EMUNAH

 At the conclusion of one of my classes this past week, a young man approached me with a truly profound question. “The word Faith seems to elude me, and I am not sure what this word really means, in a more experiential way?”  I then, began to ask myself, “How many people really understand all the nuances to the word Faith?” 

Permit me to share some ideas of Faith;

Faith - straight ahead, highway of life clear. 

Faith - road closed, travel at your own risk with success 

Faith - surrounds you with a scenic route and beautiful views. 

Faith - always keep your chin up. 

Faith - be patient in life, with yourself and with others. 

 Very often it is easier said than done. 

 

   Permit me to invite you on a road down the primrose path of Faith - Emunah, an ingredient in life that will always sustain us. 

  As we approach the solemn day of Tisha B’av, let us remember a word that, when punctuated differently, has two very meaningful connotations for life. 

  The word in Hebrew is איכה. This word is found in this week's Parsha of Devarim, uttered by Moshe, and was also said by Yirmiyahu in Lamentations. 

 

   In these two places, the word איכה bewails the situation and the circumstances in a very dire manner.  In a sense, crying out, “Why is this happening?” 

  This self same word is used in a different context, in Sefer Breishis, when, after Adam sins in the Garden of Eden Hashem calls out to him, “Ayecha?” Spelled the same way, but pronounced differently and means "Where are you?"

 

  With this idea in mind, I have come to a fascinating conclusion;

  When we answer the question of Ayecha, in a positive way, knowing well that we are living life to the fullest, inspiring our families and our friends to choose the true Derech  Hachaim we will no longer need to use the term Aycha in a bewailing way.

 

  These are times that we need to be more introspective and not fear to search for greater meaning to our lives.  In doing so, we can and will enhance our lives with greater Blessings and greater feelings to reach our true Tafkid - the projected expectation that Hashem has for us. 

  This is the goal of how we can counteract the frightening prognosticating idea of B'Chiyah L'Doros.For this is a propitious time to assess our personal state, realizing that with a life of Kedusha, the road to our ultimate  Geula is open to us. With this awareness, the knowledge of who we truly are will become known to us and with, our strong Emunah,our journey in life will be more dynamic and beautiful. 

   This reminds me of the famous story recorded inGemorah Makos.  

It happened that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, Rabbi Joshua and Rabbi Akiva went up to Jerusalem. When they reached Mt. Scopus, they tore their garments. When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies and they started weeping.  Rabbi Akiva laughed.

They said to him: "Why are you laughing?"

He said to them: "Why are you weeping?"

They said to him: "A place, so holy, that it is said of it, the stranger that approaches it shall die and now foxes traverse it, and we shouldn't weep?"

He said to them: "That is why I laugh. For it is written, “I shall have bear witness for Me faithful witnesses”—Uriah the Priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.' 

Now, what is the connection between Uriah and Zechariah? Uriah was in the time of the First Temple, and Zechariah was in the time of the Second Temple! But the Torah makes Zachariah'sprophecy dependent upon Uriah's prophecy. With Uriah, it is written: “Therefore, because of you, Zionshall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the Temple Mount like the high places of a forest” With Zachariah it is written, “Old men and women shall yet sit in the streets of Jerusalem.”

"As long as Uriah's prophecy had not been fulfilled, I feared that Zechariah's prophecy may not be fulfilled. But now that Uriah's prophecy has been fulfilled, it is certain that Zechariah's prophecy will be fulfilled."

With these words they replied to him: "Akiva, you have consoled us! Akiva, you have consoled us!"

 Let us approach life in the same optimistic way that Rebbe Akiva saw the future of Jerusalem and when doing so we will continue to bask in the sunlight of our redemption.

   May we have the Z’chut to see the coming of the Mashiach in our time. 

 

 

 

AHAVAS CHINOM

"Some people see things that ARE and ask 'Why?’

I see things that NEVER WERE and I ask 'Why not?’

There are times in life when we are to take our hopes and dreams into the future and create a life of productivity.

  This Friday we will observe Rosh Chodesh, Menachem Av.  It is a time that ushers a mournful period as we remember, with anguished hearts, the destruction of our holy Beit Hamikdash. As we keep these memories alive in our hearts, we equally realize that the name of this month Menachem Av, uses the word Menachem which, while emphasizing the trials and tribulations of the past, we are so hopeful and so confidant in the saving power of G-D, that we add the word  Menachem - that all our tribulations will turn into months of comfort and joy. In fact, Chazal says that on Tishah  B'Av, the Mashiach was born. What an amazing optimistic feeling. We all need to take to heart whenever we are faced with difficulties and look to heaven for inspiration that will bring a glorious Bracha to our personal lives and to the lives of the entire Jewish People.

   Let us remember, well, that the calamities that befell our people were due to Sinas  Chinam, an attitude that has been our downfall from time immemorial. We have been entrusted with the opportunity to become a Tikun for K’lall Yisrael with our Ahavas Chinum. 

    More than anything in the world we must always remember that we have each other.  As Jews our Arevut will sustain us at all times. 

    We are to learn to magnify our blessings instead of exaggerating our troubles. 

     In one of his letters, Robert Southey, the nineteenth century English poet, tells of a Spaniard who “Always put on his glasses when he was about to eat strawberries, so that they might look bigger and more tempting". In the same way we should put on our spiritual glasses when viewing our blessings and maybe we will begin to appreciate and be thankful for all our blessings that are too often taken for granted.

   We watched, with great trepidation, at the miraculous intervention and saving of the young boys and their coach in the cave in Thailand.  When all were freed it was a moment of great exaltation and reaffirmation of the worthiness of life and the need to cherish the blessings of the life sustaining forces in our midst. 

  True, this may be a sorrowful period on our calendar, but with the realization of our blessings, a greater feeling of optimism will overpower us and we will, then, cherish the words of our Prophet Isaiah, 

   רחצו הזכו הסירו רע מעלליכם מנגד עיני, "Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes,” says Hashem. 

   אחרי כן יקרא לך עיר הצדק קריה נאמנה, "Then, you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city". 

   As we commence the nine day period of mourning, and by setting an example of true human values, and with faith and righteousness, Israel's radiant influence will lead the world back to a sane order and peace will reign on earth and together we will gather to celebrate the coming of the Mashiach.

 

      

  

THE COVENANT OF PEACE

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain". 

Is life worth living? It all depends on the the one who is living. 

It is with this idea in mind that I,turn my attention to a most enigmatic biblical personality, Pinchas. 

Here is Pinchas faced with a very devastating moral delemna as he observes an Israelite having intimate relations with a Midianite woman, in front of the entire Jewish People. Pinchas observes this dastardly act and realize that no one is stepping  up to the plate and he jumps into the fray and acts with a most zealous fashion to rid the people of such a forbidden act and thrusts his spear and kills them both, savings so many Jewish lives who would have perished in a horrifying Makefah. 

  Hashem is so grateful for Pichas' action and as a reward הנני נותן לו בריתי שלום "I hereby give him My covenant of peace". 

   There are many questions, that are presented in face of the action that Pinchas took at such a crucial time in biblical history. At the outset it seems that what Pinchas did was not only justified, but reading how Hashem rewarded him, his act was truly praiseworthy. For with this zealot act he saved the Jewish people from being totally annihilated. It seems that G-D appreciated the action taken by Pinchas, for He rewards him with the Covenant of Peace and the Kehunah for everlasting time. 

    In fact there is an interesting Midrash that points out that the word בריתי שלום, the word שלום, is written as a vav katurah, a split vav, a sort of dissected letter Vav. Why did the Torah write it this was you may ask? The Midrash is trying to tell us, that indeed Pinchas action may have brought some kind of peace, but sorely it was a flawed peace. True there are times that a violent act may assuage a horrendous situation, but it often only brings about a flawed peace. True peace has to be negotiated initially and only when that does not work then we may need to solve the problem in a zealot fashion, as Pinchas did, and to be sure G-D rewarded him with the ברית שלום, a Bris of Shlamut. 

  In fact the Nesiv, warns us that any act of killing, even  for a proper cause can lead one down the path of violence in his future acts, and this cannot and must not be tolerated. One must never get used to violence. 

   Golds Meir said it well, "“We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children". 

    A sense of humanity seems to be lost when ,even for the most lifesaving reason requires us to act in a violent way. This was the message says the Netsiv, for G-D bestowing the blessing of peace on Pinchas, a message for man to remain gentle and peaceful,in his dealings with humanity. 

   הי יברך את עמו בשלום, May G-d not only Bless us with peace, but more so to live within ourselves in peace. 

     

BLESSINGS OF LIFE

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

  What a simple, but, truly, profound idea that clarifies the essence of how we are to approach all the motivational aspects of life. 

  After listening to my talk, a young man approached me, somewhat confused, asking if I could summarize what life is all about in a very brief manner.  My reply to him was the following;

“Remember these three bones and you will succeed in life and begin to realize it’s essence. 

   The three bones are; the wishbone, the jawboneand the backbone. 

The wishbone keeps you going after things, the jawbone helps you find out how to go after them, and it's the backbone that keeps you at it - till you get there.” 

  How true this is. In life, we need the means to obtain these three bones and as we acquire them, we, then, begin to realize the beauty of life's horizon shining down upon us. 

  Too often life is knocking on our door and we seem to be so busy that we do not hear it and, consequently, we do not answer the door of opportunity. 

   Jewish life in the Diaspora is flourishing, religiously and educationally, in ways that would have been unimaginable a century ago. Who can deny that the very existence of our State of Israel is our greatest miracle and one that is always to be cherished.  

   At the same time, I recognize that these are not the worst of times, nor are they the best of times, but they are the most challenging of times, as we continuously face the world, in Israel and in the Diaspora, proudly, raising our banner for all to see and respect. As we march forward, we must do so with purpose and vigor. 

   Until we know where we want to be in this glorious world of ours, we will not know where to go. Most important, we must recognize that our movement forward must be motivated not out of fear, but with a positive stand on the values set forth in our Torah, and on the values by which our ancestors lived. 

   With these thoughts in mind, I begin to reflect upon this week's Sedrah Balak. 

Balak, the king of Moav, is in desperate fear of the Jewish People.  He knows well he cannot defeat them militarily and summons the renowned sorcerer Bilam to curse them.  Through this means, he believes, he will be able to defeat the Jews. 

We are all familiar with the story and what  the outcome was. Instead of cursing the Jews, G-Dintervened and the curses were turned into beautiful Blessings. 

For me, the most important and the most meaningful statement in this entire episode is when Hashemtells Bilam not to go on his mission, because כי ברוך הוא, the Jewish People are a Blessed people, and they will always be protected by G-D. 

   An amazing feeling of security overwhelms me when I read these words of assurance and know that whatever may come our way, "No One", can bring their curses to fulfillment upon us. 

   It is sad that our world has not learned this lesson in dealing with the Jewish People and especially with The State of Israel. There are sociopaths like Bilam in our world who are motivated by their greed and hatred and will continue to ignore the word of G-D, כי ברוך הוא

 Though it is true that we are blessed, our participation is still required, which is the fulfillment of Bilam's Bracha, מה טובו אוהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל, which demands a strong and viable unity, that sees us dwelling in brotherhood and fellowship, under the tree of life, our Holy and Sacred Torah. 

   This idea becomes even more meaningful as we begin the three week mourning period, bewailing the destruction of our Holy Temple.  Our Chazal says, this was all due to the Sinas Chinam of the Jews and our Holy Temple will only be rebuilt when we reverse this hatred into true אהבת ישראל. 

   This is the most opportune moment to rally our emotional forces, using our wishbone , and our jawbone, and our backbone, in the service of achieving our Achdut, with the Blessing of Hashem,who will turn all the curses against us as He did with Bilam into Brachot, leading us to our גאולה שלמה במהרה בימנו. 

OUR FUTURE

  As we read in our Torah of the many experiences of the Jewish People and their trek to the Promised Land, after their exodus from Egyptian bondage, we find one truism that stands out and the oft repeated statement, "We had it better in the olden days".   Though it was said in a different context, I have found that, lately, in our own generational experiences, as many face different crises in their lives, a similar statement is shared, "It was better in the good old days".

  In all honesty, I am not so sure that this is true. It may have been a simpler life. Simpler does not mean it was better. 

   I had the pleasure to join with our children as three of our grandsons graduated from DRS High School and will be learning in Eretz Yisroel for a year. Sitting in the audience and observing so many of our youth, who live by the motto of Torah and Madah, truly gladdened my heart. At that moment I realized  that our Torah oriented way of life has, indeed, a glorious future. Many have said to me "Times are not what they used to be." My retort is, "Maybe in fact, they are better, for there are more young men and women who are dedicating their time and effort in learning Torah and spreading this knowledge and enthusiasm to others."

  These are times when we begin to realize, more and more, that the entire thrust of Judaism is to look forward and to build more secured spiritual structures that were entrusted to us by our past. 

   This week's Sedrah, Chukat, speaks of the death of Miriam, the true savior of Moshe and on whose merit the Jewish People had water throughout their tortuous journey through the dessert.  With her death, the well of water dried up. The people complained.  They realized that the symbol of water is the spiritual and physical  life sustaining force and were, now, bemoaning the dire consequences affecting them by the death of Miriam.

   However, I am sure that as many mourned her death and bewailed the loss of water, they were encouraged to look to the future and beseech Hashem to sustain them. 

  We can feel the influence of Miriam on the people's fate - but we can, equally, appreciate a dynamic G-Dly influence that took hold of them at that moment as they  knew that only Hashem could help them.  It was for that reason they cried out to Moshe and to Hashem. Thus, indirectly, the life and death of Miriam, a recognized prophetess, continued to have a great influence on the spiritual outlook of the Jewish People. 

  Let us remember that Moshe directed the Jews at Sinai to "Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow." After all, the true journey in life is to look towards the tomorrow. With our children and grandchildren acting in consonance with Torah and Halacha, we will build a future that will be,"לשם ולתפארת בישראל, To the Glory of G-D and to the glory of the Jewish People."

   We must begin to realize that all our efforts in life are to use our past in a way that will enrich our present and insure our future.

  Life is a braided cord of humanity stretching way back into the past and strengthening itself as it moves forth into the present and gains greater momentum by all our efforts into a sustaining future. 

  A generation without Jewish memories is a generation without hope. Our success encourages us to permit the past to live in us as we march on with pride and dignity. 

 

     

ARE WE LISTENING?

While perusing my e-mails the other day I was very disturbed to read that the University of Tel Aviv decided not to sing the Hatikvah at their graduation, in deference to the Arab students attending the University. They chose, instead, to sing “You and I will change the world” by Erik Einstein.

  This is so disturbing to me.  In our wildest dreams would we ever, think to replace these magnificent words; “As long as the heart within a Jewish soul yearns, our hope is not yet lost to be a free nation in the land of Zion.” 

  How can such meaningful words of inspiration and hope, for our glorious country, be replaced to pacify a segment of the population that wishes to destroy the Jewish people?

  How pathetic that academia bends, in submission, to such absurd and embarrassing requests. Let us see any Arab university forego their national anthem for some Jew in their university. 

  The questions I pose are “Who are our modern day Korachs?” and in life experiences, "When, if ever, is controversy allowed?

   In this week’s Parsha, Korach, we are introduced to a Machloket, between Korach and Moshe. It is true that Chazal describes Korach as a פקח, a very intelligent and scholarly man and, yet to our dismay, his way of life is sinful and, more so, his actions of controversy are both unrealistic and destructive. 

  One can say that not all controversy is bad and Chazal may agree with this but insist that controversy is acceptable when done לשם שמים  for Heavens’ sake and done with mutual respect. 

  My direction is not to admonish Korach, though, I agree, he acted in an egregious fashion and should be admonished for his actions. My aim, through this blog, is to search for an understanding of when and how disagreement can be acceptable. 

  This reminds me of a couple that came to the Rabbi with a marital situation, and were told to go home and argue.  They said, “That is what we have been doing ever since we married, arguing.” To which the wise Rabbi replied, “You have not been arguing, you have been quarreling. You have been talking monologue, without either one listening to the other, just a running monologue. Now, I want you to dialogue with each other. I would like you to have an argument in which you not only express your opinion, but also listen to the view of your partner. Maybe you will learn from each other something important to maintain a true שלום בית.” 

  If this be true in our domestic lives, how more so is this attitude necessary in our Judaic way of life and especially in our relationship with each other. 

   Our Torah relates that after Korach leads the revolt against Moshe and Aaharon, Moshe sends a message to Korach. 

  וישלח משה לקרא לדתן ולאבירם, inviting them to meet and discuss the situation and to see if they can negotiate a solution to the problem. And Korach and his hordes reply,” לא נעלה, We will not meet, we do not want to talk, because we simply have nothing to say to each other.” 

   I must suggest that these two words are the most devastating words in our lexicon,” לא נעלה,  It is our way or no way.” This to me is blasphemous. 

   What I sense in Yahadut, today, is the lack of communication.  This, to me, is most destructive.  This lack of communication is causing a schism in our Jewish Society.

  It is true we may not agree with each other in many areas of Judaism.  That is evident. But we must still, continue to dialogue with each other and to maintain an אחדות, in Judaism, and the expression of  לא נעלה needs to be removed from our lexicon. 

    There is too much polarization going on in Jewish Life, and disagreement may be acceptable when done לשם שמים and סוף להתקים, for the betterment and the continued future of עם ישראל. 

   These are times that we must learn from the incident of Korach, “We need to live together in peace and with mutual respect.” It is time we learn to agree on how to disagree as befits the followers of Moshe and not of Korach. 

    On a tangential level, we may not always agree with President Trump, but let us agree that he took the initiative to sit down with a despot like Kim Jong Un of North  Korea, and decided  that they needed to  listen to one another rather than just saying, לא נעלה, and, hopefully, some type of peace can ensue to avoid a military devastating battle.

   Life on all levels needs open minds, listening ears, and receptive hearts to assure a world of peace and tranquility that is so needed in our tumultuous society. 

    With such a positive and open way of life and with our great dependence on the fulfillment of the will ofHashem, our lives will be לחיים ולברכה. 

   

WORDS THAT INSPIRE

The words and expressions we use are determinant factors in how we respond to our experiences. As we go through life we are, often, careful in the words we use. We are challenged to recognize the value of words and how they affect others with whom we are dialoguing with.

  Many are blessed with the gift of gab to use wordsto transmit pictures, frames of mind, information and, especially, emotions, in a very positive way. 

  As I speak of words, this week's Parsha Shlachcomes to mind.  I am referring to the incident with the Meraglim, the Spies, who were sent out to assess the Promised Land to see if the Jewish People were capable of defeating the present occupiers.

  Twelve representative leaders were sent to spy. Ten returned with a negative report, while two, Yehoshua and Calev, returned with a very optimistic report. 

   To truly understand the outlook of the Spies we must hear their words as they gave their respective reports and assessments of the situation. 

  Ten said, unequivocally, לא נוכל, "We cannot go forward."  While Calev said, כי יכול נוכל לה, "Let us go ahead and we shall be victorious."

 One report utters words of defeat of devastation, לא נוכל, “We can't do it. Give up the idea.”  Whereas. Calev, in his optimistic outlook and his strong faith in G-D, states words of encouragement and words of faith, כי יכול נוכל, "We can do it. We can and must go forward to bring about our salvation.” 

   Simple words, expressing hope and confidence, can change the history of mankind and, surely, the history of the Jewish People. The choice is ours, יוכלor לא נוכל. This will determine our destiny and our future.  

  This past week I had the pleasure of speaking at a Bris.  I mentioned in my remarks how special it was that the new baby and his older brother were, both, named after survivors of the Holocaust. Their namesakes were men who, even in the midst of purgatory used words of hope and faith, "We will and must survive."  They said יוכל, "We can and must do it for the future of our family and for the future of עם ישראל."

    We can take pride in our courageous martyrs of the past, for they were never were defeated.  They always felt נוכל. Their words were positive. They are our emulating examples.  

   While standing and observing the procedure of the Brit Milah the baby began to cry.  At that moment I recalled what I had read in Gemorah Nedah. 

  The Talmud teaches us that while we are still in our mother’s womb, a lamp, held by an angel shines over our head and in whose light we learn the entire teachings and words of the Torah and we can see from one end of the universe to the other. Before we are born and sent into the world, the angel taps us on our mouth, creating the Philtrum, the indentation on our upper lip causing us to forget all the teachings and words we had learned. 

     Having this in mind I could understand why the baby was crying, for he had forgotten the words of the Torah.  I, then, in a very ‘mysterious’ way, whispered to him, “Life is not a process of learning something new but rather of remembering what one already knows.” 

   What a tremendous lesson for life. We must continue to learn and to explore, and to listen, attentively, to our inner soul, and to remember what we already know. 

   Life is a world of נוכל, and all we need to do is retrieve that דרך האמת  שהוא דרך הי, for then the words of Torah will have a life of its own. 

   

              "We are not just users of words, we are their creators"