So Why Egypt?

Ahh...it's that time of year again...The smell of Matzah and Horseradish is in the air! Passover (besides for the cleaning and avoidance of leavened edibles), is always fun, a great time to spend with family & friends. We've become quite accustomed to celebrating this age old holiday every year, but have we ever stopped and asked the most glaring of questions? That being: Why did the Jewish nation have to go down to Egypt and be enslaved in the 1st place!? Couldn't G-d have kept us in the holy land, safe and sound, and given us the Torah there?

I heard a very interesting answer to this question this past week. To preface: What has practically every nation who has ever abused the Jewish people have in common with one another? From Egypt to Rome, Babylonia to Greece, Spain in the late 15th century and Germany in the mid 20th, all of these nations were powerful. But more than that, each of these nations excelled, perhaps led the world, in modernity and cultural advancement. The democracy & philosophy of Greece & Rome, the golden age of Spain, the love of art and music in Germany, each of these nations were at the forefront of their times in their appreciation of an enlightened culture in their time. But did that equate to a moral country? It seems quite the contrary! The more culturally advanced the nation was, the more cruel and disgusting their actions!

Let's look at this on an individual level. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was brilliant. By 6 years old, when most kids his age were learning to read, Mozart had composed an entire symphony, to be performed by a full philharmonic orchestra! Ludwig van Beethoven, after becoming completely deaf, composed some of his most famous symphonies - unable to hear even one note of his composition! Niccolo Paganini composed such a complex violin concerto, that for 150 years no one was able to play it - except for Paganini himself. These brilliant souls obviously were blessed with amazing skills. But what type of people were they? From what we know, they had terrible character traits! Each one more unpleasant than the next. But how could that be!? Like the nations mentioned above, the reason why these amazing innovators weren't kind and gentle, was very simply because culture isn't Torah. Skills, knowledge, culture don't translate into goodness. Why? Because it doesn't penetrate one's core - who I really am. Torah was given to the world to change one's inner self, to penetrate one's being in a way that refines the animal within. In simple yiddish: To make you into a mentsch.

And THAT'S why we had to go down to Egypt, as a precursor to accepting the Torah. If we never had, perhaps there would be wonder and curiosity as to whether we were missing out on the amazingly advanced culture of the super power Egypt! Pyramids, math, heiroglyphics! G-d said: "OK, go and see if this advanced culture translates into a good society, the best way of living life." Like the Nazis who lived culturally aware lives to the highest of degrees, we Jews have experienced every leading nation and their cultures, but none have offered as kind and just an outlook as what the Torah has given us. When we left Egypt, we could now truly appreciate Mt. Sinai.

May we remember today in our lives, that as great as the advanced nations we live in today are (with much of the goodness heavily influenced by the Torah), we must always turn to Torah and its guiding principles as our inspiration and guide to living a good life.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Stop & Smell the Roses

Today I was busy. Good busy. Rushing from house to house, I was delivering "Mishloach Manot" - gifts of food that are given out to friends on the holiday of Purim. During this frantic travel, as I rushed to complete my stops before the 5pm Megillah reading, something hit me: "It was Purim!" Time to smile and celebrate; rejoice! It got me thinking. Too often we're not living in the moment. Either we're working to complete something, thinking and planning ahead, looking forward to future endeavors. But isn't that good? Aren't we supposed to always be challenging ourselves, not being satisfied with where we're at or what we've accomplished? Why focus on the now?

Of course, Judaism stresses effort and constant progress. Yagata, u'matzata - Ta'amin - "If he has toiled, and found (succeeded) - believe him." As beings who are alive, placed on this earth with a mission, we must constantly grow. All living things must grow. However, Judaism also stresses how vital it is for us to live in the moment. The emphasis on time is seen throughout the Torah. The holiday of Sukkot is "Z'man Simchatchem" - the time of our joy, Passover is "the time of our freedom." G-d tells us to live in the moment, enjoy the journey as well, not just the goal. Utilize the preciousness of this moment, a time with its own unique spiritual energy, one that won't come back the same ever again. Purim this year isn't Purim of next year. Take advantage. If we're only looking ahead all of the time, then we never experience life to its fullest.

As with most everything in life, it seems that a good balance is needed here. We must always improve ourselves; our character traits and how we relate to others, refining ourselves and never being satisfied with what we've accomplished until now. But we mustn't forget to sometimes do the exact opposite. It's healthy and correct to enjoy the fruits of our labors, taking pride in what we've accomplished. Enjoy the moment and where you're at right now in life. On a more micro level, enjoy the moment of the month or the week. That's the idea of Shabbat. Enclose yourself in a 24 hour cocoon of tranquility. Yes, G-d created for 6 days. But on the 7th, He simply enjoyed what he had created. In life we must be on the move. But like G-d, we must learn to stop and smell the flowers, enjoy our present situation and those around us, forget the future and revel in the now. And then we will be revitalized to approach the future.

Shabbat Shalom!

Behind the Mask

This Wednesday Night-Thursday, Jews worldwide will be celebrating the joyous, awesome holiday of Purim. What makes Purim so special, and what's it's underlying theme that we can learn from & take into our lives 2,400 years after these amazing events unfolded?

One unique aspect of "Megillat Esther" (The scroll of Purim) is that it is the only book of the 24 books of Tanach - which has NO mention of G-d, not even once! The events unfold throughout the megillah quite naturally. Sure, everything works out amazingly for the Jewish people & at every turn our arch-nemesis Haman is thwarted. But hey, we had Esther as our queen to pull strings, not to mention the influential Mordechai. Maybe it was just a case of being at the right place, at the right time?

The theme of Purim is exactly that: Our lives seem to flow naturally, without outside influence. G-d doesn't openly display his influence to us; at least not very often.
His "name" isn't mentioned. Throughout the good & bad times, it is up to us to recognize the puppeteer pulling the strings, the conductor behind the orchestra.
Megillah is etymologically connected to the word "Megaleh" - to reveal, while the Talmud states that Esther's name is connected to "Hester" - hidden. The theme of Purim is that our mission is in working to reveal He who is hidden - orchestrating the world's events and our lives.

How come there is a custom of dressing up on Purim, hiding one's face? Why do we eat hamantaschen which consist of a sweet filling hidden inside a cookie? When one wears a mask, that person hides. But if someone recognizes him and calls his name, he has no need to wear the mask anymore - the game's up! G-d's face - his presence - is hidden behind the mask of the world. It is up to us to recognize the world as merely a well fitted costume, each nuance chosen for a specific reason. And even in the bad times, events that we don't & often can't understand in our limited worldview - those too have a sweet reason behind them, like the hamantaschen, whose inner sweetness isn't always apparent from the outside.

May we all celebrate the happiest of holidays this year with the knowledge that our own lives are a megillah scroll - every event directed by G-d to produce a fantastic story. Learn about & find a synagogue near you here: PURIM

Shabbat Shalom!