Shlomo's Thoughts on the Torah

The lesson that we learn from the death of Rachel is that no matter how noble the ends, they do not justify a crime.

The Dimensions of the Ark were 30 x 300 x 50 which equal the numerical value of lashon (ל=30ת ש=300ת ן=50) meaning tongue or language. This was to teach Noah that he had to admonish the people to repent from their ways.

All ancient cultures record a flood. Only the Bible attaches morality for the Flood.

The reason for the punishment of Adam & Eve was not that they had violated God's one commandment. It was that they denied culpability.

We learn about Hanuch in this week's Portion. He was considered great because he made his labor for man a holy act.

One of the first commandments given to man was to name the animals. This is to underscore that the world is meant for man to make it holy through his use of it.

Simhat Torah is the recognition that the Torah is the property of all Jew, no matter how rich or poor, high and low, educated or not.

Sukkot is the holiday for all people. One can build a sukka that covers the entire world. This show that it is for all.

The lesson of Sukkot is that every person has value, no matter how high or low that person may be. We all equal in God's eye.

It is fitting that Sukkot is in Tishri since it represents the universality of the Jewish people, unlike Pesach which represents our nationhood.

The Torah admonishes us to oppose foreign ideologies, meaning ideologies that negate morality based on the Torah. 

This week's portion deals with the problem of success.  Many of us achieve success and forget that God had a hand in it.  This is a clear warning not to.

We usually think that our judgement is sealed on Yom Kippur.  The truth is that the final judgement is on Simhat Torah.  The reason is that on Yom Kippur we are on our best behavior but on Simhat Torah we are drinking and eating and carrying on.  How do we behave then?

The key to the Yom Kippur service is that we read the Book of Jonah at Minha on that day.  Jonah is called upon to announce to the Assyrians that they have to repent.  When recounting the story, the Book of Jonah does not talk about their prayers but about their actions.

There is no Hebrew word for tragedy. Thhis is because there is no concept of humans being fated to their destiny. We can change our destiny through our actions.

This is the period of repentance.  The main theme is that God wants us to behave well with our fellow man.  The questions that we will be asked when we get to the next world will be how we treated our fellow.  Not if we believe.

Moses's last act before dying is to go to the different tribes and speak about the future.  Considering that he was the greatest leader in the history of the Jews this is amazing.  He did not spend time talking about his own accomplishments but about the bright future under Joshua.

A major message of the Torah is that we have free will.  We can set our own agenda.  If we want a good life, then we have to do the right thing.  

It is interesting to note that it is not enough for one to say that they are sorry for their sins.  They have to first recognize their mistake and repent for it.  The apology has to be heartfelt.  That all our Biblical leaders were flawed but they overcame their flaws.

One of the worst forms of idolatry is the belief in ideology.  Even when that ideology proves false people will believe it.  All the people who believed that the Russian Communist Revolution would bring an era of peace to the world were disappointed when this did not happen.  Those who approach problems without an ideology seem to come up with real solutions.

The admonition not be like the idol worshipers of Egypt was to stress that our leaders are not like the Pharoah.  He was considered to be a god.  Our leaders are human and should be treated as such.  

The Torah mentions that not only were adults present at Moses's admonitions but that their children were there as well.  Why was this so important?  To show that it is important that children see how important it is to the adults.  Children are sponges.  They observe everything.  If they see it is important for their parents then it is important to them.

When Moses speaks to the people, he speaks to all of the people.  This shows that in Judaism we can achieve greatness through our efforts.  No matter how we start we can achieve great things.  We are equal when we start.  Where we finish is up to us.

We are commanded to be better people.  The Torah does not care about our feelings but about our behavior.  We make the world a better place by our actions, not our intent.

In Pirkei Avot it states that we should know three things to avoid sin: Know where you came from, a putrid drop; know where you are going, a place of worms; and before whom you will be judged, the Holy One blesssed be He.  To teach us that we might not think we are important but to God we are.