What Does Judaism Think

On Yom Kippur, the High Priest was allowed to enter The Holy of Holies, the most sanctified part of the temple. In that room, the Ark of the Covenant was kept. When the high Priest entered, he was required to remove all of his golden garments. He could only answer with the white linen clothes of a basic Priest. The Talmud gives the reason: the prosecution cannot become the defense. What does this mean?

The Tabernacle and its requirements are written before the Golden calf episode in the Bible. Nonetheless, the Tabernacle was actually commanded after the Golden calf episode, not before. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this article. There are many elements of the Tabernacle and its services that are intended to atone for that tragic sin.

Thus, the very material of gold reminds one of the Golden calf. It is a "prosecutor", in that it brings up that painful episode again. Yom Kippur is the day when the Golden calf episode was forgiven, and when Moses returned from Mount Sinai with the second set of the stones of the 10 Commandments. Thus, at the heart of that day's service, is forgiveness for the sin of the calf. The high priest enters the holy of holies, where those stones of the Commandments are housed in the Holy Ark. It would be inappropriate for the high priests to wear gold at that moment. The prosecutor, i.e. the gold, cannot become the defense in this atonement ceremony.

But what about Aaron? He himself would seem to be part of the prosecution, as it was he who made the calf! Now it is true that many commentaries mitigate Aaron's role in the calf, and explain how he was attempting to dissuade the people, to delay them until Moses could return, and so forth. I'm sure that Aaron was not an idolater and very much made this calf against his will, but the Bible is clear that he made it intentionally and did not put up a fight. So why is he allowed to enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur?

The priests come from the family of Levi, the tribe of people who did not participate in the worship of the Golden calf. Originally, it was to be the first born sons who were to perform the Temple service. Since, however, they did participate in the Golden calf, this task was taken away from them and given to the Levites. So we see that service in the Tabernacle was contingent upon not having participated in the sin of the Golden calf.

So what about Aaron!? Why is he not excluded? Was this candidate not properly vetted?

Of course he was, and this is the unique power of the Jewish view on life. Judaism does not look at a person's past, it looks at a person's character and their potential for the future. And in Judaism, love conquers all.

Aaron was the paradigm of love. Our sages teach us to "Be among the disciples of Aaron: love peace, pursue peace, love people and bring them close to Tora." The job of the priests in the Tabernacle required love of Israel, love of humanity. This Aaron had in abundance, more than anyone else. In fact, one could say that it was Aaron's love of the people that led him to make the calf. He did not initiate it, it certainly grieved him deeply. When explaining his deed to Moses, he said, "You know this people, that they are in a bad way."

Good and bad are concepts that express more than simply a value judgment. During the days of creation, the day when things were separated, Monday, is never described as being "good." That is because separation, while at times necessary, is not good, any more than getting a cavity filled, while necessary, is pleasureful. God is one, he desires his children to be one. When there is war, strife and fratricide, it is not good, it is bad. Aaron was telling Moses that the people were splitting, were turning against each other. It was clearly the responsibility of those who desired "A God who will go before us, for we do not know what has happened to this Moses."

Aaron did whatever he could to prevent this greatest evil, civil war. The real dividers were the sinners, including the first born, who thus disqualified themselves from working in the Tabernacle. Aaron was a unifier, and if the price to salvage the People's unity was making a calf, he was prepared to do it. For Aaron, love conquered all.

Twice daily the Jew proclaims his faith. He does so by reciting the famous Shema prayer, "Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." This proclamation is immediately followed by a command: "and you shall love thy Lord with all of your hearts, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength." The first thing a Jew needs to put in his heart is love. Love conquers all.

That is not to say that idolatry, licentiousness, and other sins are given a free pass. It is to say that God has lots of patience for those things, but not for hatred and violence towards our fellow human beings. Love and peace are at the top of the list, and for the High Priests, they are the most basic job requirements.

Many commentaries wonder why these 10 verses are treated specially. The questioner is correct! All of the commandments and all of the verses of the Torah have equal sanctity! Why the differentiation?

One explanation sees the 10 Commandments as being more than just commandments. They are the encapsulation of the entire Torah. The great Rabbi Saadya Gaon teaches that each of the 10 Commandments is, in truth, a category of Commandments. Thus, we are not standing for 10 commandments alone, we are standing for the entire Torah. This reading is like a reading of the entire Torah.

This makes sense in that each of the commandments seems to contain a number of sub- commandments. The second commanded, for example, seems to have four different elements: 1. You shall not have other gods, 2. You shall not make idols, 3. You shall not bow down to them, 4. You shall not serve them.

In fact, the phrase "10 Commandments," is mistranslated. It should be translated as, "10 utterances." Rabbi Saadya's explanation removes this problem.

Another explanation comes from Rabbi Moshe Nachmanidies. He compares the entire Sinai episode to the process of a convert to Judaism. The convert must accept the Torah and the commandments. The Talmud tells us that we don't need to teach the convert all 613 commandments in one shot. This would be very difficult. So what do we do?

Instead, we teach them a sampling of the commandments. We teach them easy ones, and harder ones. The same thing happened at Mount Sinai. God will reveal the full depth of the Torah over the years to come. At that moment when Israel "converted," and accepted the yoke of Judaism, they were taught a sampling of the commandments. Specifically, the 10 Commandments. Thus, perhaps we stand because we are accepting the Torah once more.

I would like to suggest another explanation. Rabbi Herschel Schechter of Yeshiva University explained the significance of the fifth commandment, "Honor thy father and my mother." According to a midrash, this commandment was actually given previously, at a place called "Marah."

Rabbi Schechter quotes from the work of Rabbi Joseph Engle, who wrote extensively on this commandment. After the Israelites encountered the bitter waters at Marah, the Torah tells us that, "There He gave [Israel] a decree and a law." What were the decree and the law?

Rashi explains that the decree was the commandments of the Red Heifer, which is called a decree in the book of numbers. The law refers to the body of civil laws. That all make sense. Where does the midrash see the commandment of honoring one's parents in this phrase?

Rabbi Engle brings an argument between the sages Hillel and Shammai as to whether it would've been better had man never been created. Their disciples debated this for years, and finally concluded that it would've been better had man indeed never been created. The commentary Tosaphot claims that this only applies to an average or sinful person. A righteous person, on the other hand, is certainly the beneficiary of being created.

So if a person is righteous, they should be grateful to their parents who brought them into this world. For them, honoring by father and mother is a logical law. The father and mother did them a favor.

If the person is not righteous, however, by rights they should be upset with their parents. Why did they bring them into this world and get them into this difficult situation? Nonetheless, honoring them remains a decree of God, even though it seems illogical. Thus, the commandment of honoring parents comes from both of those phrases: Decree, if the person is not righteous, and Law (a logical, understandable law), if the person is righteous.

I would like to suggest an additional explanation. The last commandment is the prohibition on coveting your neighbor's property. The Hasidic master, the Bnei Yissachar, expands this prohibition to include not buying a Alfa Romeo because your neighbor has an Alfa Romeo. Certainly it is prohibited to attempt to acquire your neighbor's. The desire to live your neighbor's life, that is what is wrong.

Therefore, a person who desires to live their neighbor's life will not properly fulfill honoring their parents. They will resent that they were not born to their neighbors parents, not given his skin, his talents, his successes. For this person, honoring the parents is a decree.

But a person who understands that they are unique, and that they have gifts that no one else has, is prepared to live their own life of excellence. For them, their parents are the best in the world. Honoring them is a logical law.

God gives a preamble to the 10 Commandments, explaining how the Jewish people shall be "chosen." Chosen means unique, not better or worse. It means different and special. Every human being should be different and special. Every nation should be different and special. The 10 Commandments teach us that. Be different, be special, be excellent, and you will change the world.

The section of the Torah where God commands Israel to construct a Tabernacle commences with the instruction to collect contributions from the people. They are to donate their gold and silver, each according to the generosity of his heart. After the list of required materials comes the famous command, "and they shall make for Me a sanctified place and I shall dwell in their midst." In the next verse, we meet the word "Tabernacle" for the first time.

A careful reading reveals an interesting fact: all of this donated gold and silver is requested before we know the purpose. Only after everything is gathered do we find out that we are constructing a Tabernacle. Why does the Torah not begin with that fact? Let it say, "you shall construct a Tabernacle of gold and silver," and follow that up with the requirement of soliciting contributions from the people. Why have them give first before they know what they are giving to?

Another interesting question involves the order of the sanctified objects to be built for this Tabernacle. The first thing commanded is the Ark of the Covenant. Afterwards, we get the commandments regarding the actual Tabernacle, and other internal elements such as the candelabra and the table for the show bread. And yet, in a later section, we find that Bezalel changed the order and constructed the Tabernacle before the Ark. Was he arguing with Moses? Was this insubordination? How could anyone argue with Moses on a matter of Jewish law?

The answer to these questions touches a core issue in our spiritual and mundane lives. Do we behave as we behave because it is what we believe in our hearts, or because it looks good to others? Does an actor act because he loves the art of theater, or because he enjoys the fame?

Do we worship God because it will bring some reward, or because our spirits drive us to do so?

Rabbi Solomon Sorotzkin points our attention to the word in the verse we quoted, "sanctified place." It does not say Tabernacle, because the Tabernacle is merely the external manifestation of a "sanctified place." In other words, the holiness of the Tabernacle must preexist in our hearts. That verse concludes, "and I will dwell in their midst." It does not say, "and I will dwell in it," which would imply that sanctified place, that Tabernacle. This versus saying something entirely different! It is saying that if we sanctify this world, God will be in our hearts. That will create the drive to build the most beautiful Tabernacle that could possibly exist.

Moses and Bezalel had no disagreement. They were talking about different things. The Ark contains the tablets with the 10 Commandments. It is the spiritual heart of the Tabernacle. Moses was speaking in didactic terms: start with the purpose, start with the core reason. That core reason is Torah, the source of all of our spirituality. That must be the starting point for any construction of holiness. The beautiful externalities must grow from that, not the other way around.

Bezalel, who changed the order, was involved in the practical construction of the Tabernacle, and correctly argued that it is not respectful to the Torah and to the Ark, which symbolizes it, to make it first and have it wait for the Tabernacle that will house it to be completed. First make the house, then make the Ark.

Now, the holy Ark, despite its importance, was never to be seen by human eyes. It was housed in the innermost chamber, the Holy of Holies, a place where only the high priest entered on Yom Kippur. Even then, he could not see the Ark because he was carrying incense, which sent up smoke of the incense that concealed it. And yet, the description of the Ark points to the most beautiful object imaginable! Golden coverings, beautifully crafted Cherubim adorning it. Why such astounding beauty on an object that no one was allowed to look at? Isn't that a waste?

If you have ever walked in the forest alone, you may relate to the feeling I will describe. There is a mystery there, a spiritual presence that cannot be seen but can clearly be felt. Our eyes and our ears take in all of the sights and sounds available, but something in our heart feels a Presence. Native Americans sensed the spirit in all of nature. Humans, if we are open to it, can feel that mystery. That mystery does something important to us.

It is that sense of mystery that gives everything in this world a special glow. That mystery is only accessible to spiritual people. Someone who is addicted to all of the material pleasures the world offers will not perceive this mystery, and will be deprived of the incredible joy it provides. Yes, they may appreciate beautiful nature, but it will have no effect on their soul. The spiritual person is motivated by that sense of mysterious presence to become even more spiritual. The inspiration from time in the forest was sought out by great Hasidic masters, and spurred them to even greater spiritual heights.

So why is the holy Ark, so beautiful in its creation, hidden to us? Because it symbolizes the mystery of God. In truth, we do see the holy Ark, just not with our eyes. We see it with our hearts. We know it is there, we know its beauty defies description, and we feel a yearning for it. That yearning prompts us to great spiritual heights, it prompts us to construct a Tabernacle of great beauty and inspiration.

When we start with the sanctified place in our hearts, we become aware of the mystery of the Eternal One. This makes it impossible for us not to desire to construct the most beautiful Tabernacle in this most beautiful, and mysterious, world.

A question often asked is why it was necessary to bring 10 plagues in order to liberate the Israelites? For example, the rabbis of the Midrash tell us a story of how Pharaoh was terrified by Aaron's staff. After it swallowed up the staffs of the Egyptian magicians, Pharaoh was terrified that the staff was going to come for him next.

So, why didn't Moses indeed threaten to sick the staff on Pharaoh unless he let the Israelites go? He most certainly would've agreed! Not only does this not happen, but God allows the Egyptian magicians to re-create some of Moses' miracles. They can turn their staffs into reptiles, they can turn water into blood, they can bring out more frogs into Egypt. Then, there are some plagues they can't do, such as lice and wild animals. The last time they are mentioned is when the plague of skin boils occurs, and "the magicians could not stand in front of Moses because of their boils." What does this little anecdote tell us?

Another question that bothers me is the seemingly dishonest way that Moses phrases his request to Pharaoh. "Let us go three days in the wilderness, so we may sacrifice to our Lord," Moses requests. It is clear to us, however, that Moses has no intention of returning to Egypt after those three days. When the Israelites go, they will go for eternity. So why not be honest with Pharaoh, and tell him exactly what he is asking for?

The answer to the first question is quite profound. The Exodus was not exclusively for the benefit of the Israelites, but rather for the Egyptians, and, through them, for the entire world. The Exodus continues to this day! The echoes of that transformative event are reflected in the editorial choices of almost every news organization, world over. How so?

God instructs Moses in the art of persuasion. The entire process of the 10 plagues, including God hardening Pharaoh's heart, was geared to persuade Egypt to change its direction. And not just Egypt, rather the whole world.

Rabbi Meir Simcha of Divinsk explains the importance of Egypt and its magicians. This was the great Empire of the day. This was the land where science and culture were at their peak. The entire world looked to Egypt for leadership. It went so deep that, according to the Midrash, the magicians of Pharaoh were actually little children! Egypt was the land of black magic, and thus its theology was also massively influential. What was needed now was the first step of persuasion, to catch attention.

It's no great accomplishment for me to beat my four-year-old son in a running race. It's an impressive accomplishment if I can beat an Olympic gold medal athlete in a running race! That would mean that I am the best. That would get the attention of every single sportswriter in the world.

So it was with Egypt. God allows the Egyptian magicians to ply their craft, but, at some point, He shows His mastery over them. As the song goes, "anything you can do, I can do better." God is Master of the Masters, King of the Kings. Rabbi Meir Simcha explains that the fact that the magicians couldn't stand before Moses because of the boils as being one of embarrassment, not physical ability. They were humiliated, because they themselves had boils, but could not inflict them on Moses. They could no longer compete.

There is a hidden lesson here. A Jew, whose eyes are always to God, will strive for excellence. A great Rabbi, Rabbi Elijah of Vilna, was known far and wide as a brilliant mathematician. When a leading mathematician, who was an assimilated Jews, met the Rabbi, he asked him how the Rabbi knew so much about math? After all, most of his time was spent in studying Torah! While he, himself, was devoted exclusively to math, and yet this Rabbi knew as much as he did.

The Rabbi answered with a parable: a man sees a shop owner deliver a large order in many boxes, and realizes that the customer gets to keep the boxes. This man needed boxes himself, so he asked the shop owner to give him a supply. The shop owner then quoted a high price to him. "But that other man got all those boxes for free," said the man. "Correct," said the shop owner, "but he paid for a large order of goods. The boxes were simply included in that order."

In other words, because the Rabbi was immersed in Torah, the "boxes" of worldly wisdom, including mathematics, are included at very low cost. But you, who have no interest in Torah, and only focus on the mathematics, must pay the full price in time and effort.

In order for the Jew to fulfill his purpose in the world, he must pursue excellence in every field of endeavor that he engages. Most importantly, he must pursue ethical excellence. By doing so, we gain the attention of all of humanity. They then ponder where all of this excellence came from, and will thus find their way to God. It is God who gives us the power and wisdom to achieve excellence. If we believe in God, we must pursue excellence. If you don't buy enough Godliness, you won't get the boxes.

But that is not where it stops, because intellectual attention will not bring about a change in behavior. For that, we need action. In our prayers, we ask God to help us "learn and teach, guard and do." I believe that is why Moses asked for three days, and why God kept hardening Pharaoh's heart. It was critical to get Pharaoh to take one good step, do one good thing, for the right reasons. Had he released the Israelites from fear, it would not have indicated any change in his character. That was not the end game. It was to get Pharaoh started on the path of goodness.

That's why I believe that when Moses was asking for three days in the wilderness, he intended to initiate Pharaoh on a path of good deeds that would culminate with his ultimate release of the Israelites forever. Let them go for three days, "and then let's talk." Such is human nature. We crave consistency, and if Pharaoh can do a completely good deed, let the Israelites go for three days, and not from fear but from kindness, he will then continue on that new path. He will release the slaves, and perhaps change the Egyptian society. And from there, to he whole world.

In the end, even this failed, but that's not important. Humans have free choice, and Pharaoh chose evil until the end. What's important for us is to learn what Moses attempted to do. Our job as Jews and as God's partners, as it were, is to persuade the entire world to live according to God's will. We don't do it with the sword, because the sword does not change the heart. We do it in the method of the Exodus: 1. Gain the world's attention by showing that God is the source of all excellence, and 2. Encourage the world to take baby steps in the direction of goodness. Once that is accomplished, change and redemption will grow faster and faster.

The future leadership of the Jewish people was to belong to Judah. True, Joseph's descendents had their day, but it is Judah, through his star descendent King David, who learned the permanent kingship over the tribes of Israel. This is surprising, considering Joseph's meteoric rise to power and his status high above that of his brothers.

Rabbi Meir Simcha of Divinsk suggests that Joseph had not intended to reveal his identity to the brothers at the point that he did. His second dream as a youth had the sun, the moon, and the 11 stars bowing to him. The sun and moon symbolized his parents, and even though the brothers had already bowed, his father and mother (represented by Bilhah, his deceased mother's maidservant) have not yet done so. Joseph wanted the dream to be fulfilled in its entirety.

Rabbi Meir Simcha continues that Judah's speech, in which he so eloquently described his father's emotional turmoil and how he himself was ready to take Benjamin's place as Joseph's captive, forced Joseph to change his approach. There were other people in the room, Egyptians, in front of whom Joseph felt that continuing his harsh act towards the brothers would desecrate the name of God. Joseph was a Hebrew, and for him to behave cruelly in front of the Egyptians might be a bad example.

Why was Joseph so insistent on making the dreams come true himself? Why did they have to come through completely? And why was his concern for what the Egyptians might think such a significant factor that he changed his mind?

The answer lies in why Jacob showed favoritism for Joseph in the first place. A parent wants their children to carry their legacy forward. Isaac had preferred Esav because he felt that Esav would better make his way in the world than the innocent Jacob. Jacob himself was determined to not repeat his father's error, and chose which son to favor with great care. (The rabbis are critical of this, warning that a father should never show any favoritism to one over others of his children.)

Jacob's prime concern was that his son be a person of complete truth. Truth is not partial, it is universal. A man who lives according to truth cannot be silent when falsehood abounds. Such a person will commit to fixing the world, and that is exactly what Jacob wanted his son to do. Just as Esav had given his father Isaac gifts (the meats that he hunted) which gave Isaac the impression that Esav was the proper son to favor, Joseph also gave his father gifts. What were they?

The first was the fact that he kept his father informed of his brothers' misdeeds. A person of truth would do such a thing. He would not tolerate concealing what he saw if he felt it could be corrected.

The second was the second dream. Jacob rebuked Joseph for the claim that he and his wife would bow to Joseph, but, at the same time, the Torah tells us that he kept this dream in mind. I believe he did so because the dream implied that Joseph was going to have such importance in the world that even his parents would bow to him. He was somebody who would change history, and that was exactly what Jacob was looking for in a son.

Now we can understand why Joseph wanted to fulfill the dream in its entirety. As a man of truth, he knew that truth goes 100%. But, as a man of truth, he knew that he had a responsibility for bringing the entire world closer to truth. By demonstrating cruelty to his brothers in front of the Egyptians, he felt he would do even more damage to his mission of truth.

But there is a danger in too much truth. Human beings are not always truthful, and therefore Truth would harm them. Mercy is a different attribute which claims that, instead of destroying falsehood, it should be redeemed by being brought closer to truth. The Talmud tells us that Rabbi Akiva took some of the sages up into heaven. He gave them a strange warning, "when you see the place of the pure marble, do not say 'water water!'" Why? Because there is a verse in the Bible that says that "The speaker of falsehoods will not endure before Me."

In other words, even though this pure marble appeared to be water, and the rabbis felt they were saying the truth, the tolerance for falsehood in heaven is far lower. This was Joseph. He suspended his own feelings in the service of truth. He wouldn't even allow the brothers to feel guilt for what they had done to him since it was clearly part of a Divine plan. He did point out their own falsehoods when, responding to Judah's claim that if Benjamin were to be harmed that it might cost Jacob's life, by asking if Jacob was alive now after what had happened to he himself.

Judah, on the other hand, was a repentant sinner. He had admitted his misdeeds with Tamar, and was ready to take responsibility for his part in the sale of Joseph. So much so, that he was ready to take Benjamin's place as an act of ultimate responsibility. Judah gave much importance to feelings and humanity, and thus was deemed the better leader among men.

Truth is absolute, stretching across all areas of life. Humanity, feelings, are also the truths of the human being. A true leader knows how to guide those feelings to bring each and every person closer to the truth of God.

The dramatic thing about this story is that it starts with an oath. Abraham causes Eliezer to swear that he will not bring a Canaanite bride to Isaac.

Why was such an oath necessary? Eliezer was Abraham's servant. Servants are supposed to follow orders without having to swear about everything. Secondly, why does Abraham not cause him to swear that he will bring back a wife from Abraham's family in Mesopotamia? The emphasis of the oath is on Eliezer NOT bringing back a Canaanite girl! Why the negative?

Finally, fundamentally, why was Abraham so opposed to a Canaanite girl? Eliezer himself had a daughter who was of the right age. It stands to reason that she was a very good girl, considering who her father was an in what house she had grown up. The reason given by the rabbis is that the Canaanites are the descendents of Ham, who was cursed by Noah. Abraham is the descendent of Shem, who was blessed by Noah. "Blessed should not cleave to cursed."

The Or Hachaim puts words to this argument. After all, he reasons, Abraham was blessed. He was given the ability to confer that blessing upon others, and all that are in his family are recipients of blessing. Shouldn't all of this blessing be enough to negate the curse of Noah?

Furthermore, Abraham's family in Mesopotamia are no great shakes. We are talking about idolaters and cheaters. In fact, according to the midrash, Rebecca's father Betuel dies by ingesting poison that he had intended for Eliezer! Rebecca's brother, Laban, is a legendary manipulator who harbors ill intentions towards Jacob and his family. Are these people really a better source for a wife for Isaac than the family of Eliezer, faithful servant of Abraham?

The answers to these two questions are foundational for every matchmaker. The first question, why was Eliezer tasked and not Isaac himself, can be answered by a clichéd but true fact: no two people are created alike. Every single is their own unique personality. Isaac, as can be seen throughout his life, is a passive person. He is a great Tsaddik, but he does not innovate or initiate. Therefore, Abraham does not trust him to find his own partner.

In relationships, there are different dynamics. Some seek a parental figure, while others look for someone whom they can nurture. Still others are looking for a sibling or a friend or a playmate. There are many nuances in relationship seeking, but these are the main categories. Isaac, as a more passive person, would naturally gravitate towards a motherly figure. This is born out by the Torah, which reports that "Isaac brought her into his tent, he loved her, and was comforted after his mother."

As a side note, we should note that Isaac loved Rebecca only after he brought her into his tent. Love, in this verse, is a verb. It is not something that one "falls into." It is, instead, something one must do to succeed. Attraction is like the sign outside of a restaurant. It'll get you in, but what you order on the menu will either leave you happy or sick to your stomach. The success of a matches dependent on what happens after the canopy, not before.

This understanding of the importance of each individual's psychological and emotional makeup points us to the answer to the second series of questions. In short, ideology can be changed fairly easily. Character, however, cannot.

The Canaanites were cursed because of the character of their grandfather, Ham. His was a character of selfishness, lack of responsibility and lack of concern for others. A normal child, upon seeing his father in a degraded state, would rush to restore his father's dignity. Ham, on the other hand, not only failed to do so, but (according to a midrash) sterilized his father! To be capable of such an action one must have a deep corruption in one's basic character. That is the source of the curse, and that is the character trait that exhibited itself in Ham's descendents who dwelled in Sodom and Gomorrah.

So while it is possible that a Canaanite can be an exemplary citizen, there is no guarantee that good character will survive to the next generation. And, considering that Isaac is a more passive person who needs a mother figure, it could be Isaac who becomes corrupted rather than the bride who becomes inspired.

So Abraham understood that ideology can be changed easily. The idolatry of his family did not concern him, since he knew that kindness was deep-rooted. Even though Betuel and Laban were no great paragons of virtue, they were the exceptions in the family. What's more, it is eminently possible that their opposition to the family of Abraham is born of their fear of Abraham's monotheistic faith threatening their comfortable idolatrous lifestyle. They weren't bad people, but they did bad things out of a sense of panic.

And, at the end of the day, they enable the match of Isaac and Rebecca as well as the future matches of Jacob, Rachel and Leah.

The medrash tells us that when Isaac brought Rebecca home, four things happened. Four things that had been present when Sara was alive and disappeared with her death, returned with the entrance of Rebecca. There was a cloud on the tent, there was a blessing in the dough, the doors were always wide open, and a candle was lit from the eve of the Sabbath to the next eve of the Sabbath. What do these four things mean?

The cloud symbolizes the Divine Presence. This rested upon the tent as long as three crucial things were in place. My teacher, Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik, explains these three things. 1. The home had to be one of mercy. The Sabbath is a day of peace, a day of living together in harmony. When the Torah prohibits fire on the Sabbath day, the Rabbi's comment that this includes the fires of fighting an argument. This is what it means by the candle being lit from Sabbath to Sabbath, meaning that the spirit of peace of the Sabbath pervades the entire week. This comes from the character trait of mercy. 2. The home has to be one of modesty. The sages tell us that the one who is truly wealthy is the one who is happy with his lot. This is what it means by a blessing being in the dough. The family feels blessed with whatever it is they have. This is the character trait of modesty. 3. The home has to be one where kindness is prevalent. The sages tell us that we are to always have our houses open for the relief of those who are in need. This is what it means by the doors being open all the time. This comes from the character trait of kindness.

These character traits are the opposite of the heritage of Ham, Canaan, and the Sodomites. Abraham teaches every matchmaker that interests and ideology may be an external factor in a match, but the true energy lies in compatible character traits. "The way of the world (good character) comes before Torah," say our sages.

There are three main stories involving Lot. The first is when his shepherds argued with Abraham's, resulting in Lot moving down to the lush, but sinful, city of Sodom. The second is when Abraham rescued Lot and the Sodomites from four mighty kings that had captured them. This was a brilliant military victory where Abraham, with just a few hundred soldiers, defeated four powerful armies.

The most significant story, however, is how Lot was rescued on the eve of Sodom's destruction. When we think of an individual being saved from a cataclysm, we think of Noah. It must be that Lot had a certain virtue that raised him to that same level. What was it?

The Torah tells us that Lot was saved after God remembered Abraham. The Ramban suggests that Lot did not possess sufficient merit to be saved by himself, so the merit of Abraham was needed to save him. Abraham had extended much effort to rescue Lot from those kings. Perhaps God was doing Abraham a favor, so he should not feel that all his effort was in vain.

Rashi, however, quotes the rabbis who explained that Lot had actually done a great deed for Abraham. When Abraham had first arrived in the holy land, a famine drove him, his wife, and his nephew down to Egypt. Abraham feared that the Egyptians would kill him to take his beautiful wife, so he requested that she tell them that Abraham was her brother, not her husband. In this fashion, even if Sara should be taken away, Abraham's life would be spared.

The Rabbi say that Lot knew this plot and allowed it to go forward, not revealing the truth to the Egyptians. It was this merit that saved him from the destruction of Sodom. Some ask, however, why this act was so meritorious? After all, what would Lot gain by telling the Egyptians that Sara was Abraham's wife? An answer is given that, at that time, before the birth of Isaac and Ishmael, Lot was Abraham's heir. Had Abraham been killed, Lot would come into a large inheritance. Nonetheless, he put his own self-interest aside and protected his uncle.

This will be a key an understanding just why Lot was rescued, and why his stories have much to teach us. The most important character trait is here. Let us delve further.

A fourth story involves Lot's daughters and this same trait. After Sodom was destroyed, Lot and his daughters fled to a cave. The daughters were convinced that, once again, humanity had been destroyed and they were the sole hope for the future. The older daughter suggested that they get their father drunk and then become pregnant by him. So it was that they became the progenitors of the nations of Ammon and Moab. The question is, was this a good deed that they did or not?

There seems to be a divide among the rabbis on this question. They are critical of the immodesty of the older daughter, and critical of Lot who may have been aware of what was happening. Others, however, see Divine Providence in their actions, and praise them for their deeds. On what does the argument rest?

The Torah says that the daughters feared that "there is no man to come to us as the way of all the world." Some rabbis interpret this to mean that they believe that the world of been destroyed, just as in the days of Noah. Others, again, are more critical and say that these daughters knew that there were humans elsewhere, but feared that none of them were worthy to be their husbands. They just weren't as good as their father, so...

Let's follow the first assumption, that they really believed the world had been destroyed. And let us contrast that with the experience of Noah and his sons after the flood. After the flood, Noah, perhaps suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, becomes drunk inside his tent. His son, Ham, sees him in his nakedness and does something. What did he do? One opinion is that he raped his father. The other is that he sterilized him. In either case the action he took would not lead to having children.

In the case of Lot, the story is reversed. The daughters get the father drunk specifically in order to have children! What is the difference between the two cases? Perhaps the most important character trait a person can possess: Responsibility. The success of the human experiment depends upon the victory of Responsibility over Selfishness.

Lot was an average person. As a matter of fact, his choice to dwell in Sodom indicates that he was a below average person on the moral scale. But he had one overriding character trait which gave him tremendous merit. His sense of Responsibility showed itself time and again. Responsibility means being concerned about, and ready to act upon, the needs of others, of society, of the world. Lot put his selfishness aside in order to protect his uncle Abraham.

What's more, Lot refused to turn away strangers from his home, even though the welcoming of such guests was considered a terrible crime in Sodomite society. When the mob descended upon his house after he had welcomed two guests, he protected his guests at all costs. He was even willing to put his two daughters at the mob's mercy to do so. (Some question how Lot was ready to do such a terrible thing. Perhaps he learned it, according to his own understanding, from Abraham's willingness to endanger Sara's chastity to preserve his own life at Egypt. Perhaps he understood that rape is the lesser evil, and life must take precedence. Whether he was right or wrong is the subject of a different discussion.)

The same can be said about Lot's daughters. They felt an overriding responsibility to continue the human race, despite how distasteful the method available to them was. They looked at what happened between Ham and Noah and decided to do the opposite. They provided the wine, they ensured that the children would be born.

And, as a result of these unions, who was born? The nation of Moab, the nation that gave us Ruth the convert. Ruth took responsibility for her mother-in-law Naomi, and as a result, the line that gave us King David and will ultimately bring us the Messiah came into being.

Yes, Responsibility is the character trait that will save the world. Selfishness, the trademark of Sodom, is what destroys the world. The Jewish nation has always felt a tremendous responsibility to improve the lot of humanity. We, as individuals, must be proud of that character trait and strengthen it in ourselves for the benefit of all.

Rabbi Meir Simcha of Divinsk asks why Sodom seems to have been treated unfairly in comparison to Nineveh. In the book of Jonah, the Hebrew prophet comes to the sinful city of Nineveh, a non-Jewish city, and warns them that they will be destroyed in 40 days. Immediately, every resident of Nineveh, from the King to the simplest peasant, is wearing sackcloth and fasting in repentance. Why, asks Rabbi Meir Simcha, were the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah also not warned? Why were they not given a chance to repent just like Nineveh was?

There is a Mishna in which the teacher, Rabbi Johanon Ben Zakai, sends his five disciples out to discover "the path that a man should choose." The five students return with five answers. A good eye, a good friend, a good neighbor, someone who sees the consequences, and a good heart. Rabbi Johanon chooses the final answer, "because all the other answers are included in it."

He then sends them to discover "the path that a man should distance himself from." The answers include: an evil eye, a bad friend, a bad neighbor, someone who borrows and does not repay, and a bad heart. Again, Rabbi Johanon prefers the all-inclusive "bad heart" response.

I believe that this Mishna could easily refer to the people of Sodom. Our sages paint a picture of a town where no charity, no kindness is allowed. "What's mine is mine, what's yours is yours." On the surface, this seems reasonable, but in truth it is evil. The Torah says of the people of Sodom, "They are bad and sinful to the Lord exceedingly." "Bad," in Jewish parlance, refers to separation, division, disunity. A person with a bad heart views every other human with suspicion and jealousy, or, perhaps even worse, with complete lack of care or empathy.

Rabbi Meir Simcha answers his own question by claiming that Sodom, indeed, had been warned. The shape of that warning, however, differed from Nineveh. God sought to deliver the best possible warning, that would have the greatest chance of being accepted. And there was another agenda: to ascertain whether there were at least 10 righteous people in the city. Remember, God had promised Abraham that if that were the case, he would not destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

So when and how did the people of Sodom received their warning and their last chance to repent? The warning was delivered by Lot, Abraham's nephew who resided in Sodom. The Angels told Lot to inform his sons-in-law of the impending destruction of the city. He was to convince them to leave town, together with himself and his family. In other words, this was a test of their character. Here was a family member, clearly with their best interests at heart, urging them to save their lives. All they had to do was leave town for a day. What was their response?

"And he (or 'it') was like a joke (or 'joker') in their eyes." That was it. They failed the test. Had they passed it, adding them together with Lot and his family, there might have been those 10 righteous people needed to save the whole town.

Why did they fail? Because they had a bad heart. Henny Youngman's doctor would proclaim that they could not stand. You see, a person with a bad heart automatically rejects other people. The fourth response for Rabbi Johanon's students calls for one who "sees the consequences." This could be translated as meaning "one who looks at the products, and not the producer." A person should always look at the message, and not reject it just because the messenger is distasteful to him.

The people of Nineveh, clearly, were in possession of great hearts. The most unlikely messenger was sent to them, the religious Jewish prophet Jonah. How could he have any influence in Nineveh? And yet, he uttered one simple sentence: "40 more days and Nineveh will be destroyed." It was like pushing a button. The entire city repented completely! Their hearts were wide open, they looked at the product, not the producer. They were willing to change.

In Sodom, however, their hearts were so closed that even the best messenger – their own family – became a "joker."

The moral of the story, is that the real sodomy was the small minded closed heart of an entire city that had gone bad. We need to have our own hearts checked, to make sure that we rejoice when others succeed, that we jump to help when we hear of someone in distress, and that we truly feel that other people are the blessing of our lives. If we have those things, even though we may not be perfect in other aspects, we can be sure to see God's blessing.

There are two Rebukes in the Torah. The first one, at the end of the book of Leviticus, is read on the penultimate Sabbath before the holiday of Shavuot. It is limited in scope and structured in groups of seven. There are seven levels of transgression listed at the beginning, and God repeats variations on the phrase, "if you shall be contrary, I will torment you sevenfold for all of your sins," seven times.

That Rebuke concludes with a prophecy of redemption. "I will remember the covenant of your forefathers…"

The one in Deuteronomy, however, begins with one general sin: "And if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord your God to guard and to do the commandments and rules which I command you this day…" As the frightening descriptions of what will befall the people should they reject the Torah continue, there is no further reference to Israel sinning or to a sevenfold punishment as retribution for those sins. It is simply a chaotic mix of calamity after calamity. There is disease, there is war, there is famine and drought. On and on it goes, and when we get to the end of it, there is no optimistic final note. "God will return you to Egypt and you will be sold as slaves there to your enemies yet no one will purchase you."

Why these differences from the first Rebuke? And how is this an appropriate preparation for Rosh Hashanah?

Immediately prior to the Rebuke, the Israelites are commanded to make a pilgrimage to the area of Shechem where the twin Mountains of Gerizim and Eval are located. Half of the tribes are to ascend Mount Gerizim and the other half are to ascend Mount Eval. The Levites are then to recite the blessings and the curses resulting from observance or nonobservance of the Torah which the people are to affirm.

Now, the Israelites entered the land from the East and were quite some distance from Shechem. There are plenty of locations where two adjacent mountains could serve the purpose much closer to where the nation was camped. Why make them make the journey into the heartland for this ceremony when they will need to return to the Jordan Valley the very same day?

The answer to all of these questions lies in the three main relationships that every Jew must have: 1. To God. 2. To the Land of Israel. 3. To each other – the Jewish nation. When one or more of these relationships are lacking, bad things happen. But not all bad things are created equal, and not all of these relationships are of equal influence on the others.

Many commentaries view the two Rebukes as referring to the two destructions of Jerusalem and the Temple. Our rabbis tell us that because the sins of the first Temple period were known explicitly, their punishment was made explicit and finite. That exile lasted only 70 years, similar to the first Rebuke which has a clear beginning and end.

What were the sins that led to that first destruction? Our sages tell us that they were idolatry, bloodshed, and sexual corruption and adultery. The Torah itself implies that violation of the Sabbatical Year was a sin which brought about exile. Other teachings of the rabbis point to a cessation of learning and a disrespect of Torah scholars.

All of these things imply a rupture in our relationship to God (the idolatry and dismissal of Torah study) and to the Land of Israel (profaning of the sabbatical year). With all of these things, it seems that Jewish peoplehood remained intact. Although the people were sinning, they were still proudly Jewish and did not turn their backs on each other. (The sin of bloodshed may be referring to the assassination of Gedalia or other high profile murders that did not reflect a general abandonment of Israeli nation.)

The second Rebuke, which parallels the destruction of the second Temple, implies a violation of the third critical relationship of the Jew, his membership in Israel. This is a much more serious offense. If the people are still united, there is always hope that they will repent their sins against God and His Land. If they are not, if their identity becomes erased, how will they ever return?

Why did the Israelites have to go all the way to Shechem for the blessings and curses? One Rabbi suggests that it was to follow in the footsteps of Abraham who went to "The place of Shechem" upon his entry to the land. I would like to suggest that they went to the area where Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery. This was the scene of the greatest moment of Jewish disunity, an event that would spiritually haunt the people well into the future.

When Jews do not have each other, they also do not have God or their Land. They are left to the vagaries of a hostile and uncivilized world. The second Rebuke is random, terrifying, unending.

But there is a small light at the end. "You will be offered for sale to your enemies, yet no one will purchase you." A Jew may seek to forget his Jewishness and exchange his nationhood for some other nationality. God is telling us that such an abandonment can never succeed. "They will not buy you." The Jew can never become a full Spaniard, Frenchman, Russian, Englishman or even American. He will remain a Jew, and because of that he will never lose hope to reconnect and be restored.

Perhaps this is why the first Rebuke in Leviticus is phrased in the plural tense. The Rebuke of Deuteronomy is addressed to the individual. If he has cut himself off from his people, he is all alone. But when we are together, no matter how bad the moment, we can quickly return to "The covenant of the forefathers."

The secret of Rosh Hashanah is reestablishing relationships. The most important of those is our relationship with our nation and our Jewish identity. When we fix that, the sages tell us that "the previous year and all of its curses shall end, and a new year with all of its blessings shall commence!"

Two things would happen to the Levite guard who fell asleep on watch. He would be beaten by a stick and his clothing would be burnt. The latter punishment is a unique one! Why burn his clothing?

Korach, a wealthy and influential Levite, rebels against Moses and Aaron. He gathers around him 250 members of the tribes of Levy and Reuben to support him in his attack on Moses. They complained that,"The entire congregation is holy so why do you raise yourselves up above them?" In other words, Korach is seeking the high priesthood and his 250 cohorts are seeking the right to serve in the Tabernacle as Kohanim, even though they are not.

Moses then instructs them all to bring incense as a test to determine the justice of their argument. He warns the people of an additional punishment, a miracle involving the earth opening up and swallowing Korach and his immediate partners Datan and Aviram, should God deem their rebellion to be false. The end result was that Korach, his family and his friends, were indeed swallowed up. At the same time the 250 men who had brought the incense in hopes of gaining the status of Kohanim were consumed by fire and died.

The people then complain that Moses has killed God's people! Some commentaries explain that Moses was culpable because he did not warn the 250 incense bringers that doing so carried with it the danger of death. Moses had warned Korach about the earth opening, so why not warn the 250 about the fire that may come from the incense?

God is displeased with this accusation against Moses and smites the people with a plague. Moses immediately dispatches Aaron with incense, the same material, which then stops the plague and saves the rest of the people's lives.

Why, though, is their claim incorrect? Why did Moses not warn the 250 people? Maybe some of them would have refrained from bringing the incense and thus been saved.

Furthermore, one could ask what exactly was wrong with 250 people wanting to be Kohanim? They saw their brothers serving in the Tabernacle performing holy tasks and wanted to have the same opportunity! They desired sanctity, it would seem.

The question centers around the role of the Temple incense in this whole story. The first time we encounter the danger of bringing unauthorized incense was back in Leviticus when Nadav and Avihu died while bringing "a strange fire which was not commanded them." They brought incense. The people saw that incense brought improperly can bring punishment by fiery death. That was their warning. The 250 people should have known that what happened to Nadav and Avihu would happen to them.

And it is the same incense which Aaron used to stop the plague and to save lives. So what is the nature of this incense?

It has a few qualities worth noting. First of all, it is silent. It communicates through aroma, not through words and speeches. Our sages teach us that the incense atoned for evil speak. "Let something which is quiet atone for a sin which is committed in whispers." The incense gives expression to what is happening on the inside of a person, not just the outside.

Secondly, the incense has the aspect of unity. It is not made of one aromatic spice but rather 11 ingredients. Some of them are bitter on their own but add sweetness when combined with others. Our sages compare the galbanum spice to the sinners of Israel who, nonetheless, must join together with all of their nation to create the sweetest aroma. The incense represents unity.

Unity comes about when each individual does not look at him or herself as important because of who they are but because of what they do in the world. When elections come around, some candidates spend time and money telling you how qualified and smart they are. Others will focus more on what they plan to do. Does somebody want to be president, or do they want to lead the nation? Those are two separate things and that is a critical question.

When we focus on who we are as opposed to what we do, we create the conditions that lead to great division. Identity should come through actions and contributions to the world, not through ethnicity or social status or association or any external factor. If I am important for who I am, then others who are similar to me become a threat. Notice how Korach does not say "Let us be Kohanim as well!" Instead, he says "Why should you exalt yourself above the congregation?" Moses and Aaron should step down is what he is saying.

This is what the incense tests. Nadav and Avihu were exceedingly holy and their sin was that they knew it and sought to cement that status by bringing their own unique incense. The incense destroyed them. The 250 Kohain wannabes were not seeking the opportunity to do holy work, they were seeking the status of being Kohanim. The incense revealed what was inside them and destroyed them.

This is why the clothing of the sleepy Levite would be burned. If he were truly committed to honoring God by providing honor guard for the Sanctuary, he would never allow himself to doze. If he is just interested in the honor himself, then his clothing symbolizes that. That is why it gets burned: to teach him that it is not who he is that matters but rather what he does.

When a person is focused on doing good they will rejoice when others do good as they do. There will be unity. When they focus on being important, they will feel threatened and resentful towards other people deemed important. When we focus on contribution, not identity, we will contribute unity to the world.