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Kabbalah of Mitzvah's

Kabbalah of Mitzvah’s

Kaballah of Giving

Nitlas Yadayim

The Holocaust

Modeh Anei

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Parsha

Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Summit?

“Once upon a time,” the Biblical story reads, Jacob returned home to his parents, only to discover that his brother Eisav, who had years before sworn to kill Jacob in revenge for what he saw as the theft of his blessing, was coming with a force of 400 men. Such a large contingent suggested that the passage of time had not alleviated the resentment. Eisav’s intent must be violence. So Jacob prepared himself for war, while he prayed to G-d and sent gifts. One sentence in particular caught the attention of the Sages. “Jacob was very afraid and distressed.” (32: 8)

“Thousands of years later,” the media headlines read, Jacob’s descendant, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is returning to his political “Mommy and Daddy,” Condoleezza Rice & George Bush amid reports that Washington invited, “more than 40 countries, including the European Union, most Arab and Muslim nations, Russia, Japan, China, etc. to participate in the Israeli-Palestinian talks.” There is one sentiment in particular that captures the attention of all the political pundits. “Olmert acts unafraid and not distressed.”

Let me explain. The Biblical phrase “afraid and distressed,” seems repetitive? After all, is there a difference between fear and distress? Rashi’s answer is profound. “Jacob was afraid - lest he be killed. He was distressed - lest he kill.” In other words, Jacob’s fear was physical - the fear of death. His distress, however, was moral - the anxiety that he himself might be forced to kill. It is one thing to fear one’s own death, quite another to contemplate being the cause of someone else’s.

But, as the commentators note, this itself is puzzling. There is a rule in Jewish law: if someone comes to kill you, kill him first. (Sanhedrin 72a) Indeed, this is a basic principle of self…

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Words as Weapons

Israel, and by extension the entire Jewish people, are fighting not one enemy but two. The first chooses traditional weapons: guns, knives or explosives. The second combatant utilizes more avant-garde artillery: words. In our current era of easy internet access, instant messaging, blogs, and mobile phones, the old adage, “The…

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No Shortcuts to Heaven

The Chasidic master Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk once asked his disciples, “Where is G-d?”  Puzzled, they replied,  “Is it not written that G-d fills the heavens and the earth? Hence, G-d must be everywhere.”

“No,” replied the Rebbe,  “G-d is where we let Him in.”  While scientists have sought G-d…

Continue reading No Shortcuts to Heaven

Society

Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Summit?

“Once upon a time,” the Biblical story reads, Jacob returned home to his parents, only to discover that his brother Eisav, who had years before sworn to kill Jacob in revenge for what he saw as the theft of his blessing, was coming with a force of 400 men. Such a large contingent suggested that the passage of time had not alleviated the resentment. Eisav’s intent must be violence. So Jacob prepared himself for war, while he prayed to G-d and sent gifts. One sentence in particular caught the attention of the Sages. “Jacob was very afraid and distressed.” (32: 8)

“Thousands of years later,” the media headlines read, Jacob’s descendant, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is returning to his…

Continue reading Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Summit?

Abraham’s Clone (25:19)

In past generations many of the miracles associated with the Messianic redemption were undoubtedly viewed as implausible myths. But now modern science has turned legend into reality. Even the Biblical prophecy of the Resurrection of the Dead, once considered the ultimate ‘fairy-tale’ is now seriously discussed in respected medical journals.

True, today’s technology doesn’t yet allow for the type of breakthroughs where dinosaurs are brought back to life as dramatized in movies like Jurassic Park. However, similar medical miracles (remember Dolly the sheep), utilizing the process of cloning, are on the horizon. Thus when the Sages spoke of the miniscule luz spinal-bone being the source to rebuild all Jews who once lived, they were simply intimating how G-d might employ the DNA within one microscopic bone to bring a person back to life.

In truth, the general concept of cloning predates the Talmud of two thousand years ago. Indeed, the very first Jew already understood its implications and lent his voice to a discussion that currently worries many ethicists. So let’s travel back in time and do exactly what the Bible does, reintroduce ourselves to Abraham and his family. That’s right! After reading all about Abraham and his adventures, including the birth, binding, and marriage of his son Isaac, the Torah suddenly waxes nostalgic and reiterates: “These are the generations of Isaac, son of Abraham, Abraham begat Isaac.”

Beside the…

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Birthday Reflections

Today, the 13th day of Kislev is my birthday. True, I have now been around awhile, but not as long as birthday celebrations have been. Already in the book of Genesis there is mention of a banquet in honor of Pharaoh’s birthday back in 1534 BCE. The interesting thing is, for much of our history, birthday parties were not part of the Jewish social scene.  Compare!  The yahrzeit dates of the various Biblical and Rabbinic personalities are recorded and commemorated, whereas their dates of birth are mostly unknown. King Solomon gave voice to this attitude when he said, < em>

“Better the day of death than the day of one’s birth.”

Pirkei Avos

Choose Your Contract (2:15)

With the Pesach holiday under our belt as well as stretching it, we can finally sit back on our easy chairs and relax. A lot of hard work this G-d of ours seems to demand, but at least never more than we can handle. That is not just my sentiment. Indeed, no less an authority than the great Maimonedes himself echoed these very thoughts when he stated, , “G-d gave us this tree of life…and He promised us that if we observe it with joy and gladness of heart… He will remove from us all that may prevent us from keeping it.” .

The Rambam of course was not just saying this to make us feel good. In fact, he…

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The Good & Evil Eye (2:10-11)

Who has not heard of the malevolent “Evil eye”? In many cultures, the potency of such a gaze was believed to have enormous power capable of inflicting tremendous damage. The “evil eye” however, mentioned in this week’s Ethics of our Fathers is not to be confused with the ability to cast curses, and truly belongs in another category. This does not mean it lacks punch. In fact, the Mishna states, , “ “The evil eye…drives a man from this world.” , “ Nevertheless, our Sages are not talking about witches and black magic - just a sense of proportion.

The Mishna begins by listing the five most outstanding disciples of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai, the first one being Eliezer Ben…

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The Greatest Human Being


More than any other Sage, it was Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai who was instrumental in the national and spiritual recovery after the catastrophic destruction of the second Temple at the hands of the Romans. It was he who built Yavneh, the new center of Jewish life. And it was he who fanned the flames of hope by educating an elite cadre of young scholars who would carry on the teachings of Judaism for the next generation.
Even before Jerusalem lay in ruins, his lectures were so popular they had to be delievered outdoors in front of the Temple, since no study hall could contain the enormous crowds that attended. Nonetheless, this week’s, “ ETHICS OF OUR FATHERS , “enumerates five…

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Seasons

No Shortcuts to Heaven

The Chasidic master Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk once asked his disciples, “Where is G-d?”  Puzzled, they replied,  “Is it not written that G-d fills the heavens and the earth? Hence, G-d must be everywhere.”

“No,” replied the Rebbe,  “G-d is where we let Him in.”  While scientists have sought G-d in the design of the universe, historians in the survival of the Jewish people, and spiritualists in mystical experiences, there is a surer way. Just let Him in.

Though He could, G-d does not impose Himself on our consciousness. True, He walks in our garden, but for the most part He allows the children of Adam the deception that they can hide. His existence, at least the proof of it,...

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Why Celebrate an Ancient Mystic’s Death?

Talmud (Yevamos): 12,000 pairs of students who died between Pesach and Shavuos because they did not have the proper respect. On Lag B’omer they stopped dying. (Meiri & Shulchan Aruch)
1. 24,000 did not become students in one day, must have taken many years.
2. Lack of respect also didn’t…

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It’s a Book of Light

Lag B’Omer, the thirty-third day of the Omer count from Pesach to Shavuos, is the day most associated with the teachings of Kabbalah. It is the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the most basic Kabbalistic work, the Zohar. Literally, the Aramaic word Zohar is…

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The Lag B’omer Mystery

The Omer period should have been a time of joyful anticipation, marking as it does, the Exodus from Egypt until the revelation at Sinai.  Instead, it is a time of semi-mourning, except for Lag B’omer, when our sorrow is temporarily halted. What occurred then? The Talmud relates that during this period, Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students died from a mysterious plague sent from Heaven because, “They did not show respect to one another.” Nonetheless, on Lag B’omer the plague ended.

This only creates new questions. Why does this event merit thirty-two days of sadness when greater tragedies, such as the destruction of both Temples, are marked by a single day of grief. In sheer numbers, the Inquisition, Crusades, Chemelnitsky pogroms, and…

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