A Sleepless Night

{Next Thursday, May 31, my youth organization, "JTeen", we will be hosting an end of year banquet. We would love it if you could join us, and if not, you can be a virtual attendee. To reserve, please visit: www.JteenBanquet.eventbrite.com}

From this Saturday night until Monday night., Jews worldwide will be celebrating the major Biblical holiday known as Shavuot. On Shavuot there is the custom to stay up the entire night (many spend it learning Torah or listening to classes at synagogue.) So what's exactly up with this strange custom?
The source for the custom of staying up comes from the Midrash, which details how the Jewish People slept in on the morning of the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai (celebrated as the holiday of Shavuot). Say What!? How does someone sleep if he knows that the next morning he’ll be meeting & hearing from G-d Himself! I can’t even sleep well when I know I have a flight to catch the next morning!

So to understand how the Jewish People could have slept so soundly the night before this momentous event, let's back up & take a look at what sleep really consists of froma Jewish perspective. What happens when we go to sleep? Jewish Mysticism explains that during sleep, our souls leave our bodies and ascend to heavenly realms, leaving the sleeping body below. A bit of soul energy is left to maintain the body in its seemingly dead state, while the soul - free of the constraints of the body - leaves to enjoy a greater feeling of closeness to G-d while learning greater Torah wisdom. So now we can look back to the Jewish people's plan to sleep in the night before the giving of the Torah.

They had a seemingly great plan! “We’re right before the holiest event in history. We’ve spiritually prepared for the last 49 days since leaving Egypt, refining ourselves to the most humanly possible degree. The last thing we can do is sleep! To let our souls go beyond our bodies for a little bit, and get as close to G-d as possible before the giving of the Torah!” Sounds good right? So then we can ask the other way: why do we stay up every year on the night of Shavuot to make up for the fact that the Jewish People slept? It was a good idea!

In this question & answer lies a very fundamental concept of the Torah. The giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai to the Jewish People, was that the spiritual & physical - heaven & earth - should meet; G-dliness could now be infused into physicality. When a mitzvah is done, the physical object and body of the person doing it could now become infused with G-dliness.

A unique and beautiful aspect of Judaism, a revolutionary concept in fact, however counter intuitive, is that true spirituality - true G-dliness, can ultimately be found only in the physical. The Torah argues that the oneness of G-d is expressed when He is found down here in the physical world. It’s very important to be spiritual and transcend the body sometimes to connect to G-d, but ultimately He desires that materiality be elevated and made a vessel for His Dwelling. And that’s why we stay up on Shavuot night, avoiding the sleep that our ancestors thought a correct preparation. Because sleeping, having the soul leave this world for more loftier places, is not the ultimate G-dly intention. The intention of G-d in creating us & this amazing world, is that we "stay up" - that we engage the physical, fixing ourselves and the world around us, soul in body.

Happy Shavuot!

-Daniel

P.S. It's a mitzvah to hear the 10 commandments read from the Torah in synagogue on Wednesday. [For more Shavuot info., go to: Shavuot]

From Slavery to...Freedom?

Tonight, April 6th, the 15th of Nissan, Jews worldwide will be celebrating Pesach (Passover). 3 Matzahs, 4 cups of wine, bitter herbs and sweet charoset, we will recall the events that led to the leaving of Egypt by our people years ago. But for what purpose did G-d take us out all those years ago? And He (G-d) said (to Moshe),
"For I will be with you, and this is the sign for you that it was I Who sent you. When you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship G-d on this mountain." (Exodus 3:12)

The ultimate purpose of leaving the shackles of Egyptian slavery, was to receive the Torah from G-d at Mount Sinai, accepting upon ourselves the various laws and instructions - the Mitzvot - contained inside. An obvious question arises: How come we make such a big deal over our freedom from Egypt and our servitude there, if we were only freed in order to become slaves to another master!? With all of these rules & regulations, where's our freedom!? And if so, what are we even celebrating? The answer to this is a profound one - touching on the essence of who we are and what it means to truly feel free.

Who are we? Judaism teaches that we are lofty souls, that have descended & been clothed into coarse bodies that are constantly distracted by any and every lust & desire that passes before our eyes. Especially today in 2012, with the dominant role electronic devices play in our lives - with its constant barrage of messages and visuals, as well as the rise in our standard of living, much time has been devoted to our bodies, while less and less time & opportunity has been afforded our souls.

In the books of Jewish Mysticism, it is often described how painful for the soul it is to have to descend from its lofty home in the spiritual worlds to an earth full of lies and falsehood. Where the outer shell is emphasized as truth and the inner dimension invisible. And that's where Torah & Mitzvot come in. Far from limiting us, when one learns Torah or performs a Mitzvah, one's soul is able to finally express itself - to free itself from the shackles of shallowness, shining through the coarseness of physicality.

By way of example, let's take a look at the mitzvah of observing Shabbat. We know that a major theme of Shabbat is that it's a day of rest. But so much we do that day seems to be the opposite of rest! From walking to synagogue to avoiding computers & television to exerting ourselves in prayer and learning, Shabbat seems to be more strenuous than restful! But that's if one is looking at the resting of the body. Avoiding the numerous every day distractions of life, for one day, opens up a door for one's soul to express itself. Prayer, learning, a time for contemplation and reflection, gives a person a chance to express his true essence. And that is the true "rest" the soul desires all week long.

May this Passover, and its continuation to the holiday of Shavuot, inspire us to get more in touch with our souls, through connecting with our Torah & Mitzvot.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

3 Stages of Love

The 3rd and last major holiday on the Jewish Calendar, Shavuot, was celebrated this past week. Commemorating the giving of the Torah, Shavuot is often likened by our Sages to a wedding between G-d and the Jewish People. Our entire nation stood at Mt. Sinai (the wedding canopy), as G-d (the groom) wed His bride (the Jewish People), and Gave "her" a ring of betrothal (the Torah) - making vows that we would always be loyal to one another.

Let's take a deeper look at this analogy of a wedding & the giving of the Torah. One could perhaps divide the relationship between a man & woman, a couple, into 3 stages. The 1st stage is the early days of their relationship, the courting process. Here the 2 may feel very much in love. Each person is showing the other the best side of themselves, putting on a "show." In this stage, each one appreciates the other's qualities, and is attracted to their talents, personality and capabilities.
In the 2nd stage, however, after marriage, this feeling of being "madly in love" may not stay on a high. But the relationship still grows, as each person helps the other, beginning to also appreciate what the other person does for them. All of the kind support and caring that a supportive spouse offers. In the 3rd stage, the couple have ceased looking at just what the other offers or at the great talents of their mate. They are now one. Think about when you see an elderly couple together. You may not see an "exciting" relationship, a burning passion between them. However, they are deeply bound. Each knows, instinctively, what are the needs of their spouse.

So too have there been 3 stages in the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people. First, G-d performed miracles for us in Egypt & at the sea, "sweeping us off of our feet."We were madly in love with one another, proclaiming: "na'aseh v'nishma - we will do & then we will understand." Undying devotion to the G-d Who appeared, in one word, to be Awesome. But this was a temporary excitement. After our marriage at Mt. Sinai, we disobeyed and rebelled, leading almost to a divorce. But the relationship still grew, as we began to do things for our Mate, performing Mitzvot.
But as history has progressed, the connection between G-d & His People Has moved into the 3rd stage - our becoming as One. Knowing instinctively what the other wants. This is seen in the Halachot & Minhagim (customs) developed by all strands of Jews worldwide over time. The laws of the Sages represent this, as it says: "The Torah is not in heaven" - meaning it is up to us to decide amongst many of the rulings and customs (see here for more).

May we work toward & merit the time soon when our relationship with G-d, and the entire world's relationship with Him, is openly revealed as being in the 3rd stage - as one.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Descending Revelation

This Tuesday Night, June the 7th, Jews worldwide will celebrate the festival of Shavuot (see here for more written on the subject), which commemorates the most monumental event of our history - the Giving of the Torah, where G-d Said Hello to all of mankind. 10 commandments were spoken at Mt. Sinai - the 1st 2 by G-d, the other 8 by Moses. These 10 commandments are said to represent the entire Torah; all of its great Divine Wisdom encapsulated in the 620 words of these 10 commandments. It's interesting to note that there are 613 Mitzvot throughout the Torah, as well as 7 that the Rabbis instituted, equaling 620. (Or some say the 7 Laws of Noah given to all humanity to follow).

Innumerable amounts of ink have been spilled by the Sages throughout history to explain the deep meaning behind the 10 commandments. But let's focus here on one idea. The 1st of the 10 commandments is:
"I am Hashem your G-d, who took you out of the land of Egypt."
Interestingly, the word used for "I" here is "Anochi" & not the usual Hebrew word for 'I' - "ani." The Midrash explains that anochi is actually not a Hebrew word - but an ancient Egyptian one! What??
For the 1st word G-d Used to Communicate to the Jewish people, why Use the language of the most materialistic, unholy nation of that era?

Perhaps we are being taught something about the nature of Torah and of what being a Jew is all about. G-d Desires, not only to relate to the sacred, spiritual aspect of our lives (represented by Hebrew, the holy language.) He Desires to Affect, to Reach the material "Egyptian" dimension of our psyches as well. The Torah & its Mitzvot that were given to us, are thus designed to elevate and refine our "Egyptian" sides. That is the whole purpose of Mt. Sinai. Hence the use of "anochi." G-d Doesn't Want holy beings to do holy things. For that He Could Have Given the Torah to Angelic beings, or to souls without bodies. G-d Wants unholy beings to do holy things.

Imagine if a paper fell from the heavens tonight, with a message from G-d to you! Well, that's what happened thousands of years ago, and is happening every day since then. "One should accept the Torah anew every day as if it was given on that very day." (Midrash)
Let's celebrate this amazing gift we were given, this coming Wednesday, where the 10 commandments will be recounted at a synagogue near you!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel