Change from within

Towards the end of Pareshat Ki Tetze the Torah addresses the topic of lashes given to a sinner. The Torah remarks that, “If the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number. Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.”

Although the simple reading of the verse indicates that forty lashes are given, the sages of the Talmud (Makot 22b) note that the appropriate reading of the verse is that the court render lashes by a number that leads to forty: namely thirty-nine. What we must try to understand is why the Torah uses the number forty if indeed the tradition teaches that only thirty-nine are given.

In Judaism, when a number appears in a specific context, it is not a coincidence but rather the number represents a concept. A perfect example is the number forty. Forty always symbolizes complete change. When the pre-flood world was corrupt and required a new beginning, it rained for forty days. Likewise when the children of Israel left Egypt and were required to change from slaves to conquerors, they required forty years in the desert.

Accordingly, when the Torah remarks that the sinner receives forty lashes, the message is clear: he must transform himself and become a new person. However, the sages of the Talmud tell us that the court, by giving thirty-nine lashes, is indicating to the person that others can only place the sinner on the brink of change. The real change (forty) cannot come from an external source but rather must come from within. In other words, the sinner, metaphorically speaking, must give himself the last lash to reach forty.

In the second half of Parshat Shoftim, the portion deals with several aspects of the nation's conduct when it goes to war. The Torah tells us that a designated Cohen addressed the army before going to battle to encourage the warriors to be brave and not fear the war. The verse continues by telling us that an officer will add to the words of the Cohen and declare, “Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him depart and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers' hearts melt like his heart.”
The Talmud records a dispute between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yossi Hagellili regarding the fearful individual referred to in the verse. Rabbi Akiva understood the fear literally, that the person was afraid of war. For Rabbi Yossi Hagellili, on the other hand, the anxiety was not the traditional fear of battle, but rather related to a person who was a sinner, and thus was cognizant of the fact that he was unworthy of the protection of Hashem.
It is very possible that the dispute between the rabbis came about as a result of different viewpoints on a contemporary issue of the second century. When Bar Kochva rebelled against the oppressing Roman Empire and mobilized a military force, he was backed by very strong support from Rabbi Akiva. For Rabbi Akiva, a Jewish army was not a theoretical concept but rather an issue that was quite relevant. For Rabbi Akiva, fear of battle was "Halacha L'Maase" (a contemporary halachik issue). Therefore the verse was understood by its literal meaning, that when a person is afraid, he cannot be present in the battle field. Rabbi Yossi Hagellili, on the other hand, was not a supporter of the uprising, and therefore viewed a Jewish army as a concept that belongs to the Utopian Messianic era when only the righteous go to battle and the victory will be supernatural. Thus the fear relates to a spiritual condition and not to conventional anxiety.

"The Inflicted Blemish"

You are the children of Hashem your God: you shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
For you are a holy people unto Hashem your God, and Hashem has chosen you to be a special people, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
(Devarim Chapter 14)

This paragraph is a testament that reminds the Jewish people of their special role.

As children of the Al-mighty we are told not to feel forlorn when we lose a loved one but rather to be mindful of our special and constant relationship with Hashem as his children. The text continues by warning the Jewish people, "Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing." Rashi explains that the abomination referred to in the verse is a situation where a Cohen receives a firstborn animal that must be brought to the temple, and with the intention of financial gain, inflicts a blemish upon the animal to disqualify it from the alter and as a result, keeps it for himself.

What we must try to figure out is why the Torah juxtaposes the statement regarding the significance of the Jew, to the warning regarding the blemish that relates to a technical detail of the laws of sacrifices. The commentators explain that the message regarding the blemish is not just about animals, but rather can be understood as a theme that relates to humans as well. People, due to personal events in their lives, are at times inspired to do more spiritually. Unfortunately the growth does not always come to fruition because the individual, remembering his flaws, deems himself inadequate and develops the feeling that he is not qualified to become connected to the higher being. In other words the growth is halted due to an "inflicted blemish". This attitude is what the Torah identifies as an abomination.

As children of Hashem we must remember how significant we are in his eyes and as a result we must appreciate what we are in our own eyes. After boosting our self esteem we will not focus on blemishes but rather realize how much we can contribute to the welfare of the nation of Israel, to humanity and to the world.

Visiting Israel for the thinking Jew, is always an overwhelming experience. The history of the land kindles the soul, while the current home coming inspires. Yet for many of us, the food has a special place in our hearts (and waistline). The Torah commands us to thank the creator for the bread by reciting the grace-after-the-meal. However, the verse preceding this commandment notes that Israel is a "land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills." Commentators wonder why mention stones and copper between the reference to bread and the blessing? The commentators explain that the stones are not average stones but rather the magnificent Jerusalem stone(Ramban). This pale limestone is so striking that the British, who governed the land before the establishment of the state, decreed that all buildings had to be faced with Jerusalem stone. Once we understand that the stones refer to Jerusalem we can appreciate why it is mentioned right before the grace after the meal. The Rabbis in the Talmud (Brachot 48) note the King David instituted that Jerusalem be mentioned in the Birkat Hamazon. Thus the stone of Jerusalem clearly belongs in the verses that command us to recite the Birkat Hamazon. Incidentally the copper is referring to the Beit Hamikdash (that is also mentioned in the Birkat Hamazon) as the verse regarding the Temple notes that "there was such a number of them; it was not possible to get the weight of the copper."