The Nature of Nature

There is a beautiful saying attributed to one of the great Chassidic Rabbis of the 18th century: "To try and gain insight into the soul of a painter, one must intensely study his painting.
So too, to gain insight into G-d, one must discern Him in nature and the world He has Created."


It's known that children constantly wonder, often out loud, at the world around them. "Why's the sky blue?" "Where does the sun go at night?" "Why do I have 5 toes?" But as we grow older, most tend to lose their wonderment and awe when seeing their surroundings. That's because we've become used to what we see. It's all just "Nature." And nature means that what we see is a constant that doesn't really change much; it has a pattern. Flowers grow in the spring, leaves change color in the fall, snow falls in the winter. But how come we often ignore the designer behind the design called "earth"?

The Hebrew word for nature is teva. The Hebrew word for something connotes its function, its inner truth. "Teva" in Hebrew also means "sunken" or "drowning." The revelation of G-d is hidden in nature; sunk. Like an object that sinks into water, out of sight and submerged, G-d too is hard to discern in the world He has formed.

How can one remedy this situation? We've grown up, and simply aren't as astounded or even interested in perceiving more beyond the "nature" we see. I recently read an interesting meditation or contemplation that I found very insightful & helpful. The author asks: When you see something in nature - whether it be a flower, a tree, a grape cluster or anything else, do you immediately label it, naming it in your head? Of course we do. Our minds instinctively classify the thing that we see, and we move on to something else, unimpressed. "That's a hummingbird. That's a wheat field and those are stalks." Try, the author says, to start training yourself to not label things. See the flower, and say: "what's that green thing with purple on top & yellow in the middle?" "That thing gliding through the air is pretty strange..." By not labeling, we allow ourselves to appreciate the unique and brilliant beauty of design in each thing we see, without passing it over and classifying it as the same thing we already "know."

May you have a restful and tranquil Shabbat, full of marvel at the art which is this world, gaining insight into its Infinitely profound artist.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Predicting the Unthinkable

The most famous book of all time is... the Torah (barely beating out Harry Potter & The Da Vinci Code). Translated into innumerable languages, the Torah is the foundation from where Monotheism spread throughout the Pagan world. Full of lessons, dramatic events and wars, the Torah describes the birth and journey of the Jewish People, culminating in the passing of their leader Moshe as they stand ready
to enter the land of Israel. The future events of the Jewish People are documented in the next 19 books of Prophets and Writings. One of the most fascinating aspects of the Torah is its uncanny ability to predict future events (I guess when a book has an Infinitely great author as the Torah has with G-d, that helps with predictions). These days, Jews worldwide are reading the book of Devarim, known in English as Deuteronomy. Here we find some amazing predictions, as seen here where Moses speaks to the Jewish People before his death:


"I will not cross the Jordan. You, however, will cross, and you will possess this good land. Beware, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you... I call as witness against you this very day the heaven and the earth, that you will speedily and utterly perish from the land to which you cross the Jordan, to possess; you will not prolong your days upon it... And the L-rd will scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations to where the L-rd will lead you... And from there you will seek the L-rd your G-d, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are distressed, and all these things happen upon you in the end of days, then you will return to the L-rd your G-d and obey Him.

For ask now regarding the early days that were before you, since the day that G-d created man upon the earth, and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens, whether there was anything like this great thing, or was the likes of it heard? For the L-rd your G-d is a merciful G-d; He will not let you loose or destroy you; neither will He forget the covenant of your fathers, which He swore to them. Did ever a people hear G-d's voice speaking out of the midst of the fire as you have heard, and live? Or has any god performed miracles to come and take him a nation from the midst of a[nother] nation, with trials, with signs, and with wonders, and with war and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great awesome deeds, as all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? You have been shown, in order to know that the L-rd He is G-d; there is none else besides Him." (Devarim, 4:22-35)

~~~

Statistically, the Jewish People should account for over a Billion people. While the Chinese & other ancient peoples grew exponentially over the last 3,000 years, the Jewish People (b/c of constant attack) stayed at a remarkably even, small number, today marked at around 14 million, thank G-d. And as small as we stayed, throughout it all, we were never destroyed. History has shown that when a people/culture lose their land & language; are severely persecuted and killed, they don't remain a distinct people. And why have we been able to survive retain our identity? Not through Hebrew (Jews spoke Yiddish and Ladino, etc.) and not through the Land of Israel (we were gone for almost 2,000 yrs.). Rather, it has been through our connection to the Torah & its Commandments. And we did so for good reason. Because the giving of the Torah to the Jewish People was the single event in history where G-d Revealed Himself to an entire nation. "Did ever a people hear G-d's voice speaking...?" Has held true throughout the ages and hundreds of religions that surfaced. That strong tradition passed down from the original witnesses to G-d's Revelation, kept the future Jewish People determined and strong throughout all of the persecution and dispersion.

May we continue the tradition of connecting our lives to Torah & its Mitzvot, and may we all experience the ultimate prophecy of the final redemption, speedily in our days!

Shabbat Shalom!

{To read a detailed account of the incredible prophecies fulfilled through the Jewish people in History, see here}

-Daniel

Mission Accomplished

Hi there, hope you've had a meaningful week, and that an uplifting Shabbat awaits you. This week's Torah Portion is entitled "Va'etchanan", which means "And he implored." This refers to the many requests of Moses to G-d to grant him entry into the Land of Israel together with his people. In fact, the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word Va'etchanan is 515, which our Sages say is the number of times Moses implored G-d to enter the land, but was refused. It was, sadly, not meant to be.
Instead, G-d told Moses to ascend the mountain "Nevo" in the Jordan Valley, adjacent to the Israeli town of Jericho. There G-d Showed Moses the entire land, from north to south. Our Sages say that G-d also showed Moses all of the future events that would happen to the Jewish People in the future; the good & the bad.

After Moses gazed into Israel & the future, it was time for his soul to depart. As sad as it is to lose our great leader, the shepherd of the Jewish People, the description of his death is incredible. The Midrash describes the last day of his life, ending with: '...At that moment, G-d Called to Moshe's soul and said to her: "My daughter, I assigned you one hundred and twenty years in Moshe's body. Now the time has come for you to depart. Emerge and do not delay." She [Moshe's soul] responded: "Master of the Universe, I know that You are the Master of all spirits and the Master of all souls. You created me and You placed me in Moshe's body for 120 years. And now, is there a body in this world more pure than that of Moshe? I love him and I do not wish to depart from him!"
G-d answered: "Emerge, and I shall take you up to the highest of heavens and seat you beneath the throne of My glory, near the cherubs and serafim." Then, G-d kissed Moshe and took his soul with a kiss.'

As fascinating and moving an account this is of G-d & Moses, I think we can also be inspired and learn a few lessons
in our own lives. Generally we look at this life as all that there is. And for good reason! This is all that we see & know, touch and feel. And not only that, but Judaism strongly emphasizes that we live this human life to the fullest, engaging our physical surroundings and uplifting it in the process. But ultimately, we have to remember that we are just visitors. Souls from Heaven on a mission. As sad as death is, it is merely a return; to an even loftier level than where we began. Let's try & live life down here with the constant awareness that we come from up there. And then our life here will better reflect our mission at hand - to make this world a heavenly place.

And may we merit the day when all of those who passed, with Moses at their head, come back to life and lead us all back to the land of Israel, with Mashiach now.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

The World's Heart

In the past weeks, we've discussed concepts relating to the 'Beit Hamikdash' - the temple in Jerusalem. True, Judaism emphasizes that it is of vital importance to always remember the temple and its destruction, even at the most joyous of times (think of the breaking of the glass cup at weddings). However, there is a special time to focus on the temple and how we need it back. It is known as the "3 weeks," which culminates in the 9th day of the Hebrew month of "Av" (this Mon. Night - Tues. Night), a day where Jews worldwide fast; spending the day in prayer, and reflecting on the Temple and its destruction.

Many people may have a problem with this idea. A very obvious question may arise. Aren't there more important things to worry about in this world!? Stuff that's a tad bit more important than a house with sacrifices, incense offerings, and music? The world is full of calamities and sadness!
Tsunamis, earthquakes, crime, depression. Let's just focus our energy and emotion toward asking G-d for a cure to these ills of the world! Why waste so much time & devotion toward petitioning for the rebuilding of this structure in Israel?

Our Sages approach this question with a simple analogy.
"A human being is a miniature world."
Imagine an ailing person who goes to the doctor, complaining of pain in his legs & left arm. He also has a headache and back pain. Exasperated, he turns to the doctor for the diagnosis. "It's your heart," he says. "Once we cure the damage in your heart and heal its ability to pump blood sufficiently throughout your body, your other ailments will instantly cease."

The holy temple in Jerusalem was the heart of the world. The spiritual driving force. The source for the pain and confusion, disharmony and sadness in the world, is the heart. The world needs a temple to be healthy and happy. We need G-d to be Revealed to us. "Evil" can only exist where G-d Hides His Face. Once revealed, all negativity falls away.

We are taught that on the Shabbat before the 9th day of Av, the temple appears to us as a vision in our sleep. May we see the temple while awake, in all of its glory, speedily in our days! :)

-Daniel
P.S. To see my interview from CNN last year on the 9th of Av at the Western Wall, see here