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Volume 29No. 50

1

In memory of Harav Yisrael ben Eliyahu

“It will be when you enter the Land that the Lord, your God, gives you as an inheritance, and youpossess it, and dwell in it, that you shall take of the first of every fruit of the ground that you bring inform your Land that the Lord, your God, gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the placethat the Lord, your God, will choose, to make His Name rest there” (Devarim 26:1-2).

9 September 2017 18 Elul 5777

Shabbat ends London 8.17pmJerusalem 7.29pm

Sidrah Summary: Ki Tavo

United Synagogue Daf HashavuaProduced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United SynagogueEditor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon RadleyAvailable also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United SynagogueTo sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Loraine Young on 020 8343 5653, or lyoung@theus.org.ukIf you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please email rabbigross@theus.org.uk

1st Aliya (Kohen) – Devarim 26:1-11Once the nation has come into the Land of Israel,there is a mitzvah for a produce-grower to takethe first fruits of the new harvest and place themin a basket, before bringing them to a Kohen inthe Temple (bikkurim). After the Kohen takes thebasket, the person who has brought the fruitreads out a text which recalls the initial descentto Egypt, the servitude and the redemption, andconcludes with an expression of gratitude to Godfor the bounty from the Land.

2nd Aliya (Levi) – 26:12-15At the end of every third and sixth year of theseven year shemitah cycle, one has to make surethat all the tithes from the produce of the Landover the previous years have been given to theirrespective recipients. Once that has beenorganised, a text known as viduy ma’aserot issaid, which declares one’s care for the laws oftithing and a prayer to God to bless the Land.

3rd Aliya (Shlishi) – 26:16-19Moshe encourages the people to keep themitzvot and to see them every day as fresh andnew (Rashi). This will elevate the nation to thestatus of being holy and distinguished.

4th Aliya (Revi’i) – 27:1-10Moshe tells the people that on the day they crossthe Jordan, they should take stones, coat themwith plaster and inscribe upon them the words ofthe Torah. They should erect these stones onMount Eival, where they shall also build an altarand bring peace-offerings.

5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 27:11-28:5 After the nation enters the Land, they will cometo Mount Gerizim and to Mount Eival (see p.3article). Six of the tribes are to stand on onemountain, six on the other. The Levi’im will stand

in between the mountains to call out theblessings and the curses, to which the peopleshould respond “Amen” (Rashi).

Question: which tribes stood on Mount Gerizim

and which tribes on Mount Eival? Answer on

bottom of page 6.

6th Aliya (Shishi) – 28:6-69This aliyah opens with further blessings if we areto follow God's will – our enemies will flee from usand the other nations will be in awe of us.However, the sidrah continues with the tochacha,the passage of retribution. If we do not listen toGod’s commandments and do not observe themitzvot, the consequences will be grave. Verseafter verse warn of petrifying suffering, includingillness, plague, blindness, children taken captive,being at the mercy of other nations, parentseating their own children and the nationbecoming scattered over the Earth.

Point to Consider: why does the Torah add this

passage of tochacha, given that there was

already a lengthy one in parashat Bechukotai

(Bemidbar chapter 26)?

7th Aliya (Shevi’i) – 29:1-8Moshe reminds the people of their wondrousExodus from Egypt, their miraculous survival inthe desert for 40 years and their victories over themighty kings Sichon and Og.

HaftarahTaken from the book of Yeshaya, this is the sixthof the seven ‘haftarot of consolation’ read afterTisha B’Av. The prophet relates a vision of thenations of the world coming to Zion andrecognising God. Violence and pain will becomememories of the past – “never again shall yoursun set, not shall your moon will be withdrawn;for God will be an eternal light”.

2

The Untenable Eleventh Commandment by Rabbi Dr Martin van den Bergh, Childwall Hebrew Congregation, Liverpool

There is a notion that we arefree to do as we wish, as longas we are not found out. Thisis commonly known as “theEleventh Commandment”. Inother words - we can behaveanyway we like in private, aslong as we put on a public

display of conforming to social norms ofbehaviour. However, today there is little privacy;it is becoming increasingly clear that there isnowhere to hide. Therefore, no matter howdiscreet we may try to be, we are likely to befound out. Especially with the advent of moderntechnology, social media platforms and CCTVnetworks, privacy has eroded and it may seemlike ‘big brother’ is always watching.

Added to this notion is the Jewish belief thatactually there is always a reckoning for ouractions, as the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes)tells us: “in the end of the matter, everything isheard” (12:13). Therefore, there can be nodistinction between private and public behaviour,and outward appearances should reflect ourprivate persona. We are urged to be wary oftransgressing in secret just as in public.

In this week’s sidrah, the Torah highlights this; theIsraelites were commanded by Moshe to committhemselves to the Torah and the covenant of Godonce they had crossed the Jordan River into thePromised Land. The Levites were to bless thepeople and utter curses: “you shall put theblessing upon Mount Gerizim, and the curseupon Mount Eval” (Devarim 11.29).

The Rashbam (Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir d. 1158,a grandson of Rashi) points out that these cursesalso refer to transgressions which are committedin private, as inferred by the mention of the word“secret” in the curses. For example, the firstcurse states: “Cursed be the man who makesany engraved or molten image, an abominationto the Lord, the work of the hands of the

craftsman, and sets it up in secret” (Devarim27:15). This emphasises that transgressionscommitted in private are just as bad as if theyhad been committed in public.

In fact, we can never hide from God or, for thatmatter, from ourselves. Taking this lesson to heartcan prevent us from transgressing, as can belearnt from Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s statement inPirkei Avot: “Apply your mind to three things andyou will not come into the hands of sin. Knowwhat there is above you – an eye that sees, anear that hears, and all your deeds are written in abook” (Ethics of our Fathers 2:1 – see greensiddur, p. 530).

The Sages of the Talmud also tell us that weshould avoid anything that even appears to beforbidden. This is what is called marit ha’ayin.Again, this does not only apply in public, buteven in the privacy of our own homes: “RavYehudah said in Rav's name: Wherever theSages prohibited something because of marit

ha’ayin, it is forbidden even in one's innermostchambers” (Talmud Shabbat 64b).

Thus, from our perspective, the ‘eleventhcommandment’ is untenable. As the late RabbiLevi Meier (chaplain of the Cedar-Sinai Hospitalin Los Angeles, d. 2008) once said: “we shouldserve God with all our hearts and with all ourminds, whether in private or in public”.

3In memory of Harav Yitzchak Yoel ben Shlomo Halevi

Bein Adam Lechaveiro Part 13: Bikur Cholim – ThePractical Side by Rabbi Daniel Fine, Community Rabbi, Stanmore & Canons Park United Synagogue

In our last two articles, we discussed the origin ofthe mitzvah of visiting the sick (bikur cholim) andwe noted the threecomponents of the mitzvah:showing the patient that youcare about them, praying

for their wellbeing and ensuring that they havetheir practical needs met.

We ended last week with two questions. Firstly, why is there no blessing recitedbefore the mitzvah of bikur cholim? The Rashba(Rabbi Shlomo ibn Aderet d. 1310) answers thisquestion. He writes that any mitzvah whichrequires another person's participation oragreement for its performance has no blessingbefore it; for one cannot be sure that the mitzvahwill be completed. There is therefore no blessingrecited before giving charity because one cannotguarantee that the potential recipient will acceptthe donation. Similarly, there is no blessing forvisiting the sick, for one cannot be sure that thepatient will want to accept visitors.

The second question posed was whether onefulfils the mitzvah of bikur cholim with a phonecall. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (d. 1986) penned afascinating discussion about this topic. Hewrites that whilst it could be possible to fulfil oneof the criteria of the mitzvah on the phone –enquiring as to the patient's wellbeing andpractical needs – the other two criteria of themitzvah – showing you care and assessing theirsituation so you can pray for them - can only befully performed in the patient's presence. Thus,Rabbi Feinstein writes that if you have no way totravel to the patient, you may 'visit' them with aphone call, but this would mean that you havenot fulfilled the mitzvah completely.

The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law,written 1563) rules that one must not embarrassthe patient – not all patients want to be visited.

Perhaps the Shulchan Aruch’s ruling could beadhered to by asking the doctors or relativesbefore entering the ward.

When praying for the patient's recovery, if this is done in their presence, then any language may be used. In contrast, when praying forsomewhere else, Hebrew (and their Hebrewname and their mother's Hebrew name) ispreferable, if possible.

The national sensitivity we have to this mitzvah isvery inspiring. Some years ago, soon after myfamily moved into a Jerusalem apartment, wenoticed after Shabbat at around midnight, thatour neighbours had all gathered in the shul(which was also the building's bomb shelter). We were told that someone in the building hadbeen admitted to hospital and they were allpraying for her recovery together. Jews the worldover pray for the recovery of others and there are bikur cholim societies for visiting people inhospital, such as the wonderful servicesprovided in London by Jewish Visiting (part of USChesed) through its hospital chaplains andvolunteer visitors. www.jvisit.org.uk

Bikur cholim is a true expression of the qualitiesof kindness and compassion that are so centralto our faith.

4In memory of Moshe ben Avraham Zarach

Parallel Thinking Part 33: The Enigma of Consciousness Vby Rabbi Dr Moshe Freedman, New West End United Synagogue

The last four articles havefocused on the concept ofconsciousness in science,philosophy and Judaism.This final article onconsciousness turns ourattention to dreaming, one of the most mysterious

of human experiences. Most neuroscientists,psychologists and psychotherapists accept that the content of our dreams is significant,whether it has been influenced by our psyche, our experiences during waking hours, frommedication or from the food we eat.

The famous neurologist and forefather ofpsychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (d. 1939) viewedthe content of his patients’ dreams as a windowinto their primitive, unconscious desires. Swisspsychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung (d. 1961), who collaborated with Freud, felt thatFreud’s analysis of dreams was too limited. Jungviewed dreams as a communication from theunconscious, as part of the self-regulation of thepsyche. While contemporary opinions still differ,modern studies support the theory that dreamcontent is primarily related to the experiences aperson has while awake.

From a Jewish perspective, the Torah itselfdescribes how God communicates with peoplethrough dreams. Having dreams and interpretingtheir meaning is, for example, one of theprominent threads that runs through the story ofYosef (see Bereishit chapters 37, 40 and 41). TheTalmud indicates that while some dreams areinsignificant and meaningless (Horayot 13b),others have the potential to contain messagesabout the future (Berachot 57b). While Yosef’sdreams were clearly prophetic, could our owndreams contain elements of prophecy or portent?

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (known as theRamchal, d. 1746) concurs with the scientificapproach that dream content is affected by thethoughts and emotions one experiences, as wellas through food that we have eaten. Yet he also

adopts the Talmud’s assertion and writes that our modern day dreams can have propheticsignificance or relate to spiritual experiences. This is because when we sleep our souls cansometimes interact with external spiritual forceswhich enter our subconscious awareness andaffect the content of our dreams.

One might think this sounds a little far-fetched.Yet in a recent article, psychologist Dr. PatrickMcNamara noted that a wide range ofunexplained dream phenomena, such as shareddreams and precognitive dreams containingexquisite, incontrovertible detail are widelyreported (Psychology Today, June 2016). He admits that science has “no goodexplanations” for such astonishing phenomenafor “science has no place to put them within its current worldview – but this is all the morereason to investigate them”.

In conclusion, consciousness is difficult to studyscientifically. Scientists wedded to the idea thatthere is nothing other than the physical world will inevitably conclude that consciousness,defined as our sense of self and inner thoughts, ismerely an elaborate illusion. While science cannotprovide concrete evidence to the existence of thesupernatural, for those with a conviction thatreality is more than just atoms and molecules, thefootprints of the spiritual world can be found inmany areas of the human experience.

5In memory of Frida Mirel bat Chaim Simcha

Front row: Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, C. G.Jung; Back row: Abraham A. Brill, Ernest Jones,Sándor Ferenczi. Photo taken for Clark University inWorcester, Massachusetts, September 1909

6In memory of David Yochanan ben Moshe

Insights into Jewish History Part 81: Megillat Antiochus IIby Rebbetzen Ilana Epstein, Cockfosters & N Southgate United Synagogue; Headof Project Development, US Living & Learning

The Sefer Mitzvot Gadol,(written by Rabbi Moshe ben Ya’akov of Coucy d. 750 CE) refers to Megillat Chashmona’im (The Megillah of theHasmoneans), which is alsoreferred to in other books as

Megillat Antiochus. What is this Megillah? Theauthor of the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol suggests thatMegillat Antiochus may be the original source ofthe miracle of the lights on Chanukah and that itwas written by the students of Hillel and Shammai(two of the great Sages of the Mishnah). Yet headds that this Megillah is lost to us and perhapswill only re-emerge in the messianic future.

Yet Rabbi Saadya Gaon (d. 942), writing inBabylon some 150 years later, seems to be inpossession of this elusive Megillah. He even goesas far as to quote from it. He asserts that thisMegillah was written by the five sons of Mattityahu– Yehuda, Shimon, Yochanan, Yonatan and Elazar– who wrote down their story and the story ofJudea under the Seleucid kingdom.

It is possible that the author of the Sefer Mitzvot

Gadol, living in France, was unaware of theexistence of Megillat Antiochus in Babylon at thetime of his writing, or that between his time andthe 10th century, the Megillah was discoveredamong old handwritten manuscripts.

Some commentators point out that during RabbiSaadya Gaon’s time, it was particularly relevant topublicise the story of Chanukah. The 9th centurywas a strong period for the Karaite communitywho denied the existence of the Second Temple inJerusalem, as well as the miracles of Chanukah.They claimed that the whole episode was createdby the Rabbis. This Megillah helped to refute theirassertions.

The opening line of the Megillah is very similar tothat of Megillat Esther: “And so it was in the daysof Antiochus…”; just as Megillat Esther starts“And so it was in the days of Achashverosh…”.

It is also clear that, like Rabbi Saadya Gaon, otherearly commentators had this Megillah, and citedquotations and language which can only be foundin Megillat Antiochus, including Rashi (d. 1105)and the Rambam (Maimonides d. 1204).

The Megillah consists of eight chapters, one foreach day of Chanukah. It has almost certainlyremained in its original language – Aramaic, with aHebrew translation side by side. This attests to itsauthenticity, as Aramaic was the lingua franca.Where at times we struggle to reconcile what weknow regarding Chanukah from the Talmud andour Sages with the characters and timelines fromthe Book of Maccabees and the Book of Judith,the characters and language of Megillat Antiochusline up perfectly with the Talmud’s version.

If this is an authentic source for the Chanukahstory and its associated miracles, one wonderswhy it remains relatively unknown. In truth, while itdoes remain unknown to many Jews of Ashkenaziorigins, the Jews of Yemen actually had a traditionto read Megillat Antiochus on Shabbat Chanukah,after the haftarah was read.

You can still find Megillat Antiochus today in theback of some old Chumashim, after the other fiveMegillot, although it does not appear in theeditions which are popular in our communities.

Answer: Mount Gerizim - Shimon, Levi, Yehuda,Issachar, Yosef and Binyamin. Mount Eival -Reuven, Gad, Asher, Zevulun, Dan and Naftali

The book Antiochus critically examined and translated inGerman by L. Grünhut. Jerusalem: A. M. Luucz [printer], [1895]

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