T orah P ortion
CAN DL E L IGHTIN G
Into Our Hearts
BY RABBI SHAWN ZEVIT
Parshat V’Etkhanan
THIS SHABBAT, on which
parshat V’Etkhanan is read,
has a special designation as
“Shabbat Nakhamu — the
Shabbat of Comforting.” It is
the first Shabbat after Tisha
B’Av, the day that commem-
orates the destruction of the
ancient Temple in Jerusalem.

The Haftorah read on this
Shabbat begins a series of seven
haftorot, ending right before
Rosh Hashanah. These readings
all focus on healing the wounds
of losing the Temple and, more
broadly, also offer comfort for
the impact of exile and the
experience of being separate
and separated from one’s home,
and even from oneself.

The dimension of personal
exile is seen in connection
with Moses’ journey as he
recounts it in the beginning
of this parsha. The unusual
verb that this parsha begins
with, v’etkhanan, which means
to plead for or on behalf of
oneself. The classic rabbinic
Midrash (Deut. Rabbah 2:1)
understands this as meaning
“to throw oneself at the
mercy of the other.” A plea
for mercy begins the parsha
(Deuteronomy 3:23) and words
of comfort begin the Haftorah
portion (Isaiah, Chapter 40).

Yet, as it was for Moses and
Ressler Continued from Page 4
on Father’s Day, Ressler sat
out back and watched her
great-grandchildren play.

“Later in her life, she said
the best thing about starting
the business has been keeping
her family close,” Israeli said.

It was also later in life that,
after so many decades, Ressler
found the strength to start
speaking about her Holocaust
24 JULY 22, 2021
July 23
July 30
8:04 p.m.

7:58 p.m.

for our ancestors, our pleas
and prayers are not always
responded to the way we would
hope, and comfort is not avail-
able the way we long for.

In the case of the Torah
portion, Moses recounts how
he pleaded with God, “Let me,
I pray, cross over and see the
good land on the other side of
the Jordan,” but to no avail.

Commentators over the
centuries have mulled over
why Moses uncharacteristi-
cally shares his inner struggle
and dialogue with God in front
of this new generation bound
for the Promised Land. There
is the perspective of admonish-
ment: “Because of you, Israel, I
do not get to cross the river to
the land we have dreamed of —
do not get there and squander
the dream!”
There is the perspective of
warning: “Look at what I did
that cost me the thing I most
longed for! Don’t get to the
Promised Land and forsake
following the Torah and run
after false gods, thus forfeiting
your own dreams!”
And, among many other
interpretations, there is the
possibility that Moses was
reaching for forgiveness and
legacy: “My time is over, I
made critical mistakes and
am bearing the consequences.

As you move forward to fulfill
your promise as a people,
remember me for all that I
did do, not only where I went
‘off-line’ from following a
Divinely directed purpose.”
Whatever the meaning(s)
behind his introductory
personal reflection, Moses’
recollection raises
the emotional stakes of what
will now follow, and the
rest of the book of Devarim
(Deuteronomy) is now estab-
lished as Moses’ last words.

One verse that follows rises
above even the power and
primacy of the others:
Shma! Hear, Israel, there is
only Oneness (Ekhad) our God.

This declaration to bear
witness to the source of all
existence and at the same time,
Israel’s source, our source, is
where both particular and
universal meet in non-dual,
mutually inclusive fashion. To
really take this in, we are not
instructed to write a treatise or
discuss our understanding of how
God is, and is our God, rather
we are asked ... to listen and to
declare this truth as self-evident.

This may be why, according
to Rabbi David Wolfe Blank, of
blessed memory, Shma means
many other things other than
“to listen” based on the usage
of related words in the Talmud.

This idea invites us to pay
attention to the many ways we
might open up to holiness in
our lives and find a connection
to our Jewish path.

These meanings of Shma
include the ability to: understand,
attend, obey, surrender, gather,
assemble, invite, be still, sing,
make music, show willingness,
take care of, attend to, prove,
teach, proclaim and testify.

When our ears and our
hearts are blocked to truth and
living a committed spiritual
life, when listening is diffi-
cult, we can try to connect
with our soul’s purpose and
make Jewish values-based and
ethical choices through one of
the other meanings of Shma.

It is an extra blessing this year
that Shabbat coincides with Tu
B’Av (myjewishlearning.com/
article/tu-bav/), an ancient
Temple-centered festival that
has flowered again in recent
years focused on loving
connections and finding joy in
each other for who we essen-
tially are.

The words that follow,
“Shma Yisrael ...” include,
“Place these words of mine on
your heart and on your soul ...”
(Deut 6:6). Rabbi Menachem
Mendel of Kotzk points out that
the Torah states ahl l’vav’kha,
“on your heart.” The Torah
does not say “in” your heart for
your heart is closed at times,
and it is impossible to place
anything in your heart. But
when words are placed on your
heart, and the hour arrives that
your heart opens up, they are
ready to drop deeply into it.

As we move into these weeks
of comforting, rising out of the
ashes of the memory of past
destruction, of an extended
pandemic that has claimed
so many lives, and struggling
with many challenges we face
here, in Israel and Palestine,
and with our planet, I pray
each of you finds the space to
listen in ways that will allow
the words we know to be
true to enter into our hearts,
making for change and trans-
formation as we begin to count
the weeks to another new year
of possibilities — of us rising
out of the shattering to a new
and more lovingly connected
world of our co-creation. l
experience. She never liked to
when she first got to the U.S.,
wanting to put the experience
behind her and start fresh,
Israeli said.

But about 15-20 years ago,
Ressler “felt a sense of duty,” he
added. So, she started visiting
secondary schools, colleges
and synagogues, including her
own, Temple Beth Hillel – Beth
El in Wynnewood.

Ressler spoke of riding in a
train car to Auschwitz with her
mother, father and brother and
being separated from her father
and brother upon arrival.

During their year in
concentration camps, the
daughter and mother would
take additional work and earn
tiny bits of extra food to share.

Both survived and returned to
Transylvania. “Her message was not to
forget,” Israeli said.

In the last 10 years,
though, Ressler became even
more active and adamant
about sharing this message.

She was seeing and hearing
things, in the media and from
politicians, that she never
imagined seeing and hearing
in the U.S., including the 2017
white supremacist rally in
Charlottesville, Virginia.

It was during this final
decade that Ressler recorded
her life story with the University
of Southern California’s
Shoah Foundation, the Steven
Spielberg-founded institute
for preserving personal stories
from the Holocaust.

“So it will stay in posterity
when she’s no longer here,”
Israeli said.

On July 5, Ressler was
laid to rest at Haym Salomon
Memorial Park in Malvern.

Ressler died peacefully in
her sleep, according to her
grandson. Israeli ended his
eulogy saying, “Grandma Suzy,
I will miss you, but I promise
that I will remember.” l
JEWISH EXPONENT
Rabbi Shawn Israel Zevit is rabbi
at Mishkan Shalom in Philadelphia.

He is co-founder/co-director of
the Davennen Leader’s Training
Institute and is the associate
director for the ALEPH Hashpa’ah
(Spiritual Direction) program. He
is the co-chair of the Philadelphia
Faith Leader’s caucus of POWER
Interfaith. The Board of Rabbis of
Greater Philadelphia is proud to
provide diverse perspectives on
Torah commentary for the Jewish
Exponent. The opinions expressed
in this column are the author’s own
and do not reflect the view of the
Board of Rabbis.

jsaffren@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
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