Shabbat Shalom Parashat Devarim - Shabbat Chazon 5771

This Shabbat, we begin reading the book of Deuteronomy. Although Moses, much earlier, claimed not to be a man words (Ex. 4:10), he now delivers a sermon lasting an exhausting 36 days and taking up almost the entire book. In fact, the book of Deuteronomy is nicknamed Mishneh Torah, the Second Torah, since it is essentially a summary of the previous four books. Over the course of his monologue, Moses reviewed the laws and traditions that were to sustain the people as they moved into the Land of Israel and settled there. What can be learned from this review of the law?

The process of learning is a continuous endeavor as is evident in many aspects of our tradition. When we finish a tractate of the Talmud, we promise that we will return soon to study its chapters again and again. The moment we complete the reading of the Torah scroll on Simchat Torah, we roll it back and begin anew. We tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt each year on Seder night and observe the Sabbath each week to keep these ideas fresh in our minds and close to our hearts.

This coming week, we will observe the fast of Tisha B'av - the chosen day for the commemoration of so many tragedies to our people. Jews across the globe will gather on the floor of their synagogues, dim the lights and review the book of Lamentations in a solemn chant, recalling the destruction of Jerusalem.

The Talmud asks, why was our Temple destroyed? Because therein prevailed sinat chinam, hatred without cause (Yoma 9b). This senseless disdain for one another undermined the entire system, despite their strongest efforts of ritual piety. When our people refuse to live with and accept each other, and it costs us all dearly.

It is for this reason that we review our laws and traditions regularly and perform our rituals religiously in order to engrain true Torah values into our very being. We remember that as important as observances are, they are always intended to bring us closer together and never to drive us apart. By accepting those who are different from us and developing mutual respect for one another, we are able to learn from our fellows and appreciate their ideas in a nonjudgmental fashion.

Acceptance is often equated with tolerance, yet there is a world of difference between the two ideas. Implicit in the word tolerance, is the sense of putting up with something you'd rather not. We can agree to disagree and also respect and learn from the discourse. When we tolerate, we believe ourselves to be better than others. When we accept, we show that others are our equals, even though their ideas may not appeal to us.

The Oral Torah preserved thousands of differing opinions and carefully quotes the sources of all statements, only a fraction of which become accepted halakha. However, by keeping this record, our tradition teaches that perhaps even more important than the bottom line conclusions of the sources is the wealth of knowledge that can be gained by studying all of the opinions.

This year, as we mourn the tragedies that have befallen our people, let us acknowledge that our ways may work for us but others are as entitled to their interpretations as we are to our own. In this way we battle extremism and learn to accept the beauty and diversity of all God's creations.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Steve suson