Why are Jews in America?

Over the last two weeks, and for another week or so, I am visiting the United States for a family Simcha. I have not really had much of a chance until now to write any serious posts, but my thoughts have been rolling as always with ideas that beg expression. So, here I begin.

Before we left Israel for this visit to the US, my son, who is six years old, said that he does not want to go to America. When questioned as to why, he explained that his rebbe told him that one who lives in Eretz Yisrael is constantly getting mitzvos, and therefore, he does not want to go to a place where he is missing that.

On a different occasion, my son asked me, with incredulity, Why would anyone want to live in America?

I thought I would share some of the thoughts I shared with him.

This question really goes deeper, and the question really becomes, Why are Jews outside of Israel at all? What is the purpose of Jews being dispersed all over the world? How does this help accomplish Hashem's materplan? How do Jews in America, Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. help bring Moshiach?

The answer is that in order for Moshiach to come it is essential that Jews be in these countries! What? Essential? Don't we all need to be back in Israel?

Rav Kessin explains, based on the Ramchal, that the reason the Jew enters another nation is in order to draw out the sparks of holiness that are entrapped in that nation. There are two entities that vie for the sparks - the Jewish people and the Satan. If the Jewish people sin, the sparks are given to the Satan, and he in turn gives them to the nations of the world. Then the job of the Jewish people is to release those sparks of holiness and bring them back to the side of Good. This can only be accomoplished in three ways. One, is by keeping mitzvos despite being embedded in the host nation. The second way of releasing the sparks is by doing teshuva for the aveiros. The third way is through yisurin, difficulties.

When all the sparks have been completely redeemed, we reach the days of Moshiach.

This is precisely what occurred in Egypt. The job of the Jewish people was to stay strong in their mitzvah observance. As they lost their Jewish identity, they began to be enslaved and experience hardships. The greatest hardships came at the very end as the geulah fast approached. But who was exempt from the slavery? The Leviim who kept on learning the Torah! They were able to remove the sparks that way, while their brethren unfortunately had to remove the sparks through hardships.

Thus, the purpose of the Jewish people being spread throughout the world is to redeem the sparks that are entrapped in these far-flung places.

As the sparks are redeemed, the Jewish people can return more and more to Israel. It is extremely interesting that there is a tremendous amount of Aliyah (courtesy of Nefesh b'Nefesh) from the US, Britain, etc. This would seem to indicate that Esav is getting sucked out of the sparks, allowing for the sparks to be returned to the Jewish people, and allowing them to be rejoined with their Holy Land.

So what do the Jews in Israel do then? The answer is that they are pulling the sparks out of the Erev Rav, which is the last place the sparks will reside. As the sparks are sucked out of Esav, they end up trapped in the Erev Rav.

Both of these jobs are necessary and essential in order to bring Moshiach.

It is interesting to think about which job is greater. On one hand, removing the sparks from Edom is the first stage, one we have been 'working on' for close to 2000 years, or more. On the other hand, pulling out the sparks from the Erev Rav is the final stage before Geulah. Each of these entails difficulty and challenge.

Something interesting that bothered me was that we know that one of Moshiach ben Yosef's jobs is to destroy Edom - to completely remove the sparks from the Western world and return them to the Jewish people. It seems on the surface, however, that the Arabs are doing this job. They are slowly taking over the Western world as they have more and more children.

I was thinking that the fact that they are able to do this is actually a clear sign that we, the Jewish people, are successfully completing our job of removing the sparks from Esav. As long as Esav has the sparks, he is dominant and powerful, and Yishmael can not take over. As we suck out the power from Esav, however, Yishmael can easily come in and take over, because Esav is powerless to stop them.

The bottom line of it all is that no matter where we are, we have an important job to do in order to bring Moshiach closer. My instinct is that the greater feat is to be in Eretz Yisrael, finishing off the job, but this does not take away from the importance of those outside of Israel who are helping as well.

Our job is accomplished as we dedicate ourselves to Torah, striving to come close to Hashem and be in sync with who we really are. As we do that, we give new strength to the Jewish people. Our job is to do teshuva and repent the sins we have done, thereby further bringing back the sparks to our people. And finally, if Hashem must bring us difficulties, we can accept them with love, knowing that ultimately He is giving us the opportunity to take part in the Moshiach process, hastening the day that all will be able to intimately experience Hashem's closeness.

One final thought I had is that Elul is a tremendous time for releasing the sparks from Esav. This is the month that we rededicate ourselves to our Avodas Hashem, really being strong in learning, studying mussar, and thinking about Teshuva. I think it was not a coincidence that it was in Elul last year that the Economic downturn began. As we draw the sparks out, all the false ideals of Esav come crashing down. This is the greatest sign that we are indeed succeeding in our efforts to bring the downfall of spiritual blindness, and raising the banner of Moshiach.

Moshiach, now? part II

You know, I don't think there is anyone who will say that we aren't in a very significant moment in history. As I have said in the past, I do not like to make predictions, and the main reason is because predictions for the near future look rather silly when they do not come true. I honestly think that what is currently going on is heading in a certain direction, and it doesn't take a genius to see. If I am right, it is truly the time for us to start doing more than just talk. It is rather easy to jump from one blog to another and find something to buzz the brain and be excited about. And while it is nice, and I'm sure Hashem is happy that we are looking forward to Moshiach, Hashem wants action. I'm sorry to say this, but it's not worth too much when we sit around for an hour and check every news source to see if Obama is going to be Gog. It's just not. What is worth something is actually doing something.

Well, you say, it is hard to do something, after all, what can I do? I am just a little Jew, I may not really know too much, can't really learn too well. Well, I tried the daf a bunch of times. That didn't go. I tried out your podcast too, Ari. That was cute. But what can I really do? Come on now, does my little mitzvah really make a difference? Anyway, I'm inconsistent, and the one time I try just won't cut it. Why bother?

This is how the yetzer hara talks. He convinces us to give up before we have even tried. Now I'm quite sure that I have may have lost you by now, because I stopped talking about Moshiach, but guess what, this has everything to do with Moshiach. Moshiach can not come until we get ourselves together. And the main people who need to do that is us - because we know better. The Satan has nothing to say about people who aren't frum, because they just don't know. It is we who are stopping Moshiach from coming. It is we, with our petty שנאת חינם, believing that we are better than every other person who isn't as frum as us, doesn't learn as much as us, doesn't daven as long as us, hasn't been to the right Yeshivas, doesn't have the yichus we have, doesn't live in Israel, doesn't want to live in Israel, and on and on and on. We are so full of pride - we are Gog. Yes, we are the most prideful individuals that exist in the world, and we hate anyone who isn't like us. We are holding up the show, and a lot of people can die because of our pathetic outlook on life. Is it any wonder that the entire world hates us so much? It's middah k'negged middah, because we hate each other. They hate us for no reason, because we hate each other for no reason.

But it doesn't have to stay that way. We can learn to love. And I'm going to ask you to make a small investment right now. Please, please download the following two parts (each split in two) of a speech about Lashon Hara by Rav Mendel Kessin. You may have heard it before, or you may not have. Either way, this is the time to listen to it. You will get a different perspective that will make you want to be more careful about this mitzvah, and it will help you love your fellow more.

After listening to the shiur, please, please click on the last link and purchase the Chofetz Chaim's lesson a day, or go out to your local seforim store to buy it, and take a minute each day to learn a halacha. Maybe even read that halacha a few times until you have it memorized. This is a concrete effort than anyone can do that will bring Moshiach in a more merciful way.

I apologize if I came off too strong, and the truth is that I am speaking to myself as I write this as well.

http://torahvideo.com/jewish-torah/tapes/POWEROFSPEECH1A.mp3
http://torahvideo.com/jewish-torah/tapes/POWEROFSPEECH1B.mp3
http://torahvideo.com/jewish-torah/tapes/POWEROFSPEECH2A.mp3
http://torahvideo.com/jewish-torah/tapes/POWEROFSPEECH2B.mp3

If it is too much to listen to all at once, you can come back later, or right click and choose download to listen later on your computer or mp3 player. But I have a feeling that once you start, it will actually be hard to stop listening.

I will do this bl'n, and I hope you will too.

Here is the link to the book, which is about $17 + shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0899063217

One last thing. If this is powerful enough for you to copy, paste and send to someone you know, please don't send it to that person who 'really should be hearing it,' but rather to someone you care about who will appreciate your love for them, and will truly bring about an increase in ahavas Yisrael and diminish שנאת חינם.

Seeds of redemption

Before Purim, someone shared a beautiful pshat with me in the name of the Chasam Sofer (I believe).

If one goes back to the root of the miracle of Purim, we can trace the beginning stage to the party of Achashverosh that is described at the beginning of the story. During that party, the king asks Vashti to appear, but she refuses. In his anger, he heeds the advice to be rid of her, lest the women in the countries of his dominion learn of her intransigence and be led to do the same to their own husbands. Vashti is removed from the scene, leaving an opening for Esther to become a key player in the miracle of Purim.

What is most interesting is that the seeds for the miracle are sown at the very moment that the Jewish people were doing the sin that created the necessity for the miracle! They had been instructed by Mordechai to refrain from partaking in the party of Achashverosh, but they did not listen to the advice of the gadol. In their minds it was more important to join the party, as loyal citizens of Persia, rather than make a scene. Their mistake led to the decree of Haman to wipe out the Jewish people.

What comes out of it is that at the time the Jews were sinning and bringing upon themselves a great calamity, Hashem was concurrently preparing the miracle of their salvation. What an amazing chessed of Hashem! When His beloved people are straying from Him, in His great love He is thinking of them and creating the potential for the miracle of their salvation.

When I heard this idea, I could only think of our people today, many of whom may be entrenched in things that would pull us away from Hashem, ח"ו. Nevertheless, Hashem is constantly looking out for our best, planting the seeds of redemption even as we do things that perhaps make us unworthy! Could there be any greater kindness?

Worth fighting for

My sister in New York shared the following about a Rav and his son who very recently spent time here in Israel. They came to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah, and as part of his trip here, they decided to deliver pizza to the troops fighting in Gaza. As the rabbi and his son were giving the soldiers their pizza, one of the soldiers turned to them and said, "It's people like you that make it worth fighting."

Ramchal on Geulah - Part two

The Ramchal continues:

Before the world can reach the state where the righteous receive their eternal reward, however, all life must cease and return to the dust, for at least a moment, before the revival of the dead. Then those that are fitting will rise.

When the revival of the dead occurs, both the righteous and the evil will be brought back to life. There are evil people who will not yet have received their due punishment, and they will be brought back to life and punished as befits them.

After the revival, there will be the great day of judgment, and Hashem will judge everyone, deciding who will live eternally and who will be lost to oblivion. Those who are part of the latter group will receive their due punishment and in the end will be erased completely from existence. Those who are destined to remain will be placed on the level that they deserve according to the Divine judgment.

Coming back to the days of Moshiach, there will be a great selection process for the nations of the world who exist at that time. Those that the Divine judgment will determine are fitting for destruction will die by the sword and through other punishments. Those that are fitting to remain will be saved. They will recognize the Truth and abandon their false gods. They will make themselves subservient to the children of Israel, and it will be their honor to serve the Jewish people, as they will realize that through this service they will be able to receive what they can from the Holiness and Light of Hashem.

The whole world will be drawn after service of the Creator, and there will be no idolatrous practices at all in the world. This is what the navi referred to when he said (Tzephaniah 3:9), "Then I will turn over the nations to one clear language," as well as the verse (Zechariah 14:9), "On that day Hashem will be One and His name will be one."

After all those that deserve it are prepared for eternity, each one on his level, the world will return to a state of chaos and desolation (תהו ובהו). This means that it will lose its current form, and water will return to water as it was at the beginning of Creation. In any event, the righteous ones who are prepared for eternity will be sustained by Hashem during that time like angels, without a need for this world. Nevertheless, they will still not attain the true Good that befits them until after the world has remained in this desolate state for the time that Hashem's wisdom decrees. Then the world will be renewed in a different form, appropriate for what is necessary for eternity, and the righteous will return and exist forever, enjoying the true Good, each one according to his level.

Here ends what Ramchal says in his mamar ha'ikarim. It's important to mention that elsewhere the Ramchal clearly states that this righteous group of tzadikim that exist forever contains most of the Jewish people. Only very few individuals are considered so evil that they are completely erased (the Gemara in Rosh Hashana gives the list on daf 17A). This is the idea כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא - all of the people of Israel have a portion in the next world. Some people will have to undergo greater levels of cleansing of their soul to purge the evil they have done, and some less. Ultimately, once they are purified they are included in this group of righteous individuals who exist forever, basking in Hashem's Light.

Help your brother

Guest post by Daniel

A few nights ago I had the privilege to hear the following story from Rav Shemtov. Rav Shemtov is a paragon of Ahavas Yisrael. At our table sat a young man who is beginning to wrap tefillin. Rav Shemtov grasped the young baal teshuva's hand, kissed it, and beamed at the young man "This hand will put on tefillin every day!"

Rav Shemtov learned this mida from his father, whom I will simply call "Shemtov" since I don't know his first name. The following is one of many stories from his life.

Shemtov was living in Russia at a time when Jews were being drafted into the army. It was either army or prison. His father took a rope and manually broke his own toe so that he would be "unfit" for the Russian army and would be able to stay with his family.

As Shemtov was walking down the street he saw a Russian police officer escorting his friend, a fellow Jew, off to prison. What could he do? Fight the cop? He would be clobbered, not to mention taken to prison.

Out of nowhere Shemtov jumped at the Russian officer and began hugging him and kissing him, like a long lost friend. At the same time, Shemtov kicked his friend repeatedly until the friend got the idea and ran for his life.

After Shemtov's friend escaped, he pulled back from the Russian officer. "Hey there old friend!" exclaimed Shemtov. The officer was dazed, "Do I know you?" "Sure you do! Last time we met was in Moscow, don't you remember! Come on pal!" The officer didn't buy it. "I know what you just did, you sneaky Jew. That guy was going to prison, but you, you're in for the worst."

Shemtov looked the officer in the eyes and said, "Now you don't want to do that. What's going to happen? You'll take me into your headquarters, sit me in front of your superior officer and tell him how this puny little Jew outsmarted you so that you failed your mission? You'll look like a complete idiot."

Shemtov pulled out some cash from his pocket, put it in the officers hand and said, "Better you take this money and go enjoy it for yourself." The officer took the cash and left Shemtov alive.

When Rav Shemtov finished telling us the story he said, "This was my father. He lived the lesson that when another Jew is in need, you don't think about yourself."

How Fortunate Are We

Guest post by Daniel

How Fortunate Are We, How Wonderful is Our Portion, and How Beautiful is Our Heritage

Today, the traffic-jammed street is full
Of people and not cars.

The only wheels moving
Are strollers pushed by young couples
And scooters chased by little brothers.

The many passersby have made a coup
Against traffic lights
That signal no one.

Walls of apartments on either side
Their windows open to buzzing summer air.
In flies a bee, a breeze, and blossoming jasmine.
Out flows laughter, silence, and song
From families still dining
On the dessert that is family.

One day a week,
This street transforms
Into a blessing that lacks
Impatient horns.
One day a week.

The Generation of Moshiach

My wife recently bought me the second volume of the wonderful book Machat Shel Yad by my rebbe Rav Yitzchok Frankel. The first book came out about a year ago on Braishis, and even though I got it toward the end of the parshios in Braishis, I read the whole thing from cover to cover. It was difficult to put down.

Perusing excitedly through the new book on Shemos, I found myself in Parshas Tetzaveh where Rav Frankel speaks about the phenomenon of Moshe's complete absence from that parsha. He speaks of Moshe's humility, which is a reflection of Hashem's. He spends a page speaking of Hashem's humility and as I read it I was incredibly moved.

Here I quote (from page 246):
The fact that the infinite Being should lower Himself to take interest in those tiny dots on Earth called human beings is an amazing concept, so much so that many of the ancient philosophers could not comprehend it nor would they believe such a thing to be true. This disbelief in Hashem's tremendous humility has continued even into modern times where we find great intellects such as Albert Einstein unable to comprehend how the Creator of the universe could be concerned with the little details of a human being's life.

Contrary to their way of looking at things, this trait of Hakadosh Boruch Hu actually reveals His true greatness and power. How so? It is not so impressive when a strong man picks up a heavy object. It is not so amazing when a lofty person acts aloof. But if Someone who is immeasurably great is capable of involvement with something immeasurably small, this is a true proof of His greatness. To borrow a metaphor from Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus זצ"ל, let's imagine the renowned giant Og Melech Habashan. For him to lift a great boulder is no big deal. But can he squeeze himself into a matchbox? Hashem can do even this, so to speak. He concerns Himself with the little details of a little Jew's life. This type of humility is a truly staggering level of greatness.

We see this trait of Hashem most clearly and decisively in the month of Adar. The miracle of Purim took place ata time when K'lal Yisrael were not deserving of miracles as in previous generations. It comes as no surprise to hear of miracles occurring in the days of Dovid Hamelech and Shlomo Hamelech. In those days, the Shechinah was revealed in all its glory in the Bais Hamikdash. But after the Babylonian exile, under Persian rule, did the battered and lowly remnant of a people expect to see miracles such as this?

Yet, Hashem brought Himself to relate even to their low level. In this way, it was even a greater miracle than the ones that took place in the times of Israel's greatness. In spite of the iron barrier that was erected between us and Hashem when the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed, Hashem saw our plight nonetheless. As it says in Shir Hashirim 2:9, "He observes through the openings; He peeks through the cracks." Hashem's hashgacha did not leave us.

I was deeply touched by these words, and could only think that despite the fact that Klal Yisrael has never been in a worse spiritual state then we are now, nevertheless the greatest redemption will come from this state. Hashem will soon show His infinite greatness by displaying His incredible humility, caring for His people even in their most lowly state. What greater sign of Geulah can one find? What greater consolation can there be?

This is also a concept that is echoed in the fact that when Hashem redeemed the Jewish people from Egypt, He was manifest through His name אקיה אשר אקיה. This name corresponds to the concept of כתר - Keser. This represents the greatest mercy of Hashem, the mercy that is beyond the intellect and beyond understanding. We as a people had sunken to the lowest levels in Egypt, and logically were not deserving of the miracles and redemption that Hashem had in store. We were not worthy to be separated and singled out when the plagues occurred only to the Egyptians. Despite the logic, Hashem manifested with Keser, which was above logic and brought about the Exodus from Egypt.

Similarly, when the final redemption is to occur, there is a notion that Hashem again will manifest with the name אקיה אשר אקיה and the middah of Keser - transcending logic and raising His people from their lowly defiled state to rise above all to truly be a light unto the nations, במהרה בימינו אמן.

When he's finally here

Guest post by Daniel

I was thinking about the kinds of kiddushei Hashem that will occur when Moshiach is revealed.

The first thing I thought was that there will be a great kiddush Hashem in the eyes of the Jews. We will be astonished at the massive number of Jews that come to greet Moshiach.

What I mean is the following:

Each group of Jews naturally thinks that its group is "the Jewish people." This just seems to be the way people operate. It's difficult to see past our own community.

When Sephardi Jews came to Seattle in 1902, the Ashkenazi community was flustered by these "strange people" calling themselves Jews. Sephardi culture was as foreign to the Ashkenazim as another religion. Only after their Rav explained to them the truth did the people open up.

Similarly today, the Jews where I come from think that that bulk of klal Yisrael lives here. The Jews where you live think that klal Yisrael primarily lives there. Yes, we "know" that other communities exist. We may even visit them from time to time. But it's not real to us.

When Mashiach comes and unites us all, we'll come out of our cupboards, so to speak, and face one another in all our stripes and colors.

The Jews in Eretz Yisroel will see the Jews of chutz la'aretz, and the more modern folks will see the more orthodox community, and on and on - all of us arising to greet the same Moshiach sent by the same G-d with the same one Torah. "Goy echad, am echad, ha'meyachadim shimcha Hashem Elokainu Hashem echad."

Who knows what kind of Jews we'll get to see that we never even knew existed, that we never knew were out there saying in their hearts "achekeh lo b'chol yom she'yavo."

If you can picture this in your mind, you'll see that it's both a humbling and an empowering experience. Humbling, in that each of the communities will be brought to realize that their community is but one shevet in the midst of an entire am (there are 12 different tribes, not one monotone tribe). Empowering, in that we should no longer feel alone or small in numbers. We truly will be numbered like the stars.

What I'm trying to say is that perhaps we already are. And if you can see that, then you can put that inspiration toward your avodas Hashem. Toward accepting other Jews. Toward accepting your own community.

May we merit to greet Moshiach bimhera b'yameinu and say together:

“Baruch Atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech Ha’olam chacham ha’razim.”

5769 II

The passuk uses the words "והיה ביום ההוא" in numerous places to refer to the time of Moshiach. On the surface these words are quite innocuous. The gematria of these words is 101, which would seem to be insignificant.

It gets interesting when you break down the letters as follows:

וי"ו ה"י יו"ד ה"י (והיה) בי"ת יו"ד וי"ו מ"ם (ביום) ה"י ה"י וי"ו אל"פ (ההוא)

in this form, והיה is 72, ביום is 534, and ההוא is 163. This adds up to a grand total of... you guessed it folks...769, corresponding to the year תשס"ט that is fast approaching.

(a note on מילוי - filling up the letters. The letters ו and ה can be filled three different ways - with an א - which would be וא"ו and ה"א; with a י - which would be וי"ו and ה"י; and the third way is ו"ו and ה"ה. These different methods are used in filling up the Tetragrammaton, ie. name of Hashem and give us the values of ע"ב ס"ג מ"ה ב"ן. Here we used the מילוי which corresponds to the name ע"ב, which is the highest name.)

While I am already posting, I would like to add something which I have thought about a lot recently.

I heard from my Rav that our sages tell us that when Noach exited the ark and looked around at a world devoid of humanity, he turned to heaven and said, "Could you not forgive the world? Was it necessary to bring such great destruction?" To this Hashem responded, "This would have been a wonderful thing to say before the flood. There was a hundred and twenty years of opportunity. Now the opportunity has been lost!"

We keep hearing that when Moshiach comes a large number of people will be lost from our people. I don't know what the source for that statement is. I have seen other sources that explicitly state that all of the Jewish people will survive to see Moshiach, namely Rebbe Nachman, among others. We need to understand that there is great danger, but we need to learn from Noach's mistake, and take on Avraham avinu's ways. When he heard about the destruction that was slated to occur to Sodom, he immediately pleaded for their lives, despite their great wickedness!

We also find that when Moshe rabbenu was told by Hashem that because of the Golden Calf, the Jewish people were to be destroyed, Heaven forbid, Moshe had no good excuse for the people. That did not stop him from beseeching Hashem for mercy. He was successful because of his self sacrifice. He constantly prayed for Hashem to forgive them despite the horrendous sin they had perpetrated.

We must learn from Moshe as well - not be concerned only for our own welfare. We must believe that all of Klal Yisrael will survive. Unfortunately, many of them can not pray for themselves. But we can pray for them. We are all responsible for one another and we can move the world with our heartfelt prayers, literally saving our people.

Loving those who hate

I'm going to tell you a secret that will change your life.

It was the 16th of Adar - Purim in Jerusalem, 5768. I had played a long dance set with my friend Yehuda David on the guitar, and myself on the keyboard and vocals for a small American Yeshiva in the neighborhood of Ezras Torah. We finished the job and went to the nearby shteiblach to daven Mariv. In the spirit of everyone around us, we decided to act jolly, despite the fact that we had finished our Purim two days previous. (Purim for Ramat Bet Shemesh was on Friday the 14th, Purim in Jerusalem was pushed from Shabbos the 15th to Sunday the 16th.)

We sang in the street as we walked toward shul, walking with a bit of a limp, smiling and showing love towards the multi-colored Jews of all stripes who passed by.

As we came into the shtieblach, I was singing a drop too loud. A young bochur, probably around 17, saw me, and in his slightly drunken state yelled at me to quiet down (note the irony). I did lower the volume, but did not stop singing. He evidently was unable to discern between the decible levels, and kept yelling at me to stop singing.

In my jolly (non-alcoholic!) mood, I decided at that moment that I would balance this drunken kid's anger with love. My love did not stop him from kicking me in my rear end, but it did stop me from getting upset at all, boruch Hashem. I tried to hug him after his 'gift' to me, but he wasn't interested.

I proceeded to daven Mariv with a full heart.

What I realized from this interaction was that someone can literally hate me because I don't fit into his version of reality, and I contradict some tenet that he knows to be the basis of morality. But it doesn't mean I have to hate him. It also doesn't mean that I have to take offense.

I can love another Jew completely, no matter who he is, and no matter what he feels about me. I can recognize that the negative feelings he has for me come from a place that is no different than someone who has become intoxicated - namely irrationality. Because someone who knows the truth knows that Hashem wants diversity, and does not want a nation of carbon copy cookie cutter robots. He therefore also realizes that he need not be threatened by someone else's lack of conformity to his standards.

This also frees me, because even though I can have love for all Jews no matter who they are and what their background, they do not have to conform to my standard of love in order to receive my love. They do not have to be a cookie cutter version of me - otherwise I am holding them to a higher standard than I want them to hold me!

The secret is to love every Jew, and even the Jew who hates me. Even the Jew that sees me as a lower class individual - it is irrelevant. Hashem loves every single human being - even the most evil people who rebel against him. I can also love any person - even those who 'rebel' against my validity and would say I am perhaps not a good enough Jew.

The secret is to know that I can not be offended until I allow myself to be offended.

Once I learn to love everyone unconditionally, I can pray with a full heart.

Thanks to Daniel for the inspiration for this post.