Now I Live In Fear Of Waking Up Each Morning (Don Rollins - "The Race Is On")

          I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I wake up, a bit anxious, and worried. So I get out of bed, head downstairs,  sip some tea, and look out at the night sky.   While looking at the stars, I find myself thinking about my aging parents and their health. I think about my children and where they are in their lives. I think about how to afford college tuition, and pay for an upcoming wedding. I look at the stars and think about where I am in my life, where I am in my career and the anxiety of working and earning a paycheck.  As I continue to look out into the night sky and sip my tea, I am reassured that we all go through a period of time where we struggle with the existential angst of life. For some reason, it occurs late at night while everyone else sleeps soundly.

          This Shabbat we read from Parsha Vayishlach. Yaakov and his family prepare to return to Yaakov’s home. However, they will first need to deal with an almost twenty-year grudge held by Esav. Yaakov will hope for the best and prepare for the worst as he prepares to meet his brother.  After their short reunion, Yaakov makes his way back to his ancestral lands. His mother passes away. He is blessed with another son, Benjamin, born to his wife Rachel. However, she dies in childbirth. His daughter, Dinah, has an illicit relationship with the prince of Shechem. According to the text, she is rendered “impure” and her brothers wipe out the prince and his village. Yaakov’s name is changed to Yisroel. God blessed Yaakov within the context of the covenant made with Avraham and Yitzchok. Yaakov’s blessing includes children, land, and wealth, all of the things that God promised to Yaakov’s grandfather – Avraham. The Parsha concludes with Yaakov and Esav seeing each other one last time in order to bury their father Yitzchok, and then we read the final psukim: a list of Esav’s descendants down to grandchildren.

           Parsha VaYishlach is replete with dramatic moments. Arguably among the most dramatic moments occurs the night before Yaakov meets his brother Esav after a 20-year feud, a moment in which  Yaakov’s life is forever changed.  VaYivater Yaakov L’Vado, VaYei’avek Ish Imo Ad A lot HaShachar – Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.  VaYar Ki Lo Yachol Lo VYiga B’Chaf Yereicho VaTeikah Kaf Yerech Yaakov  B’Hei’Avko Imo – When he perceived that he could not overcome him, he struck the socket of his hip; so Jacob’s hip socket was dislocated as he wrestled with him.  VaYomer Shalcheini Ki Alah Hashachar Vayomer Lo Ashaleichecha Ki Im Beiractani – Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn has broken. “ And he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Vayomer Eilav Mah Shemecha VaYomer Yaakov – and he said to him, “what is your name” and he said “Jacob”. Vayomer Lo Yaakov Yei’Amar Od Shimcha Ki Im Yisroel Ki Sarita Im Elohim V’Im Anashim Vatuchal – He said, “No longer will it be said that your name is Jacob, but Israel, for you fought with the Divine and with man and have overcome.”  (Gen 32:25-29)  So if Yaakov was left alone, with whom did he wrestle?  The Torah tells us he wrestled with a man, however by the end of this brief narrative, Yaakov is asking the man to bless him.  There is no consensus among the classical commentators known as The M’forshim. Explanations attempting to define the “man” range from an angel, an angel of Esav, or an angel in the form of man. The language of the wrestling match only uses the Hebrew word “Hu” – in English "he". The Torah tells us that he held on, he didn’t let go, he blessed him, “he” wrestled with him. Yaakov’s name is only mentioned when his hip is pulled out of the joint, and Yaakov is about to be renamed. A more modern and psychologically aware understanding suggests that the “man” is Yaakov. Yaakov is struggling with himself. The reality is, During his sleepless night, during his “mid-life crisis” and his “moment of clarity”; Yaakov struggled with himself, and eventually Yaakov will accept his relationship with God and a sense of purpose in his life. This does not mean his life will be easier. It just means that Yaakov, with this renewed sense of purpose and identity, will be able to deal with all the troubles and heartache that are involved in living life.

          Yes, there have been more nights when my sleep is interrupted by worry and anxiety. Indeed, there are more worries, and there are more things that feel beyond my control.  There are more times that I worry about the direction of my life and whether this is the right path. No, we don’t necessarily have our hips pulled out of joint when we wake up in the middle of the night with this existential angst.  However, transitions can be filled with anxiety. It probably causes wrinkles and definitely causes gray hair. However, those struggles can serve a purpose. Those struggles can lead us to moments of clarity, and we understand that our lives do have a purpose, and our families will be ok and everything will be all right.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

If You Hear That Same Sweet Song Again, Will You Know Why? (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Bird Song"

          Earlier this week during Yom Kippur I was thinking about my four children.  They are all grown up now but while praying, I happened to have an image of them while they were babies. When each of my children was born, and it was my job to rock them to sleep, I would whistle a particular song chosen for them. For my two eldest daughters, because there was a nine-year gap, I whistled the same song to them: “Summertime”.  For my now 22-year-old, it made sense, she was born in the summertime.  For my 32-year-old daughter, I loved the Miles Davis’ version of the song so I chose it for her. When our now 20-year-old was born, I chose “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. When our youngest child and only son was born eighteen years ago, I chose Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”.  Well,  are all grown up and out of the house, and I don’t put them to bed anymore,  so I can’t whistle their songs to them anymore. However, whenever they hear their particular song, they are connected to it. 

          On this Shabbat, we read from Parshat Ha’Azinu.  The Parsha is poetry, a song that God had commanded Moshe to compose in the previous Parsha, VaYeleich. Composing this song was the final deed that God commanded Moshe. The song is the final prophecy that God told Moshe in the previous Parsha, VaYeilech.  As a song, it does not contain the most pleasant of lyrics, and it is not particularly uplifting or inspiring. The song does not offer such an optimistic future.  Rather, Moshe invokes Heaven and Earth to offer testimony to God’s prophecy and future punishment against his people.  Throughout Sefer Devarim, and Deuteronomy,  Moshe has taught the law and inspired Bnai Yisroel to choose fidelity to God and God’s Torah.  Choosing to follow would result in a reward. Choosing not to follow would result in a punishment. Now, during the final moments of Moshe Rabeinu’s life, the song suggests neither choice nor the results of that choice. Instead, we are told that we will choose badly and that we will be punished.  There is nothing explicit within the song that suggests or even offers a means by which we are able to do Tshuva (repent) and ultimately return to God. While intellectually, Moshe has taught that concept to Bnai Yisroel; here in the song that possibility is not explicit.

          However, when the song is complete, Moshe speaks his word to Bnai Yisroel. His words offer a sense of hope, a sense of inspiration. He reminds Bnai Yisroel that even when they have grown distant from God, even though the resulting punishment will be brutal; there is still a measure of hope, hope for the next generation.  Simu Levavchem L’Chol Hadvarim Asher Anochi Mei’id Bachem Hayom, Asher T’Tzavoom et Bnaichem Lishmor La’Asot et Kol Divrei HaTorah Ha’Zot -  Apply your hearts to all the words that I Testify against you today, with which you are to instruct your children, to be careful to perform all the words of this Torah.  Ki Lo Davar Reik Hu Mikem Ki Hu Chayeichem Uvadavar HaZeh Ta’Arichu Yamim – for it is not an empty thing for you, for it is your life, and through this matter shall you prolong your days on the Land to which you cross the Jordan to possess it (Deut. 33:46-47)

          In Moshe’s final moments, he reminds us that the key to our survival is to teach Torah to our children. Yes, according to the song, we will grow distant from God, yes we will engage in idolatry. Yes, we will be punished. However, there will always be hope for the next generation if they are educated in such a manner that when it comes time for them to make a choice; they choose wisely, they choose God’s Torah.  Moshe reminds his people that the Torah is not empty. Moshe’s song juxtaposes the immediate short-term future that he sees; a future of hardship, despair, and a distancing from God and a long-term future consisting of reconciliation with God,  a return to the covenantal obligations, and the joy that will come with that return.  Because it’s a song or poetry, the children will hear the song, not once but repeated over and over. In the long run, the B’nai Yisroel will come to appreciate the lyrics and their complexity. I know that my kids, in the long run, have come to appreciate those songs that I whistled to them so many years ago. Those songs, the melody, and the lyrics connect us like a warm memory and a reminder that I am their dad and love them very much.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Search For Where The Rivers Ends Or Where The River Starts (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "Foolish Heart")

          There is a tradition that the Yeshivot in Israel begin their programs at the beginning of Elul. The Sages and the Mystics considered Elul a time of spiritual preparation for the Yamim Noraim, and after a year of drifting away from God, Elul provides the perfect opportunity to spiritually begin the process of returning to God. Well, with Elul beginning this Shabbat, this will be our son’s last Shabbat with us. He departs for Yeshiva this Monday.  Ironically, it is also his Bar Mitzvah Parsha.  Five years ago, when he became a Bar Mitzvah he took the first steps towards adulthood when he became Mechayeiv - obligated to fulfill the mitzvot. Now he takes another huge step towards adulthood by moving away from home, living on his own, and learning for the sake of learning instead of learning for a grade or transcript. This is also the last Shabbat that my wife and I have Shabbat with children living in our house. From now on, when we are blessed to have our children home with us for Shabbat, they will only be visiting us. Indeed this Shabbat is very emotional as our family prepares to enter a new phase of development.

           This week's Parsha is Re'eh. Moshe continues his discourse. He has already explained the Mitzvot, and he continues to do that. Moshe has alluded to the blessings of life if B'nai Yisroel follows God's commandments. He has and continues to allude to the curses that will befall B'nai Yisroel if they violate the most important commandment-idolatry. "See I present before you today a blessing and a curse" (Deut.11:26). V'haklalah Im Lo Tishm'u el Mitzvot Adonai Eloheichem V'sartem Min Ha'Derech Asher Anochi M'taveh Etchem Ha'yom La'lechet Acharei Elohim Acheirim Asher Lo Y'Datem-"And the curse: if you do not hearken to the commandments of the Lord your God, and you stray from the path that I command you today, to follow gods of others, that you did know." (Deut. 11:28) Moshe presents B'nai Yisroel with two pictures, a world when B'nai Yisroel lives up to its covenant with God and one in which they don't.  He reminds B'nai Yisroel of the sanctity of Eretz Yisroel (the Land of Israel), the consumption of foods that are consecrated to the Kohanim and he warns B'nai Yisroel to avoid imitating the Rituals and Rites of the Egyptians and the Canaanites. Moshe reminds B'nai Yisroel to be careful of false prophets, avoid non-kosher foods, not live in wayward cities, forgive loans after seven years, care for the less fortunate, and celebrate the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot.

          Moshe reminds B'nai Israel Ki Im El HaMakom Asher Yivchar Adoshem Eloheichem miKol Shivteichem LaSum et Shmo Sham L’Shichno Tidreshu Uvata SHama – Rather, only at the place that Hashem, your God, will choose from among all your tribes to place His Name shall you seek out his Presence, his dwelling, and come there. Certainly, this is reminiscent of God, at the time of the Akeida, telling Avraham that he will show him where to go with his son Yitzchak. Its reminiscent of Avraham as a much younger man, leaving his home and going to a place that God would show him., Certainly we could understand Moshe’s words as a  reminder for B’nai Yisroel that “sanctity”. Holiness, Kedusha is central to  Israel, Torah, and Jewish identity. The Sfas Emet (The Gerrer Rebbe from about 1870-1905) reminds us that God’s choice is not revealed until B’nai Yisroel “seeks”.  We only find answers when we seek, when we look, and when we investigate. Because we are commanded to seek Shechino, his divine aspects that dwell among us, we are tasked to seek holiness. Holiness is in Time and Space. Holiness is in our  Neshama, Holiness is in our choices, and in our words, our deeds, and the way we live our lives. That is the constant choice we are commanded to make HaYom Today –  a choice that we make each and every day and each and every moment. 

           While raising our children in North America, we consciously chose to raise them in vibrant Jewish communities and with day school education through high school. In doing so, we wanted them to learn how to experience God dwelling among us in each community we have lived. We also made sure that they would have the opportunity to experience God while they dwelled in Eretz Yisroel. Yes, it's different, powerfully meaningful, and provided our three older daughters with a firm foundation for the life choices that confronted them while in University and in life after University. It is my sincere hope that our youngest child, our son, will have a similar experience of making his upcoming ten months in Israel, ten months of HaYom- ten months of full and meaningful days;  full of experiencing God in his learning and daily life in Israel.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Two Kinds of Freedom; Freedom From And Freedom To Be (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Lost Sailor")

 

          We have schlepped boxes from the basement to the kitchen. We have emptied our pantry of all the Chametz (all the “non-kosher for Pesach” foods and platters. We have filled the pantry with our Kosher for Pesach dishes, and cooking utensils. We set up a shelving unit to hold the kosher for Pesach food. We have closed-up cabinets and drawers that hold our regular year-round kitchen stuff.  We have carried out our Chametz and “disowned” it.  The bedrooms have been cleaned ( and what our son found while cleaning his room was ruly incredible!). We made numerous trips to the supermarket, so much so, that I have my own reserved parking spot. We have cleaned the kitchen over and over and over again. Of course, there is the yearly discussion of the menu: the Chef wants to make different dishes as she has grown bored making the same foods year in and year out. However, those of us who work as her sous chef and actually eat the food. yearn for the comfort of the same seasonal holiday foods that have been served every year.  The kitchen is about 15 degrees warmer than the rest of the house because it seems that the oven has been on all week. Yes, the Pesach preparations seem never-ending and filled with discussions and arguments about which spouse is strict or lenient regarding what is and is not Kosher for Passover and which Rabbi supports the respective spouse’s interpretation.   Indeed it seems very easy to get bogged down in the minutiae and the detail that we forget the purpose of this slave-like labor and preparation. 

          This Shabbat marks the first day of Pesach, Zman Cheiruteinu – the Time of our Freedom, as well as being Shabbat, Yom Menucha, and a Day of Rest.  Because Pesach comes once a year and Shabbat occurs fifty-two times a year, on this particular Shabbat, Pesach tends to be our focus. We didn’t just partake in a Shabbat dinner; we participated in a Seder.  We don’t read from the weekly Torah reading, we read that part of the Torah that focuses upon the narrative of the first Passover celebration in Egypt as B’nai Yisroel was about to become a free people and leave Egypt. U’Lekachetem Agudat Eizov Utvaltem BaDam Asher BaSaf V’HiGaTem El HaMaSHKoF V’El SHTei HaMZuZoT MiN HaDaM Asher BaSaF V’ATeM Lo TeiTZu ISh MiPeTaCH BeiTo Ad  BoKeR -  You Shall take a bundle of hyssop and dip it into the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood that is in the basin and as for you, you shall not leave the entrance of the house until morning (Ex. 12:22). At some point during that tension-filled night, B’nei Yisroel would be freed. What was the exact moment of their freedom? What minute, what hour in the night were these slaves finally freed? The text does not tell us. No specific time is mentioned. Rather, the text tells us that by morning the slaves would be freed from slavery. And we would become obligated to retell this story to each generation.

            So we are obligated to tell this story to each generation. What is more, we are commanded to see ourselves as if we were actually slaves in Egypt and freed that night. Yet all we can say is that we were freed at some point during the night. At what exact time, who can say? Yet each week. we know exactly what time we stop. We know exactly what time we light Shabbat or Yom Tov (Festival) candles in order to usher in the Sabbath and the Chag (Festival). We know exactly when these moments begin and when these moments conclude.  Needless to say, when my son and I are sitting in Shul on Friday night, ushering in both the Sabbath and the Festival of Pesach, we will emit a large cleansing breath, knowing that our preparations are finished, and our work leading up to Zman Cheiruteinu, the Time of Our Freedom, is complete (or as complete as it can be). I know that when my son and I walk into our home, and the Seder Table is set, the candles are glowing and my wife and daughters are sitting quietly for just a moment catching their collective breaths, they are aware of this powerful moment.  At that moment of quiet and calm, we see Shabbat and Pesach conflate into the deepest possible understanding of freedom. At this moment, the final boxes have been put away, the preparation finished, the meal is cooked and we can now partake of freedom. Yes, we are free to sit, free to eat and drink. We are free to ask questions. We are free to offer answers. We are free to discuss and we are free to tell the story. Because we are free to do these seemingly trivial things: eat, drink, ask questions, answer, discuss, and tell stories; we understand and appreciate not only Pesach- Zman Cheiruteinu (Time of Our Freedom), but Shabbat- Yom Menucha (a Day of Rest) as well.

 Peace and Chag Kasher V’Sameach,
  Rav Yitz  

Tonight I Would Be Thankful Lord, For Any Dreams At All (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Mission In The Rain")

           One of the most important days of the year growing up in my Western Upstate New York home was Thanksgiving. As a child, and later a college student, my family, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin would always gather at my parents’ home. My mother would make a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, corn muffins, coleslaw.  We would watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade, take a walk or play catch with my father, and if the weather was unusually warm (more than 10 degrees) we would go play nine holes of golf. When we finally sat down to dinner, my mother insisted that we go around the table sharing the one thing that we were most thankful for in the past year. Even while living in Toronto, our children always insist on driving to their grandparents for Thanksgiving. Whether we are there for only the day or for the long weekend, our children are always thankful for sharing that time with their grandparents.  This year will be a very different Thanksgiving. Yes, we will have the same food. However, only two of our children will be with us. My parents will remain in upstate New York. My mother-in-law will remain in California. There will be no Macy’s thanksgiving day parade.  One daughter will be in Israel, and one daughter will be with a college roommate sharing Thanksgiving dinner in New Jersey (she will arrive home on Sunday).  The pandemic has forced us to adjust our Thanksgiving expectations. So in response, we will take some time prior to eating our traditional Thanksgiving feast; we will gather on Zoom, and yes, my mother will insist that we do around sharing the one thing for which we are thankful in 2020, in this year of a pandemic, in this year of so much pain and suffering for so many.

          This week we read from Parsha VaYeitze. This week we read from Parshat VaYeitze. The focus of the narrative is upon Yaakov. Yaakov will grow up before our very eyes. He will leave home. Find a girl, get married. Actually, he will have several wives. He will get a job. He will have children, he will continue to work for his father in law and take on all the trappings of raising a family and living a middle-class life. Eventually, he will grow restless enough and realize that it is time to return home to his parents, and home to his covenantal land. 

          While we learn about Yaakov, we will also learn something about his wives: Rachel and Leah, his children, and many of the family dynamics. Yaakov is ready to become a father. Sadly his beloved Rachel is unable to conceive. However, Leah is able to conceive and gives Yaakov children even if Yaakov does not love her as he loves Rachel. VaYar Hashem Ki Snuah Leah Va’Yiftach et Rachma, V’Rachel  Akara - and Hashem saw that Leah was unloved, so he opened her womb, but Rachel remained barren. (29:31) For the next three Psukim (29:32-34), we read that Leah conceives and gives birth to sons. Leah names each son in succession and offers a reason for their name. She named the first Reuven because Hashem Ra’u- saw that she was unloved compared to Rachel. She names the second Shimon because Hashem Shama - heard that she was unloved. She named the third Levi because after three sons Yaakov will become YiLVeh - attached to her. After three sons, clearly, nothing had changed. She continued to feel unloved compared to her sister, and her husband wasn’t any more attached to her because she had given birth to these three sons. However in the fourth verse, 29:34, she conceives and gives birth to a fourth son. This time something is very different. VaTahar Od Va Teiled Ben VaTomer  Ha’PaAm Odeh et Hashem Al Kein Kra’ah Shmo Yehuda V Ta’amod Miledet - Again she conceived, and bore a son, and declared, ‘This time let me gratefully praise Hashem’ therefore she called his name Yehuda (Judah) then she stopped giving birth (29:35) Yehudah received his name because Leah understood gratitude. There was no ulterior motive, no agenda. Instead, a woman gave birth and was able to appreciate the blessing she just received: a happy healthy baby. Rashi explains that Leah understood that each of the wives was supposed to bear three sons. When Leah conceived and gave birth to a fourth son, she realized that she had received more than her share. Because she received more than her fair share she could appreciate her blessing and feel gratitude. The Talmudic Sages (ChaZaL) explains that this was the first time that anyone had demonstrated any type of gratitude towards God (Brachot 7b). Certainly, God had provided blessings and miracles prior to Leah’s giving birth a fourth time. Yet, only now she is capable of gratitude?  For Leah, according to the commentaries, gratitude is a result of a sense that one has received something beyond a fair share, beyond one’s “portion”.  This attitude contradicts the Sages who teach in Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot 4:1) that a rich person is someone who is happy with their portion. Underlying the Sages' understanding of being “rich” and of being “happy” is the idea that the person has gratitude for his/her portion. 

          Leah was blessed to have not one but four sons in those four Psukim. However, she didn’t feel blessed, she didn’t feel “rich”, or “happy” until she was able to express her gratitude by naming the fourth son Yehuda. The irony wasn’t lost on her sister, Rachel. She would have been thankful to give birth to one son, let alone four. Leah needed to give birth four times before she could get past her pain, and appreciate what she did have. Indeed, there has been discomfort, and pain during this past year. Our picture of Thanksgiving, of a multigenerational family gathering together to share a meal and giving thanks, had to be altered. This year, the thankfulness is distilled into the simplest level of gratitude. We are all thankful for health, for being able to share even this moment, even if it’s remote, with our loved ones. Sometimes having gratitude for even the smallest stuff gives us a bit of perspective in terms of what is most important.

Peace,

Rav Yitz 

We'll Still Have Our Place Of Peace, Our Love Will Linger On (Willie Dixon, Rob Wasserman & Bob Weir - "Eternity")

On a typical Friday night Shabbat dinner, as part of the blessings, we sing Shalom Aleichem (Peace to you). Looking at my wife and children, it becomes abundantly clear how worn out everyone is from the week just passed. Besides a fulltime job, my wife prepares a Shabbos feast.  Our children’s school day is typically longer than the standard 9-5 job and their work week s typically longer than the standard 40-hour workweek). Even after their long week, they are expected to pitch in and help prepare for Shabbat dinner. Needless to say by the time we finish eating dinner, Shalom – Peace, permeates the house. They adjourn from the table, make the way to the sofa and begin reading. All the while, I clean up the dining room, and the kitchen put away the leftovers and wash the dishes. The entire clean up takes about 30 minutes. By the time I finish cleaning my wife and children have ceased reading and are all in a deep slumber. The house is so quiet, so peaceful. Gone are the weekday requests for “homework help”, food shopping, house fixing, or the myriad of things that my wife and children need me to do.  During these moments I have a profound sense of Shalom, of Peace. Everything is put away, shalom. Everyone is safely home, Shalom. There is no anxiety of teenagers driving my car, Shalom, no worrying about my California born wife driving in bad weather, Shalom. There is no dealing with overtired frustrated high school students, shalom.  I pour myself a cup of hot tea, I sit, stretch my legs out, and for the next 30-45 minutes, I get to quietly study the weeks Torah portion without any interruptions. Indeed, for those 30-45 minutes, depending upon how tired I am, I experience the calm and the quiet of Shalom, of peace, knowing that for a moment everything is Shaleim, whole and complete.

This Shabbat, we read from Parsha Vayeishev. The focus of the narrative now shifts from Yaakov (aka. Israel) to his most beloved son Yosef. Contextually, Yaakov is at a point in his life where he has finished his spiritual and personal struggles. He now is at a calm and settled point in his life, hence the name of the Parsha: Vayeishev – and he settled. We learn that Yaakov, like his parents, played favorites. He showered Yosef, Rachel’s son, with a beautiful Kutonet Pasim – Coat of Many Colors. Yosef was a bit arrogant. This was manifested in his dreams that portrayed his greatness and the subjugated his brothers and his parents to his power. Needless to say, no one appreciated his dreams, neither his brothers who wanted to kill him but instead threw him into an empty pit nor his father who sent Yosef back to his brothers knowing that they were angry with him (Gen. 37:10-14). Yosef is then removed from the pit, sold as a slave and worked in the home of one of Pharaoh’s courtiers. The Parsha concludes with Yosef being sent to prison.

Unfortunately for Yaakov, and his family, there wasn’t an abundance of Shalom-Peace in their home. Yaakov’s son’s despised Yosef. VaYiru Echov Ki Oto Ahav Avihem MiKol Echav Vayisnu oto V’ Lo Yachlu Dabro L’Shalom – His brothers [Yosef’s brothers] saw that it was he [Yosef] whom their father loved the most of all the brothers; so they hated him and they could not speak peaceably to whom. (Gen 37:4). The brothers hated Yosef so much they couldn’t utter the words “Peace to You”, even as a common salutation or farewell. They were so jealous that they couldn’t muster the patience to inquire about their brother Yosef’s welfare. The Vilna Gaon explains this verse in light of a Talmud teaching from Berachot 64a: “one who takes leave of his friend should say Lech L ’Shalom – go TO peace rather than Lech B’Shalom – go IN peace. Although the difference is one letter, a Lamed for L’Shalom (to Peace) and a Bet for B’Shalom - In peace; it is the difference between e active and the passive, between the dynamic and the static, between the participating in the journey that was the week just passed, and the week passing by. For the brothers to withhold the blessing of L’Shalom- suggests that they were withholding their blessing that Yosef continues on his life’s journey. It’s no wonder that soon after they plan to kill him.

            As I sip my tea and study, I look at my wife and children, slumbering on the sofa. Knowing that I will have to help them to bed, I sit and look at them just a bit longer. Indeed, it seems that the week that has past was a journey, full of ups and downs. Perhaps there is something to be said for having successfully completed the week, completed the journey and grew as a person. For Yosef and the brothers, there was no such Peace nor will there be until Yosef and his brothers return to each other many years later. Their exhaustion is due to a lack of Peace.  However, our exhaustion is merely the physical manifestation of completing this journey and preparing for the next one that begins after Shabbat.  Certainly, our ability to tolerate and handle the journey is directly proportionate to be able to Lech L’Shalom.  

Peace,

Rav Yitz

I Got A Feelin' There's No Time To Lose, No Time To Lose (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Saint of Circumstance")

My daughter and I went to the supermarket last week in order to get the requisite Kosher for Pesach foods needed for my wife’s assorted recipes. Actually, like many Jews, we went to the supermarket more than once. However on one particular journey to the supermarket, as we were pushing our cart through the throng of Jews, a man carrying a food basket was walking against the flow of supermarket traffic looking decidedly out of place and lost. First, he had a cross hanging from his neck. Yet he was entering the melee of the Kosher for Passover section. He saw me and my daughter just as we left the “Kosher For Passover” section as he drew towards us and said, “Excuse me.” He said he noticed the Kippah on my head. My daughter knew exactly what was going through my mind. I wish had been wearing a baseball cap. I smiled and said to this man with the cross hanging from his neck, “there are many people wearing a kippa on their head and there are even a few wearing black Fedoras and or Borsellino hats.” He smiled and explained that he has already tried speaking to four men. It seems that no one has time for him. My daughter knew what I was thinking: Leave immediately. However, I also knew what my daughter was thinking: be patient and listen. So I smiled and explained it is a very busy time and then I asked him how I could help him. The man had written an article about the Kingdom of God, and the impending Salvation of the Jewish People. He thought it would be particularly poignant to read at this time of year and he needed some input from Jews. He asked me if I could take the time to read it. I looked at my daughter, my eyes pleading with her to give me her permission for me to politely remove ourselves from this very uncomfortable position. She nodded and I turned to the man and politely said that I would love to read the article but I was very busy preparing for the Passover Festival. The man said something stunning. He had written an article about God and mankind and it seems that the Jews don’t have time for God. He then remarked that he was saddened and surprised that these people had no time for God. Now I was growing very impatient and my daughter saw me draw my breath to speak. I leaned in and quietly told the man that while it may seem that these people are all in a hurry, and explain that they don’t have time to stop and speak with you, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have time for God. Every one of these people shopping for Passover, every one of these people preparing for Passover was making time for God. Then I suggested that maybe they weren’t making time for him and the version of God and God’s Kingdom and God’s Salvation, that he felt compelled to discuss with Jews whose focus was on Passover. I wished him a good day and good luck.

This Shabbat marks the first day of Pesach. Pesach is known as Zman Cheiruteinu – the Time of our Freedom. Shabbat is known as Yom Menucha and a Day of Rest.  Because Pesach comes once a year and Shabbat occurs fifty-two time a year, on this particular Shabbat, Pesach tends to be our focus. We didn’t just partake of a Shabbat dinner; we participated in a Seder.  We don’t read from the weekly Torah reading, we read a special Torah reading that focuses upon the narrative of the first Passover celebration in Egypt as B’nai Yisroel was about to become a free people and leave Egypt. U’Lekachetem Agudat Eizov Utvaltem BaDam Asher BaSaf V’HiGaTem El HaMaSHKoF V’El SHTei HaMZuZoT MiN HaDaM Asher BaSaF V’ATeM Lo TeiTZu ISh MiPeTaCH BeiTo Ad  BoKeR -  You Shall take a bundle of hyssop and dip it into the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood that is in the basin and as for you, you shall not leave the entrance of the house until morning (Ex. 12:22).  We had to choose a lamb, slaughter a lamb, cook a lamb, eat it and ask questions. In a sense, it seems like we had to hurry up and wait for redemption.

Fridays and the hours leading up to Shabbat have are hectic quality in their own right. Passover preparations are a completely different type of hectic sensibility. The Shabbat “hectic” begins slowly maybe in the middle of the week it culminates in the minutes before candle lighting. The hectic before Pesach begins slowly weeks in advance when the Kosher for Passover food arrives in the stores. It builds with invitations to Seders, menus, shopping lists, and schlepping boxes, converting a kitchen and then cooking. Even when the Festival begins, there is still a sense of hectic when the Seder begins. We need to complete the Seder by midnight. One type of hectic is necessary for being able to appreciate Shabbat as Yom Menucha, a day of rest. However, the other type of hectic is necessary for us to appreciate Pesach as Zman Cheiruteinu – time for our freedom. One type of hectic causes us a desire to catch our breath from the mundane activities of the week. One type of hectic causes us to appreciate the hard work required to be a free people engaged in a holy relationship. So when a man wanting to tell me about his version of God, redemption, and salvation; how do we explain that dealing with “the hectic” and “the chaos” in preparation is really Lichvod Shabbat, and Lichvod Chag HaPesach, for the honour and respect of Shabbat and Pesach and God?  The fact was, all these people that he saw hurrying about had a very specific deadline in order to welcome the Sabbath Bride and be prepared for our Freedom.  Sometimes the preparations for the sacred are tantamount to the sacred moment itself. 

Peace and Chag Kasher V’Sameach,

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