Preserving the National Consciousness and Mind Engineering
Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald
The Parasha in the everyday life – Parashat Ki Tavoh – 5780
Our Parsha begins with the Commandment of the Bikurim. (The First-fruits or Bikurim were a sacrificial gift brought up to the altar). Bringing the first-fruits to the Temple was not done casually. It was accompanied by another Mitzvah:
וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַה' אֱלֹקיךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע ה' לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃
"You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before Hashem your G-d that I have entered the land that Hashem swore to our fathers to assign us.” (Devarim 26:3)
The person bringing the first-fruits thanks G-d for the fruits and the inheritance of the land:
שבאתי מארץ אחרת אל זאת הארץ. אשר נשכע ה' לאבותינו לתת לנו וכו'. ולפיכך אני חגר שבאתי אל הארץ לתושב - בכח מתנתו הבאתי הבכורים הראוים לנותן קרקע במתנה או באריסות:
"That I have come to this land from another country, as when G’d had said “I gave this land to you and to your descendants after you.” Seeing that G-d had sworn this oath at the time, I consider myself though apparently an outsider, a stranger, as if I am a permanent resident thanks to His gift, and this is why I have brought these choice fruit that it is incumbent upon anyone who has received the land as either a gift or even as a tenant to present to the real owner of the land in recognition of His largesse." (Sforno ibid)
מקרא ביכורים)* -A man who is growing fruits has to bring his first fruit to the Temple and eat them there. When he brings the fruit, that man has to say a certain Tefila and this is the מקרא ביכורים).
In the מקרא ביכורים there is an historical overview of the major milestones in the history of Am Israel, and of the existential challenges it had to face along the way. The basic facts on which our existence is founded:
וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י ה' אֱלֹקיךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גָר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃ וַיָּרֵ֧עוּ אֹתָ֛נוּ הַמִּצְרִ֖ים וַיְעַנּ֑וּנוּ וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עֲבֹדָ֥ה קָשָֽׁה׃ וַנִּצְעַ֕ק אֶל ה' אֱלֹקי אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע ה֙' אֶת־קֹלֵ֔נוּ וַיַּ֧רְא אֶת־עָנְיֵ֛נוּ וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖נוּ וְאֶת־לַחֲצֵֽנוּ׃ וַיּוֹצִאֵ֤נוּ ה֙' מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם בְּיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ וּבִזְרֹ֣עַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבְמֹרָ֖א גָּדֹ֑ל וּבְאֹת֖וֹת וּבְמֹפְתִֽים׃ וַיְבִאֵ֖נוּ אֶל־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וַיִּתֶּן־לָ֙נוּ֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃
"You shall then recite as follows before Hashem your G-d: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to Hashem, the G-d of our fathers, and Hashem heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. Hashem freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents.
He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey." (ibid 5-9)
Yaakov Avinu who went down to Padan Aram to build his home and had to deal with Laban, the enslaving in Egypt and hard labor, the Exodus from Egypt and arrival into the Land of Israel. In this statement there is an expression of gratitude to G-d: ואמרת אליו- שֶׁאֵינְךָ כְּפוּי טוֹבָה /And say unto him- that you are not ungrateful" (Rashi ibid).
Thank you for the miraculous existence of the people of Israel, and for the gift of the land and its crops.
ויספר חסדיו יתברך עלינו ועל כל עם ישראל דרך כלל
"and he recount His kindnesses, may He be blessed, upon us and upon the people of Israel, more generally. (Sefer HaChinukh Mitzva 606)
In this way, this statement preserves and refreshes the national consciousness: Where did we come from, what is our uniqueness and destiny, what is the miracle of our existence, and what is our special connection to the Land of Israel, not only as a platform for national existence but as a land promised by G-d and as a gift from heaven.
"Now he looks back to the days of Bereshit, of the people of Israel, emphasizing the historical facts that testify to the end of all generations that at the founding of Jewish national existence, only the will of G-d and His almighty power acted; no other factor participated in the creation of Jewish nationalism" ( Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch ibid).
This is a response to the erosion of national consciousness caused over the years. Which causes the existing to be taken for granted.
In contrast to national consciousness based on true, ancient historical facts, which need to be preserved, in recent times a reverse trend is emerging, even intensifying. Intensive activity for ' mind engineering'. Officials want to 'engineer the consciousness' of the public. Factors that use the media controlled by them manipulatively, try to change the public consciousness. In contrast to 'true facts that produce consciousness', the 'mind engineers' seek to 'produce' and refine 'facts' according to the agenda that person or group is interested in promoting. The methods are not new.
The techniques for 'mind engineering' are well known. But the tools that have been renewed are powerful and influential. With the help of public relations advisors, media consultants and "spinmeisters", they try to brain wash by repeating the 'message' and 'facts' many times even if they are not necessarily true, until they are absorbed by the public.
Using techniques as taking things out of context, headlines that do not necessarily reflect the content of the report, creating spins and fake news, that will serve as a lever for a conscious campaign. Inflating numbers to intensify the scope of a rally - the number of protest participants, making a big fuzz over a minor event, using false superlatives, connecting an image, seemingly innocent, to an accusation (such as: Netanyahu descends and ascends from the submarines), all to fit the agenda.
However, it seems that the public is already 'buying' it less. It became suspicious of media reporting and became much more critical and in search of information from social media. Surveys show a boomerang effect – The more use of techniques of ‘mind engineering ' by various agencies, the more the public loses confidence in them.
It doesn't finish even if it seems so
Parsha and its Implementation – Ki Tavoh - Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald - 5779
A long-awaited look at something to happen, a long-term effort to achieve some goal or fulfill some ideology means, that when it happens or when it´s reached, it seems that we can finally rest, and the results can be enjoyed sitting calmly and resting on the laurels. Sometimes when the ideology has been fulfilled, there is a tendency to lose ideological tension to the point of indolent hedonism and denial of ideology on its behalf.
The greater the expectation, the greater the effort on the way to the destination, or the achievement, the greater the tendency is. However, many times this is not a final goal, but an intermediate point that, that even after achieving it must not go into complacency, must rise the "day after", with mental strength and continue. We must not lose the ideological tension. We have to remember that 'it doesn't end, even when it seems to be over'!
In this week's Torah Parasha, upon entering Israel, the Torah commands to erect a stone altar upon which the Torah commandments will be written:
וַהֲקֵמֹתָ֤ לָ֑ךְ נֹתֵ֣ן אֱלֹהֶ֖יך ד' אֲשֶׁר אֶל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּן֒ תַּעַבְר֣וּ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּיּוֹם֮ וְהָיָ֗ה
הַתּוֹרָ֥ה אֶֽת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֛י עֲלֵיהֶ֗ן וְכָתַבְתָּ֣ בַּשִּֽׂיד׃ אֹתָ֖ם וְשַׂדְתָּ֥ גְּדֹל֔וֹת אֲבָנִ֣ים לְךָ֙
זָבַ֤ת ארץ לְךָ֗ נֹתֵ֣ן אֱלֹהֶ֣יךָ ד שֶׁראֲ אֶל־הָאָ֜רֶץ תָּבֹ֨א אֲשֶׁר֩ לְמַ֡עַן בְּעָבְרֶ֑ךָ הַזֹּ֖את
לָֽךְ׃ אֱלֹהֵֽי־אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ ד דִּבֶּ֛ר כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר וּדְבַ֔שׁ חָלָב֙
הֵיטֵֽב׃ בַּאֵ֥ר הַזֹּ֖את הַתּוֹרָ֥ה אֶֽת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֛י עַל־הָאֲבָנִ֗ים וְכָתַבְתָּ֣
“As soon as you have crossed the Jordan into the land that Hashem your G-d is giving you, you shall set up large stones. Coat them with plaster and inscribe upon them all the words of this Teaching. When you cross over to enter the land that Hashem your G-d is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Hashem, the G-d of your fathers, promised you… And on those stones you shall inscribe every word of this Teaching most distinctly. (Devarim 27:2- 8).
The commentaries are divided. What part of the Torah was to be written on the stones? And how much space was there for their writing? (Some interpreted that indeed all the Torah was written there (or the stones were especially large - Ramban ibid), or the entire Torah from Bereshit (Daat Mikra ibid), or only a short set of the 613 Mitzvot was written there (R´ Saadia Gaon and Ibn Ezra ibid), or general Parshiot such as "Kriat Shema", or the blessings and curses (Ralbag on Yehoshua 8:31).
Another opinion is in the Gemara -Sotah 32a: Probably at the heart of the controversy was the question of the purpose of the writing: whether to remind the commandments or to mention the foundations of Torah and faith. Either way, the altar was a striking and impressive monument that reminds the Torah commandments or its essentials in the best possible way.
What does it mean to erect the altar and write the Torah near the entrance to the land? What is it for?
According to our Parasha – in merit of the written things on the altar, the people of Israel will receive the inheritance of the land: "When you cross over to enter the land that Hashem your G-d is giving you". Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (RSRH) interpreted that this duty was to be carried out immediately on entering the country without delay: "As soon as you cross the Jordan you will engage in the erection of the stones for the purpose of the Torah, and it will be found that you will begin to erect them before the crossing is completed, since only through the erection of these stones will you be able to cross the Jordan and come to the Promised Land". (ibid)
It might be it was meant to stand in front of the people of Israel´s eyes as the Covenant on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal upon entering Israel at the inauguration of the altar.
The entry into the Land after the long desert period and the long-awaited expectation is an intermediate stage and does not constitute a completion of the spiritual process that the people of Israel are supposed to shape in the land. The fear was that upon entering the country there would be a feeling of rest and settlement, that everyone would turn to dwell under his own vine and under his own fig tree (according to Melachim I 5:5).
And as a result, the spiritual and ideological tension and commitment to Torah and commandments would decrease.
"וישמן ישורון ויבעט. שמנת עבית כשית ויטוש אלוה עשהו וינבל צור ישועתו"
As it says in the song: ¨So Jeshurun grew fat and kicked— You grew fat and gross and coarse— He forsook the G-d who made him And spurned the Rock of his support¨. (Devarim 32:15)
The written Torah and special status are meant to express that "It is not over, even when it seems to be over!" And so the tension will continue for days and years, and the goal will be achieved.
These words were written even before the fateful election results were published. But will be read after them. Need to keep in mind that the elections, whatever their results, are not the final goal. They are an intermediate stage that builds and allows for tools.
After that, however, there is still much work to be done on the way to fulfill the spiritual and ideological goals of the Jewish people in their own country. This requires a great deal of patience and a lot of mental strength.