Elchanan Shoff

The Incredible Value of Incentives

2010-02-03T07:30:00.001-08:00

Like it or not we are all human beings. We often like to see the world as a perfect place, and ourselves as perfect. But that is unfortunately not the reality. Our psyches are influenced by so many factors that it can be difficult for us to really know why we do things. Are we helping the poor man because we are sincerely generous, or because we feel better about ourselves when we help him? Is it for the honor of seeing our name on a hospital that we donate, or is it because we are principled people? The honest answer is that it is extremely rare for a human being to do something that is completely motivated by noble motivations. The Rambam (Commentary to Mishna Makkos Ch. 3) writes that if one does such a pure mitzvah, with no other "kavvanos" other than sincere desire to do the right thing, he is guaranteed a place in the world to come! He notes that the greatest Rabbis of the gemara were concerned that they might not have a place in the world to come, despite their many great deeds. One pure deed is not easy to come by.

We do not do the good things that we do only out of sincerity. That is certainly the main motivator for most of us who are trying to be good people, but it is the sad reality of human nature that we are motivated by other concerns as well. "Not to worry!" say our sages! We can serve Hashem with our Yetzer Hara as well! "A person should always [LiOlam] study Torah and perform Mitzvos even in an insincere way, because out of insincerity, sincerity comes." The gemara tells us that a person should always learn "shelo lishma" insincerely. But surely once a person is already studying "lishma" (sincerely) he no longer needs to continue studying shelo lishma! But the concept is a clear one. We are humans. There will always be a part of us that can use a little motivation! There is always a part of us that will be a little more careful. For example, a kind generous woman who devotes her time to raising her children, and caring for them, will make a delicious supper on time for her family in good spirits knowing that she is doing a great mitzvah. But should a man come over to that woman and offer her $50,000 to make a timely delicious supper [as she always does] for her family the following night, she will certainly be even more certain that her supper is ready a bit earlier than usual. As human beings, there is always a little more that we can be doing, and the Torah tells us that the way to get there is to start by doing it "Shelo lishma."

It is when we can honestly realize this is a part of ourselves that we can then relate to our children. Our children have so much good in them. But they do not naturally want to say please and thank you. When we applaud their good deeds, and tell them how proud we are when they are kind, they learn to be kind. This is primarily because they crave our approval. When a child receives something as an incentive, he is simply learning how to grow the human way. We all do things for incentives.

There are many parents who worry that if they offer their children money to learn and daven, [as Rambam (Commentary to Mishna Sanhedrin 10:1) suggests that one do] those children will begin to think that money is the greatest value that there is. In defense of the Rambam, I have found this not to be the case. A parent who give his child a small allowance each week and no more, and then approaches his child and tells him "if you learn Torah with me on Friday nights, I will give you extra money each week that you learn with me," has actually taught his child a powerful lesson. He is saying, "You know that you don't just get money from me for no reason. We work hard for our money, and don't throw it around for nothing. But if it would help you learn Torah, I would give all my money away. Tov li toras picha mealfei zahav vachesef."

Even that child who will do the good deed without an incentive will learn how much his parents value his good deed when they do give him the incentive. A friend of mine once told me of one of his proudest childhood memories. He was when he was in elementary school and had worked particularly hard to earn a good grade in a shiur that was challenging for him. When he came home with his mark, his father wordlessly took him into his study and unlocked his safe. He took out a watch from the safe, and presented it to his son. That boy felt great with his good grade, but he knew how his father's heart felt toward him whenever he looked at that watch. And to this day, his voice cracks when he tells the story.

It is certainly unwise to simply make everything dependant on incentives, for without room to grow, one will not do so. When we make everything an incentive, it also cheapens the experience. And of course, if the incentive is too expensive [giving a child a new biycycle every time she makes her bed,] then it grows absurd and impractical. [Whereas giving her a sticker on a chart, and taking her for ice cream every couple of weeks until she outgrows the need for that incentive would not be that impractical.] But when a child is challenged with something and given anything from candy to a sticker to a sports car, they are learning how to be great the Torah way. We are aware of who we are. We know that the Torah is the sweetest thing in the world. But we still put a little bit of honey on the letters when we first get there.

Link to download The Making of a Gadol

2009-06-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.f2h.co.il/1703537954

Integrity, Idols, and Animals

2009-05-15T01:01:00.000-07:00

“He who changes his words, it is as if he worships idols,” Sanhedrin 92a

A boy who is not Bar Mitzvah is not obligated to keep the mitzvos according to biblical law. We are obligated to educate him, and according to some, he may have a Rabbinic responsibility to fulfill mitzvos himself, but according to the strict law of the Torah, he is not responsible. And yet, according to the Torah, once a young man truly knows what his words mean, he is obligated to fulfill the word of his commitments. Even before the responsibility to keep the rest of the Torah comes the responsibility to keep ones word.

Tosafos[i] is of the opinion that even a goy has the responsibility to keep his word. Now a gentile is not responsible to keep anything in the Torah beyond the seven Noachide laws and several other restrictions. But his is responsible to keep his word!

The Ramban[ii] tells us that when a community gets together to make a decision as a community, they have the ability to create obligations not only upon every member of that community, but even upon their descendants. He give three examples; the national acceptance of the Torah, of the megilla, and of fast days. We are all under and obligation to keep those commitments that our ancestor committed to en masse. It is interesting to note that even before the Torah was given we were bound to our word. After all, should one not have to keep what he promised, what binds us to the Torah? Even before the Torah was given, we had to keep our word.

“He who changes his words, it is as if he worships idols,” says the Gemara.[iii] R. Menachem Meiri[iv] explains that this refers to one who does not keep his word. Idolatry is the most egregious of sins[v]. After all, man was placed on this world in order to worship G-d, to do good, and accomplish as much as he can. It is only possible for one to do that when he knows what is true and what is false, and what is good and bad. Following a false system, with false values and false gods is understandable a cardinal sin. A fellow promising to make it to his Gandma’s birthday party who instead goes to the movies has indeed commited an offense. But can we compare that to idolatry? It is certainly not the kindest thing to do, not does it display integrity – but is it really even close to the worship of idols?

We must explore the nature of a mitzvah. The Rambam[vi] tells us, “Many things were forbidden by the sages as ‘Rabbinically Stealing’ such as gambling… What is gambling? Playing games with wood, stone, bones, or any such substance, and making a deal that whomever wins the game will take home a certain amount of money. Our Rabbis declared that this is theft. Despite the fact that this money is given completely willfully by its owner, because it was taken in a playful and silly manner, it is theft!” This Rambam is hard to understand on the surface – if one is not taking somebody else’s object, how can he be a thief? What on earth does his playful and silly manner have to do with stealing? He may be one who does not fear God, or a number of other sins, but how can we call him a thief? The Chacham Tzvi[vii], in addressing the prohibition of stealing even from a non-Jew explains that there are two purposes to every Mitzvah. On the one had we do not steal because the Torah must protect the fellow with money, and not allow any charlatan to make off with what is his. But another purpose, explains the Chacham Tzvi, is in order than man will not behave in a despicable way. We therefore cannot steal from anyone, because there is something bad that happens to us when we steal! In fact, the Rambam himself makes such a statement in his Pirush Hamishnayos[viii] when he says “Our sages have taught us that it is prohibited to deceive even the gentile… for this develops in man terrible characteristics.” Mitzvos are here to make sure that we do certain actions, but above all that, they are here to change us. Stealing is both about taking money from another person, and taking money for free in an ignoble manner. If one takes money in a silly or uncouth way it is akin to stealing. For stealing is not just about taking something from someone else, it can be about taking something even should that hurt nobody at all in any [legal] sense!

Now we can understand why it is idolatrous to default on ones word. The Torah is talking to a man. It tells that man to do mitzvos. Those mitzvos have their effect on both the man, and his relationship with Hashem. But there must be a man there to talk to. With no integrity, there is no man to talk to, and there I no one to hear the message of the Torah. There can be no worship of Hashem when there is no man. The travesty of idolatry is that man is acting against the entire purpose of creation. Man is here to worship God – one who denies God, or mis-defines Him is a disaster. But equally grave is the sin of one who mis-defines man. If there is no man, there can be no worship of God. The Torah presupposes the existence of a man before it commands anything – it can do no less. Even the gentile must keep his word, and even the underage boy must follow through. Derech Eretz must come before Torah, for Torah cannot change a man and bring him close to God if he is not a man, and without integrity man is not much more than an animal.

[i] Tosafos to Avoda Zara 5b s.v. ‘Minayin.’ Note the shock of R. Akiva Eger in Gilyon Hashas there.

[ii] Mishpat Hacherem (published after the Pirush Haramban to Gittin in Chiddushei Haramban. I am indebted to R. Efraim Kirshenbaum Shlita for making me aware of this source.

[iii] Sanhedrim 92a

[iv] Beis Habichira ad loc.

[v] Sanhedrin 50a “poshet yado biikar adif - denying the existence of God is most severe.”

[vi] Hil. Gezeila Vaveidah 6:7, and 6:10

[vii] Shaalos Uteshuvos Chacham Tzvi 26

[viii] Keilim 12:7, in the standard editions this is found, but it is brought out far more clearly in the newer, more accurate, translation of R. Y. Kapach.

Short Skirts

2009-04-03T07:58:00.001-07:00

The eight millimeter films were more than twice my age. They had been sitting in a musty basement since just after their footage was first taken. But now, we were all sitting in the darkened living room of my parents' home watching the old wedding video of my great-Uncle Herman, and Aunt Blima from 1961 on an old projector. It was a beautiful wedding, with big Challah's and kosher food. There was one conspicuous peculiarity however. It was strange to me, a child of today's orthodox society, although I am certain that those who are old enough to remember those time will not find it surprising. None of the women were wearing dresses with sleeves. These were women who were religious, among them many of my relatives. They kept Shabbos with devotion, observed that laws of mikvah, and Kosher. But there was very little of the modesty that we know today. Now – I feel obligated to mention, in defense of these women, that modesty is not simply an outer mode of dress. It is a was of bearing oneself royally, and in a dignified manner. These women lived lives of dignity, and modesty. But their clothing did not reflect that, as halacha mandates. This is hard to understand.

But after reflecting upon it a little more, it became clear to me that nothing has changed. I was with my wife in Los Angeles' Westside Pavilion shopping mall just the other day. We were in the Nordstrom, and there were several girls shopping alongside us. My wife pointed out that they were frum as well. It’s interesting how no matter how many frum people we see every day – when we are in a non-religious environment, we are so thrilled to see kinsmen. I told her that I was certain that they were not frum – for their skirts were inches above their knees. She assured me that not only were these girls frum, they were Beis Yaakov girls. What about their skirts, I wondered? "That's what everyone is wearing these days." I then discovered that shorts skirts were in. She told me of a conversation that she had with a girl, who I know to be very meticulously religious, about the fact that this girl's skirts were not covering her knees when she would sit down. Her reply was that "it's not true, they do cover my knees." My wife told me that this girl's mother told her "what can I do. She won’t listen to me!?" Now, I must stress, -it is not that this girl is less religious than my wife. That is not the case. The simple reason that she is violating the laws of tznius flagrantly is the same reason that these women in the video did - because "everyone else is doing it."

Avraham was called and Ivri. He stood on one side while the rest of the world stood on the other side. He was not "cool." Neither were the Jews in Egypt. They were not speaking the right language, and they had different names. The Rishonim (Ritva, Abarbanel) tell us that when the Hagaddah tells us that "the Jews stood out [in Egypt]" it means that they wore different clothing than the Egyptians. I suspect that these clothing were modest. The Jewish people did what they thought was right in the face of enormous pressure. It was this characteristic that identified them as the children of Avraham the Ivri. This is the reason that they left Egypt. It is likely the characteristic that had kept us around until this point – we have been prepared to be different. Sometimes that means being thrown into an inquisition dungeon, or a gas chamber because somehow that’s what Hashem wants. And sometimes it's as simple as not changing our clothing. As Pesach approaches, we try to ingrain this feeling in our hearts. We must tell ourselves, "I am an Ivri, my Grandfather was Avraham - I don’t care what anyone thinks, except Hashem. I don't care about anything the way that I care about the truth." We will then sit at the seder and say "Shehayu B'eni Yisrael Mitzuyanim Sham - the Jews stood out there" and look down at our clothing, and know that there is something different about the way we look, and something special about who we are, no matter what is going on around us.

Monkey See

2009-03-20T01:20:00.000-07:00

“And you saw their abominations and their vulgarities – the wood, stone, silver, and gold (idols) that they keep with them.”

D’varim 29:16

The Jews had just seen the idolatrous practice of the nations that they had passed through. The torah calls these idols, “shikutzeihem,” and “gilluleihem.” Abominations. Rashi points out that literally the word “gilluleihem,” means feces. The Jews viewed those disgusting practices the way that they would have viewed human waste. And yet the Torah goes on to warn the Jews that if they are attracted to those forms of worship they dare not engage in them. The Torah in one breath emphasizes that Jews saw those practices as disgusting, and that nevertheless there were many who desired them. The Torah warns those people to stay away.[1] Man is incredibly affected by what he sees, and thus, even seeing something that seems as disgusting as feces, can nevertheless attract the person

One who witnesses a Sotah in her state of disgrace should steer clear of drinking wine. To teach us this, the Torah placed the laws of Nazir next to the laws of the Sotah. The adulterous act that the Sotah perpetrated, is something that comes of a frivolous mentality, and more often than not, it is brought on by drinking alcohol. Thus, one who witnesses the depths to which a Jewish soul can sink when it loses the level-headed approach to life that befits it, should himself commit not to lose sight of what is important in life. Any yet, it would seem surprising that the man who witnessed the downfall of the wicked person would be in danger of repeating that mistake. If anything, I would have thought that the fellow who has never seen a Sotah explode is more likely to be enticed into sin that the one who saw her stomach implode, and her guts on the floor! The Torah teaches us, that one who witnesses evil is affected. He has now seen that the sin is possible. Other people have done it. Once something is in the realm of possibility, it is no longer so foreign, and one is more likely to succumb to his desires.

When the Jews left Egypt, they were at the top of the world. The surrounding civilizations were fully aware that Hashem had stepped in and taken a little nation from the world’s superpower in a show of one miracle after another. There was no question about it. Any suggestion of attacking the Jewish people would have been laughed at. And yet, Amalek went ahead and did it. “They cooled you down in your traveling.”[2] Rashi quotes a Midrash that compares the Jewish nation at that time to a scalding bath. When a man jumps into a scalding tub, he may burn himself horribly, but he also cools that tub off for others. Other nations saw that Amalek was beaten badly, and yet they had no compunction copying Amalek in the coming years. For once it was possible to attack the Jewish people, the tub was no longer so hot. It did not seem like such a difficult thing, for though Amalek got burned, they nevertheless attacked the Jews, and now that was a possibility that could be imitated.

The opposite is true as well. When we see a good person, we can then see that righteousness is within our reach as well. On the day that Sara was remembered by Hashem and conceived Yitzchak, many barren women were remembered by Hashem and conceived too.”[3] The Taz[4] wonders how these women knew that their fertility was related to Sara, and not some other reason. He explains that it was only those who knew of Sara, and heard of her miracle gained the necessary bitachon (faith) to trust in Hashem and thus merit bearing children despite their barren natures! It was only when they saw Sara that they too could relate to that sort of faith.

The great R. Shlomo Ganzfried[5] brings this idea out in another fashion. He wonders why it is that Akeidas Yitzchak is considered by the Torah to be a test of Avraham rather than Yitzchak. “And Hashem tested Avraham.”[6] After all – wasn’t Yitzchak’s giving up of his life a great challenge as well? He quotes the Drashos Haran, who explains that after the very first time in world history that a challenge is overcome, that challenge becomes far easier for everyone else to overcome themselves. Avraham, he explains, had already offered his life up for Hashem when Nimrod attempted to kill him in the fiery furnace of Ur Kasdim. It was thus not as great a challenge for his son Yitzchak to give his life for Hashem. But to give one’s child had never been done. Thus, Avraham was the only one legitimately challenged to the ultimate degree, for he was told to do something that had never ever been done before. It is amazing to note how after world records that have stood for years are broken, they suddenly are broken many times over. The four minute mile, or Roger Maris’ long standing home run record are just two examples. Just after they were broken came a succession of people who broke those same records again, quickly! After one person does something, it is somehow much easier for the rest to follow suit. (This also offers us a deep insight into what our forefathers have done for us. For a Jew today to sacrifice for Hashem, for Shabbos, for kosher food – all these tests have been successfully passed before – and thus we can and must know that it is within our reach to pass these tests as well. We are privileged to come from such giants.)

On another level, the very fact that we see something wrong is an indication of our spiritual state. The Baal Shem Tov said that one who witnesses a sin, can only have witnessed that if he himself has some flaw in that area. When Noah wanted to know if the flood was over, he sent the raven out to check for him. But the raven did not do the bidding of Noah. Rather, he circled the ark and came right back, for he was concerned that Noah would mate with his raven-wife while he was gone.[7] How ludicrous! Aside for the problem of logistics, for Noah was a man and Mrs. Raven was a raven – why on earth would the righteous Noah, who had survived the flood by virtue of his never engaging in arayos, suddenly compromise his values for a female raven? On Noah’s ark the animals did not mate with one another.[8] For, the world was in a state of turmoil and even the animal kingdom somehow sensed that cohabitation was inappropriate. The exceptions were Ham, son of Noah, the dog, and the raven.[9] The raven was drawn to the physical more than other animals. He thus saw the world through his own eyes. Should someone else have left their mate alone, he would have attempted to mate with her. Thus, he projected that upon Noah. “Kol haposel bimumo posel - when one sees faults in others, that fault is [almost always] present in he himself,[10]” the Gemara tells us. Thus, the raven saw Noah as a threat.[11]

We must know that what we see affects us. It can drag us up and down. We can become like Avraham and Sara, or we can become, heaven forbid, like other nations who imitate Amalek to this day. We must take care to see good things, and when we see things that can hurt us, even the destruction of those who sin (like the Sotah,) we must know that there is a reason that Hashem had us see it, and that it can affect us badly if we do not respond as the Torah demands.

[1] See Daas Torah to Nitzavim

[2] D’varim 25:18

[3] Bereshis Rabbah 53:8

[4] R. Dovid b. Shmuel Halevi, in his Divrei David to Genesis 18:6

[5] Apiriyon to Bereshis 22:1

[6] Bereshis 22:1

[7] Sanhedrin 108b

[8] See Rashi Bereshis 8:1

[9] Sanhedrin 108b

[10] Kiddushin 70b, Rambam Issurei Biyah 19:17

[11]Gur Aryeh (Maharal) to Bereshis 8:7

Shabbos All Week

2009-02-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

“And Yitzchak brought her into the tent of Sara his mother.”

Bereshis 24:67

“In the tent of Sara, there was a candle that always burnt – from one erev Shabbos, until the next, when Rivka entered that tent, this blessing returned.”[1] When Yitzchak saw this, he was then prepared to marry Rivka.[2] What was this candle all about? Why did it remain lit, and why did it matter?

In a letter to R. Yissachar Tietchell[3], R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld wrote that this candle was the Shabbos candle, and it remained lit all week for in Sara’s tent, Shabbos was felt all week. It is customary for women to refrain from drinking the Havdalah wine at the conclusion of Shabbos. R. Sonnenfeld explains that this is due to the power that women have to extend that Shabbos into the weekday, and therefore, they ought to have a little less to do with the Havdalah, for Havdalah emphasizes the separation of Shabbos and weekday! We must discover - what is the nature of this power, and what does it mean that women posses it?

Shammai would live the entire week preparing for the Shabbos, for when he found a nice piece animal, he would purchase it and save it for the Shabbos. He inevitably found a nicer animal, and purchased that one too, and then took the first one and ate it during the week. He would eat the first one, so that the nicer one would be for Shabbos. Thus all of his food during the week was really part of his preparation for the Shabbos.[4] Because Shammai spent his money on the first animal in order to have it for Shabbos, the fact that in the end he would enjoy it during the week did not make it any less for the honor of Shabbos! Shabbos spilt over and colored his entire week.

When we make Kiddush on Friday night, we begin it with the words, “Yom Hashishi, the sixth day.” This is odd, for it is a fragment of a full sentence. In fact, we are meant to begin quietly with the words “Vayihi Erev, Vayihi boker,” “and it was evening and it was morning,” and the we recite “yom Hashishi aloud.” There is a Midrash[5] which tells us that “Yom Hashishi Vayehchulu Hashomayim,” is the source for “tosefes Shabbos.” Tosefes Shabbos is the obligation that we have to add a bit onto the Shabbos of the weekday, and to treat that time as thought it is Shabbos as well. The first letters of each word of “Yom Hashishi Vayehchulu Hashomayim,” are Yod – Hey – Vav - Hey, which spell out the name of Hashem. When we add on the last two words in the Torah about Friday to the first two words of Shabbos, we discover Hashem’s name. Therefore we recite those two words aloud, before reading about the Shabbos at Kiddush. Holiness truly comes when we can attach the secular to the holy, and bring the holy into our mundane lives. It is not enough to live spiritual lives in the synagogue. We must live those principles of Shabbos and spirituality in our ordinary worldly lives. We can learn out to add from the Shabbos to our week when we notice that the name of Hashem appears when we attach those parts of the Torah. So on Friday nights, we emphasize that message by loudly intoning only the fragment of the sentence that will spell out the name of Hashem.[6]

The woman has this special ability to infuse the divine into the worldly aspects of the family life. This world was created with the letter “Hey” while the next was created with the letter “Yod.” There are both letters of Hashem’s name. We are told that man has the letter “Yod” is his name “Ish,” and the woman has the letter “Hey,” in “Isha.” When man and woman come together properly in marriage, the letters join and the bring the divine presence into their home. The man is connected to the letter that created the world to come. His pursuits are related more directly to the spiritual while the woman’s are related to the more secular. But that is all somewhat superficial. It is the job of a woman to elevate the physical elements of life and to help turn them into spiritual things. Based upon the Drashos Haran[7], Rav Yonason David Shlita[8] compares the man/woman relationship to that of the Sanhedrin and King. The Sanhedrin was responsible making scholarly spiritual decisions. Man is charged with learning that Torah, and has more mitzvos to keep. The King carried a Torah around with him at all times.[9] It was his responsibility to build roads, and wage wars. There is no direct reference in to Torah about each road, or decision the King would have to make. It was his job to have imbibed the spirit of the Torah so completely that he would be capable of making those decisions. The Sanhedrin had a very black and white code to consult. The King dealt in all of the gray areas. Man is charged with being the Sanhedrin of his family, and giving the family the benefit of his spiritual achievement. The woman is charged with offering the family the benefit of her ability to engage in the more earthly pursuits, and elevate those to the highest of planes.

Shabbos is holy, but the weekdays are secular. A woman’s job is to take this world that was created with the letter “Hey,[10]” – her letter[11] - and connect it to the Shabbos, to the spiritual and eternal.[12] [This gives us some incredible insight into the power of the male/female relationship on the Shabbos!] It is thus not suggested for her to drink the wine from the Havdalah, after she never really needs to separate from the Shabbos. Sara’s tent was never missing the Shabbos, but when she died, Avraham and Yitzchak were left without that Shabbos light of Sara’s that managed to burn the entire week. It was only when Yitzchak saw that Rivka could bring that light back into the weekday, that he knew that this was the woman who was to be the mother to all Jews, and who would implant in her daughters and granddaughters that ability to extend the light of Shabbos, from one week to the next.

[1] Rashi Bereshis 24:67 quoting Bereshis Rabbah 60:15, mentions that the dough was blessed, and a cloud hovered above. The Zohar mentions only that the candle remained lit, and we will focus just on that.

[2] Chiddushei HaGriz 24:67

[3] Published in the preface to his work Mishneh Sachir

[4] Beitzah 16a

[5] Bereshis Rabbah 9:14 according to Biur Hagra O.C. 271:10

[6] Rema O.C. 271:10

[7] Beginning of Drush 11

[8] Devek Tov Bayis 6 (a pamphlet of the Torah of R. Yonason David Shlita distributed at the wedding of a daughter of R. Chaim Yitzchak Kaplan Shlita.) See also Pachad Yitzchak - Shavuos 36, and Reshimos Lev Chanukah p. 215.

[9]D’varim 17:19, Sanhedrin 21b

[10] Menachos 29b

[11] Sotah 17a, see Rashi ad loc.

[12] The Sfas Emes (to Vayechi, 5634 s.v MeAsher, and 5653 s.v. BiInyan) sees this idea (of connecting the weekdays to the Shabbos) as what is behind the two loaves of Challah on Shabbos, the Lechem Mishna – one corresponds to the weekdays and one to Shabbos. He bases this upon a cryptic passage in the Zohar. He then extends this to explain the relationship of Yissachar and Zevulun, Yissachar being Shabbos and Zevulun the weekdays.

Lions and Moshiach

2008-12-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

“And the sons of Dan were Chushim.”

Bereshis 46:23

In the process of building the Mishkan, Moshe was told by Hashem to choose Bezalel of the tribe of Yehuda, and Oholiav of the tribe of Dan. Rashi[1] quotes the Midrash Tanchuma[2], who explains, “Oholiav was from the tribe of Dan, the lowliest of the tribes from among the maidservants children, [as opposed to Leah or Rachel] and the Torah considered him as great as Bezalel, a member of the greatest of the tribes, when it came to building the Mishkan.”

The tribe of Dan was not simply a lowly tribe as a result of birth to a maidservant of Yaakov. Rashi[3] tells us that they all worshiped idols, and thus the clouds of glory spit them out! The tribe of Yehuda was a lion, the source of a lineage of distinguished kings. Yehuda led the nation in their travels, and Dan took up the rear. And yet, the only two tribes compared to lions are Yehuda and Dan. Yaakov said[4] “a lion cub is Yehuda,” and Moshe said[5] “Dan is a lion cub.” R. Avraham Ibn Ezra[6] explains that it was necessary to have a lion taking up the rear just as it was needed to have a lion leading the Jewish nation in order to protect them from both sides. So Dan was a lion, while at the same time being the weakling struggling to keep up.

What is going on with Dan? Is he the weakest or one of the strongest? Is he in the back because he in inferior, or because he is a lion?

Yaakov had died, and it was time to bury him. The Gemara[7] tells us that, “When they arrived at the Cave of Machpelah, Esav approached and began disturbing them. He said, ‘we know that there can only be four coupled buried in this cave, and thus far there are three and Leah, the remaining spot next to Leah is for me!’ They replied to Esav, ‘but you sold your rights to Yaakov.” … Esav said ‘show me the contract,’ and they replied ‘but the contract is back in Egypt!’ So they sent Naftali, who was swift like a gazelle, to retrieve the contract. Chushim the son of Dan was there, and he was hard of hearing.[8] He asked the others, ‘what is going on?’ They told him. He said, ‘And until Naftali returns, must our Father sit here in this disgraceful state?’ He took a staff and smashed Esav on the head with it. Esav’s eyes fell out and landed on Yaakov’s leg. Yaakov opened his eyes and smiled.”

So Chushim killed Esav. And yet, Tosafos[9] tells us, that the descendants of Esav have a tradition telling that that Yehuda killed Esav, and in fact this is the opinion of the Sifri. He explains that both are true. First, Chushim stepped in and gave Esav a serious blow causing his eyes to come out, but he was still alive. Then Yehuda stepped in and finished him off, killing him.

“The [Messiah] son of David will come only to a generation that is entirely righteous, or one that is entirely wicked,” teaches the Gemara[10].

Esav was either finished off by the handicapped son of the lowest tribe, or the king of the greatest tribe! In fact, R. Moshe Wolfson,[11] writes that in the times just before the Moshiach, those alive will be the reincarnations of the souls of the tribe of Dan. It is interesting that only now in history do we witness the mass phenomenon of people being brought back to Torah out of their lowliness. “A generation that is entirely wicked.” In any other time in history, there was always something in the world that was not available, that provided a lure to the righteous. “Maybe fulfilling that desire will be pleasurable,” people wondered. In our age, every single degenerate action is readily available to any 16 year old! There are so many people who are 21 years old, have already tried every single avierah in the world, and have seen how hollow life can be. Baalei Tshuva are made every day of people who are “entirely wicked,” by people who have tried everything, and have nowhere to go but up. [These people are not “evil” merely engaged in wicked deeds, usually by no fault of their own. It is not our place to judge them.]

Maybe the ultimate redemption, the death of the kingdom of Esav, will follow the death of the actual Esav, beginning with the weakest of the weak, and being concluded by the strongest of the strong.

Chushim was the son of Dan, he was one fellow. But the Torah tells us that “the sons of Dan were Chushim.” Why is he called more than one person?[12] The Sheloh[13] quotes the Arizal as pointing out that the letters of Chushim, Ches, Shin, Yod, and Mem, are the very letters “Moshiach!” The Shloh elsewhere[14] talks of the transformation of Dan from a snake, (Yaakov called him a snake[15]) into a lion, in the times just before Moshiachs arrival! In fact, the Arizal writes[16] that while the father of Moshiach will be from Yehuda, his mother will be from Dan! Perhaps these are the two sons referred to in the verse. The sons of Dan were Chushim (and Moshiach.)

We are handicapped, and are the lowest of the low in so many ways. There has never been a generation that at this low a level. But when we stand up, we go from snake to lion. When we will fight and struggle, and stand up for the truth, we will bring the redemption. We will turn ourselves from weak snakes, slithereing in the back of the camp in our filth, and idolatry, to great roaring lions. We will get up and declare, “must our Father sit here in this disgraceful state?” The Moshiach can only come to a generation that is entirely righteous or entirely wicked. Esav was only done away with by a combination, first of the weakest of the weak, and then by the greatest of the great. We are all Chushim ben Dan’s – and every Chushim ben Dan has the power of Moshiach in him.

[1] Shemos 35:34

[2] Shemos Ch. 13

[3] To Yechezkel 16:15, see also Targum Yonason to Devarim 25:18

[4] Bereshis 49:9

[5] Devarim 33:22

[6] Commentary to Bamidbar 1:19

[7] Sotah 13a

[8] This is Rashi’s opinion. See however Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer 39 where it is clear the Chushim oculd neither hear not speak at all. See also Radal ad loc.

[9] Gittin 55b s.v. BiYehuda BiHarugei Malchus.

[10] Sanhedrin 98a

[11] Emunas Ittecha Vayigash s.v B’Midrash, and there in Maamar Iggeres Hapurim

[12] See the Targum yonsason that in fact understands that Dan had many children, and Chushim is simply a description of them – meaning that they were strong and incredibly numerous. This seems to be why they were not mentioned by name – because there were so many eventual descendants! Ibn Ezra suggests that there were two children, and only one survived. The same is found in Chizkuni. The general consensus among the commentaries and the opinion of the Talmud is that there was one fellow named Chushim, for there were 70 souls who went down to Egypt (see Exodus 1) and this does not work out should Dan have had more than one child. Also, the list mentions every child by name, and thus the Targum Yonasons interpretation I fascinating. Apparently, the child could not be named for his descendants were so numerous that even their ancestor could not be counted by name. See Bereshis Rabbah 94:9 “In the Torah of R. Meir it said “And the son of Dan was Chushim.” [This does not mean that his text was different – and it’s depth is beyond the scope of this footnote.]

[13] Parshas Pinchas – Torah Ohr.

[14] Vezos Habracha - Derech Chaim Tochacos Mussar.

[15] Bereshis 49:17

[16] Likkutei Amarim 16. There he explains that this is how Yaakov mistook Shimshon for the Moshiach, for his father was from Dan and his mother was from Yehuda, the exact opposite.

Wash your feet

2008-11-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

“Take a bit of water and wash your feet”

Bereshis 18:4

“Avraham assumed that the angels were Arab’s[i] who worship the dust on their feet, and made certain that no idolatry would enter his home.”

Rashi ad loc

The Arabs in the time of Avraham worshiped the dust of their feet. This sound incredibly strange – what on earth could possibly be the reason for this? R. Yaakov Emden[ii], explains this behavior based upon the concept taught in Bereshis, “you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Man is dust. Thus, the Arab’s worshiped the dust of their feet. Explaining this is difficult. What exactly was the nature of this worship? What did they believe and why did they act this way?

The Gemara gives us some insight into the modes of worship of other idolaters as well. Baal Peor is mentioned often in the Torah. What was Baal exactly? The followers would eat and drink laxitives, so that their stools would grow soft. They would then sit before the idol and relieve themselves. This was the way to worship Baal Peor.[iii] The Gemara tells us that Jews only worshiped idols (such as baal) in order to rationalize to themselves Gilui Arayos (illicit sexual behavior) in public.[iv] In other words, the Jews did not deeply believe that the idol was a true god, but worshiping it did something to make their psyches more comfortable with the idea that they could engage in Giuli Arayos. Why on earth should defecating in front of an idol have such an effect on a person?

We will answer these two queries with a look at a Midrash.[v]

Avraham was working in his fathers idol store, and people would enter. Says the Midrash, “One man entered and asked ‘How much is that idol?’ Avraham replied, ‘3 maneh.’ Then Avraham would ask the man, but how old are you? The man said, ’30.’ Avraham replied, ‘Can your ears hear what is coming from your mouth? This idol was created yesterday, and you wish to worship it?!’ Another man entered and asked the price of a second idol. ‘5 maneh,’ Avraham told him, and then he asked, ‘how old are you?’ ’50,’ the man replied. So again Avraham said, ‘Can your ears hear what is coming from your mouth? This idol was created yesterday, and you wish to worship it?!’”

I have several questions on this Midrash. Firstly, why is the price of those idols germane to the Midrash. The Midrash does not record Avraham wishing thme good morning, which one is obligated to do even toward and idolator! This, of course, is because it has nothing to do with the message of the Midrash, and therefore is ommited! But then why is it important that they asked the price of the idol? And why was it that the Midrash tells us of people asking for prices related to their age? The 30 year old 3 maneh, the 50 year old, 5 maneh - surely this is not a coincidence! Lastly, and most importantly, were these people completely stupid? Everyone knows that the idol was created recently when they enter an idol store! In fact, they chose the idol store that they found had the best idols. So when they came in they must have known that the idols were not there from the beginning of creation. There idols clearly represented a form of worship. So what changed? What was Avraham’s argument that was suddenly so convincing?!

The answer to this question answers all of our questions. Idolatry was about worshiping oneself in sense. The fellow who went to the bathroom on his idol made a loud statement. I can do anything I want. Even in front of my idol. He was also showing his lowliness. You see, if someone is entirely insignificant, then nothing that he does really makes a difference. I am nothing and I can do whatever I wish is essentially the same statement. Those who worshiped idols essentially worshiped themselves. They did what they wanted to when they wanted to do it. The Jews did not worship idol out of an honest seeking for truth. They were drawn after that philosophy by their drive to rationalize any behavior. In our times, we see that those who can explain that man is no more than an evolved paramecium, can then rationalize any sort of aberrant behavior, for after all, who cares what man does in the privacy of his own home any more than a rat does in the privacy of his own sewer? Avraham’s customers would buy idol that related to their stage and state in life. If they were 50, the price of their idol would have to match that, for they were “celebrating man,” in today’s parlance. Avraham replied to them, “but your whims are not eternal. You were born only 50 years ago, and your whims were born yesterday!” Avraham inspired his customers to seek the eternal truths, and not to worship the dust of their feet.

We live in a society where we are taught that the highest of values is the pursuit of happiness. We are taught to dream of what we can all want, and then build towards it. How often are we told that what we want does not really matter? How often do we hear that we are not here to worship ourselves - to give in to our every whim? It is the Jew who brought this idea in to the world. We are here to answer a calling more deep and noble than the fleeting thought. The Jew tells the world that life is not only about what we may or may not want, but about choosing right over wrong, good over evil, and truth over falsehood.

Man is made of dust, but he also has a soul. His body will go back to dust as his soul ascends to its maker. Arab’s in the time of Avraham worshiped the lowest part of man, for they were essentially worshiping themselves. Man is dust, so they worshiped dust. Avraham taught us all that man is also divine, and thus he ought to worship Hashem.

[i] Gilyonei Mikra (R. Aaron Sonnenschein) wonders how we can say that Avraham assumed that they were Arabs, when the Torah traces the lineage of the Arab people to Yishamel explicitly (Bereshis 23:16)? He quotes C.D. Chavel’s footnote in his edition of Ramban where he brings R. Ovadiah Sforno who explains that they were “like the Arabs that we see today,” but not that they were themselves Arabs.

[ii] Hagahos to Bava Metzia 86b. Other reason are offered. R. Yeshaya Halevi Hurwitz (Sheloh) explains that since they worshiped the sun, they also worshiped the scorched sand, and Maharal (in Gur Aryeh) says that it was because they were tent-dwelling travelers who did not believe in settling down.

[iii] Sanhedrin 64b

[iv] Ibid 63b

[v] Seder Eliyahu Rabbah Ch. 6. This is from a manuscript quoted by R. M. M. Kasher in his Torah Shleima to Lech Lecha 15:7 [88].

Kaddish, Hollywood, and the Spanish Inquisition

2008-10-27T19:06:00.001-07:00

The poor Yarmulke was clearly out of its element on the young man’s long curly hair. Its precarious perch, and the several times that it nearly fell off, were as clear an indication of this fellows comfort in the Orthodox shul as were his several prominent piercings. I sat behind him, wondering what brought this sandal-clad Jew with only one of his shirt buttons closed into our shul. When he rose to say Kaddish, however, the mystery was solved. I spoke to him after services to welcome him, and discovered that his mother had died as a young woman, and that he made an appearance every year to honor her memory in the way that meant the most to him.

After a parent dies, a son is obligated to say Kaddish for one year. Kaddish is prayer declaring the greatness of God, and praying that the world recognize it. There are so many who have been brought back to Torah observance through Kaddish – people whose lives have taken paths not boasting a Shul, have had to make their respective ways to one after feeling loss.

It is amazing what trial and loss can awaken in man. Contented and secure, so many of us often do not realize the necessity to reach out to G-d, and connect with Him in any meaningful way. But those very same people who find happiness outside the shul somehow cannot find a method of dealing with loss there. The mysteries of life are awakened when one is having a hard time. Those who are happy generally continue doing what makes them happy, while those beset with misery look for change. They explore, and seek change.

It is a tragedy of the Jewish experience throughout history that we have not managed well in prosperity. We managed to remain faithful to our Divine mission through pogrom and blood libel, but when it came to prosperity, we have somehow fallen short. Rabbi Yosef Yaavetz, one of the great Torah giants who witnessed the expulsion of the Jews from Spain observed in his work Or Hachaim (p. 8) that those who retained their rock-like faith in the face of the persecution of the Inquisition, willing to lose everything including their lives for the noble mission of the Jewish people, were the simple, uncultured, unlearned Jews, who did not occupy places in society. Those who had begun assimilating, even while following the Torah, were the first to abandon the Torah when things got tough, for they were already to far gone. It was not just the Inquisition that was pulling them to abandon their role in G-d’s plan – now their positions, estates, and lifestyles beckoned to them. Those who didn’t have it that good, had nothing pulling them from God other than murderous devils. And they retained their faith.

It is such a shame that we often maintain our relationship with G-d and truth out of lack. It is out of pain, and a sense of emptiness that we seek G-d initially. Must we always lack? Once we are fulfilled – can we then engage in the relationship with the same gusto? The Hollywood model of relationship – where with few exceptions, no relationship lasts beyond a year is a good example of this dynamic. People who are empty and looking for someone to win over, thus giving them the accomplishment of “having dated” so and so, will quickly tire of the actual relationship – for a lot of what they were looking for, and finding fulfillment in was the challenge of the dating game. They don’t know what to do with one another once they are committed. If neither one is playing hard to get, then they begin looking elsewhere. While we must beware the dangers of oversimplifying the nature of relationships, we still must know, that the real relationship only begins truly when it is no longer simply about getting the relationship, but about building it.

King David called to God often. In good times, “As I raise the Cup of Salvation, I call to G-d” (Psalms 116:13), and in hard times, “I have found trouble and pain. So I call to G-d.” (ibid 116:3-4) It has been said by great Rabbis that we must not only sing to G-d in good times, but also in the harder ones as David did. But this young man coming to say Kaddish in his time of pain taught me that it can be much harder to call to G-d in good times than in bad. To teach ourselves to recognize that it is G-d who is running the show when we are successful and happy, and to pray with the same fire then, is the beginning of relating to G-d from within our relationship with him. Then, should the time come, G-d forbid, that one will have to recite the Kaddish, he will not be calling to G-d to search for Him, but rather to pick up the conversation where they left off during the good times. After all, it is all the same conversation.

Mystics, Rationalists, and Fringes on Clothes

2008-10-24T13:05:00.001-07:00

(the following is based upon chapter 4 of the sefer “Hamitzvos HaSehkulos” of the saintly Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe z”l)

Mystics dress in white gowns and burn incense. We rationalists wear business suits, and designer shirts and ties. But why is it that some of us can be so confused by, and indifferent to, talk about demons, angels, and heaven?

There are seven commandments that are considered by our sages to be as important as the entirety of the Torah. One of them is “tzitzis.” Tzitzis are the fringes that a male Jew is obligated to affix to his four cornered garment, should he choose to wear one. Although most clothing is no longer made with four corners, Torah observant Jews wear special undershirts of four corners colloquially called “tzitzis,” so as not to miss the grand opportunity to perform this mitzvah.

But what is behind this mitzvah? Why is it worthy of being dubbed as valuable as the entire Torah?

Tosafos (Menachos 43b) tells us that these strings are similar to a brand that a slave wears informing the world that he is enslaved to his master alone. The Midrash (Numbers Rab. 17:6) however paints a very different sounding picture of this mitzvah. “A parable – A man has fallen overboard at sea, and is in grave danger! The captain extends him a line and tells him, grab a hold, don’t let go, for letting go of this line is forfeiting your very life. “Grab onto my commandments,” says G-d; “letting go of them is forfeiting your very life.”

A glorious picture! Our tzitzis are our very lives, connecting us to G-d, our captain who is waiting for us to join him on the deck, and be saved from the turbulence of life’s raging tempests. He beseeches mankind to simply embrace Torah values and he will then pull his end of the cord. Man wearing his tzitzis is showing that he is just a tug away from an audience with the divine presence. How very different from the Tosafos’ image of the torah adherent as a branded slave is this Midrash!

Man is a composite of spirit and earth. He is caught in a tug of war between his earthly impulses and his spiritual aspirations. There are two parts to his job on this earth. He must firstly learn not to be beholden to the calls of his animalistic physical side, and he must also learn to attach to the spiritual. Man must brand himself and show that he is not enslaved to the physical but rather answers to a much higher calling. He must then also begin to grasp at and hold onto the line extended to him from the Master of the universe who is beckoning to him, and inviting him to take his rightful place on the deck of the ship.

There are two genres in classic Jewish scholarship in explaining the meaning of mitzvot. Sefer Hachinuch explains the more basic and rational reasons for the commandments. This explains the branding of the person, how the mitzvot ensure that he simply not drown in the ocean of the physical world. Others, such as Ridvaz, (in his Metzudas Dovid) explain the more mystical significances of the commandments. This provides explanations as to how the mitzvot then attach man to his Maker and bring him up onto the deck of the ship.

Rationalism and mysticism are both accurate and true. The rationalist explains how the mitzvot affect the physical world, and why they elevate a man above it. The mystic explains how it is that the mitzvot bring one into a spiritual world, and teach us “spiritual physics,” explaining how those mitzvot bring us close to G-d. Every Jew is both a mystic and a rationalist. He lives an existence of the tangible intermingled with the spirit. Those who wear tzitzis have access, on their very person to a message that encompasses the entire mission of man in this world. There is mysticism in the rational, and rationalism in the mystical. This is the secret of tzitzis.

The Frog and the Scorpion

2008-09-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

a quick thought on Yom Kippur

The frog could not sting, and the scorpion could not swim. So the frog took the scorpion on its back, at great personal sacrifice. After all, the scorpion could bite the frog at any moment. They crossed the river where the scorpion proceeded to fatally bite the man whom Hashem had condemned to death. (Nedarim 41a)

When King David completed the book of Psalms; the greatest song that any man has written to G-d, he began feeling very good about himself. He wondered to G-d, "Is there any creature that sings to You as beautifully as I do?" A frog appeared and told him, don't be too proud of yourself David, I sing a much greater song that you. And that is not all – there is a species that lives near the sea – and when it is hungry it takes mean and eats me. (Perek Shira)

What possessed Chanania Mishael and Azariah to throw themselves into the fiery furnace? They reasoned: If the frogs [during the plague of Frogs in Egypt] threw themselves into fiery furnaces despite the fact that they are not obligated to do so – we who have been commanded to give our lives for Kiddush Hashem must certainly do so! (Pesachim 53b)

The Frog sings, "Baruch Shem Kivod Malchuso Liolam Vaed," "Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity." (Perek Shira)

When Moshe went up to heaven, he heard the Angels reciting "Baruch Shem Kivod Malchuso Liolam Vaed," and taught it to the Jews, but we must say it quietly because it is angelic. On Yom Kippur when the Jew is nearly an angel, he can then recite it aloud. (Yalkut Shimoni D'varim 834)

The frog recites a song that even man cannot sing. David was shown an aspect of the frog that even man can often fall short of. What can this be? The world is a symphony. It is meant to consist of components all working harmoniously toward the ultimate goal of kvod shomayim. Every being is really no more than an ingredient in the grand scheme of G-d's will. The frog in Egypt gave his life for G-d's plan. The frog gives his life in the natural world to the animal that needs to eat him for survival. He transports scorpions on his back when G-d needs them to cross rivers.

The ultimate song is when one can find his place in the world, and live in perfect harmony, so that he knows how to give himself completely to the greater song of Hashem's plan. Sound, silence, and impeccable timing are vital for an orchestra to sound perfect. The frog is that animal that symbolizes that all is really here for nothing other than kvod shomayim. It is an animal that forgoes its immediate survival instinct and answers to a higher instinct.

The frog says "Baruch Shem Kivod Malchuso Liolam Vaed," which we cannot even say aloud. But the frog screams it out!

The frog was saying to David – "my entire existence is dedicated to the fulfillment of Hashem's will, even if it means complete self sacrifice. You were also created to be nothing more than a tool for kvod shomayim. Are you there yet?"

On Yom Kippur, when the Jewish people call out "Baruch Shem Kvod..." in booming voices, we are witnessing the elite of the human race striving to be nothing more than a "frog."

This World is like the Night-time

2008-09-19T00:36:00.001-07:00

And more thoughts on Rosh Hashanah

“This world is like the nighttime.”
Babylonian Talmud Avoda Zarah 3b

“In the evening one lays down with tears, but in the morning – a cry of joy!”
Psalms 30:6

“Some ‘darkness’ is not darkness at all, but is in fact a light so brilliant that it afflicts man with blindness!”
Vilna Gaon (Siddur, Yotzer Hameoros)[i]

The Jew must keep the Sabbath meticulously. There are 39 main categories of creative activities that the Jew must “rest” from on the Sabbath, as well as many, many sub-categories. If a Jew violates the sanctity of Sabbath any time from Friday night through Saturday night, he is put to death. But with gentiles, this is not so. Not only is a gentile not obligated to keep the Sabbath; shockingly, the Talmud declares that if a gentile does keep the Sabbath, he is to be put to death![ii] He was not truly put to death. The gentile would simply be beaten, and punished, and informed that he ought to have been killed.[iii] A gentile who chooses any day of the week, starting in the morning and culminating the next morning to refrain from work in interest of a Sabbath, has forfeited his right to live! [iv]

There are several peculiarities that must now be investigated. The first question is; why on earth should this be? Is it so horrible to keep a Sabbath when you are not meant to? We find no such penalty for a gentile who chooses to dwell in a Sukkah, don Tefillin, or hear the blast of a Shofar. Another glaring question is; for a Jew the Sabbath begins at nightfall and ends at nightfall. For a gentile, observance of such a Sabbath is not considered a Sabbath, rather he is held responsible only if he keeps 24 hours beginning in the morning and culminating the next morning. Why?

A gentile is meant to recognize reality. He is obligated to live by the Seven Noachide laws – the basic moral obligations God gave to mankind. The gentile is to recognize God, but he need not necessarily become a member of the chosen people. A gentile who keeps the Noachide laws has led a moral life and will merit a place in the world to come.[v] There are several other laws aside from these seven, enumerated in the Talmud. A gentile may not study the Torah, for example.[vi] The Sabbath is “a sign” between the Lord and His people.[vii] Only the Jew is to keep the Sabbath.

[If a man wishes to take his wife to dinner on the night of their anniversary, the table should only be set for two. And should an extremely close and loyal friend wish to dine with them, that friend has made it clear that he truly does not understand the nature of this rendezvous.]

A gentile is expected to understand the purpose of the universe, and to know his place therein. Should he entirely misunderstand the place of the Jew in the world, he has lost his right to live and must be chastised back into his right mind.

We are still bothered by why a gentile begins his day in the daytime and not at night. Let us backtrack a bit. Our sages teach, “Abraham establish the morning prayers, Isaac the afternoon prayers, and Jacob the evening prayers.”[viii] Now the Talmud teaches that the Jewish day begins at night, as it says in Genesis[ix], “And it was evening and it was morning.” First came nighttime; the day followed.[x] If this is so, should Abraham not have begun with the first prayer of the day - the Evening prayer - which is the first prayer after nightfall? Why did he begin with the second in the sequence of prayers?

The Sefer HaMikneh[xi] teaches an interesting thing. He proves that at Sinai there was a major change in the calendar. Whereas until Sinai, the days were calculated with night following the day; after Sinai, the Jews began counting the night first with the day following the night. Abraham, who lived prior to Sinai, began his days in the mornings, and thus established the morning prayer, as it was the first in the sequence at that time. For gentiles, who were not party to the Sinai experience, the day still begins in the morning, and the night follows. There is a relatively simple reason for all this. The Talmud teaches that the reason that the darker animals walk first amongst the flock, is that darkness always precedes light. The Jew looks forward to better times, when “God will rule the whole world,”[xii] and he prepares for the world to come. He knows that the darkness and bad times experienced in this world are but a prelude to great things to come. The secular, Epicurean outlook, “eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die” is essentially one that sees this world as the daytime. “This is the daytime, and all we have to look forward to is the grave,” is a falsehood - and the Torah is here to correct it. Thus when the torah was given, its guardians were then on the level to live a life where night precedes day. But the gentiles who did not learn this message still relate to this world in the wrong way. As the Vilna Gaon explains, when it comes to the idea – in concept - light precedes darkness, but in actuality, darkness precedes light. Jacob is conceived before Esau, but Esau is born first. Esau inherits this world, and Jacob the next world.
But when did this all change? The Talmud makes it clear that in the creation of the world, darkness preceded light.[xiii] So when was this massive change to “night following day,” which was only corrected at Sinai? The Talmud teaches that the nations of the world heard loud sounds at the time of the Sinai experience and approached the prophet Bilaam to find out what was going on. They asked him, “Has God returned to the flood?”[xiv] and he replied, “God is establishing himself as eternal king, God is giving strength to his nation,” to which they replied, “may God bless his nation with peace.”[xv]

What is the connection between the flood and Sinai? “Day and night shall not cease,” [xvi]was God’s vow after the great flood. But the Talmud reads more into these words. Day and night will not “yishbosu,” which is the root of the word Sabbath. “For a day and a night, they may not rest,” is an alternative translation of these words, and it is from here that the Talmud derives that a gentile may not celebrate the Sabbath. The scriptural source that night follows day for a gentile’s observance of the Sabbath, is found just after the great flood. After the flood, mankind was on a distinctly lover level than he had been prior to it. Life spans were greatly reduced. A world that once boasted permanently delightful spring-like weather was suddenly introduced to harsh winters, and stifling summers.[xvii] Humans had been capable of destroying the universe, and were likewise capable of building it. But humanity abused its great power, and was taken down a notch. They would never destroy another world, but they could not build one either. A humanity on such a drastically lower level could not truly comprehend the worlds ultimate goal. They could not live on a level where night preceded day. To them, day was primary. But at Sinai, the Jewish nation was given the keys to build the world, and with them, the ability to destroy it! They were back to pre-flood status. They now related to the world as it was created; the night precedes the day.

[There is another great connection between the flood and the generation that accepted the torah. Our sages teach[xviii] that God originally intended to give the Torah to the generation that was wiped out in the flood, if only they had merited it. In fact, the Arizal teaches that the generation of the flood and the generation of the torah giving had the same souls. They were reincarnated. Noah and Moses were one and the same! Moses was name “Moses” because he was “saved from the water” - the water of the flood! Noah had an ark that kept him afloat in the water, and Moses had a small basket which served the same purpose for him. Both are called a “Tevah” by the torah. The flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights, as did Moses’ stay on Sinai where he was showered with Torah, and “water always hints to torah.” The Talmud shows how Moses was hinted to in the torah in the verse where Noah is told that the flood will begin in 120 years. Noah’s major mistake was that he did not expend enough energy in attempt to save his generation. Thus, the flood is referred to as “Mei Noach,” “the waters of Noah.” Moses corrected this when he told God that should He destroy the Jews, “Macheini na misifricha - Erase me from your book.” The word “Macheini” is made up of the same letters that spell “Mei noach.” Moses corrected the mistake that he made the first time around. This time he was willing to sacrifice it all to save his generation. This generation was incredibly powerful. Led by Noah/Moses, they could have either built or destroyed the world. At Sinai, they complained when they were forbidden illicit sexual behavior,[xix] which they had engaged in during the times of the flood. They constantly fought with Moses about water all thorough their excursion in the desert. This powerful generation was the one who first brought the world to a state where it would see day as preceding night. But on their second time around, they successfully reversed their goof-up. For a Jew, darkness precedes light.]

The Vilna Gaon writes, “In all worldly things, husks precede their fruit, as with Jacob and Esau – Esau emerged first, though Jacob was the first child conceived. For Esau’s portion is this world, while Jacobs is the next world. Jacob was thus conceived first because the final result is the first thought, and the result is the world to come.[xx] When one has a goal in mind, he first envisions the goal – the results – and only then develops a scheme to reach these ends. The goal is the world to come, so it is “conceived” first. But the means are created first in practice, for they must precede the ends. Elsewhere, the Vilna Gaon explains,[xxi] “Whenever our sages speak of something ‘originally being conceived in the mind’ of God, this is the ultimate goal.” We are taught that, “originally God conceived the idea of creating the world in strict justice, but when he saw that it would not survive, he mixed mercy with that justice.”[xxii] We are similarly taught that “God created the world and it collapsed again and again until he created repentance.” [xxiii]We are taught that ““originally God conceived the idea of creating the world in the month of Tishrei, but it was not actually created until the month of Nissan.”[xxiv] Tishrei is the month of Moznaiim, Libra. Scales. It is the month of justice. The Yom Hadin, the “day of judgment” is Rosh Hashanah, the first of Tishrei upon which we proclaim, “Hayom Haras Olam,” “today is the conception of the world.” Originally, God wished to create the world in strict justice, for the ultimate goal is a world of justice. But the means to get to such a world required a more merciful relationship. The perfect conception of the world is in “din – strict judgment” as indeed the world will be in messianic times.[xxv] The day that God decides to take stock of his world, and measure its state against its ultimate goal is that very day when he first conceived of the goal, this first day of Tishrei.

[“Now that we know that symbols are meaningful, a person ought to eat pumpkins, clover, leeks, beets, and dates on Rosh Hashanah,” says Abaye in the Talmud.[xxvi] We have all heard of dipping an apple in honey to give us a sweet new year. It sounds like a nice tradition, but there are interestingly no other holidays in the Jewish calendar with such symbols. Eat a head to avoid being a tail. Eat carrots to annul harsh decrees. Symbols on Rosh Hashanah of all days…why? The world was conceived in the month of Tishrei. Tosafos teaches that God conceived of the idea to create the world on Rosh Hashana, but he did not actually create it until the month of Nissan, six months later. Thus we say on Rosh Hashana, Hayom Haras Olam, today the world was concived – not born. There were ten statements made by God in the creation of the world.[xxvii] Nine of them begin with the words, “and God said,” except for the first one. “In the beginning God created heaven and earth.” The Talmud teaches that this was a statement as well. The Chasidic masters read more into this verse. God created the world with language; but with what did he create language. “BiReshis,” using wisdom, (Reshis means intelligence)[xxviii] God created “Es,” which is the first and last letter of the alphabet. Using pure thought and intelligence, God created the alphabet – language. Using language God then created all else in existence. On the first of Tishrei, when God “conceived the idea of the world,” the he did not create for another six months, we celebrate the anniversary of God communicating in a way far beyond language. A purer level of communication that is above language, was used by God on this day. Could there be a day in the Jewish calendar more appropriate for us to attempt to communicate super-verbally, though the use of symbols?][xxix]

Ultimately the ends will explain the means. The ravages of this world will fade in the morning sunshine of the coming world. Rosh Hashanah is a glimpse into the goal of it all. It is a time when we can be aware that God has a grand master plan for our universe. The beginning of the relationship was one of pure thought. Pure goal.

[Jacob gave Rachel “Simanim,” “signs”[xxx] the same word used for the super-verbal symbols that we use on Rosh Hashanah. It is commonly assumed that these signs were simply for the purpose of Jacob being capable of ascertaining the identity of his intended should Lavan choose to replace her with her sister. Yet when Rachel realized the horrific embarrassment that her sister Leah would suffer should she not have the “simanim,” she gave them over to her, and thus Jacob was confused as to whom he was marrying. Yet, asks the Revid Hazahav,[xxxi] the Talmud teaches that voices are distinguishable. Why was Jacob unable to recognize that this was not Rachel!? He explains that the Talmud’s rule that voices are recognizable is only true when there is no reason for one to suspect otherwise. If one receives a phone call from a woman claiming to be his mother, and she sounds nothing like her, he will certainly be suspicious, but should his “mother” tell him information that proves to him that it is her, he will assume that he has made a mistake and that it is indeed his mother. Because Leah had the “simanim,” Jacob was certain that it was Rachel! The “simanim,” which were only created to avoid confusion are the only reason that Jacob did not discover the fraudulent identity of his bride. They messed it all up! Has he not used any “simanim” at all, he would have had no problems! Why did he make them at all, and not simply rely on voice recognition? But Jacob did not make these simanim simply to discern the identity of his bride. There was much more to it. When God began his relationship with humanity, he used simanim.” And so did Jacob, our father.]

This world is a place of darkness, where we eagerly prepare for the world to come. We must never give up - as bleak as things may look. However long the night may last, the morning is always coming. For a Jew, the day follows the night.

[i] See “Maamarei Pachad Yitzchok” Sukkos: Maamar 9, where Rav Hutner elaborates. He explains that this is why the period between day and night is known as “bein hashmashos,” literally, “between suns.” There was a light originally in the sun that was hidden away for the righteous to eventually use in the world to come. The stars contain traces of this light, as they were substitutes for the sun. This entire discussion, says Rav Hutner, sheds further light on the Talmudic expression for the blind person, “Sagi Nahor,” “[one with] abundant light,” usually taken as a euphemism.
[ii] Sanhedrin 58b
[iii] Maimonides Melachim 10:9
[iv] Sefer HaMikneh Kiddushin 37b, See Chasam Sofer (quoting Sefer HaMikneh) to Shabbos 87a. See Panim Yafos Al Hatorah Genesis 8:22, and Shut Rabbi Akiva Eger 123 Hashmata.
[v] Maimonides Melachim 8:11
[vi] Sanhedrin 59a
[vii] Exodus 31:13
[viii] Brachos 26b
[ix] Genesis 1:5
[x] See Chullin 83 a
[xi] Kiddushin 37b, see note [iv] above
[xii] Zecharia 14:9
[xiii] Shabbos 77b except for a minority opinion of rashbam, that is the literal translation of the pesukim.
[xiv] Psalms 29:10
[xv] Zevachim 116a
[xvi] Genesis 8:22
[xvii] Bereshis Rabbah 34:11 “The weather was pleasant, as it is between Passover and Shavuos.” Sforno explains that the suns course was unlike today, but rather much closer to the earth, and physical life was much more like it would be in the messianic era. See Or Gedalyahu Noach, 2.
[xviii] Zohar 3:216b, Shmos Rabbah 30
[xix] Rashi Numbers 11:10 s.v Bocheh, quoting Sifri. Chida in Midbar Kedamos Dalet, 3, that because the Jews in the desert were children of illicit relationships, they could not enter the land of Israel!
[xx] Perush HaGra Limigilas Esther Al Derech Haremez 1;1
[xxi] Commentary to Proverbs 9:10
[xxii] Rashi Genesis 1:1
[xxiii] Pirkei D’rabbi Eliezer Chapter 3
[xxiv] Tosafos to Rosh Hashanah 27a
[xxv] In the messianic times, we will follow the rulings of Shammai. This is often quoted in the name of the Arizal, as in Bnei Yissaschar gloss to Dvash Lifi, “Divrei Elokim chaim.” Herczeg in “Patterns in Rashi,” says that while this idea is commonly attributed to the Arizal, it’s earliest known source appears to be Sefer Vayakhel Moshe of Rabbi Moshe Prager. Tzidkas Hatzadik 169, explains that Yitzchak will be head in messianic times for it is a time of strict Din, and explains Rosh Hashanah in this light.
[xxvi] Kreisos 6b
[xxvii] Avos 5:1
[xxviii] Targum Yesushalmi to Bereshis 1:1
[xxix] Bnei Yissaschar Tishrei 2:10
[xxx] As to the nature of these simanim, see Chida in Midbar Kedemos Zayin 12, and elsewhere, quoting his grandfather Rabbi Avraham Azulai (Chesed Lavraham mayan sheni nahar 61) that Rachel was to touch his right thumb right, right big toe, and right ear, as is found in the temple service. Sefer HaChaim (part 1, chapter 2) explains that the simanim were “secrets of the oral torah, specifically the hidden meanings of the fantastic aggados.” The connection between the Rosh Hashanah and Jacob/Rachel Simanim is made by a cryptic passage in Bnei Yissaschar Tishrei 2:11 in which he mysteriously asserts that “Simanim should be done only on the first of the two days of Rosh Hashanah for the 1st day corresponds to Leah and the 2nd to Rachel, and Rachel gave her Simanim to Leah. Apparently these simanim are of the same essence.
[xxxi] Quoted in Torah Temimah Parshas Veyetze

Tefillin are Amazing Things!

2008-08-05T08:12:00.001-07:00

As the Jewish people stood at mount Sinai and Moses descended holding two tablets, he also brought back with him 40 days of information. God chooses not to reveal himself to the world all the time. Sometimes, difficult things that seem terrible will happen and it will seem as thought God is not there. This lets us have such things as faith, and belief -virtues that would be impossible if we always saw God. But there was a time when God revealed himself to the world. He stepped into the land of Egypt and took out an opressed group of slaves, led them to mount Sinai, and revealed himself to them. He taught them the truth - that the is a Creator, and told them that it was their mission to teach the world about it. All of the civilized world accepts the Ten Commandments, for God revealed those to mankind. There was a total of 613 principles or ideas that God gave the Jewish people to make the world around them a better place. Those are called mitzvahs. Some teach us to be kind (charity, helping the oppressed) some teach us self control (kosher, do not steal) some teach us to be noble (save the life of the dying person.) Since God knows more about people than even the greatest psychologist, sometimes we must do what he says even if we don't really see how that mitzvah will help us.

Therefore, the very first thing that we must know is that somehow, and in some way ,the tefillin makes the Jewish man wearing them a better Jewish man, and makes the whole world around him a better world. Even if we didnt know any reason for it - we should do it - after all, how many of us know how Penicillin works, but we take it and it makes us better! There are many levels of depth and beauty to tefillin - i will try to explain two of them.

1) Tefillin wrapped on the arm and the head. We all have two parts to ourselves. We have our intelligence, and we have of physical bodies. A person who is trying to go on a diet sees the struggle between these two parts clearly. He sees a chocolate bar that he knows is unhealthy for him, and he decided that he had better not eat it. But someone he feels as though he wants it! His mind certainly does not want it. He will feel nothing but guilt should he eat it. And yet most of the time, diets fail. The body wins. This is true when a spouse cheats on the other spouse more often than not. The mind was saying "no" and the boys could not resist the temptation.

There are two parts to being a good person, and a good Jew. The first part it knowing right from wrong. If a person does not even know that his cholesterol is through the roof, he will not even know to lay off of the cheese doodles and Haagen-Dasz! Even after he knows this, however, he must still work to control himself, and teach his body to behave as his mind has decided. Life is about these two challenges. THe society that does not know that Murder is bad (like Jihad, or gladiator fights) is highly imperfect. But even a person whose mind does know still has much work left to do. Other religions say "Just believe in Jesus. Your faith will set you free." They do not stress Mitzvahs, for they think that only the mind counts. Other cult-ish religions stress only the actions, and tell you "stop thinking, listen only to the leader, and do what he says" Judaism tells us that we must tie down both our mind and our behavior to the Truth, to God. Our mind, and our body must be instruments of truth. If we have to choose between right and wrong, we should KNOW what is right and wrong, and the ACT accordingly. This is the measure of a great person. Tefillin are boxes with words of Truth, from the Torah inside, that speak of why were are here in this world. It tells about the Jew, his one God, his great mission in this world. Every morning, the Jew ties down his arm and head, (gently!) and says to himself, his God, and his world, "i will use my mental power and physical power toward noble goals - to make this world a better place." (on ancient times, people wore tefillin for the entire day - until the sun set! But this is almost unheard of anymore, although some great rabbis and others still do. The rest of us put them on for prayers once a day.)

2) There is another layer of meaning to tefillin too.. God is not physical. Just like you cannot ask someone to "Point to 'Love', what size is it what shape is it?" because love does not occupy a space, or have shape, the same is true for God. He is everywhere but he is not a body, or shape. Any yet, the Great Rabbi of 2000 years ago, recorded in the Talmud, tell us that "God also wears tefillin!" What does it say inside them? The talmud tells us that God's tefillin say "Who is like the Jewish people, a unique people on the earth." God has no body to put tefillin on. This is surely a story that is not meant to be taken as a description of what God wears. Here is the idea represented in tefillin. A young girl and boy fall in love, but he must go out to war. Before they depart, he gives her a locket - a little necklace with his picture on it, and she gives one to him. when they are separated, they each can look into that locket, and remember what they love above all. What the Jew loves above all is truth, Torah, and God. He has given his life throughout history rather than be forced to give up his Judiasm. The tefillin are the locket that a Jewish person wears that connect him to the one he loves, but is separate from - God. God loves us so much - we feel that when we wear tefillin. And God does not let us away from his heart for even a moment. It is almost as if "he is wearing tefillin." Not literally of course, but certainly true. There is no other nation in the world, in recorded history that has sacrificed everything again and again simply in order to remain true and good. From passover, to the Chanukah story, we have never given up our belief in one God who loves and cares no matter what anyone has tried to do to us. And they have tried it all. And yet, although the Jewish people have never done too much advertising, or PR, every single place that we have lived, the people have begun believing in one God. (Both Islam and Christianity got that part right) Everywhere that we did not live, those people are still bowing down to cows, and worshiping rivers. We are privileged to be of the people who are devoted Totally to God, and Truth. Our grandparents, and their grandparents stood for nothing more that doing everything that they could to be "God's people," of truth and love and honesty. And when they looked down at their tefillin, they knew that God had not forgotten them - just as the man at war knew when he felt the locket of his beloved fiance.

Rabbi Harold Schuster - The Story of a great man

2008-06-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

We could not have been more surprised when Rabbi Harold Schuster got up to speak for the very first time. It was mussar seder in Yeshiva and we were told that a Rav who had lived in Waterbury for many years would be speaking to us. Apparently he has learnt under Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer we were told but we did not know much more about him. It was the first year of Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel, and Waterbury was not yet the spiritual center that it has now become. To find an old world Jew, who lived faithfully according to the Torah and traditions of his ancestors was remarkable to us. Rabbi Shuster, for the next several years gave mussar shmoozen in Yeshiva, made a siyum every year on erev pesach, and met with government officials with whom he was very connected, in order to help the Yeshiva and Jewish community in any possible way. But, although most of us did not know it then, there was a hidden greatness in Rabbi Schuster as well. Behind his kind grandfatherly eyes, and warm exterior was a deep and great man, built from years of suffering and struggle.

Rabbi Schuster’s father, Rabbi Mayer Schuster, spent his early years as a teacher in the German city of Ichenhausen, and learnt under the dayan, Rav Avraham Yehoshua Goldberg, the author of the sforim Mkor Habrachos on Meseches Brachos, and Kisvei Paz, on a variety of Torah Subjects. Rav Goldberg was close talmid of the Alter of Kelm, Rav Simcha Zissel (Ziv) Boride to whom he was also related, and imparted his teachings to his talmidim. After some years, the dayan chose this star talmid of his to marry his sixth daughter, Rivka. Avraham Yehoshua Schuster, who would be known as Harold, was born on August 15th of 1921, just one month after his saintly grandfather passed away, and was given his name. Two years later, his sister Felice (who went on to write her memoirs in a book entitled Beacon of Light, Targum) was born. His sister remember him as a good natures lad, who let he have any of his toys that she wanted. When the children were young, the family moved to Ellingen Germany, in Bavaria, where Rabbi Schuster took up the position of Rabbi, teacher, baal koreh, and shochet for Ellingen and the surrounding areas.

The anti-Semitism came to the smaller German towns last. The families were friendly, and the Jews were known by their neighbors. Rabbi Schuster’s sister recalls an incident that occurred before Hitler was elected. In a conversation with a Gentile girl, she asked her what she thought would happen were Hitler elected. She replied, “Hitler will kill all the Jews.” But then one child pointed to her and asked, “What’s going to happen to her?” “Nothing,” said an older child, “Why not?” “Because we know her.” Little Harold remembered brought their German mailman a package of Matzah as a present as they did every year, for he normally gladly accepted it! But in 1934, he turned pale when he answered the door, and said that he could not accept it. He told the boy that the matzah contained the blood of Christian children, and he knew this to be true for he read in the newspaper Der Sturmer. Rabbi Schuster was then barely Bar Mitvah and tried his hardest to persuade the mailman to take the gift, but it was fruitless. The tide was changing quickly.

Already in 1935, when many still did not grasp the horrific danger that faced the Jewish people, Rabbi Schuster was urging his congregants to flee Germany. Due to his influence, all but one family managed to escape Germany.

They left Germany via Switzerland as a family, and crossed the alps into Italy. They then boarded a ship, the Gerusalemme, that led them to Haifa. The Broide family, to whom they were related lived in Musrara Jerualem (the small neighborhood between Mea Shearim and the Kotel) and took them in. Life was not easy in Jerusalem in those times – there was tremendous poverty, and it was all that they could do to manage to eat every day.

Rabbi Meyer spent his time trying to arrange visas, and do everything and anything possible to save his brethren, but it became clear that the place that he could be of most help was not Israel. This led him to Havana, Cuba, where he stayed in the home of a Cuban Jewish Businessman, who was well connected, and knew which officials could be bribed, and for what sum. He managed to bring thousands of Jews to Cuba, saving their lives.

The family could not remain apart any longer, and they began a trek to rejoin their Father. They went from Israel to France, and the plan was to go from there to New York, and then Cuba. But the ship out of France was delayed a bit, and the wail or air raid sirens and impending disaster made the need to get out of France immediate. They managed to draw an alternate route, which would take them through the Caribbean Islands, on a much smaller ship. The ship was full of Jews and Spaniard who were fleeing the Spanish Civil war, and who were simply happy to be alive. Kosher food was scarce, but there were no complaints. On one stop in Haiti, they disembarked for a short while to try to purchase some fruit and vegetables. There, they met a Jewish business owner who explained that he was one of six Jewish families in the entire Island of Haiti. He took them home and gave them a delicious meal, and warm reception. Everywhere they went they saw a remarkable degree of siyata dishmaya.

They arrived in Cuba, met up with their father, and watched the world that they once knew crumble and disintegrate; doing everything they possibly could to save a precious few.

Rabbi Mayer Schuster, went on to write a sefer which bore the haskomos of Rav Moshe Feinstein z”l, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe z”l. His son, Rabbi Harold Schuster lived his life completely dedicated to his community, and the Yeshiva that it eventually built. As Erev Pesach approaches, and the siyum of the firstborn takes place in Waterbury, there will not be dry eye, as people recall the man who made that siyum every year in his unassuming and yet great manner.

First Published in Yated Neeman, Connecting with Waterbury Page, May 2008

Pesach in a land of Jewish Blood

2008-05-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, Moshe Mernick of Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel in Waterbury was in Berlin Germany for a Zman as part of a mentorship program that the two Yeshivos have. Yeshivas Beis Zion of Berlin, is a remarkable Yeshiva for Russian Baalei Tshuva in Germany. Germany offers remarkable opportunities for Jewish members of the former Soviet Union. They are offered EU citizenship as well as a slew of benefits should they choose to relocate to Germany. And many Jewish families, who have practically no real knowledge of Torah have chosen to move. The Soviet Union was not a place where Jewish identity or practice thrived, quite the opposite. As a result many of these young men, who are given the opportunity of good education and gainful employment only as a result of the fact that they are Jewish grow quite perplexed as to why. So they look into Torah. The Lauder Yeshurun Foundation has taken upon themselves the giant task of being there for this segment of Hashem’s people who are otherwise on their own. Their base of operations for Germany is Berlin, where they have the successful Yeshiva and Kollel “Beis Zion.” But their influence is felt across Germany. There are frum families living and doing kiruv in Hamburg, and there are Shabbatons and seminars all across Germany.

Moshe Mernick has a big heart, and is a phenomenal speaker. He was incredibly effective in his short time in Berlin in reaching the hearts of the students learning there. Rather than return to America to continue his learning there, he was prevailed upon by Rabbi Spinner of Lauder Yeshurun to move to Hamburg and do kiruv. He went to places where there have been no frum people since Hitler’s men were there. He brought Torah into hearts that had never felt anything Jewish. After spending one year there, he reluctantly, and against the wishes of Lauder Yeshurun returned home to North America.

This Pesach, of his first year back home, he returned along with Eli Zians of Shor Yoshuv to run the sdorim in Hamburg, Germany. Tamar Warburg who spent last semester at a Law School in Hamburg while working as a Madricha for the Lauder girls seminary, also came to work with the girls. Approximately 15 not yet religious Jewish students slept over in Hamburg Germany for the three day Yom Tov! Torah classes and programming were offered by the staff provided by Lauder Yeshrun throughout the Yom Tov. 45 students participated in the Carlebach-style Kabbalas Shabbos and Friday night program. 60 students attended the first Seder, including 6 Israeli soldiers from the submarine unit who were in northern Germany being trained by the German army for a week. They showed up in the Shul for Minchah on Shabbos looking for a Seder!
The First Seder went on until 4 am strong. It was a room full of people with no background in Torah and Hashkafa learning for the first time about what it means to be a Torah Jew. During Maggid, they went around the room and had each student read a small portion of the Haggadah in a language that they felt most comfortable with (i.e. German, Russian, Hebrew, English, etc.) and we were treated to a special rendition of the Mah Nishtanah in Chinese. Students were encouraged to ask questions as we were awarding each question with “American” (!) treats. The two Americans, Moshe and Eli, sang grammen in Russian, relating the theme of Pesach in a very interactive and entertaining way. There was a puppet show performance for the ten makkos. Student who attended said that the highlight of the seder was the 3:30 am singing of “Who Knows One?”
For many, this was the first Pesach they have ever celebrated. And they loved it! They connected in a very personal way. Throughout the night, the staff stressed two of the lesser known Mitzvos of Pesach. The obligation upon each Jew to feel as though they were personally being redeemed from slavery in Egypt, and V’Somachta B’Chagecha, the only Mitzvah that applies to every single moment of Pesach – Happiness.
For the second Seder, the students joined the Hamburg Jewish community, where there were 175 people in total. Although the Rabbi was leading the Seder, the Lauder group infused the hall with youthful energy and spirit. After a nice introduction by the Rabbi of the community, one 18 year old student from Hamburg who has been attending Shabbatons and classes over the last year and half, delivered the following powerful and inspirational speech, “This Pesach is my first proper Pesach celebration and I'm very happy to be here with you all.But before coming here I had a few conflicts to manage. Isn't it ordinary in a Jewish family? My uncle from Moscow is here for two days and I'm not able to see him because I want to have a Seder meal and a proper Yom Tov. But this is much more difficult than it sounds. I mean, how can I leave my family for something I don't know, for something unknown? Who tells me that this Pesach celebration is worth all the arguments with my parents?So I guess the Israelites had to decide between Slavery in Egypt and the desert. On the one hand the bad thing is well known and they were used to it. On the other hand they saw the desert which looks dangerous but promises freedom. Who promises? G-d does. But how can you trust him after all the suffering in Egypt? The Israelites did. And they got the Torah as the reward. I don't say that I've suffered as much as our forefathers did. But for me this question, if to go or not, was also the most existential question I have ever faced… But I took the risk. I trusted G'd and went to Lauder for spending Pesach. And I really don't regret it because I got the chance to spend it with you all.This is my first Pesach celebration. And I thank you for making it such a wonderful one!This student wants to spend the summer studying in Israel. This is indicative of what Avodas Hashem does for a person's life.
As Moshe said, “This students speech also totally drove home the point of how much of an impact we are able to make on another Jewish Neshomah. Regardless of the color of the passport that one holds, if one’s mother is Jewish, than they are just as Jewish as you and I, and they are just as thirsty to learn Torah and spend a genuine Shabbos like you and me. “

Moshe continued, “From the bottom of my heart, I thank the Yeshiva Gedolah of Waterbury, and in particular Rabbi Kaufman, for providing me with the unique opportunity of teaching Torah in Germany. When the Possuk tells us, “V’Ohavta LeRaiacha Kamocha,” Hashem is not only commanding us to love our Jewish brethren in Toronto, New York, Waterbury, and Eretz Yisroel. Rather, He wants us to feel genuine responsibility toward all of His children. It’s not our place to judge these students’ parents who decided to relocate from the former Soviet Union to Germany, a country that is soaked with our grandparents’ blood. Though it is our place to ensure that these young men and women are being offered the same Jewish education we too often take for granted; it is our place to applaud Waterbury and Lauder Yeshurun for the extraordinary work that they both continue to do.”

Chaim Lesser - A giant (in size 9 and 1/2 shoes and a fanny pack)

2008-04-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

Chaim Lesser was one of the first bochurim of Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel of Waterbury when it was founded seven years ago. But he is much more than simply one of the first people to sign up. He quickly became one of the most influential members of the greater Waterbury community. Always there to help the younger bochurim, a roommate, or even a stranger, his capacity for generosity and chesed was no secret. His relaxed manner and his willingness to do any favor asked of him, no matter how exhausting help make him the beloved person that he is. His close relationship with the Rosh Yeshiva, and their mutual respect for one another are quite unusual and incredible to witness.

Seven years after the founding of Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel, we find Reb Chaim Lesser with his Aishes Chayil in their meticulous and spacious home, hosting family friends, Rabonim, and Roshei Yeshiva. The occasion is the upsherin of their Yehoshua Eliezer, the eldest of their two boys. But this was not simply a third birthday party. This was truly a celebration of the success of an individual a family and a community. Chaim Lesser was a masmid, and when the time came for him to join the ranks of those who are daily mikadesh shem shomayim in the workplace, he did so with the elegance and grace that only those who know him can truly appreciate. His sincere dedication to Torah learning keeps him up late at night, whether with a chavrusa at his dining room table at midnight, or in his study on his own. His hospitable home and warm inviting personality, coupled with the Rebbitzens sumptuous culinary efforts make his home a favorite spot for bochurim and other guests. His generosity and sharp mind make him an indispensable advisor and confidante of the Rosh Yeshiva and other members of the Yeshiva administration. That he is so indispensable to the workings of the Yeshiva at such a young age is a testament to his remarkable nature.

In August of 2005, at a gala banquet thrown by the Jewish Federation of Western Connecticut, Chaim Lesser was the guest of honor. He received the community leadership award, applauding his effort of behalf of Connecticut’s Jewry. Those in attendance heard Director Rab Zwang extolling the qualities and greatness that Chaim stands for. He spoke of the future of the Jewish community of Connecticut, and its grand past. He assured those gathered there that with young passionate growth minded people like Chaim Lesser, the Jewish community could look to an even brighter future. Then Chaim himself rose to speak. He spoke of how growth is truly the goal of every individual and institution. He went on to encourage the Yeshiva, Federation, and greater community to pool their many resources in interest of growth. After all, said Chaim, since we are all focused on growth, why not work together? The elegant plaque presented to Chaim Lesser echoed the words of Moshe Rabbenu when it said, “A community is too heavy for any one to carry alone.”

The upsherin was busy Sunday morning in Waterbury. Hewlett Street, possibly for the first time in its history did not have one spare parking spot. Guests arrived from all over the tri-state area bearing gifts and sporting smiles. The spacious Lesser home was packed to capacity with adults, children, bagels, pastas, and a pleasant variety of quiches. The Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Aaron Kaufman was in attendance, as was Rabbi Fishman, the Rosh Kollel, and Rabbi Bernstein, a maggid shiur. Rabbi Eliezer Wartelsky, the noted Maggid Shiur also made a brief appearance, wishing mazel tov and best wishes to the family. It was an emotional moment when the once flowing hair on Yehoshua Lesser was slowly cut for the first time. The beaming faces of the grandparents said more than any newspaper column ever could. A young eved Hashem was being formally entered into the study of Torah and the performance of mitzvos. The smile on this little yingeles face told everyone in that room that even at the tender age of three, he was truly excited to have such parents, and such a family.

But the story of the Lessers is not simply the story of one frum family reaching the incredible milestone of a sweet three year old boy’s formal entrance into the ranks of chinuch. It is not simply the story of a family who is living as Hashem wants us to. It is not simply about one who gives far more than required of himself to his community. It is about much more. Chaim Lesser’s simcha is the simcha of the entire Yeshiva and community of Waterbury. His magnificent example of what a young Torah family can be is a testament to his parents, his friends, and his Rabbeim, and to all of Klal Yisrael. Parents dream to raise such a son. Rabbeim dream to produce such students. And communities aspire to be filled with neighbors such as the Lessers.

Originally Published in Yated Neeman, Waterbury Page April 2008

Waterbury Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Aaron Kaufman, in Israel

2008-04-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Aharon Kaufman rushed off of his airplane and collected his baggage. Rather than heading to a warm shower and comfortable bed to recover from his long flight, as most other passengers likely did; he headed directly to Yeshivas Torah Ore where he was scheduled to speak. Torah Ore, headed by Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg Shlit”a is located on busy Sorortzkin Street in the Mattersdorf neighborhood of Yerushalyim, and Rabbi Kaufman is from Waterbury Connecticut, far away. The Rosh Yeshiva had gone to Israel, for a very short stay, where he met with his old bochurim, interviewed some prospective ones, and spoke in more Yeshiva’s in those few days than most of us have ever been in over the course of one lifetime!

After leaving Yeshivas Torah Ore, he went directly on to his next destination – Yeshivas Yagdil Torah. While there he mesmerized the beis midrash with a masterful shiur klali revolving around a complex sugya in meseches kiddushin. That was Tuesday, one of the calmer days of the trip.

On Wednesday morning, Rabbi Kaufman davened shachris and ate breakfast at Yeshivas Or Yerushalyim (often affectionate referred to by it’s bochurim as OJ) and then he spoke to the entire Yeshiva, where he was once again well received. He went directly from there to Bayit Vegan where he addressed Yeshivas Tiferes Yerushalyim (“TJ”) and gave a shiur klali on Gittin daf hey. Later that day, he spoke in Yeshivas Or David (OD), and at night he closed his day with a visit and speech to Yeshivas Mikdash Melech. In some places he spoke in the sugyas that the yeshiva was learning, and in other Yeshivas, he spoke of mussar and hashkofa. There were equally brilliant and well liked, according to the reports of those in attendance.

Thurday morning, Rabbi Kaufman was to be found in Shaare Chesed, where he spoke in Yeshivas Midrash Shmuel of Rabbi Binyomin Moskovitz Shlit”a. He then headed to Ateres Yerushalyim in Ramot, (AJ) where he spoke once again.

On Firday night, at a lavish oneg shabbos hosted by one of his beloved former talmidim, who now learns in kollel, and gives Waterbury all the credit for his lifestyle choice, Rabbi Kaufman greeted many former talmidim, single and married, who made it clear to him that there is no such thing as a “former talmid.” Once a child – always a child. Rabbi Kaufman spoke to hearts of those assembled. He asked, “Why is it that in the 13 middos of Rachamim, we are told that Hashem forgives, “Pesha, and Chatah,” Which means, “willful sins, and even unintentional ones.” Certainly once we have said that Hashem forgives the intentional ones, we can know that he overlooks the unintentional!? Rabbi Kaufman explained that in some ways, unintentional sins are even worse than those that are intentional, based upon the Maharal. He taught that the essence of a person cannot be defined by every action that he makes. After all, when a person does a sin, - a willful one - as a result of the yetzer hara, it may be no more than a reflection of his level of self control, and have nothing to do with his essence. But when a person sins just as a matter of course, unintentionally without the impetus of his yetzer harah, there is some sort of indication that at the root of things, his essence may be somewhat connected to that sin. (After all, when one kills unintentionally we see it as a display if his essence, and so with any sin bishogeg.) Thus the Torah teaches us that in some way, an unintentional sin is worse than even one done deliberately! The oneg shabbos lasted past midnight, and was filled with Torah, singing, laughter, and true greatness.

On Motzai Shabbos, Rabbi Heshy Kahan of Ramat Eshkol, a former Waterbury talmid turned Posek hosted a gala malava malka where Rabbi Kaufman met with bochurim who would like to come to Waterbury for the first time, and join the chabura of bochurim who return from Eretz Yisrael to learn by Hagaon Rav Yitzchak Meir Fishman Shlit”a, and Rabbi’s Braunstein and Sonnenchein. Many bochurim attended, and many top bochurim will be coming to Waterbury after Pesach.

On Sunday, Rabbi Kaufman spoke in Yeshivat Reishit, and Netiv Aryeh in the Yerushalyim’s old city. On Monday, he spoke in Rabbi Center’s Yeshiva, in Kesher, and in Shalavim, and that night he flew home.

Over the course of the trip, he was seen in Yeshivas Beis Yisrael speaking with bochurim, and in the Mir, in long conversations with maggidei shiur, including Rav Nissin Kaplan, Rabbi Wagshal, and Rabbi Resnick.

The trip was a dazzling display of greatness – it was a change for those in Eretz Yisrael to have a glimpse of what those in Waterbury are privileged enough to witness up close, all year long.

Published in The Connecting with Waterbury page of Yated Neeman, March 2008

Quiet Greatness - Rabbi Moshe Don Kestenbaum

2008-03-19T23:09:00.001-07:00

Rabbi Moshe Don Kestenbaum is an unusual man. This tall dark-haired 11th grade Rebbe with a warm smile is beloved by so many. His daf yomi shiurim are applauded for their brilliance. This once (and likely still) talented left-handed basketball player has made his mark on the Jewish people at a young age, in an area far from that of athletics. As a bochur, he was known for hasmoda. That was his mark on the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, and the Mir. Friends of his who learnt beside him in the Mir describe Rabbi Kestenbaum showering and dressing for shabbos at 12 pm, and then heading for the beis midrash until shabbos, on long summer Fridays.

Coming from the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, he was educated by one of today’s mussar giants, Rabbi Yechiel Perr Shlita. Rabbi Perr is the quintessential baal mussar, a kind thoughtful talmid chocham who can take the most complicated of human situations and dissect them through the Torah’s lens. When he first came to Waterbury, he gave shiurim and mussar vaadim to the Beis Midrash bochurim – extremely popular ones. His mussar was laced with quotes and stories from Rabbi Perr. He himself came up with many methods of personal growth based upon the wisdom found in s’forim. He laughingly would describe to those in his chabura what it feels like as a bochur to buy a bag of potato chips from the snack machine in yeshiva. “You buy a bag for 75 cents, and you open it to find that it is mostly air, and only three chips! Then a friend of yours comes by and says, he can I have some?” Since this is likely to bother you, explained Rabbi Kestenbaum, you of course should never ask someone else to give you their chips! “Buy two bags,” taught Rabbi Kestenbaum to his students. “Then you will have one to give away and one for yourself!” Indeed he lives his own life this way, and has thus developed into a magnanimous and truly giving person. Anyone who has seen him don his colorful “wedding yarmulkeh,” and proceed to dance before a chosson with abandon, has truly witnessed what he is willing to sacrifice of himself for the pleasure of his fellow Jew.

Built likely from years of mussar vaadim, and even more years of personal mussar study and development, Rabbi Kestenbaum embarked on a daring initiative – he began writing his own mussar sefer. Those who know Rabbi Kestenbaum are aware that, more so than most of his companions, he is known for his very real mastery of Shas – having finished many mesechtos with Rishonim and Acharonim many times over. This makes his choice to publish on mussar all that more surprising. A look at his introduction tells us why he made this choice. In his words, “There are many mussar sforim by giants in Torah and Yirah, who am I to count myself amongst them? However, it appears to me that there is yet a great need for a contemporary sefer that speaks to a person of our times….”

He called his sefer Olam Hamidos, (the intitals M.D. of his first name ‘Moshe Don’ are alluded to in the first two letters of Middos) for it is a work that sets out to “delineate the obligation of ‘middos’ and offer effective advice to develop them.” It bears the haskomos of Rabbi Aharon Kaufman shlit”a, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ateres Shmuel of Waterbury, Rabi Yechiel Perr shlit”a, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, and Harav Nosson Tzvi Finkel shlit”a, the Rosh Yeshiva of Mir Yerushalyim. Rav Finkel, in his haskoma makes a remarkable statement about the author, when he says, “from between the lines of the sefer, it is evident that the author is a veritable storehouse of Yiras Shomayim.” A school-child might say, “it takes one to know one,” and in this instance, such praise could not come from a more remarkable source.

Olam Hamiddos, the World of Middos, is made up of 8 “worlds,” all dealt with in individual chapters. The first is the “world of middos” which explains the purpose of middos development; then is the “world of truth,” “the world of kovod” (honor), “the world of jealousy,” “the world of anger,” “the world of happiness,” “the world of strength,” and “the world of kindness.” Within the sefer there are so many remarkable though provoking messages that it is daunting to attempt to take a sample, but we shall nevertheless try.

Rabbi Kestenbaum tells of a mystifying quote, attributed to Rav Chaim Vital, the great student of the Arizal; “the character of a person is judged solely based upon how he behaves toward his wife.” Isn’t this unusual, asked Rabbi Kestenbaum, for a man is far more than a spouse! He has dealings with so many people in so many situations! Why are his middos judged by this one dynamic? He speaks of how man desires so deeply to find favor in the eyes of others, that subconsciously he does whatever he can to curry their favor. But that does not exist when one is married. The same kovod is not forthcoming from those with whom we live as from other whom we may impress with a mere glimpse. On a deeper level, he continues, the love and closeness of proximity that marriage demands make it difficult to hide even a hint of anger or dissatisfaction. This is not so with even the closest friend. It thus emerges that the true mettle of a person is only really displayed in his marriage. Whether or not he really is filled with hate and anger or love and compassion is truly something that only his wife can know. This, explained the Olam Hamidos is what Rav Chaim Vital was telling us.

Throughout the course of his sefer, Rabbi Kestenbaum offers both conceptual and theoretical advice in a sincere and down to earth fashion. Quoting from great sforim and Rabbonim, such as Mesilas Yesharim (on p. 184) Rav Yisrael Salanter z”l (p. 26) Yitzchok Hutner z”l (on p. 8) and Rabbi Aaron Wilk shlit”a (p. 25), he weaves a tapestry that is certain to make the reader both a better person and a better Jew. Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel of Waterbury is truly blessed to have Rabbi Kestenbaum in it’s walls.

Published in Yated Neeman Waterbury Page March 2008

The Overpopulation Crisis

2008-03-07T05:33:00.000-08:00

Based upon a Shiur given by Rabbi David Lapin

For the most part, Torah observant Jews proudly boast large families. Are they destroying the world as we know it?

Thomas Robert Malthus was the second of eight children. It was a large family, and he apparently resented it. His theories are known as Malthusian ideology. This doctrine sees all major social problems - poverty, hunger, political instability, and environmental destruction - as due to population growth, and posits that population control thus represents a key solution. "In October 1838, that is, fifteen months after I had begun my systematic inquiry, I happened to read for amusement Malthus on Population…” wrote Charles Darwin in his biography, where he proceeded to describe the great influence that Malthus had on his thinking - particularly on his theory of natural selection. In 1978 a book called “The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History,” placed Malthus at number 80 in this worldwide ranking. Was Thomas Malthus right or wrong? Will large families lead to the world’s demise?

During the reign of King David (Samuel II 24) a devastating mistake was made. David decided to count the Jewish people, and did so in no special way. Halacha tells us that it is permissible to count the number of raised hands in a room, but not the people themselves. (Talmud Yoma 22b, Magen Avraham 156) We cannot count people. But David did. And the Jews were hit with a death wave in which 70,000 (!) men died from one end of the nation to the other. Our sages tell us (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer 43) that in fact only one person died. His name was Avishai Ben Tzeruyah, and though he was only one man, he was worth 70,000. It sounds a bit unusual to refer to one person as 70,000; what is the message – and why does Scripture choose to teach us the value of this man especially now?

The Torah tells us that if the Jewish people are counted in an ordinary fashion, it will cause a plague. G-d therefore directs Moses to count the Jews in an unusual way wherein each person gives a coin. The coins will then be counted, and the census with thus be accomplished without pestilence. Why does this solve the problem? And what was the problem to begin with?

It is forbidden to count Jews. The reason is really quite simple; you have no idea what anyone else is worth. One person may be worth far more than another. To count people as equally valuable is simply incorrect. David made that mistake – but he learned his lesson when he lost one man who was worth 70,000. How beautifully does G-d make every punishment fit the offense! We count people based upon what they have contributed to society. That is really what life is about. “He who detests gifts is truly alive,” stated Solomon the great King David’s son. We can count everyone only if they give something – for a gift can be quantified. When Moses counted his people, each one gave something of himself, and that was counted. Thus, nobody had to be taken away.

Avishai’s passing is referred to as “70,000 from one end of the nation to another!” (In Hebrew, “Dan to Beersheba.”) Now that we know that it was one man and he certainly lived in only one city at a time, how are we to understand this statement? The message is the same. God took one man, whose positive influence affected the length and breath of his nation, and taught us a lesson for posterity. One man can span a nation, from Dan to Beersheba. (Biur Radal ibid)

Overpopulation is dangerous in a society of takers. When people consume more than they produce, each new person is just another liability. But when people are innovative, and givers, when people produce more than they consume - the more the merrier! The Torah’s focus is always the obligation, rather than the right. An obligation to tithe is stressed, rather than the Levites right to receive it. Our aim must be to produce a society of givers, and builders. We must fulfill the Torah’s commandment to be fruitful and multiply. After all, it is only when we are fruitful, that our multiplying and overpopulation can truly have any meaning.

Seeing God... on Moshe's Birthday!

2008-03-07T05:32:00.000-08:00

“When the lots that Haman had cast landed on the month of Adar, he rejoiced and said, ‘my lots fell on the month in which Moshe died.’ But Haman did not know that while Moshe died on the seventh of Adar, he was also born on the seventh of Adar.” (Megilla 13b)

While it is clear that Haman did not know that Moshe was born on the seventh of Adar, it is evident from the beginning of the gemara that he did know the date of his death. The gemara’s statement that he “did not know that Moshe died on the seventh of Adar, and was born on the seventh of Adar” implies that there was something that he did not know about the death of Moshe as well.

It also behooves us to discover why it was that a man who was so obsessed with the Jewish people, and so knowledgeable of their ways missed the birth date of Moshe, and only knew the day of his death. Midrashim are replete with accounts of Haman quoting verses from the Torah. Like most of our enemies, he knew much about our Torah, and nevertheless combated it viciously. So why then did he never learn of the birth of Moshe?

Rav Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin (Divrei Chalomos 20) writes that “the day that a man is born is when his mazel is at its most powerful point. On that day, every year, he need no fear that any misfortune will befall him. When our sages taught us that the righteous die on their birthdays – that is because for those so righteous, death is an elevation of their mazel, and the next step in their spiritual climb.”

“Ki lo yirani ha’adam v’chai,” is normally translated as “no man can see me and survive.” But Abudraham (Mussaf Shabbos - Kedusha) offers an alternative translation. “’Neither can man see me, nor can the Chai,’ referring to the Angels” But our sages have taught us that while no man can see G-d in his lifetime, he sees him in his death! (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer 31) In fact, the Chida (D’vash L’fi Mem 24) offers a number of reason that the righteous must die – and his fifth reason is “Ki lo yirani ha’adam v’chai!” At a righteous human’s death, he reaches a higher level of appreciation of G-d than even the highest angel can ever reach!

Thus, Haman did not know that not only did Moshe die on the seventh of Adar, but that death was really a birth as well, just as was his first birth. He may have even known the dry information about the day that Moshe was born from an entry in the Encycolpedia Persian-ica. But Haman did not truly understand the Jewish purpose in this world – why Moshe was really born. He therefore could not truly understand why Moshe died, and how that death was a birth to another world. He did not know that Moshe’s death was just another rung in a ladder that begins here on earth, and reaches into the heavens.

(It was only some time after this suggestion was written that the author found this very pshat in this gemara in the sefer Chomas Anach on Koheles 3:2. The Chida there quotes his fathers Rav, R. Avraham Itzchaki, who offers a remarkably similar pshat.)

Published in The Jerusalem Life Adar II 2008

Dav Dalin forces Arab professor to resign

2008-03-07T05:29:00.000-08:00

Sapir College’s film professor, Nizar Hassan is a famous documentary film-maker. This “celebrity” must apologize by Thursday to Israeli Army reservist Eyal Cohen, for refusing to allow him to be part of his class while he was in uniform. A day before the deadline, two groups took to the Sderot campus to debate and protest.
In early November, Eyal Cohen, a second-year film student, came directly from his Military Intelligence reserve duty to his film class, given by Nizar Hassan. He was wearing his uniform and as a result Hassan refused to teach him. When he would not leave the room, Hassan ignored him entirely and would not allow him to speak. Hassan also reportedly kept interjecting the phrase "Yes, sir" in reference to Cohen and refused to allow him to respond until he came back to class in civilian clothing. Students referred to Hassan’s demeanor as “childish and vindictive.”
A committee organized by the College President Ze'ev Tzahor looked into the incident. They decided that Hassan had one week to write an unequivocal apology to Cohen making it clear that he respected the IDF uniform, and stating that he would teach anyone wearing one. He was told that should he fail to do so, he would be fired. Until he did so, he could not teach at the college. If he did apologize, but then acted in a similar manner in the future, he would also be fired, the panel decided.
Etti Livni, Hassan's lawyer, told the committee, "Hassan acted with good intentions, as someone who just wants to see human beings in his class - not soldiers, not Jews, not Arabs - and he did not mean to humiliate anyone. Just seeing a uniform is enough to frighten and intimidate him. They represent violence for him. He reacted to the student appearing in uniform out of fear.” Nizar claimed he thought the student was armed.
The panel rejected Livni and Hassan's claims. They said that they suspected his motives to be purely nationalistic. The report harshly criticized Hassan for failing to uphold academic values, despite his reputation as a devoted teacher.
"We do not think 'artistic freedom' justifies a lenient posture toward those who cross all red lines," the committee wrote.
Shai Dashevsky, a fellow student of Cohen's in the film department, was one of the organizers of the protest in support of academic freedom. "We protested in support of free speech. We did not rally to support Professor Hassan. We didn't even mention his name once," Dashevsky told reporters by phone Wednesday evening. Almost 20 people from across the political spectrum showed up, Dashevsky said, and professors also stopped by in between classes.
"It was a humiliating letter [from the committee] to Nizar," Dashevsky said, "We want to be able to make up our own minds without dictates from outside." "Professors are scared now," they worry that what they say might get them fired, Dashevsky continued. He said that he believed that Eyal Cohen had in fact been humiliated by Hassan, and that he should receive an apology for the personal affront, but that there should be open debate on campus as well.
Dov Dalin is a kind and brilliant third-year student of Business Logistics. His vibrant personality and passion for his beliefs are noticeable immediately. He told The Jerusalem Life of how he organized a counter-protest, with participants coming from the Left and Right. Even far-right activist Itamar Ben-Gvir put in an appearance. Dalin told the Jerusalem Life in an exlcusive interview that he put together the protest to call for Hassan's unequivocal dismissal.
"I think that [the committee's decision] was the wrong response. They should have told Hassan: 'No, you can't teach here anymore," Dalin, who made aliya from Venice California in 1998, said Wednesday evening.
"As a reserve soldier myself, it is not a good message to send to the country that we tolerate someone like him. He attacked something we hold near and dear - the army," Dalin said. Dalin also indicated that the counter-protest was aimed to reverse the image of Sapir College as a hotbed of radical leftists who "even wanted to invite Tali Fahima to come speak." (Tali Fahima served two years in prison for sharing classified information with the head of Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin.) Those at the rally do not represent the majority of students, he said. The college's Student Union said in a statement: "We view severely any insult to a student and will not allow discrimination of whatever kind within the college. We view Nizar Hassan's behavior as insulting.
Professor Hassan has hopefully learned his lesson, but not without a price. His failure to issue an apology has lost him his job. Dalin was interviewed on National Television and Radio in a relatively successful attempt to discredit Hassan. He artfully debated Hassan’s lawyer in an impressive display of cunning and sharp rejoinders. The story appeared in Maariv, The Jerusalem Post, and most major every media outlet in Israel. It is certainly not the first time that a venomous man has hurt a good Jew for being faithful to his country – but it may be the last time for this professor; assuming that he wishes to keep his next job.

Published in The Jerusalem Life Adar II 2008

Rabbi Noach Weinberg - hundreds of thousands brought back?

2008-02-22T04:36:00.000-08:00

As I passed the bima (table) in the center of the Aish Hatorah beis midrash this Wednesday, I noticed an amazingly thick book. But when I saw the title, I could not believe my eyes. It read, "Names of some of the people who have been impacted by the Rosh Yeshiva Harav Noach Weinberg to become religious or more religious: as a zechus list for his refua shleima." THe Rosh Yeshiva is currently undergoing intense chemotherapy. Aish asked on February 18th that people give thier name to this list. Within three days, 64,424 were in a fat spiral-bound booklet, and I was looking at it.
In my opinion, that booklet alone can isnpire another 64,424 people.
May hashem grant Moreinu HaRav Yisrael Noach ben Hinda Shlita a refua shleima bkarov!

A Child Ails, A Nation Heals

2008-02-01T22:29:00.000-08:00

Little Eytan Feiner wanted nothing more than to grow up to be starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. But when he was sidelined as a child and was no longer the starting point guard for his basketball team, he discovered that the field of athletics was not where his contribution to society would lie. So he realized that litigation would be his forte. He dreamt of pulling up to courthouses in a shiny black BMW and debating Dershowitz and the greats. But after some time in Israel learning, he had what he calls an epiphany. “We don’t not live for ourselves – that is not the reason that we are here,” he says, only far more eloquently. The great talents that Hashem endowed him were evident. It was then and there that he dedicated those talents to Hashem and the Jewish people. He worked hard and headed on the path to Rabbonus and spreading Torah.

Rabbi Eytan Feiner has the most phenomenal memory and breadth of knowledge that most people will ever encounter. He can quote at will (citing exact page numbers) from many thousands of obscure Torah sources. That nature of his awesome kindness and generosity is well known. I can honestly say that he is one of the kindest people that I have had the privilege of knowing. This usually gifted and sweet man went on to marry the girl of his dreams. “You see,” explains Rabbi Feiner, “we all plan out our lives. We expect to wed the girl of our dreams, have money, and children, and happiness. We do not ever think that things will not go our way.” Rabbi Feiner was married, and although to this day, none of the many doctors can offer even a suggestion as to why it was so, he and his wife did not conceive a child for many years. “Hashem,” he would say, “I want to serve you and teach, but I need simchas hachayim. Please let me have a family.” We all do this often, explains Rabbi Feiner, “Hashem give me money, so that I can give charity.” “Give me this so that I can accomplish that.” At times, life felt so difficult that the great Eytan Feiner, who had already developed quite a reputation in yeshiva (“You don’t batel around Feiner” people would say) considered abandoning his learning and going to Columbia Law School, rather than continuing his studies.

Suffering is by definition not easy. But it is always manageable says Rabbi Feiner. After twelve and a half years, his suffering was over! A beautiful baby boy was born to him on a Tuesday night. He speaks with such happiness of those few moments that he was given holding his new beautiful “tzaddikel” before he was whisked away. But it was not even one half hour later when he heard the most devastating news of his life. His son’s breathing was not alright. And soon, one system of his son’s would fail just on the heels of another. It was a nightmare! Something was wrong with the baby. Apparently, there is some amino acid deficiency in this little boy’s body. In all of recorded medical history there is not record of any human ever having had this condition! The doctors are humbled – they know nothing about it.

Someone entered and told Rabbi Feiner, “it is alright if you are mad at Hashem.” But Rabbi Feiner turned around, and said “We have never loved Hashem as much as right now. We are not angry at all. And we know that he loves us so much as well.”

This little boy has done something for klal yisrael that nothing in recent times has been able to. Prayer and study groups from Jerusalem to St. Louis to Los Angeles and around the world have been organized for Hatinok Ben Aviva Bas Chana. From one side of the spectrum to the other, Jews are uniting. From the most yeshivish of seminaries to the most modern; all were represented when on thousand girls came to Neve Yerushalayim to hear Mrs. Feiner speak. Emails are being sent, and Facebook groups are being started. We are all one people says Rabbi Feiner. This little child has had such a zchus in his short time in this world, to bring prayer and loshon hara awareness programs, and Talmud Torah into this long hard galus.

Rabbi Feiner stood in Aish Hatorah, where he is a Rebbe, little more than a week after his son was born, and spoke. He thanked Hashem for everything, and expressed his unfaltering love and appreciation for his Tatty in heaven. There was not a dry eye in the room. He spoke of how life is not about learning, charity, or prayer. Those are crucial ingredients, but ultimately, life is about being an Eved Hashem, a servant of G-d. “G-d, give me money to give charity with. Give me brains to study with.” When will be forget all of our plans and serve Him?! When will we stop asking for ourselves and begin to act as servants must?

The doctors have found a medication, and Rabbi Feiner is confident that his son will live until 120 with Hashem’s grace.
This great man, who stood among his students in Yeshivas Aish HaTorah, and inspired everyone present concluded with a startling statement. The baby’s delay of twelve and one half years is unexplainable. So is the disease. Rabbi Feiner’s grandfather had a dream that this baby will be Moshiach. So did a woman from Rabbi Feiner’s neighborhood. He may or may not be, said Rabbi Feiner, but he has certainly brought our people many steps closer to Moshiach’s arrival. The amount of prayer and study that he has inspired is beyond measure. But even more valuable, it seems, is the unity that he has engendered. This little adorable “munchkin of a tzaddikel” as Rabbi Feiner calls his son, has brought love and unification to the Jewish people. Please pray for Rabbi Feiner’s little son. Pray that he live a long productive life. Pray that the Jewish people know no more suffering and pain. Storm the heavens! This exile has been so long and so terribly difficult. We are all trying so hard, Hashem! Please look down at your beloved people, and usher them into a time that knows no more suffering and no more pain.

Womens Lib

2008-01-31T17:16:00.000-08:00

Betty Friedan's parents were immigrant Jews who were living in Peoria, Illinois, when Betty was born in February 1921. Her mother, Miriam had been an editor of the women's pages of a newspaper, before leaving her job to become a homemaker. This affected Betty for all of her life. Her father, Harry Goldstein, was a jeweler and a weak man. Miriam ran the family. She graduated high school as valedictorian, and later the all women’s Smith College in 1942, summa cum laude. The waves that she would make later in her life, were already in her blood. Her mother left her career in journalism to be a housewife, and was unhappy in that choice. All her life, she pushed Betty to get a college education and pursue a career, rather than be a homemaker.
She met and married Carol Friedan, a theatrical producer, and they moved to Greenwich Village. She took a maternity leave from her job for their first child but was fired when she asked for a maternity leave for her second child in 1949. The union gave her no help in fighting this firing, and so she became a housewife and mother, living in the suburbs. But she was not quiet for long. She wrote a book which was published in 1963 as The Feminine Mystique -- and it became a best-seller, eventually translated into 13 languages. She wrote many more books over the course of her life, and is considered a true crusader in the area of women liberation. She did much toward the legalization of abortion as well. She died on her 85th birthday in February 2006.
“Men are the enemy,” was the oft repeated refrain in feminist circles in the 1960’s. A revolution was taking place. While the U.S. had granted women voting rights in 1920, women in the U.S. were not yet being treated as identical to men. The movement focused greatly on the right of women to undergo abortions, and that was only the beginning of it’s descent into the immoral. “Dvarim Gedolim ainam bimikreh – events that shake the world are not coincidental.” Why is it that the women’s liberations movement took hold in our times?

Approximately one half-century ago, the Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria) predicted the rise of a women’s lib movement in our age. He said that in times just before the Moshiach’s arrival, the souls of those living would be reincarnations of those who lived in the time of the midbar, and sinned with the golden calf. Since in the episode of the golden calf, only the men sinned while the women abstained, in the times when these souls are reincarnated, those women will control their husbands. (Shaar Hagilgulim, introduction 20 p. 19b) It is interesting to note that the control of woman by man was a punishment for the sin of enticing Adam to eat from the tree, and by abstaining from aiding and abetting sin, this punishment was removed!

Our Chachomim have told us unequivocally that this is the era of Ikvisa Dimishicha. The women’s lib movement took strong hold in the western world in the 1960’s. The goal was expressed as gaining full social and economic equality.

The great Lev Avrahahm, Rav Avraham Weinfeld zt”l (see Chachmei Lev vol. 4 p. 55) explains that this punishment is worse than it sounds. He approaches the gemara (horayos 13a) which says “all men wish to wed a convert.” Though this may sound a bit unusual, he explains it based upon the Gemara (Beitzah 32a) where we are taught “There are three whose lives are not worth living… he whose wife rules over him.” Thus, to escape the torture that could possibly result in marriage to a wife who feels superior to her husband, men seek to marry converts, who will always feel lucky to have a husband from more respectable stock than themselves. He concludes that this is especially true in our days when the Arizal told us there is great danger of men being controlled by their wives. A great talmid chocham in Yerushalayim once told me that he finds it fascinating, that the more that women distance themselves from the curse of “and he shall rule over you,” with which Chava was punished after the sin, the more they bring upon themselves the curse given to man, “by the sweat of your brow shall you earn your bread.”

However, what the saintly Lev Avraham understood as a punishment to men is disputed by Rav Yaakov Hillel shlita. (Amudei Horaah 9 p. 11) He quotes the Ball Shem Tov (brought in Toldos Yaakov Yosef Lech Lecha s.v shomati mimori) that when a person does certain sins, his wife controls him, and he quotes something similar from the Chida. He explains that a person has no right to claim that the reason that his wife is controlling him is due to his living in the last generation, because this is not at all what the Arizal meant. After all, women and men have very different roles in Hashem’s grand picture, and the role of woman is not fulfilled in ruling over her husband, and turning his life into a living death. Rather, explains Rav Hillel, the control given to women over their husbands is a greater influence upon the spiritual growth of their husbands. In our times, the women have the ability to convince their husbands to further learn and grow and involve themselves in mitzvos.

In a similar vein, the Satmar Rebbe z”l told over how he once asked a young man about some flaw in the spiritual state of his household. The man told replied to the Rebbe, “you are correct, but my wife is in charge of me!” The Rebbe went on to say that this is not what the Arizal was talking about at all, but rather that the women would have increased influence over their husbands in their spiritual growth.

Americans call their wives “honey.” Dvash, the word for honey, is in gematria 306. So is Isha, the word for woman. (R. BachayaVayikra 1:11) One of the most interesting properties of honey in halacha, is related to the eating of bees honey. Though we can be certain that organs of the bees will be scattered through the honey jars that we buy, we may nevertheless eat it. The reason for this is that we are taught that honey changes the actual bee leg that falls into it into honey. The chemical makeup is not that of honey! A wife also has the ability to change her husband into whatever she is made of.

The midrash (Bereshis Rabbah 17) tells us of a couple who were both equally righteous people, but sadly were married many years without children. They thus divorced, and remarried. They both remarried wicked people. The man who married a wicked woman turned wicked, while the woman who married a wicked man turned her husband righteous. Everything depends upon the woman.

In our day, we have seen the fulfillment of the words of the Arizal. There has never been a society of women supporting and encouraging their husbands in Torah and avodah as what we are seeing in our times. We find that if the man is righteous, so will be his wife. But the Midrash tells us that women hold an important sway over their husbands as well. Our generation is that of the woman encouraging her husband in a way that has not been seen yet. For though Chava did encourage her husband in his sin, her granddaughters did not partake in the sin of the egel, and for this reason, the great women of our time have been zoche to create a generation of husbands who are striving to learn more than they ever could have without these great women.

Published in The Jerusalem Life, Shvat 2008

A Madwoman and Mussar

2008-01-30T22:03:00.001-08:00

Alan Morinis is Jewish by birth. From a secular family, he was pulled to explore Hinduism and Buddhism as a young man. But in the face of personal crisis, he turned to his Jewish heritage and happened upon the spiritual tradition called Mussar. He soon realized that he had discovered an insightful discipline for self-development, complete with contemplative and transformative practices designed to penetrate the deepest roots of the inner life.

Eventually reaching the limits of what he could learn on his own, he decided to seek out a Mussar teacher. This was not an easy task, since almost the entire world of the Mussar tradition had been swept away in the holocaust. In time, in Far Rockaway, Long Island, he found an accomplished master who stood in an unbroken line of transmission of the Mussar Tradition, Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Derech Ayson, the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway. He has now been a practicing Orthodox Jew for close to eight years.

His book Climbing Jacobs Ladder, which Spirituality & Health voted book of the year, tells the inward story of his discovery of Mussar and the way it transformed his life. At times, it is almost a biography of Rabbi and Rebbitzen Perr. He has founded the Mussar institute (http://www.mussarinsitute.org/), which offers courses and programs for many kinds. He attended Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, and has made his career as a producer of award-winning television and films. He still lives in Vancouver British Columbia with his wife and two daughters.

His newest book, Everyday Holiness (Boston, 2007) is a guide to practical growth in Mussar. Though there may be many others far more qualified and knowledgeable, Morinis quotes (Everyday Holiness p. 5) Rabbi Bachya ibn Pakuda whose Chovos Halevovos was published in the year 1070, where he writes:

“I knew many good ideas were rejected because of fear, that dread causes a lot of damage, and I recall the expression, “Be careful not to be too careful!” I realized that if everyone who ever resolved to do something good or to instruct others in the path of righteousness kept still until he himself could accomplish everything he set out to, that nothing would have been said since the days of the prophets.”

In Climbing Jacobs Ladder, (p. 177-8) he tells a story which in a deeper sense sums up the immense dedication that he has shown in his life’s journey. ‘Rabbi Perr told me a story one day that left even him shaking his head in astonishment at the capacity of the human heart to love and serve.

“When I was teaching at my father-in-laws yeshiva,” he said, “a man showed up one day unexpectedly. His wife had snapped, unfortunately. She was having a psychotic episode, and she was screaming like a banshee. With tremendous energies! Mad-person energies!
She was screaming without stop, without eating, without resting, without sleeping, around the clock. And she had to be restrained from jumping out the window, from attacking people. Can you imagine?

“Now this man didn’t want to hospitalize her because he was afraid of the stigma. And he knew there was a doctor in Flatbush who gave shock treatments in his office. He had arranged to see this doctor, but has to wait to take her there. There would be a series of treatments, and she would have to be kept not too far from Flatbush until the treatments took effect. So they wound up in my father-in-law’s apartment.

“Three or four of my students, who were in their twenties, and me too, we took turns guarding her so she wouldn’t harm herself or jump out the window. And the whole time she was spewing obscenities.

“This fellow had been taking the whole load on himself. He’d been up with her around the clock for about a week. He hadn’t changed his clothes, he hadn’t eaten, he couldn’t leave her alone. He was perspiring through his clothing which was stained and filthy. He was a clean-shaven person and he hadn’t shaved for a week. He was just a wreck.

“I said to him, ‘How long has this been going on?’ ‘About a week now,’ he answered. ‘But how can you take it?’ I asked. And you know what he answered me? He said, ‘what do you think marriage is? Just for the good times?’ Then after a moment he added, ‘And how does God “take” us? That is also a marriage!’ ”

Alan Morinis dreams that he will reach his brothers in the Jewish world and get them in touch with their souls. It is the depth and power of Mussar that he hopes will awaken their dormant spiritual fervor. After all, it was mussar lessons like this one that awakened his!

Published in The Jerusalem Life, Adar I 2008

Dear Daniella! A Fresh look at Shidduchim, dating, and etiquette

2008-01-30T07:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Daniella,

I have been dating for three years now. I am a popular boy in Yeshiva, but i have never been out past a second date. I just cannot seem to become comfortable with any girl that I have gone out with. Is there anything that you can do to help me?

Reuven F. (Last initial has been changed to protect the privacy of Reuven S)

Dear Reuven F,

Let me start by telling you that your problem is not at all unique. My husband and I have been married 34 years and we are still only truly comfortable during and after a good game of Yahtzee. That’s just a little joke. Jokes are meant to ease tension and break down barriers. The finest public speakers will tell you to always begin with something lighthearted. The gemara even tells us to always begin teaching a shiur with a “milsa dibdichusa,” a joke. In your case however, a simple “knock-knock,” “lightbulb,”or “Rabbi, priest, and Islam guy,” will not do it. I do have a suggestion for you. Go to Toys R’ Us just before your next date and go straight to the Fisher Price aisle. They manufacture a little miniature steering wheel that children like to play with. My Aunt Arlene’s children are crazy about them. What a great toy! Place the toy steering wheel in the back seat (just behind the drivers seat.) After letting the girl in the car, go around as though you were getting into the drivers seat, but instead get into the back seat and take your place at the Fisher Price (or Tonka) wheel that you have purchased. Begin driving as normal. You will not be moving, but do not let that on. Begin shouting raucously at one point claiming that you have been cut off. Ask her if she’s ever been in this neighborhood before and why there are so many creepy people around. (You are still in front of her house.) She may be a bit stupefied after 5-10 minutes, and this is your cue to move on. Just get in the front seat and say “Pardon me I seem to have lost my mind for just a moment there,” and proceed as normal. If she does not laugh so hard that she ruins her makeup, she is a truly kind person – but she is laughing inside. Trust me – I write a shidduch column. And if for some reason it doesn’t work, hang on to this page – you can blame it on me and I’m certain that you will be given a second chance.

-Daniella

Dear Daniella,

I am dating a boy who is quite a talmid chacham from what I have heard. But when I asked him what mesechta he was learning he told me, “The Sears and Roebuck Catalog.” I am not certain how to read this. I really want to marry him, but I am truly concerned because when I asked him to tell me over something he has learnt recently, he actually began reciting the merits of Sansabelt Slacks. Help me! Is he being funny, or is he really not learning and simply gaining knowledge of sale prices soon to be outdated?!

In Need of Adbice
(in the email we received, it was spelled “adbice.” Though it is likely a typo, as b and v are neighbors on the keyboard, we chose not to change the spelling because we suspect that the email may have come from Mexico where advice is pronounced “adbice.”)

Dear In Need of Adbice,

I chose this email out of the many that we received due to its relevance to most daters! If you do not know whether or not he is joking, you should not yet “really want to marry him!” Wait and see, I’m sure that you will get a better feel for his sense of humor and serious side. When you know him better there will be no such questions. In a shidduch advice column in a competing publication, a very similar question was asked. The writer suggested that they get married ASAP, being that there is a shidduch crisis. I could not disagree more. In fact if you are not married because the only candidates knew more about the Sears catalog than their Yiddishkeit: that is no crisis! Keep on going, and don’t give up. Remember there’s no “I” in the word team. Just give %110 percent and Hashem will surely help you you’ll find your Prince Bashert in the right time.

-Daniella

Published in The Jerusalem Life Shvat 2008

Shabbos, Torah, and a New World - the story of Ephraim Finkelstein

2008-01-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

Somebody must have been praying hard in the City of Hartford Connecticut on the day that Ephraim and Leah Finkelstein got off at the wrong station. The Finkelstein’s would have made it to Boston eventually had they stayed on the train. But for some unknown reason, they disembarked in Hartford. Maybe as new immigrants, Ephraim and Leah did not fully understand the conductor’s rapid-fire station announcements. Hartford in 1898 was an increasingly popular destination for Jewish Eastern Europeans, and Ephraim said to his wife, “Well, if Hashem wants to provide me with parnassah, He can do it inn Hartford too.” Moving to Boston was a decision born of the Finkelsteins steadfast commitment to shmiras Shabbos at all costs.

Born in 1870 to parents Shlomo Yosef and Nechama in Firstig, Glaicia, Ephraim Finkelstein was orphaned as a young boy. He was taken in and raised by his kind older sister Sara and her husband, the son of Rabbi Yehoshua Amsel, a student of the Rebbe of Dinov, the towering Bnei Yissaschar. Upon arrival in America just after his marriage to Leah Leff, at age 18, the young couple settled on New York’s lower east side. The extreme financial strain that was placed upon the new immigrant would have been difficult enough to shoulder even if he could have kept a steady job. But for the Shabbos observant, there were few employers who would be understanding and amenable to their religious needs. Assimilation was seen by many as the only route to daily bread – keeping Shabbos in the shtetl of old was one thing, but in America, it would devastate a person. But the Finkelstein’s knew that the true devastation was not in physical suffering but in spiritual decline.

Ephraim refused to work on Shabbos, and when he realized that New York would offer him little opportunity, he moved to Jersey City. But neither his fortunes nor his employers smiled upon him there any more than they had in New York, and the Finkelstein’s thus found themselves in Hartford Connecticut.

New Jewish immigrants were settling on the eastside of the city in cramped tenement buildings. But as the Jews have always managed to do, the flourishing Jewish community of Hartford began to blossom. Ephraim opened his Tailors Shop on State Street, and it was to become the most successful men’s clothing store in Hartford. But the road was not an easy one. At that time, the “blue laws” were strictly enforced. These laws mandated the closure of all business of Sunday, the day of rest. Weekends are busy times in the clothing business and being closed on Saturday was already a tremendous sacrifice. Being closed on Sunday was proving to be a financial catastrophe. It was a great show of love for God and His Torah, and an enormous Kiddush Hashem to all who saw his store closed on the Shabbos. His children recalled the dinner times in their small apartment above the store when there was no food at all on the table. Nearly all of the Finkelstein’s descendants are Shomrei Torah Umitzvos, something that most of their religious neighbors unfortunately cannot claim. The complete sacrifice for Shabbos that they displayed is no doubt one of the underlying reasons. As his grandchild, Rabbi Ephraim Eisenberg Zt”l former Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisrael in Blatimore once said, “I am convinced that our family is blessed with so many brachos (blessings) because of the mesiaras nefesh (personal sacrifice) of our grandparents for shmiras Shabbos (Shabbos observance.”

Ephraim was not simply content with working around the blue laws. He soon organized with others in forming a lobby to appeal the blue laws. This was quite a feat; for his understanding of the inner workings of the Connecticut legislature was as meager as was his command of the English language. But his great capacity for leadership and his deep belief in what he was doing helped the group to eventually make a change in the Connecticut law whereupon any business closed on Saturdays for religious reasons would now be allowed to open on Sundays.

Ephraim’s business began to flourish. He purchased much real estate and amassed much wealth. But his beautiful family was always predicated on the principles of the Torah. As time went on, the Finkelstein’s were the only Shomer Shabbos family in their neighborhood. With no religious day schools, costly tutors had to be hired every day to learn with the children before and after school. At times the days activity would begin at six o’clock in the morning! In 1912, Ephraim established the Pleasant Street Talmud Torah which by 1915 had already taught over 300 students, and eventually became the Yeshiva of Hartford.

About ten years later, Ephraim took upon himself to correct the problems that were facing the Mikvah of Hartford. In 1907, the Mikvah was founded due to Ephraims persistence. Until the mikvah has been established, the Finkelsteins would travel a few hours in a horse and buggy to use the mikvah in a far off town somewhere else in Connecticut. But the Mikvah was now in a bad neighborhood, and had deteriorated greatly. The neighborhood that had once had more than forty kosher butcher shops was no longer a Jewish neighborhood. Many women were frightened and uncomfortable using the facility. Ephraim assumed leadership of a campaign to build a new Mikvah, in a residential section of Hartford. But many felt that their property value would suffer with a Mikvah in the neighborhood, and other quite possibly simply did not like the Jewish Community. Ultimately after many years of lobbying and fundraising, the new mikvah was built on Magnolia Street in 1930. But the work was hard and the hours were long.

Maintaining a Torah lifestyle in pressing circumstances is no small feat. But building Torah in a small New England neighborhood is something truly great. It is the story of Torah pioneers like Ephraim and Leah Finkelstein that are the heritage of all those privileged to live in Hartford and indeed of us all.

Am Echad

2008-01-26T22:38:00.001-08:00

The large double-decker bus was waiting for us just outside the giant train station in Munich. As the group of 50 or so college age students waited for Alexei to call their names, check them off and allow them to board, I wondered what I was about to experience. Am Echad is a branch of the Lauder foundation. Their seminars are but a taste of their unprecedented efforts at reaching German and European Jewish youth. This two week summer seminar was to take place high in the Swiss Alps, in a small city called Parpan. The seminar was to consist of daily Torah study, kosher food, two shabbos experiences, (on two separate shabbosim of course) singing, dancing, sports activities, home-made game shows at night, (among them were “lets make a deal,” and “Who wants to be a millionaire”) and a general exposure to Torah Judaism.

The bus completed its international journey by weaving through the precariously tight mountain roads up to the Grischa Lodge hotel, where a meal awaited the new arrivals. The group was a fascinating sight, Jewish boys and girls from across the spectrum or Jewish life. Some dressed in the modest fashion of the religious while others looked as though they had never even heard of kosher or shabbos let alone experience them. On the surface, the group may have appeared a bit eclectic. But to the trained eye, they may never have been a more beautiful group. Fifty Jewish souls who were not fortunate enough to be raised in a Torah observant home had come together for two weeks to spend time getting to know God and his Torah.

Morning prayers and breakfast were followed by three hours of optional classes. Some were in German, some in Russian, others even in English. After lunch, the afternoons were filled with such activities as alpine sledding, mountain climbing (in a cable car of course!) a trip to Zurich, and games of Soccer and American Football. At five o’clock in the afternoon, the learning would start up again with the “Bais Midrash Program.” The first fifteen minutes consisted of an introduction to the material that would be studied. Groups then formed to study and discuss the source material for about thirty minutes and then there was a fifteen minute conclusion. Mincha and supper would follow, leading into the nights “night activity.” After Maariv at ten oclock were the optional classes, in English, German, and Russian, which were extremely well attended, some lasting past midnight. Authentic thirst for the words of Torah is always inspiring.

I was brought to the Seminar to strengthen them, and while it may be cliché, I was very inspired from them. I cannot say what will happen to those who experience those two amazing Jewish weeks. I do not know who they will marry, where they will settle or what they will believe. But I think that they will have been changed forever by their experience with Am Echad. And I pray that the Torah that they have learned and the Shabbos that they have felt will never leave their souls. I pray that the inspiration that they will leave with will not dissipate – that they will join yeshivas and Torah institutions where their minds and souls can blossom and shine. I hope that this incredible group of holy Jewish souls will forever inspire me to come closer to where I should be, and to grow beyond my surroundings the way these amazing youngsters have.

We named her Amber - 'cause we liked the color!

2008-01-26T22:35:00.002-08:00

There are few things that I find as upsetting as when people name their children meaningless names merely because they sound cute. Ashley or Amber, Brittany or Bruce. What are these names? Isn’t amber a color?

Naming a child after nothing at all is ridiculous. Just imagine a close friend who suddenly picked up and moved to Pittsburgh. You call him up and ask why he moved there, and he offers no reason other than, “I like cities that are spelled with a ‘gh’ in them, and I’ve always thought that the letter ‘P’ is a great one to start a word.” “Did you look into the school system, or think about your distance from family, or the weather, or the proximity to religious institutions and synagogues, or the prevalence of above average Chinese-style eating establishments?” you would then ask him? “Pooh-Pooh to that,” this very strange man would reply, “I already told you that I like the ‘gh’ and plus, on my map, Pennsylvania is orange. I like orange juice.” It is even more foolish to name a child something on a whim.

A child’s name is something very important. Our sages [Arizal quoted in Emunas Itecha p. 188] tell us that parents are enveloped in holiness and divinely prodded towards the right name, should they choose to listen. This name relates to the mission and very soul of the child. [See Chasam Sofer Parshas Korach where he asserts that the sins that Korach committed were as a result of his name!] Unfortunately many do not listen. To name a child after nothing meaningful is a travesty. To name a child Ilana, because “I like the sound,” is childish and immature. To name that very same name to remember a kind grand-mother or because of something that one finds inspiring about trees is an entirely different story. Those reasons are noble ones. But to names ones children names that all begin with the same letter for no reason other than “it’s just so cute” is outrageous! The name of the child can be something meaningful that he or she can relate to over the course of his or her lifetime. It can provide them meaning both in a rational way, and by defining their mission in this life in a spiritual way. To deprive a person of a name that carries meaning in exchange for “Chelsea” or “Tiffany,” is not a Jewish idea.

The great Bnei Yissaschar of Dinov writes [Nissan 4:10 Al Derech Hasod] that a person is drawn after his name. It is like a handle, for by attaching to it the larger object, the whole item will move. It is for this reason that we find Nebuchadnezzar giving secular names to Chananya, Mishael, and Azariah, [Daniel 1:7] calling them Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He hoped to influence them.

Man is complicated. He is not his heart – that can be transplanted. So can his liver and kidneys. His arms and legs can be removed and he is still a man. But his thoughts, accumulated memories, loves, and desires cannot be separated from him. They are the man. When we talk about a person and call him by his name, “Melvin,” we are not referring to his car, his home, his arms and legs, or his heart. We talk about the real him, the part of him that differentiated him from all other people. Ones name is the access path to his essence. Names are not simply borne of convenience. When we wish to refer to the real person, we use that person’s name. The name therefore is not simply a cute nickname or tag, as the name of a dog might be. To refer to ones child by a nickname that one finds very cute is an expression of love. But to name them that and thereby spiritually define their essence based upon immediate cuteness is a bit shallow.

A chasid entered the chambers of the saintly Chidushei HaRim upon the birth of his newborn son. “Rebbe, what name do you recommend that I give my child?” The Rebbe replied, “The Arizal has taught us that at the time that a father names his child, he is given ruach hakodesh (divine inspiration) so that he will choose the true name of that child that is being given to its soul from on high. The name that defines his root. Why should I spoil your opportunity to receive rauch hakodesh?” [Rav Moshe Wolfson, Emunas Itecha p. 188]

“If someone is great, he is called Rabbi. One greater than him is called Rabban. If he is even greater than that, he is then simply called by his own name.” [Tosefta Eduyos 3:4, see Sheloh Torah Shebaal Peh Klallei Yichusei Hachachomim] Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moshe, Shamaya Avtalyon, Yosi Ben Yoezer. There is nothing greater than being yourself. To truly be oneself is a far greater title than even Rabban! All of the striving of a person in this world is really nothing more than a quest to become oneself, and be true to ones own name.

Published in The Jerusalem Life Adar I 2008