Rabbi's Weekly Message
Simhat Torah Message 5780
Friday, October 18, 2019How would you like to make $18,000 Are you a female between the ages of 24-55? One last question, sprechen sie Deutsch? Assuming you have all these conditions pegged, you are in luck, that is if you are incredibly passionate about one thing. Nothing. This job in Germany literally pays you to lie in bed, all-day, every day, for two months, testing mattresses to see how the body responds to weightlessness. I know what you're thinking, No vacation days? But seriously, the job sounds pretty sweet, doesn't it? A dream job. Literally. There is a funny thing about Simhat Torah. This holiday isn't actually IN the Torah. Not at all, not a single mention. It actually is an add on holiday of sorts. Originally the holiday was Shemini Asseret, a separate holiday to Sukkot. After spending seven days on Sukkot bringing Korbanot, or sacrifices, for each of the seventy nations, Hashem says to the Jewish people, "Stay behind for one more day, just you and I". The holiday celebrates the unique bond between Hashem and His people. Asseret, therefore, means to stay back.
Read more...Yom Kippur Message 5780
Friday, October 04, 2019Yom Kippur. The words alone cause an involuntary shudder to ripple through my body. After all, who likes to be reminded again and again that they've slipped up, tripped up and messed up? It seems from the prayer service that the only thing I haven't done consistently is measure up! No wonder fewer people are engaging every year in the service. If they don't speak Hebrew they don't know what's flying, and if they do, they feel even worse! Our self-esteem is low enough as it is, thank you very much! We don't like or need this extra large helping of guilt. But there is a secret about Yom Kippur of which many people simply aren't aware, a secret so powerful that if whispered in our ears would transform and elevate our whole experience. I'd like to share it with you, so listen closely....
Read more...Perashat Nissabim 5779
Friday, September 27, 2019The Shulchan Aruch teaches that our perasha must always be read on the Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah. It seems we are being told that there is a link between the two. What is it about this week's perasha that necessitates this practice? There are a few answers, but I'd like to focus on one. If you like another one of the answers, write your own article. Our perasha begins by saying that Moshe gathers all the Jews together. אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י ה' אֱלֹקיכֶ֑ם רָאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ טַפְּכֶ֣ם נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם וְגֵ֣רְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּקֶ֣רֶב מַחֲנֶ֑יךָ מֵחֹטֵ֣ב עֵצֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד שֹׁאֵ֥ב מֵימֶֽיךָ׃ לְעָבְרְךָ֗ בִּבְרִ֛ית ה' אֱלֹקיךָ וּבְאָלָת֑וֹ You are standing this day, all of you before Hashem your G-d: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel. Your little ones, your wives, and the stranger that is in the camp, from the wood chopper to the water carrier. To put you through the covenant of Hashem your G-d. This makes you wonder. ...
Read more...Perashat Ki Tabo 5779
Friday, September 20, 2019Imagine working in a world where there was no air-conditioned office. A world where there was no subway to get to work or a set contract which gave you a sense of security. All there was was you. And a shovel. And if you were lucky, a bull to pull your plow. Could you imagine then, after the blood, sweat, and tears, the digging, plowing, planting, fertilizing, watering and harvesting, how good it must have felt to bite into that first delicious ripe fruit? The sweet feeling of success, of accomplishment and perseverance that must have accompanied that first bite, is hard to fully comprehend in our world. Imagine. I made this. Me! From beginning to end. And then the Torah asks me to give that very fruit, the FIRST one, to Hashem. It's interesting to note the wording of the pasuk as this man hands over his hard-earned goods. The pasuk says, וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי ה' אלוקך , literally translated as, "and you will answer and you will say before Hashem your G-d." He then goes on to recount the history of the Jewish people almost from its inception, the trickery and malice of Lavan, the descent into Egypt and our subsequent slavery. But then G-d took us out with great miracles and fanfare and brought us to Israel and gave us the land of Israel which is flowing with milk and honey. It seems as if each and every Jew is obligated to say this account, ostensibly to explain why he is giving away his very first fruits. But there is a tremendous lesson we are being taught here in the subtle subtext of the pasuk.
Read more...Perashat Ki Tesse 5779
Friday, September 13, 2019I love the New York Giants! Right now that might make me seem like a glutton for punishment. Our team was the worst in the league last year, and we don't seem to have far better prospects this season, even if, as a fan, I am obligated by some unwritten code to remain illogically and wistfully hopeful.
Read more...Perashat Shofetim 5779
Friday, September 06, 2019Losers usually cry. Marcin Dzienski is a 26-year-old athlete. His recent stunning victory left many astonished. His opponent had no tears to shed in the humiliating loss, because his opponent in this thrilling race was an ELEVATOR. The Polish climbing champion raced the elevator six flights and won in 12.12 seconds! Marcin, a 2016 world champion climber, began his journey "to the top" many years ago as a child when he would climb the apple trees in his grandfather's orchard. That childhood pastime has become his ticket to fame and fortune. I haven't asked, but I'll bet Marcin has a favorite missvah in this week's perasha. Care to guess which?
Read more...Perashat Beha'alotekha 5779
Friday, June 21, 2019Whiners. There's one in every family. If you can't find the one in your family, it might just be you! וַיְהִ֤י הָעָם֙ כְּמִתְאֹ֣נְנִ֔ים רַ֖ע בְּאָזְנֵ֣י ה וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע ה וַיִּ֣חַר אַפּ֔וֹ And the people were like complainers, speaking evil in the ears of Hashem. And Hashem heard and was angered. The commentators point out that of the many times the Jews complained in the desert this verse is unique. ...
Read more...Perashat Nasso 5779
Friday, June 14, 2019It is a week of the underdogs. The Stanley Cup went to a team that had never won in its 52-year history, as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins. Game six of the NBA Finals was a nail biter down to the last fractions of a second, but in the end, the Toronto Raptors, who had never been to the finals, defeated the Golden State Warriors, the franchise of the decade, for the championship. I want to shine a light on one weird little fact about the Raptors' victory. Of all six games it took to declare Toronto king, all but the first game was won by teams AWAY from home! The Warriors ONLY won in Toronto while the Raptors won three of their four defeats in Oakland! Home court advantage over a period of ten years has shown itself to be nearly 80%! What happened?...
Read more...Shabuot 5779
Friday, June 07, 2019There is a great and often overlooked power to the holiday of Shabuot. We know it as the celebration of the receiving of the Torah which is no doubt true, but I'd like to explore Shabuot by approaching it through a different angle, offering an amplified depth of understanding of this awesome day. Our rabbis teach us that each and every holiday doesn't only live in the past, but they also resonate in our present and carry within them the energy force that was implanted in them in their first occurrence. Pesah carries within it a great and latent power of freedom. As the day that liberated our people in history, it then became that day in our Hebrew calendar which made it a fortuitous time for that specific achievement for all of eternity. Thousands of years later, we continue to have the chance to use the days of Pesah to become free once again, not only from Egypt but from all things that constrain us. Shabuot, by extension, is a day where we can acquire a new and relevant acceptance of Torah, morality, self-sacrifice and human excellence, a renewed receiving of the Torah of sorts. But, I think there is something else that doesn't get the press time that it should. ...
Read more...Perashat Behukotay 5779
Friday, May 31, 2019It was a record breaking week. 3 new world records were set, and no one could care less. Yes, a woman held a plank for 4 hours and 20 minutes, and yes, a man who is definitely very unpopular at birthday parties popped 200 balloons with a nail in 14.77 seconds. But both of those Guinness Book of World Records pale in comparison to the earth-shattering news that for the first time, a man spun a cushion on his finger for 18 minutes and 14 seconds. Life will never be the same. People train for these things. They work really hard to be recognized and seen. But in the end, what are they being recognized for? Yes they are the best, in the whole world, but at what? The beginning of the perasha talks about blessings. ...
Read more...Apr 16 2024
Nisan 8 5784