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Essays on the weekly Torah portion, the holidays and Jewish thought.
Holidays Simchas Torah – Dancing to Infinity! Yom Kippur constitutes the “ceremony” of marriage between G-d and the Jewish nation. The actual celebration takes place throughout the entire festival of Sukkos, reaching its crescendo on Simchas Torah. Marriage is initiated by the giving of a ring. Similarly the wedding celebration of G-d and His p Holidays Simchas Torah – Déjà Vu All Over Again Torah is much more than just a guide for life. Torah is the very blueprint of creation. The only way the world can function properly is when it conforms to the plan that was responsible for its very existence. To not follow the Torah is not just the wrong or immoral thing to do, it negates our very Holidays Simchas Torah – Dancing Leaves and Dancing Feet G-d does not manifest Himself where one’s ego leaves no room for Him. True joy can only be experienced when our emotional state is healthy and vibrant. However, the ultimate experience of joy is when we are in touch with our soul, our G-dly life. Holidays Simchas Torah – Jewish Spin Doctors The joy of Simchas Torah is not limited to the connection we enjoy with the Torah commensurate with our limited service. Rather, they joy is unlimited, because it derives from our intrinsic connection to Torah that comes from Above. This connection is beyond the parameters and confines of human ende Holidays Simchas Torah – Moses Is Alive and Well! Every one of us possesses a spark of Moses in our soul. There are times when this spark is ignited and our awareness of G-d is awakened. At times like these we feel spiritually empowered and we become passionate for G-d and for all that is G-dly. Holidays Simchas Torah – Party for Two Just as the Torah contributes to our knowledge, observance and holiness, we also contribute to the Torah. When a Jew studies Torah and puts his heart and soul in that study, the Jew instills a dimension of G-dly energy that we possess, exclusively, that enhances the power and holiness of Torah. Holidays Simchas Torah – Simchas Torah and the Power of a Jewish Custom Simchas Torah demonstrates our love for G-d’s Torah. It elicits an extraordinary measure of Divine pleasure, as it were. For it indicates that G-d is close to us and is not just an Authority figure. Holidays Simchas Torah – Restoring the Light Kadish must be recited with a Minyan. Kadish is cognate to the world kedusha, holiness and connotes a level of Divine energy that is detached from our realm of reality and accessibility. An individual cannot break out of his own reality and grasp something beyond his reach. Groups of ten—that repres Holidays Simchas Torah – The End Is Wedged in the Beginning When we conclude the Torah we begin anew. While returning to the beginning we start all over on an entirely new level. The Genesis that we will read this year after concluding the Torah is an entirely different Genesis from the one we read last year. Holidays Simchas Torah – The Jewish Master Card On Simchas Torah, as we dance with the Torah, we should feel secure in the knowledge that the Torah feels comfortable with us. The mere fact that the Torah is extending us “credit” is indicative of the trust the G-d, the Giver of the Torah, has in our ability to pay back all that we have “purchased” Holidays Simchas Torah – The Three-Plied Blessing Chassidus explains that a blessing obtained through prayer may not materialize in the most optimum and efficient fashion. Even the powerful and persistent prayer of the saintly Choni, did not yield immediate results. Torah, conversely, has the capacity to make the Divine blessings materialize quickl Holidays Simchas Torah – The Torah Celebrates with Us Simchas Torah has a twin meaning: We rejoice with the Torah and the Torah rejoices with us. We rejoice with the Torah because the Torah informs us about our obligations and instills meaning in our lives. We rejoice with the Torah because it tells us how our souls’ connection to G-d actually transcen Holidays Simchas Torah – Torah: Right and Left Torah can combine opposite traits and forces and create a beautiful mosaic. Torah is essentially beyond all form. It is G-d’s utter delight that transcends all of existence. It therefore has the power to manifest itself in any number of colors and notes. It can be on the right and it can be on the l Holidays Simchas Torah – Two Tiered Unity To express the idea of unity where the lowest becomes the highest, we express our joy through dance. When we dance, it is the feet that raise the head to higher levels, because the feet possess a quality that even the head does not have. To exemplify the level of unity that transcends division altog Holidays Simchas Torah – Visible to All Jewish Eyes The name of this parsha read on Simchas Torah, is Beracha, which means blessing. This captures the essence of Torah which is the the ultimate blessing. The Torah is not only the greatest form of blessing it is the ultimate source of all blessings! Holidays Simchas Torah – We Want to Be Close to Moses According to the Ba’al Shem Tov, our desire for food is rooted in our soul’s desire to extract the powerful hidden sparks of Divine energy embedded in the food. When eaten in the proper manner (kosher, with a blessing before and after eating, with the right intent to have strength to do more Mitzvos Parsha Ki Savo – ...and the Pursuit of Happiness The pursuit of happiness is synonymous with the search for our inner soul. As long as we forget that search, genuine happiness remains an elusive goal. Parsha Ki Savo – Be Happy! There are two dimensions of happiness: Being happy and making others happy. These two dimensions are paralleled by external and internal joy. Parsha Ki Savo – Copper and Iron Copper and Iron are metaphors for substances that express an inferior spiritual state. But they also represent the ideal of yearning for higher goals and total transformation. Parsha Ki Savo – First Fruits True joy is determined not by how you feel but by how you make another feel. Complete joy is determined by how you make everyone feel!