(18th Parsha of 54 Parshiyos ofTorah) By Rabbi Avraham David, numerical interpretation of Torah with aid of Gematria. Grandson of the Strettyner Rebbe, Rabbi Solomon Langner. Questions/Comments
In this week’s parsha, the Torah says, ovhbpk oha, rat ohypanv vktu
“And these are the ordinances that you shall place before them.”[1] According to Rashi, we should not go to non-Jewish courts of law who are our enemies. We see an allusion to this from the last letters (rearranged ) of the above phrase which spells the term ,uktv haolos, which means curses (Deuteronomy 30:7). What do curses have to do with non Jewish courts of law? The term curses can be found in the Torah where it talks about our enemies. By going to non-Jewish courts, we are giving homage to foreign powers whose rules are not Godly but are man-made and self-serving. In fact, according to American justice, one accused of stealing in the stock market is disgorged of all his/her money and sent off to jail for several years. When the thief comes out of jail, he/she comes out penniless and without hope. Not so our Torah. A thief would have to pay the victim. If the thief does not have the money to pay, then he would be sold as a slave to work for a Jewish family for a period of six years and on the seventh year, he would go free. This system brings hope and encouragement to the thief and makes him a productive member of society. The laws of God never change. Not so our system of Justice. In the United States, there are full time legislatures at every level of government, constantly passing laws, and some of them contradicting the previous laws, and of course , with full of legalese, the laws are difficult to understand. The following is a sample; (b) Eligibility. An alien who is included in the categories of restricted aliens under § 245.1(b) and meets the definition of a "grandfathered alien" may apply for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Act if the alien meets the requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(7) of this section: (Redesignated as paragraph (b) and introductory text revised 3/26/01, previously paragraph (a); 66 FR 16383). Even lawyers have difficulty understanding the immigration rules of the United States.Filing for a green card brings no guarantees. Just anxiety and sometimes, only false hope. Such laws bring discrimination and breed hatred between the locals and the immigrants.Not so our Torah, it says that there is one law for the stranger and the citizen (see Exodus ).
The Torah says je, tksjau, “and a bribery shall not be taken”(Exodus 23:8).As noted in my previous discourses, we find the underlined letters spells the acronym of the word, sjt, echad, one, as the judge and litigant actually become one as the bribe blurs the objectiveness of the judge. We see this result in today’s top news story (2/22/06) where we learned that the Bush Administration gave the go ahead for the purchase of 6 major ports by an Arab nation, the UAE, that has been affiliated with the 9/11 terrorists, money laundering and nuclear proliferation through Mr Khan of Pakistan. Upon further investigation by news reports it came out that the deal is worth 6.8 billion dollars. I assume that it is the price that President Bush has valued as selling our security protection to potential terrorists. But there is more. According to Yahoo news, the United Arab Emirates donated 1 million before 1995 to the Bush Library Foundation. Also, the United Arab Emirates donated $100,000,000 (100 million) dollars to Katrina Hurricane Relief. Now we see how the words of Torah are correct as bribery blinds people to the truth. The truth is that this sale will make a mockery of the billions spent on homeland security and it is an insult to the victims and families of 9/11. So is the price of freedom and democracy. According to the White House spokesman Scott McClellan, the United States will not outsource our security. However, CNN said that is untrue as they have shown that once a shipment reaches the port, it comes under private security of the port. If the port is owned by a foreign entity such as the UAE, who knows who will they hire. Maybe even Osama Bin Laden’s relatives. Does this make any sense? Yes, because that is how far a bribe will go.As the Torah notes, it will make the righteous crooked (see Exodus 23:8).Perhaps the sale of the ports will be blocked by Congress as the truth has been revealed in that the President of the United States’s judgment has blinded by a bribe. We must keep studying the Torah so that we can avoid the pitfalls of perverse judgment.
In fact, the Torah will always keep us as pure as the sapphire stones of the Tablets of the Ten Commandments as it says in the Parsha, rhpxv ,bckvagnf uhkdr ,j,u, “and under his feet, like the form of a sapphire brick.. and waslike the appearance ofthe heavens in purity”(Exodus 24:10). If we take the acronym of the encircled letters, it spells the term, vru, , Torah. Such is our Torah. It makes us as pure as the sapphire of heaven. May we speedily be redeemed through the Messiah that equals the same Gematria as the hrcg scg, eved ivri (358) so that we can serve God with a faithful and pure heart.
A refuah shlaima to my father, Yakov Zev Ben Malka Blima, who is recovering from a stroke at Vanderbilt Nursing Home, SI, NY.
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