“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Think For Yourself
As an addendum to this post on the importance of chiddush...
Avraham says in this weeks parsha - Who is going to inherit me, all I have is דמשק אליעזר?! Chazal explain that דמשק is an acronym - דולה ומשקה מתורת רבו לאחרים, he draws out and feeds others his Rebbi's Torah. So if he has such a dedicated talmid then why is he complaining?? Let his faithful talmid inherit him?
The Tzadikim answer - All Eliezer did was "say over" his Rebbi's Torah's. Avraham didn't like that. He wanted a talmid who was original and wasn't just an "ibber zugger"....
Avraham says in this weeks parsha - Who is going to inherit me, all I have is דמשק אליעזר?! Chazal explain that דמשק is an acronym - דולה ומשקה מתורת רבו לאחרים, he draws out and feeds others his Rebbi's Torah. So if he has such a dedicated talmid then why is he complaining?? Let his faithful talmid inherit him?
The Tzadikim answer - All Eliezer did was "say over" his Rebbi's Torah's. Avraham didn't like that. He wanted a talmid who was original and wasn't just an "ibber zugger"....
The Only Place To Be Great
A scary Maharal: He says that Avraham only achieved greatness when he went to Eretz Yisrael. Fregt Rav Hartman - He was already 75 then. He had converted long ago. He had been mekarev so many people in Charan. How can one say that only when he went to Israel he became great?? He answers with a quote from the Maharal in Derech Chaim:
כי מעלת האבות דוקא מצד הארץ כי אם לא היה הארץ לא הגיעו האבות אל קדושה העליונה ולכן הארץ מגדלתן ומזה תדע כי הארץ שייכת לאבות והארץ אל האבות ביותר
The Avos only became truly great because of Eretz Yisrael!!! [It is explicit in the Zohar Hakadosh]
YIDDDEEENNNNN - Come home!!!!!!!:-):-) Enuff shmutz la-aretz! Lakewood, Flatbush, Boro Park, Passaic, Monsey - you guys are great. So frum! Such Bnei Toirah. I love you all. So many kosher food stories, heimishe clothing stores, sheitel machers, sfarim stores, what not. But Israel it ain't.
Is the Toirah Tziyoini or what????
Healing Wounds
"The healing of our present woundedness may lie in recognizing and reclaiming the capacity we have to heal each other, the enormous power in the simplest of human relationships: the strength of a touch, the blessing of forgiveness, the grace of someone else taking you just as you are and finding in you an unsuspected goodness. Everyone alive has suffered. It is the wisdom gained from our wounds and from our own experiences of suffering that makes us able to heal. Becoming expert has turned out to be less important than remembering and trusting the wholeness in myself and everyone else. Expertise cures, but wounded people can best be healed by other wounded people. Only other wounded people can understand what is needed, for the healing of suffering is compassion, not expertise."
Healing
Healing requires far more of us than just the participation of our intellectual and even our emotional resources. And it certainly demands that we do more than look backwards at the dead-end archives of our past. Healing is, by definition, taking a process of disintegration of life and transforming into a process of return to life.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
New Articles
On this weeks parsha, here.
Ksubos 10a - neemanus ha-baal li-hafsid ksubasa, here.
Ksubos 12b - Bari and Shema, here.
Ksubos 10a - neemanus ha-baal li-hafsid ksubasa, here.
Ksubos 12b - Bari and Shema, here.
Don't Worry Be Happy
לזכות ר' יהושע מאיר בן רחל
Reb Dovid'l of Tolna was once מקרב a fellow who had committed the horrible sin of having relations with a married woman [what made it worse was that she wasn't married to him]. A certain Rov noticed this and asked him why he is being so nice to this rasha. Reb Dovid'l answered that this person is a HAPPY PERSON. That being the case, one day his yetzer tov will grab him and he will do teshuva. He is better than an unhappy person who hasn't committed such a sin. An unhappy person thinks he is a frum person. He thinks that he is serving Hashem and he is really not.
The pasuk in tehilllim says עצביהם כסף וזהב מעשה ידי אדם. The simple meaning is that avoda zara of gold and silver is made by man. But Reb Dovid'l explained עצביהם - Do you know why people are sad [בעצבות]? Because כסף וזהב מעשה ידי אדם people think that the money belongs to them and they are NERVOUS! But it's not!! It's all Hashem's. So there is nothing to be sad about.
Don't worry about money!!!:-)
זכות הצדיקים יעזור ויגן ויושיע!!
Reb Dovid'l of Tolna was once מקרב a fellow who had committed the horrible sin of having relations with a married woman [what made it worse was that she wasn't married to him]. A certain Rov noticed this and asked him why he is being so nice to this rasha. Reb Dovid'l answered that this person is a HAPPY PERSON. That being the case, one day his yetzer tov will grab him and he will do teshuva. He is better than an unhappy person who hasn't committed such a sin. An unhappy person thinks he is a frum person. He thinks that he is serving Hashem and he is really not.
The pasuk in tehilllim says עצביהם כסף וזהב מעשה ידי אדם. The simple meaning is that avoda zara of gold and silver is made by man. But Reb Dovid'l explained עצביהם - Do you know why people are sad [בעצבות]? Because כסף וזהב מעשה ידי אדם people think that the money belongs to them and they are NERVOUS! But it's not!! It's all Hashem's. So there is nothing to be sad about.
Don't worry about money!!!:-)
זכות הצדיקים יעזור ויגן ויושיע!!
Less Expensive Than Therapy - But Often More Effective
From the world wide web....
Exercise has been touted to be a cure for nearly everything in life, from depression, to memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and more.
What triggers happiness in our brain when we exercise?
Most of us are aware of what happens to the body when we exercise. We build more muscle or more stamina. We feel how daily activities like climbing stairs becomes easier if we exercise regularly. When it comes to our brain and mood though, the connection isn’t so clear.
The line around our “endorphins are released” is more something I throw around to sound smart, without really knowing what it means. Here is what actually happens:
If you start exercising, your brain recognizes this as a moment of stress. As your heart pressure increases, the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it. To protect yourself and your brain from stress, you release a protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor). This BDNF has a protective and also reparative element to your memory neurons and acts as a reset switch. That’s why we often feel so at ease and things are clear after exercising and eventually happy.
At the same time, endorphins, another chemical to fight stress, is released in your brain. Your endorphins main purpose is this writes researcher McGovern:
So, BDNF and endorphins are the reasons exercise makes us feel so good. The somewhat scary part is that they have a very similar and addictive behavior like morphine, heroine or nicotine. The only difference? Well, it’s actually good for us.
A recent study from Penn State university shed some light on the matter and the results are more than surprising. They found that to be more productive and happier on a given work day, it doesn’t matter so much, if you work-out regularly, if you haven’t worked out on that particular day:
In a recent post from Joel, he wrote about the power of daily exercise for his everyday life. Coincidentally, he follows the above rules very accurately and exercises daily before doing anything else. He writes:
Think about starting small and then start even smaller: Here is a little secret. When I first started exercising, I did it with five minutes per day, three times a week. Can you imagine that? Five minutes of timed exercise, three times a week? That’s nothing, you might be thinking. And you are right, because the task is so easy and anyone can succeed with it, you can really start to make a habit out of it. Try no more than five or 10 minutes if you are getting started.
You get the highest level of happiness with exercise if you are just starting out
As a quick last fact, exercise, the increase of the BDNF proteins in your brain acts as a mood enhancer. The effects are similar to drug addiction one study found. So when you start exercising, the feeling of euphoria is the highest:
Exercise has been touted to be a cure for nearly everything in life, from depression, to memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and more.
What triggers happiness in our brain when we exercise?
Most of us are aware of what happens to the body when we exercise. We build more muscle or more stamina. We feel how daily activities like climbing stairs becomes easier if we exercise regularly. When it comes to our brain and mood though, the connection isn’t so clear.
The line around our “endorphins are released” is more something I throw around to sound smart, without really knowing what it means. Here is what actually happens:
If you start exercising, your brain recognizes this as a moment of stress. As your heart pressure increases, the brain thinks you are either fighting the enemy or fleeing from it. To protect yourself and your brain from stress, you release a protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor). This BDNF has a protective and also reparative element to your memory neurons and acts as a reset switch. That’s why we often feel so at ease and things are clear after exercising and eventually happy.
At the same time, endorphins, another chemical to fight stress, is released in your brain. Your endorphins main purpose is this writes researcher McGovern:
These endorphins tend to minimize the discomfort of exercise, block the feeling of pain and are even associated with a feeling of euphoria.Overall, there is a lot going on inside our brain and it is in fact oftentimes a lot more active than when we are just sitting down or actually concentrating mentally:
So, BDNF and endorphins are the reasons exercise makes us feel so good. The somewhat scary part is that they have a very similar and addictive behavior like morphine, heroine or nicotine. The only difference? Well, it’s actually good for us.
Now here is where it all gets interesting. We know the basic foundations of why exercising makes us happy and what happens inside our brain cells. The most important part to uncover now, is of course how we can trigger this in an optimal and longer lasting way.
A recent study from Penn State university shed some light on the matter and the results are more than surprising. They found that to be more productive and happier on a given work day, it doesn’t matter so much, if you work-out regularly, if you haven’t worked out on that particular day:
“Those who had exercised during the preceding month but not on the day of testing generally did better on the memory test than those who had been sedentary, but did not perform nearly as well as those who had worked out that morning.”New York Times best-selling author Gretchen Reynolds has written a whole book about the subject matter titled “The first 20 minutes”. To get the highest level of happiness and benefits for health, the key is not to become a professional athlete. On the contrary, a much smaller amount is needed to reach the level where happiness and productivity in every day life peaks:
“The first 20 minutes of moving around, if someone has been really sedentary, provide most of the health benefits. You get prolonged life, reduced disease risk — all of those things come in in the first 20 minutes of being active.”So really, you can relax and don’t have to be on the look-out for the next killer work-out. All you have to do is get some focused 20 minutes in to get the full happiness boost every day:
“On exercise days, people’s mood significantly improved after exercising. Mood stayed about the same on days they didn’t, with the exception of people’s sense of calm which deteriorated.” (University of Bristol)
Now, that’s all nice to hear you might say, starting to exercise regularly or even daily is still easier written than done. At end of the day, there is quite a lot of focus required to help you get into the habit of exercising daily. The most important part to note first, is that exercise is a “keystone” habit according to Charles Duhigg, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. This means that daily exercise can pave the way not only for happiness, but also growth in all other areas of your life.
In a recent post from Joel, he wrote about the power of daily exercise for his everyday life. Coincidentally, he follows the above rules very accurately and exercises daily before doing anything else. He writes:
By 9:30am, I’ve done an hour of coding on the most important task I have right now on Buffer, I’ve been to the gym and had a great session, and I’ve done 30 minutes of emails. It’s only 9:30am and I’ve already succeeded, and I feel fantastic.
Think about starting small and then start even smaller: Here is a little secret. When I first started exercising, I did it with five minutes per day, three times a week. Can you imagine that? Five minutes of timed exercise, three times a week? That’s nothing, you might be thinking. And you are right, because the task is so easy and anyone can succeed with it, you can really start to make a habit out of it. Try no more than five or 10 minutes if you are getting started.
You get the highest level of happiness with exercise if you are just starting out
As a quick last fact, exercise, the increase of the BDNF proteins in your brain acts as a mood enhancer. The effects are similar to drug addiction one study found. So when you start exercising, the feeling of euphoria is the highest:
“The release of endorphins has an addictive effect, and more exercise is needed to achieve the same level of euphoria over time.” (McGovern)So this means that if you have never exercised before or not for a long time, your happiness gains will be the highest if you start now.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Be Original
What do our sources say about "chiddush", novel ideas?
On the surface, how can one be "mechadesh" anything? If it is true then it is already written and/or passed down while if it is not written and/or passed down then it is not part of our tradition and one may not say it?! Many Torah scholars strive to be creative but this seems to fly in the face of our tradition. Christianity was "original". There is not one G-d but three [עפ"ל]. Islam was "original". G-d rejected the Jews and chose Mohammed as His prophet [עפ"ל]. These two religions may be original [the truth is that Christianity is rooted in pagan beliefs and maybe Islam is too but that is besides the point...] but they are also false and one must die before accepting the belief system of either one.
The sifrei kabbala emphasize the great importance of chiddush. One must not only learn but come up with new orignal insights [see Nefesh Hachaim Shaar Dalet for some sources and there are many others]. In Hebrew, the word for "original" is מקורי. The root of that word is מקור - source. The same word apparently means two contradictory things. Original means that it has no source? So how can the same word denote two opposites?
The greatest and most true originality is finiding original fresh insights in the source. It is not about inventing new ideas but revealing the new in the old. One is מקורי when he shows how this unheard of idea fits beautifully into the מקור. That is what we strive to do whenever we open up an ancient text. Read the words, absorb the ideas and try to uncover countless layers of hidden meaning.
On the surface, how can one be "mechadesh" anything? If it is true then it is already written and/or passed down while if it is not written and/or passed down then it is not part of our tradition and one may not say it?! Many Torah scholars strive to be creative but this seems to fly in the face of our tradition. Christianity was "original". There is not one G-d but three [עפ"ל]. Islam was "original". G-d rejected the Jews and chose Mohammed as His prophet [עפ"ל]. These two religions may be original [the truth is that Christianity is rooted in pagan beliefs and maybe Islam is too but that is besides the point...] but they are also false and one must die before accepting the belief system of either one.
The sifrei kabbala emphasize the great importance of chiddush. One must not only learn but come up with new orignal insights [see Nefesh Hachaim Shaar Dalet for some sources and there are many others]. In Hebrew, the word for "original" is מקורי. The root of that word is מקור - source. The same word apparently means two contradictory things. Original means that it has no source? So how can the same word denote two opposites?
The greatest and most true originality is finiding original fresh insights in the source. It is not about inventing new ideas but revealing the new in the old. One is מקורי when he shows how this unheard of idea fits beautifully into the מקור. That is what we strive to do whenever we open up an ancient text. Read the words, absorb the ideas and try to uncover countless layers of hidden meaning.
A Kosher Read?
A "highlight" from an Internet "shiur" I heard [as I was going about my business]. The [very popular] lecturer recommends a novel written by a anti-charedi women that has arayos in it. Simply an issur di-oraisa, no question [see Yoma 29 and many many other sources]. But he says "you can handle it". Handle what? The erosion of the soul? The loss of connection and feeling to Torah and ruchniyus? The notion of "kedusha" is so foreign to people that even well meaning people fall into the trap of the yetzer hara and western attitudes that convince us that it is no big deal.
It is a huge deal.
Reading novels, if they contain any salacious or unclean content, is worse than eating pork. Why do frum Jews who would never touch pork nevertheless read such filth? Maybe because they don't understand the severity of the issur? For that I come to remind us.
Our bris with Hashem is predicated on our shmiras ha-bris. The gift of Eretz Yisrael also depends on our shmiras ha-bris. Please-please see the Sfas Emes on lech lecha תרמ"ח ותרנ"א for a very deep kabbala based explanation.
I think this leads to another important point. Gemara and halacha are not enough anymore. People have to understand on a pnimiyus level what such concepts as kedusha entail. Otherwise they get caught up in the "web" [double entrende] of impurity.
It is a huge deal.
Reading novels, if they contain any salacious or unclean content, is worse than eating pork. Why do frum Jews who would never touch pork nevertheless read such filth? Maybe because they don't understand the severity of the issur? For that I come to remind us.
Our bris with Hashem is predicated on our shmiras ha-bris. The gift of Eretz Yisrael also depends on our shmiras ha-bris. Please-please see the Sfas Emes on lech lecha תרמ"ח ותרנ"א for a very deep kabbala based explanation.
I think this leads to another important point. Gemara and halacha are not enough anymore. People have to understand on a pnimiyus level what such concepts as kedusha entail. Otherwise they get caught up in the "web" [double entrende] of impurity.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Bring A Jew Back
One year before Simchas Torah many people passed before the Lubavitcher Rebbe to receive "lekach" - honey cake. One of the people was a hippy - long hair and all. When he reached the Rebbe, the Rebbe asked him "Where are you staying for hakafos?" The truth was that he wasn't planning to stay at all for Simchas Torah. He hemmed and hawed and the Rebbe told him that he really wants him to come and encouraged him to do so and the hippie moved on.
The next person on line was a Satmar Chasid. Satmar believes that outreach is dangerous and that one should insulate oneself from the general society. The Rebbe realized that this chossid didn't approve of what the Rebbe just did. He said to the chossid "Do you know why I invited this man? Do you know the sefer "Tehilla Li-dovid [of the first Satmar Rebbe, the Yismach Yisrael, Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum]?"
The chossid said that he does. The Rebbe proceeded to tell him a story from the sefer. A yid named R' Yitzchak, the father of Reb Michel Zlotochover, came up to shomayim and was greeted by none other than Rashi. Rashi told him that he is greeting him in the merit of his holy son. Rashi asked what makes his son so special.
Reb Michel's father said that his son learns a lot. Rashi said that is very special, "talmud torah ki-neged koolam", but a lot of people learn a lot. R' Yitzchak said that his son doesn't eat during the day and only breaks his daily fast at night. Rashi said the this is very holy but a lot of people afflict themselves. R' Yitzchak said that his son is involved in pidyon shvuyim - redeeming Jewish captives. Rashi said that this is a wonderful mitzva but others are involved in this mitzva as well.
The Reb Michel's father said three words: ורבים השיב מעוון - He returned many people back from sin and brought them back to Hashem. Rashi said "That is it. That is what makes him so unique".
The Rebbe looked at the Satmar chossid and said "Farshteist?" [You understand?] The chossid answered "Ich farshtei zeiyer git...." [I understand very well].
That Simchas Torah the hippie was there at 770, dancing with everybody else.
ורבים השיב מעוון.
The next person on line was a Satmar Chasid. Satmar believes that outreach is dangerous and that one should insulate oneself from the general society. The Rebbe realized that this chossid didn't approve of what the Rebbe just did. He said to the chossid "Do you know why I invited this man? Do you know the sefer "Tehilla Li-dovid [of the first Satmar Rebbe, the Yismach Yisrael, Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum]?"
The chossid said that he does. The Rebbe proceeded to tell him a story from the sefer. A yid named R' Yitzchak, the father of Reb Michel Zlotochover, came up to shomayim and was greeted by none other than Rashi. Rashi told him that he is greeting him in the merit of his holy son. Rashi asked what makes his son so special.
Reb Michel's father said that his son learns a lot. Rashi said that is very special, "talmud torah ki-neged koolam", but a lot of people learn a lot. R' Yitzchak said that his son doesn't eat during the day and only breaks his daily fast at night. Rashi said the this is very holy but a lot of people afflict themselves. R' Yitzchak said that his son is involved in pidyon shvuyim - redeeming Jewish captives. Rashi said that this is a wonderful mitzva but others are involved in this mitzva as well.
The Reb Michel's father said three words: ורבים השיב מעוון - He returned many people back from sin and brought them back to Hashem. Rashi said "That is it. That is what makes him so unique".
The Rebbe looked at the Satmar chossid and said "Farshteist?" [You understand?] The chossid answered "Ich farshtei zeiyer git...." [I understand very well].
That Simchas Torah the hippie was there at 770, dancing with everybody else.
ורבים השיב מעוון.
A Mazel Tov:-)
A HUUUUUUUGE Mazel Tov to my sweetest friends R' Baruch and Rebecca Bar-Eli on their wedding last night. May their simcha continue on for many years to come in many different ways with limitless shefa in gashmiyus and ruchniyus.
Sobering Thoughts For A Happy Occasion
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden & Civil Disobedience
I travel around the New York - New Jersey area and can't help but notice throngs of people wherever I go - especially Penn Station. Where, pray tell, is everybody going? Why are they going there? Is there a higher purpose? Just work-home-work-home for 40 plus years and then finally the long dreamed of pension and retirement to Orlando? That's it??? "Quiet desperation" indeed.
This week I am celebrating my 86th birthday [I am Jewish and get two birthdays a year according to the Jewish and Gregorian calenders]. A birthday is not a time to eat cake - at least not for me.
Not because I am so holy but because I don't eat cake.
A birthday is rather a time for a cheshbon ha-fesh. Hashem gave me life, for what? Am I using it right?? Am I making big mistakes? What should I change, why and how?? What am I doing well that I should continue doing? Should I modify my good deeds and how? How much am I acting li-shma, for purely altruistic reasons and how much because I enjoy feeling good about doing the right things or to gain the admiration of others? How emes-dike am I and how sheker-dike? I am not 100 percent either and I have to think of ways to tip the scales more and more in favor of emes over sheker. What type of husband am I? Should I learn how to use the washing machine or how to turn the oven on and off [as we speak I actually am doing a load of laundry because it is either that or wearing the same dirty clothing...]? Is my wife reading this 6000 miles away and nodding her head and saying "Yes indeed. And there are a few other things you can learn as well"?! How am I as a father? Do I balance discipline and authority with love and acceptance properly? How much am I learning and how much time do I waste? Am I a good friend? Do I really love anybody but myself? These and many others are questions that we should be asking ourselves on our birthdays and more. We might not always like the answers but ignoring an illness doesn't make it go away [unless the person dies from it...:-)].
Sweetest friends!! We should all be zoche to continuously grow in all ways.
Amen:-)
Long sweet delicious years filled with spiritual fulfillment for me, you and all of klal yisrael and the geulah ha-shleima bi-karov!
Henry David Thoreau, Walden & Civil Disobedience
I travel around the New York - New Jersey area and can't help but notice throngs of people wherever I go - especially Penn Station. Where, pray tell, is everybody going? Why are they going there? Is there a higher purpose? Just work-home-work-home for 40 plus years and then finally the long dreamed of pension and retirement to Orlando? That's it??? "Quiet desperation" indeed.
This week I am celebrating my 86th birthday [I am Jewish and get two birthdays a year according to the Jewish and Gregorian calenders]. A birthday is not a time to eat cake - at least not for me.
Not because I am so holy but because I don't eat cake.
A birthday is rather a time for a cheshbon ha-fesh. Hashem gave me life, for what? Am I using it right?? Am I making big mistakes? What should I change, why and how?? What am I doing well that I should continue doing? Should I modify my good deeds and how? How much am I acting li-shma, for purely altruistic reasons and how much because I enjoy feeling good about doing the right things or to gain the admiration of others? How emes-dike am I and how sheker-dike? I am not 100 percent either and I have to think of ways to tip the scales more and more in favor of emes over sheker. What type of husband am I? Should I learn how to use the washing machine or how to turn the oven on and off [as we speak I actually am doing a load of laundry because it is either that or wearing the same dirty clothing...]? Is my wife reading this 6000 miles away and nodding her head and saying "Yes indeed. And there are a few other things you can learn as well"?! How am I as a father? Do I balance discipline and authority with love and acceptance properly? How much am I learning and how much time do I waste? Am I a good friend? Do I really love anybody but myself? These and many others are questions that we should be asking ourselves on our birthdays and more. We might not always like the answers but ignoring an illness doesn't make it go away [unless the person dies from it...:-)].
Sweetest friends!! We should all be zoche to continuously grow in all ways.
Amen:-)
Long sweet delicious years filled with spiritual fulfillment for me, you and all of klal yisrael and the geulah ha-shleima bi-karov!
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Here is an interesting explanation of the extremely long lifespan of people we read about in parshas Noach.
Unity
From my archives:
"One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born."
Antoine de Saint Exupery [who THOUGHT of that name??!]
SWEETEST FRIENDS - HELLO!!!
AHHHHHH UNITY! BROTHERHOOD!! SISTERHOOD!! [I always wanted to be a member of the shul's sisterhood. Seems like soooo much fun. But they always discriminate against me based on gender difference. So is life. Men will generally earn higher salaries but don't get accepted to sisterhoods and are often told to stay out of the kitchen because besides not knowing what they are doing in there - they also make a big mess.]
What a beautiful idea! Or is it?? "All of the earth was of one language and of common speech.... They said let us make a town and tower whose top is in the heavens and let us make a name for ourselves" [Noach 11, 1-4]. Same language, same speech. A language is more than the sound of words. A launguage reflects a weltanschauung [Ehrman uses fancy german word!!], a world view, a culture. They were indeed unified but G-d was less than enthused about their ideas. Self aggrandizement, ego enhancement and selfish immersion in personal empowerment are not qualities that the Good Lord advocates. So he was compelled [so to speak] to confuse their language and disperse them around the earth [11, 7-8].
But sweetest friends - they had the right idea. The prophetic vision of the end of days is quite similar. "For then I will turn the nations to speaking a pure language, so that they will all proclaim the name of Hashem, to worship Him with a united voice" [Tzephania 3, 9]. One unified language. But the language is not about "making a name for ourself" but making a name for Hashem. Togetherness not for selfish purposes but in order to worship the Source of all good.
Yankee fans feels unity when the Yanks win a big game. Look at them give each other "goyishe yashar koachs" [known as "high fives"]. Movie buffs feel unity when sitting in the theater and watching their favorite actors pretend to be somebody they are not [aren't we all actors sometimes..].
Let's unite around something real - G-d! Let's speak the same language of morals, kindness, love, compassion and joy.
And let us all have a Shabbos of BLISS!!
LOVE AND BLESSINGS!!!
The Gospel According To ....
I learned a new word:-). "Voyeurism". :(. That is the offense [which can land a person in jail for up to six years!] of which a well known rabbi of a very prominent modern orthodox congregation is being accused. I can't say that the accusations are accurate [I wasn't there and don't know details] but he has been arrested and his computer has been confiscated [as a Rov he would have been better off without a computer besides for using the otzar hachochma]. This is "news". You and I got up this morning, learned some Torah, davened in shul and went on with our day either learning Torah or working etc. That is not news. People doing good things is almost never news. Only perversions, preferably those of an arayos nature, make news. A sad commentary on the media but so it is..... Most rabbis, nay, EVERY rabbi, with one possible exception, don't put video cameras where he is alleged to have put them. That is significant. The fact that the media, both printed and electronic, is obsessed with this repulsive story of a salacious sicko [if the allegations are true], should not blind us to the fact that the overwhelming majority of rabbis and religious figures are not involved in disgusting filth. Most are good upstanding people. Most. There are exceptions. But too many. One is too many.
Here is my take..... [The gospel according to Reb Elchonon, if you will:-)].
We have a Torah. According to our Torah, it is not only filming women without their consent when they are not properly covered which is against the law but looking and thinking about ANY women [besides one's own wife - important note] is ALSO forbidden. EVERY movie has pritzus [they did in the 80's and my spies tell me that things haven't gotten any better]. EVERY Internet site is selling arayos. They ALWAYS [with the rare exceptions such a chabad.org and yutorah.org] have images that are designed to arouse the lust of men. PASHUT! Every news site has immodest pictures - even the Jewish ones. One "rabbi" linked to an article of his in the press about this story which I innocently went to and immediately there was a picture of a prutza jumping off the page. I quickly looked away and left the page but am amazed that the very phenomenon that they are condemn - they promote at the very the same time.
We don't need threats of a jail sentence. Shmiras einayim is a chiyuv for every Jew but today it is almost impossible to be pure. On my way back from the airport I took a bus to the city. The driver was booming this radio station. The lyrics of the songs were nothing less than pornographic. I was sick to my stomach. Song after song eroded the very foundations upon which every Torah Jew lives his life. There was no escape. There was a rainstorm, we were on the highway and putting my fingers in my ears didn't help. [I did doze off for a while due to my great fatigue and felt blessed for the refreshing sleep and the salvation from hearing the poison].
It is not just this rabbi who is guilty [if the charges are true] but all of society. What he did was worse because he violated these women's privacy without their consent but even if the woman does agree - it is still about the worst aveira a person can do.
How apropos that this week's parsha is Noach. The mabul came [according to chazal] because people were parutz in arayos. It is well known today how many people who know of the prohibition nevertheless are motzi zera li-vatala. This brings the mabul. That is how bad it is but people do it anyway, many claiming that they just can't stop. I am not judging [I leave that to Hashem] but I feel an obligation to constantly remind people about the virtue of kedusha, shmiras einayim, shmiras ha-bris etc. etc. Our covenant with Hashem is predicated upon our vigilance in this area. Rebbe Tzadok says that before moshiach it will be the biggest nisayon. Oh-boy was he right.
I wish rabbis in shuls [particularly MO shuls but charedi ones too] would talk less about politics, what is going on in Israel, about abstract issues or even about practical one's like the heter mechira [which is a nice exciting machlokes] or whether charedim should serve in the army [ditto] and talk about things that people really need to hear. How many shuls are there where everybody has unfiltered internet and they and their kids surf freely?! A churban and yet it seems that except for an odd asifa every so often and an article here and there, the issue is not being properly addressed [particularly in the more modern world]. In the charedi world they want to ban it completely but then they would almost all have to quit their jobs which would cause other problems so that is not the answer. And how about the ever popular "gym". I obviously don't frequent them myself but something tells me that there are ladies there wearing less than is expected of a bas yisrael. Of course, it could be that she is not a bas yisrael but a bas noach so she is doing nothing wrong - but what about the "ben yisrael" who is working out on the machine next to her? Is there a heter??
Maggidei shiur are giving complex shiurim taking apart Ktzos Hachoshens and Rav Chaims when they don't realize [or do] that their talmidim have their minds so deeply immersed in the mud and pollution of maros assuros and machshavos assuros that the kedusha of Torah has no entry point. Sometimes I want to cry out "Enough! It is like going to a reform shul and talking about the virute of fasting shovevim. Start with the ABC'S like shabbos and kashrus. Your talmidim don't have the ABC's of being a person mekusher to HKB"H and you are talking in the heavens".
Sweetest friends!! Please-please-please, be shomer!! Shomer einayim, shomer yadayim, shomer peh vi-shmoer oznayim. You entire spritual life depends on it. Pikuach nefesh mamesh. For you and the entire Jewish people. The gemara says that for listening to unclean words, even a good decree of 70 years is ripped to pieces. Due to a blemish in arayos matters people get sick and die. That is a basis of our faith. Hashem only guards those who are themselves guarded....[See Dvarim 23 - 15 and the chofetz chaim on that pasuk].
May we all be purified with the waters of Torah bi-iyun and merit from here on in to look only at those things which our eyes should see in which merit we will be zocheh to see עין בעין יראו בשוב השם ציון!
Love and blessings,
From the distant galus of Manhattan, waiting to return [with all of Klal Yisrael] to where we belong,
Me:-)
לזכות אברהם מרדכי בן נעכא גיטל לרפו"ש
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Jewish Guilt:-)
A man called his mother in Florida . "Mom, how are you?" Not too good," said the mother. "I've been very weak. "The son said, "Why are you so weak?" She said, "Because I haven't eaten in 38 days. "The son said, "That's terrible. Why haven't you eaten in 38 days? The mother answered, "Because, I didn't want my mouth to be full in case you should call."
Monday, October 20, 2014
Liberty - Getting Into The Spirit
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
JFK
I am flying to the States tomorrow. Have to get into the mood. The first building I enter will be JFK.....
JFK
I am flying to the States tomorrow. Have to get into the mood. The first building I enter will be JFK.....
What The Yetzer Hara Wants From You
An interesting thing that I have noticed over the course of time. A really popular Jewish music video will get tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of views. A really-really popular shiur [on Yutorah] will get a few hundred hits or maybe a thousand or two.
Why is music so much more popular when the reality is that Torah is an incomparably greater mitzva than listening to music [which, shhhhhh don't tell, isn't even a mitzva at all]? Five minutes of Elchonon Ehrman on Parshas Noach has more mitzva power than 2 hours of hearing Shwekey reach the highest notes on Im Eshkochech. Yet Shwekey is in the millions and I [E.E.] am in the dozens [I admit that he has a much much much better voice that I can ever dream of having but that is not my point].
Learning is hard. It takes effort. Listening to music is effortless pleasure that trumps learning anytime. I have watched people try to squeeze themselves out of learning for decades. The yetzer hara says "Do ANYTHING! Chesed, say tehillim, call your bubby, ANYTHING. Just don't crack open a Minchas Chinuch and start breaking your head. Don't learn Tosfos with Pnei Yehoshua! When you do - I am finished!!"
Sweetest friends! I am not making light of the importance of listening to music. I am a chossid and anything that gives a Yid added simcha, rates in my book [as I type I listen to Shloime Gertner. He is SOMETHING!]. And chesed, tehillim, giving your bubby some love and attention - extremely noble endeavors. But I seek out those modern day heroes who TOIL in Torah into adulthood. Not kollel men - that is their "job", but the average layman. Just about everybody reading this went to Israel for the year and tasted the sweetness of learning in depth. Don't give it up. It is hard and requires great mental exertion, but is well worth the effort.
Today there are no excuses. You can find a chavrusa on any level [I know someone who learns with people on Skype so you don't even have to leave the comfort of your home or office], there are so many good sfarim out there on all levels, there are also many thousands of high level shiurim on the computer. The opportunities are limitless. You can hear the most popular maggid shiur in the world - Rav Asher Arieli. You can hear the YU super-hero - Rav Schachter. You can hear so many of the finest gedolei Torah. Instead, when people go on-line they often choose the juicy easy-listening type of shiur [which also has it's place]. Or worse - they read the Jewish Week. Why read the Jewish week when you can read the Shev Shmatsa. I have yet to see anything in the Jewish Week that is as stimulating as a shtikel Shmatsa. Or in silly blogs. They is really a waste of your valuable time.
Breishis Bara Elokim. The very first creation was "The Beginning" - time. Time is the source of everything. Use your time well.
It is limited, and unlike money or food which man so craves - once it is gone it never ever comes back.
Why is music so much more popular when the reality is that Torah is an incomparably greater mitzva than listening to music [which, shhhhhh don't tell, isn't even a mitzva at all]? Five minutes of Elchonon Ehrman on Parshas Noach has more mitzva power than 2 hours of hearing Shwekey reach the highest notes on Im Eshkochech. Yet Shwekey is in the millions and I [E.E.] am in the dozens [I admit that he has a much much much better voice that I can ever dream of having but that is not my point].
Learning is hard. It takes effort. Listening to music is effortless pleasure that trumps learning anytime. I have watched people try to squeeze themselves out of learning for decades. The yetzer hara says "Do ANYTHING! Chesed, say tehillim, call your bubby, ANYTHING. Just don't crack open a Minchas Chinuch and start breaking your head. Don't learn Tosfos with Pnei Yehoshua! When you do - I am finished!!"
Sweetest friends! I am not making light of the importance of listening to music. I am a chossid and anything that gives a Yid added simcha, rates in my book [as I type I listen to Shloime Gertner. He is SOMETHING!]. And chesed, tehillim, giving your bubby some love and attention - extremely noble endeavors. But I seek out those modern day heroes who TOIL in Torah into adulthood. Not kollel men - that is their "job", but the average layman. Just about everybody reading this went to Israel for the year and tasted the sweetness of learning in depth. Don't give it up. It is hard and requires great mental exertion, but is well worth the effort.
Today there are no excuses. You can find a chavrusa on any level [I know someone who learns with people on Skype so you don't even have to leave the comfort of your home or office], there are so many good sfarim out there on all levels, there are also many thousands of high level shiurim on the computer. The opportunities are limitless. You can hear the most popular maggid shiur in the world - Rav Asher Arieli. You can hear the YU super-hero - Rav Schachter. You can hear so many of the finest gedolei Torah. Instead, when people go on-line they often choose the juicy easy-listening type of shiur [which also has it's place]. Or worse - they read the Jewish Week. Why read the Jewish week when you can read the Shev Shmatsa. I have yet to see anything in the Jewish Week that is as stimulating as a shtikel Shmatsa. Or in silly blogs. They is really a waste of your valuable time.
Breishis Bara Elokim. The very first creation was "The Beginning" - time. Time is the source of everything. Use your time well.
It is limited, and unlike money or food which man so craves - once it is gone it never ever comes back.
How To Have Charm
One of my most favorite chasidic ideaas is that of "Bitul". Bitul is when a person has a Rebbi and nullifies himself before his Rebbi. He appreciates the fact that his knowledge of Torah, his hasagos in Avodas Hashem, his tefilla, his level of kedusha etc. etc. are all far below the level of his Rebbi. By being mevatel himself, he comes closer to his Rebbi [because he is less of a "יש"] and thus comes closer to those qualities that his Rebbi possesses.
In our generation it is hard to find bittul. The "Post-Modern" attitude encourages everybody to maintain their [false] sense of importance and capability.
What is worse is that everyone and his aunt has an opinion about everything. At the Shabbos table issues come up and everybody expresses their perspective on the matter. How often do we hear a person say "How can I have an opinion on a matter that is debated by people who have spent 5-6-7-8-9 decades immersed day and night in the study of Torah. All I know is the little I learned in day school and the little more that I learned in my year in Israel when I wasn't hanging out on Ben Yehuda or Emek."
But that is the truth. Matters which are complex and require a deep understanding of the subject at hand and a general approach to learning that is acquired after tens of thousands of hours of learning cannot be haphazardly decided by every Tom, Dick and Harry. It hurts me to see and hear so much ignorance spewed by people who think they understand but don't. [I have only spent the last 25 years learning so I am also just at the beginning]. This includes people with smicha who think that just because they passed a few tests on a small prtion of the shulchan aruch they are qualified to have a valid opinion on any matter.
Sometimes people write books and articles on topics that they are not at all qualified to write about. It is presented not just a "suggestion" that should be considered by those of greater caliber but as an opinion that carries as much weight as anyone else's. Scary and sad.
נח מצא חן בעיני השם - Noach found "charm" in the eyes of Hashem. What gave Noach חן? The pasuk says ולענוים יתן חן - Humility gives a person חן. The world would be so much more beautiful if people would be more humble. Not every blogger is a posek. As a matter of fact - I am not aware of any blogger who would qualify as a posek. But bloggers have opinions on halachic matters. No blogger is an expert on Jewish philosophy, having learned through the sfarim Emunos Vi-deyos, Kuzari, Moreh Nevuchim, Sefer Ha-ikarim, Maharal etc. etc. But ohhhhhh do they have opinions on philosophical and theological matters.
What I said about bloggers applies to journalists as well. They write superficial articles on religious matters and the unknowledgable reader thinks that the facts are being accurately presented. It can't be. Journalists are far from being talmidei chachomim [with rare exceptions]. I was recently sent an article from a newspaper where the author dealt with the issue of women dancing with a sefer Torah. If implemented, this would constitute a great change from what has been done since the giving of the Torah 3000 years ago. Deciding such an issue in favor of a revolutionary change, requires the broad shoulders of a true gadol bi-yisrael. But this journalist [a very nice man - I know him], has the answer. It is OK for every community to decide what is best for them and whatever they do is legitimate. He would have so much more חן if he would have written - I will let the masters of halacha and yiras Hashem decide this question. Who am I?
ולענוים יתן חן.
A woman in Israel with a decidedly feminist and modern orientation wrote a sefer of her halachic decisions including a very dangerous, lenient approach regarding the obligation to have children. I am convinced she means well. I believe her when she says that she is completely submissive to the halachic process and just trying to reveal the will of Hashem. But I am also convinced that to blaze a new path in psak halacha is very dangerous for someone who has not mastered shas and poskim and also done shimush [i.e. sitting at the feet of a gadol for an extended period of time]. I only read parts of the book from the criticism leveled against it and her defense but it doesn't seem that she found any poskim who agreed with her conclusions. Even gedolei gedolim will often say that they will only approve of something if at least two other poskim reach the same conclusion. That is a basic quality called יראת ההוראה - The awe and trembling a posek experiences when deciding what the ratzon ha-Torah is in any given situation.
ולענוים יתן חן.
May we all be zocheh to find חן In the eyes of Hashem and all people!
In our generation it is hard to find bittul. The "Post-Modern" attitude encourages everybody to maintain their [false] sense of importance and capability.
What is worse is that everyone and his aunt has an opinion about everything. At the Shabbos table issues come up and everybody expresses their perspective on the matter. How often do we hear a person say "How can I have an opinion on a matter that is debated by people who have spent 5-6-7-8-9 decades immersed day and night in the study of Torah. All I know is the little I learned in day school and the little more that I learned in my year in Israel when I wasn't hanging out on Ben Yehuda or Emek."
But that is the truth. Matters which are complex and require a deep understanding of the subject at hand and a general approach to learning that is acquired after tens of thousands of hours of learning cannot be haphazardly decided by every Tom, Dick and Harry. It hurts me to see and hear so much ignorance spewed by people who think they understand but don't. [I have only spent the last 25 years learning so I am also just at the beginning]. This includes people with smicha who think that just because they passed a few tests on a small prtion of the shulchan aruch they are qualified to have a valid opinion on any matter.
Sometimes people write books and articles on topics that they are not at all qualified to write about. It is presented not just a "suggestion" that should be considered by those of greater caliber but as an opinion that carries as much weight as anyone else's. Scary and sad.
נח מצא חן בעיני השם - Noach found "charm" in the eyes of Hashem. What gave Noach חן? The pasuk says ולענוים יתן חן - Humility gives a person חן. The world would be so much more beautiful if people would be more humble. Not every blogger is a posek. As a matter of fact - I am not aware of any blogger who would qualify as a posek. But bloggers have opinions on halachic matters. No blogger is an expert on Jewish philosophy, having learned through the sfarim Emunos Vi-deyos, Kuzari, Moreh Nevuchim, Sefer Ha-ikarim, Maharal etc. etc. But ohhhhhh do they have opinions on philosophical and theological matters.
What I said about bloggers applies to journalists as well. They write superficial articles on religious matters and the unknowledgable reader thinks that the facts are being accurately presented. It can't be. Journalists are far from being talmidei chachomim [with rare exceptions]. I was recently sent an article from a newspaper where the author dealt with the issue of women dancing with a sefer Torah. If implemented, this would constitute a great change from what has been done since the giving of the Torah 3000 years ago. Deciding such an issue in favor of a revolutionary change, requires the broad shoulders of a true gadol bi-yisrael. But this journalist [a very nice man - I know him], has the answer. It is OK for every community to decide what is best for them and whatever they do is legitimate. He would have so much more חן if he would have written - I will let the masters of halacha and yiras Hashem decide this question. Who am I?
ולענוים יתן חן.
A woman in Israel with a decidedly feminist and modern orientation wrote a sefer of her halachic decisions including a very dangerous, lenient approach regarding the obligation to have children. I am convinced she means well. I believe her when she says that she is completely submissive to the halachic process and just trying to reveal the will of Hashem. But I am also convinced that to blaze a new path in psak halacha is very dangerous for someone who has not mastered shas and poskim and also done shimush [i.e. sitting at the feet of a gadol for an extended period of time]. I only read parts of the book from the criticism leveled against it and her defense but it doesn't seem that she found any poskim who agreed with her conclusions. Even gedolei gedolim will often say that they will only approve of something if at least two other poskim reach the same conclusion. That is a basic quality called יראת ההוראה - The awe and trembling a posek experiences when deciding what the ratzon ha-Torah is in any given situation.
ולענוים יתן חן.
May we all be zocheh to find חן In the eyes of Hashem and all people!
Sunday, October 19, 2014
The Ultimate Defeat Of Competition
From this weeks email....
[Based partially on the sefer Mei Marom Vol. 5 parshas bereishis from Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap ztz"l. May I suggest that you purchase and learn the Rov's sefarim as it might well transform your life as it has mine].
I didn't send the Erev Shabbos email on Erev Shabbos because most people were keeping yom tov as per the custom in chutz la-aretz. I am told that there are still quite a few Jews left in chutz la-aretz. This week, for the duration of a number of weeks, I will be one of those Jews..... I hope to see you there, with a smile. And if you daven on my side of the mechitza - a hug as well. Anyway - it is never too late and Motzei Shabbos Bereishis is still in good time to send a Bereishis thought.
Before the sin of Adam and Chava the world was supposed to be one of giving, generosity, love and caring. After the sin, life is about destroying and competing. We can only be happy when we have something that other people don't have [who really appreciates the warmth of the sun when everybody has it]. We go for jobs and try to beat out other people, we participate in sports or root for teams when all of the pleasure is in beating the opponent. We spend much time trying to cover our own backs and will often shy away from doing things for others when it comes at our expense [even though we don't like to admit it]. The rich do all they can to protect their beloved money. If all of the religious Jews would give just 10 percent of their earnings to tzdaka all of the yeshivos would be out of the red and in the black [isn't it interesting that most yeshivas are in the "black" but just in apparel but not in the bank...]. The poor and indigent compete and strive to convince the more wealthy to share with them. Yeshivos compete with each other for students. I remember when I attempted to start a yeshiva. I naively thought that other yeshivot would send me students in order to help get me started. I quickly learned that I was persona non-grata and just some unwanted competition. The cliche of "It's a dog eat dog world" has never been as true as it is today.
Countries try to swallow each other up alive, war never ceases from the earth. Worms eat away at trees. Success is built upon the downfall of the other. People only feel the exhilaration of being alive when faced with death. Most of life's pleasures come from opposites, contradictions - סתירות. We rarely feel great to be alive without considering the alternative of death. We are happy to be married because being single is so lonely. We appreciate our children most when we consider the plight of the barren and childless. We enjoy our sight when we see or think of a blind person. Just to appreciate good without considering the negative is so hard for us. Life is a "theory of relativity" of sorts. Everything is relative to other people and situations.
This all originates in the eating of the עץ הדעת טוב ורע. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil places our perspective on life in the realm of contrasts. Something is evil because it is not good and other things are good because they are not evil. The excitement of life comes from the possibility of it's contrast - death. That is why the punishment for eating from the tree was .... death. From now on all of life is going to be measured in terms of opposites. We can only have life if we also have death. כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות.
To fix the sin is to appreciate life as essentially and inherently good - regardless of whether the eventuality of death exists. To eat from the eitz ha-chaim is to learn Torah [which is eitz chaim la-machazikim bah] and put ourselves in a world where there is no death [see the end of maseches ksubos אור תורה מחייהו] and all that exists is blissful pleasure from a world of pure unadulterated life with no death and no disease. To fix the sin is to eliminate competition. It is not me against you. We are not battling for the same marbles or toys. It is about bringing the world to a place where all exists is good.
May we merit to fix the sin with a renewed commitment to latch on to the eitz hachaim and enjoy the bracha of וחי לעולם - a beautiful life of purity that never ends.
Bi-ahava rabba,
Me:-)
[Based partially on the sefer Mei Marom Vol. 5 parshas bereishis from Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap ztz"l. May I suggest that you purchase and learn the Rov's sefarim as it might well transform your life as it has mine].
Swumdokli
Let us say I act in a certain way. When you ask me why, I answer "It is Swumdokli". You don't understand and say "Come again?" I say "Swumdokli". You think I am weird.
We live in a world where the concept of "kedusha" - holiness, is foriegn to even many religious Jews. They have no idea what it means to be holy, don't strive to live a life of holiness and often belittle those who do attempt live there lives according to the standards of kedusha. They say "Be religious but be normal" where normal means to be unholy.
What is keudusha? That is beyond the scope of this post and would require a full length book to scratch the surface. One basic aspect of kedusha is to be פרוש מן העריות - Separation of the genders. Anytime you have a mixture and mingling of the sexes it is by definition an unholy gathering.
Recently, an outspoken feminist made the news because a man didn't want to sit next to her on a plane and she was offended. This shouldn't be newsworthy. There is not a frum man or woman on the planet earth who wants to sit next to someone of the opposite gender. I spend much time on buses and never ever sit next to a woman and no woman ever sits next to me [my wife is a notable exception]. Nobody is offended. Everybody understands that there is a difference between the sexes. That is why nobody objects to a men's room and a women's room. That is an ontological fact of creation.
Every normal man is attracted to attractive women from time to time. To be attracted to a woman other than one's wife is Jewishly obscene. Sitting in close proximity to a woman increases the likelihood of dual attraction.
Feminists say "When will men stop looking at us as --- objects?" The answer of course is "The moment they cease being men...." Men aren't bad people. They are exactly the way Hashem made them. He created men with qualities that attract women and women with qualities that attract men. That is why we are all here today together with 7 billion others. The Good Lord knows what he is doing. If men were not physically excited by women then they would almost never marry. Women cost too much, take up too much time, and are much too complicated to be worth a man's while. The physical attraction sparks the interest and he suddenly overlooks the obstacles and strongly desires a relationship. It helps that she cooks, cleans and keeps home. When a woman wants to get a man interested in her, she knows that the secret is NOT to read a tome of Shakespeare and wow him with her literary analysis but to dress nicely [in the outside world this is done differently than in the religious world ודי למבין].
Ideally, as the relationship develops, a man sees a woman for who she really is - a G-dly soul, suffused with holiness, a sensitive being with many positive qualities and other traits which she must work hard to polish and perfect. But step one is not so holy. Sorry.....
A woman too wants a male in her life not only for his G-dly soul but also for his financial support, emotional strength and physical attraction. He can make her feel special in ways her roommate at Stern cannot. He can also help provide her with her most desired gift - children. This makes a man quite a desirable commodity in the lives of females.
To sum it up: Seperation between the genders is holy but so many people have no conception of holiness so they are quick to criticize [of course the separation must always be acheived with the highest level of sensitivity for the feelings of the women. I am not advocating offending people].
Men and women are often attracted to each other. This may not be denied. There are seven billion proofs to this:-).
We live in a world where the concept of "kedusha" - holiness, is foriegn to even many religious Jews. They have no idea what it means to be holy, don't strive to live a life of holiness and often belittle those who do attempt live there lives according to the standards of kedusha. They say "Be religious but be normal" where normal means to be unholy.
What is keudusha? That is beyond the scope of this post and would require a full length book to scratch the surface. One basic aspect of kedusha is to be פרוש מן העריות - Separation of the genders. Anytime you have a mixture and mingling of the sexes it is by definition an unholy gathering.
Recently, an outspoken feminist made the news because a man didn't want to sit next to her on a plane and she was offended. This shouldn't be newsworthy. There is not a frum man or woman on the planet earth who wants to sit next to someone of the opposite gender. I spend much time on buses and never ever sit next to a woman and no woman ever sits next to me [my wife is a notable exception]. Nobody is offended. Everybody understands that there is a difference between the sexes. That is why nobody objects to a men's room and a women's room. That is an ontological fact of creation.
Every normal man is attracted to attractive women from time to time. To be attracted to a woman other than one's wife is Jewishly obscene. Sitting in close proximity to a woman increases the likelihood of dual attraction.
Feminists say "When will men stop looking at us as --- objects?" The answer of course is "The moment they cease being men...." Men aren't bad people. They are exactly the way Hashem made them. He created men with qualities that attract women and women with qualities that attract men. That is why we are all here today together with 7 billion others. The Good Lord knows what he is doing. If men were not physically excited by women then they would almost never marry. Women cost too much, take up too much time, and are much too complicated to be worth a man's while. The physical attraction sparks the interest and he suddenly overlooks the obstacles and strongly desires a relationship. It helps that she cooks, cleans and keeps home. When a woman wants to get a man interested in her, she knows that the secret is NOT to read a tome of Shakespeare and wow him with her literary analysis but to dress nicely [in the outside world this is done differently than in the religious world ודי למבין].
Ideally, as the relationship develops, a man sees a woman for who she really is - a G-dly soul, suffused with holiness, a sensitive being with many positive qualities and other traits which she must work hard to polish and perfect. But step one is not so holy. Sorry.....
A woman too wants a male in her life not only for his G-dly soul but also for his financial support, emotional strength and physical attraction. He can make her feel special in ways her roommate at Stern cannot. He can also help provide her with her most desired gift - children. This makes a man quite a desirable commodity in the lives of females.
To sum it up: Seperation between the genders is holy but so many people have no conception of holiness so they are quick to criticize [of course the separation must always be acheived with the highest level of sensitivity for the feelings of the women. I am not advocating offending people].
Men and women are often attracted to each other. This may not be denied. There are seven billion proofs to this:-).
Are We Comfortable?
I don't react to everything I see and hear on the world wide web. The volume of complete nonsense is so great that I would never ever finish forever, so I try in general to focus on the positive in Hashem's world. This post will be an exception.....
1] One popular lecturer on a Torah website likes to say about his Rebbi [a gadol of whom we all know and learned from his students] with unmasked enthusiasm and pleasure as if he was telling about a fantastic quality "He felt completely comfortable in the Western world".
That sentence brings to the fore the most basic question every Jew in the modern world must face. What is our relationship to the outside world? Is it one of comfort and "at-homeness" or one of being a stranger and foreigner? The answer is unquestionably the latter. The attitudes and most behaviors of the western world are antithetical to what the Torah personality strives to be. We go to work if we must and then we run back to our religious Jewish ghettoes and wish we never had to leave [except to make a kiddush Hashem]. We don't want their sports and movies, internet and television. The general society encourages a person to gain as much physical pleasure as his budget and the law allow. The Jewish attitude is that we are here to maximize our spiritual pleasure through connection with Hashem. The outside world contaminates. Period.
I am not arguing with this gadol. His talmid knew him and I didn't but he has a famous essay [see the late great Torah journal "Ha-Darom" 5763 page 152 and on] where he says that we are all גרי תושב [as Avraham Avinu said to the bnei ches]. We are תושבים - residents, of the world. We abide by laws and pay our taxes faithfully [even when Obama then uses it to help the Arabs rebuild terror tunnels and weapons to liquidate the State of Israel and the Jewish People...]. But we are also גרים, strangers. Our weltanshauung [hashkafa in fancy German] is shaped by Moshe Rabbeinu and Rebbi Akiva, Abaye and Rava, the Rambam and Rashi. Our goal is to learn as much Torah possible, to minimize our need for the creature comforts of this world and to perfect our middos. We couldn't care less who won the World Series or what new show is appearing Mondays at 9pm or what some "mushchas-dike" ["corrupt" is a poor translation] actor tweets. We don't know and don't want to know.
When someone tells us the latest in nonsense - we don't feel comfortable. It is NOT our world. Our world is in one buiding. We call it a ... Beis Medrash.
2] This lecturer also notes that his Rebbi never went to mikva and that he doesn't either. I don't know about his Rebbi [although I believe him about himself] but it is well known that there are opinions in the rishonim [which the shulchan aruch doesn't codify] that when one is a Baal Keri he may not learn Torah or daven until he goes to mikva. EVERYBODY agrees that for added kedusha a Baal Keri [and even not a Baal Keri for that matter] should "be toivel". It is not praise to say such words and I would rather here "shvach" of gedolei yisrael and not "gnai" i.e. behaviors which we should not strive to emulate. It is considered a more "chasidic" custom to be makpid on mikva [for men] but many great non-chasidic gedolim were very careful as well [see here]. Rebbi Akiva Eiger would break the ice in order to immerse himself in the freezing European winters of the 1700's. When you learn a Rebbi Akiva Eiger, you are not just coming into contact with his tremendous, unparalleled mind and powers of analysis but with his tremendous kedusha and yiras shomayim as well.
I have a lot more to say, particularly about the aforementioned Rabbi's lectures but I will suffice with this for now. He, of course has many many mylos and zchuyos as well which I laud and appreciate. But I want people to always remember that just because someone says or does something and he bears the title "Rabbi" doesn't make it correct or Torah-dike. Much is said [like lashon hara] and done [like machlokes] in the name of Torah and they are anything but....
1] One popular lecturer on a Torah website likes to say about his Rebbi [a gadol of whom we all know and learned from his students] with unmasked enthusiasm and pleasure as if he was telling about a fantastic quality "He felt completely comfortable in the Western world".
That sentence brings to the fore the most basic question every Jew in the modern world must face. What is our relationship to the outside world? Is it one of comfort and "at-homeness" or one of being a stranger and foreigner? The answer is unquestionably the latter. The attitudes and most behaviors of the western world are antithetical to what the Torah personality strives to be. We go to work if we must and then we run back to our religious Jewish ghettoes and wish we never had to leave [except to make a kiddush Hashem]. We don't want their sports and movies, internet and television. The general society encourages a person to gain as much physical pleasure as his budget and the law allow. The Jewish attitude is that we are here to maximize our spiritual pleasure through connection with Hashem. The outside world contaminates. Period.
I am not arguing with this gadol. His talmid knew him and I didn't but he has a famous essay [see the late great Torah journal "Ha-Darom" 5763 page 152 and on] where he says that we are all גרי תושב [as Avraham Avinu said to the bnei ches]. We are תושבים - residents, of the world. We abide by laws and pay our taxes faithfully [even when Obama then uses it to help the Arabs rebuild terror tunnels and weapons to liquidate the State of Israel and the Jewish People...]. But we are also גרים, strangers. Our weltanshauung [hashkafa in fancy German] is shaped by Moshe Rabbeinu and Rebbi Akiva, Abaye and Rava, the Rambam and Rashi. Our goal is to learn as much Torah possible, to minimize our need for the creature comforts of this world and to perfect our middos. We couldn't care less who won the World Series or what new show is appearing Mondays at 9pm or what some "mushchas-dike" ["corrupt" is a poor translation] actor tweets. We don't know and don't want to know.
When someone tells us the latest in nonsense - we don't feel comfortable. It is NOT our world. Our world is in one buiding. We call it a ... Beis Medrash.
2] This lecturer also notes that his Rebbi never went to mikva and that he doesn't either. I don't know about his Rebbi [although I believe him about himself] but it is well known that there are opinions in the rishonim [which the shulchan aruch doesn't codify] that when one is a Baal Keri he may not learn Torah or daven until he goes to mikva. EVERYBODY agrees that for added kedusha a Baal Keri [and even not a Baal Keri for that matter] should "be toivel". It is not praise to say such words and I would rather here "shvach" of gedolei yisrael and not "gnai" i.e. behaviors which we should not strive to emulate. It is considered a more "chasidic" custom to be makpid on mikva [for men] but many great non-chasidic gedolim were very careful as well [see here]. Rebbi Akiva Eiger would break the ice in order to immerse himself in the freezing European winters of the 1700's. When you learn a Rebbi Akiva Eiger, you are not just coming into contact with his tremendous, unparalleled mind and powers of analysis but with his tremendous kedusha and yiras shomayim as well.
I have a lot more to say, particularly about the aforementioned Rabbi's lectures but I will suffice with this for now. He, of course has many many mylos and zchuyos as well which I laud and appreciate. But I want people to always remember that just because someone says or does something and he bears the title "Rabbi" doesn't make it correct or Torah-dike. Much is said [like lashon hara] and done [like machlokes] in the name of Torah and they are anything but....
Monday, October 13, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
The Point Of Yom Kippur?
From the news:
New York Giants offensive guard Geoff Schwartz said on Wednesday that he will not eat anything between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday in observation of Yom Kippur, ESPN reported.
“If I was playing, I wouldn’t fast, because I’ve got to be able to fuel myself to play,” said the Jewish athlete, who is on short-term leave due to a toe injury. “But it’s not that tough, really. I’ll eat dinner at 5:00 Friday, then I’ll go to services and I’ll just basically miss breakfast and lunch Saturday. I get grumpy, sure. It’s not the most fun 27 hours or so. But it’s worth doing.”
“Yom Kippur, everyone’s in services and you’re all hungry together,” he added. “Everyone’s just miserable, but that is the point. You want to feel that way.”
If he were playing, then he wouldn't fast. Meaning - a football game overrides Yom Kippur...
And he thinks that the point of Yom Kippur is to feel miserable.
You know sweet friends, the concept of ערבות teaches that his ignorance and distance from our tradition is my problem too. May Hashem be machzir us all bi-tshuva.
And after all is said and done - he is fasting, even though it will make him grumpy [which can be quite dangerous given his size of 6' 6' and 340 pounds, I wouldn't want to be around him when he is grumpy. I also wouldn't want to be a quarterback for the opposing team...]. Mi ki-amcha yisrael. A gorilla sized man misses two meals for the Ribbono Shel Olam.
New York Giants offensive guard Geoff Schwartz said on Wednesday that he will not eat anything between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday in observation of Yom Kippur, ESPN reported.
“If I was playing, I wouldn’t fast, because I’ve got to be able to fuel myself to play,” said the Jewish athlete, who is on short-term leave due to a toe injury. “But it’s not that tough, really. I’ll eat dinner at 5:00 Friday, then I’ll go to services and I’ll just basically miss breakfast and lunch Saturday. I get grumpy, sure. It’s not the most fun 27 hours or so. But it’s worth doing.”
“Yom Kippur, everyone’s in services and you’re all hungry together,” he added. “Everyone’s just miserable, but that is the point. You want to feel that way.”
If he were playing, then he wouldn't fast. Meaning - a football game overrides Yom Kippur...
And he thinks that the point of Yom Kippur is to feel miserable.
You know sweet friends, the concept of ערבות teaches that his ignorance and distance from our tradition is my problem too. May Hashem be machzir us all bi-tshuva.
And after all is said and done - he is fasting, even though it will make him grumpy [which can be quite dangerous given his size of 6' 6' and 340 pounds, I wouldn't want to be around him when he is grumpy. I also wouldn't want to be a quarterback for the opposing team...]. Mi ki-amcha yisrael. A gorilla sized man misses two meals for the Ribbono Shel Olam.
Peace Talks
I usually stay out of politics. I don't follow it closely, generally don't trust poloticians and would rather follow the gemara. I still haven't heard anything about politics that I find as intellectually stimulating as a daf gemara. Of course that is besides the fact that learning Torah is a mitzva and knowing what Obama said about the situation in Iraq is not. Why do a non-mitzva when one can do a mitzva??
However, the follwing exchange was reported between Netanyahu and Obama and in the interest in putting a smile on Jew's faces, I record it:
OBAMA: Hey, Benjamin, you like jokes?
NETANYAHU: Who doesn’t enjoy a good joke? Except maybe my mother-in-law. May she rest in peace.
OBAMA: I’m sorry for your loss.
NETANYAHU: Oh, she’s still alive. I’m just anticipating.
OBAMA: Well, it’s important to keep hope alive. Here’s one you might like…
A man goes to a psychiatrist and says, "Doc, my brother's crazy, he thinks he's a chicken." The doctor says, "Why don't you turn him in?" The guy says, "We would. But we need the eggs."
NETANYAHU: That’s a good one. Here’s one for you…
A guy is sitting at home when he hears a knock at the door. He opens the door and sees a snail on the porch. He picks up the snail and throws it as far as he can. Three years later, there’s a knock on the door. He opens it and sees the same snail. The snail says "What the heck was that all about?"
OBAMA: Wonderful. Maybe we should team up and tour with a comedy act. I can also sing.
NETANYAHU: I heard you singing on CNN. I think it would be wise for us both to keep our day jobs.
OBAMA: Fair enough. Say, can I offer you some brandy and a cigar, maybe a slice of Hadassah Lieberman’s brisket?
NETANYAHU: Finally, these talks are getting someplace
However, the follwing exchange was reported between Netanyahu and Obama and in the interest in putting a smile on Jew's faces, I record it:
OBAMA: Hey, Benjamin, you like jokes?
NETANYAHU: Who doesn’t enjoy a good joke? Except maybe my mother-in-law. May she rest in peace.
OBAMA: I’m sorry for your loss.
NETANYAHU: Oh, she’s still alive. I’m just anticipating.
OBAMA: Well, it’s important to keep hope alive. Here’s one you might like…
A man goes to a psychiatrist and says, "Doc, my brother's crazy, he thinks he's a chicken." The doctor says, "Why don't you turn him in?" The guy says, "We would. But we need the eggs."
NETANYAHU: That’s a good one. Here’s one for you…
A guy is sitting at home when he hears a knock at the door. He opens the door and sees a snail on the porch. He picks up the snail and throws it as far as he can. Three years later, there’s a knock on the door. He opens it and sees the same snail. The snail says "What the heck was that all about?"
OBAMA: Wonderful. Maybe we should team up and tour with a comedy act. I can also sing.
NETANYAHU: I heard you singing on CNN. I think it would be wise for us both to keep our day jobs.
OBAMA: Fair enough. Say, can I offer you some brandy and a cigar, maybe a slice of Hadassah Lieberman’s brisket?
NETANYAHU: Finally, these talks are getting someplace
A Shabbos Wall For A Succah
לזכות ידיד נפשי הרב משה גבריאל בן יהודית הוא וביתו וכל אשר לו לברכה והצלחה!
The gemara [Succah 7a] says that if one lays schach over an open mavoi [alleyway] that has a lechi, the succah is valid. Since [מגו] the lechi is regarded as a wall with respect to Shabbos it is so recognized with respect to the succah as well.
The gemara leaves a lot of room for interpretation [and 'blog'ation]. WHEN is this succah kosher? All of succos? Only on shabbos? Otherwise?
Rashi says that it is a valid wall on shabbos only but not on the weekday. This is logical. Only on shabbos do we regard it as a wall so it makes sense that for a succah we only view it as a valid wall on shabbos only.
The Rif dif's [differs] with Rashi. He says that it is a kosher succah wall all seven days and not just on shabbos.
The Rambam seems to agree with Rashi that it is only a wall on shabbos. The Maggid Mishna says that we can derive this understanding from a careful reading of the gemara. The language of the gemara is יתירה שבת דעלמא על שבת דסוכה - [The criterion for walls which permit carrying on shabbos in general is more stringent than that which permits carrying within] a succah on shabbos [see the gemara there for context]. It is clear then that Rashi and the Rambam are correct and that we are dealing with a lechi in a succah on shabbos only.
The Rogochover in his commentary to the Rambam takes a different approach. He says that once shabbos arrives, this lechi is considered a wall and doesn't lose that status even after shabbos ends.
Ki-darko bakodesh - he brings a proof from a totally unexpected place. In Bava Basra [153b] we discuss the halachic status of a valley surrounded by a wall. The law is that in the summer, it has a din of a reshus hayachid with respect to the laws of shabbos [since it has a wall] and a reshus harabbim with respect to tumah [since it has no produce growing and people walk there. Thus, a sefek tumah is tahor like it is in all reshuyos harabbim]. In the winter it is considered a reshus hayachid both with respect to shabbos and tumah [since produce is growing, people don't generally walk there and safek tumah is tamei].
Rashi there adds, that once the winter comes around and the valley adopts the status of a reshus hayachid, it retains that status forever, even in the following summers.
So we see that once we apply the law of reshus hayachid, it stays that way. We may extract from here that once shabbos passes over the succah and the lechi adopts the status of a wall, it will remain that way even after shabbos ends.
Pilei plaos!:-)
The gemara [Succah 7a] says that if one lays schach over an open mavoi [alleyway] that has a lechi, the succah is valid. Since [מגו] the lechi is regarded as a wall with respect to Shabbos it is so recognized with respect to the succah as well.
The gemara leaves a lot of room for interpretation [and 'blog'ation]. WHEN is this succah kosher? All of succos? Only on shabbos? Otherwise?
Rashi says that it is a valid wall on shabbos only but not on the weekday. This is logical. Only on shabbos do we regard it as a wall so it makes sense that for a succah we only view it as a valid wall on shabbos only.
The Rif dif's [differs] with Rashi. He says that it is a kosher succah wall all seven days and not just on shabbos.
The Rambam seems to agree with Rashi that it is only a wall on shabbos. The Maggid Mishna says that we can derive this understanding from a careful reading of the gemara. The language of the gemara is יתירה שבת דעלמא על שבת דסוכה - [The criterion for walls which permit carrying on shabbos in general is more stringent than that which permits carrying within] a succah on shabbos [see the gemara there for context]. It is clear then that Rashi and the Rambam are correct and that we are dealing with a lechi in a succah on shabbos only.
The Rogochover in his commentary to the Rambam takes a different approach. He says that once shabbos arrives, this lechi is considered a wall and doesn't lose that status even after shabbos ends.
Ki-darko bakodesh - he brings a proof from a totally unexpected place. In Bava Basra [153b] we discuss the halachic status of a valley surrounded by a wall. The law is that in the summer, it has a din of a reshus hayachid with respect to the laws of shabbos [since it has a wall] and a reshus harabbim with respect to tumah [since it has no produce growing and people walk there. Thus, a sefek tumah is tahor like it is in all reshuyos harabbim]. In the winter it is considered a reshus hayachid both with respect to shabbos and tumah [since produce is growing, people don't generally walk there and safek tumah is tamei].
Rashi there adds, that once the winter comes around and the valley adopts the status of a reshus hayachid, it retains that status forever, even in the following summers.
So we see that once we apply the law of reshus hayachid, it stays that way. We may extract from here that once shabbos passes over the succah and the lechi adopts the status of a wall, it will remain that way even after shabbos ends.
Pilei plaos!:-)
Monday, October 6, 2014
Science Proves Telepathy
From the British Daily Mail
With a blindfold covering his eyes, and earplugs cancelling out almost all sound, Dr Michel Berg sat in a state-of-the-art laboratory at the University of Strasbourg in north-eastern France, and began to think.
Nearly 5,000 miles away, at a research facility in the Indian city of Kerala, a young Spanish man called Dr Alejandro Riera pulled on a tightly fitting hat, placed a laptop computer on a white table, and also began to think.
Over the course of the next hour, on March 28 this year, the 51-year-old Dr Berg and his faraway counterpart would attempt something that had only previously occurred in the exotic realms of science fiction.
The two men aimed to send a simple message between each other, across the continents, without using any of the five senses that human beings — and indeed animals — have for millennia used to communicate.
They instead hoped to achieve what scientists call ‘mind-to-mind direct technological communication’ — and the rest of us would recognise by a single, tantalising word: telepathy.
The experiment in speaking via ‘thought’ happened in conditions of absolute secrecy. Until recently, only a small team numbering a dozen researchers (including Dr Berg and Dr Riera) were even aware of its existence.
That all changed a few days ago, however, when PLOS ONE, a website little known outside academia, published a peer-reviewed scientific paper detailing its outcome.
The report is lengthy and jargon-ridden. But to a layman, its findings seem little short of sensational. For on that afternoon in March, Dr Berg and Dr Riera were indeed able to achieve ‘conscious brain-to-brain communication’.
This, in layman’s terms, means they carried out the first scientifically documented telepathic conversation in human history.
The exchange was nothing if not brief. The duo shared just two words: the Spanish greeting ‘hola’, and the Italian ‘ciao’.
Yet what it might have lacked in colour and complexity, it surely made up for in potential historic importance.
‘We have shown that it is possible to send a mental message between two people, without using sight, touch, sound, taste or smell,’ Dr Berg told me yesterday.
‘This is of course early days, but the discovery could eventually have a profound impact on civilisation.’
The possibilities of telepathy are, indeed, endless.
Dr Berg believes that in the coming decades, it could be used to help stroke victims, extreme paraplegics, and sufferers of ‘locked-in syndrome’ to speak and move again, using their brains to transmit instructions either to other people or to artificial limbs.
‘Take someone in a coma,’ he says. ‘At the moment, it is not possible to tell what they might want. This could open up the possibility of being able to communicate with them.’
A way from the field of medicine, soldiers may one day be able to use telepathy to speak across a noisy battlefield, without having to rely on radio or satellite equipment that could break, or be intercepted by their enemies. Families could use it to have conversations without needing a telephone.
In a vaguely Orwellian realm, which raises profound ethical questions, policemen might use it to find a way to read the minds of potential criminals, and courts could ensure witnesses are telling the truth. We may even be able to communicate with the dead (if a way is found to keep their brains ‘alive’).
‘This is the first step towards opening a new way of allowing direct communication between brains,’ says Dr Carles Grau, a professor at the University of Barcelona, who worked on the project. ‘New legal protocols will of course one day be necessary to regulate the complexity of a future brain-to-brain civilisation.’
The concept of telepathy is as old as the hills. Psychics, for example, claim to be able to read the minds of strangers. Mothers often experience ugly premonitions when something unfortunate has happened to their child.
Long before the era of mobiles and ‘caller ID’, many people claimed to be able to predict which friend was calling when they heard the telephone ring.
There are also endless examples of identical twins claiming to experience the same feelings and emotions, and make similar life decisions, despite being miles, or even continents apart — sometimes without having ever met.
Perhaps the most famous example concerns James Lewis and James Springer, identical twins put up for adoption in Ohio in the Forties.
They met for the first time aged 39, and discovered that they had both married women called Linda before divorcing them and re-marrying women called Betty. They had identical qualifications and jobs, and each called their dog ‘Toy’.
Dr Berg’s experiment — a collaboration between Spanish research organisation Starlab, Harvard University, and a robotics firm called Axilum — does not prove psychic powers do, or don’t, exist. Neither does it show that uncanny events from history involved anything more than a coincidence.
What it does demonstrate, however, is brain-to-brain communication can take place. The complex experiment involved powerful computers, robots, and an odd-looking skull-cap that measures electrical currents in the brain. It started in India, where Dr Riera wore the cap, which is properly known as an EEG (electro-encephalograph), while imagining he was making a series of either horizontal or vertical movements.
The mental effort he made to execute each type of virtual ‘movement’ sent one of two sorts of electric pulse into the EEG.
The machine translated one of those pulses into the figure 1, and the other into a 0, thus creating a digital binary code — rather like Morse code — which he was able to build up to represent the letters of the alphabet he was trying to generate.
H is communication of ‘hola’ and ‘ciao’ took half an hour of intense concentration to complete. It was then emailed via his laptop to France.
In the Strasbourg laboratory, Dr Berg and two fellow ‘receivers’ were meanwhile blindfolded and hooked up to a machine, which converted the binary message into pulses of electricity sent to the occipital lobe of their brains, the region that governs sight.
When the pulses were fired, they then experienced ‘phosphenes’ or white flashes on the periphery of their vision. Different pulses corresponded with either the number ‘one’ or ‘zero’. The phosphenes could be converted back by the ‘receiver’ into binary code, and from there once more into the words ‘hola’ and ‘ciao’, in a process that took another half hour.
‘We obviously weren’t sure that it would work,’ says Dr Berg. ‘It was a dark room, and we were concentrating very hard, and it wasn’t until afterwards that we learned that the message had been communicated with between 90 and 95 per cent accuracy.’
Of course, there is a world of difference between being able to communicate two four-letter words over the course of an hour, and having a complex conversation. Dr Berg believes we are perhaps 20 years from being able to develop useful applications for the technique.
NU, sweetest friends, our tzadikim have these powers without the laptop on the table....
So many stories. Here are two: Rav Mordechai Appel was a chossid of the heilige Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz. He once wrote a kvittel with the names of his family members asking for a bracha. Before he went in his chidren told him to ask the Rebbe for a special bracha for parnassa which was especially rough at that time. He refused, explaining that the Rebbe knows what is going on without having to be told. The children insisted but he refused. The Rebbe knows anyway, why bother mentioning it.
He walked in the room, handed the Rebbe the kvittel with the names. Right away, the Rebbe asked him how his parnassa is going.... [Sefer Meir Li-chaim page 217]
Mori Vi-rabi Shlita related that he was once at a tisch of the Beis Yisrael of Ger. The Rebbe expressed an idea and Mori Vi-rabi thought of a question on what he said. At that point, the Beis Yisrael [whose ability to read minds was legend] turned to Mori Vi-rabi from among the large crowd of people and said "And if you will ask..." and then asked the question and explained his point.
Yidden - we live in a spiritual world! Sometimes our involvement in the physical makes us forget this reality.
A Long Shabbos
Lirifuas Sarah Chantsha bas Ahava Nechama bitoch shear cholei yisrael.
There is a לא תעשה to work the land in the seventh year. That is a pasuk and uncontested. שדך לא תזרע - The person may not work his field. There is also an עשה that the land should rest [ושבתה הארץ], so if one works the land he transgresses an עשה. What about if he has a goy work his field, is he עובר on the עשה? Is the עשה on the land, that the land should rest, or on the gavra, that HE should rest and not work the land?
That, as you expected, is a machlokes ha-poskim.The minchas chinuch in numerous places [112, 326, 329] says that the mitzva of not working the land in the seventh year is like the mitzva of שביתת בהמתו - having one's animal rest, and devolves on the land. Based on this assumption he was mechadesh two halachos 1] Even if a goy works the land on your behalf it is assur. 2] If one plants at the end of the sixth year and the seed takes root at the begining of the seventh he is עובר. In both instances the land is not resting.
The Chazon Ish was not excited about this idea. He said that the עשה and the לא תעשה are both on the gavra and if a goy works the land or if it takes root after shmitta there is no problem.
The langauge of the Rambam in different places seems to take both positions so there is no definitive proof as to what his shittah was.
The Tosfos Rid in Avoda Zara [15b] first says that the mitzva devolves upon the gavra [שלא יעשה הוא מלאכה בשדהו] and then without blinking the tail lights on his car or making any indication that he is changing direction, says that the עשה relates to the cheftza of the land [דשביתת קרקע הוזהרנו בשביעית ואסור להשכיר לגוי בשביעית] and that one may therefore not rent it out to a goy.
Rav Asher Weiss Shlita [Minchas Asher Simman Aleph] suggests that what the Tosfos Rid means is that the mitzva is indeed on the gavra, however it is not on the מעשה of the gavra but on the תוצאה - the outcome, and thus a goy may not work the field. He gave seven examples of such a phenomenon where the mitzva is not on the מעשה but on the תוצאה and applies to a goy [may I note a delicious אריכות in the topic in the sefer המדות לחקר ההלכה of R' Amiel]. F'rinstence, if a goy immerses your kli, you may make a bracha because your mitzva is not the מעשה טבילה but the outcome, that the kli is immersed that matters. You can have a goy erect a מעקה [fence] on your roof and you make a bracha. A woman who already accepted shabbos on herself and hasn't lit the candles, may have a goy do it and make the bracha herself. A goy can carry out capital punishment on behalf of the Beis Din. In all of these instances, the mitzva is the תוצאה and not the מעשה. So too, the Tosfos Rid holds that the mitzva that the land should rest, relates to the person, but is defined as him making sure that his land lie fallow - the תוצאה.
This approach presents a leniency with respect to the minchas chinuch and a stringency. The leniency is that according to the MC, if a goy works your field, even if he does it for his own purposes, the owner of the field is guilty, for his field didn't rest. According to the Tosfos Rid, if the work was done by a goy without the ratzon of the Jew, it would not be assur, because the issue is that a Jew does melacha through a goy. If the goy does it for himself, then it is not defined that the melacha is being done through the Jew. The stringency may be that according to the Tosfos Rid, when a goy does melacha on behalf of the Jew, not only is he עובר on an עשה but on a לא תעשה because when the Torah forbids us to work the field, it means even through a goy. According to the MC, the לא תעשה devolves on the person while the עשה relates to the field.
There is soooooooooooo much more. The year will be long and if I am zoche and have time will bli neder share a great deal.
A gut Shabbos-a gut Shabbos! A gantza year where every day is Shabbos:-):-)!!
There is a לא תעשה to work the land in the seventh year. That is a pasuk and uncontested. שדך לא תזרע - The person may not work his field. There is also an עשה that the land should rest [ושבתה הארץ], so if one works the land he transgresses an עשה. What about if he has a goy work his field, is he עובר on the עשה? Is the עשה on the land, that the land should rest, or on the gavra, that HE should rest and not work the land?
That, as you expected, is a machlokes ha-poskim.The minchas chinuch in numerous places [112, 326, 329] says that the mitzva of not working the land in the seventh year is like the mitzva of שביתת בהמתו - having one's animal rest, and devolves on the land. Based on this assumption he was mechadesh two halachos 1] Even if a goy works the land on your behalf it is assur. 2] If one plants at the end of the sixth year and the seed takes root at the begining of the seventh he is עובר. In both instances the land is not resting.
The Chazon Ish was not excited about this idea. He said that the עשה and the לא תעשה are both on the gavra and if a goy works the land or if it takes root after shmitta there is no problem.
The langauge of the Rambam in different places seems to take both positions so there is no definitive proof as to what his shittah was.
The Tosfos Rid in Avoda Zara [15b] first says that the mitzva devolves upon the gavra [שלא יעשה הוא מלאכה בשדהו] and then without blinking the tail lights on his car or making any indication that he is changing direction, says that the עשה relates to the cheftza of the land [דשביתת קרקע הוזהרנו בשביעית ואסור להשכיר לגוי בשביעית] and that one may therefore not rent it out to a goy.
Rav Asher Weiss Shlita [Minchas Asher Simman Aleph] suggests that what the Tosfos Rid means is that the mitzva is indeed on the gavra, however it is not on the מעשה of the gavra but on the תוצאה - the outcome, and thus a goy may not work the field. He gave seven examples of such a phenomenon where the mitzva is not on the מעשה but on the תוצאה and applies to a goy [may I note a delicious אריכות in the topic in the sefer המדות לחקר ההלכה of R' Amiel]. F'rinstence, if a goy immerses your kli, you may make a bracha because your mitzva is not the מעשה טבילה but the outcome, that the kli is immersed that matters. You can have a goy erect a מעקה [fence] on your roof and you make a bracha. A woman who already accepted shabbos on herself and hasn't lit the candles, may have a goy do it and make the bracha herself. A goy can carry out capital punishment on behalf of the Beis Din. In all of these instances, the mitzva is the תוצאה and not the מעשה. So too, the Tosfos Rid holds that the mitzva that the land should rest, relates to the person, but is defined as him making sure that his land lie fallow - the תוצאה.
This approach presents a leniency with respect to the minchas chinuch and a stringency. The leniency is that according to the MC, if a goy works your field, even if he does it for his own purposes, the owner of the field is guilty, for his field didn't rest. According to the Tosfos Rid, if the work was done by a goy without the ratzon of the Jew, it would not be assur, because the issue is that a Jew does melacha through a goy. If the goy does it for himself, then it is not defined that the melacha is being done through the Jew. The stringency may be that according to the Tosfos Rid, when a goy does melacha on behalf of the Jew, not only is he עובר on an עשה but on a לא תעשה because when the Torah forbids us to work the field, it means even through a goy. According to the MC, the לא תעשה devolves on the person while the עשה relates to the field.
There is soooooooooooo much more. The year will be long and if I am zoche and have time will bli neder share a great deal.
A gut Shabbos-a gut Shabbos! A gantza year where every day is Shabbos:-):-)!!
Friday, October 3, 2014
For Further Study....
As a hashlama to this post, please see the Pachad Yitzchak on Rosh Hashana, Maamar Yud Ches.
Ge-shmak!
Rebbe Akiva, Yom Kippur And Bamba
From my archives.
Gmar chasima tova to all of my sweetest friends:-):-).
לזכות ר' זאב ישראל בן אסתר וחי' גיטל פייגא בת ביילא בלומא הרב משה צבי בן פרידה שמחה והרב צבי משה בן שרה לאה לרפו"ש בתוך שאר חולי ישראל
On Yom Kippur night we say the pasuk אור זרוע לצדיק ולישרי לב שמחה -
the last letters spell ר' עקיבה [some spell it that way and that is
the way it should be written in halachic documents according to many].
We see that there is a special connection between Rebbe Akiva and Yom
Kippur.
The medrash teaches that Rebbe Akiva used to go and feed many Jewish
children on Yom Kippur. Why did Rebbe Akiva himself need to feed the
children. Didn't they have mother's? And couldn't he have someone to
do it for him? There is something about Rebbe Akiva and Yom Kippur ..
and children.
I share what I heard tonight from Mori Vi-rabi The Tolna Rebbe Shlita:
The pasuk in tehillim [139/16] says ימים יוצרו ולו אחד בהם - You
created days and one of them is very special. This special day
according to Chazal is Yom Kippur. The pasuk continues there and says
ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל מה עצמו ראשיהם - this means according to Chazal
that Adam Harishon was shown Rebbe Akiva and exclaimed מה יקרו רעיך אל
- How difficult it is to see the tragic passing of the tzaddik. In
fact, we learn in a different place that the death of Rebbe Akiva was
on Yom Kippur. Again - Rebbe Akiva and Yom Kippur.
The Sfas Emes [יו"כ תרנ"א] learns that the pasuk ימים יוצרו ולו אחד
בהם is also alluding to the fact that on Yom Kippur Jews must have
unity. אחד בהם - We must be one and feel united. If we don't then we
can't be forgiven. It is our greatest sin when we are not united. It
was REBBE AKIVA who said that Vi-ahavta li-rayacha kamocha is the כלל
גדול בתורה - The overriding principle of the Torah. It is the rule
that is כולל combines us together. Without unity there is no Torah
chas vi-shalom. [See there in the Sfas Emes!!]
Rebbe Tzadok says that a person's yahrtzeit reflects his essence.
Rebbe Akiva died on Yom Kippur and that was his essence. The day
represents loving other Jews and that was what Rebbe Akiva was about.
The Sfas Emes says elsewhere [תרס"ב] that according to Chazal, when
the first luchos were given, the Satan tricked the Jews into
disbelieving in the return of Moshe Rabbeinu by showing his casket to
the Jews and they made the Golden Calf. The second time around he
tried again - but this time the Jews didn't let him fool them. The way
they achieved this was with achdus. That is what gave them the power
over the Satan. This happened on Yom Kippur when the second luchos
were given. The meal we eat before the fast celebrates this victory
and the gemara says that Yom Kippur is the happiest day of the year.
When Rebbe Akiva was being tortured to death by the Romans [on Yom
Kippur] he said Shema and his neshama left his body when he said the
word ECHAD. That was his life's message. Echad. Unity. Togetherness.
At the end of maseches Yoma [the gemara about Yom Kippur] Rebbe Akiva
says אשריכם ישראל לפני מי אתם מטהרים ומי מטהר אתכם - Fortunate are you
the Jews - before whom do you come pure and who purifies you??! Your
Father in heaven. מקוה ישראל השם - Hashem is the mikva of the Jewish
people. Rebbe Dovid'l of Tolna was once ill and was not allowed by the
doctors to toivel in the mikva. He stood in the middle of a group of
Jews and said that standing among Jews purifies like a mikva. מקוה
ישראל. But there is one condition, he said - no chatzitza. There can
be no interposition and separation between Jews - only then it
purifies. [Some even say that Reb Dovid'ls hair came out wet:-)].
Rebbe Akiva. ואהבת לרעך כמוך. Yom Kippur. The day that doesn't atone
unless we ask each other for forgiveness. Wonder of wonders!:-)
Now we will return to the story of Rebbe Akiva feeding the little
children on Yom Kippur. We asked what this was all about? Don't they
have mothers?? Doesn't he have helpers? Did he give them bamba [what
almost every Israeli kid carries around]? He was the gadol hador!
When Rebbe Akiva was 40 he went to kindergarten to learn alef beis.
The Rebbe said "komatz aleph awwwww". "Komatz beis baaawwwww".
"Akival'e", cried out the teacher "how do you say komatz beis?" He
answered "Baaawwwww". "GOOD BOYYYY!!!" Said the teacher.
How did the other kids in the class take to their older classmate?? I
could imagine today that the kids would laugh at him but we have no
such record of anything like that happening with Rebbe Akiva. We can
thus assume that they were very nice to him. Maybe we can suggest that
Rebbe Akiva had such a great feeling of gratitude for little children
and their acceptance of him in his leaner pre-gadol hador days, that
he made it his special custom to feed them on his special day - Yom
Kippur. While their parents may have found them an annoyance because
they were busy davening and fasting - Rebbe Akiva made it his business
to make them feel special.
Ashreichem Yisrael! What a special day!:-) We are all one. That is the
essence of the day. Rebbe Akiva understood things that even Moshe
Rabbeinu didn't [Menachos 29]. His day is Yom Kippur where everyone is
united. We ask permission להתפלל עם העבריינים - we want to conect to
everyone in order to become pure before Hashem. לפני מי אתם מטהרים -
אביכם שבשמים. Hashem, the Torah and the Jews are one, says the Zohar.
One if we have unity can the we connect to the Torah and Hashem. זה
כלל גדול בתורה - Loving our neighbor is where it's at. Even the
neighbors kids.
Particularly the neighbor's kids. Rebbe Akiva teaches us that
everybody is important - even those who are sometimes neglected. It is
also significant that Yom Kippur is the only day of the year when the
Kohen Gadol goes into the holy of holies. On top of the Holy Ark were
the כרובים who had the angelic faces of ...... children.
Not normal!:-)
A gmar chasima tova to all of my beloved friends and may we share
divrei torah and simchas for many years to come!!:-):-)
Your faithful servant,
Elchanan ben Henna Miriam
Gmar chasima tova to all of my sweetest friends:-):-).
לזכות ר' זאב ישראל בן אסתר וחי' גיטל פייגא בת ביילא בלומא הרב משה צבי בן פרידה שמחה והרב צבי משה בן שרה לאה לרפו"ש בתוך שאר חולי ישראל
On Yom Kippur night we say the pasuk אור זרוע לצדיק ולישרי לב שמחה -
the last letters spell ר' עקיבה [some spell it that way and that is
the way it should be written in halachic documents according to many].
We see that there is a special connection between Rebbe Akiva and Yom
Kippur.
The medrash teaches that Rebbe Akiva used to go and feed many Jewish
children on Yom Kippur. Why did Rebbe Akiva himself need to feed the
children. Didn't they have mother's? And couldn't he have someone to
do it for him? There is something about Rebbe Akiva and Yom Kippur ..
and children.
I share what I heard tonight from Mori Vi-rabi The Tolna Rebbe Shlita:
The pasuk in tehillim [139/16] says ימים יוצרו ולו אחד בהם - You
created days and one of them is very special. This special day
according to Chazal is Yom Kippur. The pasuk continues there and says
ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל מה עצמו ראשיהם - this means according to Chazal
that Adam Harishon was shown Rebbe Akiva and exclaimed מה יקרו רעיך אל
- How difficult it is to see the tragic passing of the tzaddik. In
fact, we learn in a different place that the death of Rebbe Akiva was
on Yom Kippur. Again - Rebbe Akiva and Yom Kippur.
The Sfas Emes [יו"כ תרנ"א] learns that the pasuk ימים יוצרו ולו אחד
בהם is also alluding to the fact that on Yom Kippur Jews must have
unity. אחד בהם - We must be one and feel united. If we don't then we
can't be forgiven. It is our greatest sin when we are not united. It
was REBBE AKIVA who said that Vi-ahavta li-rayacha kamocha is the כלל
גדול בתורה - The overriding principle of the Torah. It is the rule
that is כולל combines us together. Without unity there is no Torah
chas vi-shalom. [See there in the Sfas Emes!!]
Rebbe Tzadok says that a person's yahrtzeit reflects his essence.
Rebbe Akiva died on Yom Kippur and that was his essence. The day
represents loving other Jews and that was what Rebbe Akiva was about.
The Sfas Emes says elsewhere [תרס"ב] that according to Chazal, when
the first luchos were given, the Satan tricked the Jews into
disbelieving in the return of Moshe Rabbeinu by showing his casket to
the Jews and they made the Golden Calf. The second time around he
tried again - but this time the Jews didn't let him fool them. The way
they achieved this was with achdus. That is what gave them the power
over the Satan. This happened on Yom Kippur when the second luchos
were given. The meal we eat before the fast celebrates this victory
and the gemara says that Yom Kippur is the happiest day of the year.
When Rebbe Akiva was being tortured to death by the Romans [on Yom
Kippur] he said Shema and his neshama left his body when he said the
word ECHAD. That was his life's message. Echad. Unity. Togetherness.
At the end of maseches Yoma [the gemara about Yom Kippur] Rebbe Akiva
says אשריכם ישראל לפני מי אתם מטהרים ומי מטהר אתכם - Fortunate are you
the Jews - before whom do you come pure and who purifies you??! Your
Father in heaven. מקוה ישראל השם - Hashem is the mikva of the Jewish
people. Rebbe Dovid'l of Tolna was once ill and was not allowed by the
doctors to toivel in the mikva. He stood in the middle of a group of
Jews and said that standing among Jews purifies like a mikva. מקוה
ישראל. But there is one condition, he said - no chatzitza. There can
be no interposition and separation between Jews - only then it
purifies. [Some even say that Reb Dovid'ls hair came out wet:-)].
Rebbe Akiva. ואהבת לרעך כמוך. Yom Kippur. The day that doesn't atone
unless we ask each other for forgiveness. Wonder of wonders!:-)
Now we will return to the story of Rebbe Akiva feeding the little
children on Yom Kippur. We asked what this was all about? Don't they
have mothers?? Doesn't he have helpers? Did he give them bamba [what
almost every Israeli kid carries around]? He was the gadol hador!
When Rebbe Akiva was 40 he went to kindergarten to learn alef beis.
The Rebbe said "komatz aleph awwwww". "Komatz beis baaawwwww".
"Akival'e", cried out the teacher "how do you say komatz beis?" He
answered "Baaawwwww". "GOOD BOYYYY!!!" Said the teacher.
How did the other kids in the class take to their older classmate?? I
could imagine today that the kids would laugh at him but we have no
such record of anything like that happening with Rebbe Akiva. We can
thus assume that they were very nice to him. Maybe we can suggest that
Rebbe Akiva had such a great feeling of gratitude for little children
and their acceptance of him in his leaner pre-gadol hador days, that
he made it his special custom to feed them on his special day - Yom
Kippur. While their parents may have found them an annoyance because
they were busy davening and fasting - Rebbe Akiva made it his business
to make them feel special.
Ashreichem Yisrael! What a special day!:-) We are all one. That is the
essence of the day. Rebbe Akiva understood things that even Moshe
Rabbeinu didn't [Menachos 29]. His day is Yom Kippur where everyone is
united. We ask permission להתפלל עם העבריינים - we want to conect to
everyone in order to become pure before Hashem. לפני מי אתם מטהרים -
אביכם שבשמים. Hashem, the Torah and the Jews are one, says the Zohar.
One if we have unity can the we connect to the Torah and Hashem. זה
כלל גדול בתורה - Loving our neighbor is where it's at. Even the
neighbors kids.
Particularly the neighbor's kids. Rebbe Akiva teaches us that
everybody is important - even those who are sometimes neglected. It is
also significant that Yom Kippur is the only day of the year when the
Kohen Gadol goes into the holy of holies. On top of the Holy Ark were
the כרובים who had the angelic faces of ...... children.
Not normal!:-)
A gmar chasima tova to all of my beloved friends and may we share
divrei torah and simchas for many years to come!!:-):-)
Your faithful servant,
Elchanan ben Henna Miriam
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Much Reason For Appreciation And Gratitude
I am not a big fan of complaining. Not that I never complain, but I don't like it when I complain and I don't like it when others complain. I am trying to stop:-). We are all blessed. The basis of our lives should be constant gratitude. Gratitude to our parents, to our spouses, to our teachers and to the innumerable people from whom we benefit daily. The mailman, the cashier at the supermarket, the fellow who fills up our tank with gas, the overworked, underpaid people in third world countries who made our clothing etc. etc. and most of all, for the constant chesed of Hashem.
If children would appreciate their parents then they would never go off the derech. How can they cause so much pain to those who gave them life and so much more. The root קלקול of going off the derech is ingratitude.
If people would appreciate their spouses there would be almost no divorce and very little marital friction. He supports you and provides you with companionship and had your beloved children with you - how can you not just dance around him all day? She takes care of your home, gave birth to your children, spends endless hours cooking your food and cleaning your less than pleasant smelling socks. All she deserves from you is jewelry and any other gift she enjoys. Not criticism.
Your doctor, your dentist. They spent years studying so that they can help you feel healthy. Years. They didn't necessarily do it with completely altruistic motivations but they nevertheless deserve much gratitude [see Michtav M'eliyahu Vol. 4 at the beginning]. The list goes on and on.
But people complain and complain.
I don't like when people complain about life in Israel. It is materially better in Israel than it has ever been since the BEGINNING OF TIME. And it just keeps getting better and better. The tehnology keeps advancing, the food is plentiful, the roads are paved and their is beautiful scenery wherever you go. Israel used to be a barren desert not all that long ago. Today, most Israelis live in palaces compared to what was only a small number of years ago. There are people who still remember. I have been living here for under 30 years and see a significant improvement in what was when I first came. BARUCH HASHEM!!!:-) Life in Israel is SUPER. In ruchniyus, things are better today than they have been at any time since the destruction of the second beis hamikdash. There are so many yeshivos, shuls, schools, rabbonim, sfarim, tzadikim etc. etc. It is true that there are problems here, but that doesn't negate the overwhelming good we enjoy.
I don't like when people bash America. The USA is a wonderful country, with all of its problems. I am no chossid of Obama just as I am no chossid of Netanyahu but at the end of the day, Jews enjoy a blessed existence in the United States.
You don't have to celebrate July 4th or Yom Haatzmaut. EVERY DAY should be July 4th and Yom Haatzmaut. There is so much gratitude to be shown to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for all of his kindness. Look at old pictures and videos of the Yidden on the Lower East Side 90 years ago in their crowded tenement buildings, wearing shmattas and trying to sell a few shmattas to make a FEW PENNIES. America is far from the ideal place for a Jew to live but religious freedoms reign and one can be as observant as he wants and the government even helps support yeshivos, day schools and poor kollel families. If you can - make aliyah tomorrow. But regardless - America is the land of great religious and economic possibilities.
Here is something I came across written by somebody somewhere [not one of us:-)] a number of years ago and following this blog's policy [based on the Rambam and others] of קבל את האמת ממי שאמרה, I present to you his words.
'As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark. The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President.. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?'
A. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?
B. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?
C. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
D. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
E. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state.
F. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
G. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
I. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
J. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.
K. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.
L. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
M. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?
Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!
Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times to wrap up your fish. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative. With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks. Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'
If children would appreciate their parents then they would never go off the derech. How can they cause so much pain to those who gave them life and so much more. The root קלקול of going off the derech is ingratitude.
If people would appreciate their spouses there would be almost no divorce and very little marital friction. He supports you and provides you with companionship and had your beloved children with you - how can you not just dance around him all day? She takes care of your home, gave birth to your children, spends endless hours cooking your food and cleaning your less than pleasant smelling socks. All she deserves from you is jewelry and any other gift she enjoys. Not criticism.
Your doctor, your dentist. They spent years studying so that they can help you feel healthy. Years. They didn't necessarily do it with completely altruistic motivations but they nevertheless deserve much gratitude [see Michtav M'eliyahu Vol. 4 at the beginning]. The list goes on and on.
But people complain and complain.
I don't like when people complain about life in Israel. It is materially better in Israel than it has ever been since the BEGINNING OF TIME. And it just keeps getting better and better. The tehnology keeps advancing, the food is plentiful, the roads are paved and their is beautiful scenery wherever you go. Israel used to be a barren desert not all that long ago. Today, most Israelis live in palaces compared to what was only a small number of years ago. There are people who still remember. I have been living here for under 30 years and see a significant improvement in what was when I first came. BARUCH HASHEM!!!:-) Life in Israel is SUPER. In ruchniyus, things are better today than they have been at any time since the destruction of the second beis hamikdash. There are so many yeshivos, shuls, schools, rabbonim, sfarim, tzadikim etc. etc. It is true that there are problems here, but that doesn't negate the overwhelming good we enjoy.
I don't like when people bash America. The USA is a wonderful country, with all of its problems. I am no chossid of Obama just as I am no chossid of Netanyahu but at the end of the day, Jews enjoy a blessed existence in the United States.
You don't have to celebrate July 4th or Yom Haatzmaut. EVERY DAY should be July 4th and Yom Haatzmaut. There is so much gratitude to be shown to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for all of his kindness. Look at old pictures and videos of the Yidden on the Lower East Side 90 years ago in their crowded tenement buildings, wearing shmattas and trying to sell a few shmattas to make a FEW PENNIES. America is far from the ideal place for a Jew to live but religious freedoms reign and one can be as observant as he wants and the government even helps support yeshivos, day schools and poor kollel families. If you can - make aliyah tomorrow. But regardless - America is the land of great religious and economic possibilities.
Here is something I came across written by somebody somewhere [not one of us:-)] a number of years ago and following this blog's policy [based on the Rambam and others] of קבל את האמת ממי שאמרה, I present to you his words.
'As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark. The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President.. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?'
A. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?
B. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?
C. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
D. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
E. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state.
F. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
G. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
I. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
J. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.
K. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.
L. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
M. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?
Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!
Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times to wrap up your fish. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative. With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks. Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'
The Yeshiva Bochur And The Goyishe Zonah
A story that is unbelievable but true.
There was a boy who learned in a top Charedi yeshiva. He learned on a high level and was especially punctilious in his observance of the mitzva of tzitzis. He knew all of the halachos backwards and forwards. He was careful to buy expensive tchelis which he carefully tied to his beged, not trusting anyone else to have the proper kavana. He never looked at the Internet in his life, no iphones, smartphones, apps of all sorts, newspapers. B'kitzur - no shmutz.
Somehow, some way, he heard about a zonah who was the absolute best at what she did. How he heard about this I don't know, but he did. I am just telling it like it is. He might have been careful at wearing his tzitzis but the lesson of tzitizis "ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם אשר אתם זונים אחריהם וכו' והייתם קדושים לאלהיכם" not to follow after ones eyes and passions and to be holy to Hashem were somehow lost on this bochur.
I can't believe it either but he decided that he must become a client of hers. I make this not up. But it gets better/worse. She lived overseas. He couldn't just meet her and be done with it. It took planning a trip [during the zman!] and spending a considerable amount of money on the transportation - besides her significant fee [I know how much. An absolute fortune]. How did this tzitzis-wearing-learning-shtarkly-bochur get the money to pay for this? In Yiddish they say "Oif a my-seh freg men nisht ken kashyas" - Don't ask questions on story. It happened. אין דבר העומד בפני הרצון. He wanted the money badly enough and he made it his business to get it. The reports of the "maidel" overseas were too "good" to be true. He had to experience.
He wired her the money [she took her fee well in advance...] and made an appointment. Everything was set up. He arrives and the secretary [she had a secretary!] tells the "Madame" - "That man who sent you the money in the mail is here". She didn't mention his name because his name didn't matter. What mattered is that he was a customer, he paid his money and now the service was going to be provided.
The zonah said "Usher him in" [maybe his name was "Usher"]. He entered and and saw an elaborate set up of fancy beds, one above the other. Six silver beds and one gold bed with thick mattresses and silky sheets, weaved with superb craftsmanship. She was wealthy and anyway it was a business expense, so she could afford it.
She sat on the top, gold bed and waited for him wearing what one wears for such occasion [please be mocheil me for telling the story as is. There is a mussar haskel here....]. He started removing his clothing as well. When he got to his tzitzis it "hit" him like a ton of bricks. "What on earth am I doing??? The tzitzis are supposed to remind me of all of the mitzvos of the Torah. The tzitzis are like the spiritual body the enclothes my physical body. They "tie" me to the Ribbono Shel Olam." He started remembering all of the deep Chasidishe Torah's about the deeper meaning of tzitzis and he just lost all interest in this act of debauchery. He stepped back and sat on the ground. He felt like a piece of dirt on the ground.
Until now, no words were exchanged between the young man and the zonah because neither was interested in the other as a person. Each was just an object. For him, she was an object of lust and nothing more. For her, he was a well paying customer. Neither of them had a name, a family, a history or feelings. It was body in exchange for money.
But suddenly she saw that he was no longer interested and felt hurt so she came down from her lofty perch and sat down beside him and exclaimed "In the name of Yoshke, I swear that I will not leave you until you tell me what flaw you saw in me. Am I not beautiful??" [Even zonahs have feelings....]
He answered "I swear by my holy religion that I have never seen a woman as beautiful as you. But these tzitzis I am wearing reminded me that there is reward and punishment and I just can't do it. One day, they will come before G-d and testify against me. I am a Jew and this act I was about to commit is extremely sinful. I can't do it."
She was extremely impressed with his sense of conviction and his willingness to forgo the pleasures in which he had invested so much time and money in order to attain. He didn't even ask for a partial refund. So she asked him for his name and address, the name of his yeshiva and Rosh Yeshiva. Now he became a real person. This is actually where the relationship begins. Beforehand there was zero relationship, just self-absorption. He wrote out the information for her, handed it to her and left. [I don't know why he wasn't afraid that this would get back to his yeshiva and he would be unceremoniously, ignominiously expelled. And what would it do for his shidduch chances??].
He went back home and she got to work. She liquidated all of her possessions, gave a significant amount to tzdaka and traveled overseas to the young man's yeshiva. All she took with her were the bed sheets she had spread out for their unconsummated union.
I am not making this up.
She gets to his yeshiva and asks his Rosh Yeshiva if he will be willing to convert her. The Rosh Yeshiva suspected that she was just doing so for marriage purposes but she convinced him that while it is true that she is interested in one of the students, she is converting regardless of whether he marries her. She showed him the piece of paper that the boy had written out for her with his information.
The Rosh Yeshiva was convinced of her sincerity, convened a Beis Din and converted her. She was then set up with a "top bochur" in the yeshiva, yes indeed, our friend who traveled so far to meet her in a different context, and they were married כדת משה וישראל with a simcha-dike chasuna that was remembered for a long time afterwards by countless people.
The very same sheets she had almost used for the forbidden act, were now used in kedusha as a kosher bas yisrael who strived to build a family of tzadikim, ovdei Hashem.
One of the Chashuve Rabbonim who heard about the story was inspired and heard to say "If this is the reward for tzitzis in this world - he gets the woman he so desired as his wife - then I can't imagine what his reward will be in the next world.
End of story.
Full disclosure - it was based on a gemara in Menachos 44a with commentary, some of my own, some from others. Otherwise I wouldn't have told it. This is a family blog:).
What can we learn from this story? Nora noraos!!
I will withhold my urge to share with you some of the lessons, in order that you digest the story, and share with me the lessons you learned. This will be an exercise in analysis of the Talmudic text in order to extract the deeper layers of meaning that make it relevant to one and to all.
One caveat - Your responses may be copied and publicized on the blog להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה, so if you would like it to remain between us or be cited anonymously - make sure to note that in your email.
לזכות חזרה בתשובה של כל בית ישראל ובמיוחד מהעוון הידוע
There was a boy who learned in a top Charedi yeshiva. He learned on a high level and was especially punctilious in his observance of the mitzva of tzitzis. He knew all of the halachos backwards and forwards. He was careful to buy expensive tchelis which he carefully tied to his beged, not trusting anyone else to have the proper kavana. He never looked at the Internet in his life, no iphones, smartphones, apps of all sorts, newspapers. B'kitzur - no shmutz.
Somehow, some way, he heard about a zonah who was the absolute best at what she did. How he heard about this I don't know, but he did. I am just telling it like it is. He might have been careful at wearing his tzitzis but the lesson of tzitizis "ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם אשר אתם זונים אחריהם וכו' והייתם קדושים לאלהיכם" not to follow after ones eyes and passions and to be holy to Hashem were somehow lost on this bochur.
I can't believe it either but he decided that he must become a client of hers. I make this not up. But it gets better/worse. She lived overseas. He couldn't just meet her and be done with it. It took planning a trip [during the zman!] and spending a considerable amount of money on the transportation - besides her significant fee [I know how much. An absolute fortune]. How did this tzitzis-wearing-learning-shtarkly-bochur get the money to pay for this? In Yiddish they say "Oif a my-seh freg men nisht ken kashyas" - Don't ask questions on story. It happened. אין דבר העומד בפני הרצון. He wanted the money badly enough and he made it his business to get it. The reports of the "maidel" overseas were too "good" to be true. He had to experience.
He wired her the money [she took her fee well in advance...] and made an appointment. Everything was set up. He arrives and the secretary [she had a secretary!] tells the "Madame" - "That man who sent you the money in the mail is here". She didn't mention his name because his name didn't matter. What mattered is that he was a customer, he paid his money and now the service was going to be provided.
The zonah said "Usher him in" [maybe his name was "Usher"]. He entered and and saw an elaborate set up of fancy beds, one above the other. Six silver beds and one gold bed with thick mattresses and silky sheets, weaved with superb craftsmanship. She was wealthy and anyway it was a business expense, so she could afford it.
She sat on the top, gold bed and waited for him wearing what one wears for such occasion [please be mocheil me for telling the story as is. There is a mussar haskel here....]. He started removing his clothing as well. When he got to his tzitzis it "hit" him like a ton of bricks. "What on earth am I doing??? The tzitzis are supposed to remind me of all of the mitzvos of the Torah. The tzitzis are like the spiritual body the enclothes my physical body. They "tie" me to the Ribbono Shel Olam." He started remembering all of the deep Chasidishe Torah's about the deeper meaning of tzitzis and he just lost all interest in this act of debauchery. He stepped back and sat on the ground. He felt like a piece of dirt on the ground.
Until now, no words were exchanged between the young man and the zonah because neither was interested in the other as a person. Each was just an object. For him, she was an object of lust and nothing more. For her, he was a well paying customer. Neither of them had a name, a family, a history or feelings. It was body in exchange for money.
But suddenly she saw that he was no longer interested and felt hurt so she came down from her lofty perch and sat down beside him and exclaimed "In the name of Yoshke, I swear that I will not leave you until you tell me what flaw you saw in me. Am I not beautiful??" [Even zonahs have feelings....]
He answered "I swear by my holy religion that I have never seen a woman as beautiful as you. But these tzitzis I am wearing reminded me that there is reward and punishment and I just can't do it. One day, they will come before G-d and testify against me. I am a Jew and this act I was about to commit is extremely sinful. I can't do it."
She was extremely impressed with his sense of conviction and his willingness to forgo the pleasures in which he had invested so much time and money in order to attain. He didn't even ask for a partial refund. So she asked him for his name and address, the name of his yeshiva and Rosh Yeshiva. Now he became a real person. This is actually where the relationship begins. Beforehand there was zero relationship, just self-absorption. He wrote out the information for her, handed it to her and left. [I don't know why he wasn't afraid that this would get back to his yeshiva and he would be unceremoniously, ignominiously expelled. And what would it do for his shidduch chances??].
He went back home and she got to work. She liquidated all of her possessions, gave a significant amount to tzdaka and traveled overseas to the young man's yeshiva. All she took with her were the bed sheets she had spread out for their unconsummated union.
I am not making this up.
She gets to his yeshiva and asks his Rosh Yeshiva if he will be willing to convert her. The Rosh Yeshiva suspected that she was just doing so for marriage purposes but she convinced him that while it is true that she is interested in one of the students, she is converting regardless of whether he marries her. She showed him the piece of paper that the boy had written out for her with his information.
The Rosh Yeshiva was convinced of her sincerity, convened a Beis Din and converted her. She was then set up with a "top bochur" in the yeshiva, yes indeed, our friend who traveled so far to meet her in a different context, and they were married כדת משה וישראל with a simcha-dike chasuna that was remembered for a long time afterwards by countless people.
The very same sheets she had almost used for the forbidden act, were now used in kedusha as a kosher bas yisrael who strived to build a family of tzadikim, ovdei Hashem.
One of the Chashuve Rabbonim who heard about the story was inspired and heard to say "If this is the reward for tzitzis in this world - he gets the woman he so desired as his wife - then I can't imagine what his reward will be in the next world.
End of story.
Full disclosure - it was based on a gemara in Menachos 44a with commentary, some of my own, some from others. Otherwise I wouldn't have told it. This is a family blog:).
What can we learn from this story? Nora noraos!!
I will withhold my urge to share with you some of the lessons, in order that you digest the story, and share with me the lessons you learned. This will be an exercise in analysis of the Talmudic text in order to extract the deeper layers of meaning that make it relevant to one and to all.
One caveat - Your responses may be copied and publicized on the blog להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה, so if you would like it to remain between us or be cited anonymously - make sure to note that in your email.
לזכות חזרה בתשובה של כל בית ישראל ובמיוחד מהעוון הידוע
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