WALK THE TALK

This is the season when Graduations are being celebrated all over our nation and speeches delivered at each event.  To my disappointment I was not asked to speak at a Graduation.  However, if I would have received an invitation to speak at such an occasion I would make sure my remarks would be short because the students would be looking at their phones texting one another rather than listening to me.

   Let us fantasize for a moment, and hear some of the words of wisdom I would have shared with the Graduates.

   Today’s world has truly changed in the way we prioritize our needs and our concerns. The role of moral character seems to be minimized, wherein the attributes such as empathy, courage, fortitude, honesty, loyalty, are very often strange to so many.

   I read recently; “Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not and must not lose his being in a society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent and he is born to make his own individual mark on this earth.”

   These are times when we are not only to be concerned about the development of society, but even more so for the development of self. We all need greater belief in ourselves and to have the faith in our abilities, no matter what age. Success demands acts of humbleness combined with a confidence in our G-D Given Powers. Today, our world needs much healing and restoration of human feelings, to improve the standard of living. 

   These are my thoughts at the moment, especially as it applies to the Parsha, we read this week wherein the opening words are, ‘אם בחוקותי תלכו, When Hashem asks man to walk in His statues and keep His commandments.” The word used is תלכו, walk.”

   Rashi comments on the word walk, “Walking in G-D’s law, means taking a journey-a journey of the mind and soul, but more so a journey from the routine, traveling away from the maddening society into a world of dedication and commitment that iniates an-act of walkingwith G-D.” 

   This idea is expressed in the Gemorah Sotah. “To change the world, to uplift the world to a higher plateau, we are to emulate G-D’s ways. 

As He clothes the naked so must we; 

As He visits the sick so must we; 

As He comforts the mourners so must we; 

As He studies the Torah with those in the Yeshiva Shel Maala, so must we 

involve ourselves in the study of Torah and become עמלים בתורה.”

   Furthermore, as Hashem draws His People near to Him, we must be open to accept others and show kindness to others regardless of how different they may be. This is to walk in G-D’s way, and modeling G-D’s behavior. 

  Walking suggests that we be proactive in our Judaic way of life and encourage others to lift themselves out of their passive and indifference behavior bringing about a greater identity as Jews. 

This is a time to engender change.  It is a time to grow and move forward in Yiddishkeit and to release ourselves from the spiritual stagnation that so many have fallen prey to.

 

THE ONLY TRUE HAPPINESS LIES IN KNOWING WHO WE ARE!

OUR IDENTITY IS OUR MOST VALUABLE POSSESION – LET US PROTECT IT AND BUILD UPON IT!

LIFE IS IN OUR HANDS

   As I was sitting at an Honor Society Awards Ceremony, I realized the feelings of anxiety that the children and parents experience as they anticipate the next step in the educational process.

   It is understandable that anticipation for any new endeavor may bring on feelings of anxiety and these new experiences can be stressful and emotional. 

   As a school psychologist, I often observe that children are expected to perform on a higher level and many are unprepared intellectually as well as emotionally and the pressure to succeed can be very stressful. Often we blame the parents and the teachers.  Though this may be true at times, I am more inclined to think of it as a societal issue.    In our society, we very often compare one child to another and this is totally unfair and uncalled for. When these issues come to the fore and are not addressed properly, there is the possibility that the family becomes fractured as they try to find solutions to these problems.

   With this mind, my interest turns to Pirkey Avot, which we study during the summer months.  I am referring, specifically, to the first Mishna, which states, “Raise up many disciples.” The question I pose, “How do we accomplish this seemingly simple but profound task?” Our aim in life with our children, who indeed are like our disciples, is to inspire them to reach their full measure of potential. “How, you may ask, how do we do this?”

   The answer suggested by the Mishna, is, “By acting as Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai did, when he praised his students by showing them their individual strengths. He guided them to see their specific talents.  Rabban Yochanan would search for their creative abilities, and used them for motivational purposes.”

   To achieve these goals for our children and even for ourselves we need to constantly us Lashon Tov. Good speech lifts people up, and encourages them to focus better, and through our praise they are sustained by their greater faith in themselves.

   Seeing the good in others and, indeed, telling them, as well, is a magnificent way of helping others and specifically our children in their personal growth. When we praise people we are praising Hashem of whom we are created in His Image.

   With patience and understanding, and with encouragement our children will understand that it Takes time to become anything worth becoming.

   How apropos is this thought, as we read the opening sentence of this week’s Parsha of Emor.  Our Torah directs the Kohanim ויאמר ה׳ אל משה אמר אל הכהנים בני אהרן ואמרת  "G-d said to Moshe, speak to the Kohanim and say to them"

   Rashi asks “Why was it necessary to use a double expression “Speak and Say?”  He answers, “Besides telling the Kohanim themselves to observe the following precepts, Moshe instructs the adults that they have an obligation to educate their children in Torah. How cogent is this message for our day and age – a time when our adults are to be encouraged to educate their children in our Halacha and Hashkafa. Our future are our children and grandchildren, we must not disappoint them.  

   As we are in the midst of counting Sefira, a time oriented experience, we will, hopefully, acquire the time, the skill, the wisdom, the patience and the ability to persist through all obstacles in life without giving way to despair and to view life in a healthy and positive way.

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are”.

I don’t go by or change my attitude based on what people say. At the end of day, they, too, are judging me from their perspective. I would rather be myself and let people accept me for what and who I am than be somebody who I am not, just because I want people’s approval.

The greatest gifts we can give our children, are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence and then pray to Hashem that they all find their right Derech, and fulfill their Tafkid in life with Mazal and Bracha.

 

HALEVAI

To the world you may be just one person but to one person you may be the world.

 

   As the news was filtering into our homes of the massive rocket shelling that was taking  place in Southern Israel we turned to our Father in Heaven beseeching Him once again to protect our brothers and sisters in our Holy Land. 

  The world seems to be closing in on our glorious and holy state. As Jews, we are sorrowful that there are many  who are making us feel alien and many are acting with ominous feelings against us.  Jewish history today appears to be in turmoil almost on the verge of being apocalyptic.  One, only has to listen to the news, read a newspaper and you get the feeling very quickly of recurrent hatred for the Jew in our society.  However, in spite of these ill feelings I still maintain an optimistic feeling for being a Jew in these difficult times.  There is sense of great meaning impregnating the life of our modern day Jew. Hashem has great plans for us and will continue to motivate us to pursue the goals of being a ממלכת כוהנים וגוי קדוש. 

   One only has to open his spiritual eyes to see that last week we bemoaned the rockets and the harm that took place, and  to move quickly to celebrate  יום העצמאות, only a few days later. The message is clear. We are to recognize the miracle of the existence of עם ישראל, and more so the miracles of all miracles, to celebrate ישוב ארץ ישראל, returning to our Promised Land.

  My question always is, “Do we take this reality for granted or do we finally conclude that this is the אתחלתא דגאולה, and often that which is cherished is not easily gotten?” 

  I am searching for a word to express my conflicting feelings and the word that jumps out to me is, התגברנו על הכל, we overcame all our enemies and we will do so now as well. 

   Remember, זכור, we crawled out from the burning crematoriums of Europe - we won all our wars - with a little bit of nothing we built an empire and we will never be threatened by the beasts of evil in Gaza, or from any other country. 

   With the help of Hashem, we will continue to celebrate יום העצמאות, vocalizing our credo for all to hear   “התגברנו על הכל “, we shall always overcome our enemies, for we are protected by our  נצח ישראל, and by our gallant and courageous men and women in our Jewish Armed Forces.  

   This idea is strengthened by the  Chasam Sofer on the opening words of this week’s Sedrah of Kedoshim. The Torah states;

    קדושים תהיו, Be Holy, and he reflects on the fact that this was instructed to be read at הקהל, a time when all people were gathered together  The idea is simple - to achieve the ultimate Holiness of the Jewish People, we need to have Hakhel, when all Jews act as one. Even though diversity may be present, all Jews feel as one entity. We are to recognize that we are like one body and whenever a Jew is in pain we all feel the pain and yes, we all feel the joy when every Jew celebrates. 

   These are times for a fulfillment of Hakhel, when all Jews begin to realize that we need to unify and in doing so we will achieve our Yeshuah, and our true Geulah Shlemah.

Happy Birthday Israel, Long Shall You Live.

Our greatest victory is yet to be achieved 

the victory of Unity.

 

    Let me conclude by reflecting upon a song that has truly attracted my attention. The song is called Halevai. 

 

Halevai - If Only.

Halevai, if only we won’t suffer and each man will love his brother.   

 Halevai, if only we will renew our days as in ancient times.

Halevai, if only we will never abandon the path of Hope.

Halevai, if only nation will no longer lift sword against nation.

Permit me to use my literary license, of adding words to this song; 

Halevai, if only we will be blessed with peace, and all Jews will be one, living in brotherhood under the Fatherhood of G-D.

 

      

 Reply  Reply All  Forward

LET US GO FORWARD

   As I reflect upon our society today, I realize more and more that we are to be reminded, constantly, of the need to achieve a definitive perspective to our lives. It is, then that I begin, to realize that life is a mixture for all of us. We are reminded of life’s struggles, hardships, problems and defeats and at the same time we begin to reflect on our blessings, of our accomplishments, our beautiful moments and often our great triumphs. There are times that we move from our lows to our highs.  To maintain our equilibrium it is best that we focus more on our blessings and when doing so we will be able to better ourselves and those around us. 

   We all experienced these feelings during our Seder. When we began to tell the story by restating how our ancestors lived in squalor conditions in Egypt, living lives of subjugation, denying their human rights, and then “Wonder of Miracles” Hashem, in His infinite way, delivered us out of Egypt and we were on our way to the Promised Land.

   Who can deny the pain and anguish we felt at the news that a synagogue in San Diego was terrorized and harm befell our fellow Jews. We offered our prayers of thanksgiving that the fatalities were considerably limited. However, the terror did not stop there, as we read of a most despicable cartoon containing anti- Semitic images that reminded us, once again, of the 1930s. Worse, it took more than a day before the N.Y. Times offered a ‘Pareve Apology.’ Such Nazi like propaganda has us all frightened and one wonders, “Where are we headed in this great country of democracy.”

   Such a mixture of emotions is not strange for the Jews.  We have lived with pain and anguish BUT at the same time we have lived with joy and jubilation.  Life has always been and will continue to be one of hope and optimism for us and for all humanity. These are times when we feel the potential for holiness which results in recognizing our continuous blessings. We beseech the Almighty to eradicate the evil that exists in our world and to remove the anti - Semitic feeling that permeates our society today.

   I refuse to look upon the anguish that life deals us.  I prefer to reiterate our obligation to respond appropriately to our good fortune. The Rav reiterated, “The bestowal of good is always to be viewed as a conditional gift- a gift that must be returned , these gifts of life are temporary gifts. When G-D endows man with the blessings of life, the recipient must learn how to use these precious gifts, how to transform them into fruitful creative forces, how to share his or her joy and prominence with the people around and how to take the Chesed that flows toward them from its infinite, G-Dly source and use it to perform deeds of loving kindness for others.”

   These troubling thoughts bring to mind an interesting insight brought forth from this week’s Sedrah, Acharey, by the Sfas Emes, on the Pasuk, אני ה׳ אלוקיכם. With these words he explains, “The purpose of the Mitzvot is precisely to give us an opportunity to accept Hashem, as our Ruler. With our performance in Mitzvot, we are, in essence, placing a crown on the head of G-D.” He goes on to explain, “What did Nadav and Avihu do wrong? They went off the track, because they did something that Hashem had not commanded.” In other words, their misbehavior lay in their performing a religious act that was not an expression of their subordination to Hashem.

   The lesson to me is clear, “Life as a Jew is not an easy one vis-a-vis the worlds hatred and dislike of the Jew and more so the hatred and dislike of the State of Israel. But not only in spite, but becausethis hatred exists, we need to reinforce and become stronger in our alliance with each other and especially in our dedication and commitment to Torah and the State of Israel. The world may think that with their vindictiveness we will grow weaker, but the truth is it makes us stronger.” As the Sfas Emes explained, “Our continued performance of Mitzvot, are our means to develop and maintain our relationship with G-D.”

As our Torah states; ושמרתם את חוקתי ואת משפטי אשר יעשה אתם האדם וחי בהם,” You shall observe My decrees and My laws, which man shall carry out and by which he shall live”. The Sfas Emes, understands the phrase, וחי בהם, to mean, “He shall give life”, rather than “He shall live”. There is a phenomenal lesson in this new understanding, for now the sentence is telling us that by intensifying ourperformance of Mitzvot we give Chiyus , We Give Life. We give more meaning to Judaism and bring more Joy endowing us with a greater sense for our existence, ultimately bringing Blessing to us and to the entire world.

 

Our perspective on life at this crucial time for the Jewish people can be summed up with the following words which will bring us great hope and optimism “Let us go forward.”  As Mimi once said to me “Let us hold on to the wonderful memories and let us look forward to spring -let us look forward to the flowers in bloom – let us look forward to the trees with the beautiful leaves – let us look forward to a world of glory, blessing and let us look forward to the time when

עושה שלום במרומיו הוא יעשה שלום עלינו ועל כל ישראל

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