Riddle: Which mitzvah, repeated three times throughout the Torah and is relevant today, is first mentioned in this week's Parsha? לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו
2nd February 1959 - (60 years ago this evening)
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and JD Richardson aka the "Big Bopper" played a concert at the Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, Iowa
Buddy Holly, hits such as That'll be the Day, Heartbeat and Think It Over
Ritchie Valens - La Bamba
Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace
3rd February
12:40 am: Buddy, Ritchie and JD arrive at the Mason City Airport
They are met by Jerry Dwyer, owner of Dwyer's Flying Service and Roger Peterson, the pilot (aged 21)
Temperature dipping to -18F and wind gusts of 35 mph
Fog and snow forcasted, but missed by Peterson
5.2 miles northwest from from the airport, the plane descents and it is estimated that it crashes into the ground at 170 mph
Buddy Holly -22
Ritchie Valens -17
JD Richardson - 24
What did two country boys from Texas, a teenager from Mexican parents and a novice pilot have in common?
All four died in the same crash.
1971 - Don McLean in American Pie called February 3rd -"the day the music died"
According to Sefer Hamitzvot, Mishpatim contains 52 mizvot - nearly 10% of all the mitzvot in the Torah!
The Mitzvot cover areas ranging from
- how to treat Hebrew slaves
- not hitting one's parents
- adjudicating damages by animals and fire
- executing sorcerers
- not defrauding converts
...to resting on Shabbat and observing the laws of Pesach!
What is the common theme here?
Taking a step back, let's examine what's happened so far in the book of Shemot
Our ancestors were slaves, came out of Egypt and last week, received the Torah.
Why have we interrupted the narrative to list this "bewildering variety of topics" (Lord Sacks)
What happened at Sinai last week?
The spectacle of the giving of the Torah must have been dramatic, majestic and overwhelming for every person who was there. Truly awe inspiring!
"At Sinai, Gd, through Moses, gave them a mission statement - to become a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy nation" - they were being instructed to create a society built on the principles of justice, human dignity and respect for life"
How do you do this and ensure that a society can be sustained in the long run - by details. Lots of details! - the Torah is translating the historical experience of the Children of Israel (e.g) having been slaves, and being a minority in a foreign land into detailed, legislation - living a daily life in a just society
Compare the following:
The Torah is "weaving the laws they had learned into their daily lives"
Hence, the attention to detail described in this week's parsha.
The disparate commandments/mitzvot are these details - the DNA that is at the heart of our religion - from treating our fellow humans with compassion to the food we are instructed to nourish our bodies with.
From the abolition of sorcery in our society to the establishments of a weekly day of rest and that festivals which instruct us to direct our physical beings to the Holy mountain in Jerusalem, three times a year.
What's the connection between this message and the deaths of young singers?
We can choose to remember the tragic accident, or rather to think about the common thread that connected them (and sadly the pilot who lost his life in the accident) - despite Don McLean's assertion that the music died on 3rd February, all three laid the foundations to a wonderful and rich legacy of music that lasts to this day.
Had it not been for Buddy Holly and the Crickets, there would have been no Beatles
Had it not been for Ritchie Valens, the fabulous Latin rhythms that we love may have been very different and in Chantilly Lace, the talented Big Bopper left a lasting musical tribute that has brought many a smile to our faces.
Despite their differences and respective backgrounds, their music lives on, in its details and legacy.
Their wonderful contribution to society has outlived their tragically short lives.
Like the vast number of seemingly disparate mitzvot in this week's Parsha, their collective worth eventually shaped the musical memories and experiences that we treasure so much today.
Shabbat Shalom.