Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

The verses we recite every time we open and close the ark in the synagogue originate in this week's Torah portion. In fact, these two verses are bracketed off by an inverted Hebrew letter nun at beginning and end. Our Sages surmise, as it were, that these two verses comprise a sixth and seventh book of the Torah because of the messages contained. 

The two verses are as follows: "When the Ark was to set out, Moses would say: Advance O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered and may your foes flee before You!

And when it (the ark) halted, he would say: Return, O Lord, You who are Israel's myriads of thousands (Numbers 10:35-36)."

As indicated in the Etz Hayim Torah commentary, the first verse speaks of wandering, exile, and persecution, when we are vulnerable to those who seek us harm. The second verse speaks of tranquil times, when the danger is not persecution but assimilation.

In our time, both concerns are prevalent - the threats and challenges posed by anti-Semitism and assimilation. We tend to be wandering even when we think we are living in tranquil times.

Notice that the enemies (literally, God's enemies) are not to be destroyed, but scattered, so that they cannot unite to oppress the Jewish people. The classical commentator, Rashi, explains "your enemies" as "Ha'mechunasin - Those who massed for battle."

In Israel and in the Diaspora, we have observed enemies of Israel massed for battle. Ideally, we would want to make our enemy into our friend. Ideally, we would want to live in peaceful co-existence. At the very least, may haters of the Jewish people be scattered from being a threat to our very existence.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison