Some Ashkenasi communities have the
custom for Parshat Acharei Mot to read the Haftara from Amos 9:7-15. Even if
your congregation does not follow this custom, the messages and hope that we
can gain from it are relevant to the entire Jewish people, especially now.

At the beginning of the Haftara,
Amos chastises the nation and tells them that they have become strangers to God
and that they will be punished. However, the last five verses end on a positive
note.

We read in verses 11-12:

On that day, I will raise up the
fallen sukka (booth) of David; I will repair the breaches and raise up its ruins,
and I will build it up as in days of old, so that they upon whom My Name is
called may inherit the remnant of Edom and all the nations- the word of God,
who shall do this.

Targum Yonatan explains that the
entire nation will be united under the Kingdom of David and will no longer be
divided.

Da’at Mikra explains that the only
way that we can defeat our enemies and expand our borders is if we as a nation
are united.

These verses especially speak to us
today. Before October 7, Israelis were divided and in order to fight the war we
needed to put our differences aside and become united. As well, the destruction
took place right after the holiday of Sukkot.

Amos continues his prophecy (verse
13):

Behold, days are coming- the word of
God- when the plowman will meet the reaper, and the treader of grapes will meet
the one who carries the seed; the mountains will drip juice and all the hills
will melt.

This is the fulfillment of the
blessing in Parshat Bechukotai (Vayikra 26:5):

Your threshing will last until the
vintage and the vintage will last until the sowing; you will eat your bread to
satiety and you will dwell securely in your land.

According to Radak, this prophecy
shows that there will be so much produce that before the harvest is finished it
will again be time to till the soil and before the grapes have been
sufficiently trodden to squeeze out their wine it will already be necessary to
replant their seeds for the next year’s growth.

In verse 14 we see that God will
return the captives:

I will return the captivity of My
people Israel, and they will rebuild desolate cities and settle them; they will
plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will cultivate gardens and eat their
fruits.

We see a similar statement in
Parshat Nitzavim, Dvarim 30:3:

HaShem, your God will bring back
your captivity and have mercy upon you…

Metzudat David on Amos 9:14 explains
that God will settle in peace the members of Israel who were in captivity. They
will rebuild the cities that lay desolate and never again be banished from
them. They will plant vineyards and cultivate gardens whose fruits they
themselves will enjoy. No foreign nation will take their produce away from
them.

The last verse of the prophecy
(verse 15) states:

I will plant them in their land and
they will never again be uprooted from their land that I have given them, said
HaShem, your God.

As the gardens and the vineyards
will be sown, the Jewish people will be planted firmly in their land, never to
be removed again.

We have begun to rebuild and plant.
Volunteers from all over the world are flocking to Israel to help out any way
that they can, especially in the field of agriculture where we can’t harvest
the produce fast enough.

Now we are waiting for the
fulfillment of the promise that the hostages will return from their captivity,
where they can be settled peacefully back in Israel never having to worry about
the atrocities of October 7 repeating themselves again.

In memory of
Miriam bat Elliya z”l, a gorgeous, authentic soul who comforted and warmed the
hearts of all she had contact with. She made everyone she spoke to feel truly
seen.

The Talmud, Yoma 85b, discusses the
origin of the concept that saving a life overrides Shabbat. Rav Yehuda said in
the name of Shmuel: It is written (Vayikra 18:5) “v’chai bahem”, “You shall
keep My decrees and My laws which if a person obeys they shall live through
them…” which implies that one should not die on account of observing the
mitzvot.

The saving of life overrides any
commandment. Yoma 82a explains that nothing stands in the way of “pikuach
nefesh”, saving a life, other than the cardinal sins of idol worship, illicit
relations or murder.

In Yoma, 83a, we are taught that if
a person is sick on Yom Kippur, we feed them on the advice of experts since
this is in the category of “safek nefashot”, uncertainty involving danger to life.
In matters involving danger to life, we are bidden to rule leniently (safek
nefashot lehakel). It is better to err on the side of treating the patient.

Rav Matya ben Charash taught (Yoma
84a): One who feels pain in his mouth, we put medicine in his mouth for him on
Shabbat.

The rabbis derive from here that it
is permissible to break Shabbat to prepare the medicine for him. If the
medicine will be effective, it warrants the suspension of all of the Shabbat
laws.

Why is it necessary for the mishna
to add that every possible danger to life (safek nefashot) supersedes Shabbat?

Rashi explains that even if he will
certainly not die this Shabbat, we are afraid that if we don’t treat him right
away, he may subsequently die. If the doctor requests that a person start to
take medication on Shabbat then they should take it right away and not wait
until Saturday night.

We are taught in Yoma 84b, that in
matters involving danger to life on Shabbat, one who is quick is praiseworthy.
They do not need authorization of the Beit Din (court) to proceed.

Some examples that are listed in the
Talmud: If a child fell into the sea, or into a pit, one can bring him up. If a
child is stuck in a locked room, one may break the door to rescue him. If there
is a fire, one can extinguish it on Shabbat.

We see from here, that when danger
to life is involved, saving a life supersedes the mitzvot.

During these difficult times, one
may ask how it is possible that most synagogues in the world are closed. Isn’t
it important to pray with a minyan?

Since the health authorities feel
that those who are packed into a synagogue can spread the virus, we must listen
to them. Unfortunately, many were infected in Israel and throughout the world
in synagogues over Purim as well as in daily minyanim and on Shabbat before the
new regulations went into effect. Just as in the case of Yom Kippur, we trust
the experts to determine if the person should eat or not, so too, we must trust
the doctors who insist that we do not to open the synagogues at this time.

Although it is not easy to be away
from the community for so long, we must also follow the view that even if there
is a chance that there could be danger, we must take the lenient view and tell
people not to pray with a minyan. In Israel, they are now allowing outdoor
minyanim, where groups of nineteen can pray together outside if everyone is standing
two meters apart. In some communities this may work. In others, people may not
be able to resist socializing which could end up being very dangerous.

It is better to stay safe now and
follow the orders, even if it means performing less mitzvot in order to keep
the community healthy so that we will be able to observe more mitzvot in the
future.

Chapter 18 of Parshat Acharei Mot starts off with the words:

God spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to B’nai Yisrael and say to them: “I am HaShem your God. Do not perform the practice of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled; and do not perform the practice of the land of C’naan to which I bring you, and do not follow their traditions- ‘ubechukoteihem lo telechu’. Carry out My laws and safeguard my decrees to follow them; I am HaShem your God. You shall observe My decrees and My laws, which man shall carry out and by which he shall live- I am HaShem.”

Sentence 3 ends with the words: “U’bechukoteihem lo telechu”, do not follow non Jewish traditions.

Rashi explains that the non Jewish traditions are their customs/ social obligations such as attending theaters and stadiums (ie avoda zara, idol worship, gladiators etc)

Rabbi Meir says that this refers to the ways of the Emorites- who followed superstitious practices.

Sifra adds that this prohibition would include attempts to make oneself look like the nations and imitate promiscuous practices.

How can this be interpreted today?

Can we shop for our clothing in mainstream department stores or is that considered “in the ways of the non Jews”?

I believe that it all depends on what you are buying and if you are a “slave to fashion”.

A slave to fashion is a person who must buy and wear everything in the latest fashion magazines, regardless of whether it is Halachically appropriate or not.

An educated consumer can go into a store and look with a Halachic eye to determine what to buy and what would not be considered modest or appropriate.

Not too long ago, I walked into a Jerusalem store called “Top Shop”. As soon as the saleswomen saw me walk in, she told me not to bother looking around because all of the clothing that they carry would not be appropriate for a religious woman. Since I was dressed modestly when I walked into the store she didn’t want to waste my time in a store that didn’t offer anything modest.