Category: Collected Writings

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹקים יְהִי מְאֹרֹת בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם לְהַבְדִּיל בֵּין הַיּוֹם וּבֵין הַלָּיְלָה וְהָיוּ לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים וּלְיָמִים וְשָׁנִים…וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹקים אֶת שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים אֶת הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַיּוֹם וְאֶת הַמָּאוֹר הַקָּטֹן לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַלַּיְלָה וְאֵת הַכּוֹכָבִים.

God said: Let there be a system of light-bearers in the vault of the sky to separate day from night, and they shall serve also as signs and for festive seasons, and for cycles of days and years… And so it was God Who made the two great light-bearers, the great light-bearer to rule over the day, and the small light-bearer to rule over the night, and the stars.

The sun produces an abundance of light. Its domain is the day. It controls the cycle of seasons on earth. It enables plants to grow and wakes up man to lively activity. It is so strong that it blinds the eye that looks directly at it. But the sun has its limitations. It only rules by day.

The moon’s light is softer. Its light is gentler, offering some light to those who travel at night. Its light increases and decreases in cycles. Even though night is its main domain, it is still visible in the day. It remains visible, modestly and quietly, as if it were a silent companion to the sun. And yet, as soon as the sun sets, it rises on the horizon.

Not only do the sun and the moon provide a way to calculate time, they are also intended to be encounters with God – מועדים and symbols – אותות,  teaching man the truths of life.

The sun’s radiating power and effectiveness is very strong. From the light of the sun blossoms forth all physical development. But it retreats completely when the rule of the moon begins.

The moon is rarely very bright. It is constantly changing and is always struggling for light. It fulfill its mission with modesty and mildness and remains in the background until the sun sets. Then it gently lights the nights.

Man as an individual can strive for two kinds of greatness. 1) He can aim for material wealth, power and authority. Just as the sun sets, these attributes, more often than not, tend to dissipate in the course of a lifetime. 2) He can aspire to spiritual-moral greatness. Like the moon, this is seldom fully achieved and can easily be lost again. Its fulfillment isn’t in the final goal but in the eternal striving towards self-perfection. Such a person is aware of his imperfections as he strives to improve. Before him is the challenge of the material world, inviting him to seek power and glory. At the end, the spiritual-moral quality will outlast and survive the physical limitations of the human. (GS – eventually even the mighty, rich and famous die.)

Similarly a nation can strive for two kinds of greatness. 1) It can conquer and build empires, becoming mighty and famous. But when that kingdom is overthrown it becomes just a part of history. 2) Alternatively, a nation can aspire to live by truth and a way of life that ennobles man. It will not strive for fame and glory. Others won’t tremble in fear of its attacks. Other nations may mock this nation. It seems so weak and irrelevant. This nation’s material success will increase or decrease relative to how it is reaching its goal of being a moral-spiritual nation. While it may often be in decline, this nation never disappears. Others will come to know of it as the eternal people.

See Talmud Chulin 60b where the moon is comforted by God for the role it will play in history. The mitzvah of sanctifying the new moon is how the moon teaches the Jewish people to continue to strive for spirituality-morality in the face of a materialistic world. Ultimately, spirituality-morality will prevail and materialism will be uplifted for the purpose of spirituality.

Esav lives by the sword. His descendants count their years by the light of the sun. Yaakov’s power is in prayer and study of Torah. His descendants count their years by the light of the moon. They go about their work by day and by night. They often aren’t noticed. The rest of the world is seeking power and glory. However, Yaakov’s spirit is ever there, enlightening this world and the world to come. The sun shines but eventually sets. The moon slowly grows in power. The Jewish people count by the light of the moon. At times they need to recalculate, to catch up with the timing of the sun, completing its yearly cycle.

In the course of history, when Esav’s light diminishes and fades, Yaakov’s light fills the earth.

See Part Two

See Part 1

Yaakov and his descendants’ task is to bring spirituality and morality to a world that often seeks materialism, power and glory. The four Torah portions that are read, leading up to Pesach, provide a way for Yaakov’s descendants to stay on course and not succumb to the lure and luster of such a world.

Early on, Yaakov encountered his brother Esav and wrestled with him during the night. What thoughts did Yaakov have to help him endure? What lessons do they teach us?

As the moon felt outshined by the sun, Yaakov’s descendants must not allow themselves to feel unimportant compared to a world they may not always succeed in materially. They must have self confidence and self esteem in their mission and always be aware of the vital role they play.

Each member must contribute to the shared moral-spiritual assignment of the Jewish people. In that way, no matter how small their contribution, it is a significant one.

If you allow yourself to be impressed by what the world chases after, you will only be important so long as you are wealthy. The moment you lose that, you become irrelevant.

Rather, realize that your role in history is to be part of the building of God’s Sanctuary. Your half shekel is actually a whole shekel. Your contribution combines with the full strength of your brother, combining to be co-builders of God’s Sanctuary.

Your life and your energies will become elevated as “a remembrance before God” a זכרון לפני השם.

Join forces to help reawaken the awareness which links you and your people eternally to God.

This is the calling of פרשת שקלים.

The Jews are destined to be the eternal people of history. They wander the earth, living among the nations of the world. They suffer along with mankind as empires undergo upheavals and change. Their role is to salvage what can be salvaged from the shipwrecks of the past history of man.

From the start, we were given the stern warning to not be dazzled by the material light, no matter how impressive it may be. We are not to fear the sword of Esav and nations that further that view of life. We must always be aware that the days of any given power are numbered, if they don’t accept that the ultimate victory of man is based on man’s spiritual and moral destiny.

Amalek, descendant of Esav attacked the Jews ולא ירא אלקים – without fear of God. When Moshe’s hand were raised to God, the Jews were victorious. As long as we keep our focus on God, materialistic Amalek will be defeated. This is a battle מדור דור that continues through every generation of history. World history is the sum total of God’s battle against the Amalek materialism. God’s leadership assures the ultimate victory of spirit over matter.

Yaakov’s descendants may be “small” as the moon is small. You may be defenseless. Carry God’s banner throughout history. Fight the battle within yourselves as well, to not be pulled into the glitter and lure of materialism.

The successful outcome of this struggle is purity – טהרה and the Torah defines this tahara through the lessons of the פרה אדומה.

In Hirsch’s commentary to Bemidbar Ch. 19 (esp. pages 425-439) he goes into great detail of the symbolism of every aspect of the preparation of the Parah Adumah as well as the notion of spiritual/moral impurity and the process of removing that. In his essay here in CW V2, he highlights the key lesson as follows:

You possess God-given priestly energy. Do not lose sight of that, even when you observe things that challenge you, such as death where it may appear that there is no moral/spiritual side and that everything comes to an end, overpowered by natural forces.

• The unrestrained animal (representing material forces within man and the world) is brought in view of the entrance to the Temple.
• The priest looks towards the Temple and with his hand he subdues it (by slaughtering it) (Man’s free will overcomes the physical and directs it to the spiritual by exercising his free will.)
• With his hand he dedicates the energy of the animal as a consecration to God’s Temple (by directing its blood 7 [ie complete and total] times in that direction).

The message of the Parah Adumah is a repudiation of the error that the free Godly spirit within man is subject to the material. Every Jew must be a priest and model of a moral life which is directed, led and dedicated to God by the free Godly spirit in man.

Death does not instruct Judaism about life. A corpse does not teach man to understand himself. A corpse decays, man is lives forever. The dead body is טמא (unclean), man is טהור pure and clean. When a person dies all the mechanical tool of the body decay, but during his lifetime they are directed by the spirit which goes on living forever.

The Temple bans death and corpses from the reality of priestly life. This message is reviewed each year when we read פרשת פרה.

חדש means renewal and rejuvenation. Those who live a life where the sun always shines on them are blissful. But those who felt the loneliness of night and now feel the joys of the light of day are even happier.

The angels don’t know sin and they exist in a state of bliss, always joyfully performing the will of God. Even more joyful are those who raise themselves from the mire of sin to light and purity, who struggle for light, who battle from purity.

As the Jews were about to leave Egypt, God gave the command: החדש הזה לכם – this renewal and rejuvenation is yours. And this guarantees our destiny and survival.

In Egypt the nation found itself in the shackles of sin and death. God said, “Arise and live!” Throughout history the Jew has found himself in difficult situations, often feeling despair. The same God speaks throughout the ages with the same message: “Arise and live!”

Just as God told the moon, “Renew your light”, just as God bring about spring following the winter, so too God tells man, “Renew yourself in the rejuvenating spring of new life. החדש הזה לכם.”

As the verse in Amos (5:4) teaches, we will always be able to find this new light and life. We have no need to go the Temple or the priest. דרשוני וחיו “Seek Me and live, for you will always find Me.”