It's Time to Smile!

B"H

"When the month of Adar enters, one must increase in joy." (Talmud - Taanit 29a)


The 12th & last month of the Hebrew calendar is upon us. And that means: it's time to rejoice! Halfway through the month we celebrate the joyous of all holidays - Purim (which will be discussed at length in upcoming emails). In 1991, Saddam Hussein was defeated officially on - you guessed it - Purim day. Mass murderer & Jew hater Josef Stalin, suddenly passed on the 1st day of Adar, in 1953. An auspicious month for sure, but let's take a look at the words of the above phrase from the Talmud: "When the month of Adar enters, one must increase in joy." Why not simply say, "one must be joyful?" To increase implies that one is already joyful, and merely needs to increase it. It comes out from this that the Torah expects us to be joyful at all times!

But how is that possible? True, the 2nd verse in Psalm 100 of King David's Tehillim states: "Ivdu et Hashem B'simcha - serve G-d in joy." And the Code of Jewish law does begin with: "Serve G-d always." So if one must serve G-d in joy, and serve him in every aspect of our lives, 1+1 = 2: we must be joyful at all times, right? Well, between you and I, it ain't always so easy.

Sure, as a kid I was pretty happy. Laughed a lot - not a care in the world. But now the weight of the world is on my shoulders! Health, bills, pressure, relationships - there's a lot to worry about! But perhaps what is needed is to work on a change of perspective. From our narrow viewpoints, we view the world as owing us everything. If something is lacking in my life, it isn't fair. But what's the truth of the matter? Do I really deserve anything? The Torah's point of view takes an opposite approach: Everything I have is merely a gift of kindness from above. And therefore I don't need more, or demand more.

It seems simple enough, but imagine if we awoke everyday and lived like this? The shirt I have, the food I eat, the health I have - is all a gift. Anything and everything, is all from pure kindness. And when one labors at attaining this deeper perspective on life, he or she can also come to appreciate the fragility and lackluster quality of the material. Spirituality, good deeds, Torah wisdom - that's everlasting, for it lives on the spiritual realms which is permanent. Physical attainments ultimately fade away and don't last, so why be so sad when you can't attain them?

May each and every one of us have everything that we need, physically & materially. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe often said: "Our generation's tests should not be in the realm of poverty." We have other struggles. But this perspective mentioned above is still a worthwhile one to repeat in our minds. Ultimately, our sadness at its root stems from a deeper place: Confusion, which comes from a lack of revelation. G-d is hidden; his plan behind our lives and this world not overtly apparent. Confusion leads to a morose feeling. Purim, and the month of Adar, shows G-d's light in the darkness of exile, how even when he hides, it is apparent that He is running the world. G-d's name isn't mentioned even once in Megillat Esther that we read on Purim, but it is completely apparent that he is running the show. May we work to see his fingerprints on creation and in our lives, and how all that we have - is really just a gift - from him to you and I. Imagine if, when you see a friend on Purim wearing a costume mask, you call that person's name, seeing behind his hiding. Then there's no point in hiding anymore. May that time come soon, speedily in our days!

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh tov!

-Daniel

Right & Wrong

This week's Torah portion is Mishpatim - laws or statutes.
What a bummer! After the amazing miracles during the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai in last week's portion, where G-d spoke "face to face" with the Jewish nation, this week we're mired in the nitty-gritty details of the various laws of the Torah. Couldn't we have had a few miracles or spiritual experiences in between at least to help soften the landing into reality? Our Sages teach that this perspective couldn't be further from the truth: The entire purpose - the essence - of G-d's revelation at Sinai, of this once-in-history spiritual experience, was to actualize the mitzvot in our everyday lives. To bring G-d's Infinite, sublime will into the details of our physical lives. Let us now explore how important these laws are, not only to G-d, but to our lives & society around us as well.

There's a story I heard of a Jewish girl who was attracted to the religious ways of the Eastern traditions. After joining a group in her hometown, she moved to India to explore a more intense discipline. A week turned into a month and into a year. At a certain point, this girl was asked by the monk whether she was willing to cast away her previous life and connections, and move off with her new group and into a new stage of living and dedication. Before saying yes, the girl thought it best to visit home one last time to say goodbye. Upon arrival, her worried family soon learned of her wishes. As much as they tried to dissuade her, nothing worked - her mind was made up. Sure they weren't religiously observant Jews, but they didn't want to lose their daughter to a monastery! The night before her departure back to India, this girl's dad asked her with a tinge of hope, if she would join him at a Torah class at the nearby synagogue. "Sure, why not?" she said. To the father's chagrin, the class given by the Rabbi focused on detailed laws of Torah's view of moral decision making. For example: "If one finds a lost item, he or she must look to return it to its rightful owner." The next day, the girl said goodbye to her stricken parents, and was off to India. Weeks later, the girl was traveling with her group, led by her monk. All of a sudden, in the corner of her eye, the girl spotted her leader picking up a golden watch, placing it in his pouch, and walking on. Curious, the girl caught up to him and asked quietly what her master intended to do with the watch. "Keep it!" Said the monk. "Since I was the one who stumbled upon it, it means that it was destined for me." Shocked, the Jewish girl thought back to that last Torah class she had attended, with the simple laws she had heard from the Rabbi regarding the Torah's view of morality. Unable to shake it, the girl began to explore the Torah & ultimately returned home.

Now whether this story is true or not, it illustrates the concept of moral relativism that I'm trying to bring out. The morality we humans can come up with is sometimes great! But oftentimes (see most of history), nations decide their own views of what's right & wrong. At Mount Sinai (where G-d also spent 40 days & nights explaining the Oral Torah to Moshe), the Torah was given to us to explain the detailed approach to living a G-dly life in a G-dly world. The only reason why today the Torah seems to just be a reminder for the moral lessons we already know (like the equal freedom and rights for all people, etc.) is because the Torah has had such an effect on modern western society! (See more here).

True love is in the details. When one shows his or her's attention to the desire of the other, that the corner wall be painted turquoise instead of light green, than one shows their true love for the other's inner desire. May we work in our own lives to pay more attention to the inner will of our Creator, perfecting this world to its last detail.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Transforming the Prince

~ Today, Yud Shvat, marks the anniversary of the passing of Yosef Yitzchak Shneerson, the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1950, and the assuming of leadership of the movement by Menachem Mendel Shneerson in 1951 ~


There once lived a king, whose beloved son seemed to have lost his mind. Instead of acting like a normal human being, his every gesture was like that of a chicken! From not wearing clothes to eating off the ground, this prince had surely lost it! The king rushed to proclaim a big reward for anyone who could cure his son's behavioral change. But every psychologist, psychiatrist, magician, and therapist failed miserably at finding a way to change the prince back to his former self.

One day, when hope seemed lost, an elderly man entered the palace, claiming to have a solution. "Leave me alone here with the prince," he requested. The King agreed and everyone left the room. The man approached the prince, who was now sitting under the table, bawking like a chicken. Like the prince, the man too took off his clothes and knelt on the floor, bawking like a chicken. "What are you doing!?" the prince yelled at him. "I'm also a chicken," the old man replied. Content with this answer, the prince continued on his life as a chicken, as did the old man. A few hours later, the old man asked a servant walking past for a pair of pants. "Now I know you're lying! You're a human, not a chicken!" yelled the prince. "No, no," replied the man,
"I am a chicken. Why can't chickens also wear pants?" The prince agreed that this was possible, and took a pair for himself." A few hours passed, and the old man now asked a servant for a plate of chicken, with a fork and a knife. "What are you doing!?" The prince asked. "I am a chicken who enjoys a plate of fine food, eaten on a nice tablecloth. You should try it too." With slowly growing agreement, the prince sat up on a chair next tot he old man and they began to eat properly. As time passed, the old man succeeded in developing the prince back to a human reality.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, like the tzaddikim ("righteous ones") throughout our history, worked tirelessly as a guide and living example. What was he trying to accomplish? Was it to bring Judaism to those who hadn't or couldn't experience much, sending his emissaries worldwide? Was it helping everyone who met him & wrote to him both physically and spiritually? Was it teaching amazing ideas in Torah scholarship? Yes, it was all of that. But ultimately, the Rebbe labored to take the Jewish people from a narrow minded view point to a whole new reality; a better life. To be more sensitive, both to our fellow man and to G-d. Not to be hard, cold and superficial. But to open our minds and our hearts to G-d and to others.

Like the old man and the prince, the Rebbe slowly guided us not to be like an animal, and trample over everything and everyone, but to stop and appreciate the world around us, the G-dly vitality invested in it, and the people we came in contact with. In one word, to be a mentch. Literally meaning "man, or person," in Judaism this term means a lot more. To be a human and not a chicken, doesn't mean that much of a difference in today's society. Both eat, often whatever comes their way without thought or appreciation. Both desire comfort and pleasure. But when G-d asks of us to be human, He means more than that. We have the capability of not only becoming spiritually enlightened people, but of lifting up the world around us, from inanimate matter to animal and even human life, to a higher, loftier place then ever before. If we are conscious that the bread in front of me is a gift from G-d, kernels of wheat that somehow exist and can be developed into this food that gives me energy and life for my day, and I thank G-d for it with a blessing, I am a human who is fulfilling my role of elevating this created matter. From the Prime Minister of Israel to a simple person, the Rebbe tried to impart this concept of living a higher life.

Even though the Rebbe has since passed away, his teachings and inspiration remain. To always be joyful, to see G-d in everything that happens to us, to love a fellow Jew like yourself, to help the world around us, to transform this material world into a lovely dwelling place for G-d. Like Moshe of old, G-d gives us leaders to show us the path to fulfilling our inherent potential. At first goodness and holiness may startle us and seem absurd, like the prince who saw these proper human actions that were foreign to his thinking. But slowly, through work, we can develop ourselves, with the help & inspiration of our leaders, into fulfilling our spiritual potentials, in line with the essence of who we are.

For a 2 min. glimpse at one of the Rebbe's talks connected to the above idea, see here: It's a beautiful world

Shabbat Shalom!