Mishpatim. G-d is in the Details

The sweetness of the Law- Shabbat dessert by Arava and Eleanore Lightstone

G-d gives the Ten Commandments to the Children of Israel in parashat Yitro. The parashah describes the thunder and lightning, the shaking of Mount Sinai, and the fear and trembling of the Israelites. It is a beautiful parashah. This week’s reading, Mishpatim (Laws), is comprised of laws that further define the Ten Commandments.

Judaism gave the world its moral code. The Ten Commandments outline many things from recognizing one G-d, to keeping the Sabbath, to the prohibition of murder, theft, and adultery. The first laws that are discussed in the parashah concern slavery. The Israelites had just been released from Egypt where they had been slaves. Those many years of servitude had been imprinted on their psyche. G-d knew that laws concerning slavery would resonate strongly with the Children of Israel.

The first law offers the possibility of freedom to a slave. “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free…” (Ex. 21:2-3). The Israelites are told to empathize with strangers. “Do not mistreat or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in Egypt.” (Ex. 22:21) and “Do not oppress a stranger; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners because you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Ex. 23:9) G-d knows that if a person empathizes with the “other”, with a stranger, that person will show greater understanding and patience to the stranger.

The haftarah for Mishpatim is from the Book of Jeremiah. King Zedekiah had ordered the release of all Jewish slaves, as per G-d’s instruction. Two years later the owners re-inter their slaves. G-d tells Jeremiah that since the owners have re-enslaved their servants they will be punished. Slavery did not end in Jeremiah’s time as we know.

oneworldeducation.org

It has continued throughout history, even to the present day. Modern slavery exists in the notorious sweatshops in China, with the chained children in India who weave carpets, prostitution rings, and collapsed garment factories. Jews, too, have been the victims of modern slavery.

Freeing the Slave by Laya Crust

The slave conditions of sweatshop workers in the “shmatteh” business are well documented.  In the 19th and 20th centuries, young immigrants from Europe were put to work in dangerous conditions. The hours were long, the pay was miserly, and the workers would be locked in so they couldn’t take breaks for lunch or supper, or meet with union leaders to organize. Although the workers were not “owned “by their employers as they were in biblical times- they were owned by their employers in terms of their lives.

My illustration for Mishpatim shows the infamous fire in 1911 at New York City’s Triangle Shirtwaist Company. It killed 146 young sweatshop workers; most of whom were Jewish immigrant girls aged 16 – 23. The image of the workers is based on a photograph of the young women and men striking, trying to get better working conditions.

May Day Parade, 1909

Rose Schneiderman and Clara Lemlich were two of the Jewish women who organized the women’s garment unions. Jews have been union organizers throughout time and throughout the world. Just as G-d commanded us not to enslave and torture others, Jews have fought throughout history for human and employee rights. Human dignity, respecting other people, and treating all humans as equals are concepts central to Judaism. We are a people who believe in justice and freedom and will continue to work for it and fight for it. Our stubbornness in this particular arena is a stubbornness we can all be proud of.

Read this week’s parashah and haftarah. Notice the righteousness. Notice the details. G-d is in them.

Have a Shabbat Shalom, Laya

“Five Thousand Years of Slavery” by Marjorie Gann and Janet Willen gives a thorough history of world slavery with fascinating photographs and reprinted documents. It is a great educational tool for home or school.

Shavuoth and The Book of Ruth

Ezekiel’s Vision by Laya Crust

This week we have a series of interesting readings. It is Shabbat Nasso which would normally be accompanied by the haftarah that introduces Samson. In the haftarah an angel comes to a farmer’s field and tells a childless woman that she and her husband will have a child. The baby boy is to be raised as a nazir- a person who is not to cut his hair or partake of grape products. When invited to join the farmer and his wife for dinner the angel rises to heaven in a fiery flame.

There are two haftarahs for Shavuoth. One is Ezekiel’s vision of beings with four faces appearing in lightning-filled skies. The other haftarah is a section from Habakkuk. He uses amazing imagery to describe Gd’s power over nature.

Ruth Gathering Grain by Laya Crust

On Shavuoth we read the Book of Ruth. It is a story of famine and poverty, loss, love, loyalty, and redemption. There are scenes that hint at the meanings of Shavuoth. Shavuoth is a harvest/ first fruits festival, and the celebration of “Matan Torah”, the giving of Torah. Ruth shows dedication to Gd and Judaism, and the story takes place during the harvest season.

There are allusions to food and agriculture in the stories of Ruth, and Samson’s parents, and of course in the holiday itself. Today we live in a world so far removed from the biblical setting that it’s hard to remember how our ancestors were tied to the land. They ate simply and in the most basic of ways. Ruth was poor. She gleaned from the corners of the fields where those in poverty gleaned. She was offered a meal with Boaz’s workers. At the mealtime there were only three items on the menu: a morsel of bread, vinegar (either sour wine or the brine of pickled vegetables), and roasted or parched grain. (Ruth: 2:14)

Ruth and Boaz by Laya Crust

Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi had returned to Canaan because of a famine in Moab. They had no means of support so Ruth was dependent on charity, the aforementioned grain found in the corners of a field. The simple meal she shared brings to mind the difference in the availability and abundance of food today as compared to biblical times. Bread is easy for us to buy or to make with dried yeast. Our ancestors ate sour dough bread, bread that would have taken a couple of days to go through the rising and then the baking process.

Most of us are very removed from the land and from the difficulties of basic food cultivation. Maybe, during this time of Covid-19 isolation we can eat a little more simply and appreciate what is available to us, even when we think times are a little tough.

Here is a recipe for ricotta cheese that you can make for one of your meals. Add a sourdough flatbread, fresh cucumbers in vinegar and dill, and some toasted grain, and your meal might be like the meals eaten by Ruth, Naomi, and Samson’s parents.

Fresh Ricotta

4 quarts/ litres whole milk

1 1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp. lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar

Line a sieve or colander with 4 layers of cheese cloth. Suspend over a large empty bowl. Bring the milk and salt to a low boil. As soon as it begins to boil take it off the heat. Add the salt vinegar or lemon juice. The milk will separate. Skim off the curds with a slotted spoon and put in the seive or colander. Continue until the milk has completely separated and there is only whey in the pot. Refrigerate.

The whey can be used in muffins, bread dough, or pancakes. It’s full of vitamins!

The paintings of Ruth and Boaz in this post are illustrations I made for a Book of Ruth in 1982. It was commissioned as a gift for a Bat Mitzvah girl. The book includes 18 illustrations and was written by hand. One copy is in Israel and the other is my possession, to be read on Shavuoth.

Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday, Laya

Up and Down at Har Sinai

art by Laya Crust

Ki Tissa-   Exodus (Shemot) 30:11 – 34:35

In this parsha we read about extremes of faith. Moses received the last of Gd’s directives while on Mount Sinai. He came down the mountain to the sound and spectacle of the Israelites praying to a golden calf, an idol.  In disgust and anger Moses destroyed the precious tablets Gd Himself had written. Soon after there was an interaction between Gd and Moses where Moses is almost taken to the heavens in terms of spiritual closeness. The parsha ends with another presentation of the Ten Commandments.

This is a profound narrative. The previous two Torah portions recounted Gd’s directions for building a beautiful “mishkan” (portable sanctuary). The furnishings were to be made of gold and precious wood. Bezalel, the architect, was chosen for the job and given spiritual insight in order to build an amazing sanctuary. The clothing of the Kohanim- the priests- was described in great detail. Obviously Gd was well aware that the Israelite refugees craved  extraordinary beauty to help achieve a level of awe and observance.

But there was a problem. Moses went up Mount Sinai alone and disappeared behind a column of fire and cloud. He disappeared for 40 days and 40 nights. It’s true- the people had been warned that Moses would be away for over a month. But like most people, b’nei Yisrael found it hard to believe that their aged leader survived the dramatic conflagration. So Moses came down to witness singing and dancing around the Golden Calf.

When Moses disappeared the people decided to create their own beautiful focus of prayer. Gd’s punishment was brutal. Three thousand men were killed for the sin.

Moses was not able to recover from this incident easily. He had devoted his heart and soul to saving b’nei Yisrael from slavery and leading them through  the desert. The demands on him were huge- leading them physically, judging them, and negotiating with Gd on their behalf. He acted as arbitrator time and again between them and Gd when they transgressed certain orders. So Moses, as righteous as he was, asked for more from Gd. He asked to see Gd.

Gd put Moses into the cleft of a rock. According to the text (Ex. 33: 22)  Gd protected Moses from seeing His face with His hand but allowed Moses to see His back. Moses was a transformed man. The experience took him to the greatest spiritual heights. Thereafter rays of light shone from his face.

This section of Torah is fascinating. It leaves us with a number of thoughts to ponder- the burden Moshe carried and the fact that he waited so long to ask Gd for greater closeness and identification. The text presents the heights of receiving the word of Gd on a mountaintop contrasted so quickly by the weakness of His people. This story underlines the fractious yet extraordinary relationship we have with Gd.

The relationship we have with Gd is quite incredible. My husband Les Lightstone mentioned an interesting point. Gd didn’t show Moshe His “face”. He showed Moshe His back. In the same way we cannot see what our future will hold or what Gd may do. We can only see what has happened, look “back ” on it, and learn from our past.

Have a Shabbat Shalom. May it be one of peace, and end of violence, and an appreciation of beauty.

Laya

 

 

 

 

Kedoshim

Amos 9: 7-15

Amos (prophet) died c.745 BCE. He was a shepherd in Tekoa in Judea where he prophesied from 765 to 750 B.C.E.

We have just finished celebrating the memorable holiday of Pesach- that holiday devoted to remembering how God liberated us from slavery in ancient Egypt. It is fitting that we begin our post-Pesach readings with parshat “Kedoshim”. In “Kedoshim” God first reviews the ten commandments. He continues by telling b’nei Yisrael (the children of Israel) how He will punish them if they stray from the commandments.   The parsha ends with God telling the Israelites that they shall be holy- that God has set them apart from the other nations.

In our haftarah Amos tells the Jews that God treasures and judges all peoples. Amos tells them that the Jews are not the only nations that God has saved or punished. The Cush (Ethiopians), Philistines (Europeans) and Arameans (Asians) are all mentioned as having been saved from their captors. Amos continues by warning the Jews that they will be punished for their sins. Amos’ prophecy ends by foreseeing the time when God will “reestablish the fallen tabernacle of David”. He tells them that the children of Israel will plant vineyards and drink their wine, and the hills will wave with grain. The haftarah ends with the words, “And I will plant them on their soil, nevermore to be uprooted.”

What a wonderful phrase!

The image of the Jew in Israel among the orchards and the waving wheat inspired this haftarah’s image. I chose to model my painting on a photograph of a “chalutz” (pioneer) in the Jezreel Valley. The photograph, taken by Shmuel Joseph Zweig in 1946, is a perfect illustration- proof, even- of God’s promise to us, His people. We are back in Eretz Yisrael, our land, tilling the fields and surrounded by its bounty.

We are blessed to be witness to the realization of Amos’ prophecy. As we said at the seder, “Next year in Jerusalem.” And continuing with this haftarah’s conclusion, “Nevermore to be uprooted from the soil I have given them- said the Lord your God.”

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Have a wonderful Shabbat.