LOST SOULS

    A young man asked me,"Why  are we here and  what are we going to do while we are here?" I found it to be an astute inquiry. It reminded me of the railroad ticket collector who routinely asks the passengers "destination please?" That is the same question that Hashem asks of all of us, "destination please?",especially  as we come closer to the Yom Tov of Rosh Hashana.

   I once came across a cartoon that showed a three lane highway, with overhead signs for each of the three lanes. The arrow over the right lane read North, the arrow over the left  lane read South and the arrow over the middle lane, which had the most traffic read "Lost".  So many seem to be in the "Lost" lane when it comes to their goals and and their purpose in life.  They are not sure of their destination. 

     Keeping this in mind, I would like to reflect upon a very interesting law from this week's  Sedrah, Ki Tetzeh. 

    Herein, we read of the laws of Hashavas Aveidah, of returning a lost item to its proper owner. In Judaism there is no such thing as "Finders keepers, losers weepers". The law is clear. If you find something that belongs to someone else you are legally required to return it. If you don't know to whom it belongs, you must take care of it and do what ever is possible to find the rightful owner.

     The concept of Hashavas Aveidah fascinates me.  I believe it can  be extended further than the returning of a physical lost item. I sense we can extend this idea of Hashavas Aveidah to apply to the mitzvah of returning souls of the many that have lost their way, to their rightful owners. 

   Hashavas Aveidah not only applies to the spirituality of the Jewish soul but applies to the souls of all humanity.  We are seeing senseless killing throughout our society desensitizing the value of life.  The soul of man has, in many cases, become so tarnished that we need greater evaluation of the 'True Worth of Man'.

   There is a need, today, to have a 'recovery' and to bring back man to where he belongs.

     How do we accomplish this goal? How do we answer the young man's question, "Why are we here and what are we going to do while we are here?" 

    My answer is, we need to search for a meaningful life for the lost souls of those around us.  We need to tune into the spiritual needs of those who are "Lost", to help them find their way back to a more positive Judaic way of life and in doing so to recapture their lost Jewish souls.

     Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are upon us and our destiny is to fulfill the mitzvah of Hashavas Aveidah of those around us and, yes, even for ourselves.

     With this in  mind  and with the effort of K'lal Yisroel we will be Zocheh to bring the Moshiach, quicker  in our time.

    שבת שלום 

JUSTICE

    Abraham Heschel wrote about the essence of man. He said, "Since every human being is made in the Image of 

G-D, it follows that if we are serving our fellow human beings, in a very real sense, we are serving Hashem as well."

   This is, indeed, a very important insight into our Judaic way of life. When we live a life resplendent with kindness and justice to our fellow man we are doing the mitzvah of carrying out the will of G-D.

   This thought is apropos as we study the opening verses of our Shabbat Sedrah, Parshat Shoftim. Herein, we read  צדק צדק תרדוף , "Justice justice shall you pursue." The question that immediately comes to mind is, "Why was it necessary for the Torah to repeat the word Justice?"

     Understandably, 'Justice' is defining, in a very emphatic way, the ethical challenge that man is faced with constantly to assure that in the pursuit of all our life's endeavors 'Justice' needs to be our hallmark. 

   The words of Rav Simcha Bunam, come to mind. He said, "In our pursuit of just and righteous ends, our means must also be just". 

  In addition, we will also learn that just as we want 'Justice' for ourselves, we must demand 'Justice' for others, even for those whom we may consider strangers to our way of life. Even more so, we are to be tolerant of others. We are not here to ride herd on other people. Respect for others, must be our hallmark, if humanity is going to survive.

     I once asked a nurse why she chose nursing as her profession, and her answer was,  "I wanted to serve  G-D." This was truly poignant answer, for as she serves mankind she is truly serving G-D.

    It is written, the love of people is at the same time a love of G-D. For when we love one, we necessarily love one's handiwork. 

    Especially during these days of introspection let us remember, 'The fate of mankind rests on individual responsibility, individual integrity, individual effort, individual courage and especially individual conscience.'

    שבת שלום

LOOK and SEE

    Children look at certain aspects of life in a very unique and special way. A father was carrying his three year old into a dark room. Suddenly he felt the tiny arms of the child tightened around his neck. "Turn off the dark, Daddy",he whispered. Not, 'Turn on the light, but rather, turn off the dark.'

   All too often as I assess the the world around us, I am urged to scream out, "Please turn off the dark that our society finds itself in today." We need to concentrate on eliminating the negativity, the darkness, that seems to envelope us.

   With this thought in mind, I would like to share an interesting thought on this week Torah reading, Parshat Re'eh.

   The Torah's opening verse states :

ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

"See", Hashem says, "I present before you a Blessing and a curse."

    What an interesting way to get our attention, and to encourage everyone to focus on the essence of life, ראה, "Look". Why, I ask, did the Torah use such an expression?Would it not have been better to use a word like דע 'Know' and then continue with the rest of the sentence? What does the word "Look and See" come to teach us?

    'Seeing' something has greater affect upon us then merely hearing about something. When we see we identify with that particular object or person that we are looking at. In fact, it may even be that through our seeing, we become one with that object or person. 

    I remember the incident when Avraham was taking Yitzchak to the Akedah on Mt Moriah. In addition to traveling with Yitzchak, he took along Yishmael  and Eliezer. As they approached the Mountain, the Midrash states that, Avraham asked the two attendants "Do you see what I see?" They replied, "We see just a mountain." He, then, posed the same question to Yitzchak. His reply was "I see הר נאה ומשובח, a glorious mountain", recognizing  G-D's presence.

   Indeed, two or more people can look at the same thing and see something entirely different. We can look at the same reality and one will see life and the other destruction. One will see a challenge to grow and live, the other will see despair. 

   In truth, every aspect of our lives is dependent on what we see and what we bring to the experience. It is for this reason the Torah uses the word ראה, 'See'- 'Look'. For it all depends on what we want to see, and how we view life.

   I remember reading an interesting story of the shoe salesman who was sent to Africa to sell shoes. He comes back with  the report, "There is no use trying to sell shoes here. No one wears shoes." Another salesman reports back and says, "What a market we have here. All we have to do is teach the people to wear shoes."

   So is life. Some are blessed with the ability to see opportunity and beauty in life. They grab hold of those opportunities and find life to truly be a Bracha for themselves and for those around them.

  As we approach the solemn month of Elul and hear the blowing of the Shofar, we are reminded that life gives us opportunities and blessings all the time, if we choose to 'See' them.

    George Bernard Shaw wrote, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I can't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them".

  Indeed the directive ראה, 'See'- 'Look',  applies to every endeavor we undertake, especially in our spiritual growth. We must open our eyes to see the wonders of the world and to live lives with faith and with optimism. 

    This is the month of, לדוד הי אורי וישעי, when we have the opportunity to see our Blessings, giving us enough reasons for song and celebration.

   ראה אנכי נותן, the choice is ours, let us choose Blessing.

                                                          שבת שלום

שפע מהקב׳ה

   In our Torah reading for this week, Parshas Ekev we learn ואכלת ושבעת וברכת the Mitzvah of Bircat Hamazon.

   Many of our Mefarshim discuss the following; The מצוה of ברכת המזון and blessings in general pose a dilemma. Normally, blessings go from the greater being to the lesser one. If that be the case, how can we, the finite, recite a bracha which bestows the blessing upon the infinite G-D? 

   The answer, I suggest, is that the blessings we make are recited, primarily, to express our total dependency on the beneficence of G-D.  In recognition of this relationship we recite our brachot. Without these brachot we would not be permitted to enjoy the blessings of the world that 

G-D bestows upon us, our Brachot are basically a matir, to enjoy the gifts of life.

    G-D is represented to us as our Melech, but more so, as our Father who is concerned for His children as is evident in our daily lives.

    Interestingly, the Bircat Hamazon, which comes after our meal, uses the word ושבעת, when we are satiated. 

    All  too often, when a man has all necessities in life he becomes indifferent  to how and from whom he received these gifts. Only through the means of the recitation of the brachot  he realizes he could not have accomplished so much in life without the Shefah of  Hakadosh Baruch Hu   raining down upon him.

     Our Sages instituted the pronouncement of a bracha not only following eating of food, but preceding nearly every act through which we partake of in life.

     The Torah states, מה ה׳ שואל מעמך "And now Israel, what does the Lord thy G-D, require of you."

Rabbi Meir in the Talmud uses the word מה in Hebrew, and he says that it sounds like the word מאה, one hundred.   Rabbi Meir explains that a person is bound to say 100 brachot each day!

    Understandably Rabbi Meir did not mean for us to walk around with a calculator counting our brachot. I believe he meant that if we are alert enough we can find 100 occasions during the day to thank Hashem for all the wonders of life.

    May our prayers always be answered and the brachot of Hashem continue to fill our lives with health and happiness and may we be inspired never to take anything for granted - always being grateful for  what we have!