Archive for G-d and Us

How to Combat the Evil Eye

September 1, 2013 G-d and Us No comments

 

Do you believe in the evil eye? Do you believe that it has an influence on life?  Born and bred in the United States, one is trained to think that the evil eye is superstition. It is categorized together with walking under a latter or crossing the street when a black cat crosses your path. However, coming from a Bukharian, Sephardic etc. background, staying away from the evil eye was and is a significant part of our lives. Can one remember the remedy of boiling metal and spilling it in to a pot of water forming a shape, over the head of the one who is the victim of the evil eye? Boy, that was pretty creepy; that’s spooky stuff!! It seems like Bukharians have a whole cookbook of remedies for AYIN HARA!!

The Talmud approaches the subject of the evil eye very seriously. Rav says in tractate Baba Metzia, “99% of deaths have occurred from the result of the evil eye”. One has to say that I am from the genealogy of Yosef!! The Passuk says: “BEN PORAT YOSEF, BEN PORAT ALEH AHYIN”. Aleh Ahyin means that Yosef is above the radar, above the eye, and therefore not affected by the evil eye. Yosef is compared to the fish of the sea. Just like fish can’t be seen because they’re under the water, so too regarding the genealogy of Yosef.

 

The question is asked, “are we not mostly from the tribe of Yehuda and Benyamin”? How can we say that we are from Yosef?

 

When the brothers came down to Egypt with their families, it was Yosef who financed them, he took care of them. He treated them in a way similar to that of a teacher or Rabbi who teaches and takes care of his students as they are transformed under his umbrella.

 

Why does Yosef have protection against the evil eye? Yosef was very careful not to invade other’s belongings. The wife of Potiphar belonged to Potiphar. Yosef, with all his strength, protected himself from not looking or touching her. That’s not mine!! I can’t have it!  Therefore, as measure for measure, no one can touch or invade him and his belongings.

 

How does the evil eye, the AYIN HARA, work?

 

This world is a mirror image of what occurs in the heavens. There is a lot of traffic going back and forth. For example, music is rooted in the seventh chamber of heaven, called ARAVOT. When one feels good because he heard a nice tune, it’s because it trickles down from the roots in heaven, and then we enjoy it in its earth bound destination. This concept applies to all things. In other words, we have to connect to the roots, the source. So in order to fight AYIN HARA, we have to look to the heavens. If one sees his friend succeeding financially or has a beautiful wife and nice kids and he’s in wonderment, even in a pleasant way, he cuts the roots. One has to say to himself that this has been given by G-d. G-d did this. One has to be mindful that his wonderment of others’ opens the door for people to look at him and give him the evil eye!!  If he says “this is from G-d” then he connects to the roots and does not allow AYIN HARA to affect him.

 

Finding a job can be challenging. Let’s say that one finds a dreamlike position. If he feels that he worked hard and he accomplished it through his power, without the intervention of the heavens, then he cuts the root of parnassa. That’s not the mindset one should have.

 

Yosef’s name at times is spelled with a HEY YEHOSEF. The HEY has the numerical value of 5. After many years, when Yaacov finally saw Yosef for the first time, Yaacov said Shema Yisrael. Shema is recited when putting the hand with its five fingers over the face.

 

When Yosef was born, Yaacov felt that now is the time to leave his father-in-law, Lavan’s, house, and face his brother Eisav. The scripture says that “he (Eisav) saw (with his eyes) Yaacov’s wives and children.” Who are these (wonderful beautiful people)”? Eisav asks. Yaacov’s reply was “these are the children that G-d gave”. Yaacov connected to the heavens therefore prevented the evil eye of Eisav from harming his family.

It seems that one has to have the right mind set when dealing with friends and acquaintances. If one has the proper attitude towards others, only then he will automatically be protected from the evil eye.

Parshat Vayakhel/Pekudei

August 28, 2013 G-d and Us, Highlights on the Weekly Parsha, Tefilla/ Prayer No comments

 

 

A deeper understanding of a portion of our prayers

 

The most important prayer we have is the Amida, otherwise known as the Shemonai Esrai. We stand in silence with our legs together. The Amida consists of three sections: the praising of G-d, asking for one’s needs and expressing our gratitude to HIM.

 

Unfortunately, throughout our history some of our brethren were not exactly well versed in reading our holy Hebrew siddur. In order for them to fulfill the requirement of the Amida, the Chazan-Cantor repeats the prayer and the individuals say Amen after every bracha that is recited. By answering AMEN, he fulfills his obligation. The congregation should remain silent during the repetition and concentrate on the Chazan’s pronunciation of the words as if he is saying the words himself.

          Today, where we have siddurim readily available in every language one can possibly think of, it is very easy for one to follow and pray all the prayers. It should therefore follow that the Chazzan should not be required to repeat the prayer. Nevertheless, we still repeat the Amida because the Sages’ enactment of the law still stands and cannot be changed.
          WHY DO WE STILL HAVE THE REPETITION!!?  AREN’T THE PRAYERS LONG ENOUGH?
          PERHAPS, AS COMPENSATION FOR A LONG PRAYER, WE SHOULD FOLLOW WITH A NICE KIDDUSH!!  A  RULE SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED -THE LONGER THE PRAYER THE BIGGER THE KIDDUSH!
          Interestingly, it seems like our Sages intended another more important reason for the repetition of the Amida.  Apparently, the repetition is just as important if not more so then the silent version.
          The silent Amida has its benefits; there is privacy, “do not disturb” etc. That’s what makes it special, it’s between you and G-d and a time when one can pour his/her heart out. Therefore, the silent prayer can get quite intense.
          One’s vocalization of the prayer should be low.  It’s designed that way because of privacy, which we discussed, but also because of another important reason. There are negative forces that specialize in disturbing the connection between you and G-d. Our prayers would be susceptible if they were said in a normal tone of voice.
          Although the concentration in the repetition version is not as strong as the silent one, it’s considered more powerful.
          So what makes it so powerful?
          In order to understand why, one must be aware of a number of factors. Firstly, the name of G-d is not pronounced the way its written: YUD, HAY, VOV, HAY. It is pronounced AH DOH NAI.
          Secondly, we must use the popular science of Gematriya, where one adds up the letters of the words (ALEF is 1, BET is 2 etc.). The gematriya of MAYIM-water, for example, is 90 (MEM is 40, YUD is 10 and MEM again is 40).
          The name of G-d, YUD, HEY, VOV, HAY, in gematriya = 26, and the word AH DOH NAI=65. They together equal to 91 which is equivalent to the numerical value of the word AMEN.
          The reason why the repetition of the Amida is more important is because every time one says Amen, in essence, he says both versions of G-d’s name. We say it in unison during the repetition of the Amida.       Therefore, one thereby reaches tremendous spiritual heights. There is no fear that the prayers will get intercepted by the evil forces. One does not say Amen in the silent Amida, therefore it’s not as potent.
          In parshat Pekudai, ” KA’ASHER TZIVA ET MOSHE” as Moshe was commanded, is repeated 18 times.
          Why does it repeat it so many times?
          HERE IT REPEATS THE PHRASE EIGHTEEN TIMES!!
          G-d gave a gift to Moshe for attempting to protect the Jewish people when they sinned. When defending them, he would often say “MECHENI NA”-erase me please from your book. As a reward, Moshe’s name is repeated over and over. We try to borrow from the gift by having eighteen brachot in the most powerful prayer of service. What about the nineteenth blessing, which was added latter in our history? There is a phrase specifically for that one as well, KA’ASHER TZIVA  HASHEM ET MOSHE, which is also found in the parsha.
          Another interesting note about the Amida, if one adds up the words of each signature bracha, for example,  BARUCH ATTA HASHEM MAGEN AVRAHAM, BARUCH ATTA HASHEM SHOMAIA TEFFILLA etc, one would come up with 113 words. There are also 113 words in the Tefilla of Chana, who was praying to have children and was answered. It is probably considered one of the most intense and powerful prayers we have.  All this also coincides with the 113 times it says LEV-heart in the Torah. This infers that one should and needs to pray with deep concentration and all his heart.
          The Amida has many deep meanings and should be said both with intensity and deep concentration, both in the silent and repeated version.
                              
Extracted from the shiurim of Rabbi Isaac Oelbaum
MAIN THEME
          The parshiot  describes how the Mishkan-Tabernacle was constructed.
          The Sages find an allusion to the thirty-nine categories of work prohibited on Shabbat. The Torah states:”These are the words which G-d commanded us to do” (Shemot 35:1). and Rav Yehuda Hanasi comments (Shabbat 97b):  HA DEVARIM the words EH LEH HADEVARIM -these are the words”. This refers to the thirty-nine work prohibitions handed down to Moshe at Sinai. DEVARIM being plural, implies at least two. The preflex HEY OF HADEVARIM adds one, making three. The numerical value of ELEH is thirty six, for a total of thirty nine.
          Rashi states that Vayakhel’s warning of Shabbat (35,1-3) proceeds the section of the MISHKAN to teach that the building of the MISHKAN does not take precedence over Shabbat.
          PEKUDEI-meaning account, refers to the account taken of how the donated gold, silver and copper were used in building the MISHKAN
First Portion: 
* We’re all cooped up in this body playing the game of life. One of the many aspects of this existence is to fix our mistakes whether it is transgressions done in this lifetime or in previous ones; reincarnation is an essential part of Jewish philosophy. However, if we’re able to atone for our mistakes in our lifetime, then we are very fortunate. In this week’s Parsha, we start off, “Moshe gathered the people.” This particular gathering is to fix the gathering of Aharon when the Jews sinned with the golden calf.
* Why, again, does the Torah repeat the different aspects of the Mishkan? We went through a detailed course in Parsha Teruma and Tetzave. The RAMBAN addresses the question proclaiming a theme for the book of Shemot ‘exile’. The RAMBAN explains the exile doesn’t end until the Israelites reach the spiritual level of the Patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov. G-d left specific instructions about the construction of the Temple and its leaders. Only G-d picks an intermediary. He picked Moshe, as well as the Keruvim, in the Holy of Holies. The keruvim’s golden baby-faced angel-like statues, whose gestures indicated the spiritual level of the Jews. It was only picked by G-d if a human exercised the right to choose; otherwise, it would have been considered idol worship and going against G-d. The instructions were clear and should have been followed to the letter of the law; it was not. Therefore, the instructions had to be repeated.
* There are thirteen times where the topic of Shabbat is mentioned in the Torah. The Torah doesn’t repeat for any reason. There is a purpose for every mention.
* We derive from the fact that the topic of the Mishkan is found next to the topic of Shabbat, that there is a connection between the two. There are 39 melachot activities that were performed in the Temple. The term melachot is mentioned in the Shabbat context of “one should not do activities”. Therefore, these activities were prohibited on Shabbat.
* The women were extremely enthusiastic and played an important role in contributing to the Temple. Their gold and silver were given generously this time as opposed to their reluctance to give to the golden calf.

Second Portion: * Betzalel, although, a very gifted young man, enhanced his skills through Divine spirit. He was chosen because his grandfather, Chur, tried to stop the catastrophe by the golden calf.

Third Portion: * The golden menorah was made from one piece of gold to symbolize unity among the Israelites. It was Aharon who was later picked to light the Menorah. This honor was very appropriate, for it was he who was instrumental in making peace between Jews and unifying husbands and wives and man and his brethren. “Peace” is one of the main themes of the Temple.

Fourth Portion: * We mentioned earlier how the women’s contribution to the Temple was exceptional. The Sages say they brought their own personal copper mirrors for the construction of the kiyor, the laver. These mirrors were used by our mothers in Egypt to entice their husbands for the purpose of reproduction and to continue the existence of our great nation. It was an especially difficult task considering how tired the husbands were after being worked to the bone by their Egyptian persecutors. Their devotion of preserving the family made these mirrors, theses contributions, valuable. The waters that came out from the kiyor were used for the waters of sotah. Since the Jewish women of Egypt had proper intentions and used these mirrors for kedusha, therefore, the sotah women will be tested with these pure waters to determine if they were pure and holy like their mothers.
* The kiyor was a source of bracha; it brought down rain. This is the reason we should be very careful in washing our hands, especially for bread because it’s a great segula for parnasa.

Fifth Portion: * The avney shoam – stones of the breastplate, which would light up, hinting to the Kohen gadol various answers to vital questions that were asked. Each stone contains six letters to symbolize that the world was created in six days, is found upon the 12 tribes. The total of 72 letters corresponds to the 72 letter Divine names, which maintains the existence of the universe. G-d does kindness to maintain the world. In fact, the numerical value of chessed – kindness is 72. We all know that the Friday night Kiddush has a tremendous spiritual impact. If one adds all the words of the kiddush, he will come up with 72. If one says Friday night Kiddush sincerely with all his heart, he will bring down chessed to himself from G-d.

Sixth Portion: * The mitznefet or migba’at – turban is what the Kohen Gadol wore on his head. The mitznefet atones for arrogance. G-d said let it atone for the sin of holding the head to high. G-d hates arrogance. Jews, for this reason, for generations, have always, traditionally, worn a covering on their head.

Seventh Portion: * With the mishkan complete, the Israelites are now ready to atone for their sins and to get closer to G-d

Torah is About Love and Fear

August 27, 2013 G-d and Us, Shavuot No comments

The scripture (Parshat Yitro 19:1-25) describes in detail the monumental event of the Jewish people receiving the Torah. But one may raise his eyebrow as to where our ancestors were camped when the revelation occurred. The literal translation of where they were standing was, under the mountain. We assumed the Torah is indicating they were near the mountain, but Rashi, the mainstream commentary on the Torah, seems to believe that G-d raised the mountain over the heads of the Israelites and threatened them ‘if you do not except the Torah I’m going to drop the mountain and kill you now!’

 

Presumably, this seems to be contradicting to what we were led to believe, so proudly,’NA’ASSE VE NISHMA’; meaning we will accept the Torah so blindly that we will do the commandments first, and receive the explanations later. All the other nations probed ‘what’s in it?’ and then rejected it; however, our ancestors embraced it. ‘Hey! We agreed on the conditions without even looking at the contract, so why is G- d forcing us for no reason? ‘

 

Rabbi Jay Shapiro, one of my mentors, quotes Rav Eliyahu Lapian’s parable and explanation on the contradiction. I think this parable is really cool. Back in the days, there was a king that was very popular and loved by all. He had an important meeting cross-country and the optimal form of transportation was the royal train. It was a three-day trip, with planned designated stops all throughout the country. Towards the end of his route to the meeting, the royal train pulls into this town. It seemed like the townspeople were hungrily ready for his arrival. Banners were hanging on the rafters of the train station with the words ‘WE LOVE YOU KING’; the band was playing his favorite song in between a presentation by the second grade choir of its prestigious school; the clowns were juggling; the hot dog stand was full.

 

All were waiting to see the Majesty King; the enthusiastic noise was getting more intense. After fifteen minutes, a guard emerges and made an announcement. ‘The King loves you all but he had a long day and he’s trying to get some sleep; he has a major conference tomorrow and he would appreciate some quiet.’ After he returned back to the train the crowd continued the noise. ‘WE LOVE YOU KING!’ they proclaimed showing more of their intense love. The band played louder; the juggler added another ball; more hotdogs and Marino’s ices were added. A little while later, a guard emerged from the train, this time slightly agitated and a bit more firm, ‘We ask you nicely, the King has a very important meeting tomorrow and needs his sleep. Please refrain from noise’. The guard disappeared back into the train presumably satisfied that his words made an impression. But that did not stop the crowd; they anticipated this day for a while and were eager to show their love and affection to the king.

 

Ten minutes later six guards appeared on the high platform next to the locomotive, carrying submachine guns (they had machine guns in those days? No, I actually altered the story a bit to bring home the point). The head goon with the dark sunglasses spoke up, ‘Whoever makes another sound will be shot’. As a result of these frightening words, one can hear a pin drop among the three thousand well-wishers.

 

Rav Lapian asks, ‘Do they still love their king?’ The answer is yes, but now they fear him as well as love him. If there would be no fear, the important mission would not have been accomplished properly, even though the right intentions were at heart.

 

In order for us to function as proper Jews and to adhere to his laws correctly, progressively and efficiently, one has to incorporate a little fear as well as the love that one dearly possesses for Him, or else there will be total chaos. A person may eat pig and say ‘I appreciate the food G d has giving me’. There is an expression, which is used frequently ‘I love G d in my heart and I’ll show it my way’. This is considered inappropriate; there has to be rules and they have to be followed. For example, if one violates Shabbat he will pay the consequences. Logically, it makes sense to have law and order, or religion will be a free for all.

 

This is what G-d wanted to show the Israelites by picking up the mountain and threatening them – that love and fear are part and parcel. This is also the lesson that G-d is trying to convey to us.  One needs both to be a proper Jew.

 

Parshat Bamidbar Summary

August 27, 2013 G-d and Us No comments

          Why is the 4th book of the Torah called Bamidbar – Desert? One can also ask, why is it also called the Book of Numbers?

          As one knows a bit of our history, we received the Torah, our pride and joy, and the primary reason why we survived all these years, in the desert. The Torah is the pulse of our great nation. So the desert had the privilege to host such an important event and therefore it was named Bamidbar – in the desert.

Perhaps one can ask, why? Out of all the places to receive the Torah – why the desert? Furthermore, there is an obvious question of a famous Midrash (Rabbinical teachings); that when G-d was offering the Torah to the other nations, He asked them to accept it through their biggest weakness. For example, when asked by the Arabs “what’s in it?” G-d replied “Do not steal.” He replied to Edom “do not kill.” This is the main weakness of those respective nations. It didn’t seem like He approached the Jews at their weakness. Could it be G-d didn’t play a fair game? Perhaps He shuffled the deck in favor of the Jews; after all, He was a big fan of our forefather Abraham. By the way, does anybody know our weakness? Do we have one?

This was the fourth time the Israelites were counted. Initially, the Torah records the descendants of our forefather, Yaakov, who traveled to Egypt. Then, later the Torah states that 600,000 men left Egypt, quite a jump from the seventy that left with Yaakov. After the sin of the Golden Calf, the Jews were counted a third time. Now, seven months after the last census, the people were counted again.

Why is it called the Book of Numbers?

Apparently, G-d wanted to show a lesson to the world how pure and untainted the Jewish genealogy was. Adultery was non-existent; so was marriage outside the faith. It was not for naught that the Jews of that generation were considered the best ever. Their purity was impeccable and G-d was proud of them that they had the ability to preserve the family.

Another reason for the many counts – Moshe himself waited outside each tent to greet them as they came out to be counted. Each individual explained his genealogy briefly. This was a big time moral boost, telling the leader of the Jewish people your family background. It injected a sense of well-needed pride. So the amount of ‘numbers’, number of Jews that were counted, was tallied with pride and one should be proud that he is part of the Jewish nation.

Why did they receive the Torah in the dessert?

The desert is considered no-mans-land and is pretty much desolate. Perhaps this is precisely what G-d intended. When a couple gets married, it is wise for the relatives and friends to leave them alone; they need their privacy. The couple needs time to adjust to their new environment, their new way of life. Here too, the Israelites and G-d have been fused together like newlyweds by the acceptance of the Torah. An adjustment period is needed. The most appropriate place to maintain a sense of well-needed privacy – where there will be no invasion of intimacy – is the desert.

Did G-d test our weakness before rewarding us with the Torah?

Rabbi Baruch Dopelt, who quotes the Chedushai Harim, maintains that G-d did offer the Jews the Torah testing their weakness. G-d had instructed the Jews to maintain boundaries among themselves. In many ways, this was a big test since everyone was eager to show their love for G-d. Every individual\tribe wanted to show their strong capability in serving G-d. Their competitiveness is inherited in all of us today. Although it manifests itself in different aspects of life, did you ever wait on line in Israel? You couldn’t have; a line doesn’t exist. The Jews, our ancestors in the desert, were instructed to line up with flags. Each tribe with their own flag (some opinions hold a flag was designated to three tribes each). Everything had an order and the tribes, each one, had to serve G-d in the proper time, accordingly. They didn’t have the “I did it my way attitude.” Apparently, they passed the test in controlling themselves and were rewarded with the prize – the Torah.
 

Parshat Balak

August 27, 2013 G-d and Us No comments
anti-establishment movement

Fans were shocked and appalled at Paul McCartney, who was a member of one of the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll bands, The Beatles, accepting a lead roll in a commercial for American Express. What’s the big deal? Well, apparently McCartney’s Beatles (some might take offense and say it’s Lennon’s Beatles) symbolized the anti-establishment movement (the long hair, anti-government, anti-social norms.) In fact, The Beatles presumably were the leaders of such a belief in which government; society and the workforce got it all wrong. The mega-giant company, American Express, represents corporate America,’the establishment’. McCartney, in essence, is raising the white flag and proclaiming by holding the credit card, ‘I’m part of the corporate suits, I’m part of the establishment, and I’m no longer a fighter for the cause.’

 

In this week’s parsha, Balak, we learn that our Jewish young men were seduced by the daughters of Moav. One of the tools in which Moav used to lure our boys was introducing them to the idol worship Baal Peor. The Gemara relates that those who worshiped Baal Peor would consume various laxatives and then proceed to relieve themselves before the idol. I’m kidding you not; this is what’s required to worship this idol. The more of a disgusting mess one makes, the better one worships. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz asks ‘what is so attractive and extremely appealing about such a gross act?’ Furthermore, one may ask, ‘what’s the connection between sinning with the daughters of Moav and Baal Peor?’

 

The worship of Baal Peor was an expression of degrading and humiliating one’s Gods, which is the very opposite of their society as a whole, who showed great respect to worshiping idolatry. Seen in a deeper sense, it represents the tearing down of all moral and religious restrictions and prohibitions. The worshipers of Baal Peor proclaimed their complete lack of recognition of any system of values whatsoever. This complete anarchy is their God.

 

We now see the attractiveness of this worship. The allure of the ideology of permissiveness and lack of any restraints is seen in today’s world resulting in immorality and degradation of society. This was the foresight of the evil Bilam, whose intention was to destroy the Jews; who orchestrated this plan of seduction with devastating results.

 

We are not allowed to break any laws pertaining to the country in which we reside. This is in accordance with the Torah. This constitutes an act of rebellion and a practice of Baal Peor. G-d said ‘I hate Baal Peor more than any other idol worship.’ The reason is that at least in idol worship, society had some order, rules are followed, and unity is being preserved (although I believe Mayor Bloomberg has gone too far with excessive motor vehicle violations). We have to be law-abiding citizens.

 

It was hip and ingrained in us to be anti-establishment, anti-government, growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, and testimonial to this rebelliousness, was the popular movie, Animal House, which has Baal Peor written all over it. So many people who saw the film acted out the role of the rebellious crude characters. Even as a Rabbi today, I have a hard time walking into Shul and sitting in the front because we never did it as teenagers, because the anti-establishment sat in the back; it was cool; it was Baal Peor.

 

The Beatles were extremely talented and took Rock ‘n’ Roll to a much higher level – and some of their messages – through their music, were genuinely good. However, some were dangerously bad. Like many, they used their musical talent to express their opinions. They once performed in front of the Queen of England. Before one song, John Lennon, who had a cynical side to him, instructed the audience, ‘This song needs your participation so I would like the people in the balcony to clap their hands and the people in the front to rattle their jewelry.’ By that remark, Lennon mocked the establishment at its highest level – in front of British Royalty. The Beatles would endure a certain Baal Peor reputation which would radically change by one of their own, approximately twenty-five years later, as Paul McCartney held the American Express card and smiled.

The Importance of Fine Clothing

August 27, 2013 G-d and Us No comments
    

“For glory and for majesty” is the expression describing how the Kohen’s attire should be. The Torah goes through an entire Parsha, sometimes in detail, describing the priestly clothing. One has to wonder, our religion which emphasizes internal beauty and spirituality, looks like it’s overdoing it a bit on the material external side, don’t you think? Furthermore, it’s a bit unclear whether external beauty is a tool to do a mitzvah or is it an end within itself. It’s an argument between Rashi who says that when the scripture says “l’kadsho” – to make him holy, implying the clothes, means towards performing the mitzvah. While Maimonides, wearing the clothes counts, as one of the mitzvoth.

 

The intention of the Torah is to enhance the status of the Kohanim by putting importance on the fine special clothing, regardless of it being a mitzvah or not. The Israelites will have more respect for G-d’s representatives, and therefore more respect for G-d.

 

It seems, perhaps a bit demeaning that we need the pageantry-like grandeur to enhance our spirituality. It shouldn’t be like that, considering we impressed G-d by proclaiming “we will do and then we will understand”. It was a much-advanced statement of belief to say the least. Presumably, one may have figured, the High Priest could have paraded around with a T-shirt and jeans and it wouldn’t have diminished the status of the Kohen or G-d for that matter. Do we really need the fine clothing to impress us?

 

Furthermore, there is more evidence of our human weakness. When Moshe came down from Mount Sinai, why did he have to bring down the physical tablets? If he found those particular commandments to be important, then let him verbally and dramatically announce them; after all, he did memorize quite a bit of the Torah, what’s ten more?

 

We learn a lesson that no matter how intellectual one can be, no matter how much of a strong belief one has, he still needs the physical to seal it in his psyche. On a subconscious level, the tablets or the Kohen’s garbs will be the final approval. We are – after all – flesh and blood and there is a great need for the physicality to complement our spiritual quests.

Parshat Yitro – Freedom of Choice

August 26, 2013 G-d and Us No comments
   

King David was quoted as praising Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, as a very smart man who has a tremendous insight into G-d and was able to fully comprehend the miraculous events that occurred to the Israelites. This was evident by some of the definitions of his seven names, in which Rashi and many commentaries say he was called by. What was it about Yitro, which impressed David and warranted such praise?

 

 

It’s only natural in a successful marriage that more and more matrimonial matches spurt up between the two sides; Moshe’s nephew, Elazar, marries one of Yitro’s daughters. But what’s odd when we are introduced and informed of the union, is Rashi’s description of Potiel, the father of the bride, Yitro’s other name; he describes a man “who fattened calves for idolatry” and “from the seed of Yosef who conquered his passion”. Now I understand the compliment of the comparison to Yosef, that’s very nice; however, why bring up “he fattened calves”? It’s very demeaning not just for Yitro but for Elazar as well. One can only imagine the mazal tov section of the weekly Synagogue newsletter stating ‘Mr. and Mrs. Potiel, the ones who fattened calves for idolatry.’ It doesn’t have a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

 

 

In this week’s Parsha, our ancestors received the Torah and we read the Ten Commandments. One has to ask, why did G-d emphasize these ten as opposed too many others he could have mentioned? Furthermore, G-d wanted to give it to the other nation as well; but His reply to their question of what’s in it, always played on their weakness. For example, to the Arabs he emphasized ‘do not steal’; to Edom, ‘do not kill’; G-d knew perfectly well that it would be difficult for them.

 

 

Rabbi Oelbaum says that the fundamental importance of the Torah is to enable us to overcome and do the opposite of our nature, to break the one aspect of our personality that we have a tough time overcoming. This is the primary goal of life.

 

 

Perhaps this is what G-d intended when approaching the nations and asking, are you ready to accept for real, and therefore you would have to eradicate stealing or murder or what ever weakness one has.

 

 

Rav Eliyahu Lopian teaches an important awareness of freedom of choice. This is an important aspect of man. However, one should know the definition of freedom of choice is not that one can do whatever he wants. If that was so, what is man’s superiority over animals? They too can do whatever they want. The definition of freedom of choice is that he’s able to choose himself and go against his nature, against his natural instincts and animals cannot do this.

 

Perhaps this is the greatness of Yitro; his weakness was idol worship to an extent where he couldn’t control himself. However, he was able to persevere and see G-d where many couldn’t. We must bring another definition of Potiel and that is ‘sheniftar me-avoda-zara’, he was able to disassociate, break off from idol worship.

 

 

These Ten Commandments were chosen because they are the fundamental building blocks of the Torah, of life. If we strengthen our character traits and not get sucked in like a magnet, we would have done our duty and we would be able to exercise our true freedom of choice.

It’s Fun To Be The Boss

August 25, 2013 G-d and Us No comments
   

One can learn a lot about the pulse of the people in a time period and place through advertisements. Some of you might remember a commercial; it was a radio spot with an actor impersonating the late George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees baseball team. Steinbrenner, who was famously known as the ‘boss’ would hire and fire his employees frequently citing that they did not live up to his standard of excellence. In a memorable funny moment broadcast at a television press conference, where he was to hire for the fifth time Billy Martin as manager of the Yankees, he staged an argument with Martin where in his bossy tone, fired him yet again. Martin retorted back ‘you can’t fire me George, you haven’t hired me yet.’ The spot commercial has an actor impersonating Steinbrenner saying ‘If I win the lotto, I would purchase a team and hire the best employees: then I would fire them.’ This is to imply the proceeds won by playing the lotto would enable the winner to hire and fire at will. This gives him a certain ‘kife’ (pleasure) just like bossy George had.

 

In this week’s Parsha, we find an odd command by G-d upon Moshe, where the parsha starts (Shmot: 6:2) ‘G-d spoke to Moshe saying I am G-d’. Rav Henoch Leibowitz zt”l quotes the Da’at Zekanim, and says the statement seems to imply that even though I told you that I made you a G-d over Pharaoh, that you will own him, that you will run circles around him, I am still your G-d, remember that.

 

There are many incidents where Moshe humanized and humbled Pharaoh. An example, many early mornings Pharaoh would go to the Nile to relieve himself where Moshe would surprise him. This was humiliating because Pharaoh made himself out to be a G-d and G-ds don’t relieve themselves. This is strange and surprising; why would you think that if G-d makes Moshe a G-d over Pharaoh, he would forget that G-d rules over him? On the contrary, the fact that G-d empowered him to successfully make Pharaoh beg Moshe to stop the plagues and run in pajamas (sleeping gear) in the middle of the night to try to find him, would make Moshe realize even more G-d’s greatness and strength. After all, the plagues itself were miracles which led to Pharaoh’s cries to Moshe. Furthermore, G-d had proclaimed ‘In all my house, Moshe is the most loyal.’ So why would G-d be concerned about Moshe?

 

Rav Henoch teaches us an important lesson about human nature. Even though Moshe has the right intention when dealing with Pharaoh, the fact that I have a subordinate that is eating out of my hands, forces my nature to feel a ‘holier than thou’ attitude and say “I don’t have to listen to G-d”. Man sometimes falls under a trap where he believes something intellectually but he doesn’t feel the same in his heart. This is because the intellect and the heart are worlds apart. Moshe believed full strength in G-d, but now his position in life has been transformed from a shepherd to a leader of the chosen people, who now will have the king of a superpower at his knees, and a person’s actions influence his character. One might think one does not have to have his guard up because he’s doing G-d’s will. Here it was vital that the Moshe-Pharaoh relation be played out in this format for the sake of the redemption. However, that is when one is most susceptible to sin for it might infuse haughtiness as result of power.

 

If G-d was concerned about Moshe who was known to be the most humble person that ever lived, what can we say about ourselves when faced with dealing with subordinates at work? The Steinbrenner commercial is a reflection of our desires and wishes. Isn’t that what G-d is trying to avoid with Moshe? It’s definitely a test.

 

Rav Henoch is not concerned with us taking advantage of subordinates; we’re above that. Perhaps what he wants to bring out is the concern of feeling superior and therefore not being able to perform the commandment of fearing G-d in the proper way.

The Importance of Water

August 25, 2013 G-d and Us No comments

 

We start in this week’s parsha and finish next week with a magnificent arsenal of plagues. The Egyptians’ first punishment was that all the water will turn to blood. But why start this illustrious lineup of showing G-d’s power with turning water into blood? Why did the water have to fall victim to be the lead off hitter?

 

We learn the main target was the Nile River, which the Egyptians misused for their idol worship. It was a source of bracha; the Nile would overflow and provide them with irrigation. Furthermore, the blood represented the blood they spilled for their actions, degradation, torture, and murder of the Israelites. The water was taken away from them because it’s a source of life. Water is very special and it was chosen, first, to teach the Egyptians a lesson. If you disregard the source of life, the source will be taken from you.

 

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan z’l teaches us how important water is. He begins by saying, in order for the world to exist; both liquid and solid are needed. Water’s characteristic is such that it involves change; it never stays in one place. Solid, on the other hand, is the opposite; it involves no change, dead state. If the world would exist with just solids, there would be no movement at all in the world. However, if there were only liquids, although there is the capability of change, it would not be able to hold any shape or form and there would exist instability. Therefore, solids need liquid and liquid needs solid in order for life to progress. In the world we live in, there is a constant change but it still retains its identity; a person constantly changes whether physically and spiritually and yet remains the same person. This is because of the co-existence of solid and liquid. Man needs water; without it you are like dust in the ground and that’s where you shall return. No water is mentioned in death because water represents change; change is life; change is development; development is fulfilling G-d’s purpose.

 

G-d has given us certain tools in this world through the Torah so we can elevate and progress ourselves. One of those tools is “mikvah”. When a person immerses himself in a mikvah, in the spiritual sense, his status changes; it’s a form of renewal, a rebirth because that’s the spiritual concept of water. Aharon and sons would immerse themselves in a mikvah not because they were impure, but to change their status to a higher level, so their prayers go through. This is the reason why we go to a mikvah before Yom Kippur. It’s the same with women; they change their status when they enter the mikvah. G-d warms up to them because of the power of the water. Their prayers are heard now because of their changed higher status.

 

Now we see the powerful tool G-d has given us – water.

 

Modesty

August 23, 2013 G-d and Us, Tzniut- Modesty No comments

The following are excerpts from the lectures of Rabbi Isaac Oelbaum.

          A man waltzes into synagogue one Sunday morning grinning from ear to ear, boasting that “I just came here with my brand new Lexus, it’s parked right in front”. During the course of the services while everybody was standing with their siddurs open, he was busy describing to them how he had bargained with the car dealer and how he got his price, and eventually startling the man by putting all the money down up front. “You should have seen his face when I wrote the check” he said with a snicker. One sure knows how to feel good when purchasing a fancy shmancy car!! Perhaps that is why G-d created friends, just so that one can show off in front of them!
          However, as they all walked out of synagogue, he was horrified to discover that someone had carved and scratched on to his front windshield the words MAZAL TOV!!
          In tractate Brachot, the Gemara relates an unusual story about Rav Nachman who approached a community eulogizer after he eulogized one individual as being modest. Rav Nachman asked “was he modest when he went to the bathroom?”
          Is covering up ones nakedness and being low key in the bathroom a barometer for being modest? That’s news to me! What about reading the New York Times in the bathroom for an extended period of time, is that considered violating the modesty laws in the lavatory? How about just the sports section?! Torah cannot be learned in the bathroom, so one has to read something, No?
          In order to properly understand the meaning of the Gemara’s statement, we have to explore modesty-TZNIYUT a little further.
          The commentaries say that modesty is extremely important and is actually a form of intelligence, because it resembles G-d’s traits. The Torah discusses an incident regarding Moshe after he saved Yitro’s daughters from the nasty shepherds by the well. Yitro’s daughters came to their father and informed him of what had happened and how they were saved by this unknown and mysterious man.
          Yitro’s response was AYO HAISH- where is the man. The fact that the man didn’t come to claim a reward, not bragging about how he protected the damsels in distress, means that he must be from the genealogy of Sarah. Sarah was the Jewish matriarch who modestly stayed in the tent while her husband Avraham hosted the guests, the three angels. In that incident, the Torah uses a similar word to the one Yitro used. The angels asked, “AHYEY SARAH ISHTECHA- where is Sarah your wife?”. They then blessed Avraham and Sarah that, G-d willing, by next year you shall have a boy.
          Yitro, knowing this, exclaimed, “don’t leave this man outside, bring him in quickly!!. Perhaps one of you may marry him. After all, the bracha comes from the modesty that Sarah, had shown.” As a side, this is one of the reasons Sarah merited having a son. The Sages emphasize that on Yitzchak’s behalf the whole world stands. And he only came into existence thanks to modesty. That’s the power of modesty.
          The Torah teaches us that the whole essence of a bracha is the fact that it’s hidden and modest. To prove this, one can simply observe that God himself remains not revealed. One cannot see G-d and no one ever did, at least not his face. Additionally, we know that there are no open miracles anymore. So too, bracha is best not revealed. The most holy and spiritual things are PNIMI-inward, hidden. Anything that is open and outwardly, one will not find a bracha there. Astonishingly, the Sages say that there is no bracha unless something is under the radar, in other words away from the eye, for perhaps it is the evil eye. A human, every human, has a bracha attached to it, and it is conceived in the confines of a private place. No eye sees the conception of the seed of bracha.
          But shouldn’t a bracha (on a fruit, for instance) be said out loud and not concealed?
          Yes, the bracha should be recited out loud, however it doesn’t go into affect until the fruit is swallowed, because that part is concealed and only then will the bracha kick in.
          In this week’s parsha  we read again about Kohanim. In Tractate Yoma the Gemara tells us about an extraordinarily modest woman named Kimchetuh. She was asked, “how did you merit to have seven sons and all served as High Priests? That’s quite an accomplishment!!”
          She answered, “I did not let the walls of my house see one speck of my hair uncovered”. WOW! As her reward, her boys will enter the holy of holies, where no one can enter and no one can see. Again, tzniut, modesty. It’s so important. The Kohen Gadol speaks to G-d privately, again in the most modest way. Tzniut, modesty, PNIMIUT, it’s crucial.
          The bathroom is the antithesis of PNIMI. It’s the most external act one can experience. Still, Rav Nachman was trying to emphasize that if one is modest  and private even in the most external act that a human can do, then and only then he can be labeled modest.
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