When the schedule of commentary assignments was distributed earlier this summer, I thought that I had gotten a lucky break in being assigned Va'Etchanan. The book of Devarim is a welcome return to the compelling narratives that mark Bereshit and the first half of Shemot, and moves us past the often dry narrative of the mishkan and the often mundane - and sometimes problematic - holiness codes of Vayikra. The biggest challenge, I thought, would be limiting myself to one concise theme in this parasha.
Then, the Israeli government set this week for the start of the "Disengagement" from Gaza. And now, I find that I can't read the text of the parasha without my thoughts drifting away from the page (or the screen), to the events going on 8,000 miles away. I read with pain the news of our fellow Jews being forced out of their homes. Yet I read with even more pain the news of our fellow Jews throwing burning acid on soldiers, or stabbing police officers with needles, or shooting and killing unarmed people on buses and in cars.
If you look at a sefer Torah, to see the text of Shema Yisrael (found in this week's parasha, in Vayikra 6:4), you will see that both the last letter (Ayin) of the Hebrew word for "Hear" (Shema) and the last letter (Daled)of the Hebrew word for "One" (Echad). Rabbi Avi Weiss, the noted activist, has an interesting insight on the significance of this feature. He writes:
"Maybe the letters are large to teach us that the smallest of changes could pervert the meaning of a text. For example, if one would read the Shema as having an Aleph as its last letter (after all the Aleph and Ayin are both silent letters), the word Shema would mean "perhaps" (sheh-mah). This would change a firm declaration of belief into an expression of doubt! And if the Daled would be mistaken for a Reish (after all, there is only a slight difference in the writing of a Daled and Reish), the word echad (One) would be read acher (other). This would change belief in One God into a belief in two gods! As we move towards Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, all of us ought be careful with every word, every gesture and every action. Because in life, the smallest differences makes all the difference in the world."
Every word, every gesture and every action. Even little things, we learn, make a big difference.
The former residents of some Gaza communities made a bold, brave and moving statement when they gathered together their weaponry and turned it over to the authorities in the days before Tisha B'Av. Remembering the importance of every word, every gesture and every action is particularly important for our fellow Jews who protest the lawful decisions of their democratically elected government. I hope that their protests will be imbued with the lesson Avi Weiss teaches us this week so that, as we read in the words of Vayikra 6:18, Ve'asita hayashar vehatov be'eyney Ha-Shem lema'an yitav lach uvata veyarashta et-ha'arets hatovah asher-nishba Ha-Shem la'avoteycha -- Do what is upright and good in God's eyes, so that God will be good to you. You will then come and dwell in the good land that God promised your ancestors. (And, when God is ready, we will all learn exactly what land that really was!)
Shabbat shalom.