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Essays on the weekly Torah portion, the holidays and Jewish thought.
Parsha Nitzavim – Beyond E Pluribus Unum The challenge of life is to strike a balance between two aspects of humanity; our external and internal personas: “External” refers to our relationships with others, our clothing, our bodies, and even the more manifest and conscious levels of our soul. Our internal persona involves the way we relate Parsha Nitzavim – Digging for the Roots with the Shofar There is a unique characteristic associated with thought: While thought is merely a “garment” of the soul, it is nevertheless a garment that can’t be shed unlike speech and action. It is an autonomous process and it points to the way the thoughts of a person are more intimately connected to the pers Parsha Nitzavim – Hearing the Sounds of Sinai There are times, however, when the echoes of Sinai are muted. The combined effect of our physical bodies, animal souls, materialistic pursuits and indulgences, transgressions and the very phenomenon of being in a stifling exile can so stifle and mute the sounds of Sinai that we don’t even entertain Parsha Nitzavim – It's Not in Heaven Had G-d given us the Torah the way the angels would have wanted it, we would have had to become like angels. Our Torah would be a strictly cerebral exercise. It would have been geared to the soul and would not have anything to do with the body. If this is what G-d wanted of us we would have to do it Parsha Nitzavim – No More Secrets We are standing poised to enter into a new era of goodness and holiness. We must do our part to make it happen as well as to prepare ourselves and the entire world for it. W e don’t have the luxury to be humble because that one additional Mitzvah that our influence will generate might be the one las Parsha Nitzavim – No Secrets When leading a Torah life leads to a good physical life, it is a demonstration that there is no dissonance between the spiritual and the physical. To bring about harmony between the physical and spiritual is indeed the very goal and objective of creation. LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – PARSHAS NITZAVIM-VAY Parsha Nitzavim – No Standing! One must be prepared to yield and move aside when someone else’s interests are at stake. The parsha of Nitzavim underscores the virtue of stubbornness and firmness when it comes to principles. Vayeilech teaches that when it comes to personal matters one must be flexible and forgo our interests in th Parsha Nitzavim – Rise Up! The worst form of decline is when one imagines that his or her decline is actually an improvement and a form of ascent. LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – PARSHAS NITZAVIM-VAYEILECH LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – PARSHAS NITZAVIM-VAYEILECH Parsha Nitzavim – Standing Firm and Climbing Even Higher Shabbos is a day of rest also in the sense that the normal resistance we experience to spiritual matters is neutralized. LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – PARSHAS NITZAVIM-VAYEILECH LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – PARSHAS NITZAVIM-VAYEILECH Parsha Nitzavim – The Last Mitzvah-The Seal of Judaism Rabbi Meir stated: A document is not complete unless it is signed. The Mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll is only considered a written Torah when it is completed and sealed. Moreover, the very concept of the Written Torah is one that is interwoven with the idea of a “seal;” G-d’s seal of truth. LIGHT Parsha Nitzavim – The Power of Preparation Rabbi Chananyah ben Akashya says: “G-d wanted to provide the Jewish people with merit so he increased for them the Torah and its commandments” We should not think of a Mitzvah as an onerous burden; rather, it is an incredible opportunity to find one more exquisite piece of treasure. Second, the more Parsha Nitzavim – The Seven Steps of Closeness The Alter Rebbe took the core ideas of the Ba’al Shem Tov and transposed them into a systematic philosophical system that fused mysticism with rationalism. This synthesis enables the average person to access the heretofore esoteric domain of Jewish mysticism. If we had to find one word that would de Parsha Nitzavim – The Song That Never Ends Aa song touches a part of our soul that words cannot reach. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi stated: “Speech is the pen of the heart, melody is the pen of the soul.” Torah, likewise, has the capacity to speak to the very soul of a Jew, not just his mind and heart. LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – PARSHAS NITZAV Parsha Nitzavim – The Year of Teshuah- Salvation As the national election season heats up, we have to remember that our salvation does not come from an elected official, no matter how human, noble and charismatic he may be. We should not rely on a king or others in power who themselves are merely pawns in the hands of G-d. LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – Parsha Nitzavim – United We Stand By accepting every Jew, regardless of their lowly status, we demonstrate that our love for our fellow is not just predicated on the logical premise that we should accept and love those who are good role models. Even those, who do not possess any overt qualities, we still accept and love, simply beca Parsha Nitzavim – Ultimate Life and Goodness We live in a paradoxical age. We stand on the cusp of the Messianic Age, which will usher in a new dimension of and appreciation for life. A t the same time, the very institution of life has never before been more simultaneously pronounced, challenged and undermined. While medical technology has mad Parsha Nitzavim – Who Blesses the New Year? The divine energies that are generated on any given Holiday are dependent on our actions to make them more revealed and pronounced. When there is no prior announcement on our part on the Sabbath before Rosh Hashanah, the spiritual energies that are in effect on Rosh Hashanah remain so subtle, that t Parsha Nitzavim – Why?! While the forces of unmitigated evil have wreaked havoc on the bodies and buildings of thousands of Americans, evil cannot and will not destroy the spirit of our nation and the souls of its victims. LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – PARSHAS NITZAVIM-VAYEILECH LIGHT FORM THE FUTURE – PARSHAS NITZAVIM-VAYEILECH Parsha Korach – Attachment Korach began as a righteous and learned individual who did not, however, see the need to subordinate himself to Moses and be a part of the organic unit of the Jewish people. By doing that he severed his ties from the very source of his G-dly energy. Once he was deprived of the Divine energy his “oxy Parsha Korach – Bittersweet or Sweet Bitter? Defeat of your enemy is sweet and gets the adrenaline flowing. But in the end, the quarrel turns ugly, and it destroys the lives of so many. What starts sweet turns very bitter. Pursuit of peace, by contrast, can be disconcerting and unpleasant. The very thought of not prevailing in what one thinks