Never Despair

The whole reason a person is placed in this world is to go through all that he must! He must be as strong and as solid as a rock to bear everything in life. Whatever a person experiences, he must hope and yearn and wait for God, and under no circumstances should he despair of God's mercy.

The main thing is for you to have the belief in yourself, like my belief in you, that you can still make a new start now.

[Reb Nosson of Breslov]

Korach's Mistake

According to Chasidic thought, Korach's rebellion occurred at this point in time since it was prompted by the sin of the spies.  The inner reason why the spies did not want to enter the Land of Israel was because they preferred the exclusively spiritual life of the desert to a life of serving G-d and physical concerns, such as the need to earn a living.  The downfall of the spies thus sent a powerful message that Judaism prioritizes physical action over spiritual and intellectual pursuits.

Upon hearing this, Korach protested to Moshe "Why have you made yourselves elite over G-d's assembly?" [Korach 16:3]  "I can appreciate" argued Korach, "that you are a more spiritual and holy person than us, but since we now see that Judaism makes physical action the priority, how are you better than anybody else? Aren't your actions the same as ours?"

Korach's mistake was that the Torah does not demand lifeless action, but rather deeds that shine with inspiration and spiritual enlightenment.  Thus, the two mistakes of the spies and Korach teach us that a healthy equilibrium is required: One must not shy away from physical life, like the spies.  But on the other hand, Judaism's emphasis on action must never lead to a life of meaningless ritual and spiritual bankruptcy.  Every mitzvah should be carried out with the highest levels of spiritual consciousness.

Our struggle to harmonize physical action with spiritual contemplation is fought on three fronts:

a) the need to ensure that one's intentions do not remain in the realm of wishful thinking and that concrete action takes place;

b) that one's actions should always be dictated by the Torah's value system;

c) that action should never be overglorified, and that one should always aspire to be more spiritual.

Our Sages taught that the world was made with the letter ה.  This is because its shape represents the equilibrium between the more spiritual dimensions of thought and speech, versus physical deed.  Korach's name - קרח - is spelled by letters that are all distortions of the left side of the letter hei, indicating how he wished to upset this equilibrium in the area of deeds.

In the ches ח the gap between deed and thought/speech is closed, suggesting that the physical no longer looks up to or aspires to the spiritual - which is why Korach rebelled against the spiritual leadership of Moshe and Aharon.

In the kuf ק deed has extended below and is no longer dictated by the thought and speech of Torah.

And in the raish ר, deed is missing altogether.

In short, it is relatively easy to be entirely spiritual and aloof, or entirely physical and mundane.  Our challenge is to harmonize both these qualities in our daily life, thus making a home for G-d below.

Based on Likutei Sichos, Lubavitcher Rebbe

Volcanic Ash: More flight disruptions

Ash cloud from Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano

Flights have again been disrupted as a volcanic ash cloud from a Chilean volcano drifts across Australian airspace.  For Sydney all domestic Qantas and Jetstar flights to and from the city from 3pm have been suspended. Qantas said it was reviewing its international flights to and from Sydney.

The air cloud has travelled around Earth one-and-a-half times and is "particularly persistent in the atmosphere", Airservices Australia said.

Read more: Sydney Morning Herald

The Way of Strife

"Why do you elevate yourselves over Hashem's congregation?" [Korach 16:3]

Such is the nature of a dispute that is not for the sake of Heaven, noted R' Simchah Bunim of P'shischa. It blinds the eyes and closes the hearts of the quarrelers, so that they lose their common sense.

For the Torah testifies about Moshe Rabbeinu: "Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth." How could anyone possibly accuse him of possessing the contemptible trait of arrogance? Yet this is exactly what Korach and his assembly did, as the verse states: "Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?"

Rather, this is the way of strife, the power of impurity that accompanies it totally corrupts an individual's intellect.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

The World's Obsession with Israel

Unless you are an Australian, you probably have no clue who Austen Tayshus is...... he is one of Australia's best-known comedians, real name Sandy Gutman .... and although he is someone I've known for most of my life through family connections, I rarely get to see him these days, but did manage to catch him on the "Q and A" show a couple of weeks ago, and just found there is a video of that show on You Tube.

If you begin watching at 40:00 mins on the video, you will see him in action, as a woman in the audience mentions the recent boycott of a Sydney council against Israel.... and Sandy [the one with the sunglasses] socks it to the anti-semitic guests on the show.   His comment [at 41:36] to anti-Israel Lee Rhiannon "Why are you so OBSESSED with Israel?" is something we would all like to know - why are all these people so obsessed with Israel?  And a special note about journalist and flotilla-participator Paul McGeogh's response to a question at 46:30 - where he tries, and fails, to justify his blatant anti-semitic journalism. 

For all those who missed the show, or for everyone who ever wanted to know, I'm posting the video here..... why is everyone so obsessed with Israel?  They don't really have a good answer, but at least the question was asked! Thank you Sandy.

Food for Thought

I remember hearing a shiur many years ago, one of the first shiurim I attended, given by Rabbi Mordechai Berger .... about the fact that when we are hungry, it is not that we desperately need the food we crave, but rather that our soul is craving to connect to Hashem, and through eating [and making the appropriate blessing on the food], we are enabling our soul to connect.   And that is why we feel hungry or thirsty several times a day, even though our body doesn't necessarily need all that food to survive.

It doesn't really matter what you eat [or drink] - your need to connect to Hashem will be achieved whether you eat a stick of celery or a giant piece of chocolate..... you will feel satisfied by either, because the goal has been achieved: your soul has re-connected to Hashem through the act of eating.

This has been explained much better than I can in Rabbi Oliver's latest post The True Purpose of Thirst and Hunger

A Kind Word

by Rabbi Michoel Gourarie

Charity and kindness are of the most important aspects of Jewish tradition. The Talmud teaches that compassion and acts of goodness are the trademarks of the Jewish soul. Charity brings blessing, hastens the final redemption and is compared to all of the Mitzvot put together.

There are various forms of giving. We can assist someone in need with something tangible like money or gifts. Another form of kindness, of equal importance, is time. Spending time guiding, advising, motivating, or just being a listening ear are all legitimate ways to fulfill this important Mitzvah.

But there is another form of giving that is possibly even more powerful and important. It takes very little effort and yet does not receive the attention and importance it deserves. This is simply saying something small to someone in a way that makes them feel valued and respected. This can be achieved by saying a kind or uplifting word to someone feeling down or as simple as a warm "hello" greeting to a friend or even a stranger.

The Talmud teaches that he who gives a coin to a poor person receives three types of blessings. However, if he says a soothing word and makes him feel better, he is given eleven blessings. It also teaches that greeting someone properly brings the blessing of longevity.

Giving someone time or money fulfills an external need. They provide important support but don't address the inner essence of the individual. A kind word or a warm greeting respects their human dignity and inner soul. Every human being is created in the image of G-d and possesses a soul of Divine origin. Respecting and uplifting that person is recognition of his/her Divine imprint.

We might not all have a lot of time or financial resources to help others in big ways. But we can all take a few seconds to say something positive to someone else or to greet the neighbor, garbage collector or the mailman with a smile. These small acts of real kindness deepen relationships, and inject a positive energy and a flow of blessing into all of existence.

Leave a Message of Support for Gilad

On the eve of the fifth anniversary of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit’s capture, an online campaign launched in Australia and highlighting his continuing captivity by Hamas, has gone global.

The site Meet Gilad.com is the brainchild of Andre Oboler, director of the Community Internet Engagement Project at the Zionist Federation of Australia.

Its aim is twofold: to collect one million personal messages of support for Shalit from around the world, and to build a coordinated global network of organisations, which can work towards “goals of mutual interest”.