Strolling With Us

After touring Europe for the last 2 weeks, I saw something in this week's Torah portion that resonated with me. In Bechokotai , G-d tells the Jewish people: "I will place My dwelling in your midst...I will stroll among you, I will be your G-d, and you will be my people." (Leviticus 26:11-12) Commenting on this verse, Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno of the 16th century writes: "The word stroll denotes that G-d will be among the Israelites wherever they go and not limited to one specific place, the sanctuary. 'I will stroll among you' - G-d's glory will be manifest wherever His children venture."


When I traveled through Europe, I definitely found it harder to feel G-d there compared to Israel, where I lived in Jerusalem for 2 years. The same can be said here in America (although the threat to Jews is felt more in Europe, and therefore one feels more out of place). But this verse is telling us, that the truth is that G-d "strolls" with us wherever we find ourselves. And we can feel that anywhere. During my trip, primarily because I was more isolated with less support to rely on in unfamiliar surroundings, I was able to also feel a greater connection to G-d. Ultimately, the place for teh Jewish people is in Israel where "I will place My dwelling."

But in the Torah elsewhere, G-d Says "Make me a dwelling, and I will dwell in it." What's interesting to note, is that the word translated "it" is "b'tocham" which really means "in them" - "I will dwell in them." Ultimately, G-d Desires to dwell with each of us personally. Through good deeds, Torah & Mitzvot, each of us form ourselves into a comfortable dwelling for G-d. And then wherever we find ourselves, He is strolling with us as much as if we were standing 2,000 years ago in the temple in Jerusalem.

May we always remember that there is a G-dly presence near us at all times. As the holy Baal Shem Tov said: "Always be joyful. Think and believe with perfect faith that the Shechinah (G-dly Presence) is at your side and watches over you. You look at the Creator, blessed be He, and the Creator, blessed be He, looks at you." (Tzava'at Harivash 137:8)

Shabbat Shalom!

Why Roll in Mud?

~ This email is dedicated to the lives of our holy brothers and sisters who passed on during the holocaust, many of whom kept kosher throughout their time in the camps. May their souls bask in eternal joy and tranquility ~

KFC, McDonalds, Taco Bell, La Marais.
From cheeseburgers and shrimp to fine steak and lobster, many Jews know that one of the hardest commandments of the Torah to keep is kosher. While every mitzvah, in essence, is simply the will of G-d, we also know that each mitzvah of the Torah contains hidden & revealed reasons for why we keep it. But why kosher? Is it just a law in place to test our loyalty? Perhaps it's in place to keep Jews eating together? Or maybe it's because of the famous theory that it's a health issue?


I once learned a very beautiful and profound idea in relation to this question. Many of us, if not all, look at Torah & Judaism in the wrong light. Backwards even. As simple human beings on earth, we tend to look at the world as the beginning of all things, of all of reality. But by doing this, we forget that there was, and is, spiritual worlds - a higher reality, that preceded and supersedes the one we find ourselves in. That there is a deeper wisdom that infinitely transcends our earthly plane - that caused its existence. That wisdom is the Torah.

In other words: Many of us look at the commandment to eat kosher food as something that came along to provide us with a healthier way of living. Bacteria inhaling crustaceans and fatty pork isn't exactly paradise for your cholesterol. But while it's true that kosher animals are healthier, and while it is also true that no kosher animal is a predator - but rather an herbivore, we have to make sure we don't only perceive kosher as a byproduct of our earthly reality. What do I mean?

The truth is, Judaism's perspective on Kosher is the opposite. Unhealthy animals aren't unkosher because they're unhealthy. Rather, it is because these animals were deemed not kosher for consumption that they were created unhealthy! In G-d's will and wisdom (the Torah in its pristine, original state) it was decided before the creation of the world that certain animals would be unkosher. Therefore - since the Torah is a "blueprint for the creation of the world" - those particular animals had to be created in a state of impurity, both spiritually and physically. Physically, many of these sea creatures were placed in the very bottom of the seabed. Pigs roll in mud. But that is all merely a byproduct of the fact that they are not kosher, not the cause!

Examples of this underpinning principle of Judaism can be found with everything.Jewish mysticism teaches that the reason why parents instinctively love their children, is because G-d loves his creations. The reason why a seed must be nurtured in earth for a long period to become a tree which can bear fruit ad inifinitum, and a human seed must be nurtured in a womb for a long period of time in order to become a human being who can bear knew children ad infinitum, is only because the masculine spiritual faculty of wisdom (chochman) must give to the feminine faculty of understanding (binah) in order to give birth to our emotions (middot) - see here for more on that.

May you and your family have a Shabbat Shalom, full of delicious kosher challah and other goodies!

-Daniel

The Wise Son

"...And on the seventh day (of Pesach), it should be a holy day to you, all manner of work should not be done..." Tonight (Thursday) - Sat. night, we celebrate the last 2 days of Passover. As we take advantage of these final days of the holiday of spiritual freedom, we must think about how we can internalize the message of Passover into our daily lives for the coming summer and year.


A woman once approached Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik of Brisk with a strange question. She wanted to know whether one could use milk instead of wine for the four cups of the Seder, since she simply could not afford the wine. He responded by giving her a large amount of money. One of the Rabbi’s students asked him, “I understand you gave her money because she can’t afford the wine, but why so much?” The Rabbi explained, “If she wants to drink milk at the Seder, it is obvious she has no meat for Pesach” (since the laws of kashrut forbid the mixing of milk and meat). “So I gave her enough to buy both wine and meat for the entire holiday.”

One of the core parts of the "Haggadah" (story of Pesach) is the discussion of the 4 sons, the 1st of which is the wise son. What does it truly mean to be wise, and how can we become that? As seen by the Rabbi in the story, sometimes it's not enough to just be "smart". Rather, we have to be perceptive. People always taught me in yeshiva: "If you want to answer, to teach somebody, don't focus on just answering their question, as if that's their real, only issue. Answer the questioner." We have to have a sensitive "ear" to hear what people are saying behind their words. This enables us to perceive the speaker's true needs and respond accordingly with compassion. We have to learn, study, reflect, and grow. But that wisdom we attain, must always lead practically to the betterment of the world and others around us. It is easy for wisdom to stay locked away, remote from the outside world. But as our Sages say: 'He whose good deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom will endure. But he whose wisdom exceeds his good deeds, his wisdom will not endure.' (Ethics of our Fathers 3:9)

May we never cease learning, especially the holy words of the Torah and our Sages, and may the wisdom we attain permeate our thinking and the way we view others and the world around us. For a beautiful insight on this, see this video: Gratitude

Wishing you a lovely end of Pesach & a Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel