Mizrachi Sheet - Parasha Ki Teitzei 5780

MACHSHAVOT

KI TEITZEI 5780 Our Website • Upcoming Events • Donate Now • World Mizrachi • Contact Us

Our Spiritual Injection Rabbi Andrew Shaw Chief Executive, Mizrachi UK

On Monday the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme comes to an end.

One month of discounted eating in 1000’s of restaurants across the UK, including many Kosher ones.

Why was the scheme launched?

For two main reasons: 1.

Many restaurants were in danger of going under with no footfall for months and even though they were now allowed to open again, no one was coming to eat, people were scared.

2. Eating out is one of the most common and social parts of normal living, it was important to bring people out of their shell and give them a sense of normalcy.

My family participated both in London and Manchester and a) it was good to be out again b) it was good to save money.

Pretty much everyone agreed that the idea was a huge success.

Restaurants were packed up and down the country. To date almost 90 million meals have been served. However, it hasn’t been cheap, it has cost the government close to £500 million but that is nothing compared to the survival of the restaurant industry which is worth £38 billion.

Many would say this was a very smart investment of the government – help the economy and help create a sense of normalcy – which will also eventually be great for the economy.

One article said ‘Practically every chef or restaurateur I have spoken to over the past month has used words like “lifeline” or “saviour” when describing the scheme. Customer confidence was restored.

I met friends I hadn’t seen since before lockdown, enjoyed the rare phenomenon of British outdoor dining, and visited restaurants I'd never considered before.

It has, frankly, been a ray of light.’

Why am I telling you this? And what does this have to do with Judaism and Ki Teitzei?

August was not only the start of the ‘Eat Out’ scheme, it was also the start of the Gap Year scheme, or more specifically Elul Zman, where our young men and women head off to spend a year in Israel immersed in Torah and Religious Zionism.

Obviously this year presented numerous challenges. Unfortunately, last year’s programme was ended prematurely due to the pandemic and a huge amount of effort went into making sure that some programmes could start for Elul and all programmes for either just before or just after the Chagim.

Approximately 100 – 150 students attend the 20 or so institutions affiliated to Mizrachi.

After their year or two in Israel, the majority return to the UK to enrol in University.

‘Eat Out to Help Out’ was created due to the crisis of a physical disease that has taken the lives of just over 40,000 UK citizens. We needed something to help us get over the other effects of the virus – a battered economy and a fearful populace.

There is a spiritual crisis in the Jewish world – it is nothing new, but it certainly has got progressively worse over the last 40 or 50 years where intermarriage has increase from 10% in the late 60’s to close to 30% today.

However, the issue for me is not just intermarriage, any Jew who drifts away or never was close to a life of Torah and Mitzvot is a tragedy. We know that one of the most common challenges to a religious or Jewish lifestyle is the years spent at University.

Even if one lives at home, there is still a large amount of interaction with values and ideals antithetical to Torah and Judaism. It takes a particularly strong and driven individual to come out of those years as connected with Judaism as they were when they entered.

Just like ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ we need to think of creative ideas to strengthen and maintain Jewish identity. The chancellor’s idea was to put aside a month to help give restaurants a chance, to help them overcome the virus, we too have come up with an idea to give young Jews a chance to overcome the spiritual virus, and it is not just a month but an entire year studying in Israel.

Data clearly shows how a year in Yeshiva and Sem gives you a huge boost to your Jewish identity and allows you to maintain your connection to Torah and Israel. The month of Elul is so powerful that I made sure I returned each year before the University term started – it was the fuel that allowed me to thrive Jewishly on campus and gave me the impetus to become a campus leader.

Our Parasha begins Ki Teitzei L’milchama - If you go out to war.

It is referring to a literal war, against the enemy, where the soldier is enticed by a beautiful captive woman. It could also be referring to the war that we fight on a daily basis with our yetzer hara – our struggle to choose and live correctly. To not give into our desires, but to fight and hopefully win.

I remember when I was at University I had a copy of a paragraph from Mesilat Yesharim, Chapter 1 by the Ramchal which makes this point so powerfully.

‘The Holy One, blessed be He, has put man in a place where the factors which distance him from the blessed God are numerous. These are the physical lusts which if he is drawn after them, behold, he draws away and goes ever further from the true good Thus, we see that man is truly placed in the midst of a raging battlefield.

For all matters of this world, whether for the good or for the bad, are trials for a man.’

A soldier before he or she goes into battle, must be trained in how to fight. Similarly, before we send our young men and women of to a spiritual battle at University – they need to attend basic training at Yeshiva, Sem or at least an Israel experience programme.

It is so sad that less than 10% of the mainstream community take a year of study in Israel.

To requote the above newspaper with a slight change: ‘Practically every Yeshiva or Sem student I have spoken to over the past year has used words like “lifeline” or “saviour” when describing the year in Israel.

I know, for sure, there is no way I would have come out of university still engaged had I not spent a year and many Elul Zman’s in Yeshiva – and the world was far less spiritually dangerous to a religious Jew on Campus than it is today.

I am proud, that just like the government of the UK with ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ both the government of Israel (and this year due to the crisis, World Mizrachi and thousands of donors) gives millions of dollars a year to allow thousands of students from across the world to be able to afford to spend a year in Israel.

The return that the investment gets in terms of long term connections to Torah and Israel is priceless.

So ‘Eat Out to Help’ is finishing – but has been a huge success. Coronavirus, however is still with us globally, and we hope and pray that numbers continue to fall and a successful vaccine is found.

However, Year out to Inspire is just beginning – and will as always, not just be a huge success please G-d, but will also give those students a powerful vaccine against the spiritual virus.

It is not a guarantee but from all the data we can find – it is the most powerful vaccine that we have.

I do recommend as many young people to get inoculated – and please G-d we will be able to encourage and fund more and more to spend a year in Eretz Yisrael, with Am Yisrael learning Torat Yisrael.

Shabbat Shalom