Thursday, November 17, 2011

Sound the Alarm

by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

My column usually focuses on guiding and advising those who have difficulty navigating the murky turbulent waters that challenge their personal lives, be they shalom bayis, shiduchim, etc. From time to time, I depart from this format to comment on the issues that affect our very lives as a people.

Of late, this has occurred more often than I would care to admit. Events are unfolding so rapidly that before we can absorb one, another befalls us. Most of us opt for the easy way out........We shut our eyes, close our ears, and just glide along. I have sounded the alarm through this column myriad times and I realize that some of my readers may have tired of hearing it.... but just the same, I am writing again for I know that we dare not remain silent and feel the responsibility to raise our voices.

Some years ago, I came across an old Jewish newspaper printed in Warsaw in the early thirties. Incredibly, there was no mention of the dangers that loomed ahead. This, despite the fact that the menacing, hateful voices of anti-Semitism could be heard throughout Europe, provided of course, that you had open ears and were willing to listen. But then as now, people chose to ignore the warning signs. They preferred to attribute them to a few “crazy fringe fanatics”.... not to be taken seriously. Even as now, they assured themselves that the world had changed. “It’s not like it was in the dark ages. Today, we live in an enlightened society.... people are educated and cultured. No. There is nothing to worry about, There is no reason to pay heed to a few lunatics”.

Amazingly, we never learn. Despite having known the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust, we continue to follow the same pattern. We too choose to shut our eyes, We too close our ears and lull ourselves into believing that catastrophes such as occurred in the past can never again befall us. After all, we live in a democracy in which the rights of every individual are protected and guaranteed. And moreover, Israel is a close ally of America and Washington will never abandon her.

Despite all this however, I once again take pen in hand and write. I invite you to consider the events of the past few months, past few weeks, past few days..... Tragic events have befallen us, but should you say this to the average Jew, he will stare at you uncomprehendingly and wonder what on earth you are talking about.

Let us open our hearts and listen carefully. In every generation, we, the Jewish people have “loyal shepherds” who champion our cause and plead on our behalf in front of G-d’s Holy Throne., These shepherds are the sages and Roshei Yeshiva (heads of Torah Academies). In the last few weeks and months, many of our loyal shepherds have been called on high. These sages span three continents.... Europe, America, and Israel. One after the other, they were taken from our midst, and most recently, the loving “shepherdess”, the kind, warm Bubbie of our people, Rebbetzin Batsheva Esther Kanievsky of B’nai Brak, was also summoned. The Rebbetzin left thousands of women mourning and lost.... Additionally, the eminent Rosh HaYeshiva, HaRav HaGaon HaTzaddik Nossen Tzvi Finkel, Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir in Yerushalayim where thousands upon thousands of students received the light of Torah, was also taken from our midst, as was HaRav HaGaon HaTzaddik Dov Schwartzman, Z”l of Beis HaTalmud in Jerusalem.

Again, to the average Jew, these names and titles are of little consequence, but know and make no mistake about it, these are the loyal shepherds of our people – the “Giants” in whose merit the world is sustained, and in these past few weeks and months, they have been called home, leaving us vulnerable and challenging us to take responsibility for our lives and take upon ourselves a Torah way of life.

But disaster upon disaster continues to befall us – the tragic accident in which two outstanding yeshiva students were killed. Doniel King, age fifteen Elie Schonbrun, Z”l, age sixteen. The boys, together with fellow students were on their way to the yeshiva when their van skidded off the road... There is no way in which anyone can comprehend the terrible suffering of their parents.

But even as this catastrophe struck, we learned of the lamentable, freak accidental deaths of babies and toddlers, here as well as in Jerusalem, and all this unfolded before we could recover from the savage barbaric slaughter of our precious Leiby. On this very same week seventy three years ago, Hitler’s satanic Krystal Nacht, set afire Jewish synagogues and homes, in Germany and Austria. Jewish businesses were ransacked and destroyed, their windows shattered and the streets paved with thousands of glittering pieces of broken glass.

Some years ago, I spoke in Washington Heights, a community which was populated by many Jews of German descent. An elderly gentleman shared some of his Krystal Nacht experiences. “My synagogue and my home were torched by the Nazi Youth. I called the fire department only to be told that it was against the law to put out fires on property that belonged to Jews.”

Today, 73 years later, as we remember Krystal nacht anti-Semitism once again rears its ugly head. a tragedy once again unfolds. In the Jewish neighborhood of Midwood, Brooklyn, cars were set on fire and swastakas with obscene curse-words vilifying Jews were sprayed on sidewalks and benches.. Even a blind man would have to see it, but we continue with “business as usual.”

Coincidence? Accident? What possible connection can there between the barbaric events of yesterday and that which is befalling us today?

Can it be that there is a message behind it all – a message that we should ponder? ....Can it be? 

(To be continued)


The Great [Debt] Mabul


The great flood in the time of Noah began on 17 Heshvan.  

I know it's raining in Israel, and I know it's raining here.

But the bigger worry that is affecting the world is the financial flood: it's raining debt.  Why should we not care?   I borrowed this comment by Klishlishi from Money: It's a Crime :

The lesson of The Flood has shown that Hashem will not allow the pleasures of material existence to reach orgiastic proportions, and thwart mankind's raison d'etre by overwhelming the spiritual. Investment falls, company and bank crashes, pension fund scams, share price slumps, land value slides, mass unemployment, recessions and depressions are all examples of these checks and corrections.

"Before those days come, there will be no wages, not for man nor beast; I will set every man against his neighbour" [Zechariah 8]

"Before the Messiah, human wages will not exist" [Chofetz Chayim].

"There is no clearer sign of the coming of Moshiach than when all prices become equal" [Sanhedrin 98].

"Before the Moshiach, poverty will increase, prices will rise; even though the vine will produce its fruit, the wine will still be expensive" [Sotah 49].

"The Moshiach will not come until the Jewish People have been cured of their obsessional love for money!" [Rav Rafael Eisenberg, 1976].

"It will become harder to provide a man with his livelihood than to bring the Redemption" [Pesachim 118]

"There are certain sins for which the only atonement is to be in debt. When these sins multiply, then everyone falls into debt" [R.Nachman of Breslov].

"Three types of individual will not be required to see even the entrance to Gehennom: he who was pursued by his creditors..." [Eruvin 41]

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Prepare Yourself for the Banquet


"I am an alien and a resident among you" [Chayei Sarah 23:4]

What is the meaning, asked the Dubno Maggid, of the expression "alien and resident"?  An alien is a person who resides in a land temporarily, while a resident's status is a permanent one.  An alien, therefore, is not a resident, nor is a resident an alien.

The answer, said the Maggid, is as follows:  Chazal comment on the verse "For you are aliens and residents with Me" [Vayikra 25:23] - "This world is like a lobby before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banquet hall." [Avos 4:21]

Each individual is required to prepare himself for his eternal residence in the World to Come by performing mitzvos and good deeds in this world, his temporary dwelling.  Thus Avraham Avinu was saying "I am both an alien and a resident; I am an alien temporarily living in the world before I will become a permanent resident of the World to Come."

The Chofetz Chaim illustrated this idea by way of the following parable: There was a very wealthy man who wished to build himself a luxurious house. He contracted an architect who began to draw blueprints for the future home.

"It is very important to me" said the wealthy man to the architect, "that the living room be spacious and comfortable. Yet it is also important that the hallway leading to the living room be very large as well."

The architect took the necessary measurements and began to tell the man what he thought. "There is most certainly not going to be enough space for both the living room and the hallway to be large and roomy. You are going to have to make a decision - do you want a spacious living room or a spacious hallway?"

"I'll give you a bit of advice." continued the architect.  "Being that the prevailing custom is to make the living room as large as possible and not to invest very much in the hallway, I'd suggest that you do the same. It would be ridiculous to do the opposite and make the hallway larger than the living room.  After all, you don't want people to laugh at you."

So it is with us, said the Chofetz Chaim. Our duty in this world is to prepare ourselves for the eternal life, so that our portion in the World to Come will be as great as possible. How are we supposed to do this? By living our lives according to the Torah and by performing the mitzvos.

How foolish is the man whose sole concern is to ensure himself a comfortable life in this world. He is comparable to the wealthy man who requests a large hallway but a small living room. When he arrives in the World to Come everyone will laugh at him!

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Vegemite, Crocodiles and The Obamas

Australia is preparing itself for President Obama's arrival tomorrow, where he will address Parliament in Canberra and then fly to Darwin.
When Barack Obama lands in Australia tomorrow he'll have a "quasi-vegetable by-product paste" shoved into his mouth and told to like it.....  Even if Mr Obama manages to dodge an unwelcome breakfast, he'll still have to contend with crocodiles.

The NT News reports that the President has been insured against crocodile attack for his visit to the Northern Territory.  TIO insurers issued him the standard policy - a cover note carrying a photograph of a salt-water crocodile with the promise to pay his family $50,000 in the event of a fatal attack. TIO usually charges $10 for this sort of service but it gave Mr Obama his cover for free (although the $50,000 payout still feels a bit low for a presidential death).

Cleaning The Table before Moshiach

[HT: Yaak]
“HaKadosh Baruch Hu” is closing cheshbonos” stated HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky Shlita in regard to the difficult events that have taken place of late, Kikar Shabbat reports.

A number of askanim met with the Rav on Thursday afternoon [13 Cheshvan] in his home, including Rabbi Chananya Chulik of Ezer Mizion. Rabbi Chulik mentioned the recent tragedies that have befallen the chareidi community, including the passing of roshei yeshiva and how many are trying to understand what is taking place. 

“What is going on of late? Why the tragedies – what should we do and how does one respond?”

At first, Rav Kanievsky referred him to HaRosh Yeshiva HaGaon HaRav Aaron Leib Shteinman Shlita, telling him to ask Rav Shteinman on what should we focus and in what areas we should  strengthen ourselves.

Rabbi Chulik then stated that on motzei Shabbos he is supposed to address the shloshim kinos for women in Bnei Brak and he needs to know what to say to the thousands women who are seeking a chizuk.

בעקבתא דמשיחא” stated the Gadol Hador, that Moshiach is on his way and “Hashem is closing cheshbonos”, Kikar quotes the Gadol HaDor as saying.

Rabbi Chulik:Is Moshiach arriving soon?

Rav Kanievsky: This is what we believe and expect. Perhaps this is the time. In the past there were prophets who could tell us about the future, and why there is suffering and troubles, but today we have no explanation.

And in his address on motzei Shabbos to thousands of women, Rabbi Chulik explained “Hashem is closing cheshbonos and is cleaning the table ahead of Moshiach and compelling us towards tshuva”.

Source: YWN

And the water rose toward her...

Art: William Adolphe Bouguereau

"The servant ran toward her" [Chayei Sarah 24:17]

Rashi comments: "Because he saw that the waters went up toward her".

Where does the verse indicate, asks the Ramban, that the waters actually went up toward her?

Later on, answers the Ramban, the verse states:  "She drew for all his camels" [24:20].  In this verse, however, we find no mention of Rivkah "drawing" any water.  This teaches us that Rivkah, in fact, had no need to draw water for the water rose up toward her.

Yet, asked R' Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev, why did the water not rise for her when she drew water for Eliezer's camels?

Initially, Rivkah had gone to draw water for her own personal needs.  In order that the tzaddekes should not have to burden herself with the task of drawing water, the water, instead, rose to her.  However, when Rivkah went to draw water for Eliezer's camels, she had undertaken to perform a mitzvah.  Heaven wanted Rivkah to earn as much merit as possible for her act of kindness, so, this time, the water was not allowed to rise for her.  In this way, Rivkah would receive maximum merit for performing this mitzvah, for as Chazal teach us, "According to the exertion is the merit". [Avos 5:26]  Thus the more she exerted herself, the more merit she would receive.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Monday, November 14, 2011

Body and Soul

The Zohar teaches that Sarah represents the body, whereas Avraham represents the soul.  Even after death, the soul still remains related to the body, thus "Avraham - the soul - came to eulogize Sarah - the body - and to weep for her"  [Chayei Sarah 23:2]

Chassidic teachings emphasize the importance of the body as a tool in the service of G-d.  Since the ultimate purpose of creation is to sanctify the physical world, the body has a distinct advantage over the soul, in that it is the means by which G-d's Will is enacted.  Therefore, G-d told Avraham [the soul] "Whatever Sarah - the body - tells you, listen to her voice" [21:12], indicating that there is an inherent superiority to the body, over the soul.

Although the soul is incomparably more refined than the body, nevertheless, in the times of Moshiach we are promised that the superiority of the body will be revealed such that "the soul will be animated by the body".

Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Narrowness of the Throat


Written by Rabbi Michoel Gourarie

Question:
I have been coming to your Thursday morning series on 'forgiveness'. The lessons you teach about letting go of resentment, acceptance and freeing yourself are all wonderful. But even though I fully understand these ideas I still cannot find it in my heart to change my feelings towards some of those people that have wronged me. This is extremely frustrating. Any suggestions?

Answer:
Like many of us, you suffer from a condition called "narrowness of the throat". The Kabbalah teaches that the physical design of the human body reflects the spiritual and psychological makeup of the soul. We possess two powerful forces that govern the human experience - intellect and emotion. Intellect and cognition live in the brain while emotions and feelings are expressed in the heart.

Each of these forces is different and important. The intellectual mind is cold and aloof, with objectivity and maturity. The heart on the other hand is subjective and involved, infusing life experience with passion, excitement, determination and ambition.

Here is the problem. In order to implement a lesson or a value it needs to travel from the detached mind to the involved heart, with a transformation from a theoretical idea to real feeling. But because intellect and emotion are so different, the transition is often unsuccessful. As it travels from the head to the heart it gets stuck in the "narrowness of the throat". This is a common condition.

Learning a lesson once, even if it is well understood, won't do the trick. The concept will just remain theoretical and detached from the reality of life experience. To break through the blockage of the throat the idea needs to become much more forceful. This is achieved by constant review, repetition and deep reflection on its relevance. Eventually, after revisiting the concepts from different perspectives and with deeper understanding, we build an attachment to these lessons and values, giving them enough force to break through and unclog the pathway to the heart.

So keep coming, keep reviewing and reflecting and eventually some of what you learn will trickle though to the heart and become part of real life.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Chief Rabbi Metzger ‘sees the light’ after visiting shelter

by Sharon Shenhav - JPost

Rabbi Yona Metzger
It’s good that Rabbi Metzger is sympathetic to the plight of battered women. But where has he been for 40 years?

On October 31, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yonah Metzger informed Israel Radio, Reshet Bet, that he had visited a shelter for battered Orthodox women in Beit Shemesh and was horrified to hear of their suffering.

Apparently the chief rabbi had not been aware that Orthodox women were victims of domestic violence and expressed sincere compassion for their plight.

He described how he spoke with the women and listened to their stories. This eloquent spiritual leader pointed out that Jewish law (Halacha) does not condone violence in the home and that good Jewish husbands honor their wives and treat them with dignity and respect. He was so impressed by the experience that he is now going to recommend that all dayanim (religious judges) visit this shelter.

Rabbi Metzger’s concern and compassion is well deserved and to be commended. However, it comes a little late. Where has he been for the past 40 years? Has he been so out of touch that he doesn’t read newspapers or listen to radio or television? He served as chief rabbi of north Tel Aviv and has been the chief rabbi of Israel since 2003. In that position, he serves as a judge on the Bet Din Hagadol (the Great Court). Has he never heard of women seeking divorce from abusive husbands? The first shelter for battered women was opened in Herzliya in the 1970s. Why did it take him so long to visit one? What does his lack of knowledge say about him personally, or about the Chief Rabbinate and the rabbinical courts in Israel? FROM 2003 to 2009 I served as the only woman on the Commission to Appoint Dayanim. During that period I interviewed over 350 candidates who sought appointment.

My colleagues on the Commission who participated in these interviews, including a dayan from the Bet Din Hagadol and an Knesset member, would discuss the candidate’s yeshiva education and the rabbis who had been his teachers.

I would ask the candidates how they would handle cases where abusive husbands refused to give their wives a get (a divorce). Apparently these questions had not been asked of potential dayanim prior to my participation in the interviews.

The candidates seemed surprised by my questions and a leading rabbi told me that everyone was talking about the questions I asked during the interviews.

Like Rabbi Metzger, these candidates were well versed in Halacha, but seemed to know nothing about the problem of domestic violence in the Jewish community. When asked how they would handle such a case, they stammered and faltered.

Several remarked that abusive behavior doesn’t take place in Orthodox homes! Given this lack of knowledge in the world of rabbis and dayanim, the way abused women are treated in the rabbinical courts when they file for divorce is not surprising.

The rabbis simply don’t believe their testimony.

Even in cases where women have required medical treatment, including the need for hospitalization due to physical abuse by their husbands, too many dayanim seem to find such objective evidence unconvincing. Is it because all of the dayanim are men that they tend to conclude that abusive husbands’ behavior is the result of provocation by their wives? In most cases involving physical abuse, dayanim are reluctant to obligate the abusive husband to give a get. Let’s not even talk about emotional abuse. Most dayanim have never studied psychology, sociology or child development.

They don’t understand the concept of emotional abuse and certainly do not recognize it as grounds for divorce.

NO WONDER that studies of abused Jewish women show that they remain in abusive relationships four times longer than non- Jewish women. When they approach a rabbi for advice on how to deal with an abusive situation, they are often told that shalom bayit (domestic peace) is of the utmost importance. To improve the situation and reduce the abuse, these women are advised to lose weight, wear more attractive clothes, clean the house, keep the children quiet and cook more creative meals.

Now that Rabbi Metzger is aware of the problem, perhaps we can expect some changes. It’s possible that he could do something about raising awareness amongst other Orthodox rabbis and dayanim.

I would suggest that the chief rabbi begin by requiring all Orthodox rabbis to take a course in domestic violence which is prepared and delivered by social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers and civil court judges.

Hopefully, women who have been victims of abusive marriages could also participate in these courses, giving the rabbis an opportunity to hear the victim’s version of events.

The chief rabbi could organize such courses and require that every sitting dayan as well as all of those who submit their candidacy to be appointed as dayanim take such a course.

Feminist activists have marked November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women since 1981.

In 1999, the UN General Assembly designated November 25 as International Elimination of Violence against Women Day and encouraged non-governmental organizations worldwide to organize activities designed to raise public awareness of the problem. In Israel, there have been organized marches, demonstrations and conferences to mark the day for over a decade.

Perhaps this year Rabbi Metzger could, at long last, participate in these activities.

Would it be too much to hope that rabbis and dayanim could treat abused women with dignity, compassion and respect? Can we now expect that the dayanim will deal with abusive husbands by requiring them to give a get without requiring their wives to give up financial rights? Jewish women will be waiting to see what kind of action Rabbi Metzger takes, now that he has “seen the light.”

The writer, a Jerusalem-based women’s rights lawyer, is the director of the International Jewish Women’s Rights Project of the International Council of Jewish Women.

Source and talkback: JPost

The Key


All beginnings require that you unlock new doors.
The key is giving and doing.
Give charity and do kindness.

[Rebbe Nachman of Breslov]

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Why Iran's Top Leaders Believe That the End of Days Has Come

By Joel C. Rosenberg
 
Why would Iran authorize a major terrorist operation on American soil? Skeptics say the much-discussed “foiled” Iranian plot makes no sense. We will know soon enough if the Feds have sufficient evidence related to this specific plot. But Iranian leaders may, in fact, have a motive to accelerate direct attacks on the U.S.: Shia Islamic eschatology, or "End Times" theology.

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are convinced that the End of Days has come. They believe the Shia messiah known as the “Twelfth Imam” or the “Mahdi” will appear soon to establish a global Islamic kingdom known as the caliphate.

What’s more, they believe the way to hasten the coming of the Twelfth Imam is to annihilate Israel (which they call the “Little Satan”), and the United States (which they call the “Great Satan”). We should not, therefore, be surprised that Iran is probing for weaknesses in American intelligence and homeland security.

Khamenei told Iranians in July 2010 that he personally met with the Twelfth Imam. He also claimed to be the personal representative of the Mahdi on earth, and said all Muslims must “obey him.” Meanwhile, Western intelligence agencies say he continues to work with Ahmadinejad and the Iranian military to develop nuclear warheads and the ballistic missiles to deliver them.

Much of the media has focused on Iran’s threats to wipe Israel “off the map.” But journalists have generally ignored the fact that the Iranian regime is equally determined to destroy the United States.

On October 26, 2005, for example, Ahmadinejad said, “God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism.”

On June 2, 2008, Ahmadinejad said, “Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come, and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started.”

Iran’s leaders actually believe that the destruction of the U.S. is foreordained, just as the Soviet Union’s implosion was predetermined. They see U.S. economic weakness as a sign that the end of America is near.

Other signs include President Obama’s political weakness in the polls and his unwillingness to use force against Iran even after the Iranian murder of Americans in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon over the years.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees the gravity of the situation. “The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons,” he told The Atlantic magazine in March 2009. “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs,” Netanyahu said of the Iranian leadership. “When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.”'

Unfortunately, Netanyahu hasn’t seen the Obama administration strengthen the American economy or take decisive measures to stop Iran from getting the Bomb, and he is getting anxious. “The international community must stop Iran before it’s too late,” Netanyahu warned in his United Nations speech last month. “If Iran is not stopped, we will all face the specter of nuclear terrorism, and the Arab Spring could soon become an Iranian winter….The world around Israel is definitely becoming more dangerous.”

To truly understand how just how dangerous Iran’s regime really is, American leaders need to better understand Shia eschatology.

Read more: Fox News

Tov l'hodot la'Hashem

טוֹב לְהֹדוֹת לַה', וּלְזַמֵּר לְשִׁמְךָ עֶלְיוֹן. לְהַגִּיד בַּבֹּֽקֶר חַסְדֶּֽךָ, וֶאֱמוּנָתְךָ בַּלֵּילוֹת

Tov l'hodot la'hashem, ulzamer l'shimcha elyon, l'hagid baboker chasdecha v'emunatcha baleylot.

It is good to give thanks to God, and to sing to his name on high - to tell in the morning of His kindness,​ and in the evening of His faithfuln​ess. [Psalms 92:2]

The Reward for Praying for Someone Else


A person might pray for his friend before praying for himself for one of two reasons:

a) because his friend's problem genuinely bothers him more than his own problems; or
b) because he wants the reward of being answered first. [see Rashi Vayeira 21:1]

Generally, with acts of kindness, the result for the recipient is more important than the donor's motive. So even if a person prays for another because he wants the reward of being answered first he will still be rewarded, for after all he performed an act of kindness in praying for another.

Nevertheless, it goes without saying that the first approach above - the person with pure motives - is vastly superior.

Based on Sichas Shabbos Parshas Vayeira 5743, Lubavitcher Rebbe

Alone

Art: Dalhart Windberg

Words by Rebetzin Esther Jungreis

Yes, I`m afraid. When I say these words, most people do not understand, and they attribute my fears to the fact that I am a survivor and live in the shadow of my Holocaust experiences. Still others attribute my fears to "overreaction", and assure themselves that everything is okay, that there is nothing to worry about. "Fear", they rationalize, is a Jewish neurosis, identified with past generations, when our people lived in the darkness of the ghetto.

But today, things are different. Today, we live in the United States, a free, democratic country, in which all people have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..” And more, for the very first time in almost two thousand years, we have our own State and because of that, there is nothing to fear. I wish that I could be as confident as they, but I smell the noxious fumes of pre-Holocaust Europe, and so I write and speak wherever I can. It is not Hamas or the Moslem Brotherhood, nor for that matter, Ahmadinejad that I fear. Nor do I fear the United Nations, an institution notorious for its despicable hypocrisy and anti-Israel bias. I do not fear the sophisticated, intellectuals who camouflage their hatred of Jews behind politically correct pseudonyms that mis-lead all too willing ears, but what I do fear is our own people – yes, our own people who have forgotten who we are, who no longer remember that we stood at Sinai, that we heard the voice of G-d, that we belong to a priestly kingdom, a holy nation and that everything that befalls us is choreographed by Hashem, and is a reflection of our own deeds, our own hands.

To be sure, there is nothing new about all this. It is a “Truth” that is a very pillar of our faith and is inscribed for all eternity in G-d’s Book – the Torah. The warning screams out to us from almost every portion, yet we refuse to heed it. How can it be that we, the nation that is so brilliant, is so blind? How can it be that after thousands of years, we still fail to understand?

Our history is constant replay – again and again, tragedies befall us, yet we refuse to comprehend. It could all be so simple if we would all be willing to understand. But no matter how unbearable our pain, how agonizing our suffering, we continue to reject it. Every day, a Bas Kol – a Heavenly Voice calls us, but we choose to remain deaf. We have shed our Priestly garments and no longer recognize ourselves.

Time and again G-d sends His prophets to remind us that our destiny is different from that of all other nations, that our very existence is directly linked to our adherence to G-d’s commandments. Hashem has guaranteed our eternity, for we, the Jewish people have been chosen to be His witnesses, but tragically, we fail to see the glory of our calling, and that is the painful reality of our long, tormented exile. We have seen mighty nations come and go, rise, only to fall, but even as we have endured and triumphed,....but it’s all to no avail. We continue to remain obdurate.

Even as a young child in Bergen Belsen, I was aware of this Truth. My saintly father, HaRav Avraham Halevi Jungreis, Z’tl, embedded it in my heart and soul. But I could never have imagined that, before I would see the dawn, six million of our people would be consumed in the flames. Despite it all however, by the grace of G-d, not only are we here, but we have reinvented ourselves. We have given new life to the great academies of Torah that once shone so brightly throughout the shtetlach of Europe, and we have returned and rebuilt our ancient land. We have brought new life to the barren wasteland. We have planted gardens and forests, and despite the constant barrages of missiles and rockets, we redeemed our land. Yes, miraculously, we did it all and yet we still failed to see G-d’s guiding Hand.

As I said, I smell the noxious fumes of pre-Hitler Europe. Once again, the nations are bent on swallowing us, and, as always, there is no one to come to our aid, no one to even raise a voice on our behalf. Once again, we are reminded of the eternal words of our Torah: “They are a people that dwells alone and not reckoned among the nations.”....”We are like one lamb surrounded by seventy wolves” – all to remind us that our salvation can come from only One source – AVINU SH’BASHAMAYIM – our Heavenly Father.

Time and again, G-d has impressed this Truth upon us. Not only did He engrave these words in our holy writ; not only did He send His prophets to remind us, but He constantly speaks to us loud and clear. And yet, we continue to fail to heed His messages, and it is that which I fear. Our generation has seen darkness and light. We have seen the most painful, the most tragic, and also the most spectacular, the most miraculous. I am not only referring to the Holocaust, but to the ongoing, savage, brutal and blood soaked hands of our neighbors who are united by only one purpose – to slaughter and exterminate our people. They surround our tiny State and encamp on all our borders, but miraculously, we have survived in this sea of murderers. Just the same however, we still fail to see the Hand of G-d – We refuse to hear His voice calling us.

I invite you to consider only the recent attack on Ashdod.....On Shabbos afternoon as our people gathered to daven mincha, Ashdod was hit by rockets. Such an onslaught could have resulted in catastrophe, but while there were some injuries, Ashdod held fast. Although a synagogue and a school suffered a direct hit, miraculously, the building was empty. This synagogue usually has a large minyan in one of the classrooms, but on that Shabbos, services did not take place. The Gabbi was not feeling well and could not make the necessary preparations. Just think about it..

All those who came to see the sight were awestruck. It was an open miracle. Had the Gabbai not been ill, had services taken place, the tragedy would have been to painful to contemplate...and there was more. The entire place was covered with shattered glass and debris.... Everything in the room was damaged, but the Holy Ark and the Torah within remained untouched! And there was still more!

Just two hours later, another rocket hit a parking lot setting cars afire, but the adjacent building escaped damage. Miraculously, the rocket exploded near a large gas tank. Had there been a direct hit, the result could have been catastrophic.

Coincidence or the Hand of G-d? Yet we fail to see it – we fail to understand.

Darkness and light in the very same breath, and once again, I ask, Coincidence or the Hand of G-d?

It is the blindness of our people that I fear!

When will we wake up? When will we don our Priestly garments and fulfill our G-d given destiny and be “a light unto all mankind?”

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

B'chardal

Chazal teach us [Bava Metzia 86b] that Avraham served his guests three tongues in mustard [b'chardal] - one for each guest.

The Vilna Gaon was sitting and teaching Torah to a group of students. Said the Gaon: "We find that there are three positive characteristics that can be found in all righteous men:

1. They feel compassion for the poor
2. They suffice with little
3. Their hearts quake with fear of Hashem.

These qualities are alluded to in the word b'chardal - as the Hebrew letters of this word can be rearranged in three different ways:

1. bachar-dal - they choose the poor and love them
2. chadal-rav - they shun excessive lifestyles and make do with less
3. charad-lev - their hearts quake with the fear of Heaven

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

All beginnings are difficult



Our Sages taught that "all beginnings are difficult" [Mechilta to Shemos 19:5].

Chassidic thought explains that for a person to perform a new type of act which he has never done before, a "channel" needs to be opened allowing the reserves of spiritual potential in his soul to spread through his body.

In a more general sense this applies on a global scale.  A person who commits a spiritually unprecedented act in the world becomes a pioneer who actually makes it possible for others to follow in his footsteps.  He opens a new "channel", breaking down barriers not only for himself, but for his descendants and followers.

Thus, the Akeida was not merely an inspiring historical event from which we can learn.  It actually made an indelible mark on the Jewish personality, enabling Avraham's outstanding subordination to God to be duplicated by any Jewish person who avails himself, or herself, of the challenge.

Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

Hidden Blessings



“A blessing rests only on something that is hidden from the eye.” [Taanit 5b]

"And they gave their father wine to drink on that night....."[Vayeira 19:33 ]


According to the Zohar, the dot on the word - וּבְקוּמָהּ - alludes to the fact that God was secretly assisting this event, because Moshiach was to materialize from it, since Ruth, King David's mother, was a convert from the Moabites.

The latter event between Lot and his younger daughter [19:35] is written without the letter vav, to indicate that the union did not produce such great offspring.  Rabbi  Shimon said "When the verses states that Lot wasn't aware, it means he wasn't aware that Moshiach was destined to come from this union."

Why should the beginnings of Moshiach occur in such an undignified manner?

Ramak explains that when a very lofty soul is about to descend into the world, the forces of kelipah [evil] oppose the soul's descent vehemently.  Sometimes, however, kelipah will consent to the soul's descent if it occurs amidst a particularly sinful act.  Thus we find that from this undesirable act the ancestor of Moshiach was born.

Source: Lubavitcher Rebbe

Monday, November 7, 2011

Don't Attack Iran; G-d Will Ruin Ahmadinejad

Rabbi Shalom Berger, the Rebbe of Mishkoltz, says there is no need to attack Iran because G-d will get rid of Ahmadinejad.

“In my opinion, there is no necessity to take any military action against Iran," he said in a recent lesson to students. “The wicked Iranian [Ahmadinejad], who threatens to destroy Israel, will disappear shortly, before he will have time to vent his anger.”

The rabbi explained, “G-d brings a horrible ruler against Israel. He [the Creator] brings problems on Israel in order to unite the People of Israel."

“The wicked Haman [from the Scroll of Esther] did not do anything. He wanted to, but he could not do anything. We must stop with divisions and factions and we must love all the People of Israel and care about every individual.

“This is the way to deal with the Iranian threat, just like in the days of Haman.”

The Rabbi was referring to the story told in the Book of Esther, which notes that the Queen asked to gather all the Jews, without exception , to fast and pray for her success in going before the King to try to save the Jews. They were all, from the smallest to the greatest, young and old, set to be exterminated by the king's advisor Haman. She succeeded in her mission and the Jewish sages said that this shows that when the Jews are unified, they can withstand those who wish to harm them.

Source: Israel National News

People

Parshas Vayera: Essence Vision

''Abraham's Tent'' by Michoel Muchnik
Written by Rav DovBer Pinson

This week’s Torah reading opens with the words “And now Hashem appeared to him…and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent.” [Bereishis,18:1]

In this verse we are not told to whom Hashem appeared. We eventually learn from the narrative that it was Avraham/Abraham. But his name is not used in the verse.

The verse begins as a sequel to the previous portion in which Avraham circumcised himself, as is inferred by the first words of the verse, ‘and now,’ making it a continuation of the circumcision story.

The Zohar teaches that the circumcision was the reason for this revelation. This was a revelation to the essence of Avraham. It is for this reason that the verse does not mention the name of Avraham, referring to him simply as ‘him’, alluding to his very essence.

A name is a description. To one person you may be called father/mother, to another son/daughter, to another boss/employee. Your friends may call you one thing, and your family calls you something else. To each person you are something else.

When there is an ‘appearing’ of Hashem to a name, to Avraham for example, it is to an aspect of who he is. At this time, however, there was a revealing to all of him. The very essence of who he is, beyond title and name.

Avraham receives such a depth of revelation and intimate connection with the Creator because he is coming from the circumcision. The act of circumcision is to physically and thus also emotionally/mentally/spiritually reveal that which has previously been concealed.

When Avraham became fully open with nothing concealed, the Creator also became fully revealed to him, to all of him. Nothing remains hidden. Essence to Essence.

This revealing of Essence to Essence occurs at the beginning of this week’s Torah reading. At its conclusion we read that Avraham is called a “Yirei Elokim,” which is translated as a ‘G-d fearing’ person, but can also mean 'A person who sees G-d.' [22;12] Thus, Avraham becomes a ‘see’er of Hashem.’

Through the Essence of the Creator being revealed to his very essence, he gradually acquires deeper and more spiritually sensitive vision. He can now access the inner reality within everything, the Divine animating force within all of creation, without any concealment.

The Energy of the Week:
Essence Vision

It is a truth about many of us humans, that upon encountering another person we tend to instantly ‘label’ them and feel like we know certain truths about them based on their appearance, dress, upkeep, life 'station', mannerisms, and so forth. The same may be true with all objects, places or events we come in contact with every day. We tend to be easily influenced or impressed with the external realities and overlook the essence of the thing or person. Without consideration of what lies beneath, we define a person, object or event by its external attributes or 'effect' upon us.

This week’s Torah reading enables us to see beyond the outer garments. We access a vision that takes us beyond the ‘names’ and ‘labels’ and provides us with deeper and truer visions. We learn to see beyond the concealments and trappings, and view the essence of the matter in its entirety.

This is an energy of vision that occurs on many levels. Beginning with seeing each person for their essence, their essential Divinity, and extending to every event that occurs in our lives. The energy this week inspires us to perceive the guiding hand of Hashem in every life event.

Essence Vision is to see within every encounter, every situation and person, the Divine animating force.

In this way we view everything that occurs as an opportunity and invitation to connect more deeply with Hashem.

11 Cheshvan: Yarzheit Rochel Imeinu


Jewish Mother's Day The 11th of Cheshvan  
by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh

One of the most important days in the month of Cheshvan is the 11th, which commemorates the day of passing of our matriarch Rachel. Rachel was Jacob's most beloved wife and was the principal of his household and thus the principal of the entire house of Israel. From the first day of the year, the 1st day of Tishrei, the 11th day of Cheshvan is the 41st day. 41 is the numerical value of the Hebrew word "eim," which means "mother," thus the 11th of Cheshvan is truly the Jewish Mother's Day.

"Rachel cries for her children, she will not be comforted…"

Rachel constantly mourns over the exile of her children, the Jewish people, and the Almighty comforts her with the words: "Withhold your voice from crying and your eyes from tearing, for there is a reward for your actions… and the children will return to their border." Literally, "return to their border" refers to the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. But, more deeply, it refers to the return of our people to our natural spiritual environs: Judaism and our ancestral Jewish nature. These are the borders that truly circumscribe the uniqueness of our people. Amazingly, numerically, the value of the Hebrew word for "border" (g'vul / גבול) is exactly the same as the value of the word for "mother" (eim / אם); both equal 41.

In Hebrew, Cheshvan is written with the four letters: חשון. The borders (the first and last letters) of Cheshvan are chet - ח and nun - ן, which together spell the word chein - חן, meaning "beauty." The word chein - חן, "beauty" equals 58. The 58th day of the year is the 28th day of Cheshvan.

Rachel is described as the most beautiful woman in the Torah. The numerical value of the two middle letters, shin and vov, שו, is equal to isha -אשה , meaning "woman." Thus, the name of the month itself hints at the special and unique grace endowed to women.

King Solomon says that external beauty by itself is deceitful. If external beauty is all that a woman seeks then the name of the month becomes Marcheshvan, which means Bitter-Cheshvan. It is of such a woman King Solomon says: "And I find the woman to be more bitter than death." But, of true beauty, the beauty of a Jewish woman that emanates from within, he says: "The woman of beauty shall support honor." This true beauty is given to us, the Jewish people, by G‑d through the Torah, for "there is no truth but Torah" and "there is no honor but Torah."

It was Rachel, who was first endowed with this real beauty. Rachel is described as the most beautiful woman in the Torah, "She had a beautiful face and a beautiful figure." Thus, Rachel was the embodiment of the verse: "A woman who fears G‑d, she shall be praised," praised both for her grace and true beauty.

The beauty of the Jewish woman is not just a passive agent of spirituality. The sages teach that the offspring of Esau and his grandson Amalek can be defeated only by the children of Rachel.

Who embodies the spirit of Amalek in our day and age? In Hebrew, the words "Amalek" (עמלק) and "doubt" (safek / ספק) have the same numerical value. Thus, the spirit of Amalek that continues to plague each and every Jew is doubt; doubt in our faith, doubt in our Torah, and doubt in ourselves and the moral justification of our path.

But, sometimes the spirit of Amalek becomes bolder and captures a Jew (whether he be a private individual or a political figure) to the point of driving him or her to unconscious or even conscious self-hatred. This can result in a Jew's cooperation with the enemies of our people.

Finally there are the direct spiritual offspring of Amalek: those enemies who threaten the lives of Jews and our return to the Land of Israel.

The sages say that beauty is a woman's weapon. With everything that we have said about Rachel, her role as our matriarch, as the progenitor of Jewish nature, and of her beauty, it should now be clear that our weapon for defeating Amalek is the special beauty and grace of the Jewish mother. Joseph the tzaddik (righteous one) inherited his mother Rachel's beauty and he too is described as having a beautiful face and a beautiful figure. That is why the prophet says about him that "the house of Jacob will be fire and the house of Joseph its flame and the house of Esau straw, and together they will ignite him and consume him; and there will be no remnant for the house of Esau."

True Jewish beauty and grace destroy the enemy indirectly but, beauty is no regular weapon. True grace and beauty work by attracting the sparks of holiness that are bound within the enemy. These sparks are G‑d's will that the enemy still exist. Yet, when they are redeemed by their attraction to true beauty, they escape the enemy's grasp, leaving him void of any Divine source and causing his demise. True Jewish beauty and grace destroy the enemy indirectly by leaving him void of any beauty or grace himself, making him irrelevant and powerless.

The battle against Amalek in our generation must be conducted primarily with our ability to communicate to all around us the true nature of Jewish beauty and grace. It is to this beauty of Jewish nature and character that we return during the month of Cheshvan by reconnecting with our matriarch Rachel, with our own Jewish nature, and with ourselves.


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Yiddishe Mama

Rachel lost her own spiritual luxury - the privilege of being buried in the Cave of Machpeilah - in order to help her children. This represents the unparalleled quality of the "Jewish mother" who is always willing to sacifice her own needs, spiritual or physical, for the sake of helping her children.

And this is the inner reason why Jewish identity follows the maternal and not the paternal route. For even though the father possesses a greater degree of spirituality - since he has the privilege of observing more mitzvos than a woman - the quality of a Jewish mother is nevertheless greater, that she is willing to forego much of that spirituality in order to enable her to raise a family with tender loving care. And since this quality is even more quintessentially Jewish than the spirituality of the man, it is the mother that actually makes her children Jewish.

Based on Likutei Sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Parshas Vayechi: Gutnick Chumash
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Mama Rochel understood that tending to a broken heart comes above even Kavod Hashem....

When Rochel, out of frustration, complained to Yaakov about not having children, Yaakov got angry with her. The mefarshim say, based on a medrash, that Yaakov was punished for getting angry at Rochel and telling her that she needs to daven to Hashem and not complain to him.

Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro points out that Yaakov was defending Kavod Shamayim (the honor of Heaven) and was correct that Rochel's complaints were unjustified. His mistake was that he addressed the words that she spoke and not the pain in her heart. Had he pierced the veil of her soul, he would have known that because of her anguish, the words escaped her mouth and she was not accountable for them. He should have been slower to defend Kavod Shamayim and faster to understand human suffering.

This he explains was the greatness of Rochel. After the destruction of the first Temple, when Bnei Yisroel went into Galus, all the Avos and Imahos came before Hashem with all their great zechusim but were turned away empty handed. All the heroism of the Akeida, Yaakov's Torah, and lives of pure mesiras nefesh to build Klal Yisroel, did not impress Hashem in that dark moment of history.

The only one who merited Hashem's attention was Rochel Imeinu. What was her great act that warranted this special treatment? That she gave the simanim to her sister and helped fool Yaakov. With this bravery, in her mind, she was sabotaging the history of the Jewish nation since she understood that it was her and Yaakov that were destined to build the nation. Nevertheless she chose to cast aside her own destiny and Hashem's grand plan in order to save her sister from a single embarrassing moment.

Only Rochel, who had such a deep understanding of another person's pain and how it carries more weight than the entire Jewish experience, can be Hashem's emissary to bring his children's pain before Him. Only tears from Mama Rochel can bring the Geula.

Friday, November 4, 2011

On bombing Iran...

What is all this propaganda all over the internet about a plan to bomb Iran?  Why would they announce such a thing anyway?   Do you believe it, or think it's just a scare tactic and/or diversion?

The Lamplighter


The previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, R. Joseph Isaac Schneerson, who brought Chabad-Lubavitch to America, once recalled a thought-provoking conversation between his father and predecessor, R. Sholom Dov-Ber, and a Chassid:

The Chassid asked: "Rebbe, what is a Chassid?"

R. Sholom Dov-Ber answered: "A Chassid is a street-lamp-lighter. A street-lamp-lighter has a pole with fire. He knows that the fire is not his own, and he goes around lighting all lamps on his route."

The Chassid asked: "But what if the lamp is in a desolate wilderness?"

The Rebbe answered: "Then, too, one must light it. Let it be noted that there is a wilderness, and let the wilderness feel ashamed before the light."

"But what if the lamp is in the midst of a sea?"

"Then one must take off the clothes, jump into the water and light it there!"

"And that is a Chassid?"

The Rebbe thought for a long moment and then said:"Yes, *that* is a Chassid."

The Chassid continued:"Rebbe, I see no lamps!"

"That is because you are not a street-lamp-lighter."

"How does one become such?"

The Rebbe replied: "One must be sur mera [avoid evil]. When beginning with oneself, cleansing oneself, becoming more refined, then one sees the lamp of the other. When, Heaven forbid, one is crude, then one sees but crudeness; but when himself noble, one sees nobility."

[This again reflects typical Chassidic thought. The Baal Shem Tov [in comment on Avot 4:1; Nega'im 2:5; and Kidushin 70a] teaches that what man sees in another is a mirror-reflection of himself: as he is himself, so he sees the other. Divine Providence brought him to see it in order to correct his own deficiencies.]

When the present Rebbe recounted this conversation, he added: The lamps are there, but they need to be lit. It is written, "The soul of man is a lamp of G-d" [Proverbs 20:27], and it is also written, "A mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light" [Proverbs 6:23]. A Chassid is he who puts his personal affairs aside and goes around lighting up the souls of Jews with the light of Torah and mitzvot. Jewish souls are in readiness to be lit. Sometimes they are around the corner . Sometimes they are in a wilderness or at sea. But there must be someone who disregards personal comforts and conveniences and goes out to put a light to these lamps. That is the function of a true Chassid.

Source and more: Chabad

Thursday, November 3, 2011

As Good As It Gets

Art: Sharon Tomlinson

This is beautiful.... Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's message to his eldest daughter Mushki, on the occasion of her marriage this week.

Message to my daughter under the Wedding Canopy

Mushki, given the paucity of my experience in conducting Jewish weddings, I feared that I’d perform the ceremony imperfectly and my own daughter would end up living perpetually in sin. So, I brought in the heavy guns – your new grandfather-in-law, Rabbi Zalman Lipsker of Philadelphia – to join me in conducting your wedding.

I have waited my entire life as a parent to see you here under the chupa-wedding canopy, baby girl. You are my eldest child and we have always shared a special bond. One night, when you were about three and we were living in Oxford, I hosted ‘important’ people for dinner and you were sent with your baby sister Chana to your room. You weren’t used to being separated from me and Mommy and we had to install small bars in front of the bedroom door to make sure you stayed in bed and didn’t escape. A few minutes later we were all startled to hear shrieks from upstairs. We ran and saw you were squashing your sister underfoot, using her as a step ladder to climb out. Years later, when we moved to New Jersey and you were about ten, I was sitting and doing an interview with a journalist when I suddenly felt my entire back crumble. You had lunged yourself from the top of the couch right on me. You were my firstborn, and, having learned from the baby-as-step-ladder experience, you were allowed to invade my every meeting.

But now, as we stand here, those are mere memories and serious changes are afoot. The man standing next to you is to become the epicenter of your life. Like an old, crumpled paper, I am yesterday’s news (you know how much I like feeling sorry for myself.) But far from being sad, I am ecstatic to see you with your chosson. It is a validation of everything I stand for and believe. Your father is the product of a broken home and I bear the scars of that breakup till this day. Seeing you marry a fine young man with whom you will build a life makes me feel like I have reversed some of the wounds I have endured. I have been given the privilege of seeing love come alive, not just among strangers but among my own flesh and blood.

The ancient Rabbis say that a chupa is a recreation of Eden, which is why it is covered in beautiful flowers and other natural ornaments. In a sense you, Arik, are the first man, and you Mushki, are Eve, the first woman, in this new world you are both building.

Bereishis-Genesis, which we read in the Torah a little over a week ago, is the story of two people who owned absolutely nothing, not even clothing. And yet, in each other they found paradise. Their only possession was love and they reveled in the fullness that their companionship provided. Adam, whose first emotion, the Torah says, was loneliness, discovered fulfillment in the wife at his side and Eve too found happiness in her penniless husband. We commemorate that tradition till today by having a bridegroom empty his pockets prior to his arrival at the Chupa so that his wife accepts him for who he is without any accoutrements. With Eve believing in him, Adam gained confidence. He felt his very being was sufficient to make his wife blissful. She laughed at his jokes. She snuggled at his side. Eve, too, felt desirable and essential. She was, in a very real sense, Adam’s one and only. There was noone else in the entire world to distract him and he loved her with every molecule of his being.

But the story takes a sudden and painful turn. Enter the serpent who points out to Eve that there is a fruit she has never tasted. “Are you really happy?,” he asks. “Look at all the things that are outside your reach. The neighborhoods you can’t afford. The vacations you haven’t taken.” Eve looks sad. Adam begins to feel like he’s not enough. They have made one another feel inadequate and in so doing they have transformed paradise into hell. And all because they simply switched their focus, away from what they have to what they lack. And that is why, as soon as they eat from the forbidden fruit, the Bible famously says they ‘came to know their nakedness.’ Whereas before they felt they had everything, now they felt like they had nothing. Fullness has been replaced with failure. Enrichment with emptiness. They banished themselves from Eden.

In a real sense so many people today use possessions and material objects to fill the holes of their hollow hearts. They live with the mistaken belief that money will buy them Eden. But the lesson from the story of Adam and Eve is that paradise is not a fixed point on the globe but a habitation in the heart. It is not a geographic location that can be visited or a piece of real estate that can be purchased. It is, rather, an emotional frame of mind that must be experienced. Eden is walking by a river bank holding the hand of the spouse you love and paradise is seeing the children you have together laughing at the Sabbath table. I remember once, Mushki, that as a family we visited Washington, DC. All my children were walking ahead of me looking at the cherry blossoms and Mommy walked at my side. And I consciously remember thinking to myself that this is as good as it gets. This is life at the mountaintop.

But just as paradise is something that lives inside us, and can be experienced at any loving moment, so too the serpent slithers within, attempting to inject his venom into our bloodstream. His poison is cold, numbing us to the blessings that surround us. The Bible says that as a result of his voraciousness, the serpent is cursed to eat dust all his days. Dust is plentiful, but always unsatisfying. And so is the materialism and upward career mobility which are used today as poor substitutes for love. You must therefore expel the serpent from Eden, giving him no quarter in your heart.

When you were born, Mushki, your mother and I became parents. Suddenly we had everything. We took you everywhere. As you know I love the outdoors. I would carry you on my back up steep hills that would make your mother’s heart skip a beat and bring her to the cusp of profanity (don’t worry, she never crossed the line). We took you to visit your Grandma whom we told you lived in Miami, and the next week you cried to us that you wanted to go back to ‘Grandma’s Ami.’

Yet here you are, abandoning your father – after you had promised you’d hang around until drool was coming out of my mouth and I was in diapers – and running off with another man. But it’s as it’s supposed to be. The Bible says it most eloquently: ‘Therefore shall a man, leave his father and leave his mother, he shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

But as the two of you profess your love and dedication to each other, one question remains. What are the rest of us doing here? Why is the public gathered at this most private of moment? Why are marriages communal affairs?

Because your love is never meant to be private. You’re meant to light up the world with your affection. All of us who have gathered here look today to the two of you for inspiration. Those of us who are in less than loving marriages, or who were hurt by love, we look to you to believe again. All those whom life has beat up and who have been through the rinse cycle are looking to you to heal. All those whom relationships have let down are looking at you to feel lifted up. Inspire us. Move us. Free us from cynicism and despair. Give us hope. In witnessing the two of you dedicating yourselves to each other you have given us all a taste of paradise.

Go forth and build an eternal home among Israel and the Jewish people. Go forth and turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, the natural into the miraculous, the everyday into Eden.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has just published Ten Conversations You Need to Have with Yourself.’ (Wiley) His upcoming book, ‘Kosher Jesus,’ is dedicated to his daughter Mushki and son-in-law Arik who were married this week. Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.

The Vilna Gaon on Yonah: Secrets of Reincarnation

A Glimpse into the world of Remez

Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, commonly known as the Gaon [literally "genius"] was probably the most influential Jewish leader in modern history. He never assumed any official position of leadership and spent his time in almost total isolation toiling day and night in torah study. He became the undisputed greatest torah scholar and kabbalist in modern history.

The book of Yonah is read every Yom Kippur in all orthodox synagogues. The simple meaning of the story contains the theme of repentance. However, as is known there are 4 main dimensions of interpretation in the torah. They are 1: "Pshat" [simple,literal meaning], 2: Remez [allusion, hinted], 3: Drosh [not explicit interpretation], 4: Sod [secret meaning, which form the acronym PaRDeS (orchard)]. The Vilna Gaon on Mishlei [1:6, commentary "chemda genuza"] explains: "The 4th level of Torah, called "Sod" [secret] is the inner and primary meaning. The other lower meanings, are also true, but serve primarily for the purpose of straightening a man in order that he be sufficiently spiritually developed to understand the Sod". These four dimensions of interpretation exist certainly in the 24 books of the bible but even in the mishna and in the talmud. 

Very few people can delve properly beyond the pshat. Only one who has attained mastery in the four levels can be capable of deciphering the hidden code. The Vilna Gaon was such a rare person and offers us a spectacular view of a parallel book of the Yonah story in the realm of "Remez". Note that the simple meaning of the book is also true as we see, for example, that the Midrash Raba lists the "special fish" which swallowed Yonah as one of the creatures specially prepared during the 6 days of the creation of the world. Yet in the Vilna Gaon's "remez" version of the story, the fish is not real but is only symbolic of the grave of Yonah. 

This parallel story of Yonah is one of a human being who got caught up in materialism, dies, goes through Gehinom [purgatory], and returns in a reincarnation. The Sages teach that the vast majority of people alive today are reincarnations, which are sent back down because they did not complete their previous "mission". So this book, can very well speak personally to many of us. In Chapter 4 verse 3 the Vilna Gaon gives us a sign into how to see what went wrong in our previous lives.

And how could one know what he corrupted before [in his previous gilgul]? There is on this 2 signs. One - that [sin] which he stumbles many times in this gilgul. On this they said "let him examine his ways", which ones does he stumble. Two - which sin does his soul desire greatly, because it was used to it previously and became second nature. Therefore there are some men who desire one sin more, and others who desire a different sin. And on this they said "examine his ways" - that he should also fix his ways.

To read the whole thing go to: a glimpse into the world of Remez

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Emunah: Above and Beyond


''He trusted in Hashem, and He considered this for him as an act of righteousness'' [Lech Lecha 15:6]

Why, asked the Chofetz Chaim, was Avraham's trust in Hashem considered 'righteousness' - as though it was something above and beyond what was demanded of him? After, all, Avraham fulfilled every commandment in the Torah; what was so unique about his trust in Hashem?

We see from here, answered the Chofetz Chaim, that trust in Hashem is more than just another mitzvah, rather it is the foundation of the entire Torah.

To what can this be compared? To a man drowning in the sea who suddenly sees a tree extending from the shore. Which part of the tree will he attempt to grab? Not the branches, for they can easily be broken off; rather, he grabs hold of the roots.

So too, concluded the Chofetz Chaim, is trust in Hashem. Trust in Hashem is comparable to the sturdy roots of a tree, which serve as a foundation and a base for the entire tree.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Sparks of Holiness


"They will leave with substantial wealth" [Lech Lecha 15:14]

The above verse indicates that amassing wealth was one of the purposes of Egyptian exile.  For this to be achieved, it was necessary for Yosef to become the ruler of Egypt and gather wealth from all the other lands.

According to chassidic teachings, ''sparks of holiness'' are trapped within the physical world and are released when a Jew takes the object and uses it to perform a mitzvah.  Therefore, one of the inner purposes of exile is for the Jew to utilize physical objects in the service of G-d.

Thus, someone who truly desires to cleave to G-d needs to involve himself in the physical performance of mitzvot, for this is also the only way he can fulfill his soul's mission.

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

Monday, October 31, 2011

Miracle in Ashdod

[INN] A classroom in a special education school in Ashdod has served as a makeshift synagogue on Sabbaths for 40 years running. Throughout those years, not one Sabbath prayer was missed. Until this last Sabbath. And that was what saved the congregants from a Gaza missile that struck the synagogue's ...