I have a close friend who has five children, no money, an ever increasing list of debts, a special needs baby who costs a lot of money and takes up a tremendous amount of time and energy [they of course can't afford help] who was rushed to the hospital this Shabbos, etc. etc. In addition, to add insult to injury, they lost their electricity over Shabbos and can't figure out why.
At this very same time, many Jews are planning their Pesach getaways in the USA, Canada, Europe, the Carribean [!], Hawaii [!!], China [!!!] and many more places.
Imagine if people would only ask Rabbonim questions about the kashrus of Starbucks coffee, whether one must repeat shmoneh esrei when he missed yaaleh vi-yavo or those common aveilus questions such as what mizmor of tehillim to add at the end of davening or should we duchen in a beis avel.
Those are easy ones.
Imagine if people would ask the most important questions to Rabbonim, for example: How should I spend my leisure time, how should I allocate my funds [personal needs, tzdaka etc.], what type of contraptions should I buy or not buy my children, where should I live - the U.S., Israel or elsewhere, where should I send my children to school, etc. etc. Those are questions that constitute the bread and butter of daily life.
I am a bit of a "kofer". I CAN'T BELIEVE that Hashem is pleased when he sees some of his children in need while others have far more than they need.
I can't believe that Hashem is pleased when He sees His children being raised with a Western ethic and outlook [life is about getting pleasure and enjoyment and money is the way to achieve that] with a sprinkle of Judaism mixed in.
When the Jews heard the עשרת הדברות their neshamos left them momentarily. To accept the Torah is to KILL YOURSELF over it. Life is NOT composed of two periods: Working for vacations and the actual vacations. Life is not about getting the nicest house and car. Life is not about consuming the tastiest food.
Life is seeing EVERY MINUTE what the Creator wants from us and appreciating that we are only here [as Rav Chaim Volozhiner writes] להועיל לאחריני - to benefit others. All we have is from Him and we are expected to reciprocate. That attitude and way of life, INCIDENTALLY, brings the highest levels of happiness and satisfaction.
But that is not why we do it. We live G-dly lives because that is our purpose and destiny.
The World Series, the Super Bowl, Pesach in Cancun, screaming at a Lipa concert [nothing against Lipa - maybe more in a future post], downloading netflix [someone just taught me what that is], indulging in questionable costly pleasures, all lead us on the road to spiritual atrophy.
I am not advocating a life of asceticism. The Baal Shem Tov Hakadosh was not in favor of one afflicting the body. We must eat, drink, laugh, play, dance and enjoy.
But we must also never forget the needs of others.
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I often wonder if I am a lone voice in a barren desert with nobody listening but inanimate objects. Indeed, many people remain as static as inanimate objects. But since thousands of people read this blog "religiously" [pun intended], I believe and hope that at least ONE INDIVIDUAL wakes up.
And that person can even be me. I also have to wake up.....
דברי התעוררות לזכות גילה שושנה בת נעכא גיטל שתזכה יחד עם כל בנות ישראל הטהורות הזקוקות לכך לזיווג הגון ומשובח!!
