LETS TALK

     We are benefiting greatly from all the new technology; the internet, emailing, tweeting and texting. However, with all these modern methods comes some setbacks and lost opportunities, which can result in some societal maladaptive behavior.

     I address this issue as we prepare for our Parsha Terumah, that we will be reading this Shabbat. Our Torah introduces us to the מלאכת המשכן, and all the information concerning the Temple, it's vessels and it's decor. The most important section of the Sanctuary was the קדשי קדשים where the ארון, the Ark was located . Our Torah relates that on top of the Ark were two figures, the  כרובים. In describing these Cherubs , the Torah states,

״והיו הכרובים פורשי כנפים למעלה סוככים בכנפיהם על הכפרת ופניהם איש אל אחיו אל הכפרת

יהיו  פני הכרובים״

"And the Keruvim shall spread out their wings on high, WITH THEIR FACES ONE TO ANOTHER, toward the Ark cover shall the faces of the Keruvim be."

     It is interesting that the emphasis is on the  Keruvim facing one another.

I am not denying the importance of our technological advances and the benefits we continue to gain from them, but at the same time we are losing one of the most important parts of our human experience , having a face to face interaction when we speak to one another.  Our communications border on the verge of anonymity.  When we speak without facial contact we are loosing a very important and beautiful experience of human interaction.

     My wife Mimi said it well in one of her published articles"if you do not text, tweet, email, Im, own an iPad, or not on Facebook, you are not going to have many friends to relate to". 

     I am not advocating to do away with all these advances, but rather to use the opportunity to talk to one another face to face. To have that important human interaction that Hashem exhibited to all our Biblical personalities as He spoke to them and asked איכה, where are you as a human being in your relationship with one another.

     I recall a mother telling me that her daughter texted her from her bedroom one flight up while she was in the kitchen, asking her when dinner will be ready.  All her daughter had to do was walk downstairs and ask her personally, and by doing so would have given her the opportunity to offer to help her mother with dinner.

     I recall speaking at a Shevah Brachot, and the bride was texting. ( It may very we'll be that my message was not interesting).

     My friends, I feel we are loosing valuable opportunities to come closer to one another, especially within the family itself and in our relationship with one another.

The Keruvim need to inspire us to face one another.

     Let's talk , let's communicate , but let's do so face to face, and in doing so, we will gain a greater love and respect for one another.

Please comment your feelings to this matter, I would love to hear from you even through an email or we can meet and speak face to face.

"LOOK AT ME, I AM SPEAKING TO YOU"

Highest Level of Morality

  Earl Warren a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court once made a very insightful statement  "In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics. Without ethics law could never exist."

  This Shabbat we will be reading Parshat Mishpatim. This Parsha emphasises the laws between Man and his Fellowman. The question that is always posed, 'can we legislate morality and peoples feelings?'

   My answer is; We can use legislation as a standard  setting device to show people what society really needs and believes. Torah sets these standards, thereby encouraging man/woman to live by these legislations leading to a more ethical society. There are many who go beyond these standards and  rise to an even higher level of morality leading to greater compassion, mercy, and love bringing the qualities of G-Dliness into society.

   This idea reminds me of one of my favorite stories; The Rabbis questioned why was Yerushalayim selected to be the place for the Bes Hamikdash. They answered with a fascinating story.

  In King David's time on a hill in Yerushalayim there was a farm, which was owned by two brothers, one was single the other one was married. On one occasion, after they harvested their grain they returned to their homes for the night. In the middle of the night the bachelor brother awoke and thought , "My brother is married, therefore he needs more food than I do". He arose and took from his pile of wheat with the intention of adding it to his brother's share. At the same time , the married brother awoke and thought, "My brother is single and he does not have a wife or children to help him in the cold winter ahead and he will need more food". He too arose and started adding from his pile to his brother's heap. They were both walking towards the other and they suddenly met In the middle of the night.  

  According to this legend, exactly where they met is where the Bes  Hamikdash was eventually built.

  That is what our Torah meant by living a life of ethics and morality, a life way beyond the legislative aspect of a Torah oriented life.

   I realize more and more that the true image of the law is in the hearts, minds and consciences of man.

   It is time that we put into our Religious way of life a greater sense of decency, of compassion and qualities that express true fellowship to others.

 

WHO IS SEARCHING FOR US ?

Last week I had the pleasure and the privilege to attend the Aufruf of the son of my very dear and beloved friends in Manhattan. It was indeed a glorious 'happening' for everyone. I was asked to speak and deliver a 'Message of Torah' to the assemblage and especially to the Chatan and Kallah. After delivering my message a young man approached with a probing question "Who do you think was greater Moshe Rabbeinu or Avraham Aveinu?" I thought for a moment and recalled that the Rav Rabbi Soloveitchik tz'l addressed that same question.

Tha Rav made a distinction between the relationship that these two great personalities had with G-D.

The Rav said that Avraham discovered G-D in the constellations, not through a miracle. Avrahams life is not centered around a life of miracles , Avraham was a person who searched for Hashem and discovered Him in the nature of the world. 

He saw Hashem in the stars and in the sun and in the moon. In essence, Avraham found G-d after much deliberation and soul searching.

Moshe, on the other hand, was found by Hashem. Moshe did not seek out G-D, Hashem found Moshe and summoned him to be the leader of the Jewish People and to redeem them from slavery. 

The Rav enunciated that Moshe's relationship with G-D was different from Avrahams experience with Hashem. Avraham acquired G-D, while G-D acquired Moshe and became the עבד השם, the servant of G-D par excellence. Eventually Moshe also began to seek and search for the essence of G-D as Avraham did.

Our lesson is simplistic and at the same time profound. We need to search for G-D whatever way possible and In this sincere search  not only will we find Hashem , but more so, G-D Himself will beckon for our  rendezvous  with Him and continue to shower His Blessings upon us .

Tree of Life

A story for טו בשבט.

We ask the leaf, "are you complete in yourself?" And the leaf answers , 'no, my life is in the branches.'

We ask the branch, and the branch answers,'no my life is in the trunk.' 

We ask the trunk , and the trunk answers, 'no my life is in the root'. 

We ask the root, and the root answers, 'no, my life is in the trunk, and in the branches, and in the leaves. Strip the branches of leaves and I shall die'.

The Jewish people are the leaves on the  'Jewish Tree' and we must stay attached to that 'Jewish Tree.' As it is written 'עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה.' 

The Jewish people, and The State of Israel, are our 'Tree of Life.'

Singing A Song Of Praise

Rabbi Mehlman's Thoughts

This Shabbat is referred to as Shabbat Shirah, the Shabbat of Song - for it was on this day that the Jewish people crossed the Red Sea and after crossing, Moshe and בני ישראל sang that famous song the שירת הים.

The word Song ,שירה, conjures up in my mind many fascinating ideas.  Jewish song is different than our modern version of song. 

Shirah of Judaism has a number of prerequisites. First the song must have meaning for all times. It must be appropriate for any future generations,  as it is for the one in which it was written. It must extend into the stream of eternity.

The second most important characteristic of a great Jewish Shirah is that it must inspire all who expierence the song especially future generations. We then realize that a Shirah is much more than musical notes ,it must contain the power to awaken us  from our spiritual slumber and inspire every one to achieve greater spiritual heights.

After this week when we were all in cold storage , we will celebrate טו בשבט, Jewish Arbor Day - saying to the world that it is a time to thaw out. We must not remain forever in cold storage. It is a time to cultivate, to plant and to insure our spiritual warmth is inspiring us to greater Jewish heights.

When בני ישראל, came to the Red Sea, Moshe cried to Hashem in desperation , not knowing what to do as he was facing utter destruction.  Hashem  responded , מה תצעק אלי, why are you crying out to me? Now is not the time to wail, now is the time for action . Tell the people יסעו, they need to move forward and take their future into their own hands and then they will realize that all obstacles in life that seem to be insurmountable can be successfully achieved.

How wonderful and miraculous was the crossing of the Red Sea.  For that great expierence a Shirah was very appropriate in expressing the glory of G-D and our deep appreciation for his miraculous intervention.  This will ultimately lead to Mt. Sinai and  to קבלת התורה, achieving our true Geulah.

Our true redemption takes place when we have a  rendevous with Hashem and that can only occur at Sinai.

I recall the words of Leo Tolstoy  who wrote"The Jew is that sacred being who brought down from heaven the everlasting fire, and has illumined with it the entire world. He is the religious source, spring and fountain out of which all the rest of the peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religions".

This is a time for all Jewery to unite and sing a שירה חדשה, a new Song , a song that will bring us closer to each other and closer to Hashem.

FAMILY CONNECTION

     

There is no replacement for Family.  A family serves to unify people in love , understanding and above all in feelings of empathy. There are no two families alike but at the same time every family plays an important part in the progress of man and especially in the future of Yiddishkeit.

     There is a very cogent story found in our literature. A student once came to the Shul of Rabbi Simcha Bunim in Poland.The Rabbi welcomed him and asked "Why did you come here? What are you looking for?" The student replied, "I am seeking G-D." Upon hearing his quest, Rabbi Bunim said, "One can find G-D anywhere; for it is written in Tehilim, ‘The whole earth is filled with His glory.' Here in this Shul one comes to find oneself.”

     Indeed these are times that the search for self begins in our early years and continues throughout our Blessed lives. The search for meaning is deeply personal and in the words of our Talmud "Seek and you shall find.”

     Our Parsha this week describes another meeting between Moshe and Pharoah.  Moshe is demanding the release of the Jewish people from bondage. Pharoah asks Moshe מי ומי ההולכים, “Who do you expect to go with you?”  Moshe responds,בנערינו ובזקנינו נלך “We will go forth with our children and with our elders."

     This is an important lesson to the world and especially to ourselves. Judaism can only succeed if we, as adults, walk together into the future with our children. Know my friends, children are the heart of our way of life. Children need to be nourished with love and patience and also with respect. 

     We as adults have a grave responsibility when it comes to our children, and to paraphrase a famous cliché, “it takes an entire community to raise a child".  We all must work towards this endeavor if we want to succeed in our glorious future.

     Children give us hope, laughter and Nachas and we are to remember that they always must come first if we are going to succeed as an עם קדוש, as a Holy Nation and an עם סגולה.

     To achieve this glorious goal our aim must be to recognize the Jewish people are first and foremost a family.  Only through a family oriented way of life can we assure the continuity of our Tradition and the survival of our Mesorah  to the next generation.

     It is no coincidence that we are referred to as B’nai Yisroel, the Children of Israel. For we are indeed a family bringing about our Jewish identity.

     The well being of our family will assure the well being of our children.  Our Torah and our traditional lessons that are learned by our children are " caught" and not only " taught" , which suggests that our children learn by example and this learning process continues, daily, through the experiential  influence of the members of the family.

     Rabbi A.J. Heschel writes “to educate the child without including the entire family is like attempting to heat a home with all the windows open.  With the family, we keep the embers of Torah aglow in the hearts and minds of our children  ולמדתם אותם את בניכם. To achieve this very significant goal in our Jewish lives we must act with  respect and dignity, kindness and peace and above all with love, fulfilling the words of Moshe  בנערינו ובזקנינו נלך

     To further this Family bond let us Bless our children and grandchildren on Friday  night at our Shabbos dinner table with the ancient  Bracha המלאך הגואליייי forging a magnificent connection within our family. 

     May Hashem Bless us with much Nachas and Mazal from all our children.  

Shabbat Shalom!