Not by Might!

Not by Might!

At Jewish Newport

June 13, 2020

By Aaron Ginsburg

Thank you to Rabbi Marc Mandel

Edited by Rebecca Beit-Aharon

Also at facebook.com/groups/jewishnewport

The Bar Mitzvah ceremony of Into Shymshi took place in the "Burla" synagogue on 24 Vasilaous Hercilaous street in Saloniki. In the photo Into Shymshi can be seen wearing a traditional Jewish outfit, holding the Torah scroll. source: yadvashem.org

 During our zoom pre-Shabbat meeting, my cousin Elliot Slom ably recited his bar mitzvah haftarah fifty years after his bar mitzvah at Touro Synagogue. His proud mother, Rita Slom, and his brother Michael listened with joy. Mazel tov, Elliot, Michael and Rita! Elliot had his first haircut in three months just in time for his special Shabbat.  

The haftarah for Beha'alotcha, this week's parasha, is Zechariah 2:14 - 4:7. Zechariah lived during the time of Darius I of Persia. In 4:6, an angel explains to Zechariah the meaning of a vision. (I could use one of those explanatory angels! Do you know one?)

 וַיַּ֜עַן וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלַי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר זֶ֚ה דְּבַר־יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־זְרֻבָּבֶ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹ֤א בְחַ֙יִל֙ וְלֹ֣א בְכֹ֔חַ כִּ֣י אִם־בְּרוּחִ֔י אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃ 

Then he explained to me as follows: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit—said the LORD of Hosts.

Together with the priest, Joshua, Zerubbabel initiated renewed Temple worship in Jerusalem and began to re-erect the Temple. What is the message to Zerubbabel? It might be a warning that he would not succeed in his plans by force.  

The haftarah is linked to the Torah reading because they both discuss the seven branched menorah in the Temple. For the same reason, the haftarah is recited during Shabbat Hanukkah. What Zerubbabel and Joshua could not accomplish by force, the Maccabees did...or thought they did when they successfully revolted from the Seluecids. In both cases, however, the ruling powers were in turmoil, which contributed to the successful outcomes. Perhaps it was God’s spirit that made the difference.

In her song Not by Might, Debbie Friedman gave it a modern twist. Her version sounds like it could have been written in the early 1960s when I had my bar mitzvah, also at Touro. https://youtu.be/XJLZfrw86Ws

Rabbi Marc Mandel of Touro Synagogue Newport shared a dvar from aish.com written by his friend in Los Angeles, Rabbi Ron Jawary. Learn about Rabbi Jawary.

“Seeing the Positive in Those Closest To Us”

B'haalot'cha (Numbers 8-12)

"And Miriam spoke against Moses, her brother" (Numbers, 12:1).

“One of the things even great people can forget is that they have to constantly be on guard against the tendency to see the negative in others. Ironically, it seems that those closest to us are often the ones most harshly subjected to our negativity.

“The Torah is teaching us that we need to be careful to avoid making assumptions about others. When we are negative, we are disconnecting ourselves from the Divine, who looked at the world He created and saw that it was ‘very good.’

“A person can choose to live in a world where they think they are the only good and deserving person around, or they can try to see the world through the eyes of God. There is no room for negativity in God's world; the positive in such a world can be overwhelming and all-encompassing, leaving no room for anything else. That's one of the reasons why there is a specific mitzvah to remember the episode of Miriam every day - it is so easy to forget how good our loved ones really are.”

Shabbat Shalom from Jewish Newport!

Keep singing!