The Red "X"

This writing is dedicated to Ross Muller and his wonderful family. May your soul ascend and bask in G-d's presence, and may your family find peace and comfort


Many years ago, there was a land whose king found himself in a very tough bind. His adviser had just informed him, that the land's new crop of wheat was faulty. Those who had begun eating of it had begun to show signs of insanity! What were they to do? It seemed either the people would starve, or they would have to become insane. "Perhaps, my king," said the adviser, "you and I could eat from the kingdom's stored produce..."

"No," said the king. "If so, everyone will be crazy, and we will appear different. They will label us the crazy ones!" After some thought, the king told his adviser: "We too will eat from the new produce. But before we do, we will draw a red "X" on our foreheads. That way, even after we're affected by the wheat, we will know that we are different, that we are crazy. But that this isn't who we really are."

For the last 2,000 years, the Jewish people have been in exile. Our holy temple destroyed, banished from the land of Israel, our ancestors dispersed among the various lands throughout the civilized world. But this change wasn't merely a geographical one, but a spiritual one. When the Jewish people ascended to Jerusalem & its temple 3 times a year for the holidays, the Torah says: "Three times each year... [you] shall be seen in the presence of God your Lord in the place that He will choose." The Talmud teaches: 'The verse can be read in 2 ways: "be seen" or "will see."' Meaning, it wasn't just that G-d Observed his people when they came to the temple. Those that came observed G-d as well! Not necessarily with their eyes, but rather with their mind's eye. They sensed G-d's presence with the spiritual antenna of their souls. G-dliness was palpable, was felt.

But like the villagers in the above story, over the years we have "consumed" foreign influences that have made us feel different to who we are truly. We have been in a long exile; not just a physical one, but also a spiritual one. Today in America, instead of "seeing" a G-dly reality as in days of old, it's more likely we'll see a season premiere of Jersey Shore (if you don't know the show, trust me, you're better off ;) So how can we retain our inner truth? The type of person my soul was meant to express and actualize in my time on earth?
Through the Torah & its Mitzvot. Like the red "X" on the foreheads of the King and his adviser, we Jews have always needed a special reminder of the truth of who we are. No matter how "crazy" - materialistic & shallow - my society makes me, I have the Torah, with its holidays, deeds and wisdom, as an "X" on my forehead to remind me of my essence.
Now all I have to do is look at the "X" as often as I can :)

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

A King Without a Crown

In 2005, Hasidic Reggae singer Matisyahu had his breakthrough
with the hit song "King without a crown," which reached #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. What most radio listeners didn't realize, is that the song centers on a deeply significant theme that is the underlying message of the Rosh Hashana holiday.


Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur center around a few major ideas. We pray to G-d, asking to be inscribed for a good & sweet year, materially and spiritually; for ourselves, our family, and for all of Israel. We repent for our mistakes of the past year, asking forgiveness from G-d and from our fellow man whom we may have hurt. But one theme, according to Jewish mysticism, stands above the rest: Appointing G-d as our king.

The Rosh Hashanah service (besides for being long ) centers around the sounding of the shofar. Often likened to the cry of a young child to his parents, the shofar blasts also symbolize the coronation of G-d as King; much like trumpets at the anointing ceremonies of old. The obvious question arises: HOW can lowly us, fashioned by G-d out of dust, possibly have the ability to anoint the Infinite G-d as our King? Imagine you walked into your back yard one afternoon. You spot a small anthill and, walking up to it, announce proudly that you are king of this great ant nation. How absurd! To be a true king, one has to have a nation; one that is close to you in level, but subservient and devoted. So how can we anoint G-d as King?

The answer is very simple, and very powerful: We can anoint G-d as our king because we are close to Him. When G-d Created each speck of creation, from the angels in the highest of heavens to the lowest creatures of the sea bed, the Torah says: "He Spoke." G-d Used speech. But when He created man & woman, the Torah says G-d "Blew" a soul into their bodies. This is all metaphorical, but a clear difference between speech & a deep breath is clearly symbolized here: One can speak for hours & hours without pause, because one uses his external breath with a minimum output. A deep breath comes from the innermost depths of a person, and therefore leaves him quite breathless. When G-d created each of us, placing our precious, individual souls in our bodies, He had a nation that was close to Him, albeit on a hidden level. On Rosh Hashanah, we work to reveal that inner soul & return the crown to the King, asking Him to be our beloved King for another year. It's lovely to have such a great king, especially when you are His prince or princess.

May you & your family have an amazingly sweet year, filled with abundant blessings physically, materially, and spiritually, in all areas of good! If I have wronged you in any way, please forgive me :)
Shana Tovah!

-Daniel

The King's Letter

In a kingdom far away, there once lived a King and his beloved son, the prince. One day, it dawned on the king that there was a difficult, but necessary lesson his beloved son needed to learn. And that was, to understand the people of the kingdom. How could the prince ever be expected to one day rule a kingdom properly, if he had never met or spoken with those he would be governing?

So with bags packed, the prince tearfully but obediently left the palace, travelling to a very distant province of the kingdom. Dressed like a commoner and acting as such, the prince began to mingle with the people of the city. As time passed, he really began to understand the common people and their needs. But all the while, the prince longed for his home, and for his father - the king.

One day, a letter arrived, addressed to the prince's name. Excitedly he opened it, revealing a letter from his father, the king! Incredible!
The prince was so overjoyed he couldn't contain himself. He began to dance and sing with great emotion. But the beggars and commoners next to him looked at him like he was crazy! And understandably so. "How could they", thought the prince, "ever hope to understand how I feel right now? They could never dream of receiving such a letter!"

So the prince devised a plan: "I will be sponsoring a massive feast!" He shouted. "Everyone to the tavern!" As the masses swarmed to the tavern with joy, and food and drink were passed around, everyone began to dance and sing with reckless abandon, the prince included! But there was one major difference: The commoners celebrated because of the food and drink, while the prince was celebrating the letter he had received from his father, the king.
~~~
Food and drink, Challah & fine wine, fish and meat, are all major components of Jewish celebration of holy days.
"...And you call the Sabbath a delight." (Isaiah 58:13)
We sing and dance in joyful celebration of Shabbat and the holidays we were given by G-d, our King. But as we know, we are made up of 2 parts: A body, and a soul. On these holy days where a special G-dly Light Shines, our souls intrinsically sense this light, and desire to celebrate wholeheartedly! But alas, our souls were placed in physical bodies that only know of physical things. So what can the soul, the King's child, do to celebrate? It gives the body a pleasure that it can understand and relate to, much like the commoners of the town in the story. But while the body is celebrating the food and drink, the soul is celebrating the "letter from the king" - the holiness of the Shabbat or holiday. A letter of connection sent from G-d, our Father and King.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

The Royal Wedding

With the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate in England today, many people's minds were on royalty. I, too, was thinking about royalty, as I was learning Chapter 42 of the Jewish mystical book Tanya, last night. It's one of my favorite passages of Tanya. Let's take a look at the words of the author, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi:

'One should remember that, as in the case of a mortal king, the essence of awe [of him] relates to his inner nature
and vitality and not to his body - for when he is asleep, there is no fear of him - and, surely, his inner character
and vitality are not perceived by physical eyes but only by the vision of the mind, through the physical eyes beholding his
stature and robes, and making the beholder aware of the vitality that is clothed in them.
If this be so, one must likewise truly be in awe of G-d when gazing with your physical eyes at the heavens and earth and all
that fills them, wherein is clothed the Infinite Light of G-d that animates them.
And although many garments are involved in this investment, there is no difference or distinction at all in the awe of a mortal
king, whether he be naked or robed in one or many garments.'

Simply put, the awe of a king - of royalty - happens because a person seeing him realizes (through his clothing, etc.) who he is.
So too when it comes to the true King - Hashem. When surveying the natural world we live in, we don't necessarily notice G-d.
But if we contemplate, that all of the world that we see, is really just the clothing of G-d, than we can be aware of the One Who Animates the clothing.

Through being aware that the nature we see is just the garments of the King, may we merit the ultimate wedding of G-d and the Jewish People, a greater event than even today's grand affair!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

The King's Coming to Town Baby!

B"H

Hey everyone, I hope this e-mail finds you in healthy and happy spirits!
You know, living in Jerusalem while learning deep, sacred texts of Jewish thought, and meeting and hearing from so many special people from all around every day, I learn many inspiring life lessons. It's therefore very hard for me to choose 1 to try and give over once every week or 2 in this email. But I appreciate any of you who read them and share them, and to those who send me feedback. Thanks a lot and I hope you enjoy them!


Imagine you could meet your king. Imagine you were hanging out with friends on a simple Wednesday afternoon, and the king walked into your very room.
Imagine no more...

The last month of the Jewish year (which begins on Friday) is called 'Elul.' Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi explains the special opportunity we are given in this month to connect to G-d, with the following parable:

A King decides to leave his palace, leave his large city, and enter the fields where the simple farmers work. There, ALL are able to come and meet the King, who embraces them with a shining and happy countenance.
The mystics teach us that 'Elul' is an acronym in Hebrew for: 'Ani Le'dodi Ve'dodi Li' - "I am to my Beloved, and My Beloved is to me." (When soccer star David Beckham found out he had some Jewish roots, he tattoed these words on his arm. Warning: I'm not implying this..;)
These words signify the reality which is this month of Elul. G-d, our King, "comes to our field" - He Becomes Much more accessible to us - "My Beloved is to me." When we try to connect, it meets with more success. But like the parable of the simple people going out to greet their King, we also have to put in some sort of extra effort to reach out to our King - "I am to my Beloved." And our King is Excitedly Anticipating our coming, with a shining Countenance. Let's seize this amazing opportunity in this auspicious month before the High Holidays (which our mystics describe as the time when we leave the field together and enter into the actual palace, alone with our King.)
But let's not forget the special quality that this month has, that of the King Being with us in the simle "field." For these 30 days Hashem Becomes more apparent to us WHEREVER we are holding in life, low or high, field or palace. Most of us are field people; we aren't always that lofty and righteous. But regardless of where we stand, the King Ventures to us in our field, ready to connect on our level. All we have to do is greet him.

Good luck and have a great month!

Daniel
Jerusalem, Israel
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May you be inscribed & Sealed for a good & sweet year!
Remember: Your next deed will change the world. Make it a good one!