A Walk on the Beach

~ This Torah thought is dedicated to those killed in Jerusalem this past week, and the comfort of their families. May Israel see no more pain ~

And Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come closer, so that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." So Jacob drew near to Isaac his father, and he felt him, and he said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 

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There's a known story told in Islamic tradition. A father and son are walking along the beach towards the time of sunset. During this special moment, the father turns to his son and says: "Son, I love you." 

As they continue walking, the son turns to his father and asks, "how much do you love me?" The father responds: "With all my heart." The boy then asks, "Father, how much do you love God?" To which the father responds, "With all my heart." 

With a perplexed look, the boy asks his father one more question. "Father, how can you love me and God with all your heart?" Taken aback by this deep question, the father is very affected by it. The next morning, he packs up his bags, kisses his family, and ventures off into the mountains to dedicate himself only to God.

This story, a concept of spiritual asceticism prevalent in many religions, might not sit well with someone in the Jewish community. The reason is, that the Jewish view on attaining a true connection with God isn't through shunning materiality and human relationships, but is actually the exact opposite. Our physical lives and our relationships -  when approached correctly through the teachings of the Torah - are actually vehicles for connecting to the Divine. 

In this week's Torah portion, Jacob dresses in the clothes of his brother Esau, and receives a blessing from his father Isaac. On a deeper level, our Sages ask, why did the holy Jacob need to disguise himself in his murderous brother's clothing? The explanation is, that Jacob represents the soul, and Esau the body. In order to truly connect with God and draw down Divine blessing, the soul must be in a body and involve itself in elevating the world around them through the Mitzvot.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom! 

Living On

This writing is dedicated to a special soul, Gabriel Nussbaum, whose soul left this physical plane of existence to return to his soul's original home. May your family find comfort and only good, and may your soul enjoy the radiance of G-d's glory until you are re-united with us soon with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days


This week's Torah portion is called Vayechi - "And He Lived", which actually chronicles the passing of our forefather Jacob and his son Joseph in Egypt.
Why then is this Torah portion entitled "And he lived!?" The Lubavitcher Rebbe once explained this as follows: We only attain true life when our ideals live on in those around us. When Jacob, in his final years, saw his family in Egypt living lives loyal to the values he lived with, this proved he had lived life the right way. The Talmud goes as far as to say: "Our forefather Jacob never died." (Ta'anit 5a) Since his ideals lived on in his family and the future Jewish people, he lived on through them. And this was only possible because he had lived his ideals so powerfully as to implant them in those who learned from him. Gabe's love, kindness, joy for life and empathy for others must be continued by us. In us he will live on.

On his deathbed, Jacob gathers his family and gives each one a blessing. Significantly, Jacob blesses his forth son Yehuda (Judah) with the blessing that the kingship will never leaves his descendants. Indeed, King David, Solomon, and ultimately Moshiach, the final redeemer, all descend from Yehuda. How come Reuven, Jacob's firstborn, wasn't given this blessing? Sure, he messed up earlier in the Torah, but so did Yehuda. Reuven was a very holy and good man! What was it about Yehuda that stood out to be blessed with such a momentous blessing? Not only that, but Yehuda keeps taking the lead in the stories that follow, hinting that there must be something special about Yehuda, something we can learn from for our lives today.

When Joseph was about to be killed by his brothers (it's a long story), it was actually Reuven who stepped up and stopped his brothers! He had Joseph thrown in a pit, and the Torah states that Reuven intended to save him from there later when the brothers had left. But soon after, Yehuda speaks up and tells the brothers it isn't right to kill Joseph. So they sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelites, down to Egypt and the rest is history. But where was Reuven? Didn't he want to save Joseph? And yet he was nowhere to be found! The Midrash teaches us that Reuven "was occupied with his sackcloth and fasting." Nine years after he had sinned against his father, the extremely spiritually sensitive Reuven was still repenting with remorse over his wrongdoing. That seems pretty good, right? Reuven intended to do good with Joseph, and was busy with spirtually good actions!

But here we are taught a profound lesson in life. Yehuda was chosen over Reuven, not because he was necessarily loftier spiritually or morally. But he was a man of action. He didn't merely have good intentions (if at all!), but he acted. In reality, he saved Joseph's life from his brothers. Yes, Reuven had even better intentions. But they were just that - intentions. Often we mean well; we want to do well to others. But how many of us do? This applies to many areas of life. I may love my father or mother, my son or daughter, but do I ever show it? I may feel bad for that person, but do I do anything about it? I may love G-d, but do I ever do things that he asks of me? Pure, good intentions are important and do mean something. But we have to make sure they don't stay intentions, for the power of a good action can't be matched; it's good, no matter what. Judaism emphasizes the importance of deed, above all else. Sometimes we need to sacrifice our good, even to give up on spiritual betterment, to help another person practically. In a physical world which we are trying to form into a dwelling place for G-d, it's the proper physical actions that actually have the most affect on the world around us, and are most pleasing to G-d.

And sometimes our one deed has ripple effects that we can't possibly have imagined possible. Just like if you want to create a nuclear explosion, all you need to do is split a single atom, which can set in motion a chain reaction in billions of other atoms and transform the face of the earth over an area of many square miles, how much more so in the realm of good! Yehuda made a difference, through his courage and action. Gabriel did the same through his love and friendship. Let's emulate them both in our lives ahead, and change the world around us for the better. Each of us is allotted a certain amount of minutes, hours, and days on this earth to complete our specific missions in this world. Let's take advantage of the time we have.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

If anyone would like to contribute to my Jewish teen outreach group by buying a ticket in a raffle for Super Bowl tickets, please click here. Thanks!

And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip became dislocated as he wrestled with him. And he (the angel) said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking," but he (Jacob) said, "I will not let you go unless you have blessed me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" and he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have commanding power with [an angel of] God and with men, and you have prevailed.
(Genesis 32: 25-29)


Jacob bumps into an angel with an anger problem! Just his luck. Our Sages teach us that this angel was the guardian angel of Esav, Jacob's brother, and all of his descendants. And that this wrestling match was not by coincidence, but signified something much greater. Let's gain deeper insight into one aspect of this story. In order to do so, we must examine its significance in the wisdom of Jewish Mysticism.

The teachings of Jewish mysticism, the inner dimension of the Torah, relates all of life - from the vast expanse of the universe to the minute fingernail of a child - to a G-dly source, and therefore of deep significance in what it symbolizes. For every physical thing we see, is a lower manifestation of a higher spiritual level that precedes it. A major foundation of Jewish Mystical teaching, is the 10 Sefirot: The 10 ways in which G-d Decided to Reveal His Will in the higher and lower worlds, and ultimately in our souls. These are (loosely translated): The Intellect - Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge. And the Emotions - Kindness, Severity, Compassion, Endurance, Humility, Connection, and Sovereignty. These Sefirot correspond to the limbs of the human body as well: Kindness - Right arm, Severity - the left, Compassion - the mid-section. Endurance - the Right thigh/leg, Humility - the left, etc. The Jewish leaders that exemplified these Divine emotions as found in this world, in order, are: Avraham (kindness), Issac, Jacob, Moshe, Aaron, Yoseph, King David.

So what connection does all of this have with Jacob wrestling with an angel in this week's Torah Portion?

There have been 4 exiles in the history of the Jewish People: The Egyptian, the Babylonian, the Persian, and the Roman - which we are still in today. This 4th & final exile, caused by the Roman destruction of the 2nd temple in Jerusalem, will last until Mashiach comes & the temple is rebuilt. It's taught that the Romans were descendants of Esav. When Esav's guardian angel was wrestling with Jacob throughout the night, it wasn't just a UFC styled fight. This encounter symbolized the long and arduous exile that we find ourselves in for the last 2,000 years, caused by Esav's descendants. Life for a Jew in exile is a struggle. We will ultimately vanquish the evil in the world, and have been quite successful so far. But what is the final action that must be done to fully vanquish Esav's guardian angel and free ourselves of the Roman exile? We see that Jacob, right before dawn and his victory, is struck by the angel in his hip and is hurt.

As we learned in Kabbalah earlier, each part of the body represents a Jewish leader, as well as a spiritual attribute. The lower side where Jacob was hit was the left, symbolizing Aaron, the brother of Moses. What was Aaron most known for in the Torah? Besides for humility, Aaron was the ultimate lover of the Jewish people. It is known that he would seek peace between each man and his fellow, between husband and wife. We are told that Aaron was mourned for after his death by all men and women, while Moses was mourned less so. Why? Because Aaron brought peace between everybody. Out of his great love for each person, he strove to avoid all conflict between them. Perhaps the lesson here is this: As we near the end of exile, the end of the battle with our spiritual and physical enemy, the hardest test, the one which will try and stop us most from reaching redemption, is the love and sensitivity to our fellow Jew.
Like Aaron, we must strive to make peace between those in our community, in our household, with those around us, and focus on the good in our fellow man and woman.
And with that, may we merit the ultimate redemption, where we will see only the good in each person, their soul, speedily in our days!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel
{To learn more about the Sefirot in depth, click on: 10 Sefirot}

The Impenetrable Stones

'And Yaakov left Be'er Sheva, and went towards Charan. He came across the place and spent the night there because
the sun had set. He took some of the stones of the place and placed them around his head, and he lay down in that place.'

This week's Torah portion is Vayeitzei - And he departed. After Jacob is blessed by his father Issac (instead of his brother Esav), Esav is furious and vows to kill his brother. Rivkah, their mother, tells Jacob to run away to her brother Lavan's home, until it is safe to return. Before heading to his uncle's home, however, the Midrash tells us that Jacob learned in the famous yeshiva (house of study) of Shem & Ever, for 14 years. Only then did he "depart" - as we find in the beginning of this portion. On his journey, Jacob stops to sleep at a certain place. The Midrash tells us that this was the holiest place in the world - Mount Moriah - where the temple would later be built in Jerusalem. Here the Torah says, "He took some of the stones of the place and placed them around his head." Why? Rashi explains: "Jacob was fearful of the wild animals."

Now let's ask ourselves a simple question. If you were camping in safari country, where lions roamed, would you put a few stones around you for protection?? I think these animals are rather athletic and have the ability to jump 4 inches off the ground! And better yet, would you try and protect only your head? I know it's an important part of one's anatomy, but I'd like to keep the rest of my body intact if I can help it! So what in the world was Jacob thinking exactly when he decided to surround only his head with some measly stones!?

The holy Zohar teaches us, that if one reads any single story of the Torah and takes it only at face value, he or she is missing out on everything. Of course Jacob literally surrounded his head with stones, but of what significance, of what symbolism is the Torah teaching me in my life? The Chassidic Masters explained this event as follows: Jacob knew that he was leaving the comfortable, holy presence of his father and mother in Israel, to wander into the unknown, corrupt territory of his uncle Lavan in a foreign land. There he would work day and night, trying to survive and still keep his moral character together, his trust and devotion to G-d intact. That's why he prepared himself with an additional time secluded in learning about G-d and instilling these values internally. But even so, once he would enter the world of the conniving Lavan, how could he possibly keep his moral character strong? This is why Jacob surrounded only his head. Jacob was saying: "I'm not scared of the physical wild animals, but the spiritual ones! My spiritual integrity and beliefs will be attacked at every moment, and therefore I must always keep what's in my head - what I have learned and what I believe now - intact.

Like our forefather Jacob, we too live in the world of Lavan. A foreign one; one which may feel comfortable, but that is foreign to our souls, which only want holy and good things. We deal with the world, we study, we work. Society may be asking us on a daily basis to conform to its desires for us to be what it would like us to be. The Jewish people, throughout history, have resisted that desire. While involving ourselves completely with the world, G-d asks us to refine and uplift, rather than be dragged down with it. And how do we do that? By keeping what's in our heads, the values we have learned and the Judaism we have internalized, intact and untouchable; unchanging. And through every prayer, every mitzvah, every Torah class learned, we additionally fortify our heads and protect ourselves with immovable stones.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Soul Journeying

~Hey Everyone! We are 2 weeks away from arguably my favorite holiday: Chanukah! This is the month of miracles, Divine Providence above & beyond nature, so I wish you much success beyond your imagined expectations, in all things good~


This week’s Torah portion is "Vayishlach" meaning "And He sent." “Yakov sent angels before him to greet Esav, his brother.” Afraid of his brother's evil intentions, Yakov sends him messengers with gifts, as well as a message: “Im Lavan garti — With Lavan I have sojourned.” After 20 years away from home, working with his deceptive uncle Lavan, Yakov summed up the approach he had taken throughout these years: “With Lavan I have sojourned." During all those years, Yakov treated his situation like a stranger making a stop in a foreign place. He was sojourning - just passing through.

There is an awesome story told about the foremost disciple of the Baal Shem Tov - Dov Ber of Mezeritch. It happened once that a Jewish traveler was passing through the city of Mezeritch, and decided it would be wise to visit the holy Dov Ber. Knocking on the door, unsure of what to expect, the traveler was shocked to find a decrepit, empty room, save one chair and a table. "For such a great man, this is how he lives!?" Sensing his thoughts, Rabbi Dov Ber asked him: "Where are all of your belongings? Your furniture, your jewels?" Puzzled, the man answered: "But Rabbi, I'm only passing through your town!" The Rabbi, surveying the room, smiled and said: "I am also just passing through."

During our allotted years on this earth (may we live many happy and healthy years!) we are travelers on a mission. We mustn't get too comfortable and attached to all the materiality offered by the world. We must stay focused on doing and contributing good; on our mission. It's interesting to note that the numerical equivalent of the word "garti (I sojourned)" is 613. Through Yakov's treating of the materialism around him as secondary, he was better able to perform the 613 Mitzvot of the Torah.

So the next time you see a 50% sale at the Quicksilver store...give 20$ to charity! (say what?) Or if you're cheap, put on Tefillin (boy) or light Shabbos candles (girl), for through this we succeed in turning the world that we're traveling in,
into a true home for Hashem and ourselves.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

True Preparation

B"H

Last week we left Jacob after he had just received his father's blessings.
Understandably angry, his brother Esau wants to kill him. So Jacob is sent off by his very wise mother Rivkah to go live by her brother Lavan.
There, he is to find a wife and establish his family. It is time now to leave the "tent of Torah," his secure, holy environment, and enter the material world.
A world, whose Hebrew name 'olam' is connected to another Hebrew word 'he'elam' meaning hidden. G-d Isn't so revealed in Vegas!
Kinda sucks for Jacob. But he's gotta do what he's gotta do, right?

Now, how is a good Jewish boy like Jacob supposed to adapt to his upcoming new surroundings?
One would think he should study what life is going to be like in his new city. Perhaps study under a craftsman or filed laborer to learn the tricks of the trade?
At least buy new clothing to fit his new environment? Jacob does neither. "Vayifga b'makom" - "And he reached the place (and prayed)" [Genesis 28:2].

The actions of our forefathers are lessons to us as descendants for all time.
When involving ourselves in the world, now more than ever we need spiritual re-enforcement, to make sure we don't get lost in our activities.
To always remember our purpose and our ultimate goals while involved in family life & business, we must make sure to plug in to learning and prayer.
The Torah continues and states, that on the way to his new home, Jacob stops for rest & surrounds his head with stones.
The Q: is asked: what was the point? Rashi explains "in order to protect himself from wild beasts." But how much protection can 3-inch stones really offer?
And if Jacob was relying totally on G-d's Supernatural Protection, why put stones at all!?

In Jewish Mysticism it's explained that Jacob's action represented every Jew's need to protect what's in their head from danger.
Jacon knew that, as long as all of the values and Torah that he had learned and integrated into his life until now were kept secure,
he would do just fine in his new environment, and sanctify his surroundings. Not to be lowered by them - but rather to uplift.

May we be empowered by our father Jacob to always keep our Jewish values & Wisdom intact as we interact with the world around us.

~Shabbat Shalom!~

-Daniel
Crown Heights, New York

Dressed for the Occasion

In this week's Torah portion, Toldot, we read about the birth and early years of Jacob & Esau. Born to righteous parents Issac & Rivkah, Jacob & Esau end up going separate paths, as the Torah says: "And the youths grew up, and Esau was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, whereas Jacob was an innocent man, dwelling in tents."
While Jacob lived preoccupied in learning and character refinement, Esau went out into the world, ready to conquer.

As time passes, Issac realizes that his life may be nearing to a close. He therefore calls his son Esau to fetch for him food, where upon his return, he will be blessed by his father. When Rivkah overhears this (believing that Jacob is more deserving of blessing), she immediately commands her son Jacob to enter his father's tent with food she will prepare, and receive Issac's blessings instead of Esau. Since Esau happened to be very hairy, Rivkah dresses Jacob in a hairy animal's clothing, and Jacob enters his father's tent (Being blind, Issac could only feel the difference in skin).

And Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come closer, so that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not."
So Jacob drew near to Isaac his father, and he felt him, and he said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
And he came closer, and he kissed him, and he smelled the fragrance of his garments, and he blessed him, and he said, "Behold, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field, which G-d has blessed!"

So what was really going on here? Why did Issac want to bless the wicked Esau? Why did Rivkah decide to intervene and "trick" Issac?
There are many insightful explanations to the meaning of these events, but I would like to focus primarily on one part: Jacob's need to disguise himself in Esau's clothing. If the blessings were ultimately meant for him by G-d, why was it set up in such a way that he had to go with a disguise in order to receive them?

Our Chassidic Masters explain the inner meaning behind this fascinating story of our forefathers. Jacob, the unblemished one, is a symbol for a Jew's G-dly soul.
Esau, the hunter, the worldly one, is a symbol for a Jew's body. Now in order for the soul (Jacob) to receive G-d's Blessing - in order to succeed & fulfill its reason for being - the soul cannot remain in the spiritual realms, but must rather descend into a coarse, physical body (Esau's clothing) and into a physical world. For in order to affect the physical world, the soul alone is just not gonna cut it. It needs a body to work with. A soul cannot put on tefillin or light Shabbos candles or put up a mezuzah, but hands can.
The body is the vehicle in which the soul can succeed in its mission on earth.

But there's one more point here. While riding in this vehicle called a body, during this stay in the physical world, Jacob must never forget that he is Jacob.
No matter how long he's wearing "Esau's clothing", he must never forget who he truly is, who he must identify with. The soul, us, must never forget that we are souls on a mission. Yes, we're in bodies that need food, showers and pampering. And yes, we have to work in the world, leaving the 'tents of Jacob' in order to succeed in it as best we can.
But we mustn't forget who we really are, and what the purpose is of this excursion into Esau's clothing.
As it says: "G-d Desired a Dwelling Place in the lower realms." - (Midrash Tanchuma, Naso 16)
When the twins Jacob & Esau were born, the Torah says Esau went out 1st, and Jacob's "hand was grasping Esau's heel."
The soul must have a hold on the physical, in order to uplift it. But we musn't get consumed by the world's flashy "appeal." We are Jacob underneath the clothes of Esau. We must remain true to our essence.

As Issac put it best: "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
Through the voice of Jacob, Torah and prayer, we can succeed in enriching our hands' work in this world to be the way it should be.
And then we will receive all of the blessings possible, both materially and spiritually, in all that we need.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

-Daniel
Crown Heights, NY