Do We Need Faith?

July 24th, 2014

Faith is our most powerful resource. It enables your spirit to soar above and beyond the pains and difficulties of life below – The Rebbe

A writer who came to meet the Rebbe asked why so many people seemed to have difficulty believing in G-d.
“There may be doubts,” the Rebbe answered. “To question G-d, however, is the first indication that one believes in something. You must have some acceptance of G-d even to question Him.”
“But if they believe, why don’t they act on it?” the writer asked.
“They are afraid of their faith,” the Rebbe replied. “They fear the demands their faith might put upon them, that they might have to forego some of their comfort, or compromise some of their ideas. They fear changing their lives.”

What is faith and does everyone have it?

Many people don’t see faith as a basic human faculty; they see it more as the absence of reason.  Others are even more cynical, claiming that faith is a sign of weakness, something to resort to when all else fails.  In earlier times, this thinking goes, faith was a necessity because man didn’t have science to help explain the laws of nature; but in the face of reason and all of man’s brilliant accomplishments, we have outgrown our need for faith.  Isn’t faith just a creation of our imagination meant to deal with issues that we can’t comprehend?

But we see that people inherently believe in something greater than themselves.  This feeling is inside all of us; we only need to know how to access it.  But how do we cultivate faith? Isn’t it something you either have or don’t?

We are all born with faith. It is neither acquired nor taught; it is our most natural state. A young child, for instance, just has natural faith.

But as the child grows older, he accepts less and less at face value. His faith becomes obscured by reason and he realizes that his faith has been constantly abused. After years of experiencing hypocrisy and being lied to, he learns to distrust his own inner beliefs.

We cannot allow our reason to drown out the inner voice that tells us what we know to be true with every fiber in our being. We must learn to cultivate our natural faith.

How do we cultivate true faith?

True faith constitutes not only a belief in G-d, but a trust that G-d always does what is good and right. True faith does not waiver, even if things do not work out as we would have liked. Yes, we may have doubts. Yes, we may feel saddened by the neediness and suffering in the world. Yes, we may want to confront G-d for allowing tragedies. But abandoning your faith in G-d means that you are compromising yourself. When we witness suffering at the hands of other people, we should direct our anger where it belongs — at man. If anything, war and genocide teach us that our faith in man can be misplaced, but never our faith in G-d.

Is believing in G-d naïve?

Many people today still have trouble believing in G-d and are plagued with questions. Is this skepticism healthy or not? Is it an honest search for the truth or a justification for self-serving behavior?

For some, the first step in the search for faith might be to assure yourself that you are indeed ready to listen and grow, that you are willing to accept the responsibility of faith. The next step is dealing with your doubts concerning G-d’s existence.

Then we must allow our inner voice to speak. We know there is a G-d just as we know we have a soul — not because we can see or touch it, but because we can feel it. We feel the soul’s effects. We sense its hunger for meaning, its thirst for knowledge, and we feel satisfaction when we nourish it. We feel purpose and direction when we feel G-d in our lives; we feel there is meaning in everything we do.

For a moment, stop what you are doing. Let your mind be silent, and allow yourself to hear the small, still voice of G-d. When you set yourself free, you will realize that your faith is much closer to the surface than you had imagined.

ACTION

This is an excerpt from “Toward a Meaningful Life – The Wisdom of the Rebbe” by Rabbi Simon Jacobson.

Tags: faith, trust, still small voice
Posted in Faith, Beliefs & Concepts, Torah | 4 Comments »

What Do Nuclear Energy & Love Have in Common? A New Look at Intimate Relationships

July 23rd, 2014

Intimacy is the adjective we use when two mortals experience eternity.

How powerful is intimacy and sexuality? In human experience it is as powerful as nuclear energy. Like nuclear power, it also has the potential of becoming the most devastating. When two people come together, they have the power to create a new life – or to behave so abusively that one or both people suffer a trauma of a lifetime. Much like the power of splitting or combining atoms (fusion and fission), the spiritual power of sexuality cannot be underestimated. Let’s look at different aspects of nuclear power as a lens through which to understand the power of sexual energy.

Here are five parallels between nuclear energy and love that provide a fresh perspective on intimacy.

1 – NUCLEI

Intimacy is the process of two people coming together to create unprecedented energy

Nuclear energy is derived from the nuclei of existence – literally! When the deepest part of an atom is expressed, an awe – inspiring energy – called nuclear energy – is unleashed.

Intimacy is the process of two people coming together to create unprecedented energy. This is achieved by uncovering the very nucleus of who we truly are. Entering into the deepest nuclear core of our beings – the what, where and why of our existence.

Another word for “nucleus” is “soul”. Intimacy is the act of two souls uniting. Not just two bodies, but two souls.

Nuclear energy is the most powerful physical energy producer known to man. And so are intimate relationships.

2 – REACTOR

Two people coming together without the sanctity of commitment is
akin to two atoms colliding outside of a nuclear reactor

Nuclear energy is cultivated and produced in a nuclear reactor. The nuclear reactor is constructed to very exacting specifications. This is the only way to produce nuclear energy in a non-destructive way.

Healthy and holy sexuality too needs a reactor to generate its awesome energy. The sanctity and holiness of love and marriage is the cocoon within which the power of intimacy is sheltered and nurtured.

Two people coming together without the sanctity of commitment is akin to two atoms colliding outside of a nuclear reactor. For sexuality to flourish, and to be complete and wholesome it requires a secure and loving environment.

3 – MELTDOWN

Nuclear meltdowns occur when the safeguards and structures of
the reactor are compromised

As with a nuclear meltdown, or a nuclear war, when intimacy goes bad, it can be horribly destructive. Unhealthy sexuality can actually make the individual feel more alone, rather than closer to his or her partner. Relations without intimacy causes the cognitive dissonance of having a powerful feeling of being together but not being allowed to trust or attach yourself emotionally to the partner. It also allows sexuality to be used for selfish or disempowering purposes.

Nuclear meltdowns occur when the safeguards and structures of the reactor are compromised. Sexual meltdowns occur when sexuality is used not for dignified, sacred purposes but to only satisfy short-lived physical urges. Even within long-term, committed relationships (i.e. marriage), both partners must always continue to cultivate their connection, in ways that go beyond actual sexuality, through communication, sharing interests, showing care and concern for each other, so when they join together physically, it isn’t merely an act, but a state of being, infused with mutual respect and holiness.

4 – FUSION

Intimacy is the fusion of two spiritual atomic nuclei joining together
to form a new type of nucleus – a new life

In nuclear physics, fusion happens when two (or more) atomic nuclei collide at a very high speed and join to form a new type of atomic nucleus. So awesome is this power, that fusion is the process by which active stars are energized.

Intimacy is the fusion of two spiritual atomic nuclei joining together to form a new type of nucleus – a new life. Whenever two people fuse in intimacy a new soul is born, which manifests either as a newborn physical life or as a spiritual force. This fusion thus creates perpetuity and eternity, giving birth to a life which can give birth to another life, ad infinitum.

Intimate fusion is mortal man’s ability to be divine, eternal – a creator of life and living. It is ultimate way of partnering with God as co-creators. And the ultimate way of coming together as one for all eternity.

5 – FISSION

Fission is defining physical boundaries to create a deeper
dimension of unity

As coming together – fusion – is an awesome energy creator, so is coming apart. In nuclear terms, this process is called fission. Most nuclear energy produced in a reactor occurs from the fission process of the splitting of an atom. When an atom splits apart, very powerful energy is released. The reactor is there to capture this energy and turn it into tangible electricity.

Being intimate is not only the process of fusing physically together. Rather, it includes respect for the individuality of each partner. It is fusion within fission; harmony within diversity. Being intimate is being emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, and holistically together. Fusion alone can annihilate the individual; Fission – defining physical boundaries – helps create a deeper dimension of unity.

Within the sanctity of intimacy and marriage, there are times for fusion – times for joining as one to create life. There are also times for fission – times for cultivating the unique life of each partner that already exists.

Simply put: If you are close when you should be far, you will be far when you should be close. Nuclear energy must know when and how. And so must intimacy.

If we can generate such awesome power by tapping the nuclear level of one single atom in a healthy manner, how much more power can we generate by tapping the nuclear level of our core selves in a healthy manner? Being intimate is being nuclear. We can call it: Nuclear love. When approaching love and intimacy we have two options: To create nuclear peace or nuclear war. It is up to us whether intimacy brings us wholeness or leaves us feeling like a victim of a nuclear blast – desolate and alone.

The choice is ours.

 

Tags: sexuality, love, creation, Living 101
Posted in Personal Life, Love & Marriage, Social, Sexuality | 1 Comment »

Matot: What Can I Do About the Situation in Israel?

July 17th, 2014

Tags: war, Jewish history, Gaza, hope
Posted in 10 Tevet, Weekly Parsha, Israel, Months & Holidays, Religion, Beliefs & Concepts, Torah Personalities, Tevet, Bamidbar, Modern, Social, Spiritual, Torah, Prayer, Matot, Rebbe, Current Events | 2 Comments »

The Conquest of Time: The Second Passover

July 16th, 2014

“There is no ‘earlier’ or ‘later’ in Torah,” states the Talmud,[1] meaning that the events recounted by the Torah do not necessarily follow in chronological order of their occurrence. For Torah will often disregard the time-context of an event for the sake of an insight or lesson that can be derived from its appearance in proximity to earlier or later event or in a certain conceptual context.

The Talmud derives this rule from the Torah’s account of the origins of Pesach Sheini, the Second Passover. In the ninth chapter of Numbers, we read how “in the second year from the exodus from Egypt, in the first month” G-d commanded Moses that the Jewish people should offer the korban pesach (“pascal lamb”) as they did a year earlier, on the eve of the Exodus. The Torah goes on to relate that a group of Jews who were in a state of ritual impurity–a state which prevented them from participating in the Passover offering–approached Moses with the protest: “Why should we be deprived?!” We, too, cried they, desire to serve G-d by bringing a korban pesach, as the entire community will. In response to their cry, G-d instituted a “Second Passover”: beginning with that year, and for all future generations, a person who was ritually impure or on a “distant road” on Passover eve will be given the opportunity to do so one month later, on the fourteenth of Iyar.

As cited above, all this occurred in the first month of the second year from the Exodus. And yet, the Torah, for its own reasons, relates this event several chapters after its account–in Numbers 1-4–of the census the Jewish people that was taken on “the second month of the second year from the Exodus.” Hence the rule, “There is no earlier or later in Torah.”

Everything in Torah, and every detail thereof, is significant and instructive. The fact that the Talmud considers the case of the “Second Passover” to be the source of the principle that “There is no earlier or later in Torah,” although the Torah abounds with many demonstrable instances of this (Rashi cites one example as early as Genesis 6:3), implies that this particular case is intrinsically connected to this particular rule.

The eternal significance of the “Second Passover” is that there are no missed opportunities, that it is never too late to rectify a past failing. Even one whose compromised spiritual state (his “ritual impurity”), or his alienation from his people and G-d (his being “on a distant road”), have prevented him from fulfilling a certain aspect of his mission in life, there is always a second chance.

Therein lies the essence of teshuvah, Torah’s formula for the rectification of a deficient past. The term is commonly translated as “repentance,” but teshuvah is more than regret over and atonement for wrongdoing. “Repentance” implies only that, at most, a past misdeed will have no adverse effect on one’s present and future, but it cannot change the fact that, in the past, one has done wrong or has failed to achieve what might have been achieved. Teshuvah–the word literally means “return”–is the endeavor to undo and re-do the past, to transform prior failings into virtues and fill yesterday’s vacuums with content.[2] The group of petitioners that approached Moses did not ask that they be excused for their inability to offer the korban pesach; they asked that they “not be deprived,” that they be accorded an opportunity to fulfill an aspect of their relationship with G-d whose appointed time had found them in a spiritual state that precluded their doing so.

Thus, the story of the “Second Passover” gives rise to the principle that “There is no earlier or later in Torah.” That a life lived by Torah is not subject to the tyranny of time, that for such a life, the past is no less replete with opportunity than the future.

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Posted in Pesach Sheni, Months & Holidays, Torah, Iyar | No Comments »

Love: A Paradox

July 16th, 2014

Love your fellow as yourself
Leviticus 19:18

This is a fundamental principle in the Torah
Rabbi Akiva

The Talmud relates that Rabbi Akiva had twenty-four thousand disciples, but because they “did not respect each other,” a plague broke out in which they all perished. It is for this reason that the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot are a time of mourning, for it was in this period that Rabbi Akiva’s students died. ¹

The most famous of Rabbi Akiva’s teachings is the saying: “ ‘Love your fellow as yourself’—this is a fundamental principle in Torah.” ² One would therefore expect that Rabbi Akiva’s disciples would be the foremost exemplars of this principle; how was it that they, of all people, were deficient in this area?

But it was their very diligence in fulfilling the precept “Love your fellow as yourself” that was their undoing. Our sages have said that “Just as every person’s face differs from the faces of his fellows, so, too, every person’s mind differs from the minds of his fellows.” ³ When the twenty-four thousand disciples of Rabbi Akiva studied their master’s teachings, the result was twenty-four thousand nuances of understanding, as the same concepts were assimilated by twenty-four thousand minds, each unique and distinct from its 23,999 compatriots. Had Rabbi Akiva’s students been less concerned with each other’s welfare, this would have been a matter of minor concern; but because each disciple loved his fellows as he loved himself, he felt himself duty-bound to correct their “erroneous” thinking and enlighten them as to the true meaning of their master’s words. For the same reason, they found themselves incapable of expressing a hypocritical “respect” for each other’s views when they sincerely felt that the other’s understanding was lacking, even in the slightest degree.

A Dual Lesson

The greater a person is, the higher the standards by which he is judged; in the words of our sages, “With the righteous, G-d is exacting to a hairsbreadth.” ⁴ Thus, what for people of our caliber would be considered a “minor” failing had such a devastating effect upon the disciples of Rabbi Akiva. But our sages chose to record this story for posterity; indeed, it has been fixed in our lives by a series of laws that govern our behavior in the weeks between Passover and Shavuot each year. Obviously, we, too, have something to learn from what happened to Rabbi Akiva’s disciples.

The lesson is a twofold one: we must learn from their virtues as well as from their mistakes. We must learn to care enough for our fellow man not to indulge his errors and accommodate his failings; this might be the easiest and most socially comfortable way to behave, but, rather than “tolerance,” it bespeaks an indifference toward his welfare. On the other hand, we must never allow this to lessen in the slightest our respect and esteem toward him, no matter how misguided and unresponsive he might be.

If this seems paradoxical, it is. But regarding ourselves, it is a paradox with which we are quite comfortable—every psychologically healthy person loves himself and, at the same time, incessantly strives to improve himself. So it is a paradox that we must also cultivate in our relationship with others. To either temper our efforts to enlighten and better our fellow man out of respect for his views and feelings, or to allow these efforts to compromise our love and respect for him, is to fail to love him as we love ourselves—a principle which Rabbi Akiva considered fundamental to G-d’s blueprint for life and of which Hillel said: “This is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary.” ⁵

Based on an address by the Rebbe, Iyar 17, 5744 (May 19, 1984), and on other occasions ⁶

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A Wedding In Two Movements: Kiddushin and Nisuin

July 16th, 2014

So said G-d: I remember the kindness of your youth, your bridal love; your following Me in the desert, in an unsown land

Jeremiah 2:2

In this world, [G-d’s bond with His people] was a betrothal—as it is written, “I shall betroth you to Me forever”[1]—and G-d gave them the moon only, as it is written, “This new month shall be to you…”[2] But in the days of Moshiach there shall be the marriage—as it is written, “Your husband, your maker”[3]—and then G-d shall give them everything, as it is written: “And the wise shall shine like the brightness of the heavens, and they who bring righteousness to the many as the stars forever.”[4]

Midrash Rabbah, Shemot 15:30

We inhabit a reality defined by two basic states: being and naught. A thing either is or is not, is either manifest or repressed, in motion or at rest, positive (charged with energy) or negative (not charged with energy). Even the most complex phenomena are the sum of many gradations of presence and absence. After all is said and done, everything boils down to the confluence of so many times “yes” and so many times “no.” The “nos” delineate the parameters of a thing, establishing what it is not, while the “yesses” are the essence of what it is. (A three-foot red piece of wood is not three feet and one inch long, not green, blue or yellow, not stone or iron, etc. The “nots” form the boundaries of the piece of wood, marking the limits of its being and its distinction from other objects, while the “yesses” relate to what lies within these boundaries—the nature and qualities of the piece of wood itself).

“G-d looked into the Torah and created the world.”[5] Thus, the binary nature of creation reflects the division of Torah into positive and negative realms. “I am the L-rd your G-d,”[6] the most fundamental of the positive commandments (mitzvot assei), is complemented by “You shall have no other gods before Me”[7]—the essence of all divine prohibitions (mitzvot lo ta’aseh); “Love your fellow as yourself”[8] is the positive counterpart to “You shall not hate your brother in your heart,”[9] and “Remember the Shabbat day”[10] mirrors “Do not do any work… on the seventh day.”[11] The Torah commands to create life[12] and forbids destroying it[13]; it commands to aid the needy[14] and forbids pressing them for their debts[15]; it instructs to eat unleavened bread on Passover,[16] and forbids all leavened foods for the duration of the festival[17]; and so on.[18]

The Torah institution of marriage also includes both an “affirmative” and a “negative” component. According to Torah law, a marriage consists of two distinct steps. First comes the kiddushin (“consecration,” also called eirusin, “betrothal”[19]): the groom gives the bride something of value (by common practice, a ring), in return for which the bride consecrates herself to him, with the effect that “she becomes forbidden to the rest of the world.”[20] From this point on, for another man to have relations with her constitutes adultery, and to dissolve the kiddushin requires a get (writ of divorce), as for a full-fledged marriage. Yet the purpose of marriage is not to preclude “the rest of world” from living with her, but to effect a union between two people. This is the function of the nissu’in (“marriage”)—achieved by the chupah (wedding canopy), yichud (private seclusion) and sheva berachot (seven marriage benedictions)—which renders man and wife “one flesh.”[21] Otherwise stated, the kiddushin defines the parameters of the relationship, clearing a “space” in which it might exist, while the nissu’in fills this space with the essence of the relationship itself.

Manning the Borders

As we said, kiddushin and nisuin are two distinct phases in the marriage process. Indeed, originally, the kiddushin would be held at an earlier date, after which the bride continued to live with her parents as the couple prepared for the nissu’in, which was usually held one year later. (It was only in recent centuries, when the tribulations of exile undermined the stability of Jewish life and often caused the sudden dispersion of communities that it was deemed unwise to create a marriage-bond between a man and woman who would not actually be living together. Hence the present-day practice of conducting the nissu’in immediately following the kiddushin, combining the two stages of marriage in a single ceremony.)

Our sages tell us that at Mount Sinai, where G-d revealed Himself to us and gave us the Torah, we consecrated ourselves to Him as His bride. This, however, was only the kiddushin stage of our marriage. Our bond with Him shall be complete only in the era of Moshiach, at which time G-d and Israel shall unite in nissu’in.

This is not to say that our relationship with G-d today is a wholly “negative” one—as noted above, our commitment to Him includes both “positive commandments” and “prohibitions.” But today we are only capable of establishing the “parameters” of the relationship, not of realizing its quintessential content. Today, our relationship with G-d is defined by our commitment to Him and by our striving to unite with Him, but without the tactual experience of the union itself. We yearn for Him as a bride yearns for her betrothed, but whose most rapturous feelings are but a faint intimation of post-marriage love.

For thirty-three centuries, we have been creating the “space” of our marriage with G-d and zealously defending its borders. We have remained faithful to Him in the face of all the cultures and “isms” that have sought to seduce us. We have established our identity as His people, consecrated to Him alone. Now we are ready for the real thing—for an actual experience of the divine as the most intimate truth of our lives.

Based on the Rebbe’s talks[22].

Posted in Shavuot, Months & Holidays, Personal Life, Love & Marriage, Spiritual, Torah, Sivan | 1 Comment »

An Unclouded Harvest: Lessons of Achitofel

July 16th, 2014

Achitofel instructed his children in three things [before his death]: Do not enter into quarrels. Do not rebel against the sovereignty of the house of David. If it is a clear day on the festival of Shavuot, sow wheat.

Talmud, Bava Batra 147a

The Ethics of the Fathers tells us that “there are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of kehunah (priesthood) and the crown of sovereignty. But the crown of good name supersedes them all.”[23]

Sovereignty, priesthood and Torah constitute the three primary objects of human striving: power, spirituality and wisdom. There are two basic approaches to the attainment of these goals: the approach of one “whose wisdom comes before his piety”[24]—who relies on his own understanding to guide him in his quest; and the approach of one “whose piety comes before his wisdom”[25]—whose commitment to G-d takes precedence over his understanding. As the above-quoted mishnah concludes, the “crown of good name”—of good works and obedience to the divine will[26]—must supersede all other “crowns.”

Achitofel was one of the greatest sages of his generation (King David called him “my master and teacher”[27]). Yet all his life he followed the route of giving precedence to his reason over his piety[28]—a path which brought him much grief. Therein lies the deeper significance of the three pieces of advice he offers to his children before his passing: he is warning them not to repeat his error of placing wisdom before piety, as this pertains to the three “crowns” of human aspiration.

The first thing he tells them is: “Do not enter into quarrels.” This is a reference to the folly of Korach, whom the Torah considers the father of all disunity and strife.[29] Korach contested the legitimacy of the kehunah, arguing that spirituality should not be defined by a hierarchical priesthood but by every individual in the community, regardless of his vocation and calling in life.[30] Korach had many logical arguments in support of his view.[31] But because he did not accept that it is G-d, not man, who defines the nature of spirituality and the means of its attainment, his aspirations ended up destroying him and all who joined him in his campaign.[32]

The second piece of advice that Achitofel had for his children concerns the second crown, the “crown of sovereignty”: “Do not rebel against the sovereignty of the house of David.” Achitofel had been among the leaders of Absalom’s ill-fated rebellion against David[33]—and he had many sound arguments on which to base his claim that David had forfeited his right to the throne.[34] Here, too, the root of Achitofel’s error was his failure to set his obedience to the will of G-d above all else, including the deductions of the most brilliant of minds.

Finally, Achitofel addresses the attainment of the “crown of Torah,” telling his children: “If it is a clear day on the festival of Shavuot, sow your fields with wheat.” In the writings of our sages, “wheat” is a metaphor for wisdom. The “tree of knowledge,” says the Midrash, “was wheat.”[35] The Talmud states that “A child does not learn to say ‘Father,’ until he has tasted grain.”[36] If you want your “wheat” to turn out right—Achitofel is saying—you must recognize that the source of all wisdom is the festival of Shavuot, which is the day we entered into a covenant with G-d and received the Torah from Him. Only when you have a clear vision of Shavuot—only when you achieve an unclouded view of the commitment to G-d that must precede all human understanding—will your crop of reason grow straight and true and beneficially nourish your life.

Based on an letter by the Rebbe dated Erev Shavuot, 5709 (June 2, 1949)[37]

Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe by Yanki Tauber

Posted in Shavuot, Months & Holidays, Pirkei Avos, Chapter Four, Ethics of Our Fathers, Torah, Nisan, Sivan | No Comments »

Esau and Ishmael at Sinai: A 3,314 Year Old Rejection

July 16th, 2014

Picture this scenario:

The world’s nations and religions stand in judgment before G-d. G-d is asking them to account for their activities and for what they perpetrated against the Jewish people and against the world. It is a momentous occasion. The destiny of the world hangs in the balance.

Interesting scenario, huh? If it would only be true, you say.

Well, this is exactly what transpired 3314 years ago, and is being resolved today.

The Talmud (in the opening of the tractate Avodah Zorah) relates in elaborate detail a fascinating account of a dialogue between G-d and the nations.

I would strongly suggest that each of us read this account during the upcoming holiday of Shavuot – as it addresses the events at Sinai – and I assure you that you will find it surprisingly and uncannily relevant to our times.

Here is a brief summary:

The Talmud tells us that our actions are witnesses that testify on our behalf for posterity.

In this context, the Talmud describes a “trial” that will happen in the “future to be” (referring to the Final Redemption of the entire world, a time of peace and harmony, a world where G-d will be at ‘home’ in our material world). G-d will invite all those who served G-d with Torah to “come and receive their reward.” The nations of the world arrive for their reward. First come the two most prestigious and powerful empires the Roman Empire followed by the Persian Empire. Each describe their great achievements in commerce, travel, entertainment, etc., explaining how their contributions allowed for Divine service, and facilitated Jews to study Torah. G-d rejects their arguments, stating that their achievements were for their own sake, not for any higher purpose. “Are there among you those that disseminated Torah?” G-d asks them. G-d concludes that there are none, hence the nations are not deserving of any reward.

The same will transpire with every nation. Each will argue that they should merit reward for their temporal achievements which also benefited the spiritual – from which Israel derived benefit – and their claims will be denied.

“Why are the Romans and Persians explicitly mentioned by name as opposed to the other nations that are not mentioned separately?” The Talmud answers: “For these regimes will endure until the arrival of Moshiach.”

The Talmud then continues to relate how the nations will attempt to defend themselves against G-d’s charge that they did not involve themselves in Torah. Briefly, the Talmud suggests three different arguments the nations will proffer.

First, that they were never offered the Torah. This is refuted by the fact that the nations were indeed offered the Torah – as it is stated “G-d came from Sinai shone forth to them from Seir [territory of Esau, father of the Romans] and made an appearance from Mount Paran [land of Ishmael, father of the Persians]” – and they did not accept it.

The second claim would be that since the nations never received the Torah, they were not responsible for it. This too is an unacceptable defense, because in this very contention lies their refutation. For G-d will ask them: “Why, in fact, did you not accept the Torah in the first place.”

Finally, the nations’ defense will be that G-d did not coerce them to receive the Torah as He did the Jews, implying that had G-d coerced them, they too would have received the Torah and followed its precepts. G-d replies: “The first will inform us” – “Your level of commitment to the first set of commitments – the seven universal Noachide Laws of civilization – will inform us whether you indeed would have observed the Torah had I coerced you to accept it.” “Since you did not fulfill the seven Noachide precepts, it is evident that you would not observe the Torah’s commandments.”

The nations continue to appeal by asking what evidence is there that the Jewish people were meticulous in their observance of Torah. After a series of back and forth arguments, the evidence finally comes from the nations themselves who bear witness to the Jews’ commitment. Nimrod bears witness that Abraham was G-d fearing, Laban bears witness that Jacob was ethical, etc.

Finally, the Talmud concludes that the nations request that G-d give them another chance to accept G-d’s commandments. And G-d gives them the chance. And adds, that it is only through your effort and preparation today that you can merit reward tomorrow. “If you do not prepare food before Shabbat, what will you have to eat?”

The relevance of this narrative today is powerfully evident. We are witnessing today the struggle of nations stemming from Esau – the Roman/Christian/Western world, and Ishmael – the Arab/Muslim world, and their confrontations are deeply related to Israel and the Jews, children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This struggle can truly be understood only by retracing its roots. The story of Abraham and his children, and then the story of Sinai seven generations later tells us how these battles all began.

G-d offered the Torah to the great nations/religions of the world. The children of Esau and the children of Ishmael rejected it on grounds that they could not comply with some of Torah’s laws.[1] Instead, these people – who encompass all nations – went on to build powerful empires that made important contributions, but also wreaked great destruction on the world.

Their rejection at Sinai is the root of all our conflicts today. Yet the solution lies in the very offer that the nations rejected. Why would G-d offer the nations the Torah surely knowing that they would reject it?[2] The Zohar explains that it was to redeem the Divine ‘sparks’ embedded among the nations. Furthermore, the offer to the nations was actually a way of implanting in them the quality that will ultimately emerge at the end of days when the entire world will serve G-d in unity, “I will turn to the peoples a pure tongue that all shall call upon the name of G-d and serve Him with one consent”[2].

G-d’s dialogue with the nations in the “future to be” comes to bring closure to this unresolved 3314 year old rejection. All the material achievements of nations and regimes must be permeated with a higher, Divine purpose. They must pave the way to bring the Divine wisdom and will (Torah) into this world.

How fascinating it is that thousands of years ago Moses, in his final parting words, opens his closing blessing to the people with the vision for the entire world: G-d came from Sinai shone forth to them from Seir and made an appearance from Mount Paran. Moses, 3274 years ago, stated clearly that the Torah would shine forth to all the nations of the world – to the nations of Esau and Ishmael, that encompass all the others.

True, at the time the nations were not yet ready to embrace the Torah’s values. Yet the seeds were planted, and have worked their way and seeped into the fiber of existence everywhere.

That was then. Now, 3314 years later the time has come for these and all nations to face G-d once again, and this time embrace G-d’s law – to reconnect to the commitment of Abraham, “father of all the nations,” that was consummated at Sinai.

As we enter into the holiday of Shavuot, when we celebrate and commemorate the giving of Torah at Sinai 3314 years ago, what more appropriate message is there for each of us and for the world today. We are called upon to declare: Let us make our peace with Sinai.

The nations of the world must and will embrace their legacy — to integrate G-d into their lives, teach G-d’s laws to their children and infuse spirituality into all systems. Jews must fulfill their calling of being a “light unto nations,” bringing Sinai and its teachings to all.

G-d knocked on the door once over three millennia ago. G-d has been waiting ever since. Religions and faiths have been born in the interim and have been going through their growing pains. Some have brought untold devastation to the world. Each has undergone its own ‘market corrections’ and reality checks.

Today, as the nations – especially Esau and Ishmael – confront the world and each other, with Israel as usual in the middle, G-d’s 3314 year knock resonates louder than ever.

Are we listening? Are we responding?

——

1. See also Zohar III 192b. Mechilta Yitro 20:2. Sifri and Rashi Deuteronomy 33:2.
2. See the Tzemach Tzedek, Ohr HaTorah p. 1840, on the verse in Deuteronomy.
3. Zefaniah 3:9. Maimonides. Mishne Torah, Laws of Kings end of chapter 11.

*****

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How Far Are We From Sinai?

July 16th, 2014

The single most important event in history took place 3316 years ago.

Sinai set in motion a series of events that would change the world forever, and continues to impact our lives today.

At Sinai the human race received a Divine blueprint how to live our lives. This great gift was given for all of mankind, however at the time the nations of the world rejected it. As our sages tell us that the children of Esau and the children of Ishmael both were offered the Torah and they rejected it after seeing that they could not live up to its laws, namely the prohibition on murder, theft and sexual transgressions.

It would take over 1000 years for the children of Esau – the Roman/Western/Christian world – to begin embracing the Sinai principles. It would take another 700 years for the children of Ishmael – the Muslim/Arab world – to do the same.

Yet, even after the birth of Christianity and Islam both would struggle with these principles and wreak global havoc in the process. For centuries Christians terrorized the world in the name of their religion. The Crusades, the Inquisitions, the pogroms are a few examples of the awful horror the Christians inflicted in their search to eradicate so-called heresy. Only in the last few hundred years has Christianity been tamed.

Islam too has had periods of aggression, now rearing its ugly head and terrorizing the world.

The bottom line is that the children of Ishmael are still struggling with the message given at Sinai.

What was it at Sinai that the children of Esau and Ishmael rejected, and what is its message today that they need to embrace?

At Sinai the world changed. For the first time the human race was given the opportunity to bridge heaven and earth – to fuse spirit and matter. Until that point there existed an invisible wall between the transcendental and the material. A decree, a schism separated between above and below. “That which was above could not descend below, and that which was below could not ascend above.”

Sinai opened a door, never again to be closed, that allows mortals in a material world to become Divine. It gave us the power to spiritualize the material, and to make our lives sacred, not just ethical.

This was no small event.

Philosophers, thinkers, theologians and lay people have all always asked the eternal question: How high can a human being reach? Are we humans just sophisticated beasts, with limited potential? Can we ever reach heaven and beyond or bring heaven down to earth? Can we integrate spirituality into our material lives? Can we fuse the finite and the infinite?

The fact is that matter and spirit are in a perpetual struggle. Narcissism, greed, corruption are staples of life. When we look at ourselves each of us knows that we often feel that “I exist and nothing else” (“ani v’afsi oid”), to the detriment of others. When this feeling becomes extreme it can destroy lives of those around us.

On the other hand, we also have a spirit inside of us. We have the power to live noble lives, filled with dignity and selflessness.

So we have an inevitable clash. Matter by its very nature is selfish. Spirit is selfless. No wonder that people have always speculated whether these two worlds can meet, let alone merge.

In general we find two approaches evolving in history: Asceticism and immersion. One states that in order to experience spirit we must separate ourselves from the material tentacles of life, and “climb the mountain” to meditate and become absorbed in a higher reality. Basically, one must deny the material life. An extreme version of this would be the ascetic life. To achieve the sacred the material life must be compromised. The infinite may be reached, but only by denying the finite.

The other extreme is that we cannot really reach heaven. We must live ethically, build healthy homes and workplaces, and find spirit in limited ways within our limited lives. Because we are essentially mortal creatures, with inherent selfishness or even evil, we cannot expect anything more than the best an earthy creature can achieve. A variation of this includes the ability of achieving salvation but not through our own efforts but by embracing something beyond us. The infinite is not integrated into our own personal lives.

Sinai opened the door of a third option. Sinai created an interface that bridged heaven and earth, giving us the power to integrate matter and spirit, utterly and completely, without compromising one or the other. The finite can become one with the infinite; matter one with spirit; the sacred one with the secular. Briefly, because G-d is neither spirit nor matter, He gave us the power to completely integrate the two.

This third option, however, does not come easily. As limiting as the first two options may be, they seem simpler, while the Sinai option requires a continual straddling of the thin line between matter and spirit.

That is why Sinai did not come easily. The nations of the world could not accept – nor understand – how one can bridge the two worlds. They therefore rejected the Torah at the time. Even the Jewish people did not reach Sinai effortlessly. Twenty-six generations of hard work, culminating with the terrible Egyptian slavery, was necessary before the people would be ready for Sinai.

This struggle between heaven and earth has many manifestations, including the battle that we so often have witnessed between religion and secularism. If you are a firm believer how do you deal with the secular world? According to the two-abovementioned options you either have to wage a holy war against the secular, or your basically embrace the secular with limited sanctity.

Therein lies the essential root of the religious wars waged throughout history. Recognizing secular heresy as an enemy, the Christians and later the Muslims, engaged in aggressive battles with the forces they perceive as threatening.

These battles actually began in the home of Abraham. Abraham, father of all nations, was the one that began the process, which was consummated at Sinai, of discovering and embracing the method of integrating the Divine and the mundane. Yet this effort encountered many challenges, including the difficulties with his son Ishmael. “He [Ishmael] will be a wild man. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him” (Genesis 16:12). It came to a point that Ishmael had to be banished from Abraham’s home.

This battle only intensified in the home of Isaac, son of Abraham, in the struggle between the twin brothers, Esau and Jacob. “Two nations are in your womb. Two governments will separate from inside you. The upper hand will go from one nation to the other. The greater one will serve the younger.” The brothers are diametrically different characters. Esau is a “skilled hunter, a man of the field.” “Jacob was a wholesome man, who sat in the tents” – a scholar who dwelled in the tents of study.

The battle between Esau and Jacob represents the battle between the material and the spiritual, a struggle that would only be resolved at the end of times.

What was the core of Ishmael and Esau’s difficulties, one that would later cause their children to reject the Torah, while the children of Jacob were embracing it?

Chassidic texts explain that the problem was rooted in balance. Ishmael (son of Abraham) was an archetype of abundant chesed (love) without the discipline of gevurah (judgment and discretion). Esau (son of Isaac) was an extreme of gevurah without the sensitivity of chesed.

Jacob, by contrast, was tiferet. Tiferet is beauty – harmony within diversity. Tiferet has the power to fuse love and discipline into one symmetrical unit. Tiferet possesses this power by introducing a third dimension – the dimension of truth, which is neither love nor discipline and therefore can integrate the two. Truth is accessed through selflessness: rising above your ego and your predispositions, enabling you to realize truth. Truth gives you a clear and objective picture of yours and others’ needs.

Jacobs’ children were educated with this Tiferet balance. They thus were ready for Mattan Torah, to receive the Torah at Sinai, which is called Tiferet. This is why we don’t find the Jewish people embarking on any religious war against heretics, or converting the nations of the world to Judaism. Conversion is actually dissuaded in Jewish law. When you are a person of Tiferet – secure in your own beliefs; aware that all humans were created in the Divine image, and one need not be Jewish to serve G-d; maintain a perfect equilibrium between love and discipline; absolutely confident that the sacred and the secular can be integrated with the Divine, and that this integration will come to fruition; lacking any fear that evil may be more powerful than good – then you can maintain the highest standard of spiritual integrity without resorting to killing or terrorizing others to conform to your beliefs.

Ishmael and Esau lacked this balance. Unbridled love and untempered discipline, even if they are driven for a good cause, ultimately become aggressive forces of destruction. Too much undisciplined love spoils a child and can create a monster, like too much rain that floods and destroys the fields. Unlimited judgment and severity, without underlying love, becomes tyrannical.

Thus, at Sinai the children of Ishmael and Esau were not yet prepared to receive the Torah. But their time would come, and come it did. Maimonides writes that by the mysterious ways of Divine Providence, Christianity and Islam helped pave the way for the Messianic age by acquainting the world with the principle of Messiah, the Torah and mitzvot. As time would pass their beliefs would continue to refine and mature.

In the centuries that followed Esau and Ishmael’s descendants would go through their growing pains in learning how to balance religious beliefs and daily life. This would not be an easy process; history is witness to the devastation and bloodshed wreaked by this journey. But slowly, slowly, Sinai would seep into the fibers of all people. The process concludes with the refinement of the last two powers, Edom (Esau) and Ishmael, which leads to the Messianic age – a world where there is no more destruction and terror and all children of Abraham serve the One G-d of Abraham in peace and harmony.

After years of tyranny the Western/Christian world has finally bred countries like America that champion the fundamental principles of Sinai: All people are created equal with inalienable rights and freedoms. The children of Esau have come to embrace the teachings of Abraham, formalized at Sinai.

The time has come for the children of Ishmael to do the same. We need to look at the education system, the curricula that Muslim children are being taught, and analyze it with the same rigor that we do in the media with far more superficial issues.

I understand the risk of interfering in the sovereignty of another country’s education system. Yet, we must approach this with pure intentions, infused with humility, demanding of ourselves the same standards we expect of others. Then we have a right to demand of ourselves and others to live up to the standards that Abraham taught all his children and all of civilization.

America today plays a special role in this work. The foundations of this country are built on absolute principles of faith and trust in G-d. This is not just a country of economic opportunity. The success of corporate America and unprecedented prosperity is a result of an unwavering mission statement: All equal, in G-d we trust, diversity and individual, e pluribus unum — under one G-d.

This country must align itself with its mission – the business of this nation must reconnect to its higher calling. Then and only then does this country earn the right to hold itself up as an example to the world. Simply being a nation of great wealth and power does not by any means give it the moral high ground. Other nations, religions and peoples have much longer traditions and histories than the relatively new world of America. But America can demonstrate something unique to the world. As a country, it can rise above our own national issues and serve as a beacon of light teaching the world the universal principles of all humankind – the principle upon which this nation was founded – how to live in peace with G-d.

3316 years ago the children of Esau and Ishmael rejected the Torah. Perhaps G-d could not impose it on them. But we can.

Today we must call on them, and insist, that they finally accept what they rejected then – that they finally accept the Torah in its entirety.

After all we have endured in the last three millennia, and with the current state of atrocity in the Middle East, we can appreciate the need for all nations to embrace the mandate given to us at Sinai.

So, 3316 years later how far are we from Sinai? On one hand it seems quite far, but on the other Sinai may be just around the corner. It’s up to us to determine which one it will be.

Is there a more powerful challenge to us as we approach Sinai?

This is the call of the hour. The call of Sinai. The call that sounded 3316 years ago and resonated around the globe and throughout history. This call is still reverberating today, waiting for our response.

Tags: Mt. Sinai, Matan Torah, anti-semitism, Christianity, Islam
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The Cosmic Marriage: All About Unconditional Love

July 16th, 2014

by Simon Jacobson

More ink has been spilt over this topic than any other. More songs sung, poems written and films produced. Why the unquenchable thirst? What is it about the love between a man and a woman that inspires endless fascination bordering on obsession? Many regard the attraction between the sexes as a biological instinct, an emotional need or a primal impulse. Judaism, however, views the attraction between a man and a woman as a sacred search that is deeply imbedded in the cosmic makeup of the universe.

The spiritual mystery of the union between man and woman is implied in the name given to the festival of Shavuot. In the Talmud, Shavuot is referred to as “The Marriage Day.” What marriage occurred on this day? At Mount Sinai God gave mankind the gift of the Torah – a blueprint to enable man to spiritualize the physical world. Shavuot is thus considered a marriage between God and the people, between heaven and earth.

The use of the term marriage in relation to the giving of the Torah suggests a parallel to physical marriage. The giving of the Torah was an awesome event, an unprecedented Divine experience. What does this unique spiritual encounter between man and God have to do with the corporeal marriage between a man and woman? Let us explore some parallels between the divine and the human models of marriage.

Unconditional Acceptance

The midrash relates that before God gave the Torah to the Jewish people, He said: “Accept Me … and then accept My decrees.” In a marriage relationship, it is essential to accept and embrace your partner as they are in essence before addressing individual needs. Too often we treat marriage only as a contract based on mutual benefit: “I will look after the kids and cook the meals if you take out the garbage and pay the bills.” Marriage is not merely a composite of details, it not just about convenience or getting the job done, it’s about embracing another soul in your life.

There are two kinds of love – selfish and selfless love. Selfish love is conditional – you love on condition that your needs are met, and when your partner falls short of serving your needs, you may be tempted to reject them and search elsewhere. With conditional love, we see our partners as an extension of ourselves and feel that it is our responsibility to correct or change them. Although we constantly learn from each other, the role of a spouse is not that of an authority or a teacher, but that of an equal. The Torah tells us that marriage begins with unconditional love and acceptance of the entire person – first “accept Me” and the details will follow from there.

Partnership

At Mount Sinai, God initiated a reciprocal relationship, a partnership with mankind. When God descended onto Mount Sinai, it was necessary for Moses to respond by ascending the mountain. Judaism teaches that the relationship between man and God is not an immature reliance or passive dependence on heaven. We believe that God’s blessing is present in all that we do, but it is incumbent upon us to utilize the tools and resources at our disposal to fashion a vessel to contain the blessing.

The give and take of a dynamic relationship between husband and wife necessitates a mature sense of self. Ascending the mountain symbolizes the confidence that you matter, that you as an individual have a vital role to play in the world. When this is lacking, unhealthy co-dependence can arise where partners rely on each other to compensate for their own lacks. Marriage partners should look to each other to complement who they are so that together they can create a powerful partnership.

Vision

God shared a vision with us at Mount Sinai, a blueprint of how to bring sanctity and spirituality into the world. Perhaps the ingredient most lacking in marriages today is a shared spiritual vision. People often marry because of physical, intellectual, emotional and psychological compatibility, but don’t take into consideration spiritual compatibility. Spiritual compatibility entails not just a shared desire to build a home and family, it also involves a spiritual vision of how you, as a couple and a family, want to impact the world; how you envision your unique contribution to others; how you intend to build something that is greater than both of you.

Shavuot, the Marriage Day, inspires us to view marriage not just as a union between two people, but as the marriage between heaven and earth, between God and man. When we harness the mystical power of love and marriage, recognizing that it is a manifestation of the divine union, our marriages will become a microcosm of a cosmic marriage. The unity this manifests will penetrate through the physical and spiritual dimensions shining a light for eternity.

Posted in Shavuot, Soul & Mystical, Months & Holidays, Personal Life, Love & Marriage, Spiritual, Torah, Sivan | 4 Comments »