B'H
THE 1ST PLAGUE: FROM WATER TO...blood?
In this week's Parsha, "Va'aira", Moses appears with Aharon his
brother be4 Pharaoh, and the 1st of the 10 plagues begin! As we know,
everything in Torah is a lesson for every Jew, in every generation,
forever. Much of the Torah is spent discussing the leaving of Egypt,
the 10 plagues, and life after Egypt in the desert. What, in our
lives, does it mean to 'leave Egypt'? In Hebrew, Egypt is "Mitzrayim."
The word 'Mitzrayim' (with different vowels) can be pronounced
"Maitzarim"-meaning 'constraints' or 'limitations.' To "leave" Egypt,
spiritually, means to go beyond our (real or imagined) limitations and
boundaries in this physical world and in our service of G-d.
How were the Jewish People able to leave Mitzrayim? Through the 10
plagues. Now that we know what leaving "Mitzrayim" means in our lives,
we must figure out the deeper lesson behind each of the plagues (the
tools in which we are to leave our boundaries).
Let's take a look at the 1st plague: The Nile River, the only source
for Egyptian's water, is turned to blood. What are the characteristics
of blood and water?
!st of all, Blood is warm and alive, while water is cold. For one to
break out of his 'Mitzrayim', his/her personal restrictions in service
of Hashem, one must First and Foremost transform his cold approach &
feeling to Judaism and G-d, and bring warmth and energy into his life.
The source for all bad in one's connection to G-d, is a coldness; a
lack of feeling. We must bring life and energy, an enthusiasm. Instead
of, "aw man, why another Fri. Night dinner, I have a movie to catch at
nine", one can think: "I'm eating the 3,400th yr. in a row of Shabbat
Meals of my People. G-d's Presence is Dwelling in the room right now
with my family. He Is Overjoyed that I am dedicating a special time
that He chose, to be together with Him away from the movie for once,
taking pleasure in His Pleasure for a short while." Or whatever does
it for ya. Life was meant to be lived. It helps to learn a bit, sing
or just think for a bit, but feeling is a must. When we realize what a
Jew is; a lamplighter in the world, a child of G-d sent down to G-d's
Garden to perfect it through our work and connect to Him Here, one is
inspired. "Little, insignificant me, is connected to such a great
G-d?"
Life as a Jew: With enthusiasm, life, and warmth.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
A Trip to the Nursery (Parshas Shemos)
B"H
So Today's your turn to pick up your son from his nursery. You finish
up work, grab your keys, and head to the school. Without traffic, you
reach the nursery 5 min.'s early and enter your son's class, taking a
seat quietly by the entrance. A few children play with toys by your
feet, and babble some words to you. Busy with your blackberry phone,
you hardly pay notice. Suddenly, your attention is caught grabbed!
Your precious son (brought over by the nursery teacher), is babbling
incoherently about some exciting thing occurring now in his life. You
smile with great joy, overflowing with the love for your child...
A Jew may wonder: "What does the great G-d care about
my actions. G-d is so far beyond physicality, beyond caring about what I do.
Why would a good deed I perform, prayers I pray,
or candles I light, truly matter to the Almighty G-d?!"
From our perspective, at 1st glance, maybe it doesn't. But from G-d's
Perspective, little do we know the immense joy and pleasure we bring
Him. To his Father, what His child does, is truly precious.
If you'd like to read further, here are 2 short, Beautiful teachings
from this week's Torah Portion- "Shemot"
The Torah says: "And Moshe was shepherding the sheep." Next we
read how Moshe saw the burning thorn bush, where G-d tells him that the
time has come for the Jewish People to be redeemed from Egypt. What
does Moshe's life as a shepherd have anything to do with the
subsequent revelation of G-d and directive to become leader and
savior of the Jewish People??
In the Midrash we find something that gives us insight into what the
Torah is saying here. One day, as Moshe was shepherding his sheep, 1
darted away from the flock. Moshe chased it and chased it, until he
found it drinking from a stream. "If only I knew you were tired,"
thought Moshe. He then hoisted it on his shoulders and carried it back
to the flock.
G-d Said: "If Moshe cares for this 1 sheep with such care, I will
entrust him to care for My Flock"-the Jewish People.
Thus we read next how G-d Revealed Himself
and Commanded Moshe to redeem the Jews...
But what is the lesson for us now?
In order to merit a "revelation from G-d", a true closeness to Him,
one must give oneself over, and truly worry about, G-d's Sheep- a
fellow Jew.
--------------------
We find a very interesting fact about our great leader Moshe:
How can it be that he grew up in Egypt, and was raised in a purely Egyptian
home and culture of Pharaoh's daughter's home?
(he was found by her in a basket on the river and adopted).
How can it be that Holy Moshe grew to such greatness there?
This fact teaches us something very profound:
SPECIFICALLY in Egypt, which opposed all that Moshe stood for;
THERE the Savior of Israel had to be born and grow up, in order to become so great!
This point answers another famous Question: "If G-d Wants that we
should learn Torah and perform the Commandments,
why did He Put us in an Exile, full of troubles and concealment of G-d?!"
The answer is, that SPECIFICALLY here, where we find ourselves
in the "Land of Egypt"; yet where we overcome our struggles
and make for G-d a Dwelling Place down here;
here we can truly be considered to have "grown."
-Adapted from the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Shabbat Shalom!
-Daniel
So Today's your turn to pick up your son from his nursery. You finish
up work, grab your keys, and head to the school. Without traffic, you
reach the nursery 5 min.'s early and enter your son's class, taking a
seat quietly by the entrance. A few children play with toys by your
feet, and babble some words to you. Busy with your blackberry phone,
you hardly pay notice. Suddenly, your attention is caught grabbed!
Your precious son (brought over by the nursery teacher), is babbling
incoherently about some exciting thing occurring now in his life. You
smile with great joy, overflowing with the love for your child...
A Jew may wonder: "What does the great G-d care about
my actions. G-d is so far beyond physicality, beyond caring about what I do.
Why would a good deed I perform, prayers I pray,
or candles I light, truly matter to the Almighty G-d?!"
From our perspective, at 1st glance, maybe it doesn't. But from G-d's
Perspective, little do we know the immense joy and pleasure we bring
Him. To his Father, what His child does, is truly precious.
If you'd like to read further, here are 2 short, Beautiful teachings
from this week's Torah Portion- "Shemot"
The Torah says: "And Moshe was shepherding the sheep." Next we
read how Moshe saw the burning thorn bush, where G-d tells him that the
time has come for the Jewish People to be redeemed from Egypt. What
does Moshe's life as a shepherd have anything to do with the
subsequent revelation of G-d and directive to become leader and
savior of the Jewish People??
In the Midrash we find something that gives us insight into what the
Torah is saying here. One day, as Moshe was shepherding his sheep, 1
darted away from the flock. Moshe chased it and chased it, until he
found it drinking from a stream. "If only I knew you were tired,"
thought Moshe. He then hoisted it on his shoulders and carried it back
to the flock.
G-d Said: "If Moshe cares for this 1 sheep with such care, I will
entrust him to care for My Flock"-the Jewish People.
Thus we read next how G-d Revealed Himself
and Commanded Moshe to redeem the Jews...
But what is the lesson for us now?
In order to merit a "revelation from G-d", a true closeness to Him,
one must give oneself over, and truly worry about, G-d's Sheep- a
fellow Jew.
--------------------
We find a very interesting fact about our great leader Moshe:
How can it be that he grew up in Egypt, and was raised in a purely Egyptian
home and culture of Pharaoh's daughter's home?
(he was found by her in a basket on the river and adopted).
How can it be that Holy Moshe grew to such greatness there?
This fact teaches us something very profound:
SPECIFICALLY in Egypt, which opposed all that Moshe stood for;
THERE the Savior of Israel had to be born and grow up, in order to become so great!
This point answers another famous Question: "If G-d Wants that we
should learn Torah and perform the Commandments,
why did He Put us in an Exile, full of troubles and concealment of G-d?!"
The answer is, that SPECIFICALLY here, where we find ourselves
in the "Land of Egypt"; yet where we overcome our struggles
and make for G-d a Dwelling Place down here;
here we can truly be considered to have "grown."
-Adapted from the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Shabbat Shalom!
-Daniel
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Success! Parashas Vayechi
B"H
What's up everyone! Hope all is well, staying joyful and positive as you
bask in your good weather while I freeze here in New York :)
Here's A short idea on this week's Torah portion "Vayechi":
Our great ancestor Yosef, was sent in chains into slavery in Egypt. Later he was
imprisoned on false charges and spent 14 yrs. in prison. Suddenly
Yosef is called to
interpret Pharaoh's dreams, and is appointed as 2nd in command,
essentially ruler over
all of Egypt; and as master over the entire food supply during a
global famine-ruler over the fate of the entire world. After Yosef is
finally reunited with his father Ya'akov, his father oddly blesses
Yosef's 2nd born son-1st, and then his 1st born son-2nd! But let's not
get too ahead of ourselves...
After leaving prison and becoming ruler, Yosef married Asnat and had 2
children: Menashe and Ephrayim. His 1st-born he named Menashe, b/c
"G-d has caused me to forget ('Nashani') all my hardships and all that
was in my father's house" (41:51). This expressed Yosef's pain at the
fact that he found himself in a place which caused him to forget his
father's house. His 2nd son Ephrayim, was named this b/c, "G-d has
Made me fruitful ('Hiphrani') in the land of my subjugation" (ibid.
52), expressing Yosef's success in Egypt.
Since the Torah and its stories are lessons for every Jew in every
generation, what can we learn from these names of Yosef's sons?
Menashe and Ephrayim represent the 2 different reactions a Jew has to
being in exile: on one hand, he longs to leave this exile and return
to "his father's house." But on the other hand, since he finds
himself-by Divine Providence- in exile, he realizes that there is a
mission to be carried out here, a mission given by our G-d, and he
toils to succeed.
Menashe was the 1st-born b/c 1st of all, a Jew needs to feel "out of
place" in exile, to ensure that he doesn't assimilate, and to realize
that this situation is not my true "home." But the primary purpose of
being in exile is to succeed in Divine service there- which is why
Ya'akov wished to bless Ephrayim first.
-(Based on the 'Gutnick Chumash's' interpretation of a talk by the
Lubavitcher Rebbe)
By growing every day in Judaism, living the life of a Jew in San
diego, LA, on college campus, wherever-we are fulfilling the entire
purpose for G-d's Creation of us and the world, reminding G-d of the
greatness of His people, and hastening the final Redemption through
Moshiach, which will bring everlasting harmony to us and the entire
world, may it come now!
Shabbat Shalom
-daniel
What's up everyone! Hope all is well, staying joyful and positive as you
bask in your good weather while I freeze here in New York :)
Here's A short idea on this week's Torah portion "Vayechi":
Our great ancestor Yosef, was sent in chains into slavery in Egypt. Later he was
imprisoned on false charges and spent 14 yrs. in prison. Suddenly
Yosef is called to
interpret Pharaoh's dreams, and is appointed as 2nd in command,
essentially ruler over
all of Egypt; and as master over the entire food supply during a
global famine-ruler over the fate of the entire world. After Yosef is
finally reunited with his father Ya'akov, his father oddly blesses
Yosef's 2nd born son-1st, and then his 1st born son-2nd! But let's not
get too ahead of ourselves...
After leaving prison and becoming ruler, Yosef married Asnat and had 2
children: Menashe and Ephrayim. His 1st-born he named Menashe, b/c
"G-d has caused me to forget ('Nashani') all my hardships and all that
was in my father's house" (41:51). This expressed Yosef's pain at the
fact that he found himself in a place which caused him to forget his
father's house. His 2nd son Ephrayim, was named this b/c, "G-d has
Made me fruitful ('Hiphrani') in the land of my subjugation" (ibid.
52), expressing Yosef's success in Egypt.
Since the Torah and its stories are lessons for every Jew in every
generation, what can we learn from these names of Yosef's sons?
Menashe and Ephrayim represent the 2 different reactions a Jew has to
being in exile: on one hand, he longs to leave this exile and return
to "his father's house." But on the other hand, since he finds
himself-by Divine Providence- in exile, he realizes that there is a
mission to be carried out here, a mission given by our G-d, and he
toils to succeed.
Menashe was the 1st-born b/c 1st of all, a Jew needs to feel "out of
place" in exile, to ensure that he doesn't assimilate, and to realize
that this situation is not my true "home." But the primary purpose of
being in exile is to succeed in Divine service there- which is why
Ya'akov wished to bless Ephrayim first.
-(Based on the 'Gutnick Chumash's' interpretation of a talk by the
Lubavitcher Rebbe)
By growing every day in Judaism, living the life of a Jew in San
diego, LA, on college campus, wherever-we are fulfilling the entire
purpose for G-d's Creation of us and the world, reminding G-d of the
greatness of His people, and hastening the final Redemption through
Moshiach, which will bring everlasting harmony to us and the entire
world, may it come now!
Shabbat Shalom
-daniel
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