RENDEZVOUS WITH G-D

   As we prepare  to celebrate the Yom Tov of Pesach with our families and friends at our Seder, it will be an excellent time to reassess our total commitment to our גאולה שלמה. 

  It is said that religion ought to be our steering 

wheel , but, too often, many treat it as a spare tire, useful only in a blowout.

  Pesach is our time to change this attitude and to live Judaism in a most pristine and majestic fashion. 

   Pesach is our time to achieve the ultimate goal of expressing our הכרת הטוב to Hashem and to look forward to our glorious and successful future. In thinking of the direction of life that we must take, I am inclined to use our Seder reflecting, specifically, one very popular song, Dayenu, for my message this Pesach. My interest focuses on the the statement, "Had He brought us before Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah, Dayenu, it would have been enough". 

   The Rav asks and analyzes the question, "What purpose was there in coming to Sinai, if we were not to receive the Torah?"

    The Rav explained that, "Even had we not received the Torah, the encounter with the Shechinah, G-D's presence, as He descended the mountain amidst thunder and lightning, would have left its impact on our souls forever."

   The Rav would often speak of the "Encounter of man with the Shechinah." In describing the goals of Torah study, we are taught that there are two aspects to the experience of a Jew studying G-D's wisdom.  The first aspect is "intellectual", attaining understanding and wisdom by accumulating knowledge and deepening insight. However, there is a second aspect which is as important - the "experiential" feeling that one is in G-D's presence. 

  The Rav, would refer to this aspect as a "Rendezvous with the Holy One". He would speak of the exalted feeling of sensing the Divine. This experience of encountering G-D and feeling His presence is not only found through Torah study but should extend to a Jew's whole existence. 

    The Seder is truly an exhilarating experience, for this night is a true time of ליל שמורים, a time when our closeness to Hashem, inspires and elevates our state of Kedusha.  

   On this night our Jewish hearts are overflowing with feelings of joy and thanksgiving. It is a night of great romance between G-D and the Jewish People. It is for this reason, that after the Seder, for many, to recite the 

שיר השירים. 

   This Song of Songs states אני לדודי ודודי לי, I am my beloved and my beloved is mine. 

    This is the most glorious message that we can receive from the Seder and from the Yom Tov  of Pesach.  A message of hope; a message of love; a message of unity;  that can carry us forward into the weeks and months ahead leading us, vibrantly, to the Yom Tov of Shavuot, when the Revelation of  Hashem took place inspiring 

עם ישראל to greater heights of Spirituality. 

   With such an outlook, we will say with confidence, that the time of ביאת גואל צדק, has arrived. 

    Wishing every one a  

. חג כשר ושמח ושבת שלום ומבורך. 

   

SEDER OF LIFE

    The countdown has begun.  The frenzy is in the air.  My wife has lists and the lists have lists.  The conversations on the phone go like this, "Are you ready? Did you start cleaning? When are you turning over?" And last but not least, "What are you serving at the Seder? Are you hosting the seder? How many people are coming to the seder? Do you find it difficult to organize the seder? How do you know how much to buy for the seder? What are your menus for the seder?"  

   The word SEDER has become the mantra these days because it is the most important part of our Pesach celebration. The true meaning of the word Seder, as observed in our homes, is to emphasize the orderly fashion in which the rituals and symbolic foods are partaken during the course of the meal, as we retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt.  

    With this thought in mind, I begin to envision how magnificent life would be, if we could create a life for ourselves that diligently reflects a Seder of Life. Living life in a Seder, in an orderly fashion,  emphasizes a more generous nature to others, 

a life of honesty and a life where ethics reigns supreme. 

     I am sure we will all remove the Chametz from our homes and similarly, it may be an opportune time to remove the Chametz from our hearts and from our lives - the Chametz that clogs our lives with disrespect, with anger and, especially, the Chametz that is in our eyes, that does not 'Fargin' what our neighbors posses. 

  As the Rav so often said, that the ליל הסדר,is a special night emphasizing that the Jewish people are a קהילת חסד, a people of mercy,a people  of kindness, a people of selflessness. This Chesed is based on the feeling of Jewish solidarity. In fact the Rav spoke of the redemption as a time when the Jewish People  became an עם, a term derived from the word "IM", "being with".  With the Exodus, the Jews became an עם, expressive of a readiness to share and show an extreme sense of compassion. What an amazing transformation took place at יציאת מצרים, and one that always needs to be emulated. 

   With all the dehumanizing influences at work in our society, it is all the more vital that we remember the teachings of our tradition, which underscores the uniqueness of each of us. Everyone  deserves the respect and the recognition that comes with being the צלם אלוקים, a unique human being.  It is well to realize that "There has been nothing like us, ever, nor will there ever be."

  Each individual person is a new entity in the world and is called upon to fulfill his particularity and no one has the right to get in the way while each one fulfills their personal destiny. 

  As we will read in our Hagadah, בכול דור ודור, in each of us, all past centuries coalesce. In each of us all the future centuries have their beginnings. In each of us are found very special endowments. 

   As I continue this trend of thought I remember reading of the Great Ishbitz Rebbe, Reb Yaakov Leiner who asked, "Why does the search for Chametz take place at night? Why not in the morning which is a more obvious time to search for something?"  He continued, "Why are we instructed to use a candle not a lamp?"

  The Rebbe answered, "When we search, we are really doing more than just searching for Chametz, we are really searching for our place and for our purpose in this world." In this state of Galut, we often feel that we are in the dark and we cannot easily find our way. However, in the future, the time will come when it will be revealed that even when life appeared  dark and we felt lost we were always being guided by Hashem. 

   In searching for Chametz with a candle at night, we are, both, literally and figuratively providing a glimmer of light amidst the darkness for ourselves. The light reminds us that we are to have a direction in life and that we will always have the light of Hashem showing us the way.

  The Yom Tov of Pesach is a time when we can discover more about who we are and what our place is in this world.

   With this realization and traveling the road together we will achieve an enriched Seder Of Life. 

     

    

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

   The rise of the internet, mobile phones and a life of texting has changed the way we relate to one another.  We have truly lost the art of human interactive communication. 

   I recall a blog I wrote some time  ago where I spoke of the lack of communication amongst our friends and  especially within our families. 

   Though we are benefiting, greatly, from many new advances in technology, there are many setbacks resulting in the lack of personal communication between one another. We seem to be losing the benefit of facing each other, denying us the opportunity of seeing facial expressions and the innuendos that are apparent when we speak face-to-face. 

    Even our phone calls have been discarded, again denying us to hear other people's voices and their inflections that usually accompany conversations . Life has become texting which denies us of this part of our relationships.

   It is in this context that I would like to share with you an important message from this week's Parsha  of  Vayikrah. We read in the opening Pasuk ; ויקרא הי אל משה, " Hashem calls to Moshe."  He called him and wanted to speak with him directly. No texting, no emails, no social media, just plain talking.  This is  life's lesson about the need to speak and  to listen. Herein, we get the important message of human interaction and the quality of interpersonal relationships. 

   Please know that  I question not  the technological achievements  that enhance our lives.   But I do question how this technology impacts on our personal relationships.

    For our inspiration, let us, once again, turn to the time when Hashem created man and made the clear distinction between the human being and the animal kingdom. He did so with blessing man with the capability to speak and this Bracha must not fall into disuse. This gift of speech makes man into a true צלם אלוקים, and let us not relegate it to a texting message.  

   I am seeing families where children are texting their parents from the upstairs bedroom rather than walking downstairs to talk with them. This is not what  I think family is all about. We are losing  valuable opportunities to come closer to one another, especially, within the family.

   I heard a teacher speaking to his student saying  “Look at me, I’m speakin to you." It sounds ominous, but true.  We are losing the art of communication that is associated with feelings that come from hearing the word and seeing the communicator. I am searching for a positive way to elevate our relationships. I am searching to elevate our lives from the transactional to the relational. 

   Talking, calling, verbalizing our feelings, can bring greater respect and affection into our lives, giving us the power to humanize and elevate our interactions and our relationships. 

  Let us take to heart the way Hashem addresses Moshe, and to use that lesson in our noisy world of multimedia overload and online communication and begin to increase our personal relationships facing each other with the glow of holiness.

   I do recognize  that very often distance may not permit one to one communication. Then  we begin to appreciate the technological advancements of Skype and Facebook that gives us some semblance of this commmunication that I am searching for. However,  I still crave greater feelings that comes with a hug and an embrace that often says more than words.  This  can only be realized with a one to one encounter.  

    Social media is an amazing tool, but it's really face to face interaction that makes a long term impact. 

Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanizes what is a very large part of community life and living together. Judaism is the "call" that is instrumental in preserving a way of life that projects a loving human bond.

   Our human race prospers when we make a safer world for those who will follow and this can only be achieved when we are facing each other with spiritual warmth and personal empathy. 

  So, I invite you to join me on this journey into the real world, a world of seeing, a world of hearing and a world of human interaction.

      "Can you hear and see me now?"

   

             

  

PASSOVER 5778

   The glaring news report "Anti-Semitic Crimes Spike", brings shivers to my being. This sharp rise is due to a significant increase in incidents in schools and on college campuses. These expressions of hatred begin to affect our relationships with others and very often fosters greater disrespect and distrust resulting in communities becoming more and more secluded and isolated. 

   Leo Tolstoy once wrote "Anti-Semitism is a mad passion akin to the lowest perversion of diseased human nature. It is the will to hate". 

  With such an attitude spreading through our society, we begin to experience, misplaced anger, and simply a lack of common decency in our relationship with one another. 

  As Jews, we must always raise our voices against these ugly taunts.  We must never permit these acts to undermine nor interfere in our strong traditional observances. Our lives must never be determined by the vile of others. 

        My greatest fear is that our youth are not prepared to face these challenges on a daily basis - be it in our schools and/or in our work places.   It is interesting that we, all, can learn from the story of Purim how to face these challenges.   

   Purim  is a day dedicated to remembering  how two great Heroes, with indomitable strength, were able to foil the intentions of a Jew hater who planned  to, physically, annihilate the entire Jewish population of Shushan.

   It is no accident that the modern day Shushan is Iran, who, with distorted minds, think that they have the ability to finish the job that Haman started. They fail to realize that with G-D's help and the State of Israel, our Jewish State, in all its glory, will always protect our Jewish brethren. 

  With these thoughts in mind, I return to Megillat Esther for guidance, and to relive the way Esther and Mordechai acted at that historical crucial hour. 

   The Midrash relates a discussion between Moshe and Hashem.  Moshe believed that he is was not capable of leading the Jews to freedom, G-D admonishes him and says,  עד מתי אתה משפיל עצמך,"How long will you continue to make yourself small?"  In essence, this statement is saying to all of us as it did to Moshe, "How long will we be little ourselves, and continue to fear these people.  It is time to remove these fears and stand with great pride as we face this bigotry and hatred head on.  We must regain our pride and hear the words of Hashem, “We have been  selected to be the "light unto the nations of the world" and nothing must stand in the way of this achievement.” 

   It is sad to see that many people feel "superfluous" and insecure and unimportant and insignificant.  I would encourage them to turn to the Megillah for inspiration and Chizuk. 

   Remember, well, what Chazal say, אין השעה מצפה אלא לך, "The hour waits for no one, but you." 

  This is the most important message that we need to take away from the story of Purim.

   When things became serious and the Jewish People were threatened, Mordechai approaches Esther to go immediately to Achashverosh, to plead for the Jews survival.  At that point, for whatever reason, she hesitates, and Mordechai utters, what, I think, are the most dynamic words of the entire Megillah, "כי אם החרש תחרישי כעת הזאת רוח והצלה יעמד ליהודים ממקום אחר ואת ובית אביך תאבדו, "For if you insist in keeping silent at a time like this, then relief and deliverance will come to the Jews, from some other place, while you and your father's house will perish."  And then Mordechai says to Esther the most enigmatic words for all of us to hear,

  ומי יודע אם לעת כזאת הגעת למלכות, "And who knows whether it was just for such a time that you were sent forth on this journey?"

    What powerful words for all of us to digest.  Esther and everyone are being told that there is a job to be done in life and there is no one else who can do it but us.

    There is a place in our society which is reserved just for us and only we can fulfill that mission. No one else can stand in that place.  No one else can do that particular job. So we need to hone up to it, or else our failure to do so will be our demise. 

    We need to invest all of our strength to achieve the betterment of our society and not to relegate it to someone else. “The hour waits for no one but you". Hatred cannot and must not rule our lives. We are enjoined to face up to it and to defeat it, wherever and whenever it raises its ugly head. 

    As we celebrate Purim, with our families and friends, let us always act with confidence, that there is a Divine Providential design that will bring our salvation and the salvation of all Jews throughout the world. 

   Let us dedicate ourselves to a greater allegiance and commitment to Judaism.  In doing so we will reap the blessing as recorded in the Megillah, 

" ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה, For the Jews there was light and joy, gladness and honor". 

May this holiday of Purim inspires greater loyalty to our Judaic way of life and may we be Zocheh, to experience the ביאת גואל צדק במהרה בימנו.  

 

 Freilichin Purim 

 

       

FAITH FOR TOMORROW

The shooting this past week at the Stoneman Douglas School in Florida has left our country so shocked and so bereaved that the only response is a deafening silence. It is at these horrific times in life that we cannot ask Why? Too often there is no logical response to such a question when the absurd over powers us, and logic is replaced with absurdity. We cannot ask :"Why"?  But we can ask What? What do we do now? 

The poet John Whittier, in his moving and electrifying poem "Gone" comes to mind at this moment. 

“There seems to be a shadow on the day, 

Her smile no longer cheers;

A dimness on the stars at night,

Like eyes that look through tears. 

Alone unto our Father's will

One thought hath reconciled;

That He whose love exceedeth ours

Hath taken home His child. 

Fold her, O Father in Thine  arms,

And let her henceforth be

A messenger of love between

Our human hearts and Thee.” 

No words can assuage the pain that these families are going through.  I can hear the words of the anguished King David at the death of his beloved son Avshalom,

 "O my son Avshalom, my son, my son Avshalom.  Would I  had died for thee, Avshalom, my son". 

    With this in mind, I am reminded of the words in Megillat Esther that we will read this week, as the Jewish people were being threatened, 

כי איככה אוכל וראיתי ברעה, " How can I live to see the evil that befalls us, how can we stand still and do nothing and watch as this evil invade our country ". 

After reading this you can ask me, “Where do we go from here? Please give us some uplifting, wise words to be able to move forward with confidence, and hope for a better tomorrow, with greater optimism to bask in the light of a brighter future. 

For this Chizuk, I turn once again to the Megillah that we will read on Purim, the festival of joy and happiness and echo the words of  Esther as she deals with the seriousness of the hour by telling Mordechai, לך כנוס את כל היהודים, “Gather all the Jews together and fast and pray for me.” The crucial words are "all the Jews". 

There has to be unanimity and togetherness when evil befalls.  We must act in consanguinity, as one, for when humanity is threatened we all must be on the same page.  We need to reach out, not only to the families in Florida, but to reach out to each other with more love and compassion for our fellow man and to the show the world we care for each other and we do not live in a vacuum, We live in a world of G-Dliness and a world of true brotherly love.  We need not have to wait for tragedy to befall us before we realize this truism. 

This is a special message for our Jewish Brethren – a message that calls for greater unanimity, benevolence, kindness, understanding and Achdut.  Only then can we raise our voices loud and clear and enjoy the final words of the Megilla, 

" ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר"

And we can in unison reply כן תהיה לנו. 

                                 

     

SANCTUARY FOR LIFE

  I write my blog this week with a great sense of joy, happiness, and much Nachas, as our family prepares for the Aufruf and marriage of our grandson, Zev, the son of our children Avraham and Miriam, to Chayalah Hahn. 

  Marriage, in Judaism, is an act of Kidushin - a life that is consecrated and designated to a higher calling.  Marriage is not a temporal union between a man and a woman, but, more so, it is a union infused with a great act of Kedusha and with a life devoted to fashioning their own sanctuary, their own home and their own מקדש מעט.   

   Thinking of the family as a sanctuary, I begin to focus on this week's Sedrah, Terumah, wherein we read the most influential directive found in Judaism, 

ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם

" Let them make  me a Sanctuary," says Hashem, "that I may dwell amongst them."

  The Torah does not say בתוכו, "that I may dwell in 

it," referring to the tabernacle, but rather, "that I may dwell among them, בתוכם," amidst the people of Israel. Thus, we are told, the building of the Mishkan is not an end in itself, but rather a means of bringing the people closer to our Father in Heaven. 

    Hashem  dwells in the sanctuary of our personal lives when our activities are converted into divine encounters. Our aim is to bring Sinai into our daily existence. 

  G-D seeks to dwell in our lives, not to remain incarcerated in the walls of a building. 

  Every marriage brings two people together to forge a union that will create a family and a home into a Sanctuary of Kedusha. 

   One of the main objects in our  Mishkan  is the magnificent Aron Hakodesh, the Holy Ark, specifically  the pair of Keruvim placed on top of the ark. 

   ועשית שנים כרובים זהב  מקשה. " You shall make two Keruvim." Chazal describes to us what the Keruvim looked like. They possessed the faces of children, and their wings were outstretched lifted towards Heaven, and they faced each other. 

   We learn that each requirement of their appearance has a very important message in life and specifically to marriage. 

   The suggestion that the Keruvim figures were shaped like the faces of children, implies that just as children are very innocent in their actions and pure in thoughts, so must we live lives with purity of thought and action, unspoiled by the decadence of modern society. 

  In addition, just as the wings of the figurines were spread out above reaching, if you will, to heaven, so must we strive that our hands of action are always spread up to heaven, lifting ourselves above the transient to live lives that examine our actions, not in a temporal way, but rather for eternity. 

   We need a purity of attitude, "Not, only, what I can get out of it now, but rather our thoughts and actions are to be heavenward and to possess consideration for our tomorrow."

   The last characteristic of the Keruvim, is perhaps most significant.  The figures are to confront each other, face to face.  Literally, each of us must always look toward one another and extend ourselves with warmth to the other. Man's attitude may be 'heaven bound', but his responsibilities must always be 'brother bound.' 

 The position of the Keruvim are instrumental in translating our lives into purity of action, with bonds of love and cords of friendship binding us together in Holiness. 

  As I think of the role that our Mishkan plays in our lives, I remember that the Aron, the Ark, was made of wood and overlaid with זהב טהור, pure gold, both on the inside and on the outside,מבית ומחוץ תצפנו. 

 From this requirement, our Rabbis promulgated a great and significant lesson, "A scholar whose inner life does not correspond to his outer appearance is not an authentic scholar". 

  In a like manner, every person must live a life that is מבית ומחוץ, in a manner that he is always, 

  תוכו כברו, alike inwardly and outwardly. This is our lesson for integrity of character. As we act outwadly should conform to what we really feel inwardly. We need to be true to our character, by our actions, and not to be hypercritical in how we project ourselves to the outer world.   

  These are amazing lessons derived from the building requirements for the Mikdash in Yerushalyim.  They are,equally, the requirements for the building of our own individual מקדש מעט, our own personal Holy Temple, that will bring glory to ourselves and to כלל ישראל.

 In this light we extend our sincerest Mazal and Bracha  to our חתן וכלה, as they enter into the world of marriage, to build their Mikdash together.  We are confident that they will do so, by merging all their efforts, using the lessons, that we have learned from the Keruvim, and the Aron Hakodesh. 

  May Hashem  bless this zivug, and may all the parents and grandparents continue to have Nachas from this beautiful couple.  

         

 

DISPOSABLE SOCIETY

  At my Shiur this week, I was asked to render an analysis of the status of our modern day society. I assured those in attendance that it was truly, an insightful question, for we need at times to evaluate the status of our life and begin to understand what our priorities are. When we are dissatisfied in what we see, we must learn how to extricate ourselves from the quagmires that modern life presents. 

  With this in mind, I began to realize that most of our problems stem from the fact that we live in a society that can be described in one word "disposable". For indeed, we live in a disposable society, a throwaway society.  For the most part it makes us happy, and makes life easier because what we don't need we just throw away. This not only applies to our disposable dishes, bottles and cans. It seems to even apply to disposable people. Look around and see that we are living in a time when human dignity and human worth are eroding. Our news media reports daily of rape, of murder, of mugging and of gun shootings.  The worth of a person to so many, is insignificant.  "Why worry? They  are disposable anyway." Our relationship with each other is also disposable. I see more and more couples and friends who are unable to develop long term relationships, and often are thrown away like kleenex  tissues, for we have become disposable humans, almost on the brink of uselessness. 

   My quest for a more humane, loving and caring society is found in this week's Sedrah Mishpatim. For herein, we see the important laws of בין אדם לחברו, relationships between man and his fellowman, emphasizing that we are not disposable, but rather every person has value and importance and is deemed to be respected and accepted. The mitzvah that should be uppermost in our minds and actions is,  ואהבת לרעך כמוך, "Love and respect your neighbor as yourself." Act to others as you would want others to act to you. 

  Many wonder, "How can one achieve this magnificent attitude of recognition and feelings for others?"

  In my search for greater clarification, I began to realize that this Sedrah occurred after the Jewish People beheld a vision of Divinity as they stood at Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. What a great and spiritual moment that must have been, and how inspirational it was as they were being enveloped by the Sh'china. That was the greatest religious moment ever in Jewish history. One wonders, "How did they act afterwards?"

  The Torah states, ויחזו את האלוקים ויאכלו וישתו , "And they beheld G-D, and they sat down to eat and drink."

  Rashi is in a quandary, "How is it possible that after such a spiritual experience, and being on such a lofty plain, did they respond by sitting down and partying?"

  I realize that there are so many people who live to party, to have a good time.  Many do so at the expense of others and that is unacceptable. However, there is nothing wrong in living a life of fun and happiness and even to party. But to truly party, appropriately, we need to 

ויחזו את האלוקים. First, we must realize that the essence of life is to behold Hashem, to see life in a G-Dly and spiritual way.  When we live a life of בין אדם למקום ובין אדם לחברו, we can sit down and  ויאכלו וישתו, eat and drink and enjoy life.  For then and only then our eating is always a סעודת מצוה, a joy that can only come from within and flows out and is not artificially stimulated. 

  Far to often we party away our life and then people become disposable when that type of fun runs out. 

   We are enjoined to remember that we are all created בצלם אלוקים and after מתן תורה we became a ממלכת כוהנים וגוי קדוש.  From that time in Jewish History, it became our individual and collective responsibility to live  a life that will always bring pride to the bearers of that title. 

    A person is Great - if today he is greater than yesterday and greater tomorrow than today.