A Jewish Thanksgiving

Jewish People growing up today in America experience a wide array of holidays and memorial events. One such event is Thanksgiving. Unlike Easter (Christian) or even Halloween (Pagan), the roots of thanksgiving and its focus seem very positive (also for Jews) - being thankful for what we have. Specifically for the free country we live in, one whose declaration of independence states: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Often I am asked what the B"H (that I write on the top of my emails) means. It means "B'ezrat Hashem", Hebrew for "With the help of G-d." It's a custom, rooted in the desire to remind oneself that every moment I have alive is a gift, to remember that I cannot accomplish something as simple as writing a letter, without the life and capabilities given to me by G-d. This idea is an all pervasive one in Judaism. The word for "thanks" or "acknowledgement"
is hoda'ah. Upon awakening in the morning, the 1st prayer said is Modeh ani - I offer thanks before you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great. Morning prayers officially start with Hodu la'Hashem, and the only bowing of the holiest prayer of the day (the Amidah) is Modim, both meaning thanks/acknowledgement.

Feeling thankful, as most of us can attest, is something easy to forget. Much easier is the ability to recall what we don't have. A physical body feels what it lacks - warmth, immediate joy and feeling, hunger, etc. Only once we are missing something, do we come to appreciate it. It's sad that G-d Made it that way, but that's the way it is. When I'm healthy, it's nothing special. The day or two after I recover from sickness, all of a sudden I'm smiling and grateful. This is probably why refugees and immigrants from oppressive or low standard of living countries truly appreciate living in America, while born and bred Americans often take the freedoms and overall kindness of this nation for granted. Perhaps this is a lesson we can learn from Thanksgiving: To remind ourselves to be thankful for everything that we have. Maybe we can make a resolution, that once a day, at a certain time, I will stop and think about some of the things I am lucky to have (health, loving people behind me, peace). Often, this meditation helps with one's overall feeling of joy and serenity.

Sadness often stems from thinking of what I don't have. Judaism teaches: What I'm meant to have RIGHT NOW - I have. It's meant for my soul to be in this situation and set of life circumstances for a specific reason, for a role of rectification that I need to do in this life. Thank you G-d for whatever I have. It's all a gift.

A Jew who lived at any other time period in any other country in history, probably had a tougher time living freely and happily as an open and proud Jew. We in America today can. Ironically, the challenge today is to want to live differently in the 1st place! To live as a unique, proud Jew in today's accepting society is our challenge; not avoiding arrest or death like in Europe of old. Let's be thankful and proud. To end with the words of Abraham Lincoln, said on Thanksgiving day in 1863: “To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

The Perfect Balance

After spending the first 18 years of my life in American secular society, I followed it with 6 years in a spiritually Jewish setting in yeshiva, 2 of them in Jerusalem. I lived in an area of Jerusalem that saw religious Jews sequestered in their own areas, happy to live apart from secular society. Down the road there was Ben Yehuda street where the "fun" was to be had (for all of you who've been :) Our school was located directly in between the 2 areas, and I always perceived our role (as American college kids delving into our heritage) as the bridge between the 2 "societies", showing that Judaism is an amazing gift that can be enjoyed by every Jew on their level.

But spending lots of time around the ultra orthodox Jews (who seemed pretty happy) made me wonder: Was this the ideal way for a Jew to live? Cut off from "secular" society and busy with serving G-d and hanging out just with his people? It just didn't feel natural or right to me. This is not to say that one way was right, but what was the right way for me personally to love?

The answer, like many of our existential questions about life, can be found in the Torah. This week's Torah portion is called "Chayei Sarah" - The life of Sarah. While Avraham was the father of Issac and the future Jewish people, he was also the father of many nations. Today he is honored by at least 3 major religions (some say the main god brahman of Hinduism is merely a restructuring of the letters to Avraham's name, but that's for another email). Sarah, on the other hand, was only the mother of Issac & the Jewish nation. When Avraham's other son Ishmael was having a negative influence on her son Issac, Sarah came forward and asked Avraham to kick him out of their house. Avraham didn't know what to do, until G-d Spoke to him, telling him to "listen to your wife Sarah." (A lesson to future husbands forever yonder ;)

We see an interesting and important difference of spirit between Avraham and Sarah, that complimented one another. Avraham was about pure love, emphasizing involvement in the world and fixing the world. He is known in Torah as "Av Hamon Goyim" - the father of many nations. Sarah, on the other hand, emphasized the importance, and necessity, of sometimes staying apart from society and negative influences to one's Judaism and spiritual life. The key, I humbly believe now, is to marry the 2 - like the marriage of Avraham and Sarah. Spend some time learning and praying, if not for a year in Israel, then once a day or even once a week. Observe Jewish holidays and Shabbat. Eat a bit differently and live a bit differently then the way the rest of society dictates. Emulate our mother Sarah. But on the other hand, we must be involved in the world. Avraham taught us the importance of engaging the world and uplifting it. Not being brought down by it but fixing it up. We must emulate Avraham as well. The balance of these 2 paths, of separation but inclusion as well, is what has kept Jews so vibrant and strong in their identity throughout history, and yet has made their mark on the world around them with such power & beauty.

Good luck in your journey! Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

The Simplicity of 8 Days

Our great forefather Avraham had 2 sons: Issac & Ishmael.
In this week's Torah portion, "Vayeira", Issac is born. From both children came powerful, influential nations.
But Issac was chosen by G-d to be a sacrifice (later substituted with a ram) to G-d, and his descendants were given the Torah, G-d's Message for creation. Why was Issac specifically chosen for this mission of spreading G-d's message to the world?

While living in Israel, Avraham & his wife Sarah experienced a great famine that affected the land severely. Forced to traverse down to Egypt to acquire food, the couple runs into some problems, with Sarah being taken by guards to be married off to Pharaoh. G-d Saves Sarah by striking Pharaoh's household with a plague, and Pharaoh wisely sends Avraham & Sarah away with great riches. But during his short acquaintance with the holy Avraham & Sarah, after witnessing miracles wrought for them, Pharaoh, greatly impressed, sends his daughter Hagar to be a hand-maid to Sarah, saying: "Greater a helper to Sarah, than a princess here."

Childless, Sarah asks Avraham to marry Hagar and they have a child, Ishmael. Avraham is commanded to circumcise himself and the males of his household. Ishmael is 13 yrs. old at the time. Soon G-d grants Sarah a child, Issac, and he is circumcised at 8 days old as commanded by G-d.

We are told in the Midrash, that one day, Issac and Ishmael were having an argument. Ishmael was gloating to Issac, saying: "I am greater than you, for I had my circumcision at 13 yrs. old! I made my own decision. I chose to dedicate myself to G-d!
You were 8 days old and had no choice!" Issac answered him: "That may be, but I was circumcised & thereby dedicated to G-d at 8 days old, beyond my choice, because I am dedicated to G-d beyond reason and understanding; beyond intellect."

The nature of a Jew is seen in his/her dedication to G-d; a commitment beyond reason. To be sure, Judaism places a central role on understanding as much as possible about Judaism & G-d, but through thick & thin, as we've seen throughout history, even when it doesn't seem to make sense, even through the greatest hardship and tests to our faith, we stay committed. And that's why Issac, his son Jacob, the 12 tribes, and all of the future Jewish People, had to be circumcised at 8 days old. A time when one doesn't yet "understand" G-d, but is bound with Him - body & soul.

Ishmael was born naturally, while Isaac was born miraculously - from a mother of 90 yrs. old who had always been barren. Sarah had no womb. Ever. Every person in the world has a connection with G-d, and a spiritual self that must be nurtured, and it is the duty of every Jew to help make this happen. But to do that, we must always remember who we are. A people whose intrinsic nature - as bequeathed to us spiritually by our forefathers - is one bound with G-d, on a level that defies all logic and nature. That's supernatural, beyond logic. An unalterable bond that defies any enemy, any adversity. That defies even the strong lures of society and the materiality of this world today in 2011. Let's remember that we shouldn't even be here; we should have been wiped out long ago. You are here for a reason.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Rising Above the Waters

We have just entered the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. After the inspirational month of Tishrei, full of holidays and excitement,
we are thrust back into the cold world of materialism and survival, into a month with no holidays! Passing tests, making ends meet, meeting deadlines and responsibilities. Where is there any time now for family, G-d, study, growth? Save that for the holiday season!


We are told by the Sages to "live with the times," which doesn't really mean of the New York variety. Rather, we are to live with the message & inspiration of the week's Torah portion. It's interesting to note, that as Sukkot (& with it, the holiday season) comes to a close, we read about the great flood in the portion of Noach. Kabbalah likens these flood waters to the deluge of material worries that flood our lives, threatening to drown out the spirituality in our lives, to numb our soul's light, its love of G-d and aspiration for higher living.

Then comes the portion of "lech lecha" which introduces us to our forefather Avraham. "Lech lecha", in Hebrew, means "Go to yourself." Avraham was literally told to travel to an unknown land. But through his going (in accordance with his faith & trust in G-d's Command), Avraham would be "going" deeper within himself, tapping into & revealing his true being. Something that hadn't, couldn't, be revealed before. Not even during the his 75 years of contemplation and connection to G-d. Why not?

Because through the endurance of tests, of ordeals that G-d puts one into, a person reveals hidden abilities and depths he/she could never have revealed by living in a purely spiritual situation. This is the secret behind the reason why souls must come down into bodies from heaven, why the Jewish people had to leave the clouds of glory in the desert and enter the land of Israel to settle it, why we are meant to leave the inspiring holiday season and enter the year, why we have Shabbat for 1 day and then enter a 6 day work week, why we leave prayer & study to engage the world. For what may seem and feel like a descent, has hidden within it the ability for the ultimate ascent. For when a person not only survives material life, but actually elevates the mundane, he or she has fulfilled the ultimate intention for entering this world. How can one's strength ever be measured, revealed, when one lies on a couch? By lifting something, i.e. by challenging one's strength, that's what really brings it out.

Physicality mirrors spirituality; to reveal the depths of our being and of the physical world around us, we must deal with physicality, with a challenge, and reveal the hidden potential within. Through refining our character traits, going against the coarse nature within us and around us, we rectify. When we thank G-d for a piece of food or drink, we elevate the physical, revealing the hidden sparks within. When our patience is challenged, when sadness arrives, when the world seems to hide goodness and G-dliness, and we prevail with a smile, with faith, with a prayer - we've struck gold. For like a candle, whose real brightness is seen only in the dark, when we challenge life's challenges, our soul shines - even more than during the "holy" times.

As King Solomon, in his great wisdom, wrote in Shir Hashirim 8:7 (Song of Songs): "Many waters cannot extinguish the fire of this love, nor rivers wash it away."

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel