PARSHAT RE'EI

This week's Torah portion, Re'ei opens with a fundamental principle of Judaism- free choice.

G-d says to the Jewish people, "Look, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, that you will hearken to G-d's commandments...; and the curse, if you will not hearken to G-d's commandments..." (Deut. 11:26-28).

Why did G-d create the world so as to necessitate blessings and curses? Why did G-d create something to make it difficult for us to do what is appropriate and right?

Evil alternatives exist to allow for free choice. If there was only good in this world - no chance for a person to behave in a questionable manner - he couldn't freely choose to do good; he would be forced to do good by default. And there would be no room for reward and punishment.

Wrong exists only to allow a person to choose right. Evil is nothing but a means of improving our Divine service, to push the person toward the correct path. Evil is not a curse, but a merit that enables us to succeed and prevail. Knowing this gives us the ability and strength not to be intimidated or overwhelmed by the bad.

Parshat Re'ei is read on the Shabbat when the month of Elul is blessed. In Elul, G-d's Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are manifested with particular intensity. At such a time, a person might think that his own efforts or initiative is unnecessary. Thus, the Torah reminds us, "Look, I give you today a blessing and a curse." In Elul, when G-d's mercy is manifest, a Jew must intensify his efforts to vanquish evil.

It should be a time of emphasizing the positive and increasing our love for our fellow Jew. In the merit of our good deeds (especially charity), G-d will inscribe each and every one of us together with all the righteous!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - The Jewish Way

Birth is your beginning. It is a window to the chance of a lifetime, the chance to fulfill your unique mission. A birthday is much more than an occasion to receive gifts. It is a chance to remember the day that a major event occurred, to celebrate and give thanks and to reflect upon how well we are fulfilling our calling.

Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that G-d invested in you at birth is present once again. It is our duty to be receptive to that force. How do we do so? By committing to a life guided by G-d's will, and by using the abilities and resources we were born with to perfect ourselves and society, making the world a fitting and sacred home for G-d.

A birthday is a time to celebrate birth itself, the joy of life. It is also an occasion to rethink your life: What I have accomplished and what can I accomplish? Am I spending my time properly or am I involved in things that distract me from my higher calling? How can I strengthen the thread that connects my outer life and my inner life?

To recall our birth is to recall a new beginning. No matter how things went yesterday, or last year, we always have the capacity to try again. Your birthday is a refresher, a chance for regeneration--not just materially, but spiritually.

There is no better way to celebrate a birthday than to commit a special act of goodness, a kind deed, something that you did not do yesterday. Your inner goodness, your soul, wants to express its thanks for being born and alive.

Such an act of kindness gives G-d great pleasure because He sees that the child in whom He invested, the particular child he wanted to be born on a particular day, is living up to its potential. And nothing, of course, gives a parent greater joy. This is the true experience of birth, the true beginning of a life of meaning.

Mezuza

In this past week's torah portion it tells of the mitzva of mezuza. the Talmud relates that Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi once sent a mezuza as a gift to the king of Persia, explaining that the small scroll would protect him from harm.

The commandment to affix a mezuza upon one's door posts was given only to the Jewish nation. A non-Jewish king, therefore, would not be fulfilling a religious principle by possessing a mezuza. As such, he would also be ineligible for any reward resulting from the performance of a mitzva. Why then did Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi promise the gentile king that the mezuza would guard and protect him?

When a person obeys G-d's command by fulfilling a mitzva, the reward he earns is a separate and distinct entity, additional to the essential nature of the mitzva itself. For example, the Torah states that the reward for the mitzva of mezuza is long life.

Yet besides the reward promised by the Torah, each mitzva has its own special attributes and characteristics that have nothing to do with reward, but are important parts of the mitzva itself. The mezuza's attribute is protection. Our sages explained that when a kosher mezuza is affixed to the door post, G-d Himself watches over the occupants of the house, even when they are not at home.

A mezuza is written solely for the purpose of protection, and, by its nature, it protects.

With this in mind, it becomes clear that even when no fulfillment of a religious precept is involved, a mezuza still possesses this attribute of protection. It was for this reason that Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi sent the mezuza as a gift to the Persian king.

From this we learn the crucial importance of having kosher mezuzot. The Jewish people, is always in need of special defense. Every additional mezuza affixed to a Jewish home extends G-d's Divine protection to the entire Jewish nation.

15th TU-B'AV

Today is the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av. The Talmud states that on this day the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyard to find for themselves marriage partners.

The mystics teach that marriage isn't really a union between man and woman, it is a reunion. A soul is divided into two halves. Marriage is the joyous reunion of these two separated halves.

The love between husband and wife is the most passionate for it is a result of years of a soul's yearning to achieve wholeness through reuniting with its long-lost other half. When the two finally find each other and reconnect, the resulting emotions are dizzyingly intense.

On a cosmic level, man and woman are metaphors for G‑d and His nation. The soul of the Jew is a "part of G‑d"; we are essentially one with our Creator, just as a husband and wife are derived from one essence.

And we, too, undergo this process of alienation and reunion.

On Tisha b'Av (the 9th of Av), with the destruction of the Holy Temple and the commencement of two millenniums of exile, we embarked upon a most horrifically painful long stretch of estrangement. The result of this estrangement will be the grandest wedding of all times, the coming of Moshiach which will usher in an era of eternal marital bliss.

The 15th of Av symbolizes the reconciliation that follows the estrangement of Tisha b'Av.

It is an auspicious day, a day to increase in Torah learning, prayer and acts of kindness.

Wishing much much success to all those who are seeking their soul's mate.

Foxes....Akiva laughed...MOSHIACH

The Talmud relates that the sage Rabbi Akiva was walking together with his colleagues, Rabbis Gamliel, Ben Azaria, and Yehoshua.
On the way to Jerusalem, they came to Mt. Scopus. On viewing the ruins of the Temple, they tore their garments, as mourners do. As they came closer to the Temple mount, they saw a fox coming where the Holiest place of the Temple had stood. Rabbi Akiva's colleagues started to cry.
And Rabbi Akiva? He laughed.
Shocked, the other rabbis asked him, "Why are you laughing?"
Returned Rabbi Akiva: "Why are you crying?"
Said they to him, "This was the most holy place where only the High Priest could enter and only on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur; anyone else who entered would be eligible for capital punishment. Now, foxes run in and out from there. Should we not cry?"
Said Rabbi Akiva, "For this very reason, I am laughing. The prophet Uriah foretold: Because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field". Another prophet, Zecharia, said, "There will come a time when old men and women, boys and girls, will once again sit together in the streets of Jerusalem". Since the words of the one prophet warning of the destruction of the Temple has been fulfilled, the words of the other prophet telling us of the rebuilding of the Temple for sure will also be fulfilled."
To this the rabbis exclaimed, "You have comforted us Akiva, you have comforted us."

Knowing that the end of the exile is imminent, comforts us. We are comforted by the reasoning of Rabbi Akiva that the Temple will be rebuilt. We are confident that just as all the prophecies of various punishments both in the Torah and the Prophets, clearly have been fulfilled, so too will the day come when the words of the prophets of the beauty and glory of Moshiach will be fulfilled in full measure. May it happen soon in our days.

The Beis Hamikdosh

How G-d Loves Us...

The Baal Shem Tov, explaining how great the love of G-d is for every Jew, gave the following example:

There was a Jew called Reb Yaakov, and he knew the entire Talmud by heart including the commentaries. He also used to learn verbatim without having to refer to the text. Learning this way demanded deep concentration, more so than if one was reading from a text. Once, in the middle of learning a large and difficult piece, Reb Yaakov was approached by one of his small children who told him something wise. Reb Yaakov was so excited by what the child said that he interrupted his learning. This is what can be achieved by a small child.

"So too," said the Baal Shem Tov, "G-d is busy all day. However, when a Jew prays and his request comes before the A-lmighty, G-d interrupts whatever He is doing and listens to the request of the Jew."

When G-d wanted to create man, the angels asked G-d why He needs them, what for?

When a Jew gets up in the morning, and he runs to pray, and then is busy the whole day but manages to tear himself away and go to shul for Minchah, and between Minchah and Maariv he listens to some Torah and then comes home and relates waht he learned to his family.

When this happens, the A-lmighty calls together the angels, along with the man whom He has created, and says to them: "You angels have no living to make, no wife and children, no problems, no taxes to pay. This man has a living to make and is dealing with the pressures of the exile, and yet see how he conducts himself.

Thinking deeply about how G-d is so proud of every good deed we do should in itself have a great effect on us.

PARSHAT PINCHAS - Daughters of Tzelafchad....

In this week's Torah portion, Pinchas, an incident with the five daughters of Tzelafchad is related. Tzelafchad, a Jew who died in the desert, had no sons. Since sons, and not daughters, were entitled to an inheritance, the daughters of Tzelafchad were not permitted a portion in the Holy Land.

The daughters of Tzelafchad, who were all known to be righteous women, objected to the thought that their family would not have a part in the Land of Israel. They went before Moses who presented the case to G-d. G-d said to Moses, "The daughters of Tzelafchad have a just claim. Give them a hereditary portion of land alongside their father's brothers."

We see here the Jewish woman's love for the Holy Land. The task the daughters of Tzelafchad had set for themselves was not easy. They had to approach various judges, each one referring the matter to higher authorities, until it was finally brought to Moses, himself. Tzelafchad's daughters were willing to try to overcome such a seemingly impossible obstacle to receive their portion.

This incident can serve as a lesson to each one of us in our daily lives, too. G-d demands that we conduct our lives according to certain guidelines. Yet at the same time, He created and organized the universe in such a way that it seems to preclude proper fulfillment of our obligation of Torah study and performance of mitzvot.

But, with the right approach, we too, can merit a portion in our rightful inheritance. We must be willing to try to overcome the seemingly "impossible" obstacles, just as Tzelafchad's daughters did. If we undertake it with the same attitude of love as Tzelafchad's daughters, then certainly we will achieve our goal.

Candle lighting time for L.A. is 7:50 pm.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parshas Pinchas - we are given a spiritual direction

This week's Torah portion, Pinchas, describes the apportionment of the Land of Israel. The Torah states, "Through the lot shall the land be divided." The Talmud notes that the process by which the lots were drawn was neither arbitrary nor random; the miraculous breastplate of the High Priest, guided the outcome. Rashi explains that the lot itself spoke and announced the result. In other words, the division of the soon-to-be conquered Land of Israel was determined by G-d Himself.

The inheritance of the physical portion of land is symbolic of the spiritual inheritance of every Jew with which he is required to fulfill his individual mission in life. Just as each of the Twelve Tribes was given a specific portion of land to live in and cultivate, every Jew is allotted his own spiritual realm to perfect.

Although a person might think he is free to choose his own spiritual portion, following whichever path in the service of G-d that appeals to his nature, the Torah teaches that this is not a matter of free will or logic, but is ordained by G-d.

A person cannot choose his own spiritual bent; it is an integral part of his individual spiritual makeup. But how does one determine exactly which mitzvot are especially relevant to him? By objectively ascertaining those which he finds the hardest to do!

A person may safely assume that a given direction is his "inheritance" whenever the path seems strewn with obstacles and hindrances. In fact, the more important the mitzva, the harder the Evil Inclination tries to dissuade the person.

A lack of interest in a particular facet of Torah study or indifference to a certain mitzva indicates that it is precisely in these areas that special efforts must be made. In the merit of this effort, G-d grants the individual success in all other areas of his life as well.

Use our time wisely

A time-management professional is brought into a busy corporation for a lecture.
He fills a jar with stones until no more fit in. "Is this jar full?" he asks the audience. All heads nod in concurrence.

The speaker takes out a sack of pebbles and pours them into the jar. He asks the audience again, "Is now this jar full?" A few heads vigorously nod in agreement while others express uncertainty.

The speaker then lifts a bag of sand and begins pouring it into the jar. He continues to pour the sand until the jar can contain no more. "Now is the jar full?" he asks.

Nearly everyone is now certain that the jar is finally filled.

Finally, the speaker pulls out a bottle of water and slowly pours the water into the jar. "Now is this jar full?" asks the speaker. The participants all shake their heads in agreement.

"We learn from this", says the lecturer, "that first we must schedule into our days that which is most essential and significant. Afterwards, we do the 'important' matters. Then, We follow that up by adding to our schedules matters of lesser importance. And only after we have incorporated all of these into our days and weeks do we fill up the rest of our time with the inconsequential matters."

We are now in the midst of the three-week period of mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temples.. For about 2000 years we have been praying for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, the in gathering of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, and Moshiach. The hope and prayers for the Redemption have always been part of the personal and collective jar of the Jewish people.

Before our jars get packed with time-wasters and energy-sappers, let's fill them with simple acts of goodness, dignified acts of kindness and the foundation stones of Torah study and mitzva observance. Let's increase in acts of goodness and kindness, in Torah study and in holy deeds, as a preparation for the era that will be utterly good, kind and holy for the Jewish people and the world.

Wishing you all a very fulfilling day.

Ha'Kotel Ha'maaravi - The Western Wall

17th of TAMMUZ

Today is the fast day of the 17th of Tammuz,it is the start of a three week mourning period for the destruction of Jerusalem and the two Holy Temples. Abstaining from food and drink is the external element of a fast day. A fast day is an auspicious day, a day when G‑d is accessible, waiting for us to repent. Now that we are so very near to the final Redemption when “these days will be transformed into gladness, rejoicing and festivals” it is time to emphasize the truer, deeper and essential aspect of this period, that they are part of the positive “building” of the Third Beit Hamikdash.

As the Rebbe describes it: The Three Weeks are compared to a locked treasure chest filled with gems and pearls. The key to the chest has been given to every Jew. We need merely place the key inside the lock and open the chest, to reveal the immense treasure hidden within. It is entirely dependent upon us to have the Three Weeks be a desirable, positive experience.

Unlocking the world's treasure is achieved when we turn this world into a dwelling for G-d. How? By revealing the G-dliness, the “treasure” hidden within.

We should begin by unlocking our true selves – utilizing every physical function,which seems like it's G-dliness is concealed, such as eating, for example, for the sake of Heaven as it says, “In all your ways know Him -G -d."

Today is a day when we are empowered to fix the cause of that destruction, so that our long exile will be ended and we will find ourselves living in messianic times, may that be very soon.
The fast in LA ends at 8:45 pm.

Wishing you an easy fast and may this day be transformed into gladness.