Paradise Waits, On The Crest Of A Wave Her Angels In Flame (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - Help Is On The Way)

           With the conclusion of the Chagim, my son and I immediately took down our Sukkah and put everything away. I packed up and began the long drive to New Jersey. The plan was to pick up our daughter and take visit a few universities. Over the course of two days, we drove through two states and visited two large campuses, one in New Jersey and one in New York state. We will visit a few Ontario schools over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, as we toured these two large university campuses, I was struck by the idyllic setting. The weather was beautiful, sunny around 15-20 C or 60-70 F. The foliage was spectacular, and the views inspiringly beautiful in these idyllic settings. Our daughter walked around, asked questions of a friend who led us around and seemed genuinely comfortable on a campus. We visited a variety of points of interest. Ironically, as we walked around, I thought about how much I missed studying at university. As I walked with our daughter, I realized that I missed the Idyllic setting of a university campus.
           This week’s Parsha is Breishit. It is the first parsha of the first Book of the Torah. For all intents and purposes, it is the beginning of the Torah. In Breishit, we read the story of Creation, (The Beginning); Adam and Chava’s banishment from Paradise (Gan Eden), and the fratricide of Cain and Abel. We begin however with God. God is the Creator, the ultimate power. If knowledge is power, then God is the ultimate source of knowledge. We accept this as part of our Jewish theology. God is all-knowing and all powerful. We read the words: V’yivrah Elohim et Ha’Adam b’Tzalmo, B’Tzelem Elohim Barah Oto Zachar u’Nekeivah Barah Otam. “And God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. (1:27). The question, therefore, is: What is the image of God? Obviously part of that image is the power to create, the power to create life. We surmise this because, in the next verse, God commands Adam and Chava to be fruitful and multiply, to create life just like God had created. Another image of God is Power. God’s purpose in creating humanity was that they “should have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle, and over all the earth…” (1:26) In today’s vernacular “dominion” is Power. However the ability to create, and the ability to exercise power sagaciously, and judiciously, necessitates the attainment of knowledge. Perhaps that is our greatest gift. We have the ability to learn, to reason, to discern between right and wrong. To do so expresses our faith in God, re-affirms that, indeed, we are created in God’s image, and we possess an aspect of Holiness.
           In the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Chagigah (14b), there is an Aggadah, a Rabbinic legend, which illustrates the notion that attaining knowledge and understanding how to attain knowledge is a holy endeavor. Four of the leading sages of their generation entered an idyllic setting called PaRDes (literally the “orchard” or Paradise). They were Ben Assai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben Abuyah, and Rabbi Akiva. They entered PaRDeS and came into contact with the pure power, pure knowledge and complete perfection. They came into contact with God. As a result, one sage died immediately. One sage went insane, one became a heretic, and was referred to as Acher (the other), by the rest of the Talmudic Sages. Only Rabbi Akiva emerged unscathed. The commentators of this Aggadah explain that PaRDeS is an acronym for four methods of Torah inquiry: P’shat (the simple literal meaning), Remez (understanding the meaning based upon hint and intimation), Drash (derive meaning based upon interpretation), and Sod( deriving meaning based upon uncovering secret meanings). Imagine that? Our tradition explains that Paradise, an idyllic setting, is achieved through Torah study and deriving meaning in four different ways. Relying on any one way will limit intellectual and spiritual growth. However incorporating each aspect, and understanding when to utilize one more than the other or how much of each aspect to use in order to determine meaning is what allowed Rabbi Akiva to leave PaRDeS unscathed. In a sense our sages are absolutely correct, PaRDeS is studying Torah for the sake of intellectual and spiritual growth and enlightenment.
           The attainment of knowledge and Truth is a Godly endeavor. The use of such knowledge judiciously and wisely for creative purposes represents the notion that we are indeed created in God’s image. Not only is knowledge power, but understanding how to attain and use that knowledge is also the key to a spiritually enlightened life. No, I am not returning to University any time soon. but as I watched my daughter walk on these University campuses, asking questions and noticing her genuine excitement and curiosity, I hope she will eventually appreciate the opportunity of spending the next few years studying in her version of an academic Paradise.
Peace,
Rav Yitz

Paradise Waits, On The Crest Of A Wave Her Angels In Flame (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Help On The Way")

There is no question that the highlight of our family's week is Shabbat. The house is cleaned; the kitchen smells of my wife's delicious cooking. With teenage children in the house, there is an expectation that they contribute to the Shabbat preparations. They are expected to have their rooms picked up, shower, set the table, and help in any of the last minute cooking or baking preparations and the ensuing clean up. Inevitably, one of them is on the phone, or the computer slacking off. After a gentle reminder or three, and sometimes a less gentle reminder, the preparations resume with everyone contributing. When we finally sit down to our meal, we all take a deep breath as we are ever mindful of the physical preparation that was required in order to appreciate such a spiritually powerful moment. So as we sing “Shalom Aleichem”, bless our children, and chant Eishet Chayil, and I see the Shabbat Candles burning; our home has achieved a level of spirituality that is very different from the weekday. Shabbat is very unique day in which the physical and the spiritual combine in a perfect symmetry and create the opportunity for a truly wonderful day. Ever mindful of our physical existence, Shabbat is the day where our physical existence is infused with spirituality. Shabbat is the day where we bring Olam Habah, and Gan Eden down to us and our physical existence.

This Shabbat, Jews throughout the world will be celebrating Yom Kippur –The Day of Atonement. The name of the day does sound rather solemn. For most Jews, Yom Kippur is considered a rather somber sort of day and a day in which we are supposed to “afflict” ourselves. In Masechet Yoma (the Talmudic tractate that focus on Yom Kippur), five afflictions are mentioned as part of Yom Kippur. These five afflictions are: fasting (no food or drink from sunset to sunset); washing; anointing; wearing of leather, and marital relations. While Shabbat is the day we do not afflict ourselves, when Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat, Yom Kippur supersedes the laws of Shabbat. Only Yom Kippur supersedes Shabbat in terms of importance. It is known as Shabbat Shabbaton – the Sabbath of all Sabbaths.  How can a day in which we physical afflict ourselves supersede the one day of the week where we miraculously bring the spiritual world down to our physical world?

The Midrash explains that Yom Kippur is the day that Moshe re-ascended the mountain and received the second set of the Aseret Dibrot, (the second set of commandments). Remember, the first set was destroyed when Moshe saw Bnai Yisroel worshipping the Eigel Zahav, the Golden Calf. In his anger, Moshe smashed the first set of stone tablets.  During this second revelation, this more private sort of revelation, Moshe had begged God to be permitted to see God’s face. While God rejected Moshe’s request, God did in fact allow Moshe to see God’s back as God passed (Exodus Chapter 33).  During these 40 days and nights, (beginning on Elul 1 and concluding on Yom Kippur), Moshe fasted.  On the one hand, he experienced a physical affliction due to the lack of food. On the other hand, he had the opportunity to be as near God as was humanly possible. In that moment he had become more spiritual than physical.  Yes we afflict ourselves. However, the “afflictions” are base on the desire to be more spiritual than physical. The “afflictions” are based upon our desire to be as close to God as humanly possible. Our “afflictions” are based upon our desire to experience God from the exalted position of the Angels without care or concern to our physical existence. The Atonement therefore is not the sole purpose of the day. The ultimate purpose of the day is to be as close to God as possible. How can we be close to God if we are ensconced in the physical realm? How can we be close to God if we need to atone for our spiritual shortcomings (our Chetaim –sins)? Our spiritual shortcomings are just that, short of God. Atonement allows us to be closer. Closer to God is a good thing. Closeness to God is the main objective of Yom Kippur. When we achieve this, we should be totally happy, at ease in utterly in awed just like Moshe was when he descended the mountain the second time with the second set of tablet.  God’s spiritual light emanated from Moshe. Who wouldn’t be happy if that happened to each and every one of us?

                 Rather than thinking of Yom Kippur as so somber and serious, it is the one day of the year where we purposefully supersede Shabbat. Rather than bringing HaKadosh Baruch Hu down to us, Yom Kippur is the day that we elevate our souls towards the Kadosh Baruch Hu. The experience should be much more “awe” as in “awesome” instead of somber. That experience ought to fill us with awe, joy, and leave us radiating light.

Gmar Chatima Tov -May we all be sealed in the Book of Life.

Peace,

Rav Yitz