Words From Rabbi White

The 9^th of Nisan is the yahrzeit of our dear friend Herb Schnap. Herbie was very devoted to CS. We send our best wishes to his wife Fran.

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Mazal tov to Simcha and Shulamit Foxman on the wedding in Jerusalem of Simcha’s grandson Moshe Yehuda. And refu’ah sheleimah to Simcha’s daughter Rachel and her husband David Stern, who were injured in the terror attack this past week in the Shomron. B”H, they are recovering. David was a hero, as he succeeded in shooting the terrorist before more damage could have been done.

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Last week, we completed the Book of Exodus. I pointed out then how the ancient rabbis showed that our support and inspiration come from Jerusalem, and how sad it is that our nation has lately been so divided.

Of course, this division is nothing new. In mid-March 1960, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion was a guest speaker at Yeshiva University. The auditorium was packed with rabbis, dignitaries, students, and guests. (This was before I began my studies at YU.) Ben Gurion said in his speech that it is true that the Knesset was located within range of Jordanian guns, but he was not worried, for, as it says in Psalms chapter 121, “the Guardian of Israel does not sleep.” (“hinei lo’ yanum ve-lo’ yishan Shomer Yisrael.”)     At that point a bearded man in the audience yelled out: “do you mean God or the IDF?” Security guards quickly removed the man from the audience, although BG remarked: “we get this in Israel all the time.” [Of course, we could interpret the verse as referring to the blessing of HaShem to the IDF, but it was perceived as either/or.]

Sadly, in the last couple of months, the bitterness has escalated. as all of you who have been following the news from Israel know very well. How can we confront our enemies if we can’t even speak one to another?

Rabbi Bahya ben Asher, a very important Sephardi commentator from the 13^th/14^th century, introduces his commentary of VaYiqra’ with a verse from Proverbs chapter 22: “From modesty comes fear of God, wealth, honour, and life.” If we Jews could learn to be modest in our opinions, to respect the other side, then our enemies would not quickly jump in to take advantage of the discord.

Rabbi Bahya learns the idea of modesty from Moses. The first verse in this week’s parasha, which is the opening verse of the Book of Vayiqra’, states “He [HaShem] called out to Moshe, and He spoke to him from Tent of Meeting…” Rav Bahya wrote that Moses, for all of his greatness, and with all of his leadership abilities that he had demonstrated, was so modest that he would not go into the Tent of Meeting until called by haShem. Rabbi Bahya implies that Moshe’s modesty should be an example for all.

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Menahem White