The Director

One of the most essential questions human beings wonder, regardless of time or place, is: "What brings happiness, and how do I avoid sadness?"


At first glance, the answer seems to lie on one simple idea: Avoiding pain and unpleasantness. "If I avoid pain, I won't be sad." But as can be seen in our life experiences, this can't be the true answer. Let's take a look at the most human, and most painful, of human experiences: Childbirth. And yet as painful as this experience is, it will be extremely difficult to find a mother who has just given birth, who isn't overcome with an indescribable feeling of joy and contentedness. Clearly, when pain has an underlying meaning and goal behind it, not only is sadness not an outcome; great joy can come! So what causes our sadness and hinders our joy?

To find our answer, let's take a look at the most obvious of sources: The Goliath ride at 6 flags magic mountain. As the ride rises higher and higher, the fear and trepidation mount. Then, at its peak, with a view of the entire Los Angeles skyline, the ride drops at an incredible pace! If you take a look at that moment at the faces of the participants, you will see an odd, paradoxical sight: Looks of sheer terror and joy! How can one possibly be happy at a time like this? Aren't they worried? Well, the ride goers know that there's rules & regulations in place to ensure the safety of the ride. They know that there's constant inspections and oversight, ultimately overseen by a director whose dedication to the well being of the ride goers is paramount.

So too in our lives. When one realizes that there is a Director, an overseer over each event of one's life, than hindrances to joy melt away. Pain, fear, aren't the problems. The problem is that we don't recognize that there is a plan behind it; that there's a director overseeing each aspect of our lives and our ultimate success. That therefore there is meaning behind every one of the challenges and painful experiences we encounter. When we internalize this recognition, when we put faith in trust in our Director, we allow joy to enter our lives, freeing us to ride the roller coaster of life with smiles on our faces.

Shabbat Shalom!

For A Piece of Bread

In this week's Torah portion, Korach, we read about a man who was dissatisfied with Moses and Aaron as the leaders of the Jewish people. Unlike other religious writings, the Torah is unique in its criticism of its "heroes." Moses and the Jewish people constantly mess up, and this is highlighted. There isn't much "sugar coating" going on. But as in life, it is important that one recognize the special qualities of those around us. Yes, Korach rebelled, but his sons repented.

Yes, the Jewish people constantly complained and rebelled, but they also displayed immense faith and trust in G-d by following his commands, like wandering into the dessert toward a distant Israel with barely food or drink. They displayed immense loyalty while enslaved in Egypt, keeping their language, Hebrew names & clothing in a foreign, threatening environment. Indeed, nations claim that G-d has turned his back on the Jewish people because we are "stiff-necked", yet it is precisely because of our "stiff necks" - our stubbornness and unwavering loyalty to the truth, that has ensured our remaining a distinct nation, the trusted nation of G-d and his Torah.



Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Nazi-hunter, once spoke at a conference of European rabbis in Bratislava, Slovakia. The rabbis presented the 91-year-old Wiesenthal with an award, and he, visibly moved, told them the following story.

It was in Mauthausen, shortly after liberation. The camp was visited by Rabbi Eliezer Silver, head of Agudat Harabbanim (Union of Orthodox Rabbis of North America), on a mission to offer aid and comfort to the survivors. Rabbi Silver also organized a special service, and he invited Wiesenthal to join the other survivors in prayer. Wiesenthal declined, and explained why.

“In the camp,” Wiesenthal said to Rabbi Silver, “there was one religious man who somehow managed to smuggle in a siddur (prayer book). At first, I greatly admired the man for his courage—that he’d risked his life in order to bring the siddur in. But the next day I realized, to my horror, that this man was ‘renting out’ this siddur to people in exchange for food. People were giving him their last piece of bread for a few minutes with the prayerbook. This man, who was very thin and emaciated when the whole thing started, was soon eating so much that he died before everyone else—his system couldn’t handle it.”

He continued: “If this is how religious Jews behave, I’m not going to have anything to do with a prayer book.” As Wiesenthal turned to walk away, Rabbi Silver touched him on the shoulder and gently said in Yiddish, “Du dummer (you silly man). Why do you look at the Jew who used his siddur to take food out of starving people’s mouths? Why don’t you look at the many Jews who gave up their last piece of bread in order to be able to use a siddur? That’s faith. That’s the true power of the siddur.” Rabbi Silver then embraced him. “I went to the services the next day,” said Wiesenthal.

This beautiful true story illustrates the importance of seeing the good in each other, focusing on the positive. May we always succeed in seeing the good in our fellow Jew, which as our Sages say, is the ultimate source for bringing Moshiach.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Like a Mother's Love

"From my flesh I see G-d." (Job 19:26)
A fundamental tenet of Jewish mystical teachings is the idea that from every element of this physical world, we can deduce ideas of the spiritual. How come? Because this world descends directly from its spiritual counterpart above it; its spiritual "DNA", its blueprint and mirror, is the spiritual above it. This applies even more so to what we can observe in the human being, for "man is a miniature world." (Zohar)

Based on this, when trying to understand our relationship with G-d, Jewish mysticism often teaches from the bond we see in human relationships, one being the love felt from a parent to it's child. As the holy Baal Shem Tov taught: "G-d's love for his people is like that of an aging couple who has an only child born to them late in life, except infinitely more so." In truth, the only reason why a parent has a deep inherent love for his or her child, is because this stems from G-d's love of his people.

If one meditates on this idea a bit more, dissecting this analogy in greater detail, a different outlook & perspective on one's relationship with G-d emerges. If one thinks for a moment about a mother who conceives: Slowly a new, living being begins to develop within her, connected as one with its mother, a continuation of her. Every aspect of it's life is bound to its mother. After birth, the helpless child survives & is nurtured from his mother's loving beneficence. A child can and never will, fully understand the love of his mother to him. It's not a love of one person to another, but of an extension of herself treated greater than herself, with a deep and boundless tender love that can't be quantified. So too by G-d toward his children. Yet how many of us think of G-d this way? Not as a stern king, but as a loving creator and parent?

The next time we pray or just take a moment to think about G-d, let us close our eyes and imagine this aging mother in a loving embrace with her new child. From my flesh I see G-d - We can always learn from the world around us, and from the world of emotions within.

Shabbat Shalom!

Scoring Goals

Summertime is in the air! Working with teenagers, I can sense the energy & enthusiasm as the school year comes to an end, with the summer break on the horizon. But while schools end and students begin s 3 month break from learning anything, Judaism teaches us that every moment of life is really a lesson. As the holy Baal Shem Tov taught: Every single thing that a person sees or hears, is an instruction to him in his conduct in the service of G‑d.


During a recent trip to Europe, I spent Shabbat in Prague. At Friday night dinner, there was a large group of Jewish NYU students who were studying abroad for the semester. When I was asked to speak, this idea of the Baal Shem Tov's teaching came to mind, and I thought back to an earlier segment of my trip in England.
There I had attended 2 soccer matches, where I was struck by the passionate enthusiasm of the fans in the stadium. Songs were chanted by children & adults alike, who had grown up rooting for their home team. Raucous cheers & groans seemed to exude from the stadium as if coming from one mouth (to avoid conflict among fans, European soccer teams strongly limit the amount of opponent's fans allowed to enter). It is definitely an interesting experience to observe fans going crazy over something as inconsequential as whether a person can successfully kick a ball into a goal.

But like the above mentioned teaching, there had to be something to learn from this situation. It's known that our souls descend to earth for a lifetime, however long. Each soul has a specific mission to complete in his or her particular situation, of rectifying the world and in service of G-d - charged with scoring a goal. But we're not alone in our missions here on earth. There are countless souls and angels watching us and cheering us on to succeed. We may not hear or feel them the same way that soccer players do, but they're there; from our grandparents and our ancestors to the greatest of our past leaders. They realize that today is not like it was, that challenges to leading a virtuous life in today's world are much harder than they once were. But the abundant stories and events brought in the Talmud, Midrash and Zohar show that our actions and life here have wondrous effects in the spiritual realms.

May we score lots of "goals" in our lifetime, and remember that however hard our situations in life may be, there are fans out there rooting for us with all their hearts to succeed.

Shabbat Shalom!

Teenage Rebellion

The rebellion in young people is not a crime. On the contrary: it is the fire of the soul that refuses to conform, that is dissatisfied with the status quo, that cries out that it wants to change the world and is frustrated with not knowing how.
-The Rebbe


When completing a year of activity and programming, it's fitting to take a look back and reflect on what's been accomplished, and what needs to be improved on. Tonight was the 1st annual banquet & award ceremony for JTeen, my organization for the Jewish teenagers of San Diego. While looking for a few words of inspiration I could use during the evening's proceedings, I came across a very powerful & insightful thought in regards to the teenage years, as taught by the Lubavitcher Rebbe and adapted by Simon Jacobson, author of "Toward a Meaningful Life" (wisdom which the singer Matisyahu has said inspired his song Youth). During the youthful "cultural revolution" of the 1960's, unlike many other adult leaders, the Rebbe spoke often about the inherently positive nature of the changes the world's youth were demanding and seeking. He explained like this:

A young person is like fire. With direction and guidance, he or she can change the very shape of the world. Without direction, the fires of youth are wasted at best, while at worst, they can become a dangerous, destructive force. To lead a meaningful life means harnessing the fires of youth; but first we must understand the purpose of youth itself.

The period of adolescence is nestled between childhood and adulthood. Teenagers are no longer content to play like children but don’t yet have the knowledge and experience to be fully engaged in adult pursuits. Youth is one of the most precious periods of a person’s life, and yet one of the most difficult.

What most young people are searching for is a meaningful cause. They are overflowing with a mixture of adrenaline and confidence -- “I want to change the way the world works,” teenagers often think. “I can change the world.” Adults, burdened with the pressures of everyday life, convince themselves that the world just is the way it is, but young people cannot tolerate such resignation. This is the constant conflict between the two groups: young people abhor the status quo, while adults’ lives revolve around it.

Many adults simply write off the teenage years as a rebellious period that a person must simply outlast. Young people, meanwhile, often think that adults have forgotten how to appreciate the very meaning and thrill of life. Youths are rebellious, and adults see the rebellion as one step shy of a crime.

But rebellion is not the crime; the crime occurs when the rebellion has no healthy outlet. Rebellion, in fact, can be the healthiest thing for a human being -- a pure energy that inspires a person to not give up easily, to refuse to tolerate injustice, to not go along with an idea just because everyone else is thinking it. The worst thing we can do with a young person’s spiritual or psychological energy is to bottle it up; in fact, we must do everything we can to tap this energy, to focus it, and channel it properly. To satisfy the needs of our teenagers in today’s society, we must first recognize that their restlessness and hunger for meaning is not material but spiritual in nature, and that only spirituality can feed spiritual hunger. that their lives include a higher purpose, that they must use their youthful energy for good and moral purposes.

The fire of youth must be used not just to build careers but to build homes and communities based on love and giving. It is the responsibility of adults to provide young people with a blueprint, a spiritual guide to life -- which consists of G-d’s word and His instructions of how to best lead a meaningful life.

This concept, I think, can apply to our lives as well, no matter how old we are. That flame of passion within us that desires to make a difference, can & must be channeled practically in the world, and the Torah teaches us how. May we light up the world with our candles, and work to better understand and help the youth around us to light up the world in the special way only they can.

Shabbat Shalom!