Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

We know that society has obligations to us but we frequently forget that we have obligations to society. We can’t just do whatever we feel like. We have to fit into societal norms.

The Torah has commandments of our actions between man and God as well as between man and man. Both are important since one without the other will lead to both being forgotten.

We are taught that we are in a partnership with God. We follow His way and He will make sure that our work is not in vain. If we don’t then we will lose everything.

In this week’s Torah reading we see that God is making a deal with the Jews. If you want a good and successful life, then you have to follow the commandments. If you want to be a normal people you will get what a normal people get.

The 9th of Av is the anniversary of the worst disasters of Jewish history. The 15th of Av is the Jewish answer to our enemies. It is a day that we encourage young people to meet, marry and begin to build a family. It is saying, you did not defeat us. We will continue as Jews.

The Shma is the central statement of the Jews. We recite twice daily. It is to remind us that our mission is to be a holy nation through our actions, whether with God or our fellow man.

The Torah states that we have to remember and keep the Sabbath day. This is to teach that if we don’t remember why the Sabbath day is about, we will forget it and if we don’t keep it, we will not keep it. It will be another day of the week.

While the Torah demands we treat our fellow man with dignity it also maintains that our fellow man must also behave correctly. When they commit murder, rape, etc. then we have to deal with them in the appropriate manner.

Moses pleads one last time to enter the Land. God denies this request but gives him the opportunity to see all the Land in its entirety as well as the future of the Jewish people.

Today is the 9th of Av. It is a sad day in the Jewish year. It is not only the anniversary of the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem but also of many disasters that befell the Jewish people. On this day we think about averting new disasters by improving ourselves morally, ethically, and nationally