The True Mirror Image

This Tuesday night & Wednesday is the holy time of Yom Kippur. We know it as a day of fasting, lengthy prayer services, and secret day dreams of different break-fast meal options :) But what is the significance & power of these 24 hours, at its core? I spent the day at the beach today. Not swimming or surfing, but rather doing the "tashlich service" (throwing bread to the fish, representing our desire to turn from bad to good) with local Jewish day school kids. One of the exorcises we did, was giving out little mirrors out for the kids to look into. They were asked what they saw. Sone said "my face", others "the sand behind", still others "my eyes." "True, you saw those things," we said. "But eyes are the windows to the soul. When looking at ourselves and at others, we can just see outer physical figures. Or we can look deeper into the soul within."

During these days between Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur, and especially the day itself, we have the ability to reach into our souls, one's essence within, who we truly are. We primarily identify ourselves with what we do, not who we are inside. Behind every "experience", there's an I experiencing it. And no matter what path we have led so far in life, no matter what negative actions we have done, the true "I" in us remains unscathed. At our core we are pure and limitless, our essence unscathed through all the mud. We are not our actions - and must always remember that our inner light can never be extinguished, through thick & thin. At this time of year we often blow the shofar, for the shofar represents the simple cry of the soul - beyond our usual words & outer expression.

On Yom Kippur, Jewish Mysticism explains, this core of our beings - known as "Yechidah" - is revealed. This occurs primarily during "ne'ilah" - the 5th & last prayer of the day which corresponds to this 5th level of the soul. Ne'ilah means "closing" - representing the closing of the heavenly gates at the end of Yom Kippur. But our mystics explain a beautiful idea. It's not that the gates are closing with us on the outside, with our last chances to request forgiveness and a good year finished, but rather that we are closed in with G-d on the inside, in the deepest connection of embrace. During this time, let's try to focus less on the break-fast meal of cream cheese & lox, or even on the prayer pages, but to try and peer past the physical & material, and look into the deeper core of the world & our inner selves. For much of the other 364 days of the year, society succeeds in getting our attention diverted from ever thinking about our personal purpose for existing, from ever trying to realize our fullest potential. "Teshuvah," often translated as "Repentance,"if properly translated means "Return." While possible throughout the entire year, at this time G-d Gives us a special, sanctified haven in time to re-connect and return to our true, inner selves. Then in turn we connect with G-d on a level beyond our usual relationship - to a place beyond our sins & mistakes, where all can be forgiven.

This year, look into the mirror and see the truly beautiful person you are. Have an easy fast and a sweet new year!

Shabbat Shalom!

The Cry of the Prince

'And in the seventh month, on the first day, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work. It shall be a day of shofar sounding for you.' (Numbers 29:1)

This Sunday Night (through Tuesday Night) marks the beginning of Rosh Hashana - The start of the Jewish new year. The theme of Rosh Hashana, is that of renewal toward a better, more positive year. We ask God for a successful year Materially as well as spiritually, and we in turn ask God to be our King for another year. One of the central practices of the holiday is the sounding of the Shofar - the ram's horn, which serves both of the above themes: Just like when a King used to be coronated, trumpets were sounded, so too on Rosh Hashana when we appoint God as our desired king. What about our return toward a better path, an awakening of teshuva - returning to God and asking forgiveness for the past year and hope for a better one? How does the shofar help accomplish this? I mean, it is pretty amazing that for thousands of years we haven't moved on to a guitar or clarinet or any other musical instrument, but have always blown the shofar; but what does the shofar really accomplish?

The holy Baal Shem Tov gives a beautiful story to illustrate: There once lived a king in a faraway land who had an only son. One day, the king decided his son had grown old enough, and that it was time to send him off into the world to learn for himself life lessons and acquire wisdom. He wished his son well, giving him lots of money and provisions for the journey, and sent him off in a royal carriage. Days later, the prince arrived in an unknown town that attracted him. He decided to settle there and learn as much as he could. But as life often does, the prince began to get accustomed to the ways of the town, drinking at the local taverns and dancing the night away, forgetting his royal background, his father the king and the palace. Years passed. After a while, as we all know, even lots of money can dry up, and the prince began to look like all the other villagers; poor and ragged. After working a few dead-end jobs, the once regal prince was now wearing tattered clothing with barely a penny to his name, feeling down in the dumps. But one night, it hit him! "I'm a prince!" he thought. "What am I doing here in the dumps?! I must return to my father the king!" So off the prince went, this time by foot. After a 2 week journey, the prince found his way into the city, up the hill to the palace gates. "WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" The guards barked at this homeless wayfarer. "The prince sadly realized that not only had he lost all of the appearance of a prince, he had even forgot how to speak his native language properly!" As he was being pushed away, the prince - with no other course of action, cried out with a piercing cry of longing and pain. The king, standing by his palace window, immediately felt his heart melt - It was his son! He ran outside and embraced his son the prince.

Sometimes we mess up, we sin. But that's not who we are; we sin but are not sinners. We are taught that one's Jewish soul can never be tainted. It may be clouded over with some bad "clothing" here and there, but our pure interior is always latent, waiting to be sprung in a moment of spiritual connection. We are those princes. We may have strayed far from the palace of Hashem, from the Torah & Mitzvot, but we can return at any moment. The pure cry of the shofar (besides for reminding God of Abraham's sacrifice of the ram instead of his son, as well as the sounding of the shofar at the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai) reminds God, as well as ourselves, of our inherent inner purity and goodness that is unshakable.

May we use out these upcoming holidays in a spirit of joy and celebration, realizing how good we really are in essence, and where we can also improve for the coming year. {P.S. If you need a place to pray, all are welcome free of charge at Chabad of U.C. - 3813 Governor Dr.}

True Leadership

"The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog." (Tractate Sotah 49b)

With both the Republican & Democractic conventions behind us, and 2 months of non-stop ads and debates ahead of us, this week seemed like a good one to discuss politics & presidents. While most of us will be leaning toward Romney or Obama, I think many of us may also be thinking: "I kind of wish there was a 3rd guy." This sentiment is probably felt throughout the world, in every country. Every nation yearns for, and deserves, a just and wise leader who is strong for his people and has their best interests in mind. We know that, as great as democracy is, it has its faults. As Winston Churchill once wisely stated, as only he could: "Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." But in Jewish thought, what's the ideal? Looking back in history, the height of Jewish prominence - in wealth, respect, peace, and spirituality - was during the times of King Solomon. Following the leadership of his father King David, these kings led - not acting according to what the polls and media wanted, but according to what was right. In the Tanach, it is told that God spoke to King Solomon in a dream, and asked him to name one thing he desired: "The wisdom to discern how to judge truthfully" was his request.

A true leader, leads - always with the nation's best interests in mind. Of course there later came corrupt kings, and we know that nothing's worse than an evil person who has complete rulership, which is why democracy is important today. But we mustn't forget the ideal of a true leader, a king, which God Willing will reoccur in the times of Mashiach and the final redemption, speedily in our days. On the last page of the Talmudic book "Sotah" (written over 1500 years ago), a fascinating list of prophecies are stated regarding the era immediately preceding the time of redemption:

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE MESSIAH INSOLENCE WILL INCREASE AND HONOUR DWINDLE; THE VINE WILL YIELD ITS FRUIT [ABUNDANTLY] BUT WINE WILL BE DEAR; THE GOVERNMENT WILL TURN TO HERESY AND THERE WILL BE NONE [TO OFFER THEM] REPROOF; THE MEETING-PLACE [OF SCHOLARS] WILL BE USED FOR IMMORALITY; GALILEE WILL BE DESTROYED, GABLAN DESOLATED, AND THE DWELLERS ON THE FRONTIER WILL GO ABOUT [BEGGING] FROM PLACE TO PLACE WITHOUT ANYONE TO TAKE PITY ON THEM; THE WISDOM OF THE LEARNED WILL DEGENERATE, FEARERS OF SIN WILL BE DESPISED, AND THE TRUTH WILL BE LACKING; YOUTHS WILL PUT OLD MEN TO SHAME, THE OLD WILL STAND UP IN THE PRESENCE OF THE YOUNG, A SON WILL REVILE HIS FATHER, A DAUGHTER WILL RISE AGAINST HER MOTHER, A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, AND A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD; THE FACE OF THE GENERATION WILL BE LIKE THE FACE OF A DOG, A SON WILL NOT FEEL ASHAMED BEFORE HIS FATHER. SO UPON WHOM IS IT FOR US TO RELY? UPON OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN.

Besides for the amazingly accurate account of how teenagers will act toward their parents in the 21st century (I don't think even up until the 1950's, kids would dare talk back the way they can now to their Parents), as well as some of the other accurate prophecies mentioned, the Talmud states: "The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog." The great Rabbi, Yisroel Salanter, once explained this as follows: "The face of a generation is its leaders. How will they be like 'dogs'? When a man walks a dog, the dog is in front and the man is in back. To the uninitiated, it would seem that the dog is leading the master - for the master follows the dog! But the truth is, it is the master who pulls the leash from behind, forcing the dog to move where he wishes. It is the dog who constantly turns around to see where his master wants to go."

We see here the Torah's prophecy and insight into what life would be like today, with democratic leaders who lack backbone and conviction. We should vote with the leader whom we feel best exemplifies the qualities and positions we hold dear, while hoping and praying for the day when the Jewish people and the world at large, will have a leader who can truly lead us in the proper path for us in every way possible.

Shabbat Shalom!