Bo: The devil is in the details

This week’s parsha introduces the halachic process of observing the commandments of the Torah. Every commandment contains numerous layers of meaning and importance: there is the social and moral value that it conveys. There are also the technical minutiae—complex details that comprise its very fabric. This week we encounter the laws that govern the observance of Pesach and of the structuring of the Jewish calendar, the general values of which are apparent to all. Pesach represents for us the concept of freedom from bondage, teaching us the beginning of our people’s history, while the calendar has always been vital for social and commercial life and keeps us in tune with the changing seasons of the year.

 Though the general idea of our commandments is easy to grasp, the devil always lies in the detail. Theories are wonderful—but they rarely survive the tests of time and ever-changing circumstances. So what mechanism can enable the story of our departure from Egyptian slavery to freedom to remain fresh after thousands of years? Values only come to life if they are translated into human action and normative behavior.

 Scientific theories can be tested by experiment and validation. Values are different. Freedom is a great theory but it must be tested by the realities of everyday existence. Pesach is a symbol of freedom but only its practical implementation through matzah, chametz, the haggadah and so forth can preserve the value and validate the theory and guarantee its meaningfulness for generations to come. The uniqueness of the Jewish calendar lies also in its technical details. The permanent calendar that we now follow, established in the fifth century CE, is a lunar calendar with adjustments to make it fit into a solar year. How the last Sanhedrin squared this circle is too large a topic for Hanassi Highlights.  However, if it were not for their calculations, our calendar would long ago have disappeared—just as did the ancient calendars of Egypt, Babylonia, Greece and Rome.

Many people look at the calendar not as a commandment but as a convenience, a neat way to mark our passage through time. But, for Jews, the details are of equal if not even greater importance than the convenience that they represent. In our time, those Jews who for various reasons only concentrated on the values, who were good Jews at heart but observed no commandments or details, were rarely privileged to have Jewish descendants. We must be careful, though. Concentrating only on the details is also a distortion of the divine word. To see the general value of a commandment and to observe its necessary technical details in practice is our guarantee that the Torah will survive amongst the people of Israel for all time.   

 Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein

Comfort from our Calendar: Re'eh 5784

In the middle of Moshe’s lengthy oration to the Jewish people about their history and destiny, he surprises us by inserting a review of the year’s calendar holidays. The calendar has always been central to Jewish life and its survival. Indeed, during the dark regime of Stalin, Soviet Jewry was forbidden from owning or possessing a Jewish calendar. 

The depth of Soviet Jewry’s loyalty to its inner faith is evidenced by the fact that, somehow, millions of Soviet Jews still knew when the Jewish holidays would occur. For the calendar is the rhythm of our lives. It evokes memory, hope and a feeling for the timelessness of Jewish life and its traditions. As such, the mere existence of the Jewish calendar posed a threat to the cruel and atheistic Communist regime that ruled in its time over a large part of humankind. In reality, for the Jewish people the calendar does not only mark the passage of time gone by: it also focuses on time that is yet to come—on the future—which always offers brighter prospects than they experienced in the past. 

One of my younger grandchildren proudly told me that he had calculated how many years in the future a certain anomaly on the Jewish calendar regarding the date of erev Pesach would occur. I bless him that he lives to see it—but he is already certainly enthusiastic about the prospect and looks forward to its happening. 

By supplying us with a vision of the future, our calendar gives us a chance to feel that we are to some extent the masters of our own fate and that we can, by our own efforts, have some influence in determining our destiny. 

The Jewish calendar marks the progression from one holy day to the next. We are always on the way to celebrate and commemorate our obligations to serve our Creator. Though numerous sad days have been introduced into our calendar since the time of Moshe, the Jewish calendar still remains upbeat, exuding spirit and joy, family and hospitality, compassion and appreciation of life and its bounties. 

The parsha of Re’eh almost always falls in Elul, the month that leads us into the glorious days of Tishrei, to our days of awe and compassion and to Succot with its celebration of Torah and its commandments. The review of the Jewish year, which occupies a great deal of this week’s parsha, is therefore most fitting, for it prepares us not only for the month ahead but for the coming year generally. Though our future remains unknowable, we can nevertheless fee; secure, comforted by the centuries-long consistency of our calendar. Since our calendar reminds us daily of our uniqueness as a people and of the eternity of our Torah and our faith, this week’s review fits well into Moshe’s overall message. It also reminds us the passage of time is itself one of life’s gifts that is bestowed upon us by our Creator.

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein