29 July 2017 6 Av 5777 Shabbat ends London 9.51pm Jerusalem 8.18pm Volume 29 No. 44 Devarim Shabbat Chazon The Fast of 9 Av commences on Monday night at 8.50pm and ends on Tuesday night at 9.39pm Artscroll p.938 | Hertz p.735 | Soncino p.989 In memory of Frida Mirel bat Chaim Simcha The Conquest of the Emorites (Watercolour circa 1896-1902 by James Tissot) “Only the land of the children of Ammon did you not draw near, everywhere near Jabbok Brook and the cities of the mountines, and everywhere that Hashem, our God, commanded us” (Devarim 2:37). 1 Sidrah Summary: Devarim 1st Aliya (Kohen) – Devarim 1:1-10 5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 2:2-30 In the 40th year after leaving Egypt, Moshe 38 years later, the Israelites turned northwards gathers the nation together and rebukes them, and passed by the descendants of Esav in Seir, alluding to the many places where they made making sure not to start a war with them, nor to mistakes since leaving Egypt (Rashi). Moshe take any provisions without payment. The nation recalls the time spent at Mount Sinai after then headed towards the Moabite desert. God receiving the Torah, and that the nation could instructed Moshe not to start a conflict with have gone straight into the Land of Cana’an from Moab. On their march towards the Land, God there. Moshe realised then that he needed instructed them to provoke Sichon, the king of assistance to lead such a big nation. Cheshbon, into battle. 2nd Aliya (Levi) – 1:11-21 6th Aliya (Shishi) – 2:31-3:14 Therefore Moshe told the people to appoint Sichon came out to fight. The Israelites destroyed judges over sub-groups of 1000, 100, 50 and 10 him and his nation, taking his entire land, with the men. He told those judges to be fair and brave in exception of Ammon. The nation then successfully their work, and that any dispute too difficult to defeated the other Emorite king, the mighty Og, resolve should be brought to Moshe himself. king of Bashan, conquering his territory. 3rd Aliya (Shlishi) – 1:22-38 7th Aliya (Shevi’i) – 3:15-322 Moshe recalls the sin of the spies. The people Moshe apportioned the land taken from Sichon approached Moshe, wanting to send a mission to and Og to the tribes of Gad and Reuven, and half reconnoitre the Land. Moshe agreed and selected of the tribe of Menashe (as detailed in parashat 12 leading men, one from each tribe. Upon their Matot – see Bemidbar 32). However, the men of return, only Yehoshua and Calev spoke positively, these tribes were still required to enter the Land of yet the other spies successfully discouraged the Cana’an to fight with the rest of the nation. Moshe people (Rashi). Moshe’s attempts to reassure the told his successor Yehoshua that just as God had people of God’s protection when they would enter helped them to defeat Sichon and Og, so too He the Land were rejected. God then decreed that would help them in their conquest of the Land. the generation who had complained would die in Question: the dimensions of which piece of the wilderness and not enter the Land. Og’s home furniture are described in the verse? Point to Consider: why did Moshe agree to the (3:11) Answer on bottom of page 6. spies’ mission yet later rebuke them? (see Rashi to 1:23) Haftarah This haftarah, taken from the beginning of 4th Aliya (Revi’i) – 1:39-2:1 Yeshaya (Isaiah) is the third of the three ‘haftarot Those aged under 20 at the time of the sin of the of affliction’ and is always read the Shabbat spies would be allowed to enter the Land. Despite before Tisha B’Av. The prophet relates God’s Moshe’s discouragement, some of the people rebuke of the nation for rebelling against Him and attempted to enter the Land but were brutally bringing animal offerings without actually thwarted by the Emorites. Those who survived addressing their sinful ways. Yet the haftarah the failed mission wept. The nation then turned ends with the hopeful message that Zion “will be back towards the Sea of Reeds. redeemed with justice”. United Synagogue Daf Hashavua Produced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon Radley Available also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United Synagogue To sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Loraine Young on 020 8343 5653, or [email protected] If you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please email [email protected] 2 Learning from the Dallas Police Chief by Rabbi Yoni Birnbaum, Hadley Wood Jewish Community The horrific shooting in Dallas, tribes, and I will set them at your head”. He Texas on 7 July 2016 of five required a system of judges to help him with his white police officers by a black work. Yet with these words, as noted by Rabbi man was the largest single Shimshon Raphael Hirsch (d. 1888), Moshe killing of police officers on placed the onus of responsibility upon the people American soil since 9/11. themselves to find those most suited to this task. Whilst he could test their legal competence The police chief of Dallas at himself, only the people would be able to identify the time was David O’Neal Brown, an African those with a suitable moral character, able to set American whose own son had been killed after an example for others. Effectively, his response he shot dead a police officer several years to crisis, like that of the Dallas Police Chief, was previously. In the immediate aftermath of the to empower the people themselves to play a part shooting that day in July, Brown faced a in finding a solution for the problem at hand. significant test of leadership, and the world waited to see how he would react. Within hours of David Brown’s appeal that day in Dallas, the police department was inundated with When Brown stepped in front of the cameras, he messages from people who wanted to join the knew that the deep societal divisions in Dallas force. They had heard the police chief’s message were being felt more keenly than ever before. and decided to be part of the solution rather than He felt the disaffection and pain of the African the problem. American community at perceived police brutality on the one hand, and the trauma of his “It's just something I feel strongly about today”, own police force on the other. said one of those who signed up, “I've always been prepared to be the one to be in a position of Then, Brown did something remarkable. He danger so that others don't have to be”. addressed himself directly to the angry protesters on the street: “We’re hiring,” he said, “Get off that protest line and put an application in. And we’ll put you in your neighbourhood, and we will help you resolve some of the problems you’re protesting about”. At the beginning of this week’s sidrah, Moshe recounts some of the more difficult episodes of the long journey of the Israelites through the desert. In particular, he refers to the significant problems that interpersonal disputes had led to: “How am I to carry your trouble, your burden and your strife by myself?” (Devarim 1:12) David O'Neal Brown, 2016 However, in the very next verse, he details how his response to the situation was to instruct the people themselves to: “Provide for yourselves men, wise and discerning and known to your In memory of David Yochanan ben Moshe 3 Bein Adam Lechaveiro Part 7: Judging People Favourably: A Definition by Rabbi Daniel Fine, Community Rabbi, Stanmore & Canons Park United Synagogue Last week we asked several throughout the flight, nor did he make any questions about the nature blessings on the food he ate; he seemed to be and scope of the mitzvah of idly wasting his time. As they were stepping off judging others favourably. the plane at Ben Gurion, a concerned onlooker Specifically, we questioned was about to approach the Rabbi and question whether the mitzvah really him about his behaviour. He then spotted demands us to be naive! the Rabbi looking at a coffin being unloaded from the plane and making his way towards it. The Chafetz Chaim (Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan Sadly, the Rabbi's father had died. The halacha d. 1933) cites the Rambam’s approach to this is that a person who has lost a close relative mitzvah. He distinguishes between three types does not perform any mitzvot between the death of situations or cases, and matches them to and the burial. This was a ‘30-70’ situation yet three types of people: there was still a mitzvah to judge the person favourably. The first type of situation is one which is evenly poised; a situation that can be equally construed However, when it comes to someone who acts in as positive or negative - it is ‘50-50’, so to speak. a wicked way, there is no mitzvah to judge them The next situation is weighted to ‘the good’; it is favourably. There is no reason to suspend reality a situation which looks like the person has to pretend somebody has acted completely out done something positive, though there is still of character.