STANDING AND WALKING Encapsulated in the titles of this week’s double parasha are two key principles of life. Nitzavim and Veyelech. Standing firm and Walking. There are times when what is required of us is to be firm, principled and resolute. There are other times when what is called for is to be flexible, compliant and adaptive. The challenge is of course to apply the right quality at the right time. The psychologist Abraham Maslow once said, “when one only has a hammer, it becomes tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail!” Both pieces of advice are...

MONUMENTAL VALUES The controversy over reports of thefts from the British Museum throws into focus the importance of such institutions as being the custodians of the cultural heritage of mankind. Gazing at an ancient monument can give a graphic insight into the world and values of a civilization long past on. The construction of a monument in the ancient world was often an indication of power. The Arch of Titus, for example, celebrated his victory over the Jews in Israel and destroying their Temple. A very different kind of monument is described in this week’s parasha. (Devarim 27:1-8.) The children...

THE WATERS OF NOAH This Shabbat contains the shortest Haftara in the book – a mere ten verses from chapter 51 of Isaiah. Yet it contains a message that rings out across the generations. Isaiah promises, in the name of G-d, that just as he had promised in the days of Noah, not to bring another flood to destroy the world, so He will not punish His people again: “For this is to Me [as] the waters of Noah, as I swore that the waters of Noah shall never again pass over the earth, so have I sworn neither to...

TWO KINDS OF BLINDNESS Earlier this year, Ukrainian authorities detained the chief justice of the Supreme Court for allegedly taking bribes from an oligarch. As a recipient of so much Western support in its war against Russia, Kyiv was determined to demonstrate its swift and absolute commitment to outlawing corruption. Here’s what the Torah has to say about bribery. This week’s parasha, Shoftim, deals with the appointment of judges and their qualities. High on the list is the ban on bribery. “Do not accept a bribe for the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and make just words...

FOR ONE AND FOR ALL   “Behold I am setting before you this day a blessing and a curse” [Devarim 11:26]   The opening words of today’s parasha have occasioned much discussion.. The nuance of grammar is lost in the English translation. The verse begins with an injunction in the singular, Re’eh, “Behold or See” addressed to an individual, followed by a plural form, Lifneichem, “I am setting before you (plural)”. Why does the verse start in the singular, addressing the individual, and conclude in the plural, addressing the community? One of the many answers is given by the Chatam...

ISRAEL’S EMBASSIES This week’s parasha includes the passage well-known to us from the siddur: the second paragraph of the Shema. The conclusion of this passage seems difficult to accept at face value: “so that your days will be lengthened on the land which the L-d promised to your ancestors, to give to them.” The Torah promises longevity in the land of Israel for those who fulfil the previously mentioned commandments, such as Tefilin, Mezuzah and Torah study. The Talmud (Berachot 8a) states that the Palestinian Amora, R’ Yochanan expressed surprise that there should be elderly people in Babylon seeing as...

TIME FOR A BREAK With the holiday season upon us, many will be looking to have a much-deserved break. Some may be wanting to have a quiet relaxing time. Others may be seeking something more exciting. Is there a Jewish angle on having an adventure? The Torah fortuitously sets out a general principle in a verse in this week’s parasha: Venishmartem me’od lenafshoteichem, which translates as: “You shall take very good care of yourselves.” [Devarim 4:15] Later in the Torah, in parashat Ki Teitzei, we will read of the requirement to build a fence or a parapet for the roof...