PARASHAT BECHUKOSAI – 5776 – KASHRUT POLICY DRASHA Please note: A Drasha is generally not a Halachic discourse. Certain things are said more for effect than specificity. In preparing this Drasha for print, I took the liberty to add footnotes to clarify and flesh out certain issues which were raised by members to me subsequent to the Drasha. In addition, the purpose of posting this Drasha is to share my Kashrut Policy. Consequently, the text version has been edited to contain those elements of the Darsha that speak directly to the policy. Rabbi Friedman. (I began by bringing out a ladder and asking for ten male volunteers (“guys without heart conditions”) to stand at the foot of the ladder. I then climbed the ladder, and without warning, fell backwards into their arms) Keep that visual in your mind… Last week, we read a verse at the end of the Tochacha, the Divine Admonition, And I will remember My covenant) וְ זָכַרְ תִּ י אֶ ת בְּרִ יתִ י יַﬠֲקוֹב - וְאַ ף אֶ ת בְּרִ יתִ י יִ צְ חָ ק - וְ אַ ף אֶ ת בְּ רִ י תִ י אַ בְ רָ הָ ם אֶ זְ כֹּ ר :which reads with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham I will remember…) While Rashi provides an answer to why the name of Jacob is spelled with an extra letter “Vav,” today I want to .the Lubliner Rav ,ז"ל ,share with you the answer of Rav Meir Shapiro We are taught that each of the Avot (forefathers) had unique dominant Midot (attributes). Avraham’s Midah was Chesed (lovingkindness). Yitzchak’s Midah was Avodah (service/prayer). Yaakov’s Midah was Torah. Once upon a time, Jews - despite the bitter travails of Galut (exile), of expulsions, of massacres, of pogroms – managed to remain committed to all three: they were Baalei Chesed, givers, expressing the Midah of Avraham; they remained regular shul-goers, the Midah of Yitzchak; and were Yoshvei Batei Midrash, careful to establish and maintain consistent times for Torah study, the Midah of Yaakov. In every town in Europe there were Chevrei Mishnayot - groups of people who gathered daily to study the Mishna – and in every city throughout the Middle East, men gathered to study at the feet of the local Chacham. ( ְ ו ָז ַ כ רְ תִּ י) Rav Shapiro explained our verse to mean that when the Jews would be in Galut, Hashem would remember that they continued to perpetuate the Midah of Yaakov – they clung to Torah study; they learned it and spread its teachings throughout the nation. it would have been in – ְ ו ָז ַ כ רְ תִּ י אֶ ת בְּרִ יתִ י יַﬠֲקוֹב– And if, in such a time, Hashem would have decided to redeem us the merit of Yaakov, and the merit of Torah. But alas, we were not redeemed; we did not prove worthy. And with each passing year, Torah study became less and less relevant to the lives of Klal Yisrael. Between the brutality of persecution and the overwhelming burden of simply making a living, Torah education ended for most Jews once past early childhood. Sure there was Cheder, but by the time kids reached Bar Mitzvah – with the exception of a select few – most had to leave to go make a living. Think of Tevya the Milkman. And yet, while Torah learning may not have been widespread, Jews always prayed. They woke up in the morning and came to shul, and before retiring at night they returned to shul. Rabbi Berel Wein describes walking with his father to shul Shabbat morning in Chicago, and seeing the men coming home from the Hashkama minyan NOT on their way home for Cholent, but on their way to work! At a time when jobs were scarce, and when employers would not tolerate taking Saturday off, these men felt they had no choice but to work on Shabbat – yet they wouldn’t DREAM of missing Tefila B’Tzibur (praying with a quorum)! it would have been in the – וְ אַ ף אֶ ת בְּ רִ יתִ י יִ צְ חָ ק – And if, in such a time, Hashem would have decided to redeem us merit of Yitzchak, and the merit of Tefila (prayer). But Galut continued. And not only did Torah learning weaken, but so did prayer. As hard as it may be to imagine here at the DAT Minyan (!), people stopped attending regular daily services. And yet, despite the challenges of Galut, challenges that so severely impacted our Torah learning and our Davening, one Midah, one characteristic persisted within Klal Yisrael, a Midah which will NEVER weaken, a Midah which will NEVER be extinguished. That is the Midah of Avraham, the Midah of Chesed, the Midah of Lovingkindness. Jews who have no connection to Torah, who have no connection to Tefila, continue to lead the world in the arena of philanthropy. Jew who would be lost in a Beit Midrash (study hall), who would be lost even in a synagogue, are leaders in endowing hospitals, research facilities, homes for needy children, programs for those with disabilities – and the list goes on. I was curious last week – I looked at the Forbes list of the biggest philanthropists. THIRTEEN of the top 30 are Jewish!1 These are Jews who would not know a Chumash from a Gemarah; they would not know Mincha from Maariv. They do not know Torah; they do not know Tefilla. But they have the Midah we are assured will NEVER leave us – the Midah of Chesed, of lovingkindness. The Midah of Avraham. This, says the Lubliner Rav, is the meaning of the verse: Hashem says, “I hope to redeem the Jewish People in the merit of the Torah they so assiduously study; in the merit of Yaakov. But if that is not possible, I hope to redeem them in the merit of their commitment and dedication to Tefila; in the merit of Yitzchak. But if that, too, is not possible, I KNOW I will redeem them for their unbroken commitment to Chessed, to and also My covenant with Abraham I – וְאַ ף אֶ ת בְּרִ יתִ י אַבְרָ הָם אֶ זְכֹּר .lovingkindness; in the merit of Avraham Avinu will remember. There is a Gemarah in Pesachim which explains a verse in Parashat Lech Lecha and how it applies to the first וְאֶ ﬠֶשְׂ � לְ גוֹי גָּדוֹל, ַו ֲ א ָ ב רֶ כְ �, וַאֲ גַדְּ לָ ה שְׁ מֶ �, :Beracha we say in the Amidah at least three times every day. The verse reads And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and“) ֶו הְ ֵי ה בְּ רָ כָ ה you will be a blessing”). The Gemara explains: And I will make you into a great nation”) – this refers to us saying “Elokai Avraham” at“) וְאֶﬠֶשְׂ � לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל - the beginning of the first blessing of the Amidah. .and I will bless you”) – this refers to us saying “Elokai Yitzchak” in that same blessing“) ַו ֲ א ָ ב רֶ כְ ך - and I will make your name great”) – this refers to us saying “Elokai Yaakov” in that same“) ”וַאֲ גַדְּ לָ ה שְׁ מֶ � - blessing. you might think, therefore, the blessing should conclude with - יכול יהו חותמין בכולן? :To which the Gemara asks ת"ל ,all three names! “Blessed are You, Hashem, the Shield of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”! The Gemara answers and you will be a blessing”) teaches us“) ֶו הְ ֵי ה בְּ רָ כָ ה ,the fourth expression – "והיה ברכה" - בך חותמין ואין חותמין בכולן that “Becha Chotmin” – with you (Avraham) they will conclude [the blessing], and they will not conclude with names of Isaac and Jacob. (understands those words - “Becha Chotmin” (with YOU they will conclude ,ז"ל ,Rav Elchanan Wasserman homiletically, and in the same vein as our earlier thought: 1 #3 George Soros (Soros Fund Management); #4 Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg, L.P.); #7 James Simons (Renaissance Technologies); #15 Paul Allen (Microsoft); #17 Irwin Jacobs (Qualcomm); #19 Lynn Shusterman (Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation); #21 Michael Dell (Dell Computers); #23 George Kaiser (Kaiser-Francis Oil Co.); #24 Len Blavatnik (Access Industries); #25 Mark Zukerberg (Facebook); #27 Bernard Marcus (Home Depot); #28 Mark Benioff (Salesforce); #30 Steve Cohen (S.A.C. Capital Advisors). Hashem is saying to Avraham, “At the end of times, when Jewish History reaches its zenith, the Ultimate Redemption will not come about through Torah (the Midah of Yaakov), or through Tefila (the Midah of Yitzchak), but “Becha Chotmin” – with YOUR attribute of Chesed, of lovingkindness, will your children merit their final redemption. It is kindness, it is love, it is caring for and about others which will bring about the Ultimate Redemption. Even before my arrival to Denver – during the interview process! – I have been hounded about establishing a Kashrut policy for the community. I was told that it was THIS issue more than any other which has been the greatest source of Machloket, of tension and division, in our community. I am very aware of the issue, of the sensitivities, and of the potential for division. In Omaha, we chose to simply eat in no one’s home, which made it very simple. I wouldn’t even eat at the home of the local Chabad rabbi –who was my Chavruta (a Torah study partner) – just so no one would accuse me of being inconsistent. In Norfolk, I followed the Minhag HaMakom (the local custom), established by the previous rabbi. If a person was Shomer Shabbat, I would eat in their home.