ADOPT A MITZVAH
Every society has its norms and its mores. There are manners of behavior that are expected and there are some that are mandated. In America it is expected that you return a smile back to the one who smiles at you. You are obligated to pay your bills on time and can anticipate a fine for paying late. These define a society.
Continue reading Mishpatim 5779OPEN TO ALL
The population of the world can be divided into religious groups and into ethnic groups. The religious groups would include all the religions of the world. The ethnic groups would include all the nations of the world. Where do the members of the Jewish people get categorized, under the religious groups or under the ethnic groups?
If we are a religion it would seem imperative that one cannot be considered a member of the Jewish people unless they ascribe the cause of the world to HaShem. If they deny the existence of a creator they would not be a Jew. We know, however, that in every period of history the world recognizes a Jewish atheist as a Jew. We, as well, consider a Jewish atheist a member of the Jewish people and their children do not require any conversion to be accepted into our people. Hence, we cannot be defined as a religion, at least exclusively.
REEL PROJECTION
In this week’s Parsha, Yisro, HaShem gives us His Torah. Let us take a moment to appreciate this gift and what it means to us. The Midrash teaches us that before creating the world, HaShem first created the Torah and then ‘He gazed in the Torah and created the world.’ The use of the word gaze seems to be more than simply looking at the Torah. What was the function of His gazing at the Torah and how does that create the world? Rabbi Akiva Tatz draws a parallel from old fashioned movies to explain this Midrash.
Continue reading Yisro 5779SHULAMIS – THE FABRIC OF KLAL YISRAEL
In this week’s Parsha, Yisro, we arrive at Mount Sinai. The Torah points out that our arrival at Mount Sinai was distinctly different than all our other encampments. At every other encampment throughout our 40 year journey in the desert there was some degree of quarreling among our people. However when we encamped at Mount Sinai there was perfect unity. The reason for this was because at Mount Sinai HaShem revealed His entire greatness to us, to the extent that it was possible for us to comprehend, for the purpose of giving us His Torah.
Our Sages explain that HaShem’s Presence can be revealed to the people only when they are in state of perfection – Shleimus. This state of perfection can only exist when there is absolute unity.
QUALITY OF LIFE; OUR CHOICE
In this week’s Parsha, Beshalach, the Torah portrays the value of one moment of life. HaShem has taken His people from Egypt and has punished the Egyptians with the Ten Plagues. These Plagues were the greatest demonstration of HaShem’s continuing maintenance and involvement in His world. However, He was not finished, there was still more to accomplish.
HaShem tells Moshe “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will run after you and I will become glorified through Pharaoh and Egypt will know that I am HaShem.” The stated purpose of having Pharaoh follow us into the Red Sea was two-fold. The first was to make HaShem glorified and the second was that the Egyptians should know that HaShem is the Almighty.
THE ROAD CONTINUES
In this week’s Parsha, B’shalach, we finally exit Egypt and our journey to become HaShem’s people begins. To go from a nation of slaves to HaShem’s chosen people who will carry His Name throughout history throughout the world in every region through every ism we must be prepared and strengthened. Among the greatest restrictions that bind man from doing what he wants, are the confines that he makes up in his mind. Take for example, the boss who expects his employee to snitch on a co-worker. The employee does not want to snitch but they feel bound to do so; how then stand up to their boss?
Continue reading B’shalach 5779BASE TEN
HaShem brought His world into existence through the utterance of ten statements. These include “Let there be light’, ‘Let there be rakia’ and so on. The purpose of the creation of this world was to give Man the opportunity to serve HaShem by keeping and protecting the observance of His Torah.
If the purpose of creation was the keeping and protecting of the Torah, once Yaakov and his family became a nation why didn’t HaShem give us the Torah. Why did we have to go through the Egyptian exile and the subsequent exodus?
BECAUSE MAN IS MADE IN THE IMAGE OF HASHEM
In this week’s Parsha, Vaeira, just before Moshe and Aaron successfully take their people from Egypt, the Torah gives us their genealogical back-ground. It actually gives a very comprehensive family tree which includes the first two tribes of Reuven and Shimon as well as Moshe’s cousins and second cousins. What is the purpose of this tree? If it is important to know Moshe’s background should we not have been told in last week’s Parsha when Moshe and Aaron first appear on the pages of Torah?
Continue reading Va’era 5780THE TWO ENGINEERS
This week’s Parsha, Vaeira, opens with HaShem expressing His disappointment to Moshe; ‘the Avos, Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov had a much lower level of prophecy and their trust in Me was complete, and you whose level of prophecy is much higher, your trust in Me is incomplete.’ Although this statement sheds a positive light on the Patriarchs as their level of trust was complete and unquestioning, nevertheless, it is disturbing that their level of prophecy was of a lower level than Moshe’s.
Continue reading Va’era 5779BOOT CAMP
With this week’s Parsha, Shemos, the Egyptian exile begins and will last 210 years. In the final 86 years of this period, the slavery intensifies. This horrid experience was the prelude to our becoming HaShem’s chosen people. How do we understand this? Should HaShem’s chosen people not have great beginnings instead of horrid degrading slavery? What was the purpose of slavery and how did it prepare us for our destiny?
Continue reading Shemos 5780