What is the foundation of Hashem's love for the Jewish people? What does the Torah mean when it says that the Jews are few/small? Why does the Torah specifically speak of this love in contrast to his relationship with the nations of the world? What is the secret of the Jewish people's continued success? What is the cause of downfall of the nations of the world?
Find out in this week's Parsha podcast.
(Running time 23:24)
Showing posts with label children of Hashem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children of Hashem. Show all posts
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Va'eschanan - Loving Hashem
How do we develop a love for Hashem? How do we understand our rhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifelationship with Him? Why does this parsha follow Tisha B'av?
Find out in this week's parsha podcast.
Find out in this week's parsha podcast.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
On our own
On a short walk in Ramat Bet Shemesh, I had a most moving thought.
As the Jewish people once again seems to find itself in a corner, with no one to rely on but Hashem, there is a striking parallel to another point in history that presaged a potential Geulah. This was actually in the time of Avraham Avinu. Avraham was also referred to as an עברי - what we translate as 'Hebrew,' but what actually means 'one who is on the side.' He was called this because while the entire world was on the side of evil, clamoring to create a tower to rebel against Hashem, Avraham was on the side of Good, constantly striving to bring Hashem's kindness into the world through his benevolent acts of unconditional kindness. He stood on one side - the עברי - while the whole world stood on the other. This pure altruistic mode of living brought Hashem to create a ברית with Avraham that meant that he would take over the purpose of mankind - the תיקון עולם - rectification of the world - that meant his children would need to remove the darkness that had taken over mankind. This meant that Avraham's children would enter into the place where that darkness was centered - Mitzrayim. There his children would face an opportunity to bring the redemption by staying true to the ways of their forefathers through their devotion to Hashem. When they would fail in that devotion, they would experience the hardships of slavery that also would help them take back the Holiness that was being leeched by the dark forces of Egypt. When they finally had succeeded, there was a redemption that brought them to Har Sinai, where they returned to the state of Adam Harishon, attaining the light of Moshiach on Shavuos. The dream was shortlived, however, when the Jews sinned with the Golden Calf and lost that level of perfection.
Just as it was with Avraham, who stood on one side while all the world stood on the other, in their perverse evil and self-centeredness, so it is now. We are beginning to see that there is no one to rely upon but Hashem. While the American president seems to be a man who threatens our very existence here in Israel, he is clearly the messenger of Hashem. We are being placed into a predicament where we are truly alone. This situation is the opportunity for a great attainment of trust and reliance upon Hashem. As long as we feel that others are on our side, we have a sense of self-confidence. When the world comes down upon us from every direction, demanding our annihilation, we are shocked into a realization of the true reality.
We are on one side. Everyone else is on the other. This is the precursor for Moshiach.
This presents us with a test and a great opportunity, no matter where we are. Hashem is making it obvious that the leader of America has no qualms with creating a situation that is tantamount to Israel's destruction. We look up from our morning paper and we say, "Is this real?" The answer is that it is. And it is really the chance for every Jew to identify with his brother's pain no matter where he may be. Every Jew can look up from his paper and say, "This is unjust! The country of Israel and the Jewish people will not survive with these terms and conditions. We must stand up for what is right." This statement will attach every Jew to each other - creating a web that binds us to one another. Just as the Geulah of Purim came with an unnatural and illogical call for our destruction and caused the Jewish people to reunite as one, we are now being given the opportunity to do this once again.
During the Holocaust, there was a similar opportunity for the Jewish people to look at the plight of their brethren in Europe and to stand up for their cause. At that time, there was a failure to do so, perhaps because of disbelief, or perhaps because of apathy. An opportunity for unity and complete Geulah was lost then. It seems that we are about to be faced with a similar chance. This opportunity must not be missed. We must strengthen each other and our commitment to our brethren no matter where we may be. We must feel the pain of our brothers and we must stand up with dignity, showing our solidarity in the face of the world's disdain. Our blood must boil from the unfairness to which our people are being subjected. We must not stand idly by.
Chazal tell us that אתם קרויים אדם - the Jewish people are called Adam. This means that we have a chance to join together as one in order to bring Hashem's Shechinah into the world and to reflect Hashem's light to all the nations. We can only do this when we behave as we did at Har Sinai. At that time, we stood as one - כאיש אחד בלב אחד - as one man with one heart. We then reached the level of Adam Harishon before the sin - the level of Moshiach. We are about to face another shot at it. May Hashem help us, for the sake of His Shechinah, and for the sake of the honor of His beloved nation.
As the Jewish people once again seems to find itself in a corner, with no one to rely on but Hashem, there is a striking parallel to another point in history that presaged a potential Geulah. This was actually in the time of Avraham Avinu. Avraham was also referred to as an עברי - what we translate as 'Hebrew,' but what actually means 'one who is on the side.' He was called this because while the entire world was on the side of evil, clamoring to create a tower to rebel against Hashem, Avraham was on the side of Good, constantly striving to bring Hashem's kindness into the world through his benevolent acts of unconditional kindness. He stood on one side - the עברי - while the whole world stood on the other. This pure altruistic mode of living brought Hashem to create a ברית with Avraham that meant that he would take over the purpose of mankind - the תיקון עולם - rectification of the world - that meant his children would need to remove the darkness that had taken over mankind. This meant that Avraham's children would enter into the place where that darkness was centered - Mitzrayim. There his children would face an opportunity to bring the redemption by staying true to the ways of their forefathers through their devotion to Hashem. When they would fail in that devotion, they would experience the hardships of slavery that also would help them take back the Holiness that was being leeched by the dark forces of Egypt. When they finally had succeeded, there was a redemption that brought them to Har Sinai, where they returned to the state of Adam Harishon, attaining the light of Moshiach on Shavuos. The dream was shortlived, however, when the Jews sinned with the Golden Calf and lost that level of perfection.
Just as it was with Avraham, who stood on one side while all the world stood on the other, in their perverse evil and self-centeredness, so it is now. We are beginning to see that there is no one to rely upon but Hashem. While the American president seems to be a man who threatens our very existence here in Israel, he is clearly the messenger of Hashem. We are being placed into a predicament where we are truly alone. This situation is the opportunity for a great attainment of trust and reliance upon Hashem. As long as we feel that others are on our side, we have a sense of self-confidence. When the world comes down upon us from every direction, demanding our annihilation, we are shocked into a realization of the true reality.
We are on one side. Everyone else is on the other. This is the precursor for Moshiach.
This presents us with a test and a great opportunity, no matter where we are. Hashem is making it obvious that the leader of America has no qualms with creating a situation that is tantamount to Israel's destruction. We look up from our morning paper and we say, "Is this real?" The answer is that it is. And it is really the chance for every Jew to identify with his brother's pain no matter where he may be. Every Jew can look up from his paper and say, "This is unjust! The country of Israel and the Jewish people will not survive with these terms and conditions. We must stand up for what is right." This statement will attach every Jew to each other - creating a web that binds us to one another. Just as the Geulah of Purim came with an unnatural and illogical call for our destruction and caused the Jewish people to reunite as one, we are now being given the opportunity to do this once again.
During the Holocaust, there was a similar opportunity for the Jewish people to look at the plight of their brethren in Europe and to stand up for their cause. At that time, there was a failure to do so, perhaps because of disbelief, or perhaps because of apathy. An opportunity for unity and complete Geulah was lost then. It seems that we are about to be faced with a similar chance. This opportunity must not be missed. We must strengthen each other and our commitment to our brethren no matter where we may be. We must feel the pain of our brothers and we must stand up with dignity, showing our solidarity in the face of the world's disdain. Our blood must boil from the unfairness to which our people are being subjected. We must not stand idly by.
Chazal tell us that אתם קרויים אדם - the Jewish people are called Adam. This means that we have a chance to join together as one in order to bring Hashem's Shechinah into the world and to reflect Hashem's light to all the nations. We can only do this when we behave as we did at Har Sinai. At that time, we stood as one - כאיש אחד בלב אחד - as one man with one heart. We then reached the level of Adam Harishon before the sin - the level of Moshiach. We are about to face another shot at it. May Hashem help us, for the sake of His Shechinah, and for the sake of the honor of His beloved nation.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Come to Israel, now?
It's been over a week since my last real post, and I had many thoughts that bounced around my head since then. On one hand, the post was nice for anyone in the US, because it made one feel rather comfortable kind of ignoring the urgency of some other blogs. It also kind of left the impression that parnassah is the end all answer to whether one should come here. I'd like to share some of my subsequent thoughts.
The Chofetz Chaim, in his seforim Shem Olam and Ahavas Chessed, uses a certain theme to help us in our thinking about our service of Hashem. Many times we have a certain attitude when it comes to our performance of mitzvos which might be somewhat lackluster. The objective comparison will always shed light on the more correct approach.
The Chofetz Chaim tells us that we need but look at a storeowner to understand the proper approach to Avodas Hashem. Someone who loves money will do anything to make money. He will get up early to work and go to bed late. He will travel to distant lands to buy the right merchandise. He will dedicate himself completely to the task of making a buck.
From the way such a person behaves, we can learn how we must approach our service of Hashem. There is a level of dedication that is necessary for success in any area, and certainly in the most important area of connecting to spirituality. If we must get up early to achieve it, if we must go to sleep late, it must be done. If we must travel to a far off land in pursuit of this most important goal, and if it might involve a great sacrifice, it must be done.
If someone would invest years of difficulty in order to one day be the millionaire of his dreams, would it not be worth a similar investment to earn the greatest closeness to Hashem possible by living in Eretz Yisrael? Is there no greater goal that one could imagine? Is there anyplace one can serve Hashem as Yisrael? Is there another place one feels the constant hand of Hashem guiding him? Is there another place that people are really as focused on their life's goal of serving Hashem? Is there another place that loving Hashem is really an aspiration? Is there anywhere in the world?
Is there another place where the entire country of six million Jews is eating matza on Pesach? Is there another country where six million of its inhabitants are fasting on Yom Kippur? Is there another country where the standard greeting on Friday is 'Shabat Shalom?' Is there another place where every single person on the street makes sure your kid is warm as you pass by on a cold day? Is there anywhere else where everyone calls you their brother? Is there any other place where 'baruch Hashem' rolls off the non-religious taxi driver's tongue? Is there a place where people feel each other's pain and each other's joys the way they do here? Is there another city like Jerusalem that as soon as you enter the holiness is palpable?
This is our land. It's the land Hashem promised to our people for all time. Let's come home with love.
The Chofetz Chaim, in his seforim Shem Olam and Ahavas Chessed, uses a certain theme to help us in our thinking about our service of Hashem. Many times we have a certain attitude when it comes to our performance of mitzvos which might be somewhat lackluster. The objective comparison will always shed light on the more correct approach.
The Chofetz Chaim tells us that we need but look at a storeowner to understand the proper approach to Avodas Hashem. Someone who loves money will do anything to make money. He will get up early to work and go to bed late. He will travel to distant lands to buy the right merchandise. He will dedicate himself completely to the task of making a buck.
From the way such a person behaves, we can learn how we must approach our service of Hashem. There is a level of dedication that is necessary for success in any area, and certainly in the most important area of connecting to spirituality. If we must get up early to achieve it, if we must go to sleep late, it must be done. If we must travel to a far off land in pursuit of this most important goal, and if it might involve a great sacrifice, it must be done.
If someone would invest years of difficulty in order to one day be the millionaire of his dreams, would it not be worth a similar investment to earn the greatest closeness to Hashem possible by living in Eretz Yisrael? Is there no greater goal that one could imagine? Is there anyplace one can serve Hashem as Yisrael? Is there another place one feels the constant hand of Hashem guiding him? Is there another place that people are really as focused on their life's goal of serving Hashem? Is there another place that loving Hashem is really an aspiration? Is there anywhere in the world?
Is there another place where the entire country of six million Jews is eating matza on Pesach? Is there another country where six million of its inhabitants are fasting on Yom Kippur? Is there another country where the standard greeting on Friday is 'Shabat Shalom?' Is there another place where every single person on the street makes sure your kid is warm as you pass by on a cold day? Is there anywhere else where everyone calls you their brother? Is there any other place where 'baruch Hashem' rolls off the non-religious taxi driver's tongue? Is there a place where people feel each other's pain and each other's joys the way they do here? Is there another city like Jerusalem that as soon as you enter the holiness is palpable?
This is our land. It's the land Hashem promised to our people for all time. Let's come home with love.
Friday, March 13, 2009
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?
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?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
More on shining God's light
Ari, please help me to synthesize your recent blog messages, if you can. You sang of how Mashiach will bestow Tzion on the humbled klal. Today you posted about shining our personal power at http://geulahperspectives.blogspot.com/2009/02/shining-gods-light.html
Now, how does one combine intentional use of superb unique abilities with anivut (humility)?
Great question!
The answer, like a good joke (or a good speech), is all in the delivery.
I'm sure you have met people who are talented, good-looking and successful, and they are absolutely full of themselves. Such an individual will come across as high and mighty - another opinion is worthless, and another perspective is meaningless. Theirs is the only one that could possibly be correct (after all there is only one objective reality!) and Heaven help you if you believe differently then them. If you are stuck in a room with this person, you want to find the nearest exit.
Then there are individuals (who are somewhat harder to come by) who recognize that they do have greatness, but their greatness is not their own. Every move they make speaks the fact that they recognize that it comes from Hashem. There is humility in their thoughts, words, and actions. These people are magnets, because they are focused outwards - not on drawing attention to themselves, and not on proving their own views. They ask about you, focus the conversations away from themselves and their own accomplishments. And by doing so, they accomplish the opposite (without intending). They draw you in, because they give you belief in yourself. They attract you with their light, and this light is not their own - it is the light of Hashem shining through them.
Ari
Now, how does one combine intentional use of superb unique abilities with anivut (humility)?
Great question!
The answer, like a good joke (or a good speech), is all in the delivery.
I'm sure you have met people who are talented, good-looking and successful, and they are absolutely full of themselves. Such an individual will come across as high and mighty - another opinion is worthless, and another perspective is meaningless. Theirs is the only one that could possibly be correct (after all there is only one objective reality!) and Heaven help you if you believe differently then them. If you are stuck in a room with this person, you want to find the nearest exit.
Then there are individuals (who are somewhat harder to come by) who recognize that they do have greatness, but their greatness is not their own. Every move they make speaks the fact that they recognize that it comes from Hashem. There is humility in their thoughts, words, and actions. These people are magnets, because they are focused outwards - not on drawing attention to themselves, and not on proving their own views. They ask about you, focus the conversations away from themselves and their own accomplishments. And by doing so, they accomplish the opposite (without intending). They draw you in, because they give you belief in yourself. They attract you with their light, and this light is not their own - it is the light of Hashem shining through them.
Ari
Monday, February 23, 2009
Shining God's light
I'd like to share a quote which I read recently in Stephen Covey's book, The 8th Habit.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
-Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
-Marianne Williamson
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