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D'var Torah by Mark Feldman - July 23, 2010
Parashat Va'etchanan

1) "They say" a good drash is like a woman's dress. long enough to cover the subject, yet short enough to keep your interest.

2) Short disclamer, I am not a rabbi, nor a biblical scholar, just a member of TAS in good standing..

3) This week's Parashat Va'etchanan is the 45th weekly torah portion, 2nd in the book of Deuteronomy and covers Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11

4) Here's a short summary. There are seven major themes for the portion -

- Moses asks to see the land -
    - Moses pleaded with God to let him cross over and see the land on the other side of the Jordan River
    - God doesn't allow it, tells Moses not to speak of it again, and just allows him to take in a panaromic view from the summit of Pisgah (northeast of the dead sea where later Moses will die)
    - In fact, the parashat's name Va'etchanan is taken from the first word which means "and I pleaded.
- Arguments to obey the law
    - Moses exhorted the Israelites to heed God's laws, not add anything else to them or remove anything from them. - Also Moses urged the Israelites to take utmost care not to forget the things they saw and make them known to their children
- Cities of refuge
    - Moses set aside three cites of refuge on the east side of the Jordan River which a manslayer who unwittingly slew a person without having been hostile to him in the past could escape and live. - Great topic, but covered in fine detail in a drash a few weeks ago.
- The Ten Commandments
    - Moses summoned the Israelites and called on them to hear the laws and rules that he proclaimed that day, to study them and observe them faithfully
- The Shema
    - And Moses imparted God's instruction, the Shema and V'ahavta, saying: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one
- Further exhortation/urging to obey God
    - Moses exhorted the Israelites, when God brought them into the land and they ate their fill, not to forget the God who freed them from bondage in Egypt, to revere and worship only God, and to swear only by God's name. (Deuteronomy 6:10 - 13.) Moses warned the Israelites not to follow other gods, any gods of the people about them, lest the anger of God blaze forth against them and wipe them off the face of the earth
- Instructions for conquest
    - Moses told the Israelites that when God brought them to the land and dislodged seven nations before them. The Israelites were not to intermarry with them. The Israelites were to tear down their altars, smash their pillars, cut down their sacred posts, and consign their images to the fire. The Israelites were a people consecrated to God, and God chose them from all the peoples on earth to be God's treasured people

5) So that's the summary..Tonight, I'd like to focus a bit on the Shema.
    a. Any Jew who leads a life of active religious practice will undoubtedly be more familiar with the Sh'ma than with any other piece of Jewish liturgy.

    b. Its six short Hebrew words have come to represent a sort of Jewish catechism, a one-line summation of normative Jewish belief, accessible and familiar to even to the least Hebrew-literate among us: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, The Lord is One"

    c. In the business word, there's an expression about giving an elevator pitch.. A summary of a business idea given to someone during the length of an elevator ride. The Shema..it's the elevator pitch of what it means to be Jewish.

6) Shema - closely echoes the monotheistic (one god) message of Judaism.

7) The Shema is a private and public declaration of faithâ the most important prayer in Judaism.
    a. Know how you can tell this? It has 2 page spread in our pray book.
8) The two larger-print letters in the first sentence (ayin and daleth) which in Hebrew means "witness". The idea thus conveyed is that through the recitation or proclamation of the Shema one is a living witness testifying to the truth of its message - reminds Jews of their duty to serve as witnesses to God's sovereightnly by leading exemplary lives.


How to Say it..

9) Because it reaffirms the basic tenets of the Jewish faith, it is said aloud so that we can clearly hear what one is saying.

10) The Shema may be said while standing or sitting. Reformed/Conservative congregations stand out of respect/Orthodox sit, because the passages are from the torah, so it as if a person is studying torah (rather than praying).

11) In Conservative and Orthodox Judaism, if you are wearing a tallit, it is customary to hold the four fringes in the left hand while reciting the Shema. In the third paragraph when the word "tzitizit" is said three times, and the word "emet" is said at the end, it is customary to kiss the fringes as a sign of affection for the commandments.

12) If you are praying alone, you can add the words "God, Faithful King" (el melekn ne'eman) to bring the total words in the shema up to 248, the number of parts in the human body. This indicates that the worshiper dedicates his/her whole body to serving God. With a minyan, the chazzan repeats the end of the Shema, so this phrase is unnecessary.

13) People commonly close their eyes or cover them with the palm of their hand while reciting it to eliminate every distraction and help them concentrate on the meaning of the words. - focus - The final word, echad, should be prolonged and emphasized.


When to say it

14) Commanded to say the Shema twice a day..consider it a mitzvah -
    a. technically it's commanded to be said when you lie down and when you rise you - this exact timing has been debated by scholars over the years.

    b. The first book of the Talmud, tractate Brachot, opens with a discussion of when exactly the Shema needs to be recited. The Mishna connects the time of recitation with details of the rhythm of the life of the Temple in Jerusalem, saying that the Shema should be recited in the evening when the Kohanim (Jewish priests) who were Tamei (ritually impure) (and had been unable to serve) enter to eat their Terumah (heave offerings). The Gemarrah contains a wide-ranging discussion of exactly when this occurred, with..

    c. General agreement is that you should say it in the evening, either after sunset or after three stars are visible.. and for us early risersâ at first light prior to sunrise, as soon as colors can be discerned.
15) Also appropriate to say it as the last words that one is to say prior to death. is traditionally recited by a dying person as part of an affirmation of faith upon death. Modern Kabbalistic schools, namely that of the Ari, teach that when one recites the last letter of the word "echad", meaning "one", he or she is to intend that he is ready to "die into God". So for those of you, ready to dieâ this is a prayer for youâ

16) Shema is also to be said when praising God and when beseeching Him (asking him to do something for you, imploring him)


Who should say it

17) Gender issuesâ Orthodox Judaism â women are not required to recite the Shema- due to the understanding that doing so might impinge on their traditional family obligations (although they are obligated to pray at least once daily). Conservative Judaism regard Jewish woman as being obligated to recite the Shema at the same times.


A bit more detail

18) There are 3 passages in the full Shema
    A) First passage is called the shema - focusing on the oneness of god, kingship of God - confession of belief in the one god. There are references to mezuzot and tefillin. Jewish law requires a greater measure of concentration on the first verse of the Shema, than on the rest of the prayer.
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One.(Deut. 6:4).

Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity.
You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your resources. Let these matters that I command you today be upon your heart. Teach them thoroughly to your children and speak of them while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise. Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be tefillin between your eyes. And write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates. (Deut. 6:5-9)
    B) Second passage -speaks about the positive consequences of fulfilling the mitzvot (religious commandment), and the negative consequences of not. It's a command to love Gdâ A bit presumptuous and assertive in my tastes âhow do you command to love something â love takes time, understanding, trust, - not promises or threats or punishmentsâ You can paraphrase/summarize the words into something like this â look you Israelites..Hereâ is some grain, wine and oil..and now you're going to fall in love with meâ if you don't I'll make your life..really bad (no rain, your crops won't grow, and you'll have to find another place to live)â

    Second passge contains a repetition of all of the contents of the first portion - but spoken in the second person plural. (first passage is directed to an individual Jew, the second passage is directed to the whole community - all of the Jews)
(Positive outcome)
And it will come to pass that if you continually hearken to My mitzvot (commandment) that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve Him, with all your heart and with all your soul - then I will provide rain for your land in its proper time, the early and late rains, that you may gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil. I will provide grass in your field for your cattle and you will eat and be satisfied.

(Negative outcome)

Beware lest your heart be seduced and you turn astray and serve gods of others and bow to them. Then the wrath of God will blaze against you. He will restrain the heaven so there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its produce. And you will swiftly be banished from the goodly land which God gives you.

Place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul; bind them for a sign upon your arm and let them be tefillin between your eyes. Teach them to your children, to discuss them, while you sit in your home, while you walk on your way, when you retire and when you arise. And write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates. In order to prolong your days and the days of your children upon the ground that God has sworn to your ancestors to give them, like the days of the heaven on the earth. (Deut. 11:13-21)

    C) Third passage: (remembering God) as a reminder that all the laws of God are to be obeyed, as a warning against following the evil inclinations of the heart, Redemention - throw in a little reminder about God leading you out of Egypt.- which Jews are obligated to refer to each day. Third passage is often removed from Reform prayer books - because Reform Jews don't accept the commandment regarding fringes)

Vaiyomer: The Third Passage

And God said to Moses saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them that they are to make themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations. And they are to place upon the tzitzit of each corner a thread of blue (techelet). And it shall constitute tzitzit for you, that you may see it and remember all the mitzvot of God and perform them; and not explore after your heart and after your eyes after which you stray. So that you may remember and perform all My mitzvot; and be holy to your God. I am God, your God, Who has removed you from the land of Egypt to be a God to you. I am God your God... it is true

19) The Shema..its serious stuff..It's the first prayer a child is taught to say. I want to conclude with a comparision..Some parallels to learning the pledge of allegiance as a young child.
    - A bit of conformity when you're taught the phrases when you're young in grade school and Hebrew school..your standing up and saying the words as a community.
    - In one case you're pledging allegiance to one nation under god country..in the other its allegiance to god.
    - In one case your hand is over your heart, the other your hand is over your eyes. - In both cases you learn the words early in life, spend your years understanding, appreciating and finally loving, both allegiances.
Shabbat Shalom