This morning we are celebrating the sheva brachos of Matt and Rena Schaikewitz. I assume that this precious young couple is flying high after the beautiful wedding many of us participated in. Life is surely good forthem as they enjoy the pleasure of being with each other. The other day I heard from a respected Rabbi that Jacob married Rachel and woke up the next morning to find it was Leah. In a way all of us wake up the next morning to find Leah. Of course Jacob came to love Leah and they made a beautiful family of which we are the descendants but nonetheless … Our young couple have certainly found the sterling husband and wife that they went to the chuppah with. They probably have not come across their first disagreement. When they do it will be cataclysmic. As time goes on their disagreements will become less cataclysmic and at some point just become part of life. In a way that is good because it will help them cope with life. However in a way it is bad .
Anyone who knows a little bit of modern Hebrew probably knows the phrase savlanut. Patience. This phrase is constantly being invoke in that very impatient country. Usually you don’t even get the word all you here is a tsss sound and squeezed fingertips cast in your direction. Anyone who has experiences it knows exactly what I’m talking about. Savlanut, patience is generally considered to be a desirable trait. Yet in the parsha we see that Hashem promises to take the children of Israel out from under the sivlos burdens of Egypt. In a homiletic twist many commentators have offered that Hashem is going to take them out from the patience of Egypt. They say that in that time many Jews had made peace with or accepted their lot. They were focused on survival. They had developed patience foir what the Egyptians were doing to them. In order to liberate them from Egypt Hahshem had to first create in them a sense of dissatisfaction with their lot. They had to view the Egyptian enslavement as intolerable. Then Hashem could save them. Sometimes savlanut is bad.
We all have developed savlanut for many things some of them are healthy but some of them are inhibiting our growth. A list of inappropriate savalanut includes the way we treat our spouses and I ant to get full credit fo saying this dvar Torah wit my own wife present. Another area f innapropriate savlanut is in what we expect from our teenagers. Another would be bein inappropriately satisfied with our level of Jewish knowledge. And perhaps most important our lack of inspiration. If we eel uinspired abou our Jewishness that is unaceptableand we can't tolerate it. We need to be more impatient, more dissatisfied, less tolerant. Perhaps we need to be more like newlyweds and view the next disagreement as cataclysmic. Then maybe we wouldn’t get used to some things that shouldn’t really be gotten used to.
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Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Parshas Shemos 1/2/10 I want this shul to be Disney World
‘How I spent my winter vacation’ by Binyomin Friedman. This winter I took my family to Disney World. I like it a lot in Disney World. Disney World is a lot of fun and everybody is so pleasant. I wish my shul was just like Disney World.
Allow me to explain.
Moshe is floating down the river in a basket. Pharaohs’ daughter sees him. The verse says that she sent out "amasah" and she grabbed him. The Talmud in tractate Sotah records a dispute over the word "amasah". One version says the word is based on the Hebrew word for maid which is an ammah. Therefore it means she sent out her maid to grab the boy. Another understanding is the word is based on the measurement an ammah which is the distance from middle finger to elbow commonly known as a cubit. According to this understanding of the word she cast out her forearm which miraculously stretched out to grab the basket. R' Chaim Shmulevitz says this was no miracle. Pharaohs’ daughter was trying to do what she felt was right and Hashem enabled her. That is not a miracle. It is however very praiseworthy because Pharos daughter didn't consider the fact that the basket was out of reach she tried anyway. Most of us size up the situation and realize the solution is beyond our means and give up. What we learn from this episode is that we need to try nonetheless and leave it to Hashem to let our attemps be actualized or not.
Perhaps living a life like Pharaohs’ daughter is beyond us but I think everyone can live Disney World. I was in Disney World and we heard that there is kosher food there but I didn't know where. So what do you do in Disney World when you want to find out where something is? You call Gary Lips. Gary however was unavailable. So I walked over to a fellow dressed as Casey at Bat who was standing in front of a restaurant motioning in people. I said do you have kosher food here? He said no we do not but you stand right here and I will be right back. A few minutes later he returned and said the kosher food is in such and such a restaurant which is located over there. Would you like me to walk you over there? I said no thanks I can find it and thank you very much for your help. We went over to the restaurant. We saw no signs for kosher food. I asked the cashier do you have kosher food. Certainly we do, she replied. Could we see what you have? Of course she replied and pulled out a big loose-leaf folder turned to the kosher tab and showed us the four items that were available. Now a line was forming behind us but she gave us her full attention. We asked if they had a kosher certificate. She turned to the page and showed it to us. The attitude of concern and interest is palpable throughout Disney World. Perhaps they do it because they are going to be fired or perhaps they do it because pleasantness is infectious but the attitude is there and I liked it. Someone walks into shul. They approach you and ask “where can I find a kippah”?. You could say they are outside in a basket on the table or you could say come let me get you one. If you get here and the kippas are there the person feels wanted and cared for. If you get there and the kippas are not there then you can go look for them sparing this person an embarrassing and possibly final experience at Ariel. Really no challenge should be viewed as being beyond us but I can understand if we are not Pharaohs’ daughter and don't attempt the impossible. However there are so many things that are possible that we could attempt and if we would I am sure we would find our arms getting longer than we thought they were and we might even end up living in a magic kingdom.
Allow me to explain.
Moshe is floating down the river in a basket. Pharaohs’ daughter sees him. The verse says that she sent out "amasah" and she grabbed him. The Talmud in tractate Sotah records a dispute over the word "amasah". One version says the word is based on the Hebrew word for maid which is an ammah. Therefore it means she sent out her maid to grab the boy. Another understanding is the word is based on the measurement an ammah which is the distance from middle finger to elbow commonly known as a cubit. According to this understanding of the word she cast out her forearm which miraculously stretched out to grab the basket. R' Chaim Shmulevitz says this was no miracle. Pharaohs’ daughter was trying to do what she felt was right and Hashem enabled her. That is not a miracle. It is however very praiseworthy because Pharos daughter didn't consider the fact that the basket was out of reach she tried anyway. Most of us size up the situation and realize the solution is beyond our means and give up. What we learn from this episode is that we need to try nonetheless and leave it to Hashem to let our attemps be actualized or not.
Perhaps living a life like Pharaohs’ daughter is beyond us but I think everyone can live Disney World. I was in Disney World and we heard that there is kosher food there but I didn't know where. So what do you do in Disney World when you want to find out where something is? You call Gary Lips. Gary however was unavailable. So I walked over to a fellow dressed as Casey at Bat who was standing in front of a restaurant motioning in people. I said do you have kosher food here? He said no we do not but you stand right here and I will be right back. A few minutes later he returned and said the kosher food is in such and such a restaurant which is located over there. Would you like me to walk you over there? I said no thanks I can find it and thank you very much for your help. We went over to the restaurant. We saw no signs for kosher food. I asked the cashier do you have kosher food. Certainly we do, she replied. Could we see what you have? Of course she replied and pulled out a big loose-leaf folder turned to the kosher tab and showed us the four items that were available. Now a line was forming behind us but she gave us her full attention. We asked if they had a kosher certificate. She turned to the page and showed it to us. The attitude of concern and interest is palpable throughout Disney World. Perhaps they do it because they are going to be fired or perhaps they do it because pleasantness is infectious but the attitude is there and I liked it. Someone walks into shul. They approach you and ask “where can I find a kippah”?. You could say they are outside in a basket on the table or you could say come let me get you one. If you get here and the kippas are there the person feels wanted and cared for. If you get there and the kippas are not there then you can go look for them sparing this person an embarrassing and possibly final experience at Ariel. Really no challenge should be viewed as being beyond us but I can understand if we are not Pharaohs’ daughter and don't attempt the impossible. However there are so many things that are possible that we could attempt and if we would I am sure we would find our arms getting longer than we thought they were and we might even end up living in a magic kingdom.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Parshas Vayeach 5770 ufruf of Mathew Schaikewitz
Making it in galus the Diaspora, is really what we are all about. Ever since the doors of the ghetto began to open in Western Europe circa 1800 we Jews have struggled to enjoy the freedom of emancipation while not losing our jewishness. A host of different approaches have been tried with varying degrees of success. If we think that we have it down pat I ask you to explain why according to a survey out this week, 25% of children from Orthodox homes who attend non Jewish Universities drop their observance. This seems to be true even of students who have spent the de rigueur year in Israel according to a speaker from the OU who spoke at the Young Israel last year. According to this speaker the drop out rates are higher as academic achievement rises. Let’s try to get a handle on this very real issue.
In this weeks parsha Jacob blesses his grandchildren Ephraim and Menasha the first two Jewish children successfully raised in the Diaspora. When blessing them a strange event occurs. Even though Menasha is situated on Jacobs right and Ephraim on Jacobs left Jacob places his right hand on the younger Ephraim and his left hand on the older Menasha. Josef the father protests the error but Jacob assures him that his actions are intentional.
Why did Jacob swap his hands and why upon seeing this did Josef feel the need to protest.
There are two fundamental approaches to the service of Hashem. One is through awe of Hashem. It goes like this: He is so great, I am so small. How dare I even consider not doing His will.
The other approach is through love of Hashem. It goes like this. I love Hashem and want to be as near as possible to Him therefore I do whatever he wants.
The awe approach with its fear of punishment angle is noted for keeping people from sin. The love approach is outstanding for its ability to motivate to do well. Rabbi Shalom Noah Berzovsky is his work Nesivos Shalom notes that the sons of Josef were representatives of the two models. The name Menasha recalls how Hashem has helped Josef in the struggle with the hardship of exile and being separated from family. The name Ephraim refers to expanse and growth in the exile. Based on this rabbi Berzovsky offers that Josef and Yaakov had a fundamental dispute about how a Jew conducts himself in the Diaspora. Josef said that the awe and fear of sin approach is the only thing strong enough to keep a Jews from giving in to the temptation of all that surrounds him. Therefore Menasha should get the primary blessing. Yaakov knows both of these approaches from his father awe and fear, and his grandfather, love. Yaakov has achieved a balance. Kabalistic terminology refers to Yaakov as tifferes or glory. Glory balances fear opposite love by imbuing both with Torah. When a person is imbued with Torah then they can and should utilize the love approach even in the Diaspora. Even when being bombarded with lures and attractions that are antithetical to Judaism. That is because the beauty of the Torah will provide an attraction that can combat the other attractions. Yaakov knew that Ephraim’s love of Hashem would win out because Ephraim was grounded in the Torah. This also why Yaakov sent yehudah ahead to Egypt to establish school before the family arrived.
Fear of sin and divine retribution clearly do not keep Yossi away from Megan. In truth love of g-d won’t do it either. Megan is too available and G-d to distant. Only when G-d is clear and present will the love of G-d win out. That only comes to people who are imbued with the torah. Memorable Israel experiences are great but there is no substitute for substantive Torah knowledge. This is probably why many who immerse themselves in Torah choose to pursue their careers in a Jewish environment It can be done and it has been done and this morning we are celebrating the successful navigation through the sea of the Diaspora. Mathew Schaikewitz is the model. Immersed in torah and imbued with a love of Hashem. We are taught that when parents name a child there is an element of prophesy that comes to them. I believe that this is certainly the case when some 23 years ago Pearl and Steve chose the name Matya Ephraim. May you and your kallah experience the blessing of Yaakov right hand.
My thanks to Rabbi Garfield for forwarding to me an article that deals with the study that I mentioned. This article is worth reading. The Elelphant In The Room ://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/opinion-the-lephant-in-the-room/
In this weeks parsha Jacob blesses his grandchildren Ephraim and Menasha the first two Jewish children successfully raised in the Diaspora. When blessing them a strange event occurs. Even though Menasha is situated on Jacobs right and Ephraim on Jacobs left Jacob places his right hand on the younger Ephraim and his left hand on the older Menasha. Josef the father protests the error but Jacob assures him that his actions are intentional.
Why did Jacob swap his hands and why upon seeing this did Josef feel the need to protest.
There are two fundamental approaches to the service of Hashem. One is through awe of Hashem. It goes like this: He is so great, I am so small. How dare I even consider not doing His will.
The other approach is through love of Hashem. It goes like this. I love Hashem and want to be as near as possible to Him therefore I do whatever he wants.
The awe approach with its fear of punishment angle is noted for keeping people from sin. The love approach is outstanding for its ability to motivate to do well. Rabbi Shalom Noah Berzovsky is his work Nesivos Shalom notes that the sons of Josef were representatives of the two models. The name Menasha recalls how Hashem has helped Josef in the struggle with the hardship of exile and being separated from family. The name Ephraim refers to expanse and growth in the exile. Based on this rabbi Berzovsky offers that Josef and Yaakov had a fundamental dispute about how a Jew conducts himself in the Diaspora. Josef said that the awe and fear of sin approach is the only thing strong enough to keep a Jews from giving in to the temptation of all that surrounds him. Therefore Menasha should get the primary blessing. Yaakov knows both of these approaches from his father awe and fear, and his grandfather, love. Yaakov has achieved a balance. Kabalistic terminology refers to Yaakov as tifferes or glory. Glory balances fear opposite love by imbuing both with Torah. When a person is imbued with Torah then they can and should utilize the love approach even in the Diaspora. Even when being bombarded with lures and attractions that are antithetical to Judaism. That is because the beauty of the Torah will provide an attraction that can combat the other attractions. Yaakov knew that Ephraim’s love of Hashem would win out because Ephraim was grounded in the Torah. This also why Yaakov sent yehudah ahead to Egypt to establish school before the family arrived.
Fear of sin and divine retribution clearly do not keep Yossi away from Megan. In truth love of g-d won’t do it either. Megan is too available and G-d to distant. Only when G-d is clear and present will the love of G-d win out. That only comes to people who are imbued with the torah. Memorable Israel experiences are great but there is no substitute for substantive Torah knowledge. This is probably why many who immerse themselves in Torah choose to pursue their careers in a Jewish environment It can be done and it has been done and this morning we are celebrating the successful navigation through the sea of the Diaspora. Mathew Schaikewitz is the model. Immersed in torah and imbued with a love of Hashem. We are taught that when parents name a child there is an element of prophesy that comes to them. I believe that this is certainly the case when some 23 years ago Pearl and Steve chose the name Matya Ephraim. May you and your kallah experience the blessing of Yaakov right hand.
My thanks to Rabbi Garfield for forwarding to me an article that deals with the study that I mentioned. This article is worth reading. The Elelphant In The Room ://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/opinion-the-lephant-in-the-room/
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