לרפואת ר' ברוך בן מרים, חנה גיטל בת נעמי עליזה, יוכבד פייגע בת מיכל יהודית בתיה בתוך שח"י ולע"נ ר' משה בן הרב אהרן
SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALOOOM SWEEEETEST FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EXCITING!!! Do we have a message this week!
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ:
וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַֽאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַֽאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶֽהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה:
And Hashem said to Avram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.
WOW!!!! The first time Hashem speaks to a Jew in world history - what does he tell him? I will give your great reward$$$$$$!!!! Rashi says on the words Lech Lecha - להנאתך ולטובתך!!! Four your pleasure and for your good.
Rashi adds: Go forth: Heb. לֶךְ לְךָ, lit. go to you, for your benefit and for your good, and there I will make you into a great nation, but here, you will not merit to have children. Moreover, I will make your character known in the world. — [from Rosh Hashanah 16b, Tan.].
And I will make you into a great nation: Since traveling causes three things: 1) it diminishes procreation, 2) it diminishes money, and 3) it diminishes fame (lit. name), therefore, he required these three blessings, namely that He blessed him concerning children, concerning money, and concerning fame.
Sounds great!! Money, children, fame! See further in Rashi where he details the great benefits Avraham will receive for following Hashem's word.
Reminds me of the old story:
Two very poor Jews walk by a church and see a sign: $1000 for anyone who comes in and converts to Christianity.
One guy says to his friend "I need the money desperately. I'm doing it!!!
The other guy says "YOU'RE CRAZYYYY!!!! YOU CAN'T DO IT"
"No, I GOTTA do it."
So he goes in and comes out minutes later.
His friend says "So - did you get the thousand dollars?"
He answers "Achhhh, all you Jews think about is money......"
Why does Hashem have to start with "להנאתך ולטובתך" - for your pleasure and for your good you should follow Me? Can't Avraham do what is right for more altruistic reasons? Why does it have to be about what he will get from it??
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
A huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge lesson for life.
Hashem is teaching us from the very outset, from our start as a people, in His first words to the progenitor of our people, that it is WORTH OUR WHILE to follow Hashem!!! Whatever He tells us is for OUR OWN GOOD!!!! The Yetzer Hara and the entire culture tells us NO - it is MUCH BETTER not to follow Hashem and the Torah. If I do follow the Torah - it is b/c I am a great guy/girl and am doing Hashem a favor. Too bad. As Billy Joel used to sing back in the day "It is better to laugh with the sinners than die with the saints - the sinners have much more fun." I will be the suffering Jew while the rest of the world is having a great time.
So Hashem starts His communication with Klal Yisrael with the message that the "SAINTS", whom we call "Tzadikim", have MUCH more fun. Shabbos is fun, Yuntiv is fun, giving Tzdaka is fun, Hachnosos Orchim is fun. Even when mitzvos are not fun - they give us structure, meaning, purpose, discipline - and a connection to Hashem and eternity. That is much much better than living like a hedonist. Look at all the rich and famous people who can have every pleasure imaginable. Are they really happy? Do they have stable family lives? Do they have an internal sense of self-worth independent of what other people say about them? The reality is that most to all of them are miserable which is why so many suffer from depression, substance abuse and many other mental and physical maladies. And particularly they suffer from גאוה ,תאוה, קנאה and all of the other bad middos that destroy people's lives.
The happiest people I have met in my life are people who LIVE the pasuk טעמו וראו כי טוב השם. Taste and see - Hashem is GOOD!!! They LOVE to daven. They find learning Torah INTOXICATING!!! They enjoy their families and even when they have challenges b/c they understand that this is abt. eternity. They understand that they are a link in a chain going back five thousand years and get daily confirmation on every news site that the center of creation is Klal Yisrael.
It is GESHMAKKKKK to make a bracha before eating. It allows us to reflect, appreciate and thereby enjoy the food more. Asher Yatzar? WOW!!! Expressing gratitude for the miracle that is our bodies!!!! Family purity? So PURE!!! We aren't animals. We have a system in place that allows us to control our urges when necessary!!! EVERYTHING we do is FILLED with meaning and purpose. Every day we grow and even when dealing with "stuff" we see it as part of the growing process.
"Lihaanascha ulitovascha" indeed. We are NOT doing Hashem a favor when we do mitzvos. אם צדקת מה תתן לו says the pasuk - If we are righteous, what did we give Him? He lacks nothing. We are doing OURSELVES the biggest favor.
That is the foundational message Hashem sent in His very first communication with the Jewish people.
ברוך אלקינו שבראנו לכבודו והבדילנו מן התועים ונתן לנו תורת אמת וחיי עולם נטע בתוכנו!!!!!
We are sooooooooooooooo crazzzzzzy luckyyyyyy!!!! We have ETERNITY within us!!! The more we tap into that - the better it is for us and all of mankind!!!
Tonight - I turned 50 [my wife asked me what I want for my birthday. I told her "A surprise B-day party." And I will tell her whom to invite]. בן חמישים לעצה!! Fifty, says Pirkei Avos, is the age we have good advice to offer. So I will give some FREEEEE ADVICE!!!!! Taste and see!!! Hashem IS good. Torah is SWEET. Davening can and should be uplifting. Giving makes us feel MUCH BETTER than taking. Spreading love as a goal for life is much more meaningful than if the goal is just paying off a mortgage or going on a fancy vacation. Instead of just making a living - make a LIFE. It is short and FLIIIIEEESSSSSSS by!!! Trust me. It was like yesterday that my Morah in first grade was sending me to my very first [of many!!!] trips to the principal's office [I refused to use glue b/c I didn't want to get my hands dirty]. Now here I am. Loads of white hairs in my beard. A grandfather. Where did the years go? "Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio" went the old song. Where have you gone LIFE? And how much time do I have left???
The Talmud Yerushalmi says that on a person's birthday they have a strong "mazel". So I use my "powers" to bless one and all with HEALTH, HAPPINESS, NACHAS, LOVE, ACCEPTANCE, MEANING, GROWTH, FRIENDSHIP and everything good in body and spirit in order to serve Hashem with simcha!!!!!
Bi-ahava rabba,
Me
