BEING ALIVE

      As I look at our society today, I am inclined to conclude that we live in a society of short cuts, instant relief, instant gratification , instant love, instant coffee  and even instant religion. Too often our aim is to get on with it and get it over with. It is an outlook that seems to permeate much of our lives and inevitably it reaches our religious observances. 

     It is the the old age question posed to our talmudic sage, Hillel and Shamai by a young man who wanted to learn the entire Torah standing on one foot. What he wanted was to do so very quickly, as if to say ,I have no time, let's do it 1,2,3 and get it over with.

   Judaism is not and must not be a quick schemed religion by simplifying  our studies into a Judaic code as a simple review course. 

  It is in this light that our Torah reading this morning states , ועתה ישראל שמע אל החוקים ואל המשפטים אשר אנכי מלמד אתכם לעשות למען תחיו 

  "And now Israel hearken unto the statutes and the social regulations which I teach you to fulfill, so that you may live."

   The Torah then goes on to explain that we are required to obey the ordinances in a fully detailed fashion, and we are admonished not to add to what the Torah  commands and surely not to diminish from our Torah way of life. If you follow all the mitzvot that Hashem sets forth for us, then 

G-D guarantees, למען תחיו, "that you may live a wonderful  life."

   From here we see that we are not to deviate the slightest in the manner of observance , whether we add or diminish  from the directives of the Torah, life is the adherence to the ways of G-D in its total form .

  The כלי יקר, says the admonition 'not to add' suggests that Hashem is telling us, when you do so you will the be inclined to diminish as well. The fear is that as soon as a man begins to apply his own subjective judgement to the observance of Judaism , then there is no telling how far he will go. Any additions is bound to lead to a diminution, resulting in upsetting the balance of the general framework of Yiddishkeit. 

   The real miracle of existence is not only what Hashem does for us , but more so what Hashem inspires us to do for ourselves and others that will determine the essence of our lives. 

  It is time that we slow down the pace of our daily lives and regulate our spiritual lives in a manner that will gain us the most benefit from our religious experiences.

    Remember well; "What is the use of having life and not living it?"

     Our Torah reading this week, also, includes the Shma, wherein we are enjoin to love our G-D and to follow his Mitzvot, which have been the foundation and the strength a of our people. When we are committed to one G-D and remain steadfast and firm with our Torah then we will truly have selected the injunction, למען תחיו, for then we have chosen the life of a Jew. 

        Judaism will survive as it always has, proudly and creatively because its adherents find meaning in their Jewishness, identify with its teachings and find joy in the observance of our Mitzvot leading to a life of Blessings.

SENSITIVITY

The ninth of Av is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.  It is a day of fasting and mourning which commemorates the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. by the Babylonians and by historical coincidence, also, the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. by the Romans.

    Just as it is important to encourage everyone to be happy and rejoice on Yom Tov, it is equally important to engender a sense of national mourning on Tisha B’Av.

     The Talmud states that Jerusalem was destroyed because the people did not rebuke one another for their misdeeds.  This was a fundamental cause for the destruction of the Temple, since in the absence of reproach, spiritual progress or correction is impossible.  Beside, the effect on the person who does not receive the rebuke, the person who does not give it shows a failing, which, also, causes destruction.

     The Talmud relates the famous story of Kamza and Bar Kamza which clearly show how lack of reproach contributed, directly, to the catastrophe of our nation.  The story relates that a certain man had a friend whose name Kamza and an enemy whose name was Bar-Kamza.  Some time before this man was to hold a banquet, he told his servant to invite Kamza.  By mistake, Bar-Kamza was invited instead.  When the host noticed his enemy sitting at the feast, he went to him and ordered him to leave.  Bar-Kamza begged to be allowed to, seeing that he was already seated and offered to pay for everything he would eat or drink.  When his host persisted in his demand, Bar-Kamza offered to pay the expense of half the banquet or even the entire banquet, but to no avail and was taken out by force.  Disgusted by the whole procedure, Bar-Kamza said to himself, “Since the Rabbis just sat there and did not object to the way in which I was treated, I am going to slander them to the Roman Government.”  He managed to bring false evidence to the Emperor to show that the Jews were rebelling against him.  This led to the Roman conquest of Jerusalem.

     The entire story speaks for itself.  Here we are being informed of the utter indifference of the people to the feelings of other.  The heartless humiliation inflicted through their silence upon Bar-Kamza merited the penalty of the destruction of Jerusalem and exile.  

      It is well to be sensitive to the feelings of others. Sinas Chinum brought about the Churban Habayis and Ahavas Chinum will bring about the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash and the ביאת המשיח in our time. We need to remember the words of the Navi Zechariah.

 

“Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the fast of the fourth month and the fast of the the fifth month and the fast of the tenth, shall be the house of Judah, joy and gladness and cheerful season, therefore love ye truth and peace.”

 

 

FAITH and OPTIMISM

     Parshas Masey details the travelogue of the Jewish People as they traveled through the dessert on their way to the Promised Land.

  One wonders, 'Why was it necessary to mention every place they visited in such detailed form?'

  Rashi is quick to point out that it was Hashem's intention to remind the people להודיע חסדיו הי , to remind them of the great expression of mercy and kindness of Hashem who provided them with the necessities to survive the dessert experience. 

  Rabbi Tanchuma says, 'The reason for mentioning all the places they visited was analogous to a father traveling with his son, who became ill. The father took his son to a specialist who cured him. On the way home, he recalled to his son the different places they had passed and what happened in each place.'

   In a like manner, Hashem was pointing out to the people what took place at the the different locations they visited and how He lovingly took care of them.

   The Rambam touches on a very insightful answer refuting any suggestion that the people were really lost and that is the reason they made so many stops at different locations. He insisted that the people's GPS, was all planned by G-D, על פי הי, showing emphatically that nothing was accidental or pure chance. Every move made by עם ישראל, was all made by the design and direct intentions of Hashem Himself.  

   There is no doubt that all reasons are very logical, but I am inclined to think in the direction that the Rambam suggests, for it emphasizes that what ever takes place in our world is all by design of Hashem, and that very often we are misled in thinking things just happen and that is not true. Indeed, we have free will to do as we wish, but we need to remember that behind every decision and action of man, be it on a personal level or by leaders of different countries, the hand of Hashem is steering our boat of destiny. 

     As we reflect on Israel's journey, we also begin to reflect on our journey through life and we set our GPS, our 

G-D Positioning Satellite , that will lead us to  a glorious future of peace and tranquility. 

   This idea has great meaning as we approach the most mournful period on the Jewish calendar , the nine days of mourning  and  search for the Hand of Hashem to lift us out of our abyss of darkness and lead us to our glorious 

גאולה שלמה.

CONSISTENT

    There is a very interesting  Medrash reflecting  on this week's Torah reading, Pinchas. The  Medrash  tells of Rabbi Yehudah who asked his students, "Which sentence and directive  in our Torah would one consider as the cornerstone of our entire Avodas Hashem?"

   The first student, Ben Zoma answered , שמע ישראל........, "Hear o  Israel the Lord  is our G-D the Lord is one"

   The second student, Ben Azai, spoke and chose the verse, ואהבת לרעך כמוך.  "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "This must be the real essence of our faith."

  The third student, Ben Pazi, spoke up and quoted the sentence from this week's Parsha,

את הכבש אחד תעשה בבקר ואת   הכבש השני תעשה בין הערבים.    "The one lamb shall you make in the morning and the second lamb you make in the afternoon"

     Rabb Yehudah pondered for a moment and announced that the selection of Ben Pazi bespeaks the essence of Judaism, and is indeed the cornerstone of our Judaic way of life.

    The question I pose is; "What is so significant about the daily sacrifices that warrants its distinction as the cornerstone of our Avodas Hashem?"

  Isn't the concept of the oneness of G-D, or the love of fellowman more overriding than the bringing of the Korban Tamid?

     Understandably, the Shemah is  truly a great principle and no doubt the concept of brotherly love keeps Judaism alive. However, the  directive of the Korban Tamid, of bringing a sacrifice every  morning and every evening, is to teach a very important lesson in how one is to live Judaism.

   If a person expresses his faith in specific, concrete deeds on a daily basis ,rain or shine , every single day of his life then it shows he is truly dedicated to his religious beliefs.  This daily Korban suggests that we subscribe not only in theory to our Judaic way of life, but that we live it and do something to show that we do so every single day of our lives.

   This is the true criteria by which we measure the depth of our religious life as individuals and as a community.

     Judaism is not and must not be only an occasional type of religious observance, it is much more. It needs to become our life sustaining force , which can only be accomplished in how we live on a daily basis.

     Although prayer has replaced sacrifices in our times, the lesson is clear and very important.  It is in our dedication and commitment to Judaism which requires "constancy and consistency" in our observance. 

     Yahadut is not a faith for special occasions only, as important as they might be, but one demanding a daily relationship.

     Let us hope and pray that through our daily commitment we will have the Z'chut of rebuilding  the Beit Hamikdash.

    שיבנה בית המקדש במהרה בימינו

     

BLESSINGS

 

This week’s Torah reading, Balak, intrigues me as we read about Bilam the pagan prophet who was persuaded to curse the Israelites by King Balak of Moav.

Though Bilam starts out to curse the Jewish People, his curses turn into Brachot.  It seems to me that even this wicked prophet became so impressed with the Jews in so many ways and recognizing the importance of the Jewish home as one of the factors of Jewish survival, he could not curse them.

At this point he utters a beautiful prayer which we recite every day as we begin our daily T’fillot.

“Ma Tovu O’halecha Yaakov”  “How goodly are your tents O”Jacob”

As he uttered these words of blessing, I sense his original thought was really to express it as a curse.  My question is “What did he have in mind that would reflect this beautiful T’fillah as a curse?”

We must always remember that the essence of Judaism is “Growth.”  At all cost, we must pursue a life of constant advancement in the realm of spirituality.  Judaism is living a life wherein we are constantly in the pursuit of greater development of our moral and Torah observances.  Self satisfaction and contentment with our past performances and achievements very often lead to stagnation and human inertia.  Bilam realized this and with this blessing he was saying to Am Yisroel; “It’s enough.  Be satisfied with your accomplishments.”  He was hoping to encourage them not to improve on their spiritual lives. Therefore, this was a curse disguised as a blessing with the intention to stop the forward progress of the Jewish people.

This idea has more validity as we read of another bracha of Bilam; “Ki Meirosh Tzurim E’renu.” “From the tops of mountains I see him.”

The Yalkut interprets the Tzurim, mountains, as “Eilu Avot V’emahot.” That it refers to our Patriarchs and Matriarchs.  We, the Jewish People, are inspired by our ancestors.  This inspiration gives us the strength and fortitude to continuously grow in Torah and Mitzvot.

It is true, we need our ‘Avot and Emahot’ as our roots for inspiration, but more so, they need us as branches to continue to promulgate Yiddishkeit to future generations to produce vibrant gardens of dedication to our Torah way of life.

We will show the Bilams’ of our society, that we, the Jewish People, are blessings to ourselves, to Hashem and to society at large.

As we begin the Three Week mourning period this coming Sunday, let us bereave the destruction of the Temple but, at the same time, let us be proud of ourselves, as a people that continues to grow to spread spiritually throughout the world.

Let us pray that our ‘Geulah S’hlaymah’ come quickly, in our time.