Vivi Orum [October 8, 2022] Ha’azinu

Shabbat Shalom! Thank you all for joining me today.

It is such an honor to be standing here in front of so many people who have such a large impact on my life. I’d especially like to thank my mom and dad, Lisa Bialkin, Rabbi Stacy and Cantor David for helping me get here today.

My Torah portion begins with a poem that Moses speaks to the Israelites.

It was his last moment of leadership of the people before his death.

It’s kind of a bummer that Moses knows he’s going to die in my Torah portion, but it’s also instructive.

While I was studying my Torah portion, I was struck by a few things.

• First, I was particularly fascinated with how Moses wasn’t allowed to enter the promised land after all he did to lead the Jews.

• Second, was Moses’s description of G-d, that made me question the nature of good and evil.

• The last thing that stood out to me was Moses telling the Jews to remember history.

So first, why was Moses NOT allowed to enter the promised land? Earlier in the Torah, G-d instructed Moses to ask the rock nicely for water. Instead, in a show of power, Moses struck the rock.

To me, this seems arrogant and that he is trying to show that he is powerful.

Then, in last week’s portion, G-d told Moses he could not enter the promised land because he did not “sanctify G-d in the midst of the Children of Israel.”

Instead of being mad, Moses trusted G-d’s decision and gave an inspirational speech, setting everyone else on the right path.

Next, in Moses’s poem, he said that G-d is “perfect, just, faithful, and true.”

But he also said that G-d “wounds and heals.”

If G-d is so perfect, then why is the world so imperfect? Why is there disease? Why do children die? Why is there homelessness? Why are there flash floods destroying villages? Why are families starving? If G-d is so perfect, why is there so much strife in the world?

Can we really say that G-d’s deeds are “perfect, just, never false, true, and upright?”

Rabbinic commentators state that in order to obtain a working society, it is important to obtain a balance between justice and mercy. I think that’s what Moses meant by G-d “wounds and heals.” For example, it is hard to enjoy the weekend if you didn’t go to school or work all week long. So, does that mean that G-d’s ways are always just? Many Torah commentators believe so.

Last, Moses also said, “We should remember the days of old and consider the years of ages past.” Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and famous author said that we have to study history because we owe it to those who perished and to new generations who need to know “where they come from and what their heritage is.”

The importance of remembering history reminded me of our summer reading book, The Giver.

The Giver is about a Utopian society where everything is supposedly perfect. There is no hunger and no sickness. In this society, everyone has a role. Two of those roles are The Giver and The Receiver. These are the only people in the society who have any memories of history or previous events. Some memories are good and some are horrible. The Giver exists because the people in the town don’t learn about the past. Ultimately this is the undoing in the book. The Giver and Receiver decide that the people must learn history, just like Moses said.

I believe it is incredibly important to be educated about the past because if people aren’t educated, then no one learns from previous mistakes and history can be repeated.

So in Moses’s last days, he instructed the Jews and looked toward their future rather than being mad about not being allowed to enter the Promised Land.

That led me to thinking how many people today do things for other people in their community or for future generations that have no personal benefits to themselves.

There is a story in the Talmud about a man named Honi who comes across a man planting a carob tree. Honi asks how long it will be until the tree bears fruit.

The man tells him it will be seventy years.

Honi is shocked and asks if the man expects to live seventy more years to benefit from the tree. Of course not, the man answers, “Just as my ancestors planted for me, I, too, am planting for my descendants.”

But you don’t need to be born in Biblical times to make a difference in the world.

Climate change has been a big part of our lives. When people volunteer to do something to help the environment, no matter how small, they are helping the next generation.

There are also ways we can do things for our community that may not benefit us but have huge benefits for others.

As part of my Mitzvah project, I have been volunteering for Marin Community Fridges, a mutual aid program that serves as a solution for food insecurity. Food insecurity means not having access to healthy, nutritious food. Marin Community Fridges addresses food insecurity directly by having people drop off food in the fridges for others to come and get food they need, no questions asked.

I had a bake and bracelet sale with my friend to raise money ($432!) for the fridges. We took the proceeds to the grocery store and bought so much food: eggs, meats, fruits, and veggies. Then, we distributed the food among the fridges around Marin.

The other part of my Mitzvah Project is based around volleyball.Some of you may not know that I play competitive volleyball (well, if you follow my mom on social media then you definitely know!!)

When I was driving back from a volleyball tournament in Reno, I was thinking how expensive it is to play volleyball because of the club fee, travel costs, and the fact that parents have to take time off work to travel to tournaments.

And I was wondering, how do people with fewer resources play club volleyball? With some research I found a non-profit organization called Starlings. Starlings “believes every girl deserves the opportunity to play club volleyball, regardless of socioeconomic background or level of play. Starlings is a safe place for disadvantaged girls to find empowerment.” Did you know that high school drop-out rates are really high for girls of color? But girls who play sports are 3 times more likely to graduate high school and 92% less likely to get involved with drugs.

I have been coaching volleyball through Volleystart and donating my salary to Starlings. I am also happy to say that my volleyball club, Marin Juniors, helps sponsor Starlings as well. By helping these at-risk girls play a sport that I love, I feel like I’m doing something to help others.

So maybe Moses was right: G-d is “perfect, just, faithful, and true” even though there’s a lot of bad in the world. And maybe it’s our job to fix some of the bad and do some good in the world.

Shabbat Shalom!