The Shining Light of Egypt

"Do not be distressed...for having sold me...since it was in order to provide for your needs that G-d sent me ahead of you.... It was not you who sent me here, but G-d. He has made me...ruler over all Egypt." (Genesis 45: 5-8)



In this week's Torah portion, Vayigash, Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers in one of the most moving events of the entire Torah. Incredible lessons can be learned from Joseph and the way he lived his life; lessons that are very relevant to our lives today. So why Joseph more than any of the other great Jewish forefather and leader? It's because Joseph was the first descendant of Abraham to really leave the realm of solitude and holiness, and venture into the immoral abyss of a land like Egypt for such a long time, and at such a young age. True, his father Jacob also entered a tough situation under his evil father-in-law Laban. In that respect, our Sages teach us that Joseph & Jacob were extremely close, their connection & destiny intertwined, as it says: "All that happened to Jacob, happened to Joseph" (both had important dreams, both were hated by their brothers, and the list goes on.)

But nothing compares to the life of Joseph. After being sold by his very own brothers to a caravan heading for Egypt, Joseph goes through struggle after struggle, test after test. At the young age of 17, he is solicited constantly by his employer's wife, and yet he resists time and again. And this lady couldn't have been the only one. It is said that Joseph had an indescribable beauty, such that whenever he would walk on the street, women would stop what they were doing just to catch sight of him, and would often injure themselves in the process! And yet Joseph stayed true to his belief in G-d and moral path. He knew that he wasn't brought to Egypt by chance. He knew that he was in prison for a reason (12 years for a crime he never committed). And he knew that he was placed in control over the entire Egyptian nation, 2nd only to Pharaoh, for a reason. Joseph not only accepted his tough situations with good faith and a smile, he embraced them with the full knowledge that he was placed there for a special mission, one that would contribute to creating a better world, that G-d could be proud of. Ultimately, it was Joseph whose plan ended up saving - not only the Egyptian people - but the entire world during the great famine of his time. Instead of succumbing to Egypt's temptations, or wallowing in self pity over the unfair hardships he had endured, Joseph shined, turning the darkness in his life into light.

We sit thousands of years later in front of a computer screen, on the verge of the year 2012. And yet the example of the life of Joseph rings truer now than ever. As a whole, the Jewish people have not diverted from the path of our forefather Joseph. Just like Joseph helped the people of his time spiritually as well as physically, Jews throughout history have done the same. Spiritually, the Torah of the Jews ultimately revolutionized western thinking, as the 2nd president of the U.S. John Adams once said: "I will insist the Hebrews have [contributed] more to civilize men than any other nation."

Which brings me to the physical part. This week, the week of Joseph, the one who sustained the entire world with food in his time, I came across videos online of various people who have dedicated their lives to helping others, often starting organizations from scratch. Many that I came across were Jewish (see here for a very inspiring example, as well as here). And it seemed that everywhere I looked this week, I was seeing people who help others. And then I experienced it myself. After spending a day just watching videos of this (hey it's winter break ;), my mother took me into "the field of duty." She runs the gemach AKA The Jewish gift closet, where items are donated by the community, and given to those in need. As we lugged tables, chairs, a rug, etc. to downtown San Diego late at night, I wasn't feeling so cheery to be quite honest. "Man, I thought you felt inspired by those videos to change the world!?" I thought. But after all of the hard work, as we readied to leave, the old & lonely man in his once (truly) empty apartment, gave us a big smile. He would now have a cover against the cold - a thick blanket we had brought him. I realized that we have to fix the world one person at a time, with one deed at a time.

Judaism asks us to try our best in 2 areas: Our relationship with man, and our relationship with G-d. Both are important, and both benefit the realm of the other. Through being a spiritually sensitive person, learning Torah, praying, doing mitzvot, one learns and feels the needs of others, and the importance of being kind and helping another. For every soul is important, every act crucial. "Save a life, and you've saved a world" (the Talmud). And on the other hand, as Hillel said: "Don't do onto another, what you would not want done to yourself. This is the whole Torah, the rest is but commentary." At times in Torah, the Jewish people are called by the name of Yoseph (Hebrew for Joseph). Kabbalah teaches us that our forefathers bestowed their spiritual essence onto their descendants - to us. We can and must stay spiritually and morally upright even in Egypt, today's selfish and materialistic society, and be a light onto those around us, like our father Joseph.

Shabbat Shalom!

36 Candles of Hidden Light

'During Chanukah, at the time the Menorah's candles are lit, the hidden light, the light of Moshiach, shines.'
- Reb Pinchas of Koretz, student of the Baal Shem Tov

Happy CCCChanukah to you and yours! The 8 crazy nights are finally upon us! Donuts, Latkes, Dreidels, and of course the Menorah; Judaism officially rocks! (I don't know if you can tell that this is one of my favorite holidays). What adds to these awesome days is how many innumerable lessons and sources of inspiration we can derive from them. The faith of the small army of Maccabees in the face of oppression. The courage of the Jewish people who risked their lives in order to adhere to the Torah & Mitzvot, rather than leaving Judaism for Hellenism. The one jar of pure oil found in the temple. But what stands out in the minds of most Jews at this time of year, is the flickering of the candles on our small Menorahs, which we light for 8 days to commemorate the 8 days that the oil miraculously stayed lit for in the holy temple in Jerusalem.

But what are some of the deeper aspects contained in the Menorah lighting we do every year? To understand this a bit better, let's take a look at Torah - the 5 books of Moses. In general, Torah & its study can be divided into 3 categories: A) Torah as a guide to life B) Torah as a means of connecting to G-d C) Torah as an end unto itself.

On the 1st level, we study Torah simply to understand how to live. If you buy a complex object needing assembling, you can try and assemble it without the instruction manual. But it makes sense to take a look, a thorough look, at the manual written by the designer himself - which will guide you on the proper path to success, and help you make the most out of your materials. In this respect, the sages say: "Mitzvot were given to refine the human being" and "The Torah was given to make peace in the world." Deeper though, is Torah as a vehicle for union with G-d. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi teaches, that when you understand, when your mind grasps a law or concept or story of Torah, which has within it G-d's Will & Wisdom, you are essentially becoming enveloped by G-d's Will & Wisdom. "This is a wonderful union, the likes of which there is none other, and which has no parallel anywhere in the material world..." Finally, there exists a 3rd level of Torah study, Torah "for its own sake." In the 1st 2 levels, Torah serves as a means to an end, whether it be mastering life or even connecting to G-d. But loftier than all, is learning Torah simply for its own sake. King Solomon writes: "A mitzvah is a lamp, and Torah is light." From the 3 above levels within Torah, we can learn about 3 levels within light as well: A) Light as a tool for life B) Light as a means of connecting to G-d C) Light for the sake of light.

Let's look at the mitzvot within Judaism that have to do with light. Light as a tool for life can be seen in Shabbat candles, whose purpose is "shalom bayit" - creating peace in the home; A tranquil & pleasant atmosphere in honor of the Shabbat. As we said above: "The entire Torah was given to make peace in the world" (Maimonides). The Shabbat Candles thus represent Torah's role as a guide to a life of harmony & perfection. Next is the lights that were kindled in the Holy Temple, the house of G-d. The Talmud asks: "Does such a place, where G-d's divine glory is manifest, need light?" Rather, the lights served as "a testimony to the entire world that the divine presence rests in Israel." This light represents the 2nd level, the connection between G-d, heaven & earth, and us. But then there are the lights of Chanukah. True, we light candles in order to "publicize the miracle" of Chanukah. But that's not the essence of why we light, for often in history, out of fear, Jews fulfilled the mitzvah by lighting in hiding. Rather, the essence of the Menorah candles we light is just for its sake alone.

Jewish Mystics teach that on Chanukah we light 36 candles altogether (1+2...+8). This isn't by chance, but rather corresponds to the hidden light that shone in the world during part of the 6th and all of the 7th day of creation. After Adam & Eve were sent from the Garden of Eden, G-d hid this light for the future Messianic time. Except during Chanukah. As we light our candles (Friday before Shabbat will be 4 candles), let's watch the candles dance, signifying something much deeper than we can imagine. Perhaps its the Jewish soul
that can never be extinguished? Or the secret power of good, of light, over darkness? As the Rebbe Maharash used to say:
"One must listen to what the Chanukah candles are saying..."
- (Based on a talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Shabbat Shalom & Happy Chanukah!

-Daniel

Stopping The Boat

Hi there! Just a reminder, the 1st night of Chanukah falls on this coming Tuesday evening, Dec. 20th, when we light our 1st candle and celebrate! The last night is the 28th. Also, if you are interested in supporting us with our outreach to teenagers, here is the link to purchase a raffle ticket to win a V.I.P trip to the Super Bowl! Super Bowl Raffle

- Peter Paul Fortress on the Neva River today

In the Jewish Calendar, today was the 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. So what's so special about that? Well, besides for the capture of Saddam Hussein on this date in 2003, on this date in 1798, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi - known as the "Alter Rebbe" - was released from the dreaded Peter-Paul fortress in Russia, after being falsely accused of treason. The Alter Rebbe founded the now famous "Chabad" movement, which focuses on serving G-d with joy, the incredible depth & vital importance of a simple, physical mitzvah, and the need to delve into Jewish mysticism in a way of understanding. Hence the name CHaBaD, which in Hebrew stands for: Chochmah (wisdom) Binah (Understanding) and Da'at (Knowledge). The Alter Rebbe dedicated his life not only to the well being of the Jewish community at large, but to explaining the deepest, most profound concepts relating to G-d & the spiritual worlds - in a way that a simple person could understand.

Incredible stories with the Alter Rebbe abound. But one story really signifies the spiritual path that he set forth. One night, during his imprisonment, Russian ministers wanted to interrogate the Alter Rebbe. To do so, he had to be taken from the fortress to the other side of the Neva River, to the headquarters of the Tainy Soviet, the Secret Council. That night happened to be in the middle of the month, when the moon was nearly full. According to Jewish tradition, there are certain prayers said once a month, any night between the 3rd & 14th, in honor of the new moon, known as Kiddush Levana. Seeing the nearly full moon, the Alter Rebbe wanted to say these prayers. So he asked the guard rowing the boat to please stop for a moment, so that he could stand and say the prayers. "Silence!" yelled the guard. As he continued to row, suddenly the guard noticed the boat beginning to stop in the middle of the calm river waters! Realizing something beyond nature was going on, the guard nervously looked at the Rebbe, who didn't say a word. Suddenly the boat began to move again as the guard renewed his rowing. "Would you please stop the boat for a few minutes?" the Alter Rebbe asked again. This time, the guard halted his rowing, leaving the Alter Rebbe plenty of time to say his prayers with devotion.

A simple question can be asked here: WHY didn't the Alter Rebbe just stop the boat and say his prayers? Why did he stop it, only to let the boat go again and then have to ask the guard permission again!? The whole thing seems strange. But the truth is, this action personified the vision the Alter Rebbe had of how we must act in this world. Instead of "breaking nature" - living outside and above the world, closed off from materialism, Chabad philosophy stresses involving oneself in the world around you, in order to uplift & change the world around you for the good. That's why the Alter Rebbe acted in that way. He first showed this coarse guard that there was a higher power at work. Only then did the guard himself voluntarily choose to do the right thing, submitting himself to holiness.

The Alter Rebbe taught us, that if one really wants to make G-d happy, and wants to make a home for Him in this physical world, then one must turn his or her physical surroundings into a vessel for G-d. That one's inner, materialistic nature should actually sense how G-dliness is a good thing, something to be desired. Then those around us will be affected & will sense from us that a deeper, more meaningful life is out there. How do we feel that? Through learning the mystical teachings of Judaism as taught by the Alter Rebbe & the subsequent Chabad Rebbeim. And ultimately, this special affect we can have on our surroundings, can be seen most in the doing of a Mitzvah. A Physical object; a coin for charity, a candle lit for Shabbat, a Challah baked, blessed and eaten for the sake of Shabbat, itself "stops the boat" - nullifying itself and being consumed in holiness. Through our influence, it shows off its essence, that in truth it is a G-dly creation waiting to be uplifted.

May we all have a positive impact on ourselves and therefore on our surroundings, and celebrate light over darkness during this Chanukah, with great joy!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

If anyone would like to contribute to my Jewish teen outreach group by buying a ticket in a raffle for Super Bowl tickets, please click here. Thanks!

And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip became dislocated as he wrestled with him. And he (the angel) said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking," but he (Jacob) said, "I will not let you go unless you have blessed me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" and he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have commanding power with [an angel of] God and with men, and you have prevailed.
(Genesis 32: 25-29)


Jacob bumps into an angel with an anger problem! Just his luck. Our Sages teach us that this angel was the guardian angel of Esav, Jacob's brother, and all of his descendants. And that this wrestling match was not by coincidence, but signified something much greater. Let's gain deeper insight into one aspect of this story. In order to do so, we must examine its significance in the wisdom of Jewish Mysticism.

The teachings of Jewish mysticism, the inner dimension of the Torah, relates all of life - from the vast expanse of the universe to the minute fingernail of a child - to a G-dly source, and therefore of deep significance in what it symbolizes. For every physical thing we see, is a lower manifestation of a higher spiritual level that precedes it. A major foundation of Jewish Mystical teaching, is the 10 Sefirot: The 10 ways in which G-d Decided to Reveal His Will in the higher and lower worlds, and ultimately in our souls. These are (loosely translated): The Intellect - Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge. And the Emotions - Kindness, Severity, Compassion, Endurance, Humility, Connection, and Sovereignty. These Sefirot correspond to the limbs of the human body as well: Kindness - Right arm, Severity - the left, Compassion - the mid-section. Endurance - the Right thigh/leg, Humility - the left, etc. The Jewish leaders that exemplified these Divine emotions as found in this world, in order, are: Avraham (kindness), Issac, Jacob, Moshe, Aaron, Yoseph, King David.

So what connection does all of this have with Jacob wrestling with an angel in this week's Torah Portion?

There have been 4 exiles in the history of the Jewish People: The Egyptian, the Babylonian, the Persian, and the Roman - which we are still in today. This 4th & final exile, caused by the Roman destruction of the 2nd temple in Jerusalem, will last until Mashiach comes & the temple is rebuilt. It's taught that the Romans were descendants of Esav. When Esav's guardian angel was wrestling with Jacob throughout the night, it wasn't just a UFC styled fight. This encounter symbolized the long and arduous exile that we find ourselves in for the last 2,000 years, caused by Esav's descendants. Life for a Jew in exile is a struggle. We will ultimately vanquish the evil in the world, and have been quite successful so far. But what is the final action that must be done to fully vanquish Esav's guardian angel and free ourselves of the Roman exile? We see that Jacob, right before dawn and his victory, is struck by the angel in his hip and is hurt.

As we learned in Kabbalah earlier, each part of the body represents a Jewish leader, as well as a spiritual attribute. The lower side where Jacob was hit was the left, symbolizing Aaron, the brother of Moses. What was Aaron most known for in the Torah? Besides for humility, Aaron was the ultimate lover of the Jewish people. It is known that he would seek peace between each man and his fellow, between husband and wife. We are told that Aaron was mourned for after his death by all men and women, while Moses was mourned less so. Why? Because Aaron brought peace between everybody. Out of his great love for each person, he strove to avoid all conflict between them. Perhaps the lesson here is this: As we near the end of exile, the end of the battle with our spiritual and physical enemy, the hardest test, the one which will try and stop us most from reaching redemption, is the love and sensitivity to our fellow Jew.
Like Aaron, we must strive to make peace between those in our community, in our household, with those around us, and focus on the good in our fellow man and woman.
And with that, may we merit the ultimate redemption, where we will see only the good in each person, their soul, speedily in our days!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel
{To learn more about the Sefirot in depth, click on: 10 Sefirot}

The Impenetrable Stones

'And Yaakov left Be'er Sheva, and went towards Charan. He came across the place and spent the night there because
the sun had set. He took some of the stones of the place and placed them around his head, and he lay down in that place.'

This week's Torah portion is Vayeitzei - And he departed. After Jacob is blessed by his father Issac (instead of his brother Esav), Esav is furious and vows to kill his brother. Rivkah, their mother, tells Jacob to run away to her brother Lavan's home, until it is safe to return. Before heading to his uncle's home, however, the Midrash tells us that Jacob learned in the famous yeshiva (house of study) of Shem & Ever, for 14 years. Only then did he "depart" - as we find in the beginning of this portion. On his journey, Jacob stops to sleep at a certain place. The Midrash tells us that this was the holiest place in the world - Mount Moriah - where the temple would later be built in Jerusalem. Here the Torah says, "He took some of the stones of the place and placed them around his head." Why? Rashi explains: "Jacob was fearful of the wild animals."

Now let's ask ourselves a simple question. If you were camping in safari country, where lions roamed, would you put a few stones around you for protection?? I think these animals are rather athletic and have the ability to jump 4 inches off the ground! And better yet, would you try and protect only your head? I know it's an important part of one's anatomy, but I'd like to keep the rest of my body intact if I can help it! So what in the world was Jacob thinking exactly when he decided to surround only his head with some measly stones!?

The holy Zohar teaches us, that if one reads any single story of the Torah and takes it only at face value, he or she is missing out on everything. Of course Jacob literally surrounded his head with stones, but of what significance, of what symbolism is the Torah teaching me in my life? The Chassidic Masters explained this event as follows: Jacob knew that he was leaving the comfortable, holy presence of his father and mother in Israel, to wander into the unknown, corrupt territory of his uncle Lavan in a foreign land. There he would work day and night, trying to survive and still keep his moral character together, his trust and devotion to G-d intact. That's why he prepared himself with an additional time secluded in learning about G-d and instilling these values internally. But even so, once he would enter the world of the conniving Lavan, how could he possibly keep his moral character strong? This is why Jacob surrounded only his head. Jacob was saying: "I'm not scared of the physical wild animals, but the spiritual ones! My spiritual integrity and beliefs will be attacked at every moment, and therefore I must always keep what's in my head - what I have learned and what I believe now - intact.

Like our forefather Jacob, we too live in the world of Lavan. A foreign one; one which may feel comfortable, but that is foreign to our souls, which only want holy and good things. We deal with the world, we study, we work. Society may be asking us on a daily basis to conform to its desires for us to be what it would like us to be. The Jewish people, throughout history, have resisted that desire. While involving ourselves completely with the world, G-d asks us to refine and uplift, rather than be dragged down with it. And how do we do that? By keeping what's in our heads, the values we have learned and the Judaism we have internalized, intact and untouchable; unchanging. And through every prayer, every mitzvah, every Torah class learned, we additionally fortify our heads and protect ourselves with immovable stones.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel