FREILICHEN PURIM

     As  we prepare to celebrate the  Holiday of  Purim, I am reminded of the Rabbinic statement,"Should all the festivals be annulled, Purim will endure". Our sages spoke with great foresight. They saw the inevitable future of the hatred that continues to be espoused against the Jews which is implied in the Holiday of Purim. They knew Israel's role as G-D's suffering servants would demand agonizing sacrifices. They saw Mordechai and Esther perennially confronting a hostile world with some Haman arrayed against them. 

    Leo Tolstoy wrote,"Anti Semitism is a mad passion akin to the lowest perversities of diseased human nature, it is the will to hate." A study of world history shows us how true these ideas are. This is the story of Purim, a story that bespeaks outright Anti- Semitism. 

  Today we are experiencing, to our dismay, that  "History repeats itself". It is a sorry state of affairs that hatred in general, and hatred  in particular for the Jew still exists. How ironic it must seem that Iran, the Persia of old, where the entire story of Purim took place is once again in the throes of hatred, killing and disrespect for human rights.  

      Mr. Netanyahu is so right as he speaks as our modern day Mordechai on behalf of the Jewish State  to the world and to the United States Congress. It is a sad state of affairs when so many who are afraid to listen to the truth  are willing to boycot the session, acting as intellectual and political puppets. 

     Mr. Netanyahu is issuing a warning that our modern day  Haman in Iran is, once again, raising its ugly hand of hatred. This time it can become a nuclear war against the Jewish People and the world at large.

  The audacity of members of the congress to walk out on their Ally, a man who only wants to warn the world of the possibility of another world disaster threatening humanity.

  Today I call out  to the world "Awake, Awake and take your heads out of the sand , a real threat to humanity lurks behind the falsehood of the perpetrators of hatred."

  Remember well these words of wisdom "Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect and thereby make everyone else deal with you in the same way".  

   When  humanity will understand , that it is not an"us" and "them" world. It is an "all of us" world, then humanity will be saved. As soon as people understand this fact, the world will be a better place. 

   The amazing thing about Purim, is that, in spite, of all the uncertainties of life, we still celebrate Purim as one of the most joyous holidays on our calendar. The reason is plain and simple, it is because we celebrate life, not because we have any guarantees but because we possess the confidence of a Mordechai and Esther.  We believe that there is a divine Providential design that will bring our salvation and the salvation of all persecuted Jews throughout the world.

    Today, like the time recorded in the Megillah, קימו וקבלו היהודים, we are to rededicate ourselves to a greater allegiance and commitment to Judaism. 

   With a great sense of  Bitachin  that will bring about a greater sense of better times for the Jewish People , we will echo the words of the Megillah, ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר, " For the Jews there was light and joy, gladness and honor" כן תהיה לנו, So may it be for us in our times.

  Freilichen Purim to all.

   

INTERNAL LIGHT

    Our  Sedrah this week ,Parshas Trumah, speaks about the building of the Mishkan , the portable Tabernacle that accompanied the Jewish People through the desert.

    The Torah states , ועשו לי םקדש ושכנתי בתוכם,   " and you shall make Me a sanctuary, that I shall dwell among you".

   Reading this directive I am reminded of a story that a colleague of mine related ; He was visiting the interior of his Synagogue with the children from his Hebrew school.  He described and explained the different parts of the Sanctuary and especially the Ner Tamid, the Eternal Light  which burns constantly over the the Aron Hakodesh.

   Shortly after the visit he received numerous thank you letters from the students and he remembered one in particular, from a third grader who thanked him for all the explanations especially the one about the "Internal" light.  My colleagues remarked "Out of the mouths of  babes a profound truth is found."

     The light over the Aron is, indeed, eternal but even more so in each one of us there is an "Internal" light of spirituality that is always aglow. Even when it seems not to be there , that "Internal" light is always present.

    The Rav , when discussing the Mishkan posed the following question, "Why was the Mishkan necessary? Does G-D need a home?"

    The Rav brings to mind that when Shlomo dedicated the Beit Hamikdash in Yerushalyim he asked a similar question and evidenced this dilemma by stating;

הנה השמים ושמי השמים לא יכלכלוך אף כי הבית הזה אשר בניתי

" Neither the heaven nor the heaven of the heavens,  can contain Thee. Certainly not the house that I have built for Thee".

    The Rav, searching for an answer presented the following response; 

     Whenever the term בית הי, the House of G-D, is used we should realize that it does not refer to the house  of Hashem , but rather to the House of Man. There is no need for Hashem to have a home, for Hashem embraces the entire universe , He is Makom shel Olam, the universe is within G-D. However, man needs a spiritual home that will give him total security. Such a home can only be found within  Hashem  Himself.

   Thus, we begin to realize that when Hashen instructs Moshe to build a Mishkan , He was providing him with a home which the Almighty offers humanity. A man who feels close to Hashem feels he is protected by G-D'S  guiding Hand.  He is a person that has a true home to dwell in.

 When Hashem dwells , so to speak, in the  Beit Hamikdash, he does so to satisfy our need to be close to Him and to feel His presence  and His protection.

     As we dwell with G-D on a daily basis , our "Internal light is aglow and we thus feel the Brachos of Hashem upon us.

    It is this "Internal" light that endows  the Jew with his specialness, with his creativity , with his ability for greatness, because it is an "Internal" light, a spark, a glow of the Divine, that is kindled in each of us. 

     As we experience the depravity of society around us , from the killing of innocent lives, and the growing anti Semitism and that the State of Israel is the scape goat for the world powers,  we begin to realize more and more the need for our Home of protection that the Beit Hashem can offer us. 

     However, to do so, we must dwell in the  House  of The Lord, not by ourselves , but to extend the invitation to all Jews throughout the world to dwell under the canopy of peace and security that the House of Hashem provides for all of us.

     כי  ביתי בית תפילה יקרא לכל העמים

    

   

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.