Thursday, April 23, 2015

Achray Mos / Kedoshim: Sign Between G-d and Israel

The haftorah for Parshas Achray Mos / Kidoshim is Ezekiel 20:2-20. It is a largely a rebuke and opens with Hashem rhetorically asking the leadership of the Jewish people if they are about evaluate Him and give Him a grade. The prophet continues that they should really evaluate and judge the atrocities of the nation’s past.

By and large Hakadosh baruch Hu is loath to punish the nation of Israel. Among the reasons is that when He took them out of Egypt his reputation became tied to their wellbeing, and Hashem desires that his repute should be great in the physical world. Therefore when Israel is in a low state, it is possible to err and think because it is due to the lack of strength of their Power, and not the nation’s lack of righteousness.

The gifts that G-d bestowed on the nation of Israel are pointed out. The land he gave them is the prize of all lands, one which is flowing with milk and honey. He taught the people etiquette and how to be fair. Finally he gave the Jews the Sabbath.

The land of Israel is considered the prize of all lands because it is the holy land and the land that is closest to Hashem. It is praised by calling it the land of milk and honey. Milk is considered healthy and honey is considered sweet. The idea is that the land of Israel, sanctity, and closeness to G-d should also make a person healthy and sweet. To reject the land of Israel is to reject the glory of G-d’s hands. To become sick and bitter in the process is considered a sacrilege.

Concerning the instructions of the Torah, one is told to keep them and to live by them (וחי בהם). This means that not only should a person’s conduct always be according to the law, but also that the Torah is what keeps a person alive. The external aspects are an orderly society and the benefits of cooperation. The internal aspects are inner vitality, sense of purpose, and peace with one’s surroundings. The basic idea is that living according to heaven’s law makes a person’s life better. Idolatry is basically alien values and strange behavior, which ultimately lead to human defilement.

The third gift mentioned is the Shabbos. Shabbos has three major components: ceasing from work, enjoying the fruits of our labor, and recognizing that the good we receive ultimately comes from G-d. However the essential reason for any good we receive is recompense for learning the precepts of the Torah and applying them to our actions. 

On Shabbos we display what we have learned and the blessings we have received because of it. This is the idea is the Zohar that the Chumash begins with the letter “B” (ב) in Bereshis, because it is the same letter that starts bracha (blessing) and the world was created for blessings. From the Torah the blessings spread out to the entire creation. This is an aspect of a ray of light shining from heaven and spreading throughout a world of darkness. When people see on the Shabbos day the flow of blessings, they also see the flow of sanctity from G-d to the Jewish people, and this is the sign between the two of them.




לע"נ האמא מלכה  בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
וגם בדואר אלקטרוני    ניתן באתר   http://dyschreiber.blogspot.co.il



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