treat yourself to an eternal vacation

The Baal Shem Tov teaches that guests bring with them the light of the world to come.

After thinking about it for some time, it seems to me that the plain meaning of the Baal Shem Tov is this:

In reality, we all exist as guests of HaShem. As taught elsewhere, the idea of midah k'neged midah and the idea that one isn't punished until one passes judgement on oneself (as taught by the Baal Shem Tov) come together here: When we are hosts we have a chance to demonstrate how it is we would like HaShem to act with us.

We can either have mercy on our guests and shower them with every kindness, or we can take advantage of them ruthlessly. (has v'shalom)

It seems that the plight of the guest is a truly unique one. While you are unable to provide for and help yourself, even your own feeling of imposition or of unworthiness to be served is a function of how your host behaves. The unworthy in this world are fed the bread of shame in the world to come. This means that while HaShem provides for their every need, they enjoy nothing, for they are ashamed they can't take care of themselves.

a berachah withheld

The Ben Ish Hai (Hilchot Tzitzith) explains that the principle of Safek Berachot L'Hakel (when in doubt, we don't say a berachah - lest we utter God's name needlessly.) is stronger even than the Shulchan Aruch's psak Halachah.

But get this: We don't use Safek Berachot L'Hakel against the teachings of the Arizal.

That's intense.

A cute parable regarding this principle: There's a question about the berachah we make on Rosh HaShanah, that HaShem forgives His people. How can we make a blessing as if God will certainly forgive us, even before we ask for forgiveness? Maybe we won't merit to be forgiven?

The answer lies in this story: a child really wanted an apple, but his father didn't want to give it to him, so the insistent child made a berachah on the apple, and his father was forced to give it to him. (otherwise it would have been a needless utterance of God's name) Similarly we make the blessing on Rosh HaShanah to (figuratively) force HaShem's Hand to forgive us.

ps. Someone please remind me of the source of this parable.

letting it all hang out

"Tzitzith are supposed to be warn over the clothes, plainly visible to all." While there are many who agree that while living amongst the gentiles, it is ok to wear the tzitzith garment under their clothes, those who tuck the tzitzit (the fringes) themselves into their pants are dishonoring one of God's mitzvot. If they had an article of clothing inscribed with the name of their king, you can be sure they would be wearing it proudly, adorning themselves in it as often as possible.
(paraphrased from: Mishnah Berurah 8:11[26])

This should speak to our generation, whose every possession is branded labeled and relabeled with so many slogans and logos.

The Hafetz Hayyim hints here to the fact that God's name is hinted at in the number of strings and knots in the Tzitzit. Why don't we wear God's name proudly and openly? Why do we hide it away while sporting endless articles of clothing emblazoned with Nike, Apple, Obama, Sports teams etc.?

I think what is beautiful is that there is a movement in our times to bring the emphasis back to Judaism, and to wear it proudly in so many ways. I don't always agree with the means or the message, but it's breathtaking to see a generation living the words of the Hafetz Hayyim, at least in spirit if not to the letter, even in the midst of so many other confusions.

What we can take from this is to strengthen ourselves both with pride in being Jewish, and with stronger dedication to perform and guard HaShem's mitzwoth -- the two go hand in hand. That's why the most widely accepted book of Jewish Law (The Shulchan Aruch) begins with the lesson that we must be mighty in God's service, we must have the courage to go against the grain, against the social pressures of wherever we may find ourselves.

May we merit to see Jews in increasing numbers flaunting their Tzitzith, enjoying their God-given duty to walk around wearing God's logo.

[note: this is not halachah for Sefardim who, based on Kabbalistic reasons, don't wear their tzitzith openly. Nor should anyone be basing their actions on any halachah mentioned here, they should have a Rav/Rabbi/Rebbe and be in touch with them. If for some reason, you cannot find or have not found a Rav/Rabbi/Rebbe, I will be happy to try to put you in touch with someone appropriate to your spiritual, intellectual, and geographical predicament.]

king david as a posek

David HaMelech was a posek. At least according to Masechet Brachot 3b. It's an interesting insight, I never thought of that before, never considered that angle. In fact, I was about to ask why was David HaMelech a posek, when the Tanya (Igeret HaKodesh ch.29) answered my question before I asked it:

In it, Rebbe Shneur Zalman explains that the Oral Torah, through revealing the Divine Will hidden in the Written Torah becomes a crown for the Torah.

To me this connects all of the dots: The Oral Torah and speech in general is related to the Sefirah of Malchut, Kingship. So, it follows perfectly that David HaMelech, the King of Israel would be responsible to reveal the Divine Will inherent in the keeping of the mitzwoth as recorded in the Written Torah, through paskening Halachah, Oral Torah.

the crown of kindness

The Zohar teaches that in Keter, the highest of the sefirot, there is no 'left' side. The left side is Gevurah, judgement, the hand that punishes and pushes away, the right side is Hesed, the hand that comforts and brings close.

We all know that somewhere deep down, God is love. That's a poor phrasing of what the Zohar is saying above, but we know it to be close to the truth.

Still, for me its comforting to know conclusively that even though Gevurah (the left) is a part of the creation, part of the divine plan, when it comes down to it at the initial seed of creation, Keter, there is no Gevurah, it's all Hesed, all infinite loving-kindness.

No more existential questions, any Gevurah we witness is unquestionably an expression of the supernal Kindness in Keter. We can bank on it.

So my question becomes this: Malchut, the Shechinah, the 'lowest' of the sefirot is a reflection of everything above it, "She has nothing of her own." So if Malchut reflects everything above, we must be able to see even this nature of Keter down here, in Malchut.

That's when I realized Shema Yisrael, which we say twice (+) a day every day, expresses exactly this idea:

שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו, ה' אחד

HaShem (the name of divine mercy) is Elokim (the name of divine judgement), HaShem is One. Whether His expression comes down as divine mercy or judgement, it's the same HaShem and His name of mercy is the name that properly describes the union of those two attributes.

The Shema Yisrael works its way from the bottom up. Israel. (bottom: the created subject) HaShem Elokeinu (middle: expression of Judgement and Kindness) HaShem Echad (top: In Keter there's no 'left' side, all of HaShem's Will is united in the 'right.')

This even does a nice job of explaining the fact that the word for "Hear [O Israel]," also means to connect or bind. We're connecting from the bottom, Israel, back to the top, Keter.

kids miss their parents, its natural.

Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 63b: Advice for dealing with a child who misses his father too much: take a strap [presumably a sandal strap] from the father's right and tie it around the child's left arm.

When I heard this mishna it sounded a lot like Tefillin, (which has a strap tied on our left arm from our "Father's" "right arm" -- I saw in a teaching of the Arizal, since we stand facing (figuratively) God, His right parallels our left.) and sure enough, the Talmud's only commentary is: and a sign [to understand and remember this] is Tefillin.

How can this help our avodat HaShem, our divine service? 

Two ways:

(1) If we have an intense desire to be close to God and we're missing him too much, put on your Tefillin. Better yet, maybe help someone else who doesn't know how to put on Tefillin.

or:

(2) If we want to have an intense desire to be close to God and we feel like that feeling is missing from our lives, put on your Tefillin. Explore Tefillin as a way to feel a deeper connection with HaShem, no matter where you are or where you're going. (Including helping someone else to put on Tefillin)

[The advantages to helping someone else put on Tefillin, or participate in any mitzwah, are numerous, bordering on limitless, which is why I suggested it. Perhaps we can go into it in another post.]

mitzwoth as smoke signals

[I gave this dvar Torah on Zot Hannukah 5770.]

Hannukah is to a year what Tikkun Hatzot is to a day. In the depths of the darkness we remember the deepest light of the world, the light of the Holy Temple, the revelation of the Highest in the lowest. (God in this world)

Rebbe Natan explains that the first mitzwah given to the Nation of Israel is the mitzwah of [seeking and] proclaiming the new moon is (Likkutei Halachot, very begining) because that is the essential purpose of the Jew, to seek out the spark of light in the darkness.

When we proclaim the new moon, the new month, Rosh Hodesh, the Mishnah [Rosh HaShanah 2:4] describes what that used to be like: They would light fires on the hilltops to signal to those far away that the new moon had been seen and the new month had begin. Rosh Hodesh is a very holy celebration we have each and every month.There were huge feasts and celebrations in the Temple each Rosh Hodesh.

When the signal fire reached the tallest hilltop visible to all those Jewish communities outside of the land of Israel they would wave the fire back and forth up and down until they saw answering fires throughout the exile. (throughout the rest of the surrounding countries) The words used are beautiful: They would wave the fire back and forth until the whole exile was alight like one giant bonfire. Think about that imagery: one little light, waving until the whole world seems to be filled with a roaring answering flame.

That's Hannukah.

One little candle waving until the whole world is alight with the revelation of Godliness.

That's every mitzwah, as we are taught, נר מצוה ותורה אור, a mitzwah is a candle.

That's what it means to be a Jew. To seek out that little bit of light, in every occasion, in every place, in every person and wave that little spark of a candle until the whole world is going up, alight in the flames of Godliness.

daily life

In the past we've written about the importance of focusing on today, especially with regard to overcoming your yetzer hara. [see: bet your bottom dollar on today]

Today (no pun intended) I'd like to mention a few words about using today as a way to focus and intensify your prayers. [And through your prayers, to intensify and focus your relationship with HaShem.]

As is known, Chazal (our Rabbis, their memories should be a blessing) refer to prayer as the life of the moment. (חיי שעה) Primarily this reference is to draw contrast between prayer and Torah study, which is referred to as the life of forever. (חיי עולם) But, this definition of prayer as the life of the moment can help us in our attempt to pray with real focus and feeling.

In modern culture, prayer is seen as a last-ditch attempt that at worst can't hurt. We see this in the football play (l'havdil elef havdalot) "hail mary." Or the expression "he hasn't got a prayer [of a chance.]" We conceive of prayer as something that cannot be relied upon, [but won't hurt.]

Exactly the opposite is true: prayer is the best channel available to us to effect positive change in our lives.

Even in the midst of an earnest prayer, we lose hope when we ask for something that seems (to our limited conception of reality) 'far-fetched.' It feels like asking someone on the street for a million dollars, but rolling your eyes at the absurdity of the act. The moment we believe that we aren't deserving of HaShem's intervention, or that maybe we should ask for something less as it stands a better chance of being granted, we're falling into the trap of the yetzer hara.

More than that, we are more willing to pray for big rewards that will arrive further down the road -- subconsciously we do this to avoid being let down when we don't receive what we asked for -- if we asked for a wonderful new job today, and it didn't happen, it would seem like God isn't listening, and we're affraid He might not be.

This is like not pursuing a relationship out of fear of rejection. It's not news to anyone, I know, but you can't get someone to fall in love with you without first taking risks. Same thing with God, you are building a relationship and if you don't trust in HaShem, you aren't letting that relationship grow.

My advice to you: Focus on today. When you pray, ask for what you need today. Then ask for what you want today. [Don't forget to thank God for what you have today as well.]

As you progress, don't progress to tomorrow or longer periods of time, instead progress to greater expectations from today and you will not only reveal God's presence in every moment of your life, you will also develop a wonderfully deep and personal relationship.

Don't make the mistake of thinking you can wait till tomorrow to pursue this relationship. HaShem created the world in such a way that it's virtually impossible not to get to the world to come, (later if not sooner) but the relationship you build while in this world, is the relationship that will persist in the world to come as well --

Don't get stuck in the world to come with only "hail marys" to rely on.

dividing the land

When the Israelites arrived back home after the exodus from Egypt, the division of the land took place through a lottery.

This wasn't any ordinary lottery, but rather before each result was drawn, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) would announce through prophecy which result would be drawn from the lottery.

This was the method through which it was made clear to the whole nation that the division of the land was divinely determined.
(source: http://www.steinsaltz.org/learning.php?pg=Daf_Yomi&articleId=1801 )

We can't begin to imagine or understand the amount of theatrics HaShem underwent to make us feel special. Remember that each day. Remember all the wonderful things that took place to bring you to where you are now. Remember that even if now you are in darkness, (Yavan, Greece, was hinted at by the word darkness in the Torah, so its an appropriate teaching for post-Hannukah)  you won't be for long. Don't give up.

back to front

When confronted with the challenge of providing for the nation of Israel, David HaMelech suggests they go to war and live off the spoils. (Berachot 3a)

This troubled me greatly, not the thought of going to war and living off the spoils, but that the Chachamim of David HaMelech's time were insistent that the nation could not adequately provide for itself.

One potential answer comes straight out of the Torah, [see: the nerve of some people] where HaShem promises that there will always be poor in the land of Israel. (Devarim 15:11)

But this is the answer I came up with, after a few weeks of thought: (I ran it by Rav Yehoshuah Kohen and he there may be something to it, so I thought I would share it here.)

In David HaMelech's time, we lived according to the natural order, or in Kabbalistic terms, the Achorayim, (hindpart) whereby the world functions more or less according to science in the sense that the system is a closed system and its (essentially) a zero-sum game. In such a setting, as today, growth requires an ever increasing amount of resources and so, naturally, a growing nation cannot suffice to provide for itself.

Later however, in the time of Shlomo HaMelech, once the Beit HaMikdash was standing, this was no longer the case, as the world achieved its more ideal spiritual status of Panim (forepart, or face to face relationship with God) which entirely defies the classical scientific phrasing of the world as a closed system. As long as the Temple stood, the whole world received abundant sustenance from Jerusalem.

There's even perhaps a hint in the words of the Chachamim who made their case before David HaMelech, they said the mouth of a well cannot suffice to fill the well. In other words, rain is gathered from a large area to fill a well, not just the surface area of the well-mouth. This is very much the opposite of the truth in the time of the Temple, when the Temple itself suffices to fill the whole world with blessing.

slow to anger

Berachot 6b, If HaShem shows up to a minyan and there is no minyan, He gets angry.

Berachot 6a, unlike a court, HaShem shows up before the minyan arrives.

Huh? So, basically that means there is never a minyan when HaShem shows up, so He's always angry???

Rav Yehoshua Kohen explained to me that the first Gemara is talking about the Shechinah dwelling in the Beit Knesset, whereas the second Gemara is talking about HaShem 'checking in' (ביקורת) which is something HaShem does regardless of the first Gemara.

When does HaShem check to see if there's a minyan? It can't be at Netz, (sunrise) because most of the minyanim start later than that, and it can't be at the end of the appointed time for prayer, because most minyanim finish before that.

So when does HaShem check?? According to R' Kohen, HaShem checks in at the appointed time when a minyan is supposed to start.

This means that we should all be getting to minyan on time, whenever on time is, for a particular minyan.

Why ask R' Yehoshua Kohen? You probably have never met anyone who knows all of the Bavli and Yerushalmi Talmuds (incl. Poskim, etc) like he does.

a baby cries Torah

The Zohar (VaYeshev) says that the Yetzer Hara only has control over the body. This is why its first instance in one's life is from the moment one is born from the womb.

The Shulchan Aruch (and the Mishnah Berurah) when discussing the blessing of Asher Yatzar, (recited after washing the hands after using the bathroom)  makes a point that the mouth is closed in the womb and only opens when the baby is born. [Sidestepping for a moment the little scientist in me who would point out this is not a scientifically sound claim.] If the mouth would not open when the baby was born, we would die, they go on to explain.[This is close to some scientific truths about the reversal of blood flow in parts of the body and the closing and opening of certain valves at the time of birth, but I said we're ignoring that for now.]

In taking these two ideas together there's an interesting parallel that may or may not bear fruit:

In Yaakov's encounter with Yitzhak, we learn, "The voice is Yaakov's, while the hands are Esav's." In a number of places, Chazal equate Yaakov with the Godly soul, and Esav with the Yetzer Hara.

From this we see, perhaps, that the only thing that prevents the Yetzer Hara from killing a body outright upon its birth is that its mouth opens. (and the baby cries) The cry, the voice, is the power of Yaakov, and even though, until physical maturity we don't have a proper Godly soul, we do have the imprint of one. That shrill wordless voice of the baby when it is born is a portent of the Torah that will flow from that mouth. For that reason alone, theYetzer Hara is weakened and prevented from taking the child outright.

Were this not enough we see a number of examples in Chazal of those people who were so Holy and so involved in Torah that the Angel of Death (synonymous with the Yetzer Hara) had no power over them. The expression used is that "their mouths never ceased to utter Torah." We find it by David HaMelech, by Rav Yehudah HaNassi and others.

We know Torah is life, that's stated a number of times in the Torah, but perhaps from here we see that the mouth is the sole weapon against the Yetzer Hara.

you may not be what you eat, but what if you are?

In his partial commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, (OH 6:1) the Mishna Berurah,(6) the Hafetz Hayyim quotes what appears to be the Ariz"l, explaining that the miraculous state of man, a combination of spiritual and physical, one of the wonders for which we praise God, is brought about specifically through eating.

"The soul benefits from the spiritual element of the food, and the body benefits from the physical element of the food, and it is through this very mechanism, food, that they are brought together."

That's an amazing revelation. (Here I am trying to learn more halachah, but it's the secrets incidentally revealed in the halachah that speak to me the most)

[Of note: this sounds similar to the Noam Elimelech's comment that the whole purpose of this world is to eat.]

If we reexamine eating from this perspective, it can change our entire world. What we eat affects how, when, and if our souls are bound to our bodies and vice versa. It also tells us that the secret in allowing the soul to reign over the body begins and ends with which food we eat and how we consume it.

Be aware of what you eat and how it affects you; especially how it affects your service of God.

At the very least, be careful about making the appropriate berachot before and after whatever you eat, even that deceptively simple step can be enough to give you a new dimension to your spirituality you never knew existed.

Don't let them eat cake!

This morning I was dreaming about eating a delicious cake. When I woke up, I missed the cake, so I went back to sleep to have some more. (True story.)

That basically sums up all of Olam HaZeh.(This world) It's a world of lies and illusion, in Tehillim (ch. 126) David HaMelech says that when the final redemption comes and the illusion is lifted, we all will have been like dreamers. Chazal teach that Bnei Yisrael will cry for the Evil Urge when it is destroyed -- Just like I went back to sleep to "eat" more "cake." We will miss the illusion and mourn its loss.

That's what will happen if we don't wake ourselves up now, and attune our senses to the Truth underlying the illusion of this world. The only way to grow closer to Godliness is through Torah and Mitzwoth.

Everything else is just "cake."

melting the fleshpot

The Mikdash Melech on the Zohar (179b) in the beginning of Parashath Vayeshev makes an interesting point: The Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination, only has control over the body. This explains why from the moment of birth, the Yetzer Hara challenges a person.

The Baal HaTanya who points out (I think in ch.3(?)) that the Beinoni, the person who serves God sincerely but does not eliminate his Yetzer Hara, associates his self with his body and says, "the soul which you placed within me."Conversely the Tzaddik's relationship to his body is "the flesh of man," in other words, he is his soul, and his flesh is a garment he wears.

Taken together it flows really nicely. As long as we associate our selves with our bodies the Yetzer Hara holds sway over us. When we recognize that our flesh is a temporary garment, the Yetzer Hara loses his grip.

Take your time and pray properly

Berachot 6b - "He should have trusted in Me" - This is HaShem's response to someone not showing up to Beit Knesset for prayers because he needed to attend to his own matters.

So next time you're in doubt about whether or not to make it to minyan, go for it, only good will come of it. Take His word for it.

I've personally known this to be true for at least eight years. Every time I would skimp on a tefillah to save time, I'd always end up sitting in traffic or the meeting/appointment I was rushing to would be cancelled. Now I'm happy I found the source in Chazal. Baruch SheKivanti.

parents as role models

Towards the end of the Tanya we see a discussion of how learning Torah differs from the practical mitzwoth.

One of the Alter Rebbe's major points is that Torah, as a pursuit of God, is limited in that the closest we can come is to an awareness of the Existence of God, but we cannot experience His Essence.

Through performing the physical mitzwoth, on the other hand, we are actually binding ourselves to God's Essence. (Note that this includes even (or especially) studying the halachot of the performance of physical mitzwoth because through the study of the performance of the mitzwoth we connect to the Essence of God's Intellect which prescribed the precise boundaries of the mitzwoth.)

My cousin Solly related a dvar Torah he had heard elsewhere regarding Avraham Avinu's tremendous intellectual insight that God existed. The question raised is, after such an insight, why did HaShem have to test Avraham? The Answer lies in the two relationships a person forges with HaShem, one is this intellectual relationship and the other is a relationship built on action and commitment. This second relationship was the one Avraham had to build, this was the purpose of the ten trials he underwent.

What strikes me personally is how one of these aspects of serving God seems very paternal, and the other maternal. Perhaps this is why HaShem gave each of us a mother and a father, to show us that we need to connect to God both through an intellectual awareness of His Existence (Torah study) and through the closeness brought about by ongoing involvement. (Mitzwah performance)

[This bears out some excellent relationship advice: When one's marriage mixes both these means of relationship, understanding and respect (intellectual) as well as shared time and experiences (involvement) there is the potential for a full and rewarding unity.]

stop watching the pot

In his introduction to hilchot Hannukah, the Ben Ish Hai makes an interesting comment about teshuvah:
Like cooking, if the pot is covered, the food will cook much faster and more thoroughly, so too, Teshuvah done in a covered manner (with tzniut) will be far more effective.

peace on his lips

The Zohar (Bereishit: Miketz) says something interesting: a Tzaddik opens his mouth in peace. Whatever flows out of a Tzaddik's mouth is focused on creating, attaining, and deriving peace. HaShem is given as a primary example, He first contacts Pharoah through Yosef [the archetypal Tzaddik] and Yosef's first words to Pharoah are none other than: (Bereishit 41:16)

 וַיַּעַן יוֹסֵף אֶת-פַּרְעֹה לֵאמֹר, בִּלְעָדָי:  אֱלֹהִים, יַעֲנֶה אֶת-שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה.

"And Yosef answered Pharoah saying: Without any contribution from me, God will answer regarding Pharoah's peace."

This is a refreshing view in our current times where peace has become a catch phrase for giving in to our enemies. God eventually struck down Pharoah for his defiance, but he opened his initial dialog with peace. When the first large aliyah movement began returning to the land of Israel, (well before 1948) we dwelt with our arab neighbors in peace. Now that the world has invented a non-nation who does not acknowledge our ownership of our land, peace is not the right path to take. When Pharoah denied God, he was utterly destroyed.