DAYENU

    As we approach Shabbat Hagadol, one wonders what type of greatness should this Shabbat engender in our hearts and minds?The Yom Tov of Pesach will inspire us to achieve a life of great spiritual growth. 

    As we prepare to search for the Chametz before Pesach, please travel with me on this Paschal road to search for our individual greatness which is latent in all of us.

    Let us begin our travels with a question; Which is the most popular and most favorite song that is sung at the Seder? My answer to this rhetorical question is the song 'Dayenu'. This song is not only very popular for Jews it seems to be the  favorite  even for those who are not Jewish.

    The song Dayenu praises Hashem for all the Nissim, miracles, and wonders that He has brought forth for all of us down through the ages. And yet, when I look at the words of the song I am astounded at what is recorded;

     For example אלו קרע לנו את הים ולא העבירנו בתוכםבחרבה דינו

   "Had G-D caused the sea to divide but not caused us to cross it on dry land, Dayenu, it would have been enough".

    Would that really have been enough. Why? We would not have been saved, we would have drowned. How can we say in such a situation, Dayenu?

   Let's read another verse; אלו קרבנו לפני הר סני ולא נתן לנו את התורה דינו

  "Had He brought us to Mt. Sinai and had not given us the Torah. Dayenu, it would have been enough." Can we really say it would have been enough to be without the Torah?Could we, as Jews, lived without the Torah? That to me is 

unimaginable.

   I am even more perplexed with the next statement; אלו נתן לנו את התורה ולא הכנסנו לארץ ישראל דינו

   "Had He given us the Torah and not brought us to the Promised Land of Israel, Dayenu.

  Really? Where would we be today without the State of Israel?

   The answer to my question, is indeed simple and profound. It all depends upon how we read the word Dayenu. If we read it as an interrogative statement ,then it is a question, Dayenu? Would it have been enough? Or do we read it as a declarative statement,Dayenu! It would have been enough!

   Therefore, when we sing the song Dayenu, we may need a certain kind of inflection, to state how we feel, about each idea expressed.

    However, I believe there is an important lesson to learn from the Dayenu concept;

    There are times in life that a person should say, "It's enough" and there are times in life when a person should ask, "Is it really enough?"

   Our minds this Pesach are confused by the horrific deaths of seven angelic children who perished in the fire. More then ever we are to embrace, to cherish and to love our own children with greater involvement in their  lives. 

    I am sure you realize that our entire  Seder  centers around the idea of הגדת לבנך, to teach our children.  Our main focus at the Seder table is our children.   

    Psychologically speaking, it is important when it comes to children to know when to say Dayenu ! It is enough! and it is well to be satisfied in your accomplishments and to feel a great sense of self worth.  And then there  are times when we need to inquire into their behavior and into their negative feelings and say Dayenu, isn't it enough? And stop acting in such a  hurtful manner .

   Children and adults have to learn that not every soldier can be a General, but everyone can be a good soldier, by reaching his or her potential. 

    However, at the same time one should not say Dayenu, and to be satisfied with the status quo. Such an attitude is often counter productive.

    As we put our lives into the proper 'Seder,' and as we sit down at the 'Seder,' which in essence is a meal of education, we are to remember; "It is not the lowering of human standards we are searching for, but rather to encourage greater avenues of achievement.  

      Let us recite the Kiddush, encouraging us to have a life filled with Kedusha leading, eventually, to the drinking of the fifth Kos, the Kos Shel Eliyahu, heralding our true Geulah Shlemah, Dayenu!!!!!!

PESACH SEDER

    As we walk through the stores, we can feel that Pesach is in the air.  So many are running around in preparation of this magnificent Yom Tov  

   I would like to share with you a Hasidic story; When the Baal Shem Tov had a difficult task before him he would go to the woods , light a fire and meditate in prayer, and what he had set out to perform was done. When a generation later the Maggid of Meshritz was faced with the same task he would go to the same place in the woods and say, "We can no longer light the fire , but we can still utter the prayers" and what he wanted done became a reality. Again, a generation later Rabbi Lev of Saasov had to perform his task and he too went into the forest and said, "We can no longer light the fire, nor do we know the secret meditations belonging to the prayer, but we do know the place in the forest to which it all belongs and that will have to be sufficient". And sufficient it was.  When another generation had passed and Rabbi Israel was called on to perform the task, he sat down on his chair in his home and said, "We cannot light the fire, we cannot speak the prayers, we do not know the place, but we can tell the story of how it was done.” And the story he told had the same affect as the actions of the other three.
    Understandably, this profound anecdote clearly describes the decline of the sacred, but at the same time reflects upon the trials and tribulations that each generation goes through, and how they recover the holiness of the past which gives them the strength and the courage to face the present and the future. 
     This is Pesach and the entire Seder in a concise and cogent and meaningful way.
    Kierkegaard said it well when he explained the concept of "Holiness" as "Wholly Other ", as an experience unlike any other.”

     Pesach is a time when we expierence such an extraordinary feeling of awe, wonder, mystery and majesty. It excites our admiration, it invites our adoration, and stimulates our devotion to Hashem.
  This feeling of great excitement is present when we sit down at the Seder, though somewhat exhausted from all the preparations, with much Simcha as we recite in unison,

שהחינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה . 
    As we prepare for this years’ Seder, let us gather with our families, as they did in years of yore, and to renew special relationships with our friends and loved ones  and to strengthen our bonds with Hashem in a most productive way with our  הלל ותשבחות.
     Let this Pesach refresh and revive our jaded spirits, dampen our cynicism, and remind us of the great opportunities that are ours to achieve as we open the door once again for Elijah the Prophet and show our preparedness to welcome our מלך המשיח.       

   
  

 

WISDOM OF THE HEART

    "Rabbi are you going to purchase the new wrist watch by apple?" I was asked.  I wasn't even sure what this new apple phenomenon was all about. I did, however, begin to realize that the advancement of our technological world has no limits.  I can only imagine what this world will look like in ten years or so, as we become more and more tech savvy. 

     I am reminded of the story of the man who found frost on his window and tried to scrape it off. His neighbor, observing what he was doing asked him, "What are you trying to accomplish?" He replied, "I can't see out of the window and I am trying  to get rid of the frost.  But as fast as I scrape off the frost from one pane, frost appears on another." The neighbor answered, "Let the windows alone and light a fire inside. You will, then, see that the frost will disappear of itself."

  These are times that we are feeling the chill of the world against our Jewish faces and we need to kindle the fire of enthusiasm , the fire of love, the fire of spirituality, the fire  of Betachon , inside our very beings to thaw ourselves out.

   It is with this understanding that our Torah this Shabbat records the selection of Betzalel  to build the Miskan. Why was he chosen.  The Torah relates; 

ויקרא משה אל בצלא-ל ואל אהליאב ואל כל איש חכם לב אשר נתן הי חכמה בלבו

  "And Moshe called Bezalel and every wise hearted man in whose heart G-D had put wisdom."

    This is a very interesting expression; "Wisdom of the heart." What exactly does this mean?

      I sense there are two types of wisdom. There is wisdom of the mind, relating to 'things.' It is of a 'quantitative' nature. 

    Then there is the wisdom of the heart,  'reflecting the values of life' in a 'qualitative' way.

  Wisdom of the Heart projects oneself in ideals, in ethics , in love, in loyalty, and in friendship.  

  Understandably, the mind without the heart produces a robotic existence. The heart without the mind produces misery and poverty.

   Bezalel had all the qualities.  He was an outstanding architect and engineer, but more so, to build this edifice to Hashem, he needed to be a חכמת לב, a man who possessed a heart in all of his dealings .

    As I began my blog I emphasized that we are involved, greatly, in technology and I do realize it's importance. However, to do so for the better of humanity, a we must infuse our achievements with "The Wisdom of the Heart."

  This is our modern day challenge as we make great strides in the arena of technology.

   I remember reading of a western scientist who was boasting to an Indian intellectual. 

" In the west we are so advanced technologically, we can fly like a bird, we can run like a deer, and we can swim like a fish". 

 The Indian pondered for a moment and responded,"Yes, you can fly like a bird , you can run like a deer, you can swim like a fish, but can you walk like a man?"        

      Like Bezalel, let us meet the challenges that face us today with  "Wisdom of the Heart". 

MEGILLAH REVISITED

The Yom Tov of Purim is our most joyous holiday. As we read the Megillah I am greatly impressed by the two heroes of the story, Mordechai and Esther. Let me explain how I see these two messengers of G-D who are asked to save the Jewish.  The uniqueness of Purim is that it's a story of people, yes ordinary  people who acted in a most extraordinary  fashion.

   The Megillah describes Mordechai simply ; 

איש יהודי היה בשושן ושמו מרדכי

He was a Jew, an ordinary Jew.  He sat together with the other guards at the gate of the King. " Mordechai was just one of the people."

  Similarly, when the Megillah describes our Heroine Esther it says;והנערה יפת תואר וטובת מראה

She was a sweet and simple and pretty girl, eventually winning  a beauty contest leading her to become the Queen to Ahashveros. "Esther was just one of the people."

   I am extremely impressed with Mordechai and Esther.  They were ordinary people like you and me who lived at a time of crisis. 

   Though they were ordinary people, they lived during a period which called for greatness and these simple ordinary people, in responding with greatness became great. 

  Greatness in life is dependent upon our response to life.

  This is what Mordechai was saying to Esther in what I believe are the most important and cogent words in the entire Megillah,  כי אם החרש תחרישי כעת הזאת,

    At a time like this how can you turn your head away from the needs of our people, this is your hour , this is why you were brought forth on this earth, this is your Tafkid of life, don't let the hour pass.  There may never be another opportunity.  Time waits for no one. 

     That was the message of Mordechai, the ordinary man , to Esther the ordinary woman.  Together, because they heeded the call to save Jewry, they achieved greatness and became the saviors of the Jewish People.

     I often think that all of us have the capabilities of rising to the occasion, of becoming extraordinary, in helping our fellow Jew. In so many different ways, we can become our modern day heroes.

    I am reminded of the folk story of the Little Dutch Boy, Peter. He lived in a country below sea level where the people had built dikes to keep out the water. Peter playing at the seashore, saw moisture seeping through a tiny hole and he became frightened, he knew it meant danger. He cried out but no one heard him. He was afraid the opening was getting larger and the countryside would be flooded, so, he put his finger into the hole and stayed there all night. He saved  his country and little Peter is a symbol of heroism to this very day. Indeed, Peter rose to the occasion. 

    This is the story of Purim.  When Esther and Mordechai saw the great danger threatening the Jews, they too performed acts of courage and dedication and this foiled Haman's plot and Jewry was saved.

   I am sure you echo my feelings as we welcome The Prime Minister of Israel to our country.  Though there are many who may think he should not speak to the members of Congress, one thing I am sure of - that when he does address the assemblage he will speak for the salvation of the Jewish People and the State Of Isreal. 

    Mr. Netanyahu loves the Jewish People and his only concern is the safety and security of the Jewish State. I see him as an ordinary man who hears the cry , "this is your hour" and we know that your reason for your actions is the salvation of the Jewish People.

      "Heroes are made not born."  To be a hero one must act with great empathy, firmly and not with indifference. Mr. Netanyahu fits this bill.

       These are times we need men and women who are ordinary to act extraordinary.  In doing so we will help to hasten the coming of Moshiach in our time.

   May Hashem bless us with peace and tranquility and to use this Yom Tov of Purim to bring us closer to each other with love and happiness.