RENDEZVOUS WITH G-D

   As we prepare  to celebrate the Yom Tov of Pesach with our families and friends at our Seder, it will be an excellent time to reassess our total commitment to our גאולה שלמה. 

  It is said that religion ought to be our steering 

wheel , but, too often, many treat it as a spare tire, useful only in a blowout.

  Pesach is our time to change this attitude and to live Judaism in a most pristine and majestic fashion. 

   Pesach is our time to achieve the ultimate goal of expressing our הכרת הטוב to Hashem and to look forward to our glorious and successful future. In thinking of the direction of life that we must take, I am inclined to use our Seder reflecting, specifically, one very popular song, Dayenu, for my message this Pesach. My interest focuses on the the statement, "Had He brought us before Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah, Dayenu, it would have been enough". 

   The Rav asks and analyzes the question, "What purpose was there in coming to Sinai, if we were not to receive the Torah?"

    The Rav explained that, "Even had we not received the Torah, the encounter with the Shechinah, G-D's presence, as He descended the mountain amidst thunder and lightning, would have left its impact on our souls forever."

   The Rav would often speak of the "Encounter of man with the Shechinah." In describing the goals of Torah study, we are taught that there are two aspects to the experience of a Jew studying G-D's wisdom.  The first aspect is "intellectual", attaining understanding and wisdom by accumulating knowledge and deepening insight. However, there is a second aspect which is as important - the "experiential" feeling that one is in G-D's presence. 

  The Rav, would refer to this aspect as a "Rendezvous with the Holy One". He would speak of the exalted feeling of sensing the Divine. This experience of encountering G-D and feeling His presence is not only found through Torah study but should extend to a Jew's whole existence. 

    The Seder is truly an exhilarating experience, for this night is a true time of ליל שמורים, a time when our closeness to Hashem, inspires and elevates our state of Kedusha.  

   On this night our Jewish hearts are overflowing with feelings of joy and thanksgiving. It is a night of great romance between G-D and the Jewish People. It is for this reason, that after the Seder, for many, to recite the 

שיר השירים. 

   This Song of Songs states אני לדודי ודודי לי, I am my beloved and my beloved is mine. 

    This is the most glorious message that we can receive from the Seder and from the Yom Tov  of Pesach.  A message of hope; a message of love; a message of unity;  that can carry us forward into the weeks and months ahead leading us, vibrantly, to the Yom Tov of Shavuot, when the Revelation of  Hashem took place inspiring 

עם ישראל to greater heights of Spirituality. 

   With such an outlook, we will say with confidence, that the time of ביאת גואל צדק, has arrived. 

    Wishing every one a  

. חג כשר ושמח ושבת שלום ומבורך. 

   

SEDER OF LIFE

    The countdown has begun.  The frenzy is in the air.  My wife has lists and the lists have lists.  The conversations on the phone go like this, "Are you ready? Did you start cleaning? When are you turning over?" And last but not least, "What are you serving at the Seder? Are you hosting the seder? How many people are coming to the seder? Do you find it difficult to organize the seder? How do you know how much to buy for the seder? What are your menus for the seder?"  

   The word SEDER has become the mantra these days because it is the most important part of our Pesach celebration. The true meaning of the word Seder, as observed in our homes, is to emphasize the orderly fashion in which the rituals and symbolic foods are partaken during the course of the meal, as we retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt.  

    With this thought in mind, I begin to envision how magnificent life would be, if we could create a life for ourselves that diligently reflects a Seder of Life. Living life in a Seder, in an orderly fashion,  emphasizes a more generous nature to others, 

a life of honesty and a life where ethics reigns supreme. 

     I am sure we will all remove the Chametz from our homes and similarly, it may be an opportune time to remove the Chametz from our hearts and from our lives - the Chametz that clogs our lives with disrespect, with anger and, especially, the Chametz that is in our eyes, that does not 'Fargin' what our neighbors posses. 

  As the Rav so often said, that the ליל הסדר,is a special night emphasizing that the Jewish people are a קהילת חסד, a people of mercy,a people  of kindness, a people of selflessness. This Chesed is based on the feeling of Jewish solidarity. In fact the Rav spoke of the redemption as a time when the Jewish People  became an עם, a term derived from the word "IM", "being with".  With the Exodus, the Jews became an עם, expressive of a readiness to share and show an extreme sense of compassion. What an amazing transformation took place at יציאת מצרים, and one that always needs to be emulated. 

   With all the dehumanizing influences at work in our society, it is all the more vital that we remember the teachings of our tradition, which underscores the uniqueness of each of us. Everyone  deserves the respect and the recognition that comes with being the צלם אלוקים, a unique human being.  It is well to realize that "There has been nothing like us, ever, nor will there ever be."

  Each individual person is a new entity in the world and is called upon to fulfill his particularity and no one has the right to get in the way while each one fulfills their personal destiny. 

  As we will read in our Hagadah, בכול דור ודור, in each of us, all past centuries coalesce. In each of us all the future centuries have their beginnings. In each of us are found very special endowments. 

   As I continue this trend of thought I remember reading of the Great Ishbitz Rebbe, Reb Yaakov Leiner who asked, "Why does the search for Chametz take place at night? Why not in the morning which is a more obvious time to search for something?"  He continued, "Why are we instructed to use a candle not a lamp?"

  The Rebbe answered, "When we search, we are really doing more than just searching for Chametz, we are really searching for our place and for our purpose in this world." In this state of Galut, we often feel that we are in the dark and we cannot easily find our way. However, in the future, the time will come when it will be revealed that even when life appeared  dark and we felt lost we were always being guided by Hashem. 

   In searching for Chametz with a candle at night, we are, both, literally and figuratively providing a glimmer of light amidst the darkness for ourselves. The light reminds us that we are to have a direction in life and that we will always have the light of Hashem showing us the way.

  The Yom Tov of Pesach is a time when we can discover more about who we are and what our place is in this world.

   With this realization and traveling the road together we will achieve an enriched Seder Of Life. 

     

    

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

   The rise of the internet, mobile phones and a life of texting has changed the way we relate to one another.  We have truly lost the art of human interactive communication. 

   I recall a blog I wrote some time  ago where I spoke of the lack of communication amongst our friends and  especially within our families. 

   Though we are benefiting, greatly, from many new advances in technology, there are many setbacks resulting in the lack of personal communication between one another. We seem to be losing the benefit of facing each other, denying us the opportunity of seeing facial expressions and the innuendos that are apparent when we speak face-to-face. 

    Even our phone calls have been discarded, again denying us to hear other people's voices and their inflections that usually accompany conversations . Life has become texting which denies us of this part of our relationships.

   It is in this context that I would like to share with you an important message from this week's Parsha  of  Vayikrah. We read in the opening Pasuk ; ויקרא הי אל משה, " Hashem calls to Moshe."  He called him and wanted to speak with him directly. No texting, no emails, no social media, just plain talking.  This is  life's lesson about the need to speak and  to listen. Herein, we get the important message of human interaction and the quality of interpersonal relationships. 

   Please know that  I question not  the technological achievements  that enhance our lives.   But I do question how this technology impacts on our personal relationships.

    For our inspiration, let us, once again, turn to the time when Hashem created man and made the clear distinction between the human being and the animal kingdom. He did so with blessing man with the capability to speak and this Bracha must not fall into disuse. This gift of speech makes man into a true צלם אלוקים, and let us not relegate it to a texting message.  

   I am seeing families where children are texting their parents from the upstairs bedroom rather than walking downstairs to talk with them. This is not what  I think family is all about. We are losing  valuable opportunities to come closer to one another, especially, within the family.

   I heard a teacher speaking to his student saying  “Look at me, I’m speakin to you." It sounds ominous, but true.  We are losing the art of communication that is associated with feelings that come from hearing the word and seeing the communicator. I am searching for a positive way to elevate our relationships. I am searching to elevate our lives from the transactional to the relational. 

   Talking, calling, verbalizing our feelings, can bring greater respect and affection into our lives, giving us the power to humanize and elevate our interactions and our relationships. 

  Let us take to heart the way Hashem addresses Moshe, and to use that lesson in our noisy world of multimedia overload and online communication and begin to increase our personal relationships facing each other with the glow of holiness.

   I do recognize  that very often distance may not permit one to one communication. Then  we begin to appreciate the technological advancements of Skype and Facebook that gives us some semblance of this commmunication that I am searching for. However,  I still crave greater feelings that comes with a hug and an embrace that often says more than words.  This  can only be realized with a one to one encounter.  

    Social media is an amazing tool, but it's really face to face interaction that makes a long term impact. 

Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanizes what is a very large part of community life and living together. Judaism is the "call" that is instrumental in preserving a way of life that projects a loving human bond.

   Our human race prospers when we make a safer world for those who will follow and this can only be achieved when we are facing each other with spiritual warmth and personal empathy. 

  So, I invite you to join me on this journey into the real world, a world of seeing, a world of hearing and a world of human interaction.

      "Can you hear and see me now?"