ENLIGHTENMENT

"The moment of enlightenment is when a person's dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities."

   Let us keep this in mind as we discuss the two Parshiot Yisro and Mishpatim that express our feelings of belief and faith. These Parshiot represent the essence of Judaism. For me, they can be considered our Judaic Constitution. 

    Parshat Yisro relates that great spiritual moment for the Jewish People as they stood at Har Sinai and heard the majestic Ten Commandments proclaimed by Hashem amidst thunder and lightening. They were so overwhelmed by the experience , that even before hearing the Ten Commandments they shouted out together Naaseh Venishma, "We shall do and we shall hearken". In this weeks Parsha, Mishpatim, which discusses the Mitzvos of בין אדם וחברו, between man and his fellow man, we heard the great response, once again, "We shall do and we shall hearken".  

    This response from B'nai Yisroel always amazes me.  We live in a time where before we even entertain to act we want to know what and why we are obligated to do so.  However, reading these two Parshiot we see, once again, the great faith and submissiveness of the Jewish People to G-D which brought about this superior  response . In fact, Chazal tell us that even Hashem was overwhelmed and asked "Who revealed to My children this secret which only the ministering angels know of?"

   The importance of this response suggests that man is not the center of all things, but rather G-D is the all important motivator in our lives. The law of G-D which we submit to humbly, has been and continues to be our way of life. When things occur , which in our intellectual way, we may not comprehend at that moment, our faith and belief in Hashem's  supremacy encourages us to fulfill His will which then becomes our will.

  Yes, we want to understand the will of G-D and the whys and wherefores of the Mitzvos.  However, this lack of knowledge must not deter us from fulfilling the directives of the Torah and to continue to be motivated in our studies which eventually will lead us to greater understanding of the will of Hashem. 

     I am reminded of an Anecdote that I included in one of my writings;

John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, was elevated to the Dukedom by Queen Anne and many of the old established nobility did not welcome this newcomer, because of his humble parentage. On one occasion a member of the old aristocracy said to him mockingly "Tell me whose descendant are you?" To which Churchill replied "Sir I am not a descendant, I am an ancestor".

  As Jews we are truly proud and blessed that we are descendants of a worthy and great  and glorious and noble  past , but we dare not fall into the trap of resting upon  the laurels and accomplishments  of the past , how magnificent and important it was. When it comes to the practice of our Torah we need to reaffirm נעשה ונשמה, in our study and practice of Torah, so that we become its "ancestors",and thereby bringing Torah oriented Judaism into the 21st. Century in a glorious way.

  The Rav said, "The most amazing thing about the Exodus , far greater than the signs and the wonders, is the transformation that occurred to the nation as they accepted the obligation to observe the Torah."

  The political world is upset with our Prime Minister Netanyahu for his willingness to address the congress. Why are so many upset, I ask myself. The answer that seems to swell up in my mind is,  because he comes to tell the world that Israel cannot and must not be jeopardized  by Iran's threat  to wipe out the State of Israel. The problem is  that no one really understands the threat like Israel does and they must do everything possible to protect the citizens of our Holy State.We are living in a demoralized society when a young pilot is burned alive in front of the world. Though we are disturbed by such happenings, we move into our daily activities not realizing how such criminal acts are destroying the fabric of  our humanity. We are living in times of crisis and we must act, whatever way possible,to be a guiding light of spirituality and humanity for a world that has become complacent to the evil that exists.

  Our aim is to bring back the Sinai of the past and the laws of humanity that is espoused in our Parsha of Mishpatim, to insure the future of a sane and humane world.

   The Jews are descendants of the past , but we want to be the ancestors of the future and we  cannot do so if there is a threat to our future.

   When the Jews angelically said Naaseh Venishma, revealing their love and loyalty to Torah and to it's dictates under all circumstances, those words must now become our call today to world  Jewry, for our survival and for the future of our children and grandchildren.

   The danger of our civilization today is that most of the world is satisfied with simplistic solutions to difficult problems . We want quick solutions and quick answers and this is not the way to bring about a better world . We need more than ever the words of our Prophet Micah.

הגיד לך אדם מה טוב ומה הי דורש ממך כי אם עשות משפט ואהבת חסד והצנע לכת  עם אלוקיך.

" That you do justice , that you have mercy and that you walk humbly with your G-D."

   I sense from these magnificent words of our Navi, that  if we practice justice and if we act with mercy to one another , then the reward will be the Blessing of having the Z'chut to walk with G-D and then we will merit that G-D will always walk with us. 

  May our lives merit this great and needed Bracha.

GUARDIANS

" Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life"

   A metaphor comes to mind as we assess our state of today's society;

   Man is like a bird. A bird can fly higher and higher, but only if it keeps it's wings in motion constantly. If it stops flying for a moment, it will fall and crash to the earth. The same is true of man, he must continue to move forward and grow spiritually, or else he may fall to the ground.

   Our Parsha this Shabbat is Yisro,  when we read the most dramatic and inspirational document ofthe entire Torah , the Aseres Hadibros, the Ten Commandments, given to the Jewish People amidst divine revelation. At this great historic event בני ישראל  responded, even before the actual commandments were given, נעשה ונשמע "We will do and we will listen."

    Then our Torah relates how the Jewish  People gathered around Mt. Sinai to hear the words of G-D as He gave them the Ten Commandments. The Torah describes this great moment in Jewish History, ויהי קולות וברקים, they heard "thundering and lightening"

and ויחרד כל העם אשר במחנה, "they became frightened by the experience" and ויעמד העם מרחוק "they stood at a distance from the mountain." Our Sages teach us that the Jewish People backed away from Mt. Sinai. They were frightened of the responsibility of being the bearers of the Ten Commandments. They stepped back, not wanting to accept the commandments as they felt it was too burdensome

   Moshe seeing their reaction, as they stepped back and away from the mountain, felt he needed to inspire them and to remove their fears.     The Torah states ומשה נגש אל הערפל

"And Moshe rushed toward the flames that engulfed the mountain and caught a glimpse of G-D."

  Moshe was teaching the people an important lesson in Yahadut; 

If one wants to achieve the optimum bonum of Judaism then one must penetrate into the essence of Judaism and not move away from accepting responsibility for a Judaic way of life. 

  This is why we are the ממלכת וגוי קדוש , for we are ready נעשה ונשמה, to accept the Mitzvot of the Torah unequivocally.  We do so with great confidence that what ever Hashem gives us, is for our benefit, and for our betterment.

  Judaism requires that we constantly flap our wings of Yiddishkeit and to have the courage to step into the ערפל of Jewish Life by accepting our responsibility as Jews and to pass on this strong commitment to Torah and Mitzvot to the next generation, with the same התלהבות. 

    I am writing this blog on טו בשבט , on the day we celebrate Jewish Arbor  Day, the time we commemorate The New Year for Trees. I would like to share the following Talmudic story;

    A Rabbi passed a man planting a carob tree."How long, he asked, will it take for the tree to bear fruit?"

  "Seventy years," the man replied.

   "Are you sure, asked the Rabbi , that you will be here in seventy years?"

    "No, replied the man, but just as I found carob trees in the world, planted by my grandparents, so I am planting this for my grandchildren."

   We are the guardians of the past for the sake of our future.

  This lesson of dedication to all that is Jewish is crucial to our existence and at all times we must remember  כי הם חיינו וארך ימינו, 

"For they are our life, and the length of our days"

  

DESTINY

    It is said "We may not be able to control the wind , but we can adjust the sails."

   We need to approach every task as though it were the moment that will define us.

   Many feel inundated and overcome by feelings of despair at the sad state of worldly affairs. How apropos is the story of a desperate man who approaches his Rav and tells him his situation is enough to make a person loose his religion. After reflecting on this statement the Rabbi responds, "On the  contrary, it is enough to make a person use his religion."

   It is with this thought that I encourage you to study with me this weeks Parsha, B'shalach.

    Let us reflect on the scene when Pharoah is in hot pursuit of the the Jewish People who are trying to escape from his army. As they continue to run for their lives, they find themselves facing the swirling waters of the Red Sea and they cry out in desperation to Hashem for his salvation. 

   Moshe tells the People  אל תיראו התיצבו וראו את ישועת הי

    "Do not fear, stand fast and see the salvation of Hashem."

 Hearing these words from Moshe, I can readily see the Jewish people feeling more relaxed, knowing that Hashem will take care of the situation and they need not worry. 

     Then I am mystified by what happens next.

 Moshe cries out to Hashem and prays fervently to G-D.

 Hashem with some indignation  says to Moshe מה תצעק אלי, "Why are you crying out to me and why are you indulging now in prayer. Now is not the time for prayer.דבר אל  בני ישראל ויסעו, tell the people to go forward."

 One wonders what is happening here? Only a sentence before they were told not to worry and G-D will save them and now Hashem says to them "Stop praying, act , do something, don't wait for Me. You need to take your destiny into your own hands." It is then that we read how  Nachshon jumped into the Red Sea and the waters split and the Jewish People walked through on dry land.

   The lesson is quite simple. We are to pray to Hashem for His guidance and His help, but at all times we must take the iniative and take responsibility for our own well being.

 In other words "G-D helps those who help themselves."

  Nachshon knew well that this is the Judaic way of life.While everyone was standing on the shore complaining and crying in desperation, Nachshon jumped forward and plunged into the waters. His action showed his true faith in the salvation of G-D  and he knew well that Hashem will  only intervene if he acts and takes his destiny into his own hands. Because of his action the Jewish People were saved.

  Our lives are indeed in our own hands. Too often we wait for others to act for us rather than taking hold of our own destiny and follow through to achieve our glorious future in life.

   Let us realize that responsibility rests with us alone, and we alone are accountable for our actions.

   Our lives can be successful if we use our G-D given talents and blessings and not wait of someone else to act on our behalf.

  We must become like the Nachshon of old. When faced with the challenges of life we need to summon our creative powers and 

take  decisive actions to make our lives more meaningful.

   We are truly the Captains  of our ship of destiny.

    When we do so, then and only then will be able to sing a song to The Lord and bring blessing to mankind.

                          זה קלי ואנוהו      This is my G-D and I shall glorify Him

THE SUCCESS EQUATION

  Louis Pasteur wrote; "When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments: tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become."

   Truth  be told, the most important part of our lives are our children and our grandchildren.

    In 1936 there was a Peel Commission that suggested a partition plan for Palestine. David Ben Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel at the time, asked a respected colleague ,Yitzchak Tabenkin, for his opinion. Tabenkin told the Prime Minister that before he gave his answer he would need to consult with two people with whom he always spoke before making difficult decisions for the Jewish People. "Who are these two people?", Ben Gurion asked. Tabenkin replied, "My grandfather who is no longer here with us and my grandson who is yet to be born."

    Judaism always makes decisions that reflect past experiences and are determined by its affect on future generations.

     Our Torah reading this Shabbat ,Parshat Bo, relates a discussion between Moshe and Pharoah after Hashem inflicted the seven plagues upon the Egyptians. Moshe requests from Pharoah " Send out our people that they may serve Hashem their G-D.

   Pharoah seemed ready to make some concessions. He tells Moshe;

                         " Go and worship your G-D "       לכו עבדו את הי אלוקיכם

Pharoah continues and asks, "Who will go with you?"

To which Moshe replies, " בנערינו ובזקנינו נלך בבנינו ובבנותינו. כי חג להי לנו"

"We all must go," says Moshe, "Our young and our old. We will go,together, to serve our G-D."

    Here we have the essence of Judaism.  Our lives are intertwined with our young, as our young are intertwined with the older segment of our population.

   Our youth is our future and our adult world is our glorious past. We can only succeed as a nation if we merge the past and the future together.

   Yes my friends , these are difficult times for the Jewish people, in particular, and for the State of Israel in general and only if we walk , 

                                                   בנערינו ובזקנינו 

   Walk in unity with our children and granchlidren can we succeed and and bring about our true גאולה שלמה.

JE SUIS CHARLIE

      Why O'Lord do we suffer so much at the hands of our enemies? Indeed this is the  rhetorical  question , that I am sure so many of us are asking, especially those innocent Jews in the kosher market in Paris. How pathetic those images were as they were shopping for there Shabbat needs, as so many of us do week in and week out.  This time, the hatred and evil sprung it's ugly head once again, as Jews have experienced for so many years.

   It is true that I sound like I  am overwhelmed as the victim of our society , and this may be true , but I need to stop thinking of ourselves as the people who dwell alone, for this will not help in finding the Nechamah that we all need at this time. Rather we are to see Judaism as a way of life and as a faith  that espouses our religion, as the voice of hope in the condescension of humankind. In face of these tragedies, we must respond with greater feelings of hope and confidence in mankind , that most people down deep in their inner souls are good and that these radicals must not be permitted to speak for humanity.

   Let us search for the positives in life and in doing so we will show the world how to act in times of disaster.

    Our Torah portion this Shabbat speaks of how G-D relates to Moshe in respect to dealing with Pharoah.

   ויחזק לב פרעה.  And the heart of Pharoah was hardened

One wonders , how Hashem takes away the free will of a person  and causes him to act in a certain way.

  The Rambam in his introduction to Avot states,"that there are times in a persons life when the offence is so grave that he is penalized by not being granted the opportunity to turn from his wickedness , so that he dies with the sin that he committed."

    In a like manner, Pharoah sinned greatly on his behalf and through his own free will. G-D did not force Pharoah to do evil to the Jewish People , but rather he sinned on his own accord whereby he forfeited his right to repent.

    There have been many people in history who, like Pharoah, acted with such evil that they are truly the incarnate of evil and deserve no opportunity to repent or to be forgiven.

     Such, are those that murder indiscriminately and who speak of doing so in the name of their religion.  They do not deserve to be shown any mercy and even more so are to be treated like the ferocious and wild animals that they represent.

   The Rav, Rav Solveitchik זצ׳ל , reflects on the description of Pharoah ויכבד לבו

    There was no sensitivity at all to Pharoah's action.  He  didn't care, he didn't even want to apologize  to himself. When the heart is insensitive , there is no Bechirah. When a person forfeits his very moral sensitivity, he looses the Koach Hateshuvah, for when there is no moral sensitivity there is no Bechirah. 

     This reminds me of the story of a frog and a scorpion meeting by a river. When the scorpion asks to ride across the river on the frog's back, the frog demurs,"If I take you on my back, you will sting me and your sting is fatal."  The scorpion responds with a plausible argument:"where is the logic in that? If I sting you, we will both go down."

   The frog, a logical creature, agrees to transport the scorpion. No sooner then they reach the middle of the river than the frog feels a deadly sting in his back. "Where is the logic in this?" croaks the dying frog as he begins to sink below the surface. "This is my character", replies the doomed scorpion, and there is no logic to character.

    The world needs to realize that this is tha character of these fanatics. Nothing will stop them from continuing there bloody thirst of destruction, short of going on the offensive and removing their prescence before they act again.

     Hashem took care of business with Pharoah, and it is time that all democratic loving countries unite under the banner of freedom by removing all vestige of such evil incarnate.

     We have the wherewithal and now is the time for action.  We dare not wait for another tragedy.

May Hashem protects us all and may He extend nechamah to all the bereaved families and  

הי יברך את עמו בשלום.

THE BURNING BUSH

As I pen this blog for Parshas Shemos, I remember, well, my beloved and adored mother ע״ה , whose yarzeit we observe this Shabbat. Our Mother  ריבה בת יחיאל was truly an אשת חיל who was and continues to be remembered by our entire family and is our inspiration for all that is good in this world. May her life be emulated by her family.  זכרונה לברכה.

This weeks Sedrah introduces us to Moshe and his election as our שליח הי and how Hashem chose him as the redeemer of the Jewish People. As I peruse this Sedrah, my mind and heart are tuned to a most fascinating episode in the life of Moshe, the moment that he was introduced to Hashem at the burning bush.

The Torah describes it in this fashion;
  וירא מלאך הי אליו בלבת אש מתוך הסנה וירא והנה הסנה בער באש והסנה איננו אכל. 
"An Angel of Hashem appeared to Moshe in a blaze of fire from amidst the bush. He saw and behold the bush was burning in the fire but the bush was not consumed".

Moshe approaches the bush to see why  the entire bush is not burning?

The Rav , Rabbi Soloveitchik זצ׳ל   analyzes this phenomenon.  The Rav says: שהאש היתה באמצעו ובלבו של הסנה - "The fire was in the middle, in the heart of the bush, but not בחוץ, not on the outside of the bush. The peripheral part of the bush appeared as any other bush.

This caused Moshe to wonder; why didn't the inner fire spread to the outer part of the bush? Not only was Moshe perplexed regarding the burning bush he was also questioning whether the Jewish people deserve to be redeemed.

In response to his questions the Rav explained that Hashem was telling Moshe to look at the סנה, "You are looking at the חיצוניות, the outer layer of בני ישראל, the peripheral part of the people." Often, when one looks at the outer veneer of someone it may seem that they are not deserving of redemption.  However, you really need to look into the inner, the פנימיות of a Jew, for every Jew has that inner Yiddishe  Neshama , that special לבת אש, that special inner quality, that always remains pure and can never become soiled in any way.

It is only Hashem that can see this special fire that burns in the the soul of every Jew. In this way, Hashem showed Moshe that, indeed, the Jewish People truly deserve their redemption. 

There are times we may look at a Jew and their outer actions are inappropriate, but know well that the Pintila Yid, dwells within them and this inner core of the Jewish Neshama is the Z'chut that every Jew is worthy to be redeemed.

Too often we are quick to judge others, primarily, by what we see on the outside, but like the סנה, we need to look deeper into the פנימיות of that individual and when doing so we will see the goodness, and the attributes that they really possess.

Seek deeper into the inner core of people before you prejudge them and you will realize that they are living בצלם אלוקים.

There is a Chazal that says, "In the future, the Mashiach will have the ability to bring back all the Jews into the fold." The reason he will be able to accomplish this is his special ability and middah to judge every Jew favorably. With such an approach  we will have the Z'chut that every Jew will reconnect with Hashem and then the ultimate Geulah will be realized.

May it come quickly in our time.


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LEGACY OF JACOB

 

The quote "Man proposes and G-D disposes" has great meaning.

 

  Nobody in this world can justly claim that he has the power to shape the destiny of others. As a matter of fact, one cannot say, unequivocally, that by his own plans and prowess he can, absolutely, determine his own future. We can try to do what we can.  There is no guarantee of our actions. But try, we must, for that is the calling of mankind. 

 This weeks Torah reading, Vayeche, relates that when Jacob meets with his long lost son Joseph, and is introduced to his sons  Efrayim and Menashe for the first time, he questions their identity and asks Joseph, "מי אלה," "Who are these youngsters?"kk

 

  I sense that Jacob really knew who the children were and surely did not question their identity.  What I he really wanted to ascertain was what type of children they are.  Are they a Blessing to the family?  After all, they were brought up in a strange country, with foreign ideas and beliefs. Jacob was afraid that they became so assimilated that they lost all their identity as בני יעקב ובני ישראל.  That is what he was questioning.

 

  Jacob's use of the phrase  מי אלה was significant, for these words together form the word אלקים, reflecting upon Hashem as our G-D, as our Judge, as our Creator, and the One who Guides our destiny. Jacob wanted assurance that his grandsons possessed this feeling of G-Dliness before he bestowed his blessings upon them.

   Joseph replies, "They are my sons,  אשר נתן לי אלוקים, whom G-D has given me. They have maintained their family identity.  Fear not Father Jacob, they are your children."

   These are critical times for  עם ישראל and ארץ ישראל and just as Jacob was worried about his grandchildren and the affect that the Galut had upon them, we, in a like  sense, must make sure, with all our energies and resources, to see that our children receive the best Torah education, and are nurtured with love and understanding to carry the banner od Judaism, proudly, into the next generation.

Santayana wrote in "The last Puritan”; "Modern man is an adventure. He is lured much more by what he expects to find rather by what he has already found".

 As Jews, my mind is focused on the statement by רבי עקיבה
                                   הכל צפוי והרשות  נתונה
"All is foreseen, yet freedom of choice is granted"

This idea seems to imply that although all of man's findings and discoveries are known to Hashem, they remain unknown to man, so that he will be free to be moved by his curiosity to achieve greater heights in his Jewish life.

This was Jacob's concern as his days were numbered. He wanted to know that his children and grandchildren will continue to climb the mountain of Torah wherever they will dwell. He wanted to be assured that they will live in the Derech of Torah, to carry on his legacy.

Jacob was able to bless his children knowing that they were together and will carry on proudly his way of life to succeed in all life’s adventures.  Father Jacob went to Olam Ha’emet with a heart full of love and hope for all generations to come.

 

We need to remember that תתן אמת ליעקב, that Father Jacob stands for absolute truth, a truth that bespeaks and reflects that Hashem dwells in our midst and we are always a part of Him as He is always a part of our lives. It matters not where we dwell, it only matters that Hashem dwells within all of us.