Join us for a new monthly afternoon concert series featuring leading world music and chamber ensembles in concert, preceded by a workshop/masterclass
Music will reflect Middle Eastern and Jewish influences on contemporary music, as well as traditional forms. Each concert will include new compositions either commissioned for or written by the artists.
Parashat Vayechi
As we conclude the first book of the Torah together it is fitting to look back, reflect, and offer some observations on our experience. It is obvious that the Torah is not a history book. The chronology is funny at times, many seemingly important details are glossed over or omitted.
It is not a science book, we have to find out for ourselves the processes that were utilized in the divine creation.
It has a unique style, incorporating many sophisticated literary devices and techniques. It seems to economize at times, and other times will repeat sections verbatim, with verbiage that seems redundant. It definitely begs for interpretation and explanation. The Torah is not shy at telling us that we need to immerse ourselves within, to meditate, study, and discuss. Luckily for us we have a legacy of commentary offering us a myriad of approaches to getting inside, from a simple surface reading to esoteric exegesis.
The creation story in the first chapter of the book of Genesis is one of the most profound narratives in the entire Torah.
The narrative begins with G-d “speaking” (to whom?…) and we have the classic creation utterances, ” Let there be light”, “Let there be a canopy”. G-d takes a break in the creation, so to speak, and on day 5 offers a blessing to his creations as well:
“El-him blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the waters of the seas….” (Gen. 1:22)
The first commandment, the first mitzvah in the torah is to the fish!
An identical blessing and commandment is made to the first man and woman:
“El-him blessed them, and El-him said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and dominate the fish of the sea….” (Gen. 1:28)
This sub theme of “Be fruitful and multiply” runs through the entire book of Genesis, commanded to Noah and his sons, to Jacob (Yaakov), and appears in the beginning of this week’s parasha:
“Yaakov said to Yosef, “Almighty Sh-ddai appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and He blessed me. He said to me, “Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you into an assembly of nations…” (Gen. 48:3-4)
Let’s dig a bit deeper…. if we examine the prophecy that Yaakov spoke of (Gen 35:11) we see that G-d actually told him ” P’rai u’rvai”, the singular form of the original command to Adam and Eve. Yet, he retells the exchange to his son Yosef, quoting G-d as saying “I will make you fruitful….” (Gen. 48:4).
Why the subtle change? As you know, the foreparents were all initially barren! They could try as best they could, but they did not have the power to fulfill that mitzvah of procreation without divine intervention. The fish, going back to the creation story, had no such challenges, lacking any spiritual obstacles, any negative energy to keep them from fulfilling G-d’s commandments. But the forefathers and mothers all had to pray for the gift of life, to engage in a relationship with the creator, to overcome their negative inclination.
Going a bit deeper, we can learn from this that Yaakov was acknowledging the the hand of G-d was present in all his accomplishments, that he himself could take no personal credit for his material successes. It is no surprise that Yosef felt the same, telling first Pharoah, and then his brothers that all that was taking place was indeed the divine plan playing out.
Yaakov had a very hard, but very satisfying life, and like any parent, he wanted the best for his progeny. He gives a special blessing to his grandsons Ephraim and Menashe, who are the first of the family to be born and raised in Egypt, and challenged with keeping the strong connection to G-d and family in the midst of oceans of idolatry and materialism.
His blessing to them? “V’yigdu larov”, that they should be fruitful and multiply like the fish! They should not have to suffer, or be tested like their ancestors, rather their inclination should be towards achieving their potential as effortlessly as the the first recipients of G-d’s commandments.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Greg
Parashat Vayigash
“And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear.
And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes
I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon ”
R. Waters/Pink Floyd
When I was a young boy in elementary school in the late 60’s I lived for a while right outside of Washington, DC. The father of one of my childhood friends was a scientist for NASA, and supplied us with a lot of colorful memorabilia about the space program.
I was soon obsessed with the Apollo program, knowing the names and backgrounds of all the astronauts, and with much of the jargon and space-speak that accompanied these activities. We would follow each mission from start to finish, as the entire proceedings were usually broadcast on television. We saw each blast off, traced the trajectory of the rocket ship, and delighted in the broadcast of communications between heaven and earth.
One thing that sticks out is the occasional LOS (Loss of Signal) when the Apollo capsule would pass behind the dark side of the moon, temporarily losing radio contact with Mission Control in Houston, and the 45 minutes the astronauts were incommunicado seemed like an eternity, or maybe like…..210 years?
In Parashat Vayigash, after the joy of learning that his son Joseph (Yosef) is alive, well, and ruling an entire country, Jacob (Yaakov) has a revival of spirit, and sets out to go down (leaving the holy land is always going ‘down’) to Egypt. He makes an offering to “The G-d of his father”, referring to Isaac (Yitzchak)who was not allowed to leave the holy land during his lifetime. Yaakov is treated to his last prophetic experience, and this time the dream seems to be taking place during the day, as it is called a “Night Vision”.
Yaakov is frightened because he knows that this will be the exile that was revealed to his grandfather Avraham after the Brit Bein ha Bitarim, the “Covenant of the Pieces” (Gen. 15:7-16), and that he and his children would be subject to LOS- an exile without regular contact with Mission Control-the G-d of Israel.
Yaakov had already proved his mettle by living without “radio contact” for the 22 years he was separated from Yosef, and after passing that test he was to be reunited with his favored son, and given one more opportunity to reestablish the signal “….and the spirit of their father Yaakov was revived” (Gen. 45:27).
This pending exile would serve to condition Yaakov’s descendants, by having them experience a life predicated on faith- in the teachings of their foremothers and fathers, in a G-d just outside signal range, and most importantly, in the establishment of a national identity based on these beliefs.
Yaakov earned the name Israel during his struggle against secularism upon returning from his personal exile, after planting the seeds of his extended family. That entire family, now collectively known as Israel, would be together at the end of his life, as they enter the crucible of Egypt, with only the torch of divine destiny to illuminate their dark days in Egypt.
“All that is now
All that is gone
All that’s to come
And everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon”.
R. Waters/Pink Floyd
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Greg
Better than Chinese food!
Thursday, December 24, 8pm
Greg Wall’s Later Prophets, Edom, Jake Marmer & Friends
Sixth Street Community Synagogue
325 East 6th Street New York, NY
Admission includes free wine and beer!
$15 DO/$12 with RSVP to radical6street@gmail.com
Later Prophets
Greg Wall’s Later Prophets, Tzadik recording artists, bring a highly
literate Jewish sensibility to the forefront of jazz. Wall, has found
the perfect partners in his bandmates keyboard wiz Shai Bachar,
drummer extraordinaire Aaron Alexander, and the effervescent David
Richards on bass. Together, they are able to simultaneously straddle
the gates of the ancient and avant-garde. A leading figure in NY’s
downtown music scene, “rabbi and fiery, eclectic Jewish-jazz luminary”
(Time Out NY) Greg Wall was ordained in 2006 and may well be the only
recording and touring jazz musician who is also a rabbi (Sixth Street
Community Synagogue in NYC’s East Village). His work is “a surprising
multicultural collision worthy of Bill Laswell or Kip Hanrahan at
their best,” noted Jon Andrews in DownBeat.
www.GregWall.com
Edom
Edom is an avant-rock-klez-jazz ensemble led by Eyal Maoz, hailed by
John Zorn as “Ecstatic music for a new generation”. Where Jazz meets
New Wave, and echoes of Joy Division are counterposed with John Zorn’s
Electric Masada, begins the rocking odyssey of Edom. Check the music
out at www.edommusic.com and http://www.eyalmaozmusic.com/
Jake Marmer
Jake Marmer, appearing at this gig with Eyal Maoz on the guitar and
Jeremy Danneman on sax, merges poetry, music, and performance into
such philosophically viral mixtures as existentialist dancehall,
talmudic jazz poetry, personalized bop apocalypse. He has performed
extensively in New York and Jerusalem, with his band Frantic Turtle,
Mima’amakim collective, and various hip downtown characters.
http://www.myspace.com/franticturtle
Parashat Miketz
During the darkest part of the year the dream state seems to be readily available to all of us. Whether dreaming about warmer days to come, or decompressing from the sensory overload we all suffer from during the holiday season, we welcome a chance to transport ourselves out of the material world, if only for a few winks..
Last weeks Parsha began with a dream, ended with two, and now we begin Parashat Miketz with two dreams from Pharaoh, which we learn are one and the same.
The literary flow of this section of the torah is sublime. After the famous story of the ascension of Yosef (Joseph) from prisoner to powerful government minister there is a dissolve to 8 years hence, and Yosef’s prophetic interpretation of Pharoah’s dream has beome reality, and famine spread out past the Egyptian borders, causing a swarm of nations to approach Joseph to buy food.
We now cut to Yaakov, in the beginning of chapter 42, and have some dialogue that begs for interpretation, just as the previous dreams.
וַיַּרְא יַעֲקֹב, כִּי יֶשׁ-שֶׁבֶר בְּמִצְרָיִם; וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב לְבָנָיו, לָמָּה תִּתְרָאוּ.
“Jacob saw that there was food in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons: Why do you..??”
The question marks are there because there doesn’t seem to be a clear way to translate תִּתְרָאוּ(titra’u). It is a plural reflexive verb formation, some are doing something to themselves.
Rashi first translates it as “Why do you make yourselves seen?”, and the Talmud in tractate Taanit comments that Yaakov’s family did in fact have food, but by not going to Egypt to buy more they would attract attention from the families of Ishmael and Esau. (Why they would be hanging around in that neighborhood is another story..). Perhaps there is a larger point here- do not, when in times of hardship, flaunt your own personal success, rather, be sensitive to the greater population, and to the fact that most are suffering. Certainly a good message in these difficult economic times.
Rashi then mentions that others translate this as, “Why should you make yourselves lean through hunger?”.
The RaMBaN (Nachmonedes) does not like that last translation, and offers another, and is supported by the Sforno (a 15th century commentator). They say it means, “Don’t look at each other”, meaning, don’t just stand there, do something!. The Sforno brings a saying from the Talmud (Eruvin 3A), which states, “a pot belonging to partners is neither hot nor cold”- If you assume that someone else will take care of it, nothing will get done.
This message seems right in line with the story of Hanukah. The Maccabees were not content to stand there looking at each other, they instead sprung into action, and ultimately prevailed.
People of faith, when highly motivated, and proactive, enter into a partnership with the Almighty, and the possibilities are limitless.
That’s the stuff dreams are made of..
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Greg
Parashat Vayeishev
This week’s parasha continues to present a glimpse of the evolution of spiritual consciousness and prophecy through the dream state. In the book of Numbers (12:6) the Torah tells us that all prophecies except those of Moses will be revealed in dreams. (The dreams of Abimelech and Lavan we read about a few weeks ago were merely explicit warnings, a manifestation of the Divine protection promised to our fore parents).
This week’s first reading details two prophetic dreams of Joseph (Yosef), the first regarding sheaves of wheat, and the second: He had another dream and told it to his brothers. He said, “Behold! I dreamed another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were prostrating themselves to me.” (Gen. 37:9)
The next verse tells us his family’s response: He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you dreamed? Shall I, your mother and your brothers come and prostrate themselves on the ground to you?”(Gen. 37:10)
Rashi’s comment on this verse reminds us that Yosef’s mother Rachel had already passed away (right after the birth of her second son Benjamin)!
He goes on to tell us that although some commentators have no problem with this fact (as he was raised by his stepmother) Rashi concludes by telling us that our sages believe that no dream is without meaningless parts.
Yet we know that dreams, whether experienced in a deep sleep, or during a few fleeting moments of our waking hours, are crucial to our very being. But, without a spiritual context for our dreams they can serve to disillusion us.
In her famous poem “Ve’ulai” the popular pre state Israeli poet Rachel asks if, “perhaps”, the return of Jews to the Galilee, working its fields, and immersing in its waters is only a dream. Centuries of persecution had taken its toll on the Jewish dreamer, and all dreams were inherently suspect. Pinch me, am I dreaming?
But without taking them seriously, how can any dreams, whether of Joseph, Martin Luther King, or the dream we can barely remember each morning, sustain us, and guide us towards realizing our potential?
How much can we rely on our dreams to inform us, and what parts are suspect, and ultimately meaningless?
One of the results of living a committed Jewish life is the constant opportunity for self reflection, affirmation of core values, and a continuous re-aiming towards the spiritual targets we hope to hit during our lives. Ayn Rand, in her Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology writes, “Consciousness is the faculty of awareness— the faculty of perceiving that which exists….It is only in relation to the external world that the various actions of a consciousness can be experienced, grasped, defined or communicated.”
Any dream that reflects these values is one that is worth pursuing-no matter how outrageous or unconventional. Those of us who choose to live a Jewish life in the midst of a secular world will constantly be challenged to determine what is valuable, and what is merely “noise”.
Wishing you a peaceful Shabbat, and joyous Hanukah,
Rabbi Greg
Parashat Vayishlach
I recently mentioned that with the emergence of Jacob (Yaakov) as the central figure in our narrative, the Torah gives us a fuller understanding of his relationship with G-d by the use of rich, descriptive language.
Although the Torah, in Parashat Toldot which we read a few weeks ago, makes a point of showing us that his father Yitzchak was proactive spiritually by offering his own prayers to G-d, “Yitzchak prayed to G-d on behalf of his wife, because she was barren” (Gen. 25:21), in this week’s parasha we are treated to a moving, poignant account of Yaakov’s supplication.
The wonderful 19th century commentator the Beis HaLevi (Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, 1820 -1892, from Belarus) mentions that the more detailed we are with our requests the deeper they penetrate in the spiritual realm. He mentions an seemingly redundant phrase in Yaakov’s prayer, “ Rescue me, I beg you, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisov..” (Gen. 32:12). Since Yaakov only had one brother, there had to be a reason for mentioning both his name and his relationship.
The Beis HaLevi teaches that the threat of Eisov, mentioned last, was the the actual physical threat on the lives of Yaakov and his family. But, by first asking for protection from the “hand of my brother”, Yaakov is asking for protection from the influence of Eisov, while living amongst him. Yaakov, says the Beis HaLevi, is afraid of the assimilation that would inevitably take place in future generations due to the destruction of Jerusalem by the descendants of Eisov, and the long exile we still endure.
It is my prayer that all of us can communicate with our creator in detail, that our prayers will penetrate any walls, either real, or imagined, and will be indeed answered.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Greg