Hand Built in England.
That is the proud claim that greets you as you open the door of an Aston Martin DB9 Volante, long considered to be of the most beautiful creations in the automotive universe. The next thing that greets you is the scent of some of the world’s finest leather, as at least twelve cows donated their massaged and pampered skins to the meticulously hand sewn interior of every Aston Martin DB9. Sit down in the sculpted bucket seats, insert the glass key fob in its appropriate spot, and as the car comes to life you are hit with the thunderous wail of more than five hundred stallions being unleashed all at once in the massive twelve cylinder engine beneath the long hood.
That’s my attempt at describing some of the sensory inputs you experience when preparing to drive an Aston Martin, but once you push the D button and let the beast loose, there are really no words to describe the grandeur of what comes next. It is not merely the superb engine which can purr like a satisfied kitten at 80mph, but with the depression of the gas pedal, turn instantly into a roaring tiger. It’s not just the way the steering wheel eagerly feeds you every detail of the road, giving you enough confidence to drive a car worth more than the median price of a US home without being nervous at all. It’s not the great sound system that makes every CD sound like a live concert, nor the brakes that bring the two ton car to a smooth stop with astonishing rapidity. It’s the complete package that eludes any simple definition.
The Aston Martin DB9 Volante is not a means to an end, it’s not a vehicle to get you from place A to place B, it is an end to itself, it is where you want to be. The DB9 is not how you go someplace, but where you go when you want to get away. It’s where you take a break from the world and simply revel in automotive bliss.
How do I know this? Well, for two glorious days I tooled around town in one. No, I didn’t buy one, although I probably could if I sold my car, my house, and pretty much everything in it. I borrowed it from a good friend of mine who I have been learning with for about a decade. He generously offered to lend it to me multiple times over the past few years, but I always declined. For starters, if I got into a fender bender, the repair job would cost me a few months’ salary, and on top of that, I’m not exactly Aston Martin material. James Bond drives an Aston Martin, I drive minivans, you get the picture.
But, I did have to make an exception recently. My oldest nephew was having a rough go of his last year of Yeshiva high school in Israel, and my sister made a deal with him that if he powered through it, she would send him to America for summer vacation. He did his part of the deal, and she did hers, which resulted in my nephew coming to visit us this weekend. My nephew happens to be a car fanatic, his room at home is filled with pictures of exotic cars, and he knows more about supercars than most supercar drivers. This provided the ultimate opportunity for Uncle Leiby to give Bino the time of his life. I may not be Aston Martin material, but this time it was almost a mitzvah for me to borrow one.
I picked him up from the airport with the convertible top down, and he almost died and went to heaven on the spot. Then we went to some deserted service roads near the airport and put every one of the horsies in that V12 engine to work, taking the car from 0 to 1?? and back to 0 in less than twenty seconds. The engine was singing and screaming all at once, we were pressed back into our seats by the magical acceleration forces, the world around us blurred as it rushed by us, and I’ve never seen a bigger smile on my nephew’s face.
Driving back from the airport was just as otherworldy. The car would be humming along at 65 mph, I would floor the pedal, and with a primordial roar the engine would light up, the speed just spooling up effortlessly even after I let go of the gas pedal. The car inspires confidence, you can be wherever on the road you want to be, going as fast as you want, and it all happens before you finish thinking about it. The sumptuous interior is so expertly crafted that even with the wind rushing past the open cockpit at 80 mph, you can still carry on a conversation easily. It was a sublime experience, and I now know what kind of car I will be ordering when I get to Gan Eden. (Yes, I know, they don’t have British cars in heaven, I’m just sayin’…)
Two days later I returned the car, but in my short time with the car I learned a very important lesson, and I would love to share it with you.
While we were tearing around for the first time on those abandoned service roads near the airport, my nephew asked me, “Is it OK that you’re doing this? Are you going to hurt the car?” I responded that not only was I not hurting the car, I was actually helping the car.
An Aston Martin DB9 was not designed to putter around town at 15 mph like a golf cart. If that is all that you ever do in your Aston Martin, you are actually going to hurt your car. So much of the car would not be getting used, and when you don’t use something, it starts to deteriorate. When you own a supercar, you should flex it fully every once in a while. It’s like letting a caged tiger out into the wild for a night or two. He gets to hunt his own food, he gets to be the tiger he was designed to be, and he is a lot happier than when he was sitting in his cage having hunks of meat dropped in front of him by the zookeeper. So, in a sense, you could say I was just doing my friend a favor by taking his car out and letting it flex for a few hours (try that one out on the Highway Patrol officer!).
The same thing applies to human beings. We were designed as the supercars of the world. We were given a G-dly soul, created in G-d’s own image. We have a huge V12 engine inside of us, one that can put you anywhere you want to be on the road. You can dial up incredible power by pushing hard on the gas pedal and you can accomplish extraordinary things when you do so. We were not made to putter around this world at 15 mph, and when we do, we are actually hurting ourselves. When we are not flexing our soul, when we are not pushing ourselves towards greatness, things start to deteriorate; we get depressed, we get sick often, we break down more frequently, and spend a lot more time in the shop. For us to be healthy both in body and spirit, we need to be doing what we are designed to do.
In Ethics of Our Fathers (1:13), the Mishna tells us, “And he who does not increase, causes it to end.” According to the interpretation of Rabbi Chaim MiVolozhin in Ruach Chaim (Feldheim ed., pg 65) : “Man is dynamic; he never stays the same. The only way to prevent a fall is by continuously climbing up the ladder of life. One who does not add will lose, because there is no such thing as remaining static: either you go up or down.” If we are not engaging all twelve cylinders, if we are not using all the soulpower of our engine, we start to lose it, as it degrades through lack of use. But like the supercar, when we do use our soul to the fullest, when our engine is roaring and the wind is rushing past us at 80 mph, we may be working our engine much harder, but the feeling is sublime. We are coming in contact with all of the G-dliness that lies inside, and nothing feels better than that.
We are “Custom Built in Heaven,” let’s get out on the road of life, and put the pedal to metal!
Parsha Dvar Torah
In this week’s parsha we find a mitzvah which helps keep the integrity of the Torah through the ages. “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it, to observe the commandments of Ha-shem your G-d, that I command you today” (Deut. 4:2). This verse teaches us to leave the mitzvos exactly as we got them, without adding nor taking away anything from them.
It is clear why G-d would tell us not to take away from the mitzvos. Once one would start doing that, it would open a Pandora’s Box, which could result in more and more mitzvos being taken away, until our entire rich tradition would be whittled away to next to nothing. But why does G-d not allow anyone to add to the mitzvos? If someone wants to be more pious and do more, why would G-d forbid it?
The Dubner Maggid (1740-1804), answers with the following parable. Sam asked his neighbor Frank if he could borrow a silver spoon. Frank gave it to him, and was surprised to see him return the next day with two spoons, one bigger than the other.
“What is this for?” he asked.
“Well, after you gave me the spoon, it got pregnant and gave birth!” Frank was not the type to turn away a free spoon, so he called a happy Mazal Tov, and wished Sam well.
A few days later Sam came to borrow a big copper pot. Frank gave it to him and, much to his joy, Sam came back a few days later with the big copper pot, and a little “baby” pot. Once again Sam explained that the pot had gotten pregnant and gave birth to the small pot. (Can someone please teach these cooking utensils a planned parenting class!?)
When the next week Sam came by and asked Frank to borrow his large silver menorah, Frank was only too quick to give it over, in anticipation of a baby menorah. Two months went by and Frank didn’t see either Sam or his menorah. Finally, a few days later, he spots Sam at the train station and asks why didn’t he come to return the menorah yet.
“Oh” replies Sam, “the menorah. Yes, a terrible thing happened! A few minutes after I got home, the menorah suddenly fell ill. It wasted away for a few hours, and then it simply died! I am so sorry about your loss!” Sam quickly got enraged. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, MY MENORAH DIED!!! WHOEVER HEARD OF A MENORAH DYING?!” To which Sam replied, “Well whoever heard of a pot or a silver spoon giving birth? But that didn’t seem to bother you so much, so I don’t know why this is bothering you!”
When G-d gave us the Torah, he gave us a precise prescription for a perfect, peaceful, and pleasant life (it’s a good thing easy doesn’t start with a P!). Once we think we can take control of the wheel and start turning, even in the direction of more mitzvos, there is a fundamental perspective shift. No longer is it G-d’s Torah, but rather it’s our personal Torah, to do with it as we please! Then, just as we can add, we can subtract, we can giver “birth” to new mitzvos we would like to see on the list, and we can have the ones that are a bit too difficult simply “die.” For that reason G-d commands us “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it.” If we do that, surely the latter part of the verse will come true as well and we will “observe the commandments of Ha-shem your G-d, that I command you toady!”
Parsha Summary
This week's portion begins with Moshe begging G-d to allow him into the land Israel. The Talmud asks, "Why did Moshe want to enter the land? Did he need to eat of its fruit or satiate himself with its bounty? Rather, this is what Moshe said to himself, ‘There are many mitzvos that one can only performed in Israel . I will enter the land so that all those mitzvos will be performed through me!’" (Sotah 14a) Moshe's yearning was for the intense spirituality locked up in Israel. After many prayers from Moshe (515 to be exact, the numerical equivalence of Ve'eschanan), G-d tells Moshe to stop asking, so that there shouldn't be a situation in which the student is begging so much and it looks as if the Master is being mean. (This is an important lesson in marriage. If there is an issue that keeps coming up where one spouse is constantly being forced to deny the other's request, it is a good idea to sit down and talk it out. If they agree that the denier’s actions are valid, it is important for the other spouse to stop asking. It is very unfair to cause one spouse to always be the "bad guy.")
Moshe then continues to teach the Jews some very important precepts, including, "You shall not add to the word of G-d, nor shall you detract from it," (Deut. 4:2) which tells us that we can't add or detract from the mitzvos, for example by having three tzitzit instead of four, or two days of Shabbos. The idea here is that we should never think "G-d knew what was good, but I can make it even better." Such a mindset has two fundamental flaws. Firstly, it presumes that G-d doesn't have it all perfectly set already and, even worse, it shows incredible arrogance in thinking you can do a better job than Him.
Then Moshe reminds the Jews of the respect they gain from the world when the nations see the Jews fulfilling the Torah, as they are amazed at the Torah and its wisdom. This does more for world opinion than our accomplishments in any other sector.
Next, Moshe recounted some of the details of the revelation at Mt. Sinai, such as seeing the mountain engulfed in flames leaping into the heavens, being able to see the words of G-d (a big miracle, as normally humans can't see sounds unless they are on LSD), and how G-d commanded us to never serve anything but Him.
At this point, Moshe digresses from the story of the revelation to tell the Jews that if they or their progeny do serve other gods, G-d will force them into exile. Moshe uses the heavens and earth as his witnesses, as they are eternal. Interestingly, this is the portion we read on Tisha B'av, because it talks of the Jew's actions being the cause of their exile, but also talks of our return to G-d. This return will bring about the ingathering of the exiles, an event which, especially on Tisha B'Av, must have paramount importance in our consciousness.
Moshe then points out the love G-d has for the Jews, as He revealed Himself to the entire nation, men, women, and children, an event which has never happened in all of history before or after! Here, Moshe repeats the Decalogue to the Jews. (We don't call them the Ten Commandments, because there are actually much more than ten Mitzvot mentioned here. Rather we call the Aseret Hadibrot or the Ten Statements, hence the Greek term Decalogue- deca = ten, logos = words.) The Torah here inserts the most famous of all Jewish statement, Shema Yisrael Ha-shem Elokeinu Ha-shem Echad. After that, the Torah writes the first chapter of the Shema i.e. Ve'ahavta.
The Torah then enjoins us not to forget G-d in times of prosperity. It is all too easy, when things are good, to get lulled into a sense of self-accomplishment and to forget that G-d is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. History has tragically taught us that when this happens we are given a rude awakening, and suddenly it is clear that there is a G-d running this world.
At the close of the parsha, the Torah makes two demands that may seem unrelated, but are actually strongly connected. The Torah commands us to pass our tradition on to our children, and to ensure that they receive a proper Jewish education so they know who we are as a people, where we came from, and what are our goals. Immediately following is the commandment not to intermarry, as that will not only decimate our numbers, but also cause us to lose our religion.
Although these two ideas don't necessarily seem related, upon further reflection there is a clear reason for the juxtaposition. The Torah is telling us that if we educate our children properly, and give them a sense of who we are as a people, truly "one nation under G-d," then we won't have the problem of intermarriage. This is a message that rings true today more than ever, with the Jewish people facing an over 50% intermarriage rate, and with all the studies showing that a solid Jewish education as the biggest deterrent to intermarriage available. So, head on down to the closest pharmacy and pick up some prescription strength Torah education, give your children two tablets each, and invite me to the nice Yiddishe wedding in the morning. That's all Folks!!
Quote of the Week: Your past is always going to be what it was, stop trying to change it. ~ Shmuel Fremont
Random Fact of the Week: The US has more bagpipe bands than Scotland!
Funny Line of the Week: Fettucini alfredo is macaroni and cheese for adults.
Have a Comforting Shabbos,
R’ Leiby Burnham