<<Torah Thoughts>>

Dear Friend,

This week we read a double Torah portion

“Nitzavim” and “VaYelech” (Deuteronomy 29:9-31:30).

“Nitzavim” contains 2 positive commandments (“do’s”) (the last 2 of the Torah) and no negative commandments (“do not’s”). “VaYelech” contains no mitzvot.

The Torah describes how as the process of Jewish history unfolds, we will find ourselves dispersed around the world. Eventually we will take to heart everything that has occurred to us. We will realize that it is from G-d and we will return to Him. G-d will have mercy on His People and He will gather us in from the farthest places and return us to the Land that our ancestors possessed, and we too shall possess it.

G-d will “circumcise” our hearts. This means that once we recognize G-d, we will receive Divine assistance in overcoming the impediments which block our path to spiritual enlightenment. The Talmud teaches that he who comes to purify himself is assisted. This means that the human must initiate the process and indicate a willingness to grow. We should never feel that any spiritual/ psychological challenge is too great. We are not expected to complete the monumental project which looms ahead. We are expected to begin. G-d will take care of the rest.

G-d states that this commandment (either a reference to repentance or the Torah in general) is not too esoteric for you or too distant from you. You do not need any emissaries to bring it to you from the Heavens, neither to cross the ocean to attain it. In fact, G-d says, it is VERY close to you, in your mouth and in your heart to do it. Every Jew, no matter what his upbringing or education, has an organic connection with the Torah. The more one studies it and delves into it, the more it resonates, because one is merely uncovering what is already imprinted on one’s soul. According to the Mystics, when the Torah mentions “in your mouth and in your heart to do it”, it refers to the powers of thought, speech and action. These are the three “garments” of the soul- the means of expression of the soul in the physical world. The Torah and its mitzvot allow us to express infinite spirituality in a finite physical world.

The final mitzvah of the Torah commands every Jew to write (or possess) a Torah. There is an understanding that this mitzvah can be fulfilled by having a Jewish library in one’s home. The mere presence of Torah in one’s home will serve as a constant reminder of a Jew’s obligation to strive constantly to learn more about G-d and to bind oneself to Him by fulfilling the commandments.

The HAFTARA (excerpt from the prophets) this week is the final in a series of seven “Haftarot of Consolation”. These are read between Tisha B’Av and Rosh Hashanah. This week we read from Isaiah 61:10-63:9.

This prophecy describes the process of the final redemption.

G-d declares that for “Zion’s sake I will not be quiet, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be silent.” This means that as long as Jerusalem is bereft of her children, as long as the Jews are in exile, there will not be peace in the rest of the world.

When the redemption arrives, Jerusalem will no longer be an abandoned place, but will be called “Heftzi-Bah” (She is my desire)

The return of the People will be hastened. The roads to Jerusalem will be flattened and smooth. Our enemies will no longer have any claim to our property.

Isaiah describes how G-d “suffers” whenever His People suffers. Even during the darkest night of exile, we were never alone. G-d “accompanied” us and will bring us back.

We pray and yearn for the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Please take advantage of all the wonderful learning opportunities that the JLE offers!

Shabbat Shalom.

Best wishes,

Rabbi Baruch Price

POST-SCRIPT

Memories of a Healer (From Wall Street Journal- Thanks to Scott Shapiro)

By JOY BALSAM

After college, I moved to Israel to pursue a career in Jewish education. During my 12 years in Israel, my physician, who was so much more to me, was a man named David Applebaum.

David was born in Detroit and grew up in Cleveland. He was ordained as a rabbi and trained as a physician. He moved to Israel 20 years ago and achieved significant success, founding an emergency medical service used by thousands and, most recently, becoming director of emergency medicine at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, one of Israel's leading medical institutions.

David was everything I could ask for in a doctor. He made a house call to give me an injection that enabled me to overcome an infection and fly to Europe the same evening. When I became dehydrated on a hike, he personally put me on intravenous just before he had to run home to celebrate the Sabbath. When I suffered a serious illness, he supervised my care, making certain that I received immediate treatment from the best doctors in the country, and continued to follow up on my condition for years afterwards. Thousands of people can tell similar stories of David's acumen and kindness. David took on heavy responsibilities in response to the outbreak of suicide bombings and other terror attacks that began in 2000. Because of his stature in emergency medicine, he became a first responder and helped to save the lives of many victims.

David established the first privatized emergency centers in Israel, Terem, helping to alleviate the overwhelming pressure that hospital emergency rooms endure on a daily basis. Most recently, David accepted the assignment to revamp and modernize the emergency room at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem, while continuing his activities as director of Terem, teaching at a women's religious seminary in Jerusalem, not to mention serving as father of six and a devoted husband and family member.

When I became engaged to my now husband Jerry, David immediately welcomed him into his circle of friendship; within minutes after meeting him, David was whispering jokes in Jerry's ear at a wedding we were attending. When I became ill the day of our engagement party, David arrived early with the "magic" pill that enabled me to attend with a smile on my face. When I considered whom I would like to officiate at our wedding ceremony six months ago, there was really only one choice. David grudgingly accepted the assignment as he "never does things like this," but assiduously refused any other honor, prefer-ring to remain inconspicuous. And of course, the day before the wedding, who else but David would call and offer his chauffeur services.

How we celebrated when David's daughter Nava announced her engagement. Nava resembled her father both physically and with her actions, fulfilling her national service requirement by working with children suffering from cancer.

On Sept. 9, David was again in New York on business, speaking to a disaster preparedness symposium, at New York University Downtown Hospital, in anticipation of the anniversary of 9/11. He flew back to Israel and that night took Nava out to pick up some food for an intimate at-home night-before-the-wedding midnight snack from Café Hillel in the German Colony neighborhood of Jerusalem.

There was no wedding. A suicide bomber struck the restaurant, and David and Nava were killed. David, the man who dedicated his life to healing others and specialized in saving those injured in terrorist attacks, and Nava, the young woman who brought smiles to the faces of children fighting for their lives, will provide no more solace. David, 50, and Nava, 20, lost decades of productive and happy life. The ripple effect of these losses is unfathomable. It extends to David and Nava's immediate and extended family, their close friends and acquaintances all around the world, the hundreds of lives David saved and people he helped in emergency situations, hospital visits and house calls, and all of the people whom he could have helped.

Nearly a thousand Israelis have been killed since the outbreak of violence in 2000. All of them had stories; all left someone to grieve their loss. With David and Nava's death, thousands grieve and search for answers. That there are Palestinians who celebrated this and other suicide bombings makes me wonder whence such hatred can spring and whether there can ever be peace in the Middle East. Whatever this war is about, it is hard to see how a humane state can be founded by those who glorify the murder of two caregivers, healers of thousands, a father and his daughter on the eve of her wedding.

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