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Community
Torah Portion
The Past Should Teach
Not Be A Trap
Senate had indeed named Vespasian to
replace the emperor, whci had been
overthrown.
In gratitude, the new ruler asked
Yochanan want he wanted. The Rabbi
simply said, "Yavneh and her scholars."
Most people assume he only wanted to
establish a yeshiva there. In actuality,
Yochanan received authority for the
he first time I visited
rabbis at Yavneh to be the new govern-
Atlanta, I had the opportu-
ment of Judea.
nity to discuss recent politics
Although the land was decimated,
— i.e. the war which
having a recognized government meant
engulfed our country between 1861
that life would eventually return to
and 1865 — with a relative who had
normal, and the people
lived in Georgia all her life.
could survive in their new
When I called it "the Civil
circumstances.
War," she thickened her drawl
All of us are creations of
a bit and replied, "It was the
our experience; as we mature,
War Between the States, and
we enjoy exchanging pleasant
it was anythin' but civil!"
memories of the past with
We laughed, and the con-
our friends and our families.
versation went on to other
This exercise in nostalgia can
topics. But I was given a tast e
provide a pleasant refuge,
of an attitude which is still
especially when the present is
prevalent in some parts of the
beset with problems. There's
RABBI JAMES
South: They haven't stopped
nothing wrong this, as long
M I C HAELS
fighting a war which ended
as we don't allow the memo-
Specia l to the
135 years ago.
ries of the past to cloud our
Jewish News
How do we let go of the
vision of the present.
past? When events are signifi-
Many years ago, I was an
cant, it's hard not to relive them. But if
advisor to a group of young unmarried
that's all we do, we don't move on to
Jews. I encouraged them to visit their
the present and build for the future.
local synagogue but they said, "The
This week we observe Shabbat
people there aren't friendly."
Nachamu. It derives its name from the
I'm amazed to hear that, because I
first words of the haftorah, "Comfort
knew the same people to be extremely
ye, comfort ye, my people." By assign-
warm. But when I visited that congre-
ing Isaiah's words of comfort to the
gation, I noticed that they spent most
Shabbat after Tisha b'Av, the rabbis
of the time talking about the past. A
told our people that the time for
new person in shul wouldn't be able to
national mourning for the Temple was
share those memories, so they would
over. The time had come to look for-
have felt ignored. And yet, if the long-
ward and to build for the future.
time members had thought about it,
The events of the destruction of the
they would have realized that the new
Temple in 70 C.E. are well-known.
faces represented the potential for con-
Less well-known, however, is the story
tinuing the synagogue in the future.
of what might have been the most sig-
The lesson of Yochanan ben Zakkai
nificant event of that fateful year. It
demonstrates that we should not focus
involved Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai,
exclusively on the past. Instead, we
the leader of the rabbinical court which
should seize the opportunity to create
had functioned inside the Temple for
new beginnings. All it takes is a willing-
many years. Due to his foresight, our
ness • to try, and the belief that God is
people were able to pick up the pieces
with us. _
after the destruction.
With only days remaining before the
Romans would finish the job of __
destruction, Yochanan went to the
commanding general, Vespasian, and
Is the past a "safe haven" when
predicted that Vespasian would shortly
problems of the present are too
become emperor of Rome. The Talmud
challenging? How can we
tells us that as soon as he said it, mes-
remember the lessons of the past,
sengers arrived and announced that the
while still preparing for the
future? Once Tisha b'Av is over,
Rabbi James Michaels is rabbi of
how does our mood change?
Congregation Beth Israel in Flint.
Shabbat Nachamu
(Vaetchanan):
Deuteronomy 3:23-7•11;
Isaiah 40:1-26
T
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