future without possessing the traits of a prophet does they contain a message relevant to all generations. Most not make one a prophet.) of these were public figures who prophesied frequently What is it like to experience prophecy? and became lifetime leaders of their people. These include the 15 prophets whose words were recorded in Like the transmission of a high-megawatt signal individual books that bear their names: Isaiah, to a low-wattage instrument, prophecy would often Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and twelve lesser ones including overload the mental equipment of the receiver. Amos, Hosea, Nahum and others. The other 40, who Prophecy frequently caused fainting, temporary may or may not have been in prophecy full-time, are insanity, involuntary muscular spasms and seizures. mentioned in various places throughout Tanach, such as Some prophets were capable of receiving the signal Nathan (the Books of Samuel) and Ido (Chronicles). in their sleep, having extremely enigmatic, riddle- Outside of these there were the uncharted number of like dreams which they would decode upon awaken- unrecorded prophetic experiences. King Saul dabbled ing. Prophets did not have the verbal or mental con- in prophecy for a time, but what he was told is versations with G-d depicted in Hollywood films. unknown. The single exception was Moses, who talked to G-d “like a man talking to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Prophecy seems to have been by and large a male experience — 48 of the 55 “historical” prophets were What are the primary rules of prophecy? men, though we cannot know if this reflects the overall Of the 613 commandments of the Torah, a number prophet/prophetess ratio. The seven major prophetesses pertain to prophecy. These include: are: Sarah (wife of Abraham, mother of all Jews; inci- 1) To obey the prophet’s instructions. dentally, G-d told Abraham that “she is your superior in 2) Not to doubt or test G-d’s promises or warnings prophecy”), Miriam (sister to Moses), Deborah (the conveyed by the prophet. only woman among the “Judges”), Chana (mother of Samuel), Avigayil, Chuldah and Esther (of Purim And for the prophet: fame). 3) To personally carry out G-d’s instructions (i.e., Does prophecy exist today? “practice what you preach”). The era of prophecy officially came to an end some 4) Not to suppress a prophecy one receives (as 23 centuries ago. The last generation of prophets were attempted). those who began to prophecy before the First Holy 5) Not to prophecy in the name of other gods Temple was destroyed in 423 BCE, though a number of (even if the content is true). that generation survived the 70-year Babylonian exile and lived to see the building of the Second Temple.

Question What Is Prophecy?

Most famously, Ezekiel prophesied in Babylonia, and three prophets, Chaggai, Zachariah and Malachi, were members of the “Great Assembly” that led the people in the first years of the return from Babylon. Mordechai and Esther were also members of the long-lived generation that mourned the destruction of the First Temple and witnessed the building of the second. With the demise of that generation, “prophecy departed from Israel.” Nevertheless, the principle that “G-d communicates to mankind through prophecy” remains a foundation of the Jewish faith. A lesser form of prophecy, known as ruach hakodesh (divine inspiration), remains the province of the tzaddikim, the righteous men and women of all generations. According to tradition, one of the greatest prophets, Elijah, never died, and will herald the coming of the Moshiach. Moshiach himself is a prophet (“approaching the prophecy of Moses” according to Maimonides), and in the messianic era, prophecy will become a universal phenomenon — in the words of the prophet Joel, “And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophecy; your elders shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” And in a letter to the Jews of Yemen, Maimonides recounts an age-old tradition that “shortly before the messianic era, prophecy will return to the Jewish people.”

Based on a discussion posted on www.askmoses.com Painting by chassidic artist Zalman Kleinman.

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seasons of the soul Thirteen Attributes of FOOTNOTES Mercy: an Elul 1. See Ethics of the Fathers 1:2. In Hebrew, the word Elul forms the acronym for each of three Anthology biblical phrases, alluding to the three “pillars”: 1) “I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me” (ani ledodi v’dodi li — Song of Songs 6:3) refers to the bonding of the soul to G-d through prayer; 2) “A man to his fellow and gifts to the poor” (ish lerei’eihu umatanot la’evyonim — Esther 9:22) — a reference to charity; Though summer still lingered and the day was 3) Elul’s role as a “city of refuge” (see ) is alluded to in the bright and sunny, there was a change in the air. One verse, “...has caused it to happen to him, I shall establish for smelled already the Elul-scent; a teshuvah-wind was you...” (inah le’yado vesamti lach — Exodus 21:13); this is a reference to Torah Study, which likewise serves as a “city of blowing. Everyone grew more serious, more refuge” for the spiritually malaised soul(Talmud, Makot 10a). thoughtful... All awaited the call of the shofar, the Elul also is an acronym of “[And G-d shall circumcise] your first blast that would announce the opening of the heart and the heart [of your children]” (et levavcha ve’et levav gates of the month of mercy...” — Deuteronomy 30:6) — a reference to the atmosphere of teshuvah (repentance) which pervades the month. So describes the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the onset of the month of Elul in the town of Lubavitch. A month of trepi- dation on account of the approaching “Days of Awe” of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; but also a gentle month, softened by the reconciliatory prophesies of the “Seven of Consolation” read during this time and the vibes of divine compassion that linger from the time that Moses spent the whole of Elul on the summit of Mount Sinai procuring G-d’s wholehearted forgiveness for Israel’s first sin. As the last month of the year, Elul is a time for review and stocktaking for the closing year, as well as a time of preparation for the coming year. Throughout the month, at the close of the weekday morning prayers, the shofar (ram's horn) sounds its call to teshuvah (repentance), urging us to ready ourselves for the divine coronation and universal day of judgment on Rosh Hashanah, and to buttress the "three pillars" upon which the world stands -- Torah, service of G-d, and acts of kindness -- by increasing in study, prayer and charity.1 In our letters to family and friends we bless them, Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." And in the last week of Elul, we rise at an early hour to recite the solemn Selichot prayers. Teshuvah is in the air.

Seasons of the soul and only special people and select individuals. So, too, G-d on the Campaign Trail by analogy, the month of Elul is when we meet G-d in the field... (Likkutei Torah, Re’ei 32b; see also Likkutei Sichot, vol II p. 632 ff.) While this description bears some resemblance to a politician running for office in a modern democracy, there are, of course, some significant differences. Such as the fact that a campaign promise by G-d is far more A US president has four years between elections, likely to be fulfilled than one that is made by your typ- a congressman needs to renew his mandate every ical office-seeker. two years, while dictators stay in office for as long as they can keep their generals happy (or terrified). Last week, we entered the month of Elul. The king But G-d is up for reelection every year. is in the field; if you need something from Him, now’s the time to ask. Every Rosh Hashanah, we crown G-d king. According to the Kabbalists, without this annual coronation (effected by our resolve to submit to the By Yanki Tauber, [email protected]; based on the divine sovereignty, our recitation of the “verses of teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, www.therebbe.org kingship” included in the special prayers of the day, and our sounding of the shofar), G-d’s “kingship” would not be renewed, and the whole of creation - which derives from the divine desire to be king - would cease to exist. (We don’t usually think of kings requiring elec- tion to their office, but that’s because the word “king” is a rather imprecise translation of the Hebrew word melech. A melech, by definition, is a sovereign whose kingship derives from a people’s freely chosen desire to submit to his rule. A king who reigns by force or exploitation is not a melech but merely a moshel or “ruler”.) How does G-d prepare for His annual reelection? Does He just sit up there in His “palace” trusting in our good sense to proclaim Him king once again? Does He go after the vote, mingling with the mass- es, pressing the flesh, kissing babies? Here’s how Chassidic master Rebbe Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), describes the month of Elul - the month that precedes the divine coronation on Rosh Hashanah: It is like a king who, before he enters the city, the people of the city go out to greet him in the field. There, everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him; he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all. And when he goes to the city, they follow him there. Later, however, after he enters his royal palace, none can enter into his presence except by appointment,

ed the mountain 40 days later, on the 17th of Tammuz, he found the people of Israel worshipping Seasons of the soul a calf of molten gold. Upon witnessing Israel’s betrayal of her marriage with G-d, Moses destroyed A Haven in Time the “marriage contract,” smashing the Tablets of the Covenant upon which G-d had inscribed the Ten Commandments, which he carried in his hands. After destroying the Golden Calf, punishing the idolaters and rebuking the errand nation, Moses returned to the summit of Sinai for a second 40 days Three cities you shall set aside within the land... — from the 19th of Tammuz to the 29th of Av — to and they shall be for all murderers to which to plead on behalf of his people for G-d’s forgiveness. escape. This is the murderer who shall flee there On the 29th of Av, G-d said to Moses: and live: one who strikes his fellow unintentional- Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first; ly... and I shall inscribe upon these tablets the words Deuteronomy 19:2-4 which were on the first tablets, which you broke. The unintentional murderer is not innocent. He Be ready for morning. In the morning, you shall is guilty of criminal negligence — negligence ascend Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me which has resulted in the destruction of a life. But there, on the top of the mountain (Exodus 34:1-2). for his sake, G-d commanded that “cities of Moses’ third 40 days on Mount Sinai included the refuge” should be established in the Holy Land. whole of the month of Elul and the first ten days of Cities to serve him both as a haven and as a place Tishrei. In this period, G-d revealed to Moses the of punitive exile; cities to which he is banished to secret of the “Thirteen Attributes of Divine Mercy” atone for his deed as well as to rebuild his life which are the source of the power of teshuvah — the anew. power to rectify past wrongs and failings and even There are cities of refuge in space, and there is exploit them as a force for previously unimaginable a city of refuge in time. And while the spatial achievements. cities of refuge await the coming of Moshiach and Ever since, the month of Elul has been the “city of the restoration of Torah law in the Holy Land to be refuge” for all “inadvertent murderers” who seek the reinstated, the haven in time which G-d has estab- protection of its walls. For every transgression lished for us in the calendar is there for us at all against the will of G-d is, by definition, an act of times, under all conditions. “inadvertent murder”: murder, because one has vio- This haven in time is the month of Elul — the lated the essence and raison d’être of one’s own life; last month of the Jewish year and the month inadvertent, because man is inherently and intrinsi- which leads to the “Days of Awe” that commence cally good, and all evil deeds result only from a lapse the new year. This is alluded to in one of the vers- of awareness of one’s own true will. In the words of es which discuss the law of the cities of refuge — our sages, “A person does not sin unless a spirit of “And for one who did not lie in wait [to kill pre- insanity has entered into him.” meditatedly], but G-d has caused it to happen to The twenty-nine days of Elul offer an isle in time, him, I shall establish for you a place to which he a sanctum for introspection and self-assessment, for can flee” (Exodus 21:13). Master Kabbalist Rabbi atonement and rehabilitation. It is a place to which Isaac Luria points out that the first letters of the we might flee from our subjugation to the struggles central words in this verse, enah le’yado vesamti and entanglements of material life to audit our spiri- lach, spell the word “Elul.” tual accounts and restore the sovereignty of our true The History of Elul will over our lives. It is a month in which to resolve On the morning of Elul 1, 2448 (1313 bce) that, henceforth, no accidental iniquity will mar the Moses ascended Mount Sinai, for the third time in quintessential goodness of our soul. as many months. Moses’ first ascent was on the Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, 7th of Sivan, a day after the revelation at Sinai, to www.therebbe.org; adapted by Yanki Tauber, receive the Torah from G-d; but when he descend- [email protected]

Current | Story | Question | Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance 10 www.Chabad.org seasons of the soul The Month of the Bride something that is infinitely greater than ourselves, and our own response is likewise “larger than life,” bearing little relation to who and what we are in our natural state. On the other hand, the love we generate ourselves may be less magnificent and glorious, but it is a I am to my beloved, and my beloved is to me deeper and truer love. It is an integral love — a love Song of Songs 6:3 that comes from within and expresses our deepest In every relationship, there are times when the yearnings. And when we awaken such a love in our- “male” or giving partner takes the initiative, and selves, G-d responds in kind, showing us an integral, times when the “female” or receiving partner is the intimate love — a love that embraces us as we are, first to express her feelings and thereby stimulate the rather than transporting us to sublime yet alien peaks feelings of her partner. of spirituality and transcendence. The question of who takes the initiative has a pro- The Acronym found effect on the nature of the relationship. For The month of Elul is a time of special closeness though the end result is that both of them express between the Divine Groom and His bride Israel. This their love for each other, the initiating partner deter- is alluded to by the fact that, in Hebrew, the first let- mines the nature of the other’s response. When ini- ters of the verse “I am to my beloved and my beloved tiated by the giving partner, the response stimulated is to me” (ani ledodi v’dodi li) spell the word Elul. in the recipient will likewise be a “masculine” It is significant that the acronym for Elul comes response; when initiated by the recipient, the giver’s from the verse that describes a love that is initiated response will also be of a “feminine” nature, for it by the bride, rather than the verse in which the initial will be influenced and shaped by the source of its show of love comes from the groom. For despite its arousal. designation as a time for special closeness between In Song of Songs, which explores the relationship G-d and man, Elul is a most “ordinary” month, con- between G-d and Israel through the metaphor of the spicuously devoid of festivals and holy days. In other love between a bride and her groom, we find expres- words, Elul is not a time in which we are “lifted up” sions of both male-initiated and female-initiated from our daily routine to the more spiritual state of a love. In one verse, the narratress proclaims, “My festival day; rather, it is a time in which we remain in beloved is to me, and I am to him” (Song of Songs our natural environment as material beings inhabit- 2:16). In another, she says, “I am to my beloved, and ing a material life. my beloved is to me” (ibid. 6:3). For the month of Elul, whose astral sign is the sign There are times when the Almighty showers us of betulah (“virgin”), is the month of the bride. Elul with love and kindness, arousing in us a response in is a time when the initiative comes from our side of kind (“My beloved is to me, and I am to him”). But the relationship, and the divine response to our love there are also times in which we take the initiative, is one that relates to us as finite, material beings and expressing our love and devotion to Him despite His embraces our natural self and personality. apparent distance from us, thereby awakening in Him His love for us (“I am to my beloved, and my Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, beloved is to me”). www.therebbe.org; adapted by Yanki Tauber, It may be argued that the divinely-initiated love [email protected] produces a higher and loftier love than the love which is initiated by ourselves. When the initial arousal comes from G-d, it is a show of love that is as infinite and sublime as its source, arousing in us feelings that we could never have produced ourselves. Nevertheless, such a love cannot be said to be truly our own. We have been overwhelmed by

Seasons of the soul A similar thing happens when you bless someone. How to Grant a Blessing The potential has been there all along, but saying it makes it real. Your friend needs the blessing because he has reached a limit of what he can make real of his spiritual resources on his own. With your caring and You are ushered into a small room where time has compassion, with your love and joy, you bond with stood still for centuries. An oil lamp flickers on the him to make an , thereby broadening the channels table; holy tomes cover every inch of the walls. A and unsnarling the lines of communication between tzaddik with piercing eyes and a gentle voice pro- his soul and his body, between his heaven and his nounces the magic formula. earth. That’s the picture that comes to mind when we Of course, being a holy person increases your think about receiving a blessing. Blessings are other- blessing-giving powers. But the only thing you real- worldly things, resorted to when some drastic inter- ly need is a loving heart. And a nice big smile. vention is needed in our lives. May you all be inscribed in the Book of Life for a The truth is much simpler and much more pro- year of goodness, health and prosperity. found. Everyone needs blessing, each and every moment of his or her life. And everyone can bestow By Yanki Tauber; based on the teachings of the a blessing. [email protected] Chassidic teaching explains that the word berachah (blessing) literally means “drawing The content on this page is produced by Chabad.org, and is copy- down.” Everything in life — health, prosperity, joy, righted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed wisdom, peace of mind — needs to be drawn down this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that from its potential, spiritual state into the actuality of you comply with our copyright policy our physical existence. It’s all there — spiritually we are all healthy, wealthy and wise. The “problems” we experience in life are basically a matter of something gone wrong in the wiring. We’re not connecting; our spiritual and physical selves are having trouble com- municating. The solution? Bestow a blessing. Here’s how it works. Let’s say that your friend Chaim is experiencing financial difficulties. So you put your arm around his shoulder and say: “Chaim! May G-d grant you the money that you need!” By saying these words sincerely, with warmth and love and joy, you’ve blessed him. You’ve rotter-rootered that clogged supply line, opening up the flow. Just like that? Just like that. We’ve all had the experience of hearing someone else give voice to an idea or describe a course of action, and suddenly realizing that we’ve been carry- ing this idea or action around in our own minds for the longest time. But until that person verbalized it, it was trapped inside our heads. Although we “had” it, we couldn’t do it or even consciously think it. We didn’t have the words for it, so it wasn’t real to us yet.

PARSHAH in a nutshell Shoftim Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 Torah Reading for Week of August 24-30, 2003

Moses instructs the people of Israel to appoint judges and law-enforcement officers in every city; “Justice, justice shall you pursue,” he commands them, and you must administer it without corruption or favoritism. Crimes must be meticulously investigated and evidence thoroughly examined — a minimum of two credible witnesses is required for conviction and punishment. In every generation, says Moses, there will be those entrusted with the task of interpreting and applying the laws of the Torah. “According to the law that they will teach you, and the judgement they will instruct you, you shall do; you shall not turn away from the thing that they say to you, to the right nor to the left.” Shoftim also includes the prohibitions against idolatry and sorcery; laws governing the appointment and behavior of a king; and guidelines for the creation of “cities of refuge” for the inadvertent murderer. Also set forth are many of the rules of war: the exemption from battle for one who has just married, built a home, planted a vineyard or is “afraid and soft-hearted”; the requirement to offer terms of peace before attacking a city; the prohibition against wanton destruction of something of value, exemplified by the law that forbids to cut down a fruit tree when laying siege (in this context the Torah makes the famous statement “For man is a tree of the field”). The Parshah concludes with the law of Eglah Arufah - the special procedure to be followed when a person is killed by an unknown murderer and his body is found in a field - which underscores the responsibility of the community and its leaders not only for what they do but also for what they might have prevented from being The content on this page is produced by Chabad.org, and done. is copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with our copyright policy

verts just words.

Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land the L-rd your G-d is giving you.

Shoftim This is followed by prohibitions again idolatrous trees and Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 monuments, and offering a blemished animal to G-d. Torah Reading for Week of August 24-30, 2003 Idolatry is to be punished by death, but as with all crimes, a conviction is to be brought only upon the testimony of two witnesses.

The Torah reading called “Judges” (Shoftim) opens with The courts and judges are also invested with the authority the command to appoint “judges and law enforcement to interpret and decide all matters of Torah law:: officials for yourself in all your city-gates that the L-rd your G-d is giving you, for your tribes, and they shall If a matter eludes you in judgment, between judge the people with righteous judgment. blood and blood, between judgment and judgment, or between affliction and affliction, words You shall not pervert justice; you shall not of dispute in your cities, then you shall rise and show favoritism, and you shall not take a bribe, go up to the place the L-rd your G-d chooses. for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and per- And you shall come... to the judge who will be in

Commentary member of the tribunal chooses to argue in favor of the accused ? In such a case, says Torah law, the accused cannot be convicted and must be exonerated by the JUDGES AND OFFICERS YOU SHALL PLACE AT ALL YOUR CITY-GATES... court. (DEUTERONOMY 16:18) The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains the rationale behind this law as follows: No The human body is a city with seven gates — seven portals to the outside man is so utterly evil that there is nothing to be said in his defense. There is world: the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth. Here, too, it is always some explanation, some justification, some perspective from which the incumbent upon us to place internal “judges” to discriminate and regulate underlying goodness of his soul can be glimpsed. This does not mean that he is what should be admitted and what should be kept out, and “officers” to going to be found innocent, in the legal sense, by a court of law: at times the enforce the judges’ decisions... “mitigating circumstances” result in a verdict of acquittal; at times, they do not. (Siftei Kohen) But if not a single member of the court perceives the “innocent side” of the person standing accused before them, this a court that obviously has very little JUDGES AND OFFICERS YOU SHALL PLACE AT ALL YOUR CITY-GATES... (16:18) understanding of who he is and what he has done. Such a court has disqualified Do not judge alone, for no one can judge alone but the One. itself from passing judgment on him. (Ethics of the Fathers 4:8)

Monetary matters are decided by a court of three judges... capital crimes by YOU SHALL NOT TAKE A BRIBE, FOR BRIBERY BLINDS THE EYES OF THE WISE AND a tribunal of twenty-three judges... From where is this derived? For it is PERVERTS THE WORDS OF THE JUST (16:19) written (Numbers 35:24-25): “And the community shall judge... and the As soon as [the judge] accepts a bribe from [a litigant], it is impossible for him community shall save” — we need a community of judges arguing to con- not to be favorably disposed towards him. vict the accused, and a community of judges arguing to exonerate him. Thus (Rashi) we have twenty (a “community” indicating a minimum of 10, as per Numbers 14:27). A conviction requires a majority of two (as per Exodus A person once brought Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha the “First Shearings” (one of 23:2), and a court of law cannot have an even number of judges; thus we the 24 gifts given to a Kohen). Said Rabbi Ishmael to him: “Where are you need twenty-three judges (22 so that there should be a majority of 2 over the from?” Said he: “From this-and-this place.” Said Rabbi Ishmael: “And from 10 “saving” judges, and another judge so that the court should not be even- there till here there was no kohen to whom you could give it?” Said he: “I have numbered). a matter of litigation, and I said to myself: as I’m coming here, I’ll give it to (Talmud, Sanhedrin 2a-b) you.” Under Torah law, capital crimes are tried by a tribunal of 23 judges called a Rabbi Ishmael refused to accept it from him, and said to him: “I am disqualified “Minor Sanhedrin.” After hearing the testimony of the witnesses, the judges to serve as a judge in your case.” Instead, he sat two Torah scholars to judge his themselves would split into two groups: those inclined to argue for the case. While still going to and fro [and overhearing the litigation], Rabbi Ishmael acquittal of the accused would serve as his “defense team” and seek to con- said to himself: If he wanted, he could argue thus and thus [to better present his vince their colleagues of his innocence; those inclined to convict would case]. make the case for his guilt. Then the judges would vote. A majority of one Said he: “A curse upon the takers of bribes! I did not accept anything from him. was sufficient to exonerate, while a majority of two was necessary to con- And if I would have accepted it, it would have been something that is mine by vict. rights. Nevertheless, I am inclined in his favor. How much more so one who But what if all twenty-three judges form an initial opinion of guilt? What if accepts a bribe! the evidence is so compelling and the crime so heinous that not a single (Talmud, Ketubot 105b)

is giving you, and you possess it and live there- in, and you say, “I will set a king over myself, like all the nations around me.”

Shoftim You shall set a king over you, one whom the L- Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 rd your G-d chooses; from among your broth- Torah Reading for Week of August 24-30, 2003 ers, you shall set a king over yourself... Only, he may not acquire many horses for him- those days, and you shall inquire, and they will self, so that he will not bring the people back to tell you the words of judgment. Egypt in order to acquire many horses, for G-d said to you: “You shall not return that way any And you shall do according to the word they more.” tell you, from the place the L-rd will choose, and you shall observe to do according to all And he shall not take many wives for himself, they instruct you. lest his heart turn away; and he shall not acquire much silver and gold for himself. According to the law they instruct you and according to the judgment they say to you, you The king should have two copies of the Torah scroll shall do; you shall not divert from the word made for him, one of which should accompany him they tell you, either right or left. constantly “and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the L-rd his G-d, to keep Appointing a King all the words of this Torah and these statutes, to per- form them. So that his heart will not be haughty over When you come to the land the L-rd, your G-d,

Commentary By virtue of three things the world endures: law, truth and peace. (Ethics of the Fathers 1:18) A case once came before Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the Rebbe of The three are one and the same: if the law is upheld, there is truth and there Apta (1755-1825), when he served as a rabbinical judge in the town of is peace. Kosbolov. While the case was underway, he suddenly felt inclined in favor of one of the litigants, though his initial leaning was against him. This sud- (Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 4:2) den change roused his suspicion that something was amiss, and he ordered A judge who judges with absolute truth, becomes a partner with G-d in cre- a halt to the proceedings. Upon investigation, he discovered that someone ation. had slipped a packet of money into his coat. (Talmud, Shabbat 10a) Said the Rebbe of Apta: Although I was totally unaware of the attempt to bribe me, my judgment was affected. How true are the words of the Torah YOU SHALL NOT PLANT FOR YOURSELF AN ASHERAH, ANY TREE, NEAR THE that “bribery blinds the eyes of the wise”! ALTAR OF D (Maayanah Shel Torah) G- (16:21) This verse includes two prohibitions: not to plant an aseirah (idolatrous) tree An impoverished widow once came to the bet-din (court-house) of the great anywhere, and not to plant any tree, or build any Tree on the Temple Mount. sage Rabbi Yehoshua Kutner. Weeping bitter tears, she begged him to sum- (Sifri; Rashi) mon to the court a man she accused of having wronged her. Rabbi Yehoshua summoned the man to appear before the court, but referred To seek to beautify the Holy Temple by planting trees around it is an insult the case to another rabbi, refusing to preside over it himself. “The Torah for- to the holiness of the place, whose beauty derives from itself and not from bids the taking of bribes,” he explained. “Do you think that a bribe is only external “landscaping.” a gift of money? Tears can also be a bribe that ‘blinds the eyes of the wise’ This also explains the Talmud’s statement (Sanhedrin 7a), the the reason — especially the tears of a poor widow.” that the Torah places this law immediately following the law regarding the (Maayanah Shel Torah) appointment of judges, is to teach us that “Whoever appoints an unqualified judge it is as if he planted an asheira near the altar.” Often, we see people appointed to positions of authority because of their external appearance, JUSTICE, JUSTICE SHALL YOU PURSUE (16:20) charm and oratorical prowess, instead of their knowledge, integrity and fear Why does the verse repeat itself? Is there a just justice and an unjust justice? of Heaven... Indeed there is. The Torah is telling us to be just also in pursuit of justice — (Even HaAzel) both the end and the means by which it is obtained must be just. (Rabbi Bunim of Peshischa) BY THE MOUTH OF TWO WITNESSES, OR THREE WITNESSES (17:6) The testimony of two witnesses constitutes absolute proof; in this, two wit- JUSTICE, JUSTICE SHALL YOU PURSUE (16:20) nesses are like a hundred.

aside from the farmer’s produce, shearings and slaughtered cattle; the prohibitions against the various forms of sorcery and superstitions, the duty to obey the prophet, and the setting aside of “Cities of Refuge” for Shoftim someone who kills unintentionally. Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 The stealing of land by surreptitiously moving back the Torah Reading for Week of August 24-30, 2003 boundary marker is strictly forbidden. False witnesses, if refuted through the process of zomemim (i.e., other witnesses testify that they were in another place and could not have witnessed the crime they claim to have his brothers, and so that he will not turn away from the witnessed), are subjected to the punishment they commandment, either to the right or to the left, in would have had inflicted on the accused. order that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his sons, among Israel.” Laws of War

More Mitzvot A Kohen (called the mashuach milchamah, “anointed for battle”) is appointed to the task of preparing the Moses reiterates some of the Israelites’ duties toward people for war. “Hear, O Israel,” he announces to the the Kohanim and the Levites, including the gifts set people, “today you are approaching the battle against

Commentary “You see, whenever a being of flesh and blood is called upon to decide a (Talmud) matter of Torah law, we are confronted with a basic dilemma: How can the human mind possibly determine what is G-d’s will? The do’s and don’ts of Torah are the guidelines by which the Almighty desires that we order our IF A MATTER ELUDES YOU IN JUDGMENT... THEN YOU SHALL RISE AND GO... lives. How is it that the finite and error-prone intellect is authorized to TOTHEJUDGEWHOWILLBEINTHOSEDAYS... (17:8-9) decide such Divine absolutes? Can a person then go to a judge who is not in his days...? This is to teach us “But the Torah itself instructs that the ‘Torah is not in heaven’ but has been that although this judge may not be of the same stature as other judges who given to man to study and comprehend; and that whenever a question or preceded him, you must listen to him, for you have only the judge who lives issue is raised, it is a human being, employing his finite knowledge and in your time... Samuel in his generation is like Yiftach in his generation judgment, who must render a ruling. In other words, when a person puts (Samuel is regarded as the greatest of the prophets, equal to Moses and aside all considerations of self and totally surrenders his mind to serve the Aaron together; Yiftach, who served as Judge in 982-962 BCE, came from Torah, G-d guarantees that the result would be utterly consistent with His a lowly background and was guilty of many failings). will. (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 25b; Rashi) “However,” concluded the Nodah B’Yehudah, “this guarantee only applies to actual events, when a rabbi is called upon to determine what it is that G- d desires to be done under a given set of circumstances; but not if his per- ACCORDING TO THE LAW THEY INSTRUCT YOU AND ACCORDING TO THE JUDG- sonal honor is the only issue at hand. Had you presented me with a relevant MENT THEY SAY TO YOU, YOU SHALL DO; YOUSHALLNOTDIVERTFROMTHE question, I know that I would not have erred, since I approached the matter WORD THEY TELL YOU, EITHER RIGHT OR LEFT (17:11) with no interest or motive other than to serve the will of G-d. But since your Even if this judge tells you that right is left, and that left is right. How much case was merely a hypothetical question designed to mislead me, my mind more so, if he tells you that right is right, and left is left! was just like every other mind, great and small alike — imperfect and (Sifri; Rashi) manipulatable.” Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, known as “The Nodah B’Yehudah” after his work (Told by the Lubavitcher Rebbe) by that name, served as the rabbi of Prague from 1754 to 1793. Once a group of scholars who wished to contest his rabbinic qualifications present- AND IT WILL BE, WHEN HE SITS UPON HIS ROYAL THRONE, THAT HE SHALL ed him with a series of questions in Torah law. These fictitious “cases” were WRITE FOR HIMSELF TWO COPIES OF THIS TORAH ON A SCROLL... (17:18) artfully constructed to be as complex and as misleading as possible, so as to ensnare the rabbi in their logical traps and embarrass him with an incorrect The king has two Torah scrolls: one that is placed in his treasury, and the ruling. other that comes and goes with him. (Talmud; Rashi) The Nodah B’Yehudah succeeded in resolving all the questions correctly — all, that is, but one. Immediately his detractors pounced on him, demon- If the ordinary person needs one Torah scroll, a king needs two: because of strating how his verdict contradicts a certain principle of Torah law. his greatness, he has greater need to be reminded of the higher authority to Said the Nodah B’Yehudah: “I am certain that this case is not actually rele- which he must submit. vant, and that you have invented it in order to embarrass me.” (Yalkut David) When questioned how he could know this with such certainty, he explained:

“Is there who has built a new house and has not yet inaugurated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man inaugurate it.

“Is there a man who has planted a vineyard, Shoftim and has not yet redeemed it? Let him go and Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 return to his house, lest he die in the war, and Torah Reading for Week of August 24-30, 2003 another man redeem it.

“Is there a man who has betrothed a woman your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint; you shall and has not yet taken her in marriage? Let him not be afraid, and you shall not be alarmed, and you go and return to his house, lest he die in the shall not be terrified because of them. For the L-rd your war, and another man take her in marriage.” G-d is the One Who goes with you, to fight for you And finally: against your enemies, to save you.” “Is there a man who is fearful and faintheart- The following are exempted from participating in the ed? Let him go and return to his house, that he battle: should not cause the heart of his brothers to melt, as his heart.”

Commentary of Refuge” it is written: “And when G-d expands your boundaries... you shall add three more cities...” This never yet came to pass, and G-d did not There shall not be found among you... a soothsayer, a diviner of times, one command it in vain. who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, a pithom sorcerer, a (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 11:1-2) yido’a sorcerer, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is an abomination to G-d (18:10-12) WHEN YOU APPROACH THE BATTLE, THE KOHEN SHALL APPROACH AND SPEAK A soothsayer is one who takes his rod in his hand and says [as though to TO THE PEOPLE: “...HEAR,O ISRAEL, TODAY YOU ARE APPROACHING THE BAT- consult it], “Shall I go, or shall I not go?” TLE AGAINST YOUR ENEMIES” (20:2-3) A diviner of times: According to Rabbi Akiva, these are people who deter- These are not your brothers, for if you fall into their hands, they will not mine the times, saying, “Such-and-such a time is good to begin a venture.” have pity on you; this is not like the war of Judah with Israel, of which the The [other] Sages say, however, that this refers to those who “catch the verse states, “And the men, who were mentioned by name, rose up and took eyes” [i.e., they deceive by creating optical illusions]. hold of the captives, and, and clothed all their nakedness from the spoils, One who interprets omens — e.g., bread falling from his mouth, a deer and they dressed them and shod them, and fed them and gave them to drink, crossing his path, or his stick falling from his hand. and anointed them, and led them on donkeys, every feeble one, and they Charmer: One who collects snakes, scorpions or other creatures into one brought them to Jericho, the city of the palms, beside their brothers, and place. they returned to Samaria” (II Chron. 28:15). You, however, are going Pithom sorcerer: The sorcerer raises the spirit of the dead, and it speaks against your enemies; therefore strengthen yourselves for battle. from the sorcerer’s armpit. (Talmud, Sotah 42a; Rashi) Yido’a sorcerer: The sorcerer inserts a bone of the animal called yido’a into his mouth, and the bone speaks by means of sorcery. IS THERE A MAN WHO BUILT A HOUSE... WHO PLANTED A VINEYARD... WHO A necromancer is one who raises the dead spirit upon his membrum, or one BETROTHED A WOMAN... (20:5-7) who consults a skull. [The order in which the Torah lists these actions teaches us] that a person of (Talmud, Sanhedrin 65b) character should first find work that earns him a livelihood, then build himself a house, and after that marry... [not like] the fools who first get married, then, if they can afford it, buy a house, and toward the end of their lives start BE WHOLEHEARTED WITH G-D (18:13) looking for a job or live off charity... Conduct yourself with Him with simplicity and depend on Him, and do not (Maimonides) seek to manipulate the future; rather, accept whatever happens to you with simplicity and then, you will be with Him and to His portion. (Sifri; Rashi) WHEN YOU BESIEGE A CITY FOR MANY DAYS TO WAGE WAR AGAINST IT TO CAP- TURE IT, YOU SHALL NOT DESTROY ITS TREES BY WIELDING AN AX AGAINST THEM, FOR YOU MAY EAT FROM THEM (20:19) AND WHEN G-D EXPANDS YOUR BOUNDARIES, AS HE SWORE TO YOUR FOREFA- One who breaks vessels, tears clothes, demolishes a building, stops a spring THERS, AND HE GIVES YOU ALL THE LAND OF WHICH HESPOKETOGIVETO or disposes of food in a ruinous manner, transgresses the prohibition of Lo YOUR FOREFATHERS... YOU SHALL ADD THREE MORE CITIES FOR YOURSELF, IN Tashchit. ADDITION TO THESE... (19:8-9) (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings 6:10) The Torah attests to the coming of Moshiach... Also, regarding the “Cities

with which work has never been done, [and] that has never drawn a yoke.

And the elders of that city shall bring the calf down to a rugged valley, which was neither Shoftim tilled nor sown, and there in the valley, they Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 shall decapitate the calf... Torah Reading for Week of August 24-30, 2003 And all the elders of that city, who are the nearest to the corpse, shall wash their hands over the calf that was decapitated in the valley. Terms of peace must first be offered to a city, before attacking it. No fruit trees are to be destroyed to build And they shall announce and say: “Our hands siege towers — only non-fruit-producing trees may be did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see. cut down (this is the source of the prohibition of Lo Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have Tashchit, not to wantonly destroy any useful thing). It redeemed, O L-rd, and lay not [the guilt of] is in this context that the Torah makes the famous innocent blood among your people Israel.” And analogy comparing man to “a tree of the field.” so the blood shall be atoned for them.

Egla Arufah (The Law of the Anonymous Murder And you shall abolish the [shedding of] inno- Victim) cent blood from among you, for you shall do what is proper in the eyes of G-d. If a slain person be found in the land which the L-rd your G-d is giving you to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who slew him.

Your elders and judges shall go forth, and they shall measure to the cities around the corpse. And it will be, [that from] the city closest to the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a calf

Commentary

A BODY... LYING IN THE FIELD (21:1) deal with this.” If it is something that, by Divine Providence, one has been made aware of, that means that there is something one can, and must, do to [One] who encounters a met mitzvah is obligated to bury it... What is a met positively influence the end result. mitzvah? The body of a Jew abandoned by the wayside that has no one to (The Lubavitcher Rebbe) bury it... Even a Kohen Gadol (a “high priest” who is forbidden all contact with the dead, even his own parent or spouse) is obligated to become ritu- ally impure and bury it. (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Mourning 3:8)

OUR HANDS DID NOT SPILL THIS BLOOD, AND OUR EYES DID NOT SEE... (21:7) But would it enter one’s mind that the elders of the court are murderers? Rather, [they declare:] We did not see him and let him depart without food or escort. (Talmud, Sotah 45a) The principle behind the law of Eglah Arufah is that a person is also respon- sible for what occurs outside of his domain — outside of the areas where he is fully in control. When a murdered traveler is found out in the field, the elders of the nearest city must go out there and bring the Eglah Arufah to atone for the crime, although it occurred “outside of their jurisdiction”; for it was nevertheless their responsibility to send the traveler off with adequate provision and protection. The same applies on the personal level in all areas of life. A person never has the right to say, “This is outside of my element. I have no obligation to

FROM THE CHASSIDIC MASTERS his original closeness to G-d’s will. We might then have thought that if this safeguard, this place of atonement, was available in the holy THE JUDGE AND THE REFUGEE environment of the land of Israel, it would be all the more necessary outside its borders where it was eas- In the Torah-section of Shoftim (Deuteronomy ier to fall into wrongdoing. And yet only judges and 16:18-21:9) we read of the cities of refuge, to which officers were to be provided beyond the land of a man who had killed accidentally could flee, find Israel’s borders—only the agents of the law, not its sanctuary and atone. The Chassidic masters note that refuge. Shoftim is always read in the month of Elul; for Elul Transcendence or Empathy is, in time, what the cities of refuge were in space. It is a month of sanctuary and repentance, a protected There are two phases in teshuvah, or repentance. time in which a person can turn from the shortcom- There is remorse over what has been done, and com- ings of his past and dedicate himself to a new and mitment to act differently in the future. These are sanctified future. inextricably connected. For the only test of sincere remorse is the subsequent commitment to a better The Lubavitcher Rebbe analyzes an important way of life. To be contrite about the past without feature of the cities: they were only to be found in the changing one’s behavior is a hollow gesture. land of Israel, even though the judges and officers who executed Torah law were to be appointed wher- This the deeper significance of the law that the ever Jews live. Why does the law extend every- city of refuge is found only in the land of Israel. For where, while refuge belongs to the Holy Land? And a man could not atone while clinging to the environ- what does this imply for the month of Elul, our place ment which led him to sin. He might feel remorse. of spiritual refuge in the calendar of the Jewish year? But he would not have taken the decisive step away from his past. For this, he had to escape to the “land A Paradox of Israel,” i.e., to holiness. There, on its sanctified The Midrash Sifri interprets the opening verse of earth, his commitment to a better future could have our Parshah, “You shall set judges and officers in all substance. your gates” to apply to “all your dwelling-places,” Judges, however, could be appointed outside the even those outside Israel. It then continues: One land of Israel. For it is written in the Ethics of the might think that cities of refuge were also to exist Fathers, “Do not judge your fellow-man until you outside the land of Israel. Therefore the Torah uses come to his place.” A court which sits in the land of the restrictive term “these are the cities of refuge” to Israel cannot know the trials and temptations which indicate that they were to be provided only within exist outside, or the difficulties of being loyal to Israel. one’s faith in a place of exile. The land of Israel is a Nonetheless, the Sifri says that someone who land where “the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are always committed accidental homicide outside the land of upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of Israel and who fled to one of the cities of refuge the year.” It is a land of Divine grace. One cannot would be granted sanctuary there. It was the cities judge a man by its standards if that man lives outside themselves, not the people they protected, that were its protection. confined to the land of Israel. So judges had to be drawn from the same envi- The fact that the Sifri initiates a comparison ronment as their defendants. They had not only to between the “judges and officers” and the cities of know what he had done; they had to experience for refuge, indicates that they have a relationship to one themselves the environment which brought him to it. another. It is this: The judges who applied the law Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch (the second Chabad and the officers who executed the sentences, did not Rebbe) was once giving private audiences, when he aim at retribution, but at the refinement of the guilty. interrupted for some time before continuing. It tran- And the aim of the cities of refuge was to impose on spired that a man who had had an audience wanted the fugitive an atoning exile—atonement in the sense the Rebbe’s help in setting right a particularly of a remorse which effaces the crime until he regains

FROM THE CHASSIDIC MASTERS the month of high summer—a time for vacation from study. The opposite should be the case. It is above all degrading act he had done. The Rebbe later said to the time for self-examination, a time to change one’s one of his close disciples that one must discover life. And the place for this is the city of refuge in the some analogous quality in oneself—on however “Holy Land”, which, in the geography of the soul, is refined a level—before one can help someone to a place of Torah. remedy his sin. His interruption of the audiences had Each Jew should set aside Elul, or at least from the been to attempt to find in himself this point from 18th onwards (the last 12 days, a day for each month which he could identify with the sinner. of the year), or at any rate the days when Selichot are It was this principle that lay behind G-d’s com- said, and make his refuge in a place of Torah. mand to Moses when the Israelites had made the A refuge is a place to which one flees: That is, golden calf: “Go, get thee down, for your people where one lays aside one’s past and makes a new have dealt corruptly.” For at that moment, Moses home. Elul is the sublimation of the past for the sake was inhabiting the spiritual heights of Mt. Sinai, nei- of a better future. And it is the necessary preparation ther eating nor drinking, divorced from the world. for the blessings of Rosh Hashanah, the promise of The Israelites were degraded through their sin. But plenty and fulfillment in the year to come. by telling him to “go down” to “your people” G-d created a bond between Moses and the people, on the From Torah Studies (Kehot 1986), an adaptation of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s talks by Britain’s Chief Rabbi, basis of which Moses was able to plead on their Dr.Jonathan Sacks behalf. Three Degrees of Refuge THE HUMAN TREE Although all the cities of refuge were to be in the land of Israel, they were not all in the same territory. For man is a tree of the field There were the three in the land of Israel proper—the Deuteronomy 20:19 Holy Land. Three were in the territories east of the The tree’s primary components are: the roots, Jordan, where “manslaughter was common” which anchor it to the ground and supply it with (Talmud, Makkot 9b). And, in the Time to Come “the water and other nutrients; the trunk, branches and L-rd your G-d will enlarge your borders” three more leaves which comprise its body; and the fruit, which will be provided, in the newly occupied land. contains the seeds by which the tree reproduces This means that every level of spirituality has its itself. own refuge, from the relatively lawless eastern terri- The spiritual life of man also includes roots, a tories to the Holy Land, and even in the Time to body, and fruit. The roots represent faith, our source Come. And this is true spiritually as well as geo- of nurture and perseverance. The trunk, branches and graphically. At every stage of a man’s religious life leaves are the body of our spiritual lives — our intel- there is the possibility of some shortcoming for lectual, emotional and practical achievements. The which there must be refuge and atonement. Even if fruit is our power of spiritual procreation — the he never disobeys G-d’s will, he may still not have power to influence others, to plant a seed in a fellow done all within his power to draw close to G-d. human being and see it sprout, grow and bear fruit. This is the task of the month of Elul. It is a time of Roots and Body self-examination when each person must ask himself whether what he has achieved was all he could have The roots are the least glamorous of the trees achieved. And if not, he must repent, and strive parts, and the most crucial. Buried underground, vir- towards a more fulfilled future. Businessman and tually invisible, they possess neither the majesty of scholar—he who has lived in the world and he who the trees body, the colorfulness of its leaves nor the has spent his days under the canopy of the Torah— tastiness of its fruit. But without roots, a tree cannot both must make Elul a time of self-reckoning and survive. refuge. Furthermore, the roots must keep pace with the It is the way of the Western world to make Elul— body: if the trunk and leaves of a tree grow and

FROM THE CHASSIDIC MASTERS So the tree produces fruit, in which its seeds are enveloped by tasty, colorful, sweet-smelling fibers and spread without a proportional increase in its roots, juices. The seeds themselves would not rouse the inter- the tree will collapse under its own weight. On the est of animals and men; but with their attractive pack- other hand, a profusion of roots makes for a healthi- aging, they have no shortage of customers who, after er, stronger tree, even if it has a meager trunk and consuming the external fruit, deposit the seeds in those few branches, leaves and fruit. And if the roots are diverse and distant places where the tree wants to plant sound, the tree will rejuvenate itself if its body is its seeds. damaged or its branches cut off. When we communicate with others, we employ Faith is the least glamorous of our spiritual facul- many devices to make our message attractive. We but- ties. Characterized by a simple conviction and com- tress it with intellectual sophistication, steep it in emo- mitment to one’s Source, it lacks the sophistication tional sauce, dress it in colorful words and images. But of the intellect, the vivid color of the emotions, or the we should bear in mind that this is only the packag- sense of satisfaction that comes from deed. And faith ing—the fruit that contains the seed. The seed itself is is buried underground, its true extent concealed from essentially tasteless—the only way that we can truly others and even from ourselves. impact others is by conveying our own simple faith in what we are telling them, our own simple commitment Yet our faith, our supra-rational commitment to G- to what we are espousing. d, is the foundation of our entire tree. From it stems the trunk of our understanding, from which branch If the seed is there, our message will take root in out our feelings, motivations and deeds. And while their minds and hearts, and our own vision will be the body of the tree also provides some of its spiritu- grafted into theirs. But if there is no seed, there will be al nurture, the bulk of our spiritual sustenance no progeny to our effort, however tasty our fruit might derives from its roots, from our faith in and commit- be. ment to our Creator. Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, A soul might grow a majestic trunk, numerous and www.therebbe.org; adapted by Yanki Tauber, editor@chabadon- line.com wide-spreading branches, beautiful leaves and lush fruit. But these must be equaled, indeed surpassed, by its roots. Above the surface, there might be much WHAT YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW wisdom, profundity of feeling, abundant experience, copious achievement and many disciples; but if these The incident I’m going to tell you about occurred are not grounded and vitalized by an even greater more than ten years ago, but hardly a week goes by in faith and commitment, it is a tree without founda- which I don’t think about it. tion, a tree doomed to collapse under its own weight. I had popped into a Jerusalem synagogue for min- On the other hand, a life might be blessed with chah (afternoon prayers). A few rows in front of me only sparse knowledge, meager feeling and experi- there was this man, sitting with his four kids. The fel- ence, scant achievement and little fruit. But if its low in front of him had his arm over the back of the roots are extensive and deep, it is a healthy tree: a bench, and the fellow behind him was also disturbing tree fully in possession of what it does have; a tree him in some way. He kept snapping at his kids. What a with the capacity to recover from the setbacks of life; jerk, I thought to myself. Ok, you’re nervous, you’re a tree with the potential to eventually grow and rude, that’s fine, there are lots of nervous and rude peo- develop into a loftier, more beautiful and fruitful ple in these stress-ridden times, but does the whole tree. world have to know it? Fruit and Seed I’m really a live-and-let-live kind of guy, but this fellow was impossible to ignore. His ill-will and dis- The tree desires to reproduce, to spread its seeds content filled the room. Yes, I thought, your kids are a far and wide so that they take root in diverse and dis- rowdy bunch, but do you have to yell at them all the tant places. But the trees reach is limited to the extent time? Why don’t you leave them home if they get on of its own branches. It must therefore seek out other, your nerves so much? more mobile couriers to transport its seeds. At the conclusion of the service, his four kids—the

FROM THE CHASSIDIC MASTERS behind this law as follows: No man is so utterly evil that there is nothing to be said in his defense. There is always some explanation, some justification, some twelve-year old, the nine-year old, the eight-year old perspective from which the underlying goodness of his and the six-year old—stood in a row and recited the soul can be glimpsed. This does not mean that he is mourner’s kaddish. What a jerk, I muttered—mean- going to be found innocent, in the legal sense, by a ing myself of course—my face hot with shame. court of law: at times the “mitigating circumstances” result in a verdict of acquittal; at times, they do not. But if not a single member of the court perceives the Since there’s so much that we’ll never know about “innocent side” of the person standing accused before another person, any attempt to pass judgement on them, this a court that obviously has very little under- him or her seems doomed to failure. In the words of standing of who he is and what has done. Such a court the Talmud, “Do not judge your fellow until you has disqualified itself from passing judgement on him. have reached his place.” What the Talmud is really saying, I suspect, is, “Don’t judge your fellow, ever,” But that’s a lesson for judges. The rest of us have since “his place” is a place where you can never truly neither need or cause to pass judgement on anyone. be. Which is fortunate, because there’s so much that we don’t know. The problem, however, is that there are times and By Yanki Tauber, [email protected]; based on the circumstances in which we have to judge others, or teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, www.therebbe.org at least appoint people to do the job for us. We call these people “judges,” and without them, no society could function. Indeed the Torah instructs, “Judges and officers you shall appoint in all your [city] gates.” But the Torah also sets down numerous rules and regulations which delimit the judge’s power to judge, and ensure that when he does judge, he does so with utmost cau- tion and sensitivity. A case in point is the law of the “indefensible criminal.” This is how it works: Under Torah law, capital crimes are tried by a tribunal of 23 judges called a “Minor Sanhedrin.” After hearing the testimony of the witnesses, the judges themselves would split into two groups: those inclined to argue for the acquittal of the accused would serve as his “defense team” and seek to con- vince their colleagues of his innocence; those inclined to convict would make the case for his guilt. Then the judges would vote. A majority of one was sufficient to exonerate, while a majority of two was necessary to convict. But what if all twenty-three judges form an initial opinion of guilt? What if the evidence is so compelling and the crime so heinous that not a single member of the tribunal chooses to argue in the accused’s favor? In such a case, says Torah law, the accused cannot be convicted and must be exonerated by the court. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains the rationale

S u n d a y Av 26 | August 24 On This Date: Tzemach Tzeddek departs Petersburg (1843) Laws & Customs: Rosh Chodesh observances In 1843, the Interior Ministry of the Czarist government Today is the first of the two Rosh Chodesh ("Head of the convened a rabbinical conference in the Russian capital Month") days for the month of Elul (when a month has 30 of Petersburg, to the end of imposing changes in Jewish days, both the last day of the month and the first day of the communal life and religious practice. Rabbi Menachem following month serve as the following month's Rosh Mendel of Lubavitch (1789-1866, known as the Chodesh). Special portions are added to the daily prayers: "Tzemach Tzeddek" after his Halachic works by that Hallel (Psalms 113-118) is recited -- in its "partial" form -- fol- name) was invited; as a primary figure in the leadership lowing the Shacharit morning prayer, and the Yaaleh V'yavo of Russian Jewry, his compliance was required to lend prayer is added to the Amidah and to Grace After Meals; the legitimacy to the government's proposed "reforms". In additional Musaf prayer is said. Tachnun (confession of the course of the conference, the Tzemach Tzeddek sins) and similar prayers are omitted. was placed under arrest no less than 22 (!) times for his refusal to cooperate. When he finally departed Many have the custom to mark Rosh Chodesh with a fes- Petersburg on the 26th of Av, he had successfully pre- tive meal and reduced work activity. The latter custom is vented the government's disruption of traditional Jewish prevalent amongst women, who have a special affinity with life. Rosh Chodesh -- the month being the feminine aspect of the Jewish Calendar. Links: A Brief Biography; www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=444 Links: The 29th Day; The Lunar Files More on the Tzemach Tzeddek www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=1242 practice shofar blowing; L'David Hashem Ori Some of the special Elul practices (see entries and links for tomorrow, Elul 1) begin on this day. The psalm L'David Hashem Ori (Psalm 27) is recited at the end of the morning W e d n e s d a y Av 29 | August 27 and afternoon prayers (this special addition is recited On This Date: Flight from Liadi (1812) throughout the month of Elul and the High Holiday season, On this date, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, who sup- until Hoshanah Rabbah -- a total of 50 days). And although ported and aided the Czar's army during the Napoleonic the daily shofar sounding of Elul officially begins on the 2nd wars, was forced to flee his hometown from Napoleon's Rosh Chodesh, it is customary to practice sounding the forces which were advancing through White Russia in shofar (ram's horn) on the 1st Rosh Chodesh, introducing their push toward Moscow. After five months of wander- the Elul atmosphere of soul-searching and repentance. ings he arrived in the town of Pyena. There he fell ill and, weakened by the tribulations of his flight and the f r i d a y Elul 1 | August 29 harsh Russian winter, passed away on the 24th of Tevet, 5573 (1812). ROSH CHODESH Links: The Rebbe vs Napoleon On This Date: Moses ascends Sinai for 3rd 40 days http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=2184 (1313 BCE) On the early morning of the 1st of Elul of the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE) Moses ascended Mount Sinai, taking with him the stone tablets he had hewn by divine command T h u r s d a y Av 30 | August 28 (see "On This Date" for yesterday, Av 30), for G-d to re- ROSH CHODESH inscribe the Ten Commandments. On the mountain, G-d On This Date: 2nd tablets hewn (1313 BCE) allowed Moses to "see My back, but not My face" (which Maimonides interprets as a perception of G-d's reality but On the last day of Av of the year 2448 from creation not His essence) -- the closest any human being ever came (1313 BCE), Moses carved, by G-d's command, two to knowing G-d -- and taught him the secret of His "Thirteen stone tablets -- each a cube measuring 6x6x6 tefachim Attributes of Mercy" (Exodus 33:18-34:8). (a tefach, "handbreadth", is approximately 3.2 inches) - - to replace the two divinely-made tablets, on which G-d Moses remained on the mountain for 40 days, until the 10th had inscribed the Ten Commandments, which Moses of Tishrei (Yom Kippur), during which time He obtained G- had smashed 42 days earlier upon witnessing Israel's d's whole-hearted forgiveness and reconciliation with the worship of the Golden Calf. people of Israel following their betrayal of the covenant between them with their worship of the Golden Calf. This Links: The 120-Day Version of the Human Story

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was the third of Moses' three 40-day periods on Mount Sinai in connection with the Giving of the Torah. Ever since, the month of Elul serves as the month of Divine mercy and forgiveness.

Laws & Customs: Rosh Chodesh [see above]; Elul begins As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. As the month of Divine Mercy (see "On This Date" above) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer and charity in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all." Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Links: Elul http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=56537

LIGHT SHABBAT CANDLES BEFORE SUNSET [GO...]

s h a b b a t Elul 2 | August 30 Torah reading: Shoftim (Deut. 16:18 - 21:9) Haftarah: Isaiah 51 (4th of the "Seven of Consolation") Ethics of the Fathers: Chapter 6

On This Date: Shulchan Aruch published (1555) The first printing of the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) authored by Rabbi Joseph Caro (1488- 1575) was completed in the Holy Land on this date in 1555.