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Re'eh / Labor Day / Rosh Hodesh Elul 5779

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Re'eh / Labor Day / Rosh Hodesh Elul 5779 Todah to Today’s Torah Readers: Aden Jeral, Pam Sommers, Dinah Leventhal, Susan Kimmel, and (both interpreting & chanting the Haftarah) Philip Abrams! And daveners Beth Sperber Richie, Larry Goldsmith, Cheryl Hurwitz, & Ben Cohen! Torah: Rishon – Deuteronomy 15:1-6 (page 1440 / 1269 new) Sheni – Deut.15:7-11 Shlishi – Deut.15:12-18 Maftir – Numbers 28:9-15 (page 1210 / 1082 new) Haftarah - Isaiah 54:11-55:5 (page 1604 / 1290 new) Re’eh / Labor Day / Rosh Hodesh Elul 5779 Mazel Tov to Jackie Gran and Aaron Strauss as they welcome new baby Oriana! Mazel Tov to Marie Vanderbilt and Mike Robinson (son of Gerald and Sara) on their Aufruf! Rabbi Jill Jacobs on Deut. 15 (Jewish Lights, 2009) There Shall be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses prepares the Jewish people for his imminent death by recounting the exodus narrative and by reminding the people of some essential divine laws.… Moses’ final instructions…may be read as an exhortation not to be corrupted by newfound power and wealth, but rather to use this new position to establish a just society. “There shall be no needy among you—for Adonai will surely bless you in the land which Adonai your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it if you diligently listen to the voice of Adonai your God, and observe and do the commandment that I command you this day. If there is among you a needy person, one of your brethren, within any of your gates, in your land which Adonai your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother; but you shall surely open your hand unto him[/her/them]”. (Deuteronomy 15:4-8) A striking feature of the Deuteronomy passage is the apparent contradiction between verse four, “There shall be no needy among you,” and verse eleven, “For the poor will never cease from the land.” … Noting the conditional nature of the promise to eradicate poverty “if you diligently listen to the voice of Adonai your God,” most traditional commentators understand the passage as a prediction that the Jewish people will never fully obey the commandments. If we accept that God's promise in this passage relies on a condition that humans can never meet, we encounter at least two problems. First, such an interpretation contradicts a basic principle of rabbinic exegesis: the idea that every word of the Torah has a purpose. Second, this suggestion raises an even more fundamental theological problem. If human beings are to hold ourselves responsible for observing the commandments of the Torah, we need to believe that God, at least, believes that we are capable of following these commandments. It would seem a betrayal of trust for the Torah to set out expectations that God already knows we will not fulfill. Many commentators thus seek an alternative resolution of the apparent contradiction between the assurance that “there shall be no needy among you” and the warning that “the poor will never cease from your land.” Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (the Ramban) writes: “For the poor will never cease from the land" [means] it is impossible that the poor will permanently disappear. [Moses] mentions this because, having assured them that there would be no needy if they observed all of the commandments, he goes on to say, “I know that not every generation, forever, will observe all of the commandments to the point that there is no longer any need for commandments concerning the poor. .” (Ramban's commentary to Deut. 15) With this explanation, Ramban portrays the biblical text as optimistic but realistic. According to his reading of this passage, the Jewish people will generally observe the commandments, but will not always do so perfectly. Even if one generation succeeds in temporarily eradicating poverty, the possibility remains that poverty will resurface in another generation. Thus, the Torah anticipates a perfected world, but it plans for an imperfect one. A common debate among those involved in antipoverty work concerns the relative value of direct service addressing immediate needs, and of advocacy or organizing addressing the need for systemic change. Advocates for direct service argue that the hungry need to be fed today and that the homeless need somewhere to sleep tonight. Those who prefer organizing or advocacy point out that soup kitchens and shelters will never make hunger and homelessness disappear, whereas structural change might wipe out these problems. The Deuteronomic response to this debate is a refusal to take sides, or better, an insistence on both. Rather than advocate exclusively either for long-term systemic change or for short-term response to need, this passage articulates a vision that balances the pursuit of full economic justice with attention to immediate concerns. In this reading, the text in question becomes a charge to work for the structural changes that will eventually bring about the end of poverty while also meeting the pressing needs of those around us. More from R. Jill for Labor on the Bimah 2019 From her Living Wage Tshuvah (Conservative CJLS, 2008): 2) Jewish employers are obligated to treat their workers with dignity and respect. This obligation should include, but should not be limited to, prohibitions against publicly yelling at, mocking, or otherwise embarrassing workers; forbidding employees from speaking their native languages at work; banning all bathroom breaks; changing work hours or adding shifts without advance notice; or making improper sexual comments or advances toward workers. 3) Jewish employers must pay their workers on time, according to an agreed-upon schedule, and may not pay workers with bad checks. Employers must pay workers for the full time worked, including mandatory preparation and clean-up hours. Employers who hire workers through a contractor should make every effort to ensure that these workers are being paid on time. 4) Jewish employers may not knowingly put their employees’ lives at risk by failing to provide appropriate safety equipment and training, or by knowingly forcing workers to work under dangerous conditions. 5) Jewish employers should strive to pay workers a “living wage.” When deciding among the options available, employers should not select a wage level that, while technically considered a living wage (according to a local ordinance, for exam- ple), is so low that employers know that workers will certainly need to take on additio- nal jobs, and/or to endanger their health by working an excessive number of hours. 6) In most cases, unions offer the most effective means of collective bargaining and of ensuring that workers are treated with dignity and paid sufficiently. Jewish employers should allow their employees to make their own independent decisions about whether to unionize, and may not interfere in any way with organizing drives by firing or otherwise punishing involved workers, by refusing workers the option for "card check" elections, or by otherwise threatening workers who wish to unionize. When hiring low-wage workers or engaging contractors who supply low-wage workers, Jewish employers should strive to hire unionized workers when possible. 7) The principle of dina d'malkhuta dina [“the law of the land is (Jewish) law”] obligates Jewish employers to comply with federal labor laws, even when these laws are inconsistently enforced. 8) Jewish employees are obligated to work at full capacity during their work hours, and not to "steal time" from their employers. Jewish union leaders should similarly strive to ensure that workers uphold the halakhic obligations of employees to employers. The ideal worker- employer relationship should be one of trusted partnership, in which each party looks out for the well-being of the other, and in which the two parties consider themselves to be working together for the perfection of the divine world. Rabbi Laura M. Rappaport, in Women’s Torah Commentary, 2000 God enjoins us in Parashat Re’eh to live up to an ultimate vision of joyful inclusiveness: “You shall rejoice before the One your God with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your gates, and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your midst, at the place where the One your God will choose to establish the Divine name” (Deut. 16:11). Re’eh reflects the conceptual ideal of the entire Torah: humanity achieves holiness through the active process of balancing human needs, human desires, and lofty values. We Jews are to break from the ways of other peoples, but not entirely. We are to question common assumptions, yet adhere firmly to traditional holy principles… Clearly, there is no single answer, no single path. Ecclesiastes teaches us that “to everything there is a season” (Eccles. 3:1). For Jews, as well as for feminists, finding the path of truth requires a lifelong search with hearts and minds open wide to life- and God- affirming possibilities. PSALM 27 – for ELUL v. 1 Adonai ori v’ishi mimi irah, Adonai ma’oz chayay mimi efchad? Adonai is my light and my salvation - whom shall I dread? Adonai is the strength of my life - whom shall I fear? v. 4 Achat sha’alti me’et Adonai, otah avakesh: shivti b’veyt Adonai kol y’mei chayay, lachazot b’no’am Adonai u’l’vakeir b’heichalo. I have asked one thing of Adonai, this is what I year for: to dwell in the house of Adonai all the days of my life and to behold the beauty of Adonai and to visit that sacred space. v. 8 Lach amar libi bakshu fanai et panayich Adonai avakesh. My heart speaks to You, Who has beckoned my heart: I seek the face of Adonai.
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