Skip to main content

Yerushalayim-City of Justice and Peace Under Attack - Parashat Lech Lecha 5766 - October 23, 2015

This week’s parasha, Lech Lecha, introduces us to our patriarchs, Avraham and Sarah, and shares with us their early encounters in eretz Canaan. After successfully retrieving his nephew Lot from capture, Avram encounters Malki-Tzedek, king of Shalem and priest of Hashem. In this encounter, Avram takes a tenth of his possessions and gives them as a gift to Malki-Tzedek – presumably to assist him in his work as a priest of Hashem.

The Midrash tells us that Malki-Tzedek is none other than Noach’s righteous son, Shem. Furthermore, our mefarshim (Ramban and others) teach us that Shalem is none other than Yerushalayim. What lesson is the Torah teaching us by using pseudonyms for Shem and Yerushalayim? Why doesn’t the Torah simply refer to Malki-Tzedek as Shem and Shalem as Yerushalayim?

The Torah seems to be teaching us a fundamental idea about the purpose of Yerushalayim from its very origins as a city. Malki-Tzedek means “king of justice”. Shalem is a variant of Shalom - “peace”. Perhaps the Torah is teaching us that, from its beginning, Yerushalayim was established as a center of justice and peace for all of humanity. When Avram donated ten percent of his assets to Malki-Tzedek, he was declaring that his work in ensuring justice and peace in the world was a vitally important endeavor. The prophet Yeshayahu teaches, ki miTzion tetze Torah – Torah comes from Zion. Certainly, many of our sefarim and greatest Rabbanim come from Israel. However, Yeshayahu is teaching more than that. He is declaring that eretz Yisrael is a beacon of Torah – its existence declares the importance of Torah and supports the promulgation of Torah. Similarly, the existence of Yerushalayim declares that justice and peace are fundamental human values. As a city universally associated with Hashem, Yerushalayim declares to the world that a society must be built on justice and peace.

We are all torn up by the violence in Israel. We all mourn the loss of life and pray for the welfare of the injured. However, our brothers and sisters are not the only casualty. Yerushalayim, the city of justice and peace, is under attack. Those who perpetuate the violence are not only attacking individuals – they are striking at the very heart of the city and its role as the center of justice and peace.

May the bereaved be comforted, may the injured be healed and may justice and peace speedily be restored in Yerushalayim and in all of Israel.


Shabbat Shalom.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Honor and Glory - Parashat Termuah 5780, February 28, 2020

This week’s  parasha , Termuah, and next week’s parasha , Tetzave, introduce Hashem’s command regarding the plans for the  mishkan  and its vessels – including the clothing worn by the  kohanim . One of the vessels that Hashem commands to be built is the  menorah  – the candelabra. The description of the plans for the menorah are described in Parashat Terumah and the description of its service is described in Parashat Tetzave. In Parashat Tetzave, the Torah says, “and they will take for you pure olive oil pressed to be lit to raise an everlasting candle.” Each evening the  kohanim  were obligated to light the candelabra with enough oil to last the night. In the morning, the  kohanim  were obligated to fix and relight the  menorah , as necessary, thus ensuring that the candelabra would constantly be lit. The Rambam – Maimonides – explains, based on a later verse, that the  mitzvah  to light the candelabra in the mishk...

Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow - Rabbi Owen's Operational Dinner Remarks - Monday, September 17, 2018

You may have noticed that we have two new huge street-side banners on White Station Road. One of them says, “Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow”. What do we mean by this? How does learning prepare for leading? The distinctiveness and difference of the Jewish People is a theme that appears regularly and intensely throughout the Yom Kippur prayers. On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the section of the Torah dealing with immorality. The Torah says, “Do not act in the ways of the land of Egypt in which you lived; and do not act in the ways of the land of Cana’an to which I, Hashem, am taking you – and do not follow their customs. Follow My laws and guard My customs to walk in these ways – I am Hashem your G-d.” The Torah is teaching that Egypt and Cana’an represent spiritually harmful elements of each culture in which the Jewish People will find themselves over the centuries and instructs us to separate from the temptation to assimilate these ideas. The Jewish People dwell alone. Hashe...

Building Appropriate Fences - Parashat Ki Seitzei 5778, August 24, 2018

Among the many mitzvot described in this week’s parasha , Parashat Ki Tetze, is the law of the ma’ake – a fence. “When you build a new house, you shall make a guard rail for your roof, so that you shall not cause blood to be spilled in your house, that the one who falls should fall from it.” In this verse, the Torah commands us to build a fence around any exposed high area, such as a flat roof or deck, that is commonly used by human beings. Viewing this law as a positive commandment, the Rambam teaches that one must make a blessing when constructing a ma’ake . The law of the ma’ake is one of many Torah laws that teach us to protect human life. Positive commandments such as ve’nishmartem me’od et nafshotechem (and you shall greatly guard your physical life) and ve’rapo yerape (and you shall surely heal) reveal the Torah’s appreciation of man’s vulnerability and the lengths that we must go to foster human safety. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik extends this concept of bui...