Dear Friends,
A couple thoughts from last week, before we look at this week. Firstly, in last week’s D’var Torah where Beth Jacob is first mentioned in Torah, I posted that our Temple founders may have encountered that text in January, 1854, and applied it to the name of our congregation. I was mistaken. I was corrected by Rabbi Don Cashman of Albany, who was raised at TBJ and whose family first joined TBJ in 1908, and who bears a trove of historical texts and wisdom of TBJ. Rabbi Cashman wrote me that the Temple name was determined on August 30, 1863, not the previous winter, so last week’s Torah portion may, or may not, have influenced that decision. Thank you, Rabbi Cashman!
And, further, from last week: I addressed the Talmudic teaching, Kol Yisrael areivim zeh la-zeh – Every Jew (and human being) is responsible for every other, in my words in the sanctuary last Friday, to offer meaning to the events in Colleyville, TX, the previous Shabbat. Yes, every person bears responsibility for every other, especially should one be endangered.
This week’s Torah portion challenges that message. Note what we read this week, “When a fire is started and spreads to thorns, so that stacked, standing, or growing grain is consumed, the one who started the fire must make restitution.” (Ex. 22:5)
This seems sensible. If I light a fire in my backyard firepit, and the wind blows and ignites my neighbor’s fence, I should be responsible for damages. It is my charge to note how the wind is blowing. Furthermore, I should have water or an extinguisher handy in case the fire becomes dangerous. Clearly, not everyone is responsible for everyone else; we are responsible for our own deeds.
Rashi, our medieval French commentator, added, “Although he has lit the fire on his own soil and it extended by itself through the thorns which it came across, he has to make restitution because he did not guard his fire that it should not extend and cause damage.” Rashi suggests that each is responsible for his or her own deeds, as well.
But, if I see my neighbor kindle a fire in his backyard firepit, and I see that the wind looks concerning, shouldn’t I have responsibility to either say something, or to get some water ready, as well? Shouldn’t I know that not only my property is at risk, but so too is that of other nearby neighbors? Yes, the one who initiated the fire bears ultimate responsibility, but we all share the wind, the sparks, and the possibilities.
John Dunne’s teaching still holds, that no man (or woman) is an island.
Moreover, by extension, one could argue that it is not merely sparks of fiery flame that could spread maliciously. So, too, sparks of verbal gossip, sparks of nasty looks, sparks of caustic written words, and more, can cause damage across fences and fields of grain. These, too, belong to all of us, especially in the highly charged world in which we live.
This Shabbat, as always, how wonderful to be thoughtfully mindful about our regard for one another!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
A couple thoughts from last week, before we look at this week. Firstly, in last week’s D’var Torah where Beth Jacob is first mentioned in Torah, I posted that our Temple founders may have encountered that text in January, 1854, and applied it to the name of our congregation. I was mistaken. I was corrected by Rabbi Don Cashman of Albany, who was raised at TBJ and whose family first joined TBJ in 1908, and who bears a trove of historical texts and wisdom of TBJ. Rabbi Cashman wrote me that the Temple name was determined on August 30, 1863, not the previous winter, so last week’s Torah portion may, or may not, have influenced that decision. Thank you, Rabbi Cashman!
And, further, from last week: I addressed the Talmudic teaching, Kol Yisrael areivim zeh la-zeh – Every Jew (and human being) is responsible for every other, in my words in the sanctuary last Friday, to offer meaning to the events in Colleyville, TX, the previous Shabbat. Yes, every person bears responsibility for every other, especially should one be endangered.
This week’s Torah portion challenges that message. Note what we read this week, “When a fire is started and spreads to thorns, so that stacked, standing, or growing grain is consumed, the one who started the fire must make restitution.” (Ex. 22:5)
This seems sensible. If I light a fire in my backyard firepit, and the wind blows and ignites my neighbor’s fence, I should be responsible for damages. It is my charge to note how the wind is blowing. Furthermore, I should have water or an extinguisher handy in case the fire becomes dangerous. Clearly, not everyone is responsible for everyone else; we are responsible for our own deeds.
Rashi, our medieval French commentator, added, “Although he has lit the fire on his own soil and it extended by itself through the thorns which it came across, he has to make restitution because he did not guard his fire that it should not extend and cause damage.” Rashi suggests that each is responsible for his or her own deeds, as well.
But, if I see my neighbor kindle a fire in his backyard firepit, and I see that the wind looks concerning, shouldn’t I have responsibility to either say something, or to get some water ready, as well? Shouldn’t I know that not only my property is at risk, but so too is that of other nearby neighbors? Yes, the one who initiated the fire bears ultimate responsibility, but we all share the wind, the sparks, and the possibilities.
John Dunne’s teaching still holds, that no man (or woman) is an island.
Moreover, by extension, one could argue that it is not merely sparks of fiery flame that could spread maliciously. So, too, sparks of verbal gossip, sparks of nasty looks, sparks of caustic written words, and more, can cause damage across fences and fields of grain. These, too, belong to all of us, especially in the highly charged world in which we live.
This Shabbat, as always, how wonderful to be thoughtfully mindful about our regard for one another!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn