Zechor ymos olam, Remeber the days of old. Parshas Haazinu tell us to look back and reflect. For many Baalei teshuva there is much value in reflecting upon their personal journeys as they prepare to move forward into Yom Kippur and beyond. Moshe Rabbeinu however was advising us to look at Jewish history which this parsha is an overview of. Many baalei teshuva are new to the jewish scene and don't appreciate the scope of jewish history. Many Jews in general assume that the way things are is the way they have always been. This could not be farther from the truth.
We are well aware of the tragedy of the 20th century holocaust at the hands of the enemies of Hashem the Nazis and the Communists may there names be erased. We are also most aware and concerned with the fate of our friends and family who have or are disappearing to assimilation. What I believe we don't appreciate enough is that we are simultaneously part of one of the greatest Torah renaisances in history.
The rebirthn of Torah after the second world war and the establishment of an observant community despite the ravages of two centuries of enlightenment assimilationist pressures is nothing short of a miracle and everyone hearing these words is a direcrt benificiary of that miracle. The story is large and has many twists and turn. A huge cast of characters and followed different routes in different lacales. This morning I would like to share with you one stream that i belive has a direct imact on the current state of this congregation.
It is the story of Rabbi Eli Meir Bloch and Rabbi Mordechai (Mottel ) Katz and thier establishment of the Telshe yeshiva. I am not an alumni of that yeshiva and I don't believe anyone here is but I do think the yeshiva directly impacted our lives.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Rosh Hashanah 5770 Day 2
At this point in our service everyone settles back to be educated, entertained and mostly to be inspired. I am going to try and fulfill that tall order by introducing you to three people. One was an olympic bicycler. The other a prostitute and the third is part of a kollel in Jerusalem. Without any background their stories are moving entertaining. With some educational background their stories are truly inspirational. Shall we begin?
Today is the birthday of the world. As we know it is not really the birthday of the world it is the birthday of man. We all know what birthdays are like from the time delivery begins. In tractate Niddah we are shown a talmudic sonogram of the events leading up to birth. There sits our baby, chin touching knees arms folded, feet up against its backside. But in this sonogram there is an unusual detail. There is a light shining above the babies head. With this light the baby is being taught Torah and with this light the baby is able to see from one end of the world to another. This description is strikingly similar to the description of Adam on the day he was created. Adam we are told was was blessed with a special light which he could use to see from one end of the world to the other. Adam was created on Rosh Hashanah. But I digress. On this day our baby is being taught Torah by an angel as has been that case for the past nine months, but today is different. Today the angel reaches out and strikes the child on the upper lip. As it is struck the child gains the capacity to speak, which is the capacity to share knowledge but the child simultaneously forgets all of the knowledge it acquired during the past nine months, which by the way is all of knowledge. Then the angel forces the baby to take an oath. Be a tzaddik /righteous one don't be a rasha /wicked person. Moments later, Mazel tov! Everybody is happy except the baby who is crying which is no surprise considering what he just forgot.
So baby is born in to a nice jewish home, wears a "Daddy's little matza ball" bib to the seder. Goes to Jewish schools. Bar / Bat Mitzva goes off to college or yeshiva or both. Becomes a Doctor, this is before national health care or a bureacrat after national health care, or rabbi or personal trainer. Lives his or her life and now lying on its deathbed surrounded by family and friends breathes it's last. The soul hovers above it's now lifeless body watching everyone cry and is very confused. Where am I? What is happening? it wonders. The soul hangs around the body not knowing where else to go until the body is intered in the earth and covered up. What do I do now wonders the soul. Just then the soul is approached by three figures who wisk it away to a very different place. When they arrive at their destination one of the beings reveals his angelic face to the soul and says
"Tell me all of the mitzvos you preformed".
The soul begins to list them. "I gave tzedaka and I honored my parents and I wore tefilin etc. etc. "
The soul is scraping for any mitzva it can think of because it is clear that this is important. Finally the soul can think of no more mitzvos.
"Thank you that will be all" says the angel.
Now the second angel speaks up . "Please list for me all of your sins". This is an excruciating experience where the soul is obliged in its own words to accept responsibility for every single misdeed. The soul of course has selective memory. What about that weekend in Ft. Fauderdale. Oh! that was a mitzva. My mother always wanted me to have lot's of friends.
When this process is finished the 3rd angel speaks up "what did you do with your Torah?" The soul looks into the face of the 3rd angel and is shocked. It is none other than the one who tapped him of the lip and made him take an oath to be a tzaddik.
There are many questions we could pose about this gemara perhaps the most pressing of them is c'mon what are you talking about. I have seen sonograms and there were no shining lights and the baby had a cleft in his lip long before it's birthday. So let's deal with that one first.
Talumd stories as opposed to Torah stories do not have to be taken literally and often should not be taken literally. When the Torah tells us that Bilaams donkey spoke it means just that and nothing less. Probably a lot more. The Talmuds description of a 'light shining on the baby' is a truth on some level although not necessarily a physical level that we could perceive. In this particular case we are being taught great insights into the nature of man and his world both the world that we see and the spiritual world that we occupy which we don't necessarily see.
Now let's ask some specific questions about this gemara.
1. Whats with the oath 'be a tzaddik don't be a rasha'? Ever since Mt. Sinai every Jewish soul is obligated to observe the Torah. If I observe I am a tzaddik, if not I am a rasha. Why an extra oath.
2. We could ask the same question of the back end. What's with the third angel? One takes down the good deeds and the other the bad deeds what is the meaning of the third question what did you do with the Torah? Is it not obvious from their deeds what they did with the Torah?
3. One last question before we begin to tie things together. Rosh Hashanah is the day of judgement. Why is there no repentence on the day of judgement? Would it not make sense to repent our crimes before we are judged on them. Yet vidui, the confessional is a major feature of Yom Kippur but not a word of teshuva on Rosh Hashanah. This last question is a major question raised by all classic scholars. You have probably even heard an answer or two on the topic. My approach may or may not be consistent with what you have learned but I believe it carries a power mesage anyway.
Based on teachings of Rabbi Shimshon Pincus zicrono livracha may his memory be a blessing and yibudalu bain chaim lchaim Rabbi Akiva Tatz I believe that all of this is teaching us the exact nature of Rosh Hashanah and the tremendous ability we have to accomplish great things on this very day.
While Yom Kippur asks the question what did you do? Rosh hashanah asks who are you?
We generally define ourselves Jewishly by our obsevance. Very observant, very pious. Not so observant, not so pious. Observance also defines what type of jew we are. Chassdic, yeshvish, modern, sefardi and all of the other labels that enable us to deal with ourselves and others without really getting to know anybody.
As we sit here on Rosh Hashanah our actions of the past year weigh heavily on our hearts. This is understandable. Our actions have a great impact on us.
However on Rosh Hashanah my obsevance are not me. I am who I decide I am and that decision is not a function of observance. I could be scrupulously observant and yet a rasha wicked. I could be non observant and be a tzaddik. It all depends on how I view myself vis a vis G-d on this very day when I am like Adam . Rosh Hashanah is not as a continuation it is a new start. Is he my King? Am I his servant? If the answer is yes then I am a tzaddik. No, then I am chas vshalom, a rasha. Sadly most of us never decide who we are. Many people including many "relegious" people use their actions to define themselves. I am a dentist, a baseball fan, a supporter of Israel, a chassid. I don't rely on that kosher symbol I eat at her home but not hers. None of those things are who we really are. Those are descriptions of what we do. Who I really am is who I have decided I am vis a vis my creator. How many people have actually declared 'I am a servant of Hahsem". How many of us are afraid to make that declaration because of what we fear it entails. So let me introduce you to Rachav.
Rachav lived in the city of Jericho before the Israelites conquored the land. She was a prostitute. Not just a simple prostitute but the most sought after woman in the world. Kings and powerful men from all around the world sought her services. The Talmud describes how men could be driven to distraction when fantisizing about her. Then business stopped. The Israelites were poised to enter the country and nobody had any interest in Rachav. This unexpected down turn in the economy gave Rachav some time to think. I know what i do but who am I? she asked herself. Two men came to her door. They were Israelite spies looking for cover. She offerd to hide them. One of them, Pinchus, said I don't need to be hidden. I have the power of the divine spirit and I can make myself invisable. Rachav was so moved by this that she asked them to bring her close to Hashem. You might ask what is so impressive she knew she was going to be killed so she decided to join the winning side? First of all she didn't know for sure that the Israelites would win but second of all even when we recognize a truth what do we do about it. She lived a life that was dedicated to the physical. Her livelihood and prestige revolved around her mastery of earthly delights. But when she saw that spiritual greatness could transcend the the physical she attached herself to that. When jericho was brought down Rachav was spared and converted to Judaism. Joshua was so impressed with her that he married her. They had one daughter whose decendents include 8 prophets and propheteses. Rachavs story inspired Joshua to compose a song which we sing untill this very day. The song is Alaynu. It talks about a time when the entire world follows Rachav's example and recognizes the sovreigity of Hashem. It is a central payer in the High Holyday mussaf service.
Let me be perfectly clear. We may declare ourselves to be servants of Hashem even if our deeds don't match up. Look at this shul. You are a member of Ariel an Orthodox synagogue. Therefore you are orthodox.
"But I don't practice Orthodox as a matter of fact I drove here on Rosh Hashanah". Driving on Rosh Hashanah is not who you are it is what you did.
"But I don't keep kosher" Oh you mean you are a servant of G-d but you were deficient in your service. We will deal with that next week. We call that Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is the day to deal with actions. Rosh Hashanah is a day to make statements. Create identity. Coming here for High Holydays is a statement. Joining this shul is an identity. By order of the Divine court we are obligated to keep a copy of our membership list on file in Heaven. I know it's scary to dedicate our life to G-d but thats what the angel made us swear we would do. Be righteous don't be wicked. Not 'do mitzvos don't do avairos'. Be be. Make a declaration. If I ask you if you are ethical you would probably answer yes. If I pointed out that you misreported your income or didn't try to return a lost object you would still say "I am ethical however I acted unethically". That's the way we come in to this world. Thats the way Adam was put in to this world on Rosh Hashanah. Every year on Rosh Hashanah we celebrate Adams creation and revel in the fact that just like Adam we can redifine ourselves once again.
That is what the 3rd angel wants to know when it is all over. Each one of us will take up our actions with G-d in ten days on Yom Kippur a day designated with dealing with our actions. Today is a day designated with defining ourselves. So I ask WHO ARE YOU? The answer is whoever you want to be right now as I speak these words. If you want to be a servant of G-d Rosh Hashanah is the day of declaration. We can create a new reality in ourselves.
The reason we are affraid is because we don't realize the power of our identity. Enter Sam Zeitlin. Champion bicycler in the late 60's. Ever since he first rode a bike Sam Zeitlin knew bicycling was his destiny. He started competing in his teens and won a number of races. In college he was accepted to the American National Team. There he found great satidfaction and bitter disappointment. Heis satisfaction came from his growth in the support but his disappointment came from the severe anti semitism that he experienced from teamates. When the person he was vying for the lead spot on the team tried run him off the road with his car he realized that he had to leave the team. At loose ends he decided to go to Israel. When he reached israel he approached the israeli bicycling team and offerd to join the team and help train them for the olympics. Everyone was pretty excited about the possibility of israel fielding a competitive bicyvling team so Sam began training with the team. After months in israel Sam visited the Western Wall. There he struck up a conversation with a couple of yeshiva bochurim from Chicago who introduced him to a friend of theirs who kept an open home in jerusalem.. Sam started to attend shabbos meals and experience Judaism. Some time went by and Sam was encouraged to join a Rabbi named Noach Weinberg who was opening a yeshiva for young men of limited background. Sam became one ofthe first five students of what would later become Aish hatorah. Sam studied at Aish and continued to train. Then thIsraeli olympic authority announced the date for the qualifing event for the bicycling team. They were scheduled for shabbos. Sam protested but to no avail. They wouldn't change the event even though he was essential to the team. Sam discussed the situation with rabbi weinberg. Rabbi weinberg asked him Sam who are you. Sam responded I am a shomer shabbos jew. Nothing more was said. Sams declaration of identity enabled him to make his decison. If we don't declare them we have to decide over and over and over. Shabbos or Cousin Janies Bat Mitzva, kosher or the family dinner or the business meeting. But if we have declared we know what the answer will be. Bicycling is what I do shabbos is who I am. Due to Sams absence the team fell apart and the next year israel did not send a bicycling team to the Munich olympics.
Some people don't make dramatic decisions they just live their lives according to their identity. In the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol the Sofer family brought their fifth child into the world. When the baby was two weeks old a neighbor came over to take the kids out of the house and give Mrs. Sofer a little break. She took them to the nearby park. In the center of this park is a hill and at the top of the hill a manhole which is covered. Inside the manhole is a gas main. There was a leak in the gas main and workers opened the manhole to fix it. At some point the workers left and did not secure the manhole. The four year old Racheli Sofer wandered off and to the babysitters horror fell into the manhole . The babysitter started screaming. R' Menashe Chalifa, father of six, member of a Jerusalem kollel was walking by. When he heard the screams he ran over and realized what had happened. He immediately dove into the manhole grabbed the little girl and began to haul her out. As Menashe ascended the ladder he was overcome by the fumes and passed out. By now more help had arrived. Rescue workers extracted both of them from the manhole. Racheli could not be revived. Menashe lies in hadassah Hospital in a coma. After getting up from shiva the Sofers went to the hospital to visit Menashe Chalifa. They met his wife who was sitting at his side. They emotionally expressed their gratitude for what Menash had done. His wife said if he would have the opportunity he would do it again. That's just who he is. Who am I? who are you? What would our loved ones say? Have we made a declaration?
As we recite the words of Alaynu let us remember that these words were inspired by Rachav and her conviction to declare her identity. Let us open our mouths and declare who we really are like Sam Zeitlim did. And as we pray for a refuah shlaymah for Menasheh Chaim ben Shulamit Simcha let us be inspired to declare our identity so that our family and friends could also say he would do it again thats who he is.
Today is the birthday of the world. As we know it is not really the birthday of the world it is the birthday of man. We all know what birthdays are like from the time delivery begins. In tractate Niddah we are shown a talmudic sonogram of the events leading up to birth. There sits our baby, chin touching knees arms folded, feet up against its backside. But in this sonogram there is an unusual detail. There is a light shining above the babies head. With this light the baby is being taught Torah and with this light the baby is able to see from one end of the world to another. This description is strikingly similar to the description of Adam on the day he was created. Adam we are told was was blessed with a special light which he could use to see from one end of the world to the other. Adam was created on Rosh Hashanah. But I digress. On this day our baby is being taught Torah by an angel as has been that case for the past nine months, but today is different. Today the angel reaches out and strikes the child on the upper lip. As it is struck the child gains the capacity to speak, which is the capacity to share knowledge but the child simultaneously forgets all of the knowledge it acquired during the past nine months, which by the way is all of knowledge. Then the angel forces the baby to take an oath. Be a tzaddik /righteous one don't be a rasha /wicked person. Moments later, Mazel tov! Everybody is happy except the baby who is crying which is no surprise considering what he just forgot.
So baby is born in to a nice jewish home, wears a "Daddy's little matza ball" bib to the seder. Goes to Jewish schools. Bar / Bat Mitzva goes off to college or yeshiva or both. Becomes a Doctor, this is before national health care or a bureacrat after national health care, or rabbi or personal trainer. Lives his or her life and now lying on its deathbed surrounded by family and friends breathes it's last. The soul hovers above it's now lifeless body watching everyone cry and is very confused. Where am I? What is happening? it wonders. The soul hangs around the body not knowing where else to go until the body is intered in the earth and covered up. What do I do now wonders the soul. Just then the soul is approached by three figures who wisk it away to a very different place. When they arrive at their destination one of the beings reveals his angelic face to the soul and says
"Tell me all of the mitzvos you preformed".
The soul begins to list them. "I gave tzedaka and I honored my parents and I wore tefilin etc. etc. "
The soul is scraping for any mitzva it can think of because it is clear that this is important. Finally the soul can think of no more mitzvos.
"Thank you that will be all" says the angel.
Now the second angel speaks up . "Please list for me all of your sins". This is an excruciating experience where the soul is obliged in its own words to accept responsibility for every single misdeed. The soul of course has selective memory. What about that weekend in Ft. Fauderdale. Oh! that was a mitzva. My mother always wanted me to have lot's of friends.
When this process is finished the 3rd angel speaks up "what did you do with your Torah?" The soul looks into the face of the 3rd angel and is shocked. It is none other than the one who tapped him of the lip and made him take an oath to be a tzaddik.
There are many questions we could pose about this gemara perhaps the most pressing of them is c'mon what are you talking about. I have seen sonograms and there were no shining lights and the baby had a cleft in his lip long before it's birthday. So let's deal with that one first.
Talumd stories as opposed to Torah stories do not have to be taken literally and often should not be taken literally. When the Torah tells us that Bilaams donkey spoke it means just that and nothing less. Probably a lot more. The Talmuds description of a 'light shining on the baby' is a truth on some level although not necessarily a physical level that we could perceive. In this particular case we are being taught great insights into the nature of man and his world both the world that we see and the spiritual world that we occupy which we don't necessarily see.
Now let's ask some specific questions about this gemara.
1. Whats with the oath 'be a tzaddik don't be a rasha'? Ever since Mt. Sinai every Jewish soul is obligated to observe the Torah. If I observe I am a tzaddik, if not I am a rasha. Why an extra oath.
2. We could ask the same question of the back end. What's with the third angel? One takes down the good deeds and the other the bad deeds what is the meaning of the third question what did you do with the Torah? Is it not obvious from their deeds what they did with the Torah?
3. One last question before we begin to tie things together. Rosh Hashanah is the day of judgement. Why is there no repentence on the day of judgement? Would it not make sense to repent our crimes before we are judged on them. Yet vidui, the confessional is a major feature of Yom Kippur but not a word of teshuva on Rosh Hashanah. This last question is a major question raised by all classic scholars. You have probably even heard an answer or two on the topic. My approach may or may not be consistent with what you have learned but I believe it carries a power mesage anyway.
Based on teachings of Rabbi Shimshon Pincus zicrono livracha may his memory be a blessing and yibudalu bain chaim lchaim Rabbi Akiva Tatz I believe that all of this is teaching us the exact nature of Rosh Hashanah and the tremendous ability we have to accomplish great things on this very day.
While Yom Kippur asks the question what did you do? Rosh hashanah asks who are you?
We generally define ourselves Jewishly by our obsevance. Very observant, very pious. Not so observant, not so pious. Observance also defines what type of jew we are. Chassdic, yeshvish, modern, sefardi and all of the other labels that enable us to deal with ourselves and others without really getting to know anybody.
As we sit here on Rosh Hashanah our actions of the past year weigh heavily on our hearts. This is understandable. Our actions have a great impact on us.
However on Rosh Hashanah my obsevance are not me. I am who I decide I am and that decision is not a function of observance. I could be scrupulously observant and yet a rasha wicked. I could be non observant and be a tzaddik. It all depends on how I view myself vis a vis G-d on this very day when I am like Adam . Rosh Hashanah is not as a continuation it is a new start. Is he my King? Am I his servant? If the answer is yes then I am a tzaddik. No, then I am chas vshalom, a rasha. Sadly most of us never decide who we are. Many people including many "relegious" people use their actions to define themselves. I am a dentist, a baseball fan, a supporter of Israel, a chassid. I don't rely on that kosher symbol I eat at her home but not hers. None of those things are who we really are. Those are descriptions of what we do. Who I really am is who I have decided I am vis a vis my creator. How many people have actually declared 'I am a servant of Hahsem". How many of us are afraid to make that declaration because of what we fear it entails. So let me introduce you to Rachav.
Rachav lived in the city of Jericho before the Israelites conquored the land. She was a prostitute. Not just a simple prostitute but the most sought after woman in the world. Kings and powerful men from all around the world sought her services. The Talmud describes how men could be driven to distraction when fantisizing about her. Then business stopped. The Israelites were poised to enter the country and nobody had any interest in Rachav. This unexpected down turn in the economy gave Rachav some time to think. I know what i do but who am I? she asked herself. Two men came to her door. They were Israelite spies looking for cover. She offerd to hide them. One of them, Pinchus, said I don't need to be hidden. I have the power of the divine spirit and I can make myself invisable. Rachav was so moved by this that she asked them to bring her close to Hashem. You might ask what is so impressive she knew she was going to be killed so she decided to join the winning side? First of all she didn't know for sure that the Israelites would win but second of all even when we recognize a truth what do we do about it. She lived a life that was dedicated to the physical. Her livelihood and prestige revolved around her mastery of earthly delights. But when she saw that spiritual greatness could transcend the the physical she attached herself to that. When jericho was brought down Rachav was spared and converted to Judaism. Joshua was so impressed with her that he married her. They had one daughter whose decendents include 8 prophets and propheteses. Rachavs story inspired Joshua to compose a song which we sing untill this very day. The song is Alaynu. It talks about a time when the entire world follows Rachav's example and recognizes the sovreigity of Hashem. It is a central payer in the High Holyday mussaf service.
Let me be perfectly clear. We may declare ourselves to be servants of Hashem even if our deeds don't match up. Look at this shul. You are a member of Ariel an Orthodox synagogue. Therefore you are orthodox.
"But I don't practice Orthodox as a matter of fact I drove here on Rosh Hashanah". Driving on Rosh Hashanah is not who you are it is what you did.
"But I don't keep kosher" Oh you mean you are a servant of G-d but you were deficient in your service. We will deal with that next week. We call that Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is the day to deal with actions. Rosh Hashanah is a day to make statements. Create identity. Coming here for High Holydays is a statement. Joining this shul is an identity. By order of the Divine court we are obligated to keep a copy of our membership list on file in Heaven. I know it's scary to dedicate our life to G-d but thats what the angel made us swear we would do. Be righteous don't be wicked. Not 'do mitzvos don't do avairos'. Be be. Make a declaration. If I ask you if you are ethical you would probably answer yes. If I pointed out that you misreported your income or didn't try to return a lost object you would still say "I am ethical however I acted unethically". That's the way we come in to this world. Thats the way Adam was put in to this world on Rosh Hashanah. Every year on Rosh Hashanah we celebrate Adams creation and revel in the fact that just like Adam we can redifine ourselves once again.
That is what the 3rd angel wants to know when it is all over. Each one of us will take up our actions with G-d in ten days on Yom Kippur a day designated with dealing with our actions. Today is a day designated with defining ourselves. So I ask WHO ARE YOU? The answer is whoever you want to be right now as I speak these words. If you want to be a servant of G-d Rosh Hashanah is the day of declaration. We can create a new reality in ourselves.
The reason we are affraid is because we don't realize the power of our identity. Enter Sam Zeitlin. Champion bicycler in the late 60's. Ever since he first rode a bike Sam Zeitlin knew bicycling was his destiny. He started competing in his teens and won a number of races. In college he was accepted to the American National Team. There he found great satidfaction and bitter disappointment. Heis satisfaction came from his growth in the support but his disappointment came from the severe anti semitism that he experienced from teamates. When the person he was vying for the lead spot on the team tried run him off the road with his car he realized that he had to leave the team. At loose ends he decided to go to Israel. When he reached israel he approached the israeli bicycling team and offerd to join the team and help train them for the olympics. Everyone was pretty excited about the possibility of israel fielding a competitive bicyvling team so Sam began training with the team. After months in israel Sam visited the Western Wall. There he struck up a conversation with a couple of yeshiva bochurim from Chicago who introduced him to a friend of theirs who kept an open home in jerusalem.. Sam started to attend shabbos meals and experience Judaism. Some time went by and Sam was encouraged to join a Rabbi named Noach Weinberg who was opening a yeshiva for young men of limited background. Sam became one ofthe first five students of what would later become Aish hatorah. Sam studied at Aish and continued to train. Then thIsraeli olympic authority announced the date for the qualifing event for the bicycling team. They were scheduled for shabbos. Sam protested but to no avail. They wouldn't change the event even though he was essential to the team. Sam discussed the situation with rabbi weinberg. Rabbi weinberg asked him Sam who are you. Sam responded I am a shomer shabbos jew. Nothing more was said. Sams declaration of identity enabled him to make his decison. If we don't declare them we have to decide over and over and over. Shabbos or Cousin Janies Bat Mitzva, kosher or the family dinner or the business meeting. But if we have declared we know what the answer will be. Bicycling is what I do shabbos is who I am. Due to Sams absence the team fell apart and the next year israel did not send a bicycling team to the Munich olympics.
Some people don't make dramatic decisions they just live their lives according to their identity. In the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol the Sofer family brought their fifth child into the world. When the baby was two weeks old a neighbor came over to take the kids out of the house and give Mrs. Sofer a little break. She took them to the nearby park. In the center of this park is a hill and at the top of the hill a manhole which is covered. Inside the manhole is a gas main. There was a leak in the gas main and workers opened the manhole to fix it. At some point the workers left and did not secure the manhole. The four year old Racheli Sofer wandered off and to the babysitters horror fell into the manhole . The babysitter started screaming. R' Menashe Chalifa, father of six, member of a Jerusalem kollel was walking by. When he heard the screams he ran over and realized what had happened. He immediately dove into the manhole grabbed the little girl and began to haul her out. As Menashe ascended the ladder he was overcome by the fumes and passed out. By now more help had arrived. Rescue workers extracted both of them from the manhole. Racheli could not be revived. Menashe lies in hadassah Hospital in a coma. After getting up from shiva the Sofers went to the hospital to visit Menashe Chalifa. They met his wife who was sitting at his side. They emotionally expressed their gratitude for what Menash had done. His wife said if he would have the opportunity he would do it again. That's just who he is. Who am I? who are you? What would our loved ones say? Have we made a declaration?
As we recite the words of Alaynu let us remember that these words were inspired by Rachav and her conviction to declare her identity. Let us open our mouths and declare who we really are like Sam Zeitlim did. And as we pray for a refuah shlaymah for Menasheh Chaim ben Shulamit Simcha let us be inspired to declare our identity so that our family and friends could also say he would do it again thats who he is.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Rosh Hashanah 5770 Day 1
Once again we have read one of the more frustrating episodes in the Torah. Yitzchok our Partiarch is born. His older brother Yishmael harrasses him. Sara demands that Hagar and her son Yishmael be banished and G-d tells Abraham to listen to Sara. No thats not the frustrating part but when my wife quotes it it does seem somewhat ... but you've got your own isses to deal with. Back to Yishmael. The boy is sick. Nonetheless, Abraham loads the boy and a few provisions on Hagars shoulders and banishes them. They wander into the wilderness where she abandones the dying child and goes off to grieve. G-d comes to her and says 'don't worry G-d has heard your cry'. Then G-d saves Yishmael. How could he do that? Look at all the pain and suffering from this mad man. Jihadi suicide fanatics that bring turmoil to every country they set foot in. Why did G-d do it. The Torah says Hashem judged Yishmael baasher hu sham. At the moment. At the moment he wasn't evil. He had evil in his future but Hashem deals in the here and now.
For many years I have been bothered by the issue of relating to Hashem when I am not following the Torah. Some months ago I heard a shuir a Torah lecture from Rabbi Reuvain Leuchter which helped me deal with this problem. Although Rabbi Leuchter didn't adress his remaks to Yishmael I applyed his words to Yishmael. I believe that Hashems conduct toward Yishmael holds the key for a most powerful insight into our relationship with G-d and Torah.
In our journey through life we take a Mapquest approach. What is Torah? A set of guidelines and practices for leading the life that G-d wants us to lead. To the extent you get it right you have succeeded or failed. Keep trying. What happens when Mapquest tells me to take a slight turn and I turn more sharply. I find myself off the page. Now what do I do? Get back. How do I do that? You are on your own. Mapquest cannpt help you unless you follow the directions. That is how most people relate to the Torah.
The problem with this view is that the Torah doesn't address where I am now.
Where is the dynamic interaction? The Torah is there , I am here. This approach would mean that most people spend most of their lives with not interaction with Hashem and His Torah.
Some say the dynamic interaction is in the tension of trying to live up to the Torah. "How well did I do"?
That can be very discouraging because I will probably never get it 'right', just a little better. Then hopefully a little better but I am never there. The Torah is still out there and I am over here. I don't think this makes for happy Jews. We want to feel we are with G-d not out there somewhere. So people look around and they see someone else that looks tlike he is following the instructions. Then we become embarrassed because if they can follow the instructions why can't I. Or we become resentful and justify ourselves by saying that that other guy isn't really as close as he looks he is just a phoney. The problem with that approach is that we don't really know for sure and besides who wants to live a life having to put down the other guy just to feel good.
The reason we utilize a Mapquest view of Torah is because that is our general world view. It is called goal setting. We decide or are told where we should be (a goal) and then make a plan to get there. I want to lose 20 lbs. and be able to run three miles. So I have to buy a book on losing weight. Then I have to buy running shoes. of course i have to read up on all of the different types of running shoes. then I have to buy a dog to run along side of me when i am running so that I look good.
The problem with pursuing goals is that I never have succeeded until I reach my goal. Rabbi Leuchter whose lecture I listened to while I was out trying to lose 20 lbs and run three miles point out that we don't find goals in nature. A tree doesn't say I want to reach 60 ft and I'm going to do by adding 4 ft a year. A tree just grows.
What is we could live a life where we felt that every minute Hashem was addresing me not as I should be but as I am right now.
I would like to introduce an entirely different way of looking at the Torah and perhaps at life in general. As of this moment this congregation is abandoning the Mapquest system. We are swithchng to GPS.
When you journey with GPS and you amke a wrong turn he GPS says 'recalculate'. Where are you now ? This is what you need to do next.
Let me make a bold statement.
In the Torah there is no one right way to do anything. Gasp he's gone Conservative on us. What are you talking about that's reform. No it's really Orthodox. Let me explain.
There is no right way for everyone all the time. There is however a right way for you right now where you are. This is not the right way for me or for anyone else in the world. Only for you right now. With all of your complexities and past. With all of your strenghts and weaknesses. The Torah is a dynamic companion that enables each and every person to relate to G-d at all times. How do we do it?
We apply our lives to the Torah to see what we should do next. How do we do that?Firstly we must pay attention to our lives. I used to be a father of children who live with me and a son in law of in laws who lived far away. Now my children live far away and my in laws live with me. I used to be younger, the shul used to be smaller, the economy used to be better. I have to stop and take stock of my reality. Every day. Every minute. For many years I did not rely on the eruv. Not that i did not think it was kosher I am the one who makes it kosher for the community. However due to my studies I prefered if possible to follow an interpetation of the Talmud that would not endorse our eruv. Now my in laws live here and they can only get to shul in a wheel chair. Now it is appropriate for me to utilize the Eruv to carrty on shabbos.
Of course the fear is that when we focus on our reality we become complacent. When I dwell on all of my constraints I start to think I'm doing pretty well. That attitude is still rooted in the old way of thinking that there is an ideal that I have to match up against but I am allowed leniency for extenuating circumstances. I go to court and plead my case. I am found guilty. Really the sentence is 20 yrs in prison but due to extenuating circumstances the judge reduces it to 5 yrs. No the Torah has no general standard. The Torah wants me to input my circumstances and then find out what I need to do next to grow. Not what do you need to do or what are my neighbors doing but what do i need to do. Not I really don't need to do anything right now because G-d understands my situation. You have to do something. Just imagine that you are lost. Would the GPS say 'just stay right here'?
When making my assesment I must include my past and it's challenges. Once there was a giant who terroized Israel. His name was Goliath. For fourty days he stood in front of the Israelite army and blasphemed G-d and no one did a thing about it. They were terrified. Then young David arrived to bring provisions to his brothers in the army. He heard Goliath and said "I am going to get him". David was brought before King Saul. Saul said you are but a lad you can't fight him. David responded "I am a shepherd. Once a lion came and took a sheep. I chased after him and grabbed the sheep out of his mouth. He turned on me to attack me and I killed him. I did the same with a bear." What was David saying? Why didn't he say 'G-d is with me and nothing will stand before me'. What David was saying is 'my past experiences have prepared me for this moment. This is clearly what I am supposed to do right now. This is not what you are supposed to do right now or what i was suopposed to do last year but this is my service right now. We all know how the story ends.
I once visited a women who was very ill in the hospital. She had gone through a painful divorce some time earlier. Now she had a long struggle ahead of her with a debilitating illness. She said I can deal with this. My divorce taught me how to struggle through. I didn't understand it when it was happening but now I do.
It is shabbos afternoon and someone has severe chest pains. The way to observe shabbos for one person is to get in the car and drive to the hospital. For another person it means sitting with the distressed wife and children and calming them. For another it means rushing to shul and reciting psalms and yet for another it means going home and singing shabbos songs at the table with your children. Each one doing what they need to be with G-d on that Shabbos.
The Torah is full of details. Halcha is a myriad of gradations and situations. Lechatchila before the fact, bdiavad after the fact, hefsed merubah substantial financial loss hefsed muat, minimal loss, machmir, stringent , meikel lenient , baal nefesh a person with a strong constitution am haarets an ingnoramus. All of these are factors that the posek halachic decisor takes into account. People ask me all the time what does the halacha say about x? What do you mean? What does it say to me? What does it say to you? Your grandmother in whichita? Another line I hear is "Why can't we do x, Rabbi Chaimyankel says that Rabbi Feinstein said it's OK? OK for who, when, where?
Right and wrong are not the same in Dunwoody as they are in Jerusalem and they are not the same in Dunwoody this year as they were last year. Some Rabbis are viewed as stringent other are lenient. I hope they are neither because both are wrong. Rabbis should never be stringent or lenient they have to be appropriate for the person at the time.
When I was considering becoming involved with Cong. Ariel I had another option available to me which was attractive because it would have not required me to relocate the family. Also it paid which at the time Cong. Ariel did not. I traveled to Baltimore to talk the situation over with two Rabbis whom I greatly revered. One Rabbi told me I could fulfill my goals by pursuing the other option. The other Rabbi said right now you need Ariel. I felt that he was talking to me as I was at the moment. The other Rabbi was talking to a goal. I was deeply touched by by someone who spoke to me where I was at that moment. I still feel his love as I stand before you right now. That is the beauty of GPS Torah. We feel the love of a G-d who speaks to us at the moment.
The rule is I want to grow in all situations but I can only grow if i am shown the appropriate next step for me.
What do I want of you? I want of you what you want of you. You want to feel the gratification that you are serving G-d and that his Torah and only his Torah is enabling that. No standards, no goals. 400 individuals being judged as they are now. Our common denominator is we want to grow and that we turn to the Torah to find out how to do that. Other places that expend much energy making you feel OK where you are or great because of anything you have done. We would like to enable you to find out what you need to do. The greatest joy in life is experiencing the Torah speaking to you. The great big Torah. G-d with so many things on his mind. Iran, the economy, the future of the yellow crested warbler and yet He talks to me. He put that in the Torah just for me. And it's spot on. That's exactly where I am right now. If I fulfill it I am written down in the book of life with the tzaddikim.
A learning impaired boy prepared for his Bar Mitzva. He struggled and mastrered his Haftara. The week before the Bar Mitzva the family found out that the wrong Haftarah had been prepared. What were they to do. The family went to see the venerable sage Rabbi Shlomo Zalmen Auerbach who lived in the Shaarei Chesed section near the center of Jerusalem. Rav Auerbach was a world reknouned posek who passed away some ten years ago. Rav Shlomo Zalmen listened to the situation and paskened that the rules of Haftarah are such that the boy should read the Haftarah that he had prepared. Obviously Rabbi Auerbach took the particular circumstances into consideration. The Torah speaks to the particular situation. That shabbos during the Torah reading there was a stir in the shul. Everyone was amazed to see that the elderly Rabbi Auerbach had walked across town to attend the Bar Mitzva. The father thanked him profusely for coming. Rabbi Auerbach explained his presence. He feared that when the boy got up to read his Haftorah, there would invariably be someone who would protest that he was reading the wrong haftarah. When they would see that Rabbi Auerbach himself is satisfied everyone else would be satisfied also. Rabbi Auerbach listened to the circumstances of the Bar Mitzva boy and told him what the Torah expected of him. Then Rabbi Auerbach listened to the Torah and heard what it expected of him. At that time and place.
As we now turn to the musaf service let us pray that this year we are able to hear the voice of Hashem regardless of what we do, no matter how many times we have to recalculate, He will be there through His Torah to tell us what should be our next move.
For many years I have been bothered by the issue of relating to Hashem when I am not following the Torah. Some months ago I heard a shuir a Torah lecture from Rabbi Reuvain Leuchter which helped me deal with this problem. Although Rabbi Leuchter didn't adress his remaks to Yishmael I applyed his words to Yishmael. I believe that Hashems conduct toward Yishmael holds the key for a most powerful insight into our relationship with G-d and Torah.
In our journey through life we take a Mapquest approach. What is Torah? A set of guidelines and practices for leading the life that G-d wants us to lead. To the extent you get it right you have succeeded or failed. Keep trying. What happens when Mapquest tells me to take a slight turn and I turn more sharply. I find myself off the page. Now what do I do? Get back. How do I do that? You are on your own. Mapquest cannpt help you unless you follow the directions. That is how most people relate to the Torah.
The problem with this view is that the Torah doesn't address where I am now.
Where is the dynamic interaction? The Torah is there , I am here. This approach would mean that most people spend most of their lives with not interaction with Hashem and His Torah.
Some say the dynamic interaction is in the tension of trying to live up to the Torah. "How well did I do"?
That can be very discouraging because I will probably never get it 'right', just a little better. Then hopefully a little better but I am never there. The Torah is still out there and I am over here. I don't think this makes for happy Jews. We want to feel we are with G-d not out there somewhere. So people look around and they see someone else that looks tlike he is following the instructions. Then we become embarrassed because if they can follow the instructions why can't I. Or we become resentful and justify ourselves by saying that that other guy isn't really as close as he looks he is just a phoney. The problem with that approach is that we don't really know for sure and besides who wants to live a life having to put down the other guy just to feel good.
The reason we utilize a Mapquest view of Torah is because that is our general world view. It is called goal setting. We decide or are told where we should be (a goal) and then make a plan to get there. I want to lose 20 lbs. and be able to run three miles. So I have to buy a book on losing weight. Then I have to buy running shoes. of course i have to read up on all of the different types of running shoes. then I have to buy a dog to run along side of me when i am running so that I look good.
The problem with pursuing goals is that I never have succeeded until I reach my goal. Rabbi Leuchter whose lecture I listened to while I was out trying to lose 20 lbs and run three miles point out that we don't find goals in nature. A tree doesn't say I want to reach 60 ft and I'm going to do by adding 4 ft a year. A tree just grows.
What is we could live a life where we felt that every minute Hashem was addresing me not as I should be but as I am right now.
I would like to introduce an entirely different way of looking at the Torah and perhaps at life in general. As of this moment this congregation is abandoning the Mapquest system. We are swithchng to GPS.
When you journey with GPS and you amke a wrong turn he GPS says 'recalculate'. Where are you now ? This is what you need to do next.
Let me make a bold statement.
In the Torah there is no one right way to do anything. Gasp he's gone Conservative on us. What are you talking about that's reform. No it's really Orthodox. Let me explain.
There is no right way for everyone all the time. There is however a right way for you right now where you are. This is not the right way for me or for anyone else in the world. Only for you right now. With all of your complexities and past. With all of your strenghts and weaknesses. The Torah is a dynamic companion that enables each and every person to relate to G-d at all times. How do we do it?
We apply our lives to the Torah to see what we should do next. How do we do that?Firstly we must pay attention to our lives. I used to be a father of children who live with me and a son in law of in laws who lived far away. Now my children live far away and my in laws live with me. I used to be younger, the shul used to be smaller, the economy used to be better. I have to stop and take stock of my reality. Every day. Every minute. For many years I did not rely on the eruv. Not that i did not think it was kosher I am the one who makes it kosher for the community. However due to my studies I prefered if possible to follow an interpetation of the Talmud that would not endorse our eruv. Now my in laws live here and they can only get to shul in a wheel chair. Now it is appropriate for me to utilize the Eruv to carrty on shabbos.
Of course the fear is that when we focus on our reality we become complacent. When I dwell on all of my constraints I start to think I'm doing pretty well. That attitude is still rooted in the old way of thinking that there is an ideal that I have to match up against but I am allowed leniency for extenuating circumstances. I go to court and plead my case. I am found guilty. Really the sentence is 20 yrs in prison but due to extenuating circumstances the judge reduces it to 5 yrs. No the Torah has no general standard. The Torah wants me to input my circumstances and then find out what I need to do next to grow. Not what do you need to do or what are my neighbors doing but what do i need to do. Not I really don't need to do anything right now because G-d understands my situation. You have to do something. Just imagine that you are lost. Would the GPS say 'just stay right here'?
When making my assesment I must include my past and it's challenges. Once there was a giant who terroized Israel. His name was Goliath. For fourty days he stood in front of the Israelite army and blasphemed G-d and no one did a thing about it. They were terrified. Then young David arrived to bring provisions to his brothers in the army. He heard Goliath and said "I am going to get him". David was brought before King Saul. Saul said you are but a lad you can't fight him. David responded "I am a shepherd. Once a lion came and took a sheep. I chased after him and grabbed the sheep out of his mouth. He turned on me to attack me and I killed him. I did the same with a bear." What was David saying? Why didn't he say 'G-d is with me and nothing will stand before me'. What David was saying is 'my past experiences have prepared me for this moment. This is clearly what I am supposed to do right now. This is not what you are supposed to do right now or what i was suopposed to do last year but this is my service right now. We all know how the story ends.
I once visited a women who was very ill in the hospital. She had gone through a painful divorce some time earlier. Now she had a long struggle ahead of her with a debilitating illness. She said I can deal with this. My divorce taught me how to struggle through. I didn't understand it when it was happening but now I do.
It is shabbos afternoon and someone has severe chest pains. The way to observe shabbos for one person is to get in the car and drive to the hospital. For another person it means sitting with the distressed wife and children and calming them. For another it means rushing to shul and reciting psalms and yet for another it means going home and singing shabbos songs at the table with your children. Each one doing what they need to be with G-d on that Shabbos.
The Torah is full of details. Halcha is a myriad of gradations and situations. Lechatchila before the fact, bdiavad after the fact, hefsed merubah substantial financial loss hefsed muat, minimal loss, machmir, stringent , meikel lenient , baal nefesh a person with a strong constitution am haarets an ingnoramus. All of these are factors that the posek halachic decisor takes into account. People ask me all the time what does the halacha say about x? What do you mean? What does it say to me? What does it say to you? Your grandmother in whichita? Another line I hear is "Why can't we do x, Rabbi Chaimyankel says that Rabbi Feinstein said it's OK? OK for who, when, where?
Right and wrong are not the same in Dunwoody as they are in Jerusalem and they are not the same in Dunwoody this year as they were last year. Some Rabbis are viewed as stringent other are lenient. I hope they are neither because both are wrong. Rabbis should never be stringent or lenient they have to be appropriate for the person at the time.
When I was considering becoming involved with Cong. Ariel I had another option available to me which was attractive because it would have not required me to relocate the family. Also it paid which at the time Cong. Ariel did not. I traveled to Baltimore to talk the situation over with two Rabbis whom I greatly revered. One Rabbi told me I could fulfill my goals by pursuing the other option. The other Rabbi said right now you need Ariel. I felt that he was talking to me as I was at the moment. The other Rabbi was talking to a goal. I was deeply touched by by someone who spoke to me where I was at that moment. I still feel his love as I stand before you right now. That is the beauty of GPS Torah. We feel the love of a G-d who speaks to us at the moment.
The rule is I want to grow in all situations but I can only grow if i am shown the appropriate next step for me.
What do I want of you? I want of you what you want of you. You want to feel the gratification that you are serving G-d and that his Torah and only his Torah is enabling that. No standards, no goals. 400 individuals being judged as they are now. Our common denominator is we want to grow and that we turn to the Torah to find out how to do that. Other places that expend much energy making you feel OK where you are or great because of anything you have done. We would like to enable you to find out what you need to do. The greatest joy in life is experiencing the Torah speaking to you. The great big Torah. G-d with so many things on his mind. Iran, the economy, the future of the yellow crested warbler and yet He talks to me. He put that in the Torah just for me. And it's spot on. That's exactly where I am right now. If I fulfill it I am written down in the book of life with the tzaddikim.
A learning impaired boy prepared for his Bar Mitzva. He struggled and mastrered his Haftara. The week before the Bar Mitzva the family found out that the wrong Haftarah had been prepared. What were they to do. The family went to see the venerable sage Rabbi Shlomo Zalmen Auerbach who lived in the Shaarei Chesed section near the center of Jerusalem. Rav Auerbach was a world reknouned posek who passed away some ten years ago. Rav Shlomo Zalmen listened to the situation and paskened that the rules of Haftarah are such that the boy should read the Haftarah that he had prepared. Obviously Rabbi Auerbach took the particular circumstances into consideration. The Torah speaks to the particular situation. That shabbos during the Torah reading there was a stir in the shul. Everyone was amazed to see that the elderly Rabbi Auerbach had walked across town to attend the Bar Mitzva. The father thanked him profusely for coming. Rabbi Auerbach explained his presence. He feared that when the boy got up to read his Haftorah, there would invariably be someone who would protest that he was reading the wrong haftarah. When they would see that Rabbi Auerbach himself is satisfied everyone else would be satisfied also. Rabbi Auerbach listened to the circumstances of the Bar Mitzva boy and told him what the Torah expected of him. Then Rabbi Auerbach listened to the Torah and heard what it expected of him. At that time and place.
As we now turn to the musaf service let us pray that this year we are able to hear the voice of Hashem regardless of what we do, no matter how many times we have to recalculate, He will be there through His Torah to tell us what should be our next move.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Parshas Ki Savo Adam Brasch Bar Mitzva
Aside from reading the Torah and haftorah Adam also led all of the services. Let the truth be known he also asked to give the sermon but I declined telling him that position wasn't available.
After bringing in his first fruit the farmer makes his declaration that his actions represent the fulfillment of G-D's plan for his people. He gives the produce to the Cohen then the Torah tells him to "rejoice in all of the goodness that G-d has granted you. Together with the levite and strangers in your midst". You see when you have a simcha you don't just go solo and take all of the spotlight. You share it with others and then it is real simcha. Adam Brasch is truly the farmer of this weeks Torah reading. This is Adam's second Bar Mitzvah. A month or so ago Adam turned thirteen and celebrated his Bar Mitzva in Australia. At that time he shared the bima with another boy who was also celebrating his Bar Mitzvah. This morning Adam is back at it and sharing the Bima with another simcha the ufruf of Michael Glassman son of Bruce and Judy Glassman and nephew of Larry and Sandee Glassman. Michael will be married tomorrow IY"H to Julie Frisch son of Geoff and Gloria Frisch of Sandy Springs. We are honored to have Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky Michael's Rosh Hayeshiva from Jerusalem with us and we look forward to hearing his classes later this afternoon. So Adam it's beautiful that you share simchas. Just let me offer a word of advice, when you go on your honeymoon.....
For the Bnai Yisroel that we read about this morning the honeymoon is just about over. Parshas Ki Savo is uttered by Moshe on the day of his death. Although Moshe is about to die leaving his dreams of entering the Holy land unfulfilled this day was perhaps the most fulfilling day in his life. So let me pose the following question to you.
What is the most gratifying experience a Rabbi, parent or teacher can have?
For me it is surely the moment the student 'gets it'. Whatever the teacher has been teaching / preaching has finally sunk in. Moshe Rabbainu / Moses had that ultimate experience on the last day of his life. Rashi says that he heard that Moshe, on his last day wrote a Torah and presented it to the tribe of Levi. He thought the tribe of Levi were the only ones who really cared so he wrote them their own Torah. Upon seeing this the other tribes came to Moshe and begged him to write them copies also. They said "Moshe some years from now the Levites will claim that the Torah belongs to them and not to us but we all received it at Mt. Sinai". This reaction was very gratifying to Moshe. He realized that they got it. They understood that the Torah is important. All of promises all of the admonitions all of the preaching it finally clicked they got it. I am not forcing it on them, they are asking for it. They want the Torah. At that moment Moshe says vlo nasan lachen .. lev ladaav v' einayim liros v'ozen lishmoa ad hayom hazeh. G-d has not granted you an understanding heart,eyes to see and ears to hear until this very moment. Now Moshe realized that up until now they didn't really have the capacity to get it.
The significance of the events in the desert never penetrated your hears until this moment. As manna was falling from heaven and the clouds of glory surrounded you somehow you didn't see it. The Torah that I have been teaching daily for 40 years somehow you didn't hear it. What a great lesson to all of us teachers and parents who get frustrated that our students don’t get it. Calm down it’s just not the right time yet.
The Vilna Gaon notes that Moshe refers to three distinct faculties. He explains these faculties as follows:
A heart to understand, eye to see and an ear to hear.
Some of us don't really understand what is going on even as we see events swirl around us. If we attend a lecture or someone pulls us aside and says let me explain what's going on here then we get it. At that point we say "I hear you I get it". Others are a little quicker. When they see something happening they stop and contemplate what they have just seen. They say "I see, I get it". Then there are others that don't have to have it explained and don't even have to see it. They stop and ponder and seek the truth. When they get it they say "I understand". They have an understanding heart.
These qualities were not evident in the people until this moment. Now they are at the end of the line about to enter the land. Moshe is departing. No more mom or dad shelepping them to Bar Mitzvah lessons. No more teachers with Chumash tests. No more depending on the Rabbi to inspire me on shabbos morning. Do you want it? Then get up and do something about it. At that moment they stood up and demanded the Torah for themselves.
That understanding heart, seeing eye and hearing ear were a blessing from Hashem. They didn't get it until He enabled them too. And He and only He knows when the right time is. It is for this that we pray every day chanainu mayitcha dayah binah vhaskel grace us with understanding, knowledge and intelligence.
Adam you have been thus blessed. I know that, because you have been given the option of studying Torah and you have taken it. Not coerced or bribed. You just want it. When things are explained to you, you really do hear. And when things happen around you, you really do see. And even if nothing prompts it your heart enquires and seeks answers.
So please
Listen to the Torah you read from this morning and to what I am saying right now. Look around you and see all that your parents have done for you and the opportunities they provide for you.
There is however one other thing I would like to share with you and perhaps I should have shared this with you right away and then there would not have been a need for the rest of the drasha. I want to share with you something your grandmother told me. She said that when the nazis yimach shmam came to get the Jew in you grandfathers town your mothers fathers father came out of the synagogue carrying a sefer Torah. They shot him dead. Hear the words I am telling you, close your eyes and see the picture in your mind just as i did when you took the Torah out of the ark and carried it through the shul. Your great grandfather died carrying the Torah. You live carrying the Torah. If you do that then I have no doubt the concluding words of Moshe will come true in you. Moshe tells the people now that you can hear see and understand "Guard the words of this covenant and do them, so that you will be brilliant in all that you do".
I am sure you will and I am sure we will all get much nachas.
After bringing in his first fruit the farmer makes his declaration that his actions represent the fulfillment of G-D's plan for his people. He gives the produce to the Cohen then the Torah tells him to "rejoice in all of the goodness that G-d has granted you. Together with the levite and strangers in your midst". You see when you have a simcha you don't just go solo and take all of the spotlight. You share it with others and then it is real simcha. Adam Brasch is truly the farmer of this weeks Torah reading. This is Adam's second Bar Mitzvah. A month or so ago Adam turned thirteen and celebrated his Bar Mitzva in Australia. At that time he shared the bima with another boy who was also celebrating his Bar Mitzvah. This morning Adam is back at it and sharing the Bima with another simcha the ufruf of Michael Glassman son of Bruce and Judy Glassman and nephew of Larry and Sandee Glassman. Michael will be married tomorrow IY"H to Julie Frisch son of Geoff and Gloria Frisch of Sandy Springs. We are honored to have Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky Michael's Rosh Hayeshiva from Jerusalem with us and we look forward to hearing his classes later this afternoon. So Adam it's beautiful that you share simchas. Just let me offer a word of advice, when you go on your honeymoon.....
For the Bnai Yisroel that we read about this morning the honeymoon is just about over. Parshas Ki Savo is uttered by Moshe on the day of his death. Although Moshe is about to die leaving his dreams of entering the Holy land unfulfilled this day was perhaps the most fulfilling day in his life. So let me pose the following question to you.
What is the most gratifying experience a Rabbi, parent or teacher can have?
For me it is surely the moment the student 'gets it'. Whatever the teacher has been teaching / preaching has finally sunk in. Moshe Rabbainu / Moses had that ultimate experience on the last day of his life. Rashi says that he heard that Moshe, on his last day wrote a Torah and presented it to the tribe of Levi. He thought the tribe of Levi were the only ones who really cared so he wrote them their own Torah. Upon seeing this the other tribes came to Moshe and begged him to write them copies also. They said "Moshe some years from now the Levites will claim that the Torah belongs to them and not to us but we all received it at Mt. Sinai". This reaction was very gratifying to Moshe. He realized that they got it. They understood that the Torah is important. All of promises all of the admonitions all of the preaching it finally clicked they got it. I am not forcing it on them, they are asking for it. They want the Torah. At that moment Moshe says vlo nasan lachen .. lev ladaav v' einayim liros v'ozen lishmoa ad hayom hazeh. G-d has not granted you an understanding heart,eyes to see and ears to hear until this very moment. Now Moshe realized that up until now they didn't really have the capacity to get it.
The significance of the events in the desert never penetrated your hears until this moment. As manna was falling from heaven and the clouds of glory surrounded you somehow you didn't see it. The Torah that I have been teaching daily for 40 years somehow you didn't hear it. What a great lesson to all of us teachers and parents who get frustrated that our students don’t get it. Calm down it’s just not the right time yet.
The Vilna Gaon notes that Moshe refers to three distinct faculties. He explains these faculties as follows:
A heart to understand, eye to see and an ear to hear.
Some of us don't really understand what is going on even as we see events swirl around us. If we attend a lecture or someone pulls us aside and says let me explain what's going on here then we get it. At that point we say "I hear you I get it". Others are a little quicker. When they see something happening they stop and contemplate what they have just seen. They say "I see, I get it". Then there are others that don't have to have it explained and don't even have to see it. They stop and ponder and seek the truth. When they get it they say "I understand". They have an understanding heart.
These qualities were not evident in the people until this moment. Now they are at the end of the line about to enter the land. Moshe is departing. No more mom or dad shelepping them to Bar Mitzvah lessons. No more teachers with Chumash tests. No more depending on the Rabbi to inspire me on shabbos morning. Do you want it? Then get up and do something about it. At that moment they stood up and demanded the Torah for themselves.
That understanding heart, seeing eye and hearing ear were a blessing from Hashem. They didn't get it until He enabled them too. And He and only He knows when the right time is. It is for this that we pray every day chanainu mayitcha dayah binah vhaskel grace us with understanding, knowledge and intelligence.
Adam you have been thus blessed. I know that, because you have been given the option of studying Torah and you have taken it. Not coerced or bribed. You just want it. When things are explained to you, you really do hear. And when things happen around you, you really do see. And even if nothing prompts it your heart enquires and seeks answers.
So please
Listen to the Torah you read from this morning and to what I am saying right now. Look around you and see all that your parents have done for you and the opportunities they provide for you.
There is however one other thing I would like to share with you and perhaps I should have shared this with you right away and then there would not have been a need for the rest of the drasha. I want to share with you something your grandmother told me. She said that when the nazis yimach shmam came to get the Jew in you grandfathers town your mothers fathers father came out of the synagogue carrying a sefer Torah. They shot him dead. Hear the words I am telling you, close your eyes and see the picture in your mind just as i did when you took the Torah out of the ark and carried it through the shul. Your great grandfather died carrying the Torah. You live carrying the Torah. If you do that then I have no doubt the concluding words of Moshe will come true in you. Moshe tells the people now that you can hear see and understand "Guard the words of this covenant and do them, so that you will be brilliant in all that you do".
I am sure you will and I am sure we will all get much nachas.
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