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Shabbat-B'shabbato – Parshat Tetzaveh No 1612: 11 Adar I 5776 (20 February 2016)

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Shabbat-B'shabbato – Parshat Tetzaveh No 1612: 11 Adar I 5776 (20 February 2016) Shabbat-B'Shabbato – Parshat Tetzaveh No 1612: 11 Adar I 5776 (20 February 2016) AS SHABBAT APPROACHES The Secret of the Tamid Sacrifice - by Esti Rosenberg, Head of the Midrasha for Women, Migdal Oz The Torah portions of Terumah and Tetzaveh are a record of a single long statement by the Holy One, Blessed be He, to Moshe. However, there is an important innovation in the second portion. In Terumah the Tabernacle is constructed, including its utensils and its beams, but no people appear. In Tetzaveh, people enter into the Tabernacle. "As for you, bring your brother Aharon closer to you" [Shemot 28:1]. The priests, as the representatives of Bnei Yisrael, enter into the holy area. Human beings wearing holy clothing are given the opportunity to enter the holiest places, with modesty and great care. This is truly remarkable. (The same remarkable phenomenon occurs in our own lives, when we are able to turn to the Creator with our prayers, in a "minor Tabernacle" – a synagogue.) This wondrous phenomenon, where man is able to make direct contact with his Creator intervention, is the secret of the Tabernacle. The Ramban writes: "The secret of the Tabernacle... is that inside it the nation of Yisrael continuously had access to the glory that they viewed at Mount Sinai." The revelation of the Shechina at Mount Sinai was a one-time event. The Tabernacle is a direct continuation of the events at Sinai. It is a place where the Creator of the World continues without a stop to be revealed to His nation. At Mount Sinai the people were afraid to ascend the mountain and directly hear the voice of the Shechina. The Tabernacle gives an opportunity for revelation by the Shechina in such a way that mankind can withstand the glorious event. However, in the Tabernacle the revelation is possible only after the priests have performed their holy labors. What is the secret at the basis of the Tabernacle? Here is what appears in this week's Torah portion: "Raise up a flame constantly" [Shemot 27:20]; "Let Aharon carry the judgement of Bnei Yisrael on his heart before G-d, constantly" [28:30]; "Let it be on his forehead constantly, to bring favor before G-d" [28:38]; "Two one-year-old sheep every day, constantly" [Bamidbar 28:3]. Other Torah portions discuss raising a flame constantly, sacrificing incense constantly, the bread that is constantly on display. The secret of the Tabernacle is its daily repetition. The ability of man to enter into the House of G-d depends on his ability to persist in observing the mitzvot day after day, always seeming as something new – morning, noon, and night. The Holy One, Blessed be He, constantly reveals His Shechina among us as a continuation of the one-time revelation at Mount Sinai, and the nation of Yisrael constantly repeats the service in the Tabernacle and the service of G-d in general. Day after day, again and again. "Bring the first sheep in the morning and bring the second sheep in the evening" [Shemot 29:38], without stopping. Without any pause, every day, mankind responds to the command of the Creator. Rav Amital often quoted the remarkable and concealed Midrash quoted by "Ein Yaakov," where Tana'im discuss what is a good example of a great principle of the Torah. Is it "Love your colleague" [Vayikra 19:18], "Here, Yisrael, Our G-d is One" [Devarim 6:4], or "This is the book of the history of mankind" [Bereishit 5:1]? The dispute ends when Shimon Ben Pazi stands up on his feet and declares, "Bring the first sheep in the morning and bring the second sheep in the evening." The summary of the Midrash is, "The halacha is according to Ben Pazi." The daily persistence in the Tabernacle and in our religious life is the greatest principle of the Torah, this is what leads to the revelation of the Shechina, "Every day - constantly." POINT OF VIEW 1 A Prime Minister and a Master of Mysticism in Prison - by Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, Dean of the Zomet Institute We can have Faith in the Courts The regular readers of this column know that I have often criticized various levels of the Israeli justice system, with respect to matters related to religion and the state and for many nationalistic issues. These issues are intimately linked to existing viewpoints of the judges, and a common claim in my writings and in the opinion of those who agree with me is that the judges of the High Court and of lower levels in the justice system often promote the religion of personal rights at the expense of other values, such as a nationalistic outlook. It is a mistake to think that legal judgements are "mathematical entities" that are hermetically tied to clauses of the law or to legal precedents. This can be seen, for example, in the controversy among the legal experts about the issue of "judgmental activism" – the legacy of the former Chief Justice of the High Court, Aharon Barak. However, in judgements involving criminal, administrative, and civil law, I have a high degree of faith in the existing judges. In these matters I accept the assumption that judgements are objective, without any favoritism, and based on sincere opinion of the judge about the innocence or guilt of the accused. I am writing this article in the context of a number of prominent public figures in Israel who have been convicted of public corruption or other prohibited actions, and who have spent, are spending, or will spend time behind bars. To our sorrow, we have two ministers who have been found guilty, a former President who was convicted, and police commanders (but not, it seems to me, any generals, in spite of various accusations). And this week these previous guilty ones are being joined by a Prime Minister who is surrounded by various corruption scandals and from the other side a "Baba" – a master of mysticism – who is rich in dollars and is surrounded by a large number of followers. We can be thankful that no justice of the Supreme Court has been accused of criminal corruption (although to our sorrow a case is being prepared against the previous Chief Rabbi, who also served as a judge in the religious High Court). In all, the war against corruption, distribution of benefits, and exploitation of governmental power – including sexual relationships – is worthy only of praise, encouragement, and support. This war is much more worthy of support when the accused are high-level public and humanistic figures who often served as role models and objects of jealousy. Problematic Legalistic Elements In spite of the above, I have a feeling of discomfort, a feeling that there is something missing. It seems to me that virtually all the convictions are based on two elements that are faulty from the viewpoint of the halacha (which is called "Hebrew Law"): state's witnesses and plea bargains. And there are even times when these two elements are used together. As a rabbi and as one who yearns as hard as can be for the establishment of a Jewish State with all of the traditional laws, and as one who is a partner in the enterprise of "Techumin," an annual publication of which 35 volumes have already appeared full of dozens and hundreds of articles on the subject of timely halacha and the legal system – I find it problematic to see such regular use of these two legal devices to convict a criminal – devices which are not tolerated in Jewish halacha. Everybody understands that at times there is no alternative to make a choice between one person and another, and to convince one of the partners in crime to testify against a more senior member of the team by offering him immunity. Everybody understands that at times it is better to "grab" the opportunity for a plea bargain instead of putting the system through a long and complex court case, which will also be quite expensive. But even so, the use of these tools is no occasion for legal celebration. It is true that anybody who is even partly familiar with the halachic discussions about "the law of the king" and its connection to the laws of Israel is aware that there is a broad path through which we can indeed 2 accept the laws of Israel and the legal system as an instance of "the law of the king" and "a custom." This concept gives great power to the governmental bodies to make laws and judgmental procedures even without any basis in the Torah, as is written by the Rambam: "Anybody who kills another person without the act being witnessed properly or without having been warned of the punishment beforehand, even if there is one witness, or in the case of a person who hates another one, and who kills him by accident – the King is allowed to have him executed, in order to bring about 'tikun ha'olam' as is necessary for that time... in order to instill fear and to shatter the hands of the evil people in the world." [Hilchot Melachim 3:10]. Does Office of the State's Attorney have Judicial Status? Even if there is a dire need to act, I still feel uncomfortable with the fact that such decisions – plea bargains and state's witness agreements – are in the hands of the State's Attorney and his office and are not in the province of high-level judges. The judges are presented with a "fully prepared dish" and all they can do is to change the relative proportions of the spices to a small degree.
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