Berashith: contraction from the infinite

We begin the Torah again with  a few stories: creation, the garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, etc.  The parsha ends with the sons  of Elohim (E) taking any women they wanted   The idea of  sons of Elohim is quite shocking.  Usually, Onkelos, the official translator id the Torah , renders all of the appellations of Gd ( J, E, Shakai, etc,)as Gd ( as we generally do in English). But here, Onkelos  renders E as the sons of the rulers, not children of the Divine.

This usage of  of E  informs the first story, where E creates the universe.  This is the story of Omnipotence, the power to create the Universe.  This is generally extrapolated to  an attribution  of  the power to do anything and everything.  This level of Divine  potency becomes an unquestionable  tradition of absolute power

But another aspect of the story calls this into question.  In the Beginning, E says - and it happens.  By the end of the parsha, E considers a plan ( to erase people from the earth). The thought is recorded, bt it is no longer immediately translated into action, into being.   The plan is subsequently not fully carried out! Noah and his family are rescued

In general, I think that E  means: " the greatest power I can imagine" Perhaps E does not designate Omnipotence, the actual power to do anything. Perhaps it is enough to attribute a power so great, it makes our puny abilities, even collectively applied, totally insignificant, unmeasurably small.

This contraction ( tzimtzim) to near-Omnipotnece may be necessary for our existence.  If  Gd (E) could do anything, we have no role, the universe has no place.  it is this conceptual limitation, to an essentially, but not quite, infinite power  that gives us  license to offer it  praise and live in Gd's  world.

I  meet this contraction with a contraction of my own.  A moments reflection convinces me that there are forces I do not understand.  There are forces whose existence is unknown.  Who could have anticipated electromagnetism , magnetic resonance, or quantum entanglement? Why should I not believe that other unsuspected forces exist.  For most of  my daily life, it is enough to know that my understanding is insufficient.  The concept of an (almost) infinitely   more powerful and knowledgeable being can fill that gap.  Gd's beneficence is evidenced by my every breath.

Gd made room for me.  I make room for Gd

Vizoth Habracha: terminal planting

The last parsha is the bracha from Moshe to the tribes of Israel.  Who is Moshe? What is a bracha ?   

Moshe  is the author of the Torah.  The Torah is written by a great man, the greatest prophet, a man with the unique experience of facing Gd.

 Moshe was chosen by a combination of Gd and circumstances to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and generate the great story of liberation, the story of redemption and the story of hope that precedes this final bracha. 

 Moshe transmitted  The Law, the rules that cannot be disregarded, the ways of peace, the service of the Lrd.

 Moshe admits that he is flawed and therefore cannot enter the Promised Land.  He is mortal and will soon die.  He must cap his words.  This is the bracha. 

Bracha is usually translated as blessing.  This bracha wishes the (mentioned) tribes well.  Reuven is blessed with continuity and inclusion in the nation.  Many tribes are blessed with strength and triump;, others with wealth; Shimon is not mentioned  explicitly. 

Bracha has another, related meaning.  When a branch from a tree or vine is replanted in the earth and generates renewed growth: that is also bracha.  The dying Moshe is replanting the tribes, as they are about to enter the fertile earth of the Promised land.  

In the coda, the 12 verses after the death of Moshe. we are told that the people heeded  Joshua, doing what the Lrd had commanded Moshe.  Joshua had the bracha of Moshe, he was the replanting of the legal authority.  But Moshe was the force behind the law. 

As the law has been transmitted through the generations, it has been replanted in different soils and it has responded accordingly.  But the DNA  of the law is the torah of Moshe and it is still sprouting

Ha'azinu: hidden meaning

The parsha is mostly a poem, a song.  This form of communication implies a hidden meaning, information that goes beyond the simple meaning of the words. I think that all writings have meanings beyond the  definitions of the words.  Poetry, by, the arrangement of the words  insists that there is more meaning here than can be derived from a dictionary, meaning that is not amenable  to Google, or any other translation, 

The poetic form invites the analysis  of common words/  Moshe calls upon Heaven and Earth to witness the pronouncements.  What is heaven? In the days before human flight, heaven was the unattainable  place above.  Before space exploration, heaven was  the abode of the Divine; After the satellite photographs  of a blue and white orb, now heaven becomes a concept.  The poem suggest that heaven is the source of rain. Heaven is the source of life sustaining water, the things we depend upon, but do not have any control over.  Heaven is, as it always has been, the unattainable home of the uncontrollable , but necessary. 

Earth is the familiar partner in our sustenance/  Earth is the part that is worked, the sink for our energies, the substrate for the plow.  Now that so few actually work the earth, earth, too , is conceptual.  It the locus for human input ;  the  part earthlings play in the endeavors that create history.

How does this poem, that predicts the  degradation and rescue of Israel,, affect the  psyche?  How did this pronouncement, which Moshe said would never be forgotten, impact my parents as they saw their own degradation and rescue and the rise their children? Does prediction lead to acceptance? rebellion? both?

There is a secret embedded in all writing. The writer will die. Perhaps the writing will live on.  It depends upon heaven and earth adn history. 

Vayelech: sharing failure

Moshe goes and  announces that he is now about  to die...and never enter the promised land.  The parsha is called vayelech: and he went.  It echoes the earlier parsha: Lech lecha, in which Gd tells Abraham to leave his ancestor's domain and follow a new path into a land that will, eventually, be granted to his descendants. Now Moshe has come up to the last mile and knows that he will not enter The Land

 He tells the people that they will enter the land...but they will eventually fail and be exiled. This land is too hot to handle. Moshe instructs the people to remember a poem The poem predicts the downfall and exile of the Israelites. Ultimately, Israel will be vindicated and restored to their land and glory.  

The message: defeat is inevitable; but persevere, survive, rise from the defeat.  The mission will ultimately succeed. 

The message: go! You may not be the one to arrive at the goal,  but go ahead and set the goal,  strive for the goal

Who would have thought that the singing voices of Jewish grooms and brides would actually be heard in the outskirts of Jerusalem  ( as I recently heard them myself) in the year 839 or 1639  or 1939?  Only those who could continue to go forth, knowing that they would probably  die before the goal is achieved. 

This is the journey of will, the expedition of faith. It is handed to us, we bequeath it to our descendants and students.