OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well.

This week's Sedra is Devarim, and I saw a very interesting Dvar Torah from the book 'The Inside Story', which bases each Sedra on the teachings of The Rebbe.

2 aspects of this week's Sedra were looked at:

1. Moshe translating the Torah into 70 languages at the Jordon River before Bnei Yisrael crossed over into Eretz Yisrael.
2. The event of the golden calf

So the question posed is, 'CAN SPIRITUAL CONCEPTS BE EXPRESSED IN EVERYDAY LANGUAGE?'

Or is it allotted only to the privileged few on yellowed, crumbling pages, and faded scrolls?

It is a paradox, because on the one hand, Mosheh translated Torah into 70 languages, but on the other hand, the Talmud brings down, that on the day that 5 Torah Scholars translated the Torah into Greek at the request of King Ptolemy, it was as ominous a day for Israel as the DAY ON WHICH THE GOLDEN CALF WAS MADE.

So what is the connection, and what went wrong with the golden calf?

Bnei Yisrael were misled to believe that Mosheh was not coming back down from the mountain, and they were desperate to have a leader.

They understood the importance of a leader, in that a leader, through their example, CAN ALLOW EACH PERSON TO FULLY EXPRESS THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING OF HASHEM IN THEIR OWN UNIQUE WAY.

But their mistake was that they used their own understanding, from a vision they had seen at Har Sinai, when they perceived Hashem descending in a Chariot borne by 4 angels. One of those faces resembled an ox. And they then translated a G-dly vision into physical matter.

But physicality can only become connected with G-dliness through a Command of G-d.

So should the golden calf stop us from relating to Hashem on our terms?

It is obvious that Hashem wants us to draw Him into our world, because Mosheh himself translated the Torah into 70 languages, but we must remember not to rely on our understanding alone, without deferring to Torah authority.

In our generation, we have the unprecedented capacity to make Torah available in all languages, to individuals and populations that have never been reached before.

Hashem will be truly revealed in this world when ALL PEOPLE from all perspectives, are able to acknowledge His presence, and study His Teachings.

And this should transform the days of mourning (between 17th of Tammuz to 9th of Av) into days of joy and celebration.

Gut Shabbos to all