ohause
Volume 28
No. 32
KEDOSHIM
14 May 2016 • 6 Iyar 5776
Solutions in
the Sidrah
gucav ;s
Daf Hashavua
Shabbat ends in London at 9.42pm
Artscroll p. 656 • Hertz p. 497 • Soncino p. 723
Israel and Nepal
by Rabbi Yoni Birnbaum, Hadley Wood Jewish Community
On 25th April 2015, a devastating earthquake struck
Nepal, killing over 9,000 people and injuring more
than 23,000. In the immediate aftermath of the
disaster, international offers of aid came flooding in
to Nepal from across the globe. Amongst these
rescue efforts, one in particular stood out. According
to a CNN report, Israel’s total official aid delegation,
discounting several private aid groups, numbered
some 260 people, more than all the other aid efforts
combined (excluding India). The next largest
delegation, from the UK, numbered 68 people,
followed by China’s 62 and the USA’s 54.
Israel sent 260 trained individuals in order to save
the lives of people on the other side of the world,
whom they had never met and probably would never
meet again. Considering the fact that Israel is only
0.28% of the size of the USA and 0.29% the size of
China, the fact that it sent five times as many rescue
workers as both of these countries is quite
remarkable.
Probably the best known line of this week’s sidrah
are the words “ve’ahavta le’rayacha kamocha”
(Vayikra 19:18), usually translated as
‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself’. Famously, Rabbi Akiva commented
that this is ‘the great principle of the
Torah’ (Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 30:2).
But the word ‘ray’acha’, meaning companion, or friend, seems somewhat
unusual. Why is this word used and
not the word ‘achicha’, meaning your
brother or ‘amecha’, meaning your people, as in several other similar verses of
this nature (see Shemot 22:27)?
Although there is a debate amongst the
early commentators about the specific meaning of
this word, Rabbi Chaim Vital (d.1620) writes that
the use of this word implies that the principle of
‘loving your neighbour’ goes beyond familial ties
and even extends beyond the borders of shared
national identity. Instead, it applies to all members
of humanity, Jew and non-Jew alike.
In his travel memoir Across the Plains, Scottish
novelist Robert Louis Stevenson (d.1894) wrote,
“You can give without loving, but you can never
love without giving”.
The way to express love is always by giving to
the person one loves, and in particular through
sacrificing one’s time and energy in order to
constructively assist them. As understood by Rabbi
Chaim Vital, and wonderfully demonstrated by
Israel’s incredible response to the disaster in Nepal,
the lesson of the instruction to ‘love your neighbour’
is that the Jewish responsibility to help others goes
far beyond our own community. It extends to the
rest of humanity as a whole.
Holy Pleasures
Rabbi Daniel Sturgess
St Albans United Synagogue
Our sidrah opens with the enigmatic instruction
“kedoshim tihiyu ” – “Be holy!” (Vayikra 19:1)
This a rallying cry. But how? What does it mean
to ‘be holy’?
Many religions may understand holiness to
involve abstention from the physical world.
Some of those who are considered the most
holy in Western religions take vows of silence
and of celibacy. For many Eastern religions,
holiness is achieved through meditation and
solitude, sometimes accompanied by vows of
poverty.
Judaism takes a different
approach.
The Ramban (Nachmanides
d. 1270) explains that this
verse is telling us “kadesh et
atzmecha b'mutar lach” – ‘be
holy by sanctifying yourself
with that which is permitted
to you’. There is a whole world of pleasures
available to you, created for your enjoyment
by the Creator. Perfectly prepared meat, the
finest wines, refreshing fruit… and even
chocolate. The Ramban warns that a person
who (whilst obediently adhering to kosher
food) overeats, or eats in a coarse manner,
is called a “naval b'rshut haTorah” – a base
person who is not transgressing the strict laws
of the Torah. To be holy, according to Ramban,
means to enjoy the pleasures of this world in
a dignified manner. And not only that, but
even to have the higher awareness that the
food that one is eating will provide energy to
do more good deeds in the world.
We see therefore that ‘being holy’ then does
not apply to specific mitzvot. It is a way of
being, an attitude to life.
The Ladder
One of the most striking
images in the Torah is that of
‘Jacob’s ladder’. In his dream,
Ya’akov saw a ladder, rooted
on the ground, with its top
ascending to the heavens (Bereishit
28:12). What does this symbolise?
A ladder has two primary functions. It can be
used to ascend or to descend. A ladder can
bring a person up to the highest heights or
it can bring a person down to the depths.
When Hebrew words share
the same gematria, numerical
letter values, there is often
a connection between the
words. The gematria of the
word sulam, meaning ladder,
is 136.
In some editions of the
High Holydays machzor, in
the stirring prayer U’netaneh
Tokef, written above the words: teshuvah
(repentance), tefillah (prayer) and tzedakah
(charity) are three small words: tzom (fast),
kol (voice) and mamon (money). These three
small words also each have a gematria of 136.
Just like the ladder, fasting, speech and money
can bring a person up to the highest heights
or can bring a person down to the depths,
depending on how they are used. Money can
corrupt, yet it can also feed the starving.
Fasting can bring us to introspection and
repentance, or it can be a form of self-harm.
The power of speech can create the terror of
Nazism, or the freedom of Martin Luther King Jr.
Everything around us is essentially neutral,
and can be used for good or bad. The instruction
to be holy is telling us to embrace the physical
world and use it for the good.
Jews in the
British Military
Part 2
From Waterloo to 1899
by Ben Vos, Community Liaison Manager, Tribe
In the 1833 debate about the emancipation of
the Jews, the Duke of Wellington begrudgingly
admitted that "there are many [Jewish]
officers … of great merit and distinction". The
Marquess of Westminster had sparked this
declaration by suggesting that 15 Jewish
officers had served at Waterloo (1815). The
Marquess was referring to the likes of Cornet
Albert Goldsmid (12th Lancers); these were
men of high social status, on the fringes of
Jewish communal life, for whom abjuring
Judaism was a fair price to
pay in order to gain commissions.
to march in uniform to the New Synagogue”.
Information on enlisted soldiers who fought in
the Crimea is sparse. However, we know that
Corporal Henry Jessel was wounded while
attached to the Land Transport Corps. Lehman
Cohn wrote to the Jewish Chronicle in 1893,
saying that he had been a Corporal in 1st
Tower Hamlets Artillery and had served in the
Crimea and India.
From 1882, Divisional Orders at Aldershot Garrison contained the following
under 'Divine Service': “Jews
… on Saturdays and Holy
Days in the temporary Synagogue, 24, High Street,
Aldershot. Commanding Officers will facilitate the
attendance of men of this
persuasion…”
After Anglican conformity for
Army and Navy officers was
finally abandoned in 1828,
for fast promotion the
Colonies remained particularly attractive. Herbert
However, a less institutional
Merton Jessel (1866-1950)
conclusion to the 19th cenreached the rank of Major
tury can be found in the
while in India; upon leaving
career of the most senior
the Army as an honorary
Herbert Merton Jessel (1866-1950)
Jewish soldier of the Victorian
colonel in 1896 he became an
era and also one of the most impressive Jews.
MP, then later Mayor of Westminster, and
Albert Goldsmid's (1846-1904) parents both
gained a barony.
had Christianised Jewish backgrounds.
Meanwhile, in the ‘slop shops’ and chandleries
Aged 20, Goldsmid gained an ensign’s
of England’s ports, the Jewish victualling
commission in the 104th Foot. His progress
tradition continued. Lemon Hart (1771-1845)
was barely slowed by his conversion to
of Penzance is said to have been the main
Judaism, under instruction by Dr. Asher Asher
provider of rum to the Royal Navy.
(later the first Secretary of the United
Synagogue). Goldsmid went on to serve as a
The Crimean War sparked another wave
senior staff officer in the Boer War, was a
of Jewish volunteerism. The 11th Tower
follower of Baron de Hirsch and Herzl, founded
Hamlets Rifles (1860-4) initially consisted
the Jewish Lads’ Brigade and headed Chovevei
exclusively of Jews, and was commanded
Zion in Britain. Not only did Goldsmid not
by a Captain Barnett Lazarus. The Jewish
abandon Judaism, he embraced it, and
Chronicle reported that the company
advanced in the British military regardless.
“intended on the eve of the festival of Purim
Insights into
Jewish History
Part 33
Ezra’s Return
by Rebbetzen Ilana Epstein, Cockfosters & N Southgate United
Synagogue; Head of Project Development US Living & Learning
Ezra and his group of pilgrims arrived in
Jerusalem in the second year after the Second
Temple had been reconstructed, following a
four-month trek from Persia. They found a
city spiritually and financially depleted.
The Temple was located in its centre, yet it
was not central to the people’s lives. During
the exile, a number of the laws had been
forgotten. Without the spiritual
guidance of a leader like Ezra,
people had returned to their
villages, with only a fraction
remaining in Jerusalem.
Filled with energy and vigour,
Ezra started to institute change.
The first thing he set about doing
was asking forgiveness for the
nation’s past sins. Though the Temple was
now standing, had anyone, he asked,
sacrificed an offering to atone for the sins of
idol worship that had been committed during
the time of King Tzidkiyahu (Zedekiah)? Ezra
started by wiping the slate clean and brought
close to 200 burnt (olah) offerings.
The next thing that Ezra and the people did
was to rededicate the Land spiritually. Like
all things that are holy, including the Land of
Israel, after it has lost its lofty status, it
needs to be re-sanctified. Ezra and the
people set about walking over the Land in
order to sanctify it and bring it back to a
point where the positive commandments
that are linked to the Land of Israel (“Mitzvot
Ha’Teluyot Ba’Aretz” ) were once again common practice.
Immensely pragmatic, Ezra made a point of
not sanctifying the land of the poorest
people. His concern was that the re-sanctified
Land would necessitate the observance of
Sh’mittah and Yovel – ensuring the Land lies
fallow every 7th and 50th year, respectively. By intentionally ‘omitting’
these areas, Ezra sensitively
ensured that the poorest
people would not feel overwhelmed by a fear of starvation
during those fallow years.
Ezra established Persian names for the
months of the year. The Torah and the Books
of the Prophets written prior to the
Babylonian exile referred to the months
numerically. From this point on, as in the
Book of Esther, the months are referred to by
their Persian names. The Ramban (Nachmanides d.1270) tells us that in his time
the Persians were using similar names for the
months of the year. Today, these names no
longer exist in the Farsi language.
United Synagogue Daf Hashavua
Produced by the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue, together with US Living & Learning
Editor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor in Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis
Available also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United Synagogue
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