We look before and after,
And pine for what is not;
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;

Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.

Shelley: To the Skylark

The Torah tale chosen for the first day of Rosh Hashanah is from Genesis 21 and describes the miraculous birth of Isaac – Yitchack – ‘the one who will laugh’. Ostensibly the text was chosen by the ancient rabbis for its focus on the theme of birth – Rosh Hashanah as the Birthday of the world. But as little Isaac grows up and is weaned from his mother’s milk, the family celebrates a feast, and amid the joy and laughter something happens that kills the party and splits the family. It all has to do with one troubling and mysterious verb. What does this tale tell us on the eve of a brave new year?

Beginning this week, we will explore using the PARDES interpretive model for our Storah-verse, offering four layers of meaning for our weekly verse. Peter Pitzele and I are editing this together and would love your feedback and ideas on utilizing this method.

(See the following site for a quick overview of the Pardes model: http://www.kheper.net/topics/hermeneutics/PaRDeS-1.htm

‘Write Down that Poem’ Deuteronomy 31.19

1. PSHAT/plain text and context:

‘Here You Stand- Nitzvaim’ and ‘There He Went- Va’Yelech’ are the two Torah portions that team up this coming Shabbat to form the lengthy weekly storytelling installment. The ‘You’ in the first portion refers to the entire nation of Israel, from first class to economy, and all foreign workers included. The ‘He’ in the second portion talks about Moses and his...

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‘Do not abhor an Edomite; for he is your brother’ (Deuteronomy 23:7) ’Ki Tetze; - loosely translated as - ‘Upon your departure’ is the weekly Torah Installment – an odd and harsh list of instructions for proper Hebraic conduct, practical and detailed. An attempt to give theatrical voice – ‘character’ to the many ‘legal cases’ in Ki Tetze would look like a Jerry Springer show: A rebel son is stoned to death by despairing parents, bloody sheets are spread in town gates to prove virginity, more public stoning procedures for various sexual transgressions. Also, the first official ‘Lost and Found’ is introduced, cross-dressing is prohibited, requirements given for minimum wage and daily pay to all day workers, Etc.