Ki Tavo(Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8)

Establishing Torah

When the Jewish people entered the land, they were to assemble at two mountains for a new acceptance of the Torah, but the command to do so is found already in this week's Torah Portion. Twelve commandments were to be enumerated, and the people would acknowledge publicly that blessings await those who observe them and curses will befall those who spurn them. Each command discusses a specific act with the exception of the final one. It states: "Cursed is the one who will not uphold the words of this Torah, to perform them; and all the people shall say, 'Amen' ." (1)
The commentators ask, what does this seemingly vague command involve? The Ramban brings a Talmud Yerushalmi that answers this question. "Rav Assi says in the name of Rebbi Tanchum Bar Chiya, one who learnt, taught, guarded, and performed the Torah, but he had the power to strengthen the Torah and did not, is considered 'accursed.'... Even someone who was completely righteous in his actions but did not strengthen the Torah in the face of those who do not keep it - he is considered 'cursed.' (2)
The Chofetz Chaim wrote an entire book, 'Chomas Hadas', which was dedicated to urging people to do more to strengthen the Torah against the increasing tide away from Torah that threatened the very future of Torah observance. In his introduction, 'Chizuk Hadas' he enumerates four separate ways in which every Jew is obligated by the Torah to strive to increase observance amongst our fellow Jews.(3) The fourth is based on this Talmdu Yerushalmi; the Chofetz Chaim argues strongly that this obligation applies to any Jew who has the power to influence others. If a person does so, then he receives the blessings that were said on Mount Gerizim and if he does not he will suffer the curses of Mount Eival. He points out how awesome this idea is: The Levites turned to six hundred thousand people who stood on the two mountains and blessed the people who would keep these commands and everyone present answered 'amen'. Consequently, anyone who tries to uphold the Torah is blessed by the Priests, Levites and six hundred thousand people, God's agreement.
Rav Yitzchak Berkovits notes that by looking at some of the other sins enumerated in the curses we can begin to get a clearer idea of the seriousness of the failure to uphold the Torah. Amongst the other curses are: one who makes a graven image, one who degrades his parents, one who commits grave immorality, and one who strikes his fellow in private. There would be an inclination to think that failure to uphold the Torah is not such a terrible sin but we see from here that one who fails to uphold the Torah is placed in the same category as one who commits such terrible sins as those mentioned in the curses at Mount Eival. And the opposite is also true; a person who even tries to influence others to increase their observance is greatly praised by the Torah.
The Yerushalmi brings an example from the Books of the Prophets of a person who epitomized the desire to fulfill the command of this verse. King Josiah was brought up in a generation that had no knowledge of Torah to the extent that he had never seen a Torah scroll. When he was a mere child one of the Priests, Chilkiah, found a Torah scroll in the Temple courtyard, it was rolled to the verse, "cursed is the one who will not uphold the words of this Torah." When Yoshiyahu heard this he rent his clothes and said, "alei lehakim," which means 'it is my responsibility to uphold the Torah.' (4) He proceeded to do so and successfully reintroduced Torah learning and observance to the forlorn people.
The Netsiv discusses the actions of Josiah in the context of his own time. There was already a great flow of people leaving Torah for other ideologies and there seems to have been a difference of opinion as to how the remaining Torah true Jews should react to this. Some people believed that the best course of action was to hide away and focus on their own personal Divine Service. The Netsiv wrote a responsa in which he strongly disagreed with this approach. He believed that this was not the time to focus on one's own spirituality whilst the rest of the world was being spiritually destroyed.(5) One of his proofs for his attitude is the story of Josiah. The Prophet says that after Josiah found the Torah scroll, he said to the Priests and Levites, "... now go and serve Hashem your God and his people, Israel.' (6) In what way did he mean for them to serve Hashem and his people? The Netsiv explains, that up till that time, the only people who had maintained their spiritual level were the Priests and Levites and that they had retreated into their own world to avoid the perils of their surroundings. They had devoted themselves to their own spiritual development and relationship with God but had neglected the rest of the people. Josiah now urged them to change their behavior and to spread Torah to those who had lost their connection to it. He said that by serving the people in bringing them closer to Torah they would be simultaneously serving God because that was his desire at this time.
The Netsiv argues that just as in Josiah's time there was a great need for the observant Jews to uphold the Torah, the same was true in his time, where people were leaving Torah in droves. If the Netsiv's era could be compared to that of Josiah, then, all the more so the case is true in our time. There has never been a situation where so many Jews are so distant from any form of Torah than now. A survey was taken in 1990 of the state of observance in the United States. Here are some of its results.(7) In 1950 the intermarriage rate in USA was 6%, by 1990 it was 52% and rising. 2 million Jews do not identify themselves as Jews. 2 million self-identified Jews have no Jewish connection whatsoever. For every wedding between two Jews, two intermarriages take place. 625,000 US Jews are now practicing other religions. 11% of US Jews go to synagogue. Needless to say the situation is far worse now than it was in 1990. In Elul we all try to make a self-assessment of our observance of the mitzvot. We learn from this week's Portion that an essential part of that self-assessment is that each person should ask himself 'am I doing enough to uphold the Torah?'
The Chofetz Chaim, in his own life, demonstrated his fear of being judged for not doing enough to strengthen Torah observance on many occasions. On one occasion, during a three week stay in Riga he convinced 300 shopkeepers to close their stores on Shabbat.(8) Another time, upon hearing from Jewish soldiers that on Pesach they had eaten bread, he immediately set out to write a book, Machane Yisroel for Jewish soldiers which quickly met with considerable success. He founded and raised money for a Kosher Kitchen Fund, and he personally tried to come in contact with soldiers to influence them. A group of soldiers used to pass through his hometown of Radin every summer. The Chofetz Chaim invited them to a banquet in his home, received them with fatherly love, and gave them a talk to encourage their Torah observance.(9)
The Chofetz Chaim constantly emphasized that there are many ways in which a person can strive to uphold the Torah, whether it be by giving lectures in front of large audiences, establishing places of learning, or befriending those that are distant from Torah. Each person is blessed with unique abilities to help bring others closer to Torah. At present, there are outreach organizations that are providing many avenues through which people can increase their involvement in outreach, even on a part-time basis. They offer classes in outreach training, opportunities to learn one-on-one with a secular study partner, and many other options. With the High Holy Days fast approaching may we all be able to learn from Josiah and say that we genuinely tried to uphold the Torah.

The coffee and the tea

Bought a large cup of coffee yesterday as well as a very large cup of iced tea. Did not even get out of the parking lot and it all slid off the passenger seat onto the floor and the lids came off. Today the car smelled like some coffee shop - stale coffee. Not very good. I guess will be be some time before the smell goes away.

Having a stroke

My friend had a serious stroke last Thanksgiving. She was in a hospital for a few days, then in a different hospital rehab for a few days, then in a regular rehab for several months and now in a nursing home in the same rehab building. Nursing home means NO rehab whatsoever now. She still is paralyzed on the left side. Her mind is good. No function in her left arm and left leg. I watched her progress, particularly at the rehab center and it was mind boggling primitive. You would think that they would be able to put her in a halter and let her stand upright. No such thing. I just saw pictures of  a stroke center in Denmark. Much better than anything we have available for the average person. So dear Russians, if you have a stroke go to Denmark. This country worries about Obamacare. What the folks don't realize is that anything will be better than what we have right now We have lousy medical care in this country unless you are independently wealthy. Oh, yes the MittRomney care for multimillionaires. No expenses spared. 

Looks more like a hairdresser than a mohel

Today in rained in - where do I live again?

It rained today. Lovely! We needed the rain. It has been very hot. Mass this morning then to McDonalds for a cup of coffee with some friends. One of them had a birthday today. Not really my cup of coffee to celebrate a birthday at McDonalds but it was her birthday not mine. Waiting for the air conditioner repair people to come. Have been waiting all day. Nothing wrong, just regular maintenance. Here they tell you to expect them between  1 and 6 pm and then they come five minutes to six and one wasted a perfectly good afternoon, just waiting. Did a flyer for our church while I was waiting. Have lots of other things to do but did not feel like doing any.

How to kill someone

I love to watch a TV show that deals with unsolved murder cases. By the end of the show the cases have been solved - usually. I am amazed how stupid people are who commit murders.
1. Never leave any DNA behind. Even a small hair can identify you as the culprit these days. So only go in with a total secure body armor that covers you from top to bottom. Make sure you parade around in it because other people will notice your weird outfit.
2. Never kill anyone that will spill blood. Your footprints will get you later.
3. Never buy a life insurance on a person before you kill them. Really! Are you THAT stupid that the police will not notice?
4. Never ask anyone to kill for you. They will spill the beans before you can say "dead."
So the answer is not to kill because even if you don't believe in the ten commandments, justice will catch up with you.

From another source

I know this is not a trendy thing to say, but Mormonism is one far-out religion. Don't get me wrong. I know the patriotic drill about religion not being a roadblock to the White House. But I think that the Church of the Latter Day Saints has a few bizarro-world beliefs. I grew up a Roman Catholic so I'm familiar with the usual suspects when it comes to mysteries. But the Mormon mysteries border on the theatre of the absurd.
I really don't want to be judgmental. But Jesus was the love-child of God's having actual sex with Mary? Lucifer was Jesus's brother? The Garden of Eden was in Missouri? The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel also lived here long before the USA, spoke Hebrew (of course) but kept their records in Egyptian script? And the Lost Tribes will one day return and gather in...Missouri? And Christ will be raised in...Missouri?
There is no hell, but there is an outer darkness? And there are 3 heavens, and the highest heaven has three levels, and only Mormons can reach that pinnacle of paradise? And when they do, each gets his or her own planet?
And the test of truth is a good or bad feeling?
I'm not for a religious test to serve in public office. But when I vote, I will reserve the right to use common sense. OK?

With a name like Dollar????

Megahurch pastor Creflo Dollar has been arrested after authorities say he slightly hurt his 15-year-old daughter in a fight at his metro Atlanta home.

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Oh du mein Oesterreich

Oh la la hopsassa

Royal wedding Prince Frederick and Mary Donaldson

Busy, busy, busy

It is warm here today. I have a million things to do. The accountant is here. Bills to pay. Always puts me in a lousy mood. The dogs are in the kennel in the garden. Two of them. Number 3 and Number 4 are in the house. They are old and want to sleep. No reason the put them in the kennel.
Should go to a friend and pick up some seedlings. Perhaps I make it today, perhaps I don't. I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, acorn squash and peppers. All this does very well in our climate. We can't give it away at harvest time. Bought three rose plants and three rhododendrons. Need to plant them soon.

Hallstein, Germany

These people died and are lovingly kept in a Beinhaus.

Kate bleeding red

Nice marching band

Yes, bless the Queen

Ah to be Royal!

Wow -

I’d like to focus on a couple of issues about faith and politics. Some of our readers express surprise that faithful Catholics can ever be Democrats in the first place. Conservatives — especially pro-life conservatives — focus on Democratic Party support for abortion and declare the party anathema, and I have a lot of sympathy for that position, quite obviously. The heart of the Catholic mission is the dignity and sacredness of human life as a reflection of our creator God, a dignity and sacredness that begins at conception, a consistent teaching of the Catholic Church for two thousand years. It’s the very basis of our teachings on social justice; without that acknowledgment of dignity granted by God, social justice becomes a hobby rather than a calling, and humanity is reduced to utilitarianism. Why bother spending public and private money on the poor and infirm if they could have been discarded with no consequences at the earliest stages of their lives?
However, while Republicans and conservatives embrace the pro-life part of the equation, they tend to run away from the social-justice mission that must necessarily follow from that pro-life embrace. In fact, the very term social justice inevitably creates hostility, in part because some confuse it with liberation theology, a philosophy that the Catholic Church has rejected, including our present Pope Benedict XVI, who decried much of it as a “Marxist myth” while still Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Social justice is nothing more or less than the mission to which Jesus Christ called his church — the care of the poor, the infirm, the imprisoned, and the hopeless. It is a call to Christians of all denominations to ensure that we share our blessings with those less fortunate and find ways to lift them out of their misery, as brothers and sisters under God, conceived in the same dignity and sacredness as were we all.
There is a great deal of debate on how best to achieve these goals, and Catholics are given no set plan as doctrine on these matters. Each of us has a personal call to participate in the mission, as does the Church itself. That is why we (and our brothers and sisters in other Christian denominations and other faiths) open hospitals, charities, and schools in service to our mission and to the world. Incidentally, that’s why the HHS mandate is so absurd in its arrogance and ignorance; these are not just businesses, but an expression of our core religious practice and mission. The center of our religious practice is the Liturgy and Eucharist, but our mission is outside of the four walls of the church, not within it.
However, even while we do our best on a personal and institutional level within the church, our community, state, and nation have an impact on the scope and depth of the societal and human ills we hope to alleviate. Some Catholics feel that significant involvement of representative government represents the best and most direct way to achieve our mission, and support the political party that more closely aligns itself with that philosophy and agenda — Democrats. Others feel that the mission is best directed at a personal and institutional level and oppose significant government involvement as wasteful, impractical, and counterproductive, and those Catholics are more likely to be Republicans.
As such, these fellow Catholic liberals (many of whom do oppose abortion) do not deserve our scorn or a condescending attitude; they come to these positions honestly and faithfully. We may disagree on the best approach to the mission at hand, but we are at least united on the mission itself.
In fact, try reading the position papers at the USCCB website to see how some liberal Catholics might rightly ask how Catholics can be conservatives, especially on immigration policy, health care, the death penalty, economic justice and safety-net spending, and so on. However, a thorough reading of these positions offers lessons to Catholics across the political spectrum. The bishops do not make these doctrinal positions, but instead offer their considered (and very nuanced) approach to these issues that relate to the church’s social-justice mission, with plenty of acknowledgment of well-intentioned disagreement on how best to achieve success in these and many other areas. That is why bishops and pastors wisely treat these subjects with a great deal of respect for diversity of opinion in the parishes themselves, and rarely if ever lecture on these positions from the pulpit or insinuate that disagreement separates parishioners from the church or Eucharist.
Catholic conservatives sometimes feel as though we are sometimes scorned for our approach, though, because Republicans and conservatives rarely offer a coherent philosophy on how best to deal with the very real social problems in our communities, other than insisting that more government won’t solve them. I was glad to see Paul Ryan discussing subsidiarity in his defense of his budget proposal, as many conservative Catholics see the overwhelming entitlement growth as a threat to personal and institutional action — perhaps less so than the HHS mandate, but the mandate itself springs from that accumulation of power to entitlement-program bureaucracies that conservatives within and outside of the faith see as dangerous. Few conservatives in American politics offer that kind of coherent approach, though, and to Catholics who rightly see the pain and suffering of the poor and infirm as a priority, that makes the Democratic Party look legitimately like a better option.
Right now, the excesses of the Obama administration on the HHS mandate, abortion, and perhaps even gay marriage make it less urgent for conservatives to address these shortcomings. However, if Republicans and conservatives want to win more converts from Catholic ranks, they will have to find ways to address the social-justice priorities of these voters without spitting at the term or ignoring it altogether. And perhaps there is some value in having committed Catholics, firm in their opposition to abortion, remain within the Democratic Party to pull that organization away from the culture of death and back to its historical position as a representative of traditional working-class values. That would be an honorable mission indeed for Christians of all denominations, if perhaps a nearly impossible one, at least in the present time. In the meantime, we Catholics across the political spectrum need to acknowledge and respect the viewpoints of our fellow parishioners as we try to fulfill our mission in the best way we see to succeed.
In the end, the mission is the focus, at least in terms of our faith. To the extent politics enters into it, it should remain subsidiary to the faith and the fellowship, not the other way around.

from the Congeration of the Clergy

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year B

The Paschal Season concluded last Sunday with the celebration of Pentecost, and this week’s liturgy cannot help but draw further treasure from the mysteries of Christ's life and teaching.  Today we are called to become more aware of the Good News that Christianity brings.  From the Nativity to Pentecost - from the birth of the Saviour in Bethlehem to his death, resurrection and ascension, and ultimately his sending of the gift of the Holy Spirit - our conception of God has been radically changed.  By the gift of his grace, rather than our merit, it has been made possible for us to know the true God: one in essence yet three persons.

It's as if Moses is asking us the question which we hear in the first reading. "Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created humankind upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of?" (Dt 4:32).  God has spoken to us, he has revealed to us his Eternal Word, Jesus Christ.  He has chosen us from among the nations as his own, redeemed us with the blood of his Son and has given us the gift of the Spirit (cfr 2 Cor 1,22).  He has done all this before our very eyes.

The certainty and hope that come from this divine predilection allows us to reflect briefly on the way that our own times deals with the ‘question’ of God.

We have said that the mysteries of Christmas and Pentecost have given humanity a true conception of God.  Obviously, this gift is only for those who have received it.  As St John in the Prologue to his Gospel writes; those to whom 'he gave power to become children of God'(Jn 1:12).  We cannot contemplate the mystery of the Holy Trinity as if we were spectators in an art gallery looking at a painting.  We can only see that mystery from within a friendship with Christ which draws into the same divine filiation through the gift of the Spirit.

However, if knowledge of the ‘true’ God is given only to those who accept Christ, does that mean that outside the Gospel there is no way for humanity come to a knowledge of the existence of God?  Is the atheism of the Western world entirely down to a failure to spread the Gospel?  No!

For the Church, the evangelical mission is necessary - it is derived from the Church's own nature.  Today it is even more urgent as the Pope Benedict has noted by establishing a Pontifical Council for ‘New Evangelisation’ in the last couple of years and by proclaiming a Year of Faith which begins on October 11th this year. 

However, our culture's 'crisis' in its knowledge of God goes beyond a lack of evangelisation.  It is rooted primarily in a 'crisis' of reason, which seems to be impervious to reality and to the Gospel.  Humans had affirmed the existence of one God several centuries before Christ’s coming, and understood God to be the origin and end of all that exists.  Today, though, our culture seems unable to express this knowledge.  It is as if the argument is impossible to deal with.  The existence of God is considered ‘unprovable’ because there is no premise from which it can be deduced.  God seems to be unavailable to our senses, missing from all the scientific discoveries whether on a galactic or molecular scale.  God is sometimes simply considered a human invention, developed in past times to justify what man did not know about the world and about himself, and therefore seems obsolete in our modern age.

This worldview is a mutilation of true reason, because it prevents us from recognising reality as a 'sign' through which God reveals Himself to us and calls us incessantly into a relationship with Him.  Knowledge of God only occurs when there is true freedom which springs from God as the author of all things.  The only limit God has set on his own Omnipotence is our freedom.  Only by letting ourselves be challenged by the 'sign' of creation can we learn of God's existence.  And only be letting ourselves see the greatest sign of all - the Church which brings the Divine Presence into the world - can we be drawn by Christ into an intimate knowledge of the Father in love and adoration communicating it to those that we meet.

The Lord shows great confidence in us when he asks us to announce this Good News in this difficult epoch.  But we trust in the Lord who, faced with the doubt that still lived in the hearts of His disciples did not hesitate to reassure them, saying " know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time" (Mt 28:20).

May the Blessed Virgin Mary guide us to welcome more and more the gift of the Holy Spirit.  May we faithfully serve the Son so that, with Mary, our whole life may come one day to sing with the choirs of heaven: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen!

When English is Chinese......

Since Andy Flower became England's coach he has frequently spoken of his desire to rotate fast bowlers. The strains on their bodies, while of course nothing compared to 50 years ago when they delivered 1,000 overs a season, drank eight pints a night and worked in proper jobs most winters, are feared too great to support their incessant, intensive workload.

If he and his fellow selectors are truly serious about rotation there may be no more appropriate time to start. England have already won the series against West Indies 2-0, with the third match starting in Birmingham next Thursday, and will announce their squad tomorrow.
The selectors are proud of the depth of their fast bowling resources and Andrew Strauss, the captain, has frequently made it clear that he would have been happy with any combination in the starting XI of the five seamers who have been in the squad for the opening two matches. That being so, and with the outcome of the rubber decided, it may be opportune to ask either Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad to step down for Graham Onions or Steve Finn.
It is unlikely to happen partly because there will have been a gap of 10 days between Tests and partly because there will be no more Tests until 19 July. Besides, the truth is that Anderson and Broad are one of the best opening pairs in the world, and despite Strauss's confidence, no permutation of Onions, Finn and Tim Bresnan quite comes into that category.
Broad and Anderson have confirmed that they wish to play in every match and adding to their wickets haul. Both have it in them to become England's greatest Test wicket-taker, Anderson if he can keep going for another 30 Tests, Broad a little further down the track.
If they are both named in a squad likely again to comprise 13 players, it will clearly be with the intention of playing them. But it would also leave the rotation policy looking a little forlorn.
The only other point of debate, probably lasting around 30 seconds in the selection room, is whether Jonny Bairstow should be omitted after his chastening experiences against the short ball in his first two matches. Bairstow did look uncomfortable against Kemar Roach but he has had only three innings in Test cricket, one of those 0 not out in the fag-end of the match at Lord's.
Fifty years ago, at the same time as bowlers were doing all that they did, he might have been dropped. Not now, and if he has a weakness the England nets may be the best place to overcome it. Bairstow did himself some favours by playing for Yorkshire in their Championship match this week against Northamptonshire and making 68.
The selectors may, however, have given passing mentions to Ben Stokes, who made a century yesterday on his return to the Durham side, and Nick Compton, who made a century for Somerset and thus reached a 1,000 runs on 1 June having been deprived by rain of becoming the ninth man to do so by the end of May. Stokes will play for England one day, Compton may not but he has done everything any selectors could reasonably expect.
There is no reduction in the intensity of the international calendar as the publication yesterday of next season's fixtures revealed. In the 2013 home season, England will play seven Tests including an Ashes series, eight one-day internationals, four Twenty20s and a Champions Trophy.
Nine grounds will be used in all: Trent Bridge will stage the first Test of an Ashes series for the first time since 1964, and Durham will stage an Ashes Test for the first time.