THE HAND OF HASHEM

  This past week I was traveling  down Broadway in Woodmere.  The traffic was horrendous and in my impatience to get to my destination I was wondering, "Why so much traffic?"

   The answer came very quickly as I saw a number of buses with many anxious parents milling around and waiting for their children returning from camp. 

   As they alighted from the buses running into the open arms of their parents I experienced the magnificent Blessings of life that centers around family.

   In this  week's Sedrah Ekev, we read the second paragraph of Kriat Shmah. The one statement that always stands out in my mind, which can be described as the essence of Jewish Family Life is

                                    ולמדתם אתם את בניכם לדבר בם..

Teach them to your children , even when you are home and when you travel  

   

    This, indeed, is our tremendous obligation, and, even more so, our greatest pleasure that will bring our most profound sense of Nachas.

   I remember well, when the Rav spoke of the beauty of 

G-D, which is experienced as Holiness, as something which transcends everything comprehensible and speakable, that makes one expierence the ultimate bliss. 

    Hashem is both remote and yet so near, awesome and lovely, fascinating and daunting, majestic and tender, comforting and frightening, familiar and alien, beyond of creation and it's very essence. 

   Then the Rav went on to speak glowingly about his family. He said, "Of all I learned from my Mother was that Judaism expresses itself not only in formal compliance with the law but also in the living . She taught me that there is a flavor, a scent and warmth to Mitzvot. I learned from her the most important thing in life - to feel the presence of  the Almighty and the gentle pressure of His hand upon my frail shoulders."

   What a magnificent testimony to parents and,  specifically, to a mothers influence in our lives. That is the pride I witnessed as those youngsters alighted from the bus into the arms of loving and dedicated parents and grandparents. 

   This is the fulfillment of the dictum 

ולמדתם את בניכם.

    As our children prepare to return to school, for the new year, let us embrace this great opportunity of teaching them the values of life in a loving and caring way and someday they will also realize and feel the hand of Hashem on their shoulders.

   שבת שלום 

BUMPER STICKERS

   Traveling the highways and the byways of our state I enjoy reading the many bumper stickers that pass my way. Many that I read  reflect the success of children in school or sports and many are just statements that express that the occupants of the car are just happy to be alive. Beyond the sports  or political bumper stickers, there are many religious bumper stickers. As I was driving I began to think of some slogans that I would attach to the bumper of my car.

   My first reaction was " Love  G-D and Express That Love Through the Performance of Good Deeds". 

  This expression, I believe, reflects the Ten  Commandments which we will read in this week's Parsha of Va'eschanan. 

  It is well to realize that Jewish philosophy emphasizes that just expressing our love for 

Hashem, ואהבת את הי אלוקיך which is the essence of Judaism demands much more  of us. Judaism demands that we take our feelings of love for G-D and concretize them through the performance of the Mitzvos. Our Torah asks that we live our lives based upon a disciplined religious commitment.  

    Understandably, what Yahadus is searching for is living Judaism in its totality. To do so we must continuously express our profound love for Hashem, encouraging us to a greater fulfillment of Mitzvot. For this to have a lasting affect upon us we need to do so with greater  passion. 

    We are acting as Jews but too often our performances are so rote it does not seem to have a lasting affect upon us. 

  Doing more is not the answer. Rather how we perform, what are our motivations, what are our thoughts,and how does it affect our way of life, is the criteria.

   Life seems to be in a turmoil for  different reasons. We must see this time in our lives as the most propitious hour to bring a greater sense of civility and humanitarianism to our very confused world.

   To begin with, our  Ten Commandments must, once again, be the hallmark for humanity.  We as Jews must become the אור לגויים. To achieve this goal we are to combine our אהבת השם with our אהבת הבריות, and infuse our relationships with a greater passion to act as "Menchen"  in all our 

dealings with one another.

  The Rav interprets the first words of the Decalogue  אנכי הי אלוקיך , as G-D describing Himself as 'the G-D who redeemed the Jewish  People in the past and will be the G-D that will redeem the Jewish  People and Humanity in the future.    ברוך אתה הי גאל ישראל. 

    Let us be  deserving  of our redemption by a greater adherence to our Torah way of life. 

   So now look and read my bumper sticker, 

     "Redemption is the way of Torah"

                        לא המדרש עיקר אלא המעשה

Shabbat Shalom and may this שבת נחמו be a true sense of Nechamah for כלל ישראל. 

בנים גדלתי

  There is a great sense of solemnity surrounding our observances during these nine days, culminating with our deep expression of mourning for our Churban Hamikdash on Tisha B'av. Many repeatedly ask me, "Why is it necessary to observe Tisha B'av in such a mournful way, when thank G-D we are blessed with our glorious Jewish state of Israel?"

  The question has much merit, but we must realize that the Jews are people that "remembers", and are always cognizant that our present and surely our future is greatly dependent upon our profound זכרון of the past. 

  I sense that if we mourn the destruction of our Mikdash, we will learn how to rejoice for all of our present Blessings. 

   These are times that we need not only focus on our own special needs , but more so to focus outward on the needs of others.

   I hear the words of Billam, that are so true today, as they were yesteryear, "הן עם לבדד ישכן, we are a nation that dwells alone." Realizing this truism, makes greater demands upon us to be aware of our responsibilities as a K'lal.

    Our Navi Yeshayah bemoans the tragedy of the Churban  but in a dialectic sense he is also the great 

espouser of Nechamah for the Jewish People. 

   In fact, the Abarbanel states that the  sefer Yeshayah has the most prophecies of comfort and of the future redemption. He says that the name ישעיה is taken from the word  ישועה, salvation, for Yeshayah prophesied about our future salvation.

    As I read Yeshayah, I begin to realize that his prophecies had a very important goal - to bring man to his ultimate purpose and potential.

  This was evident when He stated in his vision, 

           בנים גדלתי ורוממתי והם פשעו בי

" Children I have reared and brought up and they have rebelled against me."

  Yeshayah is bemoaning and expressing remorse that 

G-D'S children have turned against Him. To achieve the true salvation, he is encouraging, עם ישראל to once again turn towards Hashem in Teshuvah. To once again become the true and loyal children of Hashem. 

    This is what the vision of Yeshayah is all about. A vision that expresses itself as a directive -  for the people, to achieve their  great  potential they must once again become the true and loyal בנים להי. 

    Though it is obvious that the Navi is referring to the 

G-D /Man  relationship, is it possible that when he says בנים

 גדלתי he is  also referring to the Parent-Child relationship?

     I am observing more and more that parents are busy in so many ways , especially in their financial needs. Though it is understandable why they are doing so,  the result is,very often, children are the forgotten ones in the process.  This is not a condemnation of parenthood, it is only an observation that will encourage all of us to be more attentive to our children, and even more so to try to give our children more of our time and to try to arrange time to sit and study with them and yes, even to play with them.  Children need attention, and for them, their greatest desire is to receive the attention of their parents  and grandparents. 

     Chazal says: לא חרבה ירושלים אלא בשביל שביטלו בה תנוקות של בית רבן, " Jerusalem was destroyed for no other reason that they neglected the education of school children". 

   Our children are our "bejeweled crowns" and our future, and as we cherish them, and I am sure we do, let us put our priorities into focus and arrange more time to their needs.  In doing we can say that בנים גדלתי and they are our glowing future. 

   With this in mind, we will turn our Avelus of Tisha B'av into a Yom Shel Simcha, for remember it was on Tisha B'av that our Mashiach was born.

  Have an easy and meaningful fast. 

REACHING THE SUMMIT

  There is a very interesting Medrash that relates that on the way down from Mt. Moriah, Yitzchak said to his father Avraham, "It seems that Hashem asks much of us, perhaps too much for some to fulfill."Avraham softly replied, "True my son, Hashem's commands are ever like the mountain peak above us. Not all may reach its summit as we have just done, but all must keep climbing and reaching up as long as life is granted to us. We may never be perfect but our goals shall be". 

   I pose the following questions; "What are our goals in life? Are they attainable? Are they inspiring? Are they ones that will make life more meaningful? Do they possess values that will be transmitted to future generations in a positive and constructive fashion?"

   Such questions must never go unanswered if we are to progress to a higher form of humanity and to a more productive and vibrant Judaic way of life. 

     With this idea, in mind, it is well to visit this week's Torah reading of Matos, where we hear the request of שבט גד וראובן to Moshe.  "We have much cattle and the land on the east bank of the Jordan, is perfect for grazing.  Permit us therefore, to remain on this side of the Jordan rather than to travel and reside in the land of Canaan". Moshe's response was very critical saying to them, האחיכם יבאו למלחמה ואתם תשבו פה. "How can you let your brethren go to war  and you sit in comfort and not help them fight their battles?" 

    Their  response was,  "You are right and we shall go forth with you into battle and after we succeed we will return to this land to build pens for our livestock and they added וערים לטפנו, and cities for our children."

    Moshe was upset with their reply and changed the order of priorities and placed the emphasis on building cities for family and children and then buildimg pens for livestock. 

   Moshe was teaching them and future generations about our Judaic priorities and the true goals in life. Of course we need to be financially secure, but our priorities are our family and our children. They are our future, they are our essence, they are our main concern.

  As mentioned previously, 'Life is compared to climbing a mountain and we must always focus on the peaks so that we can reach the summit.' As Jews our summit is family and living a life that is replete with Torah, morals and ethics. 

    During these nine days of mourning, reflecting upon the destruction of our Holy Temple,  it is well to remember that it was all due to our שנאת חנם, and to bring a Tikun for this sinful behavior, we must strive to achieve greater אהבת חנם. 

    May our goals be reached and may we have the זכות to see the ביאת גואל צדק.

שבת שלום ונחמת ציון.

PEACE NOT VIOLENCE

   This week's Torah reading, Parshas Pinchas, speaks of the personality of Pinchas. As we study the incident surrounding him we can gain an important lesson in our own personal lives. 

  In studying behavior, let me remind you of a very interesting idea in the machinations of worldly affairs;

   It is a known fact that for every action there is a reaction. Even the most minute movement creates some sort of reaction. When a butterfly flaps its wings, the wind it creates is released into the environment and develops a life of its own. It moves and continues to develop until a century or a millennium later it can develop into a storm, a tornado or a hurricane. Nothing ever gets lost.

  If this be true for a small butterfly, how much more so will the actions of man have a tremendous affect on society for years to come.

    With this idea in mind let us study the behavior of Pinchas and how his actions continue to influence us even today. We will learn from Pinchas that  we must never relegate our actions as inconsequential, for they do have tremendous impact upon all of us.

  Let us, for a moment, refresh our memories about the facts of the story of Pinchas. The Torah relates that the Jewish People were seduced into participating in pagan orgies by the Moabite women. As a result, the anger of Hashem was aroused against them and a plague broke out that took many lives. Seeing what was taking place, Pinchas jumped into action and took his sword and went into the midst of the camp and killed Zimri an Israelite and  Kazbe the Moabite woman  who were in the center of the orgy. As a result of his actions, the Torah states, "The anger of Hashem was calmed and the plague came to an end."

   Hashem, in turn, rewarded Pinchas, הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום, with the covenant of peace. Wouldn't you agree that this was a strange reward for such an action?

   There are many commentaries that answer this question wondering, "When is violence permitted and when should violence be condemned even when the reason to act in a violent way seems  reasonable and even necessary?" This is an issue that many struggle with especially in the State of Israel.

  I would like to share with you a brilliant insight given to us by the Netzsiv in his Haamek Davar regarding this unique reward given to Pinchas. The Netzsiv says that Hashem had to Bless Pinchas with this covenant of peace so that he would be protected against "himself". The Netzsiv is indeed giving us a lesson in behavioral psychology by stating, "When a man kills, whatever the cause may warrant, he is never the same person he was before the action. That is why Hashem gave Pinchas the reward of   ברית שלום, encouraging him to find peace within "himself", and that he should  continue to live a life that is replete with רחמים וחיים ושלום. 

         I remember the words of Golda Meir, "I will never forgive the Arabs for making our young men and women into killers". 

     Killing of any sort changes the entire personality of man. Too often, one may even get used to it and one may even become hardened and casual about it and may even do it again without trepidation and anxiety.  This must never happen to anyone , especially to the Jewish People who must live lives of rachamim and kindness.

   This is our lesson of life. 

   'Remember, with every action, there is a reaction.' Let us always be cognizant and vigilant in how we act to others and realize that we are a nation of רחמנות.  When relating to  others let us always remember to beseech Hashem to bestow his ברית שלום upon  כלל ישראל.

May we ultimately reach the vision of a better day for all mankind.

LOOK HEAVENWARD

   Pokemon Go has taken hold of our society, however for me my Pokemon is different than all others.

  It is true that Pokemon is in a search to find certain characters , and I am equally in search.  However, my characters represent goodness and kindness. My search is for a better society and a much more loving relationship between people.

   So let the game begin......

Let us begin our search and in doing so let us inform each other where to look and find our Pokemon of Jewish Life. 

    This week's Parsha relates how בני ישראל , rebelled against Hashem and how they were punished by being bitten by fiery serpents. The Torah, then, continues to tell us how בני ישראל, called unto  Hashem to stop the plague. Here we find a most interesting and somewhat perplexing response by G-d regarding the remedy for the plague.

  Hashem instructs Moshe: עשה לך שרף ושים אותו על הנס, "And  Hashem instructs Moshe to make and form a copper serpent to which וראה אותו וחי, "The Jewish People will gaze upon it and then they will be cured and live."

    One wonders about such a cure and in fact Chazal ask the obvious question, which I am sure is on all of our minds. וכי נחש ממית או מחיה, "Can a mere gazing at a copper serpent heal?" Is this some type of voodoo or magic?

    Our Sages answer, בזמן שישראל מסתכלים כלפי מעלה ומשבדין את לבם לאביהם שבשמים מתרפאים,"When the Jewish People looked heavenward and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven they were cured and they lived". 

    From this episode we learn a meaningful lesson as our world is experiencing much hatred and violence. We need to build that symbolical copper serpent to direct our hearts and our minds heavenward towards our Father in Heaven and beseech His help and guidance that will lead us out of this turmoil that engulfs all of humanity.  

   These are times we must utter the prayer that begins with, אבינו שבשמים צור ישראל וגואלו. For only through  greater dedication and commitment to Torah and to  יראת שמים, can mankind survive and blossom into a true צלם אלוקים. 

     Dag Hammarskjold, who was  the Secretary General of the United States, wrote, " Life demands from you, only the strength you possess, only one feat is possible, not to have run away".

     We face life with the Knowledge that our Father in Heaven will continue to guide us as long as we will continue to look Heavenward. 

                                                                                                           

                                                               

בקש שלום

  How one approaches something may very well determine the success or failure of the mission. 

  This reminds me of an amusing story that I would like to share with you - A little girl was standing by the elevator in a department store crying and the security guard asked her what was the problem; “Are you lost?” “No”, she replied between sobs, “I am here, but my mother is lost.”

    Too often in life we feel lost and find it very difficult to find our true self.

   This Shabbat we will read the infamous story of Korach, a man responsible for destroying the harmony among the Jewish people. He was lost in his own narcissistic needs, self-centered, mean spirited and not afraid to propel his personal agenda at the expense of the unity of Am Yisrael.

  He tried to accomplish his hateful scheme by openly and vehemently disagreeing with Moshe and made libel accusations against him in public. And for this he was punished severely. Why was Korach was punished merely for disagreeing with Moshe?

    The Magid of Meszrich, saw this opposition as a compliment, for he says, in an analogous way, ‘that a robber will only attack a person who is carrying jewels, but will never waste his time and effort on someone who is carrying straw.’

      In a like manner Korach attacks Moshe, for he represents the Jewels of Judaism. I don’t see the harm in disagreeing with someone as long as that disagreement fulfills the dictum which is stated in Pirkey Avos;  כל מחלוקת שהיא לשם שמים סופה להתקים

    “A controversy which is for the sake of heaven in the end will endure”.  Korach’s controversy was merely to argue and to be divisive and to create disruption, not for the purpose of finding the truth and surely not for the betterment of K’llal Yisrael. Our aim in life is  סופה להתקים that the end result is to achieve a glorious future for the Jewish People and not  to cause confusion and dissention. 

    In fact, Moshe tried, desperately, to appease Korach and to bring him to the negotiating table.  Korach’s response to Moshe’s overture was       לא נעלה  “We will not go up. We will not talk to you, because we have nothing to say to you. We are right and you are wrong and therefore we will not even entertain a visit with you.” 

   These words   לא נעלה   are the most disastrous words when it comes to negotiations and acts of rapprochement.

   Korach and his like, are people who think they know everything and always think they are right. Such a people have difficulty in relationships. They are not acting with the intention of achieving a just conclusion to their conflict and therefore will never achieve the proper relationship with others.

   We must live life of togetherness and to respect others as we wish others to respect us.  Only G-d knows everything – we must always be open to the ideas and thoughts of others, bringing about the true Ahavas Yisrael and Ahavas Habriot.

“Bakesh shalom v’rodfeihu,  Seek out peace and chase after it’ – seek it with your friends, chase after it with others.  Don’t ever give up, rather chase after it until you find it.”