Tazriah-Metzorah: Interesting Paradoxes

April 11th, 2002

Interesting that some in the American establishment have determined that American interests are not aligned with Israel’s security and right to defend itself. Interesting that they feel that they will advance this nation’s cause to fight terrorism by placating and appeasing the Arab world. I guess they assume that the larger Arab world – and especially, the so-called ‘moderates’ (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia) – will support the American war against terrorism coming from the Middle East.

What happens if they found out that this is not the case? Interesting what would ensue.

Sometimes it appears as if the American leadership seems to understand – to ‘get it’ – and they are really just trying to ‘smoke out’ the Arab world, to force them to expose their true cards. Hence, the President’s ultimatum: “You are either with us or against us.”

Whenever President Bush articulates and holds on firmly to what has been coined his ‘moral clarity’ – his clear vision of unambiguous good and evil – as he finally understood that first Thursday following September 11 (as evidenced in his memorable talk that evening), and again on Passover when Israel first attacked the terrorist infrastructure following the Passover Netanya massacre – he is persuasive and convincing in his unwavering and secure position. As soon as he begins to become ‘political’ and ‘diplomatic’ and he waffles on his ‘moral clarity’ and tries to straddle the fence in his insistence that Israel withdraw and cease their war on terrorism when America continues to escalate its war in Afghanistan – he sounds unconvincing and unconfident. Can America really demand that Israel stop killing terrorists when America is doing exactly that?!

Rarely do we have the opportunity to see the battle between good and evil, between ambiguity and clarity, between truth and lies as clearly as we see them today. Chassidus explains that this world is called “alma d’shikrah,” a world of deception. On his deathbed a great chassid was asked what he looks forward to as he leaves this world and enters the world to come? He said: “I look forward to a life without lies…” Existence by its very nature is a ‘big lie,’ the material world shrouds the energy within, beneath the surface. Physicality by its very nature conceals. When you look at someone’s face you can never know what lies within. A person can smile and really feel horrible, a person can cry and really be dancing inside.

The lies and myths about the Middle Eastern conflict abound. Myths that have become realities. Before 1964 there was no such entity as “Palestinians,” today it is an entire presence, and in most peoples’ minds it has always been this way. To the extent that many believe Israel to be ‘occupiers’ of Palestinian land… An utterly complete fabrication. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Biblical and historical truth testifies to the Jewish people’s ownership and presence in Israel for close to 4000 years. Even from a political perspective, the 1948 partition did not create a “Palestinian State.” The territory controlled by Israel today was won in a series of defensive wars.

Indeed, I submit that even the so called ‘Palestinians’ themselves and for that matter, the entire Arab world has been hijacked and taken hostage by the myths perpetrated by their self-appointed and self-serving leaders. The greatest myth of all is the education of their children with hatred toward the West and toward Israel. I have no doubt that most Arab civilians want to live peacefully. Yet their leaders are invested in perpetuating ignorance and radicalism in order to stay in power. The entire internal religious and educational system is build on myths about the world around them, particularly Israel and America.

Other myths prevail. Is terrorism terrorism or is it not? Seemingly there would be no room for ambiguity. But look around and hear what different people are saying.

Never has moral fluctuation been so glaring. In the same speech President Bush declares his doctrine of unequivocal and zero tolerance to terrorism, espousing a total war against all forms of terror activity; a moment later he insists – not suggests, insists – that Israel withdraw from its war on terrorism ‘without delay.’

How are such contradictions possible? How can it be that so many people can be convinced that reality is defined by yet another UN resolution – among prior countless, lopsided resolutions – condemning Israel?! I was moved by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s words before the senate this week. He declared that as a Jew he is not surprised by the European condemnation of Israel, when just 60 years ago they silently participated in the massacre of millions of Jews. How can someone get up and say that Israel is wrong because the European and International community condemns them?! Is right and wrong determined by consensus?

Why do so few really get the situation, why are so few able to see through the smokescreens and understand the truth?

So many contradictions, so many lies, so many distortions. Nothing new. What is new is that these distortions are so clearly obvious today – rarely do we see clarity and uncertainty confronting each other so loudly and clearly.

Ambiguity, good, evil, moral clarity, confusion – these are the extreme themes of this week’s Torah portion(s). This week we read a double portion of Torah – two portions that become like one. But the names and themes of these two portions couldn’t be more dichotomous: Tazria – conception and birth, Metzora – the leper.

They reflect two extreme poles on the spectrum of life. Conception and birth is the greatest blessing in life. Leprosy is the epitome of disease.

What possible meaning and message can this convergence offer us?

The Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation, attributed to Abraham) states:

“Nothing is higher than oneg (pleasure); nothing is lower than negah (the leprous curse).”

Oneg and negah consist of the same three Hebrew letters: Ayin, Nun, Gimmel. When the Ayin comes first it creates oneg; when the letters are reorganized and the Nun comes first it creates negah.

There is no greater pleasure (oneg) than birth. But pleasure is only possible and appreciated when there is something unpleasureable. In reply to Job’s timeless question ‘why do people suffer?’ G-d replied: Were you there when I created heaven and earth? If there was no life there would be no pain, if there was no birth there would be no death, if there were no pleasure there would be no suffering.

Negah is a form of death (a metzora is considered ‘dead’). Yet the same letters reorganized create the deepest pleasure of birth.

War and death force us to rethink birth and life. Pain and suffering shake and provoke us to re-determine what gives us true pleasure. When we experience senseless terror attacks, to the point that we feel that there is ‘nothing lower,’ we are reminded by this week’s joint Torah chapters that there is ‘nothing higher than pleasure.’

I always thought that people would always remain locked and divided by an impenetrable barrier between those “that see” and those that don’t, those that ‘get it’ and those that don’t, between the wise and the not so wise. September 11^th and the subsequent events have begun changing my mind. Before that date I thought that American prosperity would blind most people from the cosmic and mystical Higher reality. I could not conceive of a way to pierce through this veneer of complacency, nothing could seemingly change the critical mass. The events of the last seven months – the geopolitical unrest that is disrupting our world – has shaken up our systems. It has woken us up, and there seems to be no respite in sight. Today I can see the possibility of real truth emerging from this chaos and confusion. Naked death – suicide bombings ripping bodies apart and sending body parts flying in every direction, buildings being blown up by planes and people jumping 80 floors (pardon my explicit description) – has a way of waking us up, crystallizing things.

With every shred of my being I only hope that we wake up and understand the message and do not need any more painful awakenings.

Two sides of one coin. Two extremes. Will we be wise to see them as two sides of one experience? And which one will we choose? And when we do choose, will we (have the strength to) stick by that choice, or will we gravitate back to moral ambiguity?

Tags: good and evil, Chassidus, Israel, leadership, war, Hebrew
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Vayikra: Where Are Our Leaders?

March 14th, 2002

As I was reading the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, a fascinating thought came to me and I realized one of the biggest problems we are facing today.

This week we begin reading the third book of the Chumash, the book of Vayikra, Leviticus. The first verse opens with a seemingly missing word. It says: “Vayikra el Moshe,” which translated literally means: ‘And called to Moses.’ Who called to Moses? The verse does not say. It is G-d that called to Moses, but the verse omits the subject and just states: ‘Called to Moses’ without the word G-d!

Chassidic thought explains that this omission is actually a powerful addition: The essence of G-d defies any name and description. This verse wants to convey to us that G-d’s essence called to Moses, thus even the name “G-d” is not mentioned; the verse merely states “And ___ called to Moses,” telling us that the call came from a place that transcends definitions, a place that has no name or title. Had the verse stated G-d’s name, by even merely using the word “G-d” (‘And G-d called to Moses’) it would have meant that this particular dimension of G-dliness (expressed in the name “G-d”) called to Moses. By not using any name, the verse tells us that this is a call from the Essence.

What this tells us is that G-d’s lack of tangible manifestation is actually His deepest expression, the expression of His deepest essence. A good human example for this is the fact that your deepest emotions, your most intimate feelings are the ones that have the least forms of expression. Words, even sounds are simply inadequate to express our most intimate self.

Ok, so what has this esoteric concept to do with current events?

With all that has been going on in the world – the revolution spreading across the Middle East, inevitably shifting the balance of the entire world – one thing that stands out to me perhaps more than anything else is: Our conspicuous lack of leadership.

Where are our leaders – political, religious, spiritual, any sort of leader?! Besides the prerequisite mumbles, why are we not hearing from anyone – not in the Arab world, not in Israel, not in America, not anywhere on the globe – about strength, determination, cause, hope, commitment – anything that would give us some direction, some focus.

In times of calm we perhaps can get away with the excuse that we don’t need real leaders, only administrators. The argument can be made, that true leaders will emerge when we need them. But now times of crisis have arrived. Where are our leaders? Our elected official, going all the way to the top, appear to be like deer caught in the headlights…

Does this mean that we have are no true leaders?

It’s one thing when G-d is invisible and people are not. It’s quite another matter when G-d is visible and we are not.

A friend asked me the other day, “Why is G-d being so cruel to us, allowing — over the past decades — all these senseless killings, first in Israel and then the terrorism that has spread to the USA and the West, and now the new battles raging in Libya, with undoubtedly more to come?”

My gut reaction was that the exact opposite is true. G-d has never been as good to us as He is today. Freedom from outside oppression is today’s norm, as opposed to say, 500 years ago, when the world was controlled by monarchs and despots (and is still that way in most of the Middle East). For Jews in particular this is the first time in history that they are not subjugated and at the mercy of any foreign power, and can live freely as Jews. G-d is very good to us. He has blessed us with gifts of comfort, prosperity and unprecedented liberties. Problems today are not from the outside, but from within.

True, terrorists are still at large and continue to kill innocents. But I submit that today we have control to do something about it. We are not under the governmental control of any foreign sovereignty (unlike in the past, say, during the terror of the Nazi regime, when the people of Germany and other occupied countries were completely under the tyrannical control of the Nazis). Today we have the power to choose whether we will be victims or not. And our wisdom and courage could have prevented – and can continue to prevent – attacks against us and our way of life.

The sad irony is that when life was much more difficult and it appeared that G-d was not so good to us (at least to the naked eye), we were very good to Him; there was profound spiritual dedication to our heritage and tradition. When G-d is good to us and life goes well, we become apathetic and petty, and often even worse.

What is it about us human beings?! Why do we need pain and loss to crystallize our goals and provoke our will to fight for what we believe in?

And what is G-d to do about us? As Divine Parent and Creator of us all, what are G-d’s options when we choose to ignore or neglect our calling? Should He allow us to just live in denial, or should He allow us to hurt each other to the point where we realize that something is wrong and something must change?

No parent would want to have to make that choice.

By no means will I even attempt to conjecture how G-d deals with this quandary. The only thing I believe we can do is figure our what our responsibility is today.

Perhaps ‘established’ leadership has become, over the years of comfortable prosperity, convenient bureaucracies, complacent and content, unprepared for real war.

Perhaps the lack of leadership today is actually a sign of a major addition (like the omission of G-d’s name reveals for us G-d’s essence): That instead of finding leadership among specific individuals, the essential leader within each of us needs to emerge. Leadership today will come from the grass roots – from you and I and simple laypeople like ourselves, recognizing that enough is enough and we need to act.

We cannot just wait for some leader to rise and save us all. We need to do our part to create a revolution. A revolution of passion to discovering our calling. A spiritual revolution that will shake the very frameworks of our old paradigms and allow us to introduce a new one.

Perhaps the time has come to challenge our status quo – both in our personal and professional lives, and perhaps consider, just consider, that maybe, maybe G-d is a critical component in our lives. Perhaps we cannot be happy and fulfilled—and live in peace with each other despite our diversity – without G-d, without a connection to our souls, without actualizing the purpose of our being here on Earth.

And the fact that G-d often seems invisible means that His very Essence is with us. Perhaps the time has come for us to reveal our essence as well.

Tags: inner self, leadership, war, Divine, leader, Moses, self-discovery
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Veyakhel: Chaos & Redemption

March 7th, 2002

Though this book begins with the enslavement of Israel by the Egyptians and their terrible oppression for 210 years, our sages call Exodus the “Book of Redemption,” the “book in which Israel goes from darkness to light.” Following the deep exile in Egypt, the continuing chapters of Exodus relate the account of the redemption of the Jewish people, followed by their receiving the Torah at Sinai. Finally the book concludes this week with the erection of the Holy Mishkan (portable Sanctuary), nearly a year after the Exodus from Egypt.

These three major events – Exodus, Sinai and the Sanctuary – are the three pillars which define life for us today and at all times. Especially in cataclysmic times of upheaval, these pillars serve as secure bearings that can help us find our way amidst chaos.

Exodus from Egypt opened the door of freedom for all time. It empowers us with the ability to transcend our limits and constraints.

Sinai gives us the blueprint to integrate freedom in each aspect of our lives.

The Sanctuary fulfills the purpose of existence: “Build me a Sanctuary and I [G-d] will dwell amongst you.” To build a home for G-d within our material lives.

The Mishkan consummates the Sinai experience which culminates the Exodus from Egypt. And these three events tell us how to build our lives today.

In the first Book of Genesis the stage is set. All the characters that will shape civilization to come are in place: Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, Jacob, Joseph and his brothers (see at length the essay’s of those weeks). Everything that will transpire in the real world happens in microcosm in the first book. Everything that happened to the patriarchs is an indication for their children.

The second Book of Exodus begins life in the real world, and the seeds planted by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob now begin to take hold. The tools we inherit from them give us the power to be freed from all forms of oppression (Exodus), to be open to receive a higher wisdom than our own (Sinai) and to build a home for G-d in this physical world (Mishkan). Moses finishes the process that began seven generations ago with Abraham.

This message is appropriate today more than ever.

As we face the mitzrayim in our lives today – oppressive enemies from without and within – we can easily succumb to the natural resignation that life is just too overwhelming. We can feel powerless amidst all the intense events happening around us. The enemy within is even more debilitating: When external chaos creates internal fear, it destabilizes our basic functional tools and undermines our inner confidence.

Exodus tells us that we can free ourselves from all forms of mitzrayim. Every type of oppression is named after mitzrayim, including the staggering events of our time. Just as we were freed then, we are promised that we can be freed today.

Hold on to that promise.

But then the question arises: Even when we find freedom how can we maintain and integrate it in our daily lives?

Every lasting form of freedom begins to erode our determination. How do we avoid complacency from settling in as we get accustomed to our freedoms? The answer to this is: Sinai. The Torah offers us a blueprint for life that keeps us awake and aware to the true realities around us. It does not allow us to be lulled into illusions of our own making.

But even if we are aware, what happens with the world around us? We are not an island to ourselves; as strong as our resolve may be, we see time and again how the forces of society bring the most determined to their knees. We begin our lives being idealistic, we dream of changing the world into a better place, and then the ‘realities’ of life take over, turning us into conformists.

How can we prevent that from happening? By changing the world before it changes you. By influencing others before they influence you. By building a Mishkan from our material world. By taking our gold, silver and copper – all our material possessions, our skills and our opportunities – and transforming them into spiritual vehicles. The nature of materialism is such that if you don’t affect it first, it will affect you. Materialism is like an invisible shroud that slowly envelops and seduces us into feeling that there is nothing else but this outer layer of existence.

This does not mean that the material world is a bad place. It just tells us the nature of its personality. “Tevah” is the Hebrew word for ‘nature.’ “Tevah” also means: Submerged. Like objects submerged in water, the inner, true nature of our beings, the deeper spirituality within existence, lies submerged in the natural order of the universe.

We are charged with the mission and power to free the inner forces. And we do this by building a Sanctuary from the material world.

Nothing less will allow us the ability to subdue and control the world’s upheavals.

May we embrace the first two books we are just concluding as we go from darkness to light. May we experience true redemption – both personal and universal, with an end to hostilities wherever they may be.

So, as we close book two, we need to realize that the events of today are not new. Our present experiences are not happening in a vacuum. We are midgets standing on the shoulders of giants. As grueling as today’s events may be, we have the accumulative power from generations past to overcome any challenge. Those that came before us prepared the ground well; we need but hold on to them and their commitments. And then we can also hold onto their promises.

Close to 4000 years ago G-d promised Abraham that his children would be as plentiful as the stars in heaven. Turn the clock four millennia forward and behold: The promise was fulfilled! As skeptical as you may be, this fulfilled promise is hard to deny.

And it doesn’t end there. The world battles today are between the children of Abraham. Doesn’t it make sense then to find out what G-d told Abraham about these battles and what we can do about them?

What G-d told him is that I am giving you a system that will empower you to face any challenge. A system of three steps: Exodus from oppression, Torah at Sinai, and building a Mishkan.

As we conclude book two, we must ask ourselves: Are we ready to enter book three? Are we ready to begin the actual service in the Temple, the day to day work of refining and transforming the material world into a Divine dwelling place?

Tags: Temple, Mt. Sinai, Exodus from Egypt, Mishkan, strength, empowerment
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Terumah: The Seventh Generation from Abraham to Moses

February 14th, 2002

They shall make for Me a Sanctuary, and I shall dwell within amidst them
— This week’s Torah portion (Terumah)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SINAI DESERT – Rosh Chodosh Nissan, 2449

Seven generations ago a man had a vision. Now, some 400 years later, his vision is fulfilled.

The man was Abraham. The fulfillment was the Sanctuary built by Moses. Only seven generations separate these two men. But these seven generations were the most eventful in history. They set the stage for all generations to come. Their experiences shape history and above all, they teach us about the upheavals of our generation today.

The story line really begins earlier, with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

In the Song of Songs we read:

“I have come into My garden, My sister, My bride.” The Midrash tells us that this verse refers to the time when the Sanctuary was constructed (in our weekly Torah portion). At that time G-d came into his garden – the Divine manifested itself in the Sanctuary, “(make for Me a Sanctuary) I shall dwell amidst them.”

The Midrash continues, that in the beginning of time the Divine Presence was revealed on Earth, in the Garden of Eden. In the wake of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, G-dliness ‘departed’ (i.e. was obscured) from the earth and rose into the heavens. But it did not end there. Six subsequent generations of sins – Cain, Enosh, the Flood generation, the Tower of Babel generation, Sodom, the Egyptians – making a total of seven – caused the Divine Presence to withdraw seven spiritual levels from its initial manifestation in this world.

Abraham reversed the process. Through his discovery and embrace of G-d he reintroduced the Divine into our existence, bringing Him back from the seventh heaven to the sixth. Seven generations of tzaddikim – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kehot, Amrom, Moses – drew the Divine Presence down through the seven levels, until Moses, the seventh generation from Abraham, concluded the process and brought Heaven back to Earth in the holy Sanctuary.

During these seven generations much transpired. Abraham taught faith to his children. These children would become the fathers of major civilizations to come. Ishmael – father of the Arab/Muslim world. Isaac/Jacob – fathers of the Jewish world. Esau – father of the Roman/Western/Christian world. Abraham’s children and grandchildren struggle with each other (see previous articles special edition #7-15).

In generation six and seven the Israelites are enslaved by the Egyptians, fulfilling G-d’s words to Abraham that his children would be “foreigners in a land that is not theirs for 400 years. They will be enslaved and oppressed.” And then Moses, in the seventh generation from Abraham leads them out of Egypt, fulfilling the second half of the promise: “But I will finally bring judgment against the nation who enslaves them, and they will then leave with great wealth.” And from this wealth (taken out of Egypt) Moses builds the holy Sanctuary.

The Egyptian exile is the archetype of the empires and civilizations to come – all shown to Abraham – each empire presenting its own unique challenges in history, until the clash of civilizations in our times, between the children of Ishmael, Esau and Jacob.

What we learn from the seventh generation is that the purpose of each confrontation is to refine and extract the Divine sparks – the ‘great wealth’ – in each respective situation and build with it a Sanctuary for G-d.

All the seven generations and all their efforts come to fruition and fulfill their objective in the Sanctuary, which manifests the purpose of all creation: To make the material world a home – and garden – for G-d.

As long as the Sanctuary is not built, as long as the material universe remains detached from its true purpose, tensions will escalate, battles will rage, the universe and its populations will not be at peace.

With the construction of the Sanctuary all the pieces are in place that would empower generations to come to deal with their struggles, and ultimately learn to build ‘Divine sanctuaries’ from our material lives.

This is the call of our times – which in many ways is its own seventh generation – to transform our world, each of us our corner of the universe, into a home for G-d.

We must ask ourselves: Is my home and work a place where G-d feels comfortable? What are we doing to make this world into a Divine garden?

Tags: Moses, transformation, religion, purpose of existence, Seven, Temple
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Mishpatim: Is Logic Logical? Our Changing World

February 7th, 2002

Seeing the Cracks in our Existing Systems

Karl Popper, the Austrian-British philosopher of science, writes that “Science is not a system of certain, or well-established, statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances towards a state of finality. Our science is not knowledge: it can never claim to have attained truth, or even a substitute for it….We do not know: we can only guess. And our guesses are guided by the unscientific, the metaphysical (though biologically explicable) faith in laws, in regularities we can uncover/discover…The old scientific ideal of episteme—of absolutely certain, demonstrable knowledge—has proved to be an idol. The demand for scientific objectivity makes it inevitable that every scientific statement must remain tentative for ever….”

The physicist, Werner Heisenberg showed that in physics laws are at best probabilities. And the great mathematician, Kurt Goedel demonstrated the same in mathematics. In his famous Goedel’s Theorem he proves that there exist meaningful mathematical statements that are neither provable nor disprovable, now or ever. That is, not simply because human thought or knowledge is insufficiently advanced but because the very nature of logic renders them incapable of resolution, no matter how long the human race survives or how wise it becomes. “No axiomatic system containing arithmetic can demonstrate its own consistency, so we can never know for sure whether our system is consistent. Any such system must have true statements which are unprovable within the system.”

You may be surprised, but this principle – that logic is built on supralogical axioms – is stated in this week’s Torah portion. What is even more surprising is that the Torah teaches us this invaluable wisdom with the addition of one single letter.

This week’s portion, Mishpotim, begins with G-d’s words to Moses: “And these are the laws that you shall put before them.” The Midrash (oral interpretation of Torah) – cited by the classical Torah commentator, Rashi – explains the addition of “and (these are the laws).” Wherever it says “V’eileh” (“and these” – in Hebrew the letter vov at the beginning of a word means “and”), the word comes to add to that which was before. “And these are the laws” teach us that just as the first ones [the Ten Commandments] were received at Sinai, so too are these laws from Sinai.

What is the significance of this addition? Why would we think that these laws were not given at Sinai that the Torah needs to emphasize it with the additional vov (‘and’)?

Because “mishpotim” (the word used here for ‘laws’) refers to the Torah’s rational and logical laws. The argument could be made that religious law needs to be received from Sinai, but rational laws can be initiated by man. Tells us the Torah: No! The foundation of logic is the supralogical (Sinai).

One letter in the Torah – one and only one letter vov – tells us what the brilliant thinkers, Popper, Heisenberg, Goedel concluded thousands of years later…

The logical fact is that true logic is built on the supralogical. Now the supralogical is not the same as illogical. The illogical is beneath logic – plain stupidity. Supralogical is above logic, preceding logic. The most logical thing of all is that something precedes logic.

Why is that the case? Because there is no true absolute basis for morality if it is created and driven by human logic alone. Anything created by human logic can be destroyed or altered by the same logic. If morality is based on consensus and basic human freedoms granted to us by man-made institutions, those same men can decide to retract those freedoms. “All men are created equal” the American Founding Fathers declared, because they knew that if the freedom does not come from the Creator, then it cannot be inalienable. If King George granted them freedom, than he can choose to take it from them as well.

Now if logic itself is built on supralogical axioms, why then are we so mesmerized by logic?

The answer is: We aren’t. We fake it.

Love, mistakes, passions, all our vices, music, romance, magic — are all driven by forces that are beyond the logical.

Why is it then, when it comes to G-d so many people become so very logical? They demand rational or empirical proof for G-d’s existence?

I always wondered why I resisted the organization argument when it came to proving the existence of G-d. The argument goes like this: Anything organized directs us to someone that created that organization. A building points to an architect. A book to an author. A sonnet to a composer. How much more so does our universe – which is infinitely more organized than anything in existence – point to a Creator, a cosmic engineer that put it all in place.

Why do so many people reject this argument which seems to be as good a proof as any in science?

Answer:

We don’t reject the argument. We reject its conclusion, its consequences. G-d implies personal responsibility. If G-d exists that means that I may be responsible for my behavior – responsible and accountable to G-d and to others.

Suddenly, we become highly logical…

Most of our choices and activities are not determined by logic alone. Yet, when it comes to G-d we become enamored by logic.

Is it possible that entire generations of thinkers have denied G-d’s existence and built philosophies and social systems based on their beliefs – all in order to conveniently avoid the personal responsibility that G-d demands of us?

If that is true, what does that say about our political and economic structures? What kind of security can we expect from a world that is built on a logic that denies its supralogical axiomatic source?

And while we’re at it (asking some difficult questions), I might as well add: How often do we use logic to smokescreen our real intentions? To hide irrational and irresponsible behavior behind rational excuses?

What has all this to do with our times? Plenty.

If September 11^th wasn’t enough to shatter the illusion of our invulnerability – notwithstanding our unprecedented prosperity, technology, military might and material successes, the collapse of Enron has now challenged the very foundation of our cherished economy. It has shaken to the core the principles of trust and confidence upon which Capitalism is built. And more upheaval is sure to come.

With our man-made logical systems and institutions under attack, with our security under question and all the uncertainty brewing – the vov that begins our Torah portion (“v’eileh”) looms larger than ever. Our man made logical structures have wandered away from Sinai. They need to reconnect to the mission statement given at Sinai and reinstated by our Founding Fathers: In G-d We Trust. One Nation Under G-d.

In an insane world like ours, where innocent suffer and wicked prosper, a world full of contradictions and paradoxes – we can take comfort in knowing that the insanity is a result of a logical system refusing to acknowledge its supralogical Creator. If we cannot sense that G-d is the true reality of all of existence, and we have the ability to resist it because it makes us uncomfortable – then it surely makes more sense that our world be insane than sane.

True sanity means embracing the world beyond logic.

So let’s do something not logical together: Let us defy all the fear and insecurity around us by passionately embracing our absolute foundation of faith in G-d. Let us crawl out of our comfort zones and shake up the world a little – with a revolution of goodness. For every negative thought you have, counter it with two positive actions. As we witness wild behavior of different sorts, let it inspire us to go beyond our own norms of kindness. Instead of doing the logical thing – being overwhelmed by all the uncertainty, or battling fire with fire, let us transcend our logic and just become better people.

It may be the most logical thing we have ever done.

Tags: Jewish law, rational, spiritual, love, faith
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Yitro: Skyscraper – Where Heaven Meets Earth

January 31st, 2002

Midway on the Manhattan Bridge
Inbound, sun setting
I see a part of heaven I have never seen before,
The part that looks like hell from below.

Thirty Fourth Street to the right
I see a teardrop trickling down
The Empire’s face
As it stares at its twin fallen sisters.

Alone it remains standing
At watch, alone
I see clouds that I have never seen before
Dark and menacing
Yet white and bright.

A gaping window has opened,
Billows above, carnage below
Yet as the man made edifices have been humbled
They make way for a new blue sky.

– SJ

G-d came down on Mount Sinai, to the peak of the mountain. He summoned Moses to the mountain peak, and Moses climbed up – Exodus (Yisro) 19:20

In the early years of the Word Trade Center I remember a great ad that always remained with me. It was advertising the observation deck of the WTC. The ad consisted of a photo showing a birds eye view of the WTC observation deck. Above the picture were the words: “The closest some of us will ever get to heaven.”

A sad smile came to me as I reminded myself of this ad while reading this week’s Torah portion. In it we read about one of the most if not the most momentous event in history: the giving of the Torah at Sinai.

The Midrash offers the following parable to explain what happened at Sinai:

Once there was a king who decreed: “The people of Rome are forbidden to journey to Syria, and the people of Syria are forbidden to journey to Rome.” Likewise, when G-d created the world He decreed and said: “The heavens belong to G-d, and the earth is given to man.” But when He wished to give the Torah, He rescinded His original decree, and declared: “The lower realms may ascend to the higher realms, and the higher realms may descend to the lower realms. And I, Myself, will begin”—as it is written, “And G-d descended on Mount Sinai,” and then it says, “And to Moses He said: Go up to G-d.”

Before Sinai, there existed a “decree” that split reality into two self-contained realms: the spiritual and the material, the Divine and the mundane. Spirituality could have no real effect upon the physical world. It remained relegated to the sublime reality of the “heavens.” The material on the other hand could not be elevated—it could be improved and perfected to the limits of its potential, but it could not transcend its inherent limitations and subjectivity. Nor could the spiritual be truly brought down to earth—its very nature defied actualization.

This dichotomy was dissolved at Sinai. A fissure was opened in the inviolable wall, a window from the inner world of the spirit to the external world of the material. Heaven and earth met.

No longer did the old rules apply, where what was inside was locked in and what was outside shut out. The human was empowered to integrate the spiritual and the dark, cold world of matter and imbue it with warmth and light.

The process that began with Abraham and continued with Isaac and Jacob, finally reached fruition seven generations later, with Moses climbing Mount Sinai and G-d ‘descending.’ As discussed in my previous essays, Abraham and his children were primarily concerned with the fundamental struggle between spirit and matter – how to integrate these two worlds. At Sinai the marriage of heaven and earth was consummated.

Life ever since has not been the same. The window that opened at Sinai changed reality forever. Now it became possible to not only scrape the sky but to actually reach it. Though physical skyscrapers were yet to come, the human race on earth was empowered to touch heaven.

3314 years have passed since the sky was scraped at Sinai. During these years much has transpired. Abraham’s teachings, conveyed at Sinai, had reached not only the children of Jacob, but also began reaching the children of Esau and Ishmael. Christianity and Islam were born. Great wars have been fought. Religious wars have been waged – all struggling to make peace between G-d and the universe. Industry and technology transformed this planet. We seemed to have conquered not just earth but the very skies, with our air travel, spaceships and skyscrapers.

Who is not in awe of the New York skyline which, among the many skylines around the world, is a tribute to mans’ tremendous power.

And now, 3314 years later, on September 11^th the altered landscape of the New York skyline has rudely reminded us of the fragility of our manmade airplanes and skyscrapers.

Isn’t it interesting that the Midrash uses “Rome” and “Syria” as symbols of the two dichotomous worlds of heaven and earth – each forbidden to travel to the other. Christian Rome and Muslim Syria – West and East – are now at war with each other. In the name of heaven (as distorted as it may be), Muslim fundamentalism is attacking the secular earthiness of Rome [Edom].

Perhaps they have forgotten Mattan Torah. And this week’s Torah portion is here to remind them that heaven and earth can be joined, that we can and must reach a balance between these seemingly incompatible realities. It happened 3314 years ago at Sinai. And it can happen today.

Until I reminded myself about Mattan Torah, I felt that the WTC observation deck was the closest I would ever get to heaven. Hey, after all I am a pretty earthy type of guy. I like to enjoy life. I have my share of vices and failings. I was never very optimistic about my secure place in heaven. Of course, we all want heaven for its climate, but hell seems so much more fun for its company. And let’s face it, it’s just so much easier to live an undemanding life.

That was all till Mattan Torah. Sinai has given me – and all of us – hope. Hope that we can get closer than we ever have to heaven.

Tags: Mt. Sinai, midrash, spiritual and material, poetry, purpose of existence
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Bo: Water, Egypt & September 11

January 17th, 2002

Diary of a World Traveller

Off the coast of the U.S. Virgin Islands
Thursday, January 17, 2002
Parshat Bo

Looking out at the turquoise-blue waters of the Caribbean on the shores of S. Thomas, I think about Moses.

Moses? Yes, Moses.

Moses has this fascinating relationship with water. His first – and most formative – days were spent in a basket on the waters of the River Nile off the coast of Egypt, where his mother placed him to hide him from the Egyptian executioners. Later Moses strikes the Nile and turns its waters into blood. Several other plagues originate in the water. After leaving Egypt Moses parts the waters of the Re(e)d  Sea. He passes away on the banks of the River Jordan, where he is laid to rest in an unknown place.

Indeed, he is named Moshe because he was ‘drawn from water.’ What a strange name to give the G-dliest man that ever lived! Moses was placed on the water only to protect his life. Why should that episode – a one time event that happened long ago – be immortalized in Moses name?!

Clearly more is going on here than meets the naked eye. And that is precisely the significance of water, and therein lies its mystery.

Water – the sea – represents, ‘the hidden worlds.’ Land is the ‘revealed worlds’ (using Kabbalistic terminology). On the human microcosmic level, water and land is thought and speech, or the conscious and unconscious. Thought and speech are two forms of language, but with major distinctions. When you think, the intense waters of ideas submerge the form and shape of language, whereas in speech the ideas are not as intense, hence the letters and words of speech take on tangible form.

This also explains why Moses was a ‘man of no words.’ Moses soul originates from ‘the hidden worlds’ of water, the intimate world of the unconscious, which is more profound and intense than any words of land can express. [Moses’ burial place is unknown on Earth for the same reason, ‘below it appeared as though he was above and above it appeared as though he was below’].

But for this exact reason Moses brings the Divine Torah to Earth. Precisely because Moses is a ‘man of no (land) words’ and is a ‘water man’ on Earth, he is able to draw from the inner worlds, and bridge and express the language of the Divine and communicate it to the land people. And it is the words of Moses, the ‘man of no words,’ that are remembered forever (‘these are the words that Moses spoke’).

Moses’ association with water goes even farther. Though his soul comes from the ‘hidden worlds,’ Moses did not live in a spiritual oasis, he lived on Earth, in Egypt. Indeed, soon after birth, the water in which he was placed was the River Nile, the idol of the Egyptians! And he was put there to prevent him from being killed due to Pharaoh’s decree to murder all newborn males. The very idol of Egypt comes to protect the one who would destroy this idol.

One must wonder how young Moses was affected by the fact that his very first days on Earth were spent not in his mother’s arms, but in the arms of … the River Nile. What was shaping this child’s psyche as he lay among the river reeds, listening to the sound of water rather than his mother’s lullabies.

What we do know is that this empowered Moses with the ability to serve as G-d’s messenger to redeem the Israelites from the harsh Egyptian oppression. In order to free a people from human captivity, especially one that is controlled by Egypt, superpower of the world (where ‘even one slave could not escape’), we must have a power that comes from something beyond human. “A prisoner in fetters cannot free himself.” A land person cannot free himself from a trap created by land people.

Moses, being a ‘water man’ coming from a higher world, was able to ultimately dominate Pharaoh and Egypt and free the Israelites. And because Moses spent the beginning of his life on Earth in the Nile River and was saved and redeemed from there, he had the personal experience that allowed him to later free the Jewish people from the idolatry of Egypt.

Water Today

As I sit over the water, I think of Moses.

I think of how the formidable seas and oceans are so often associated with awe and fear. How they humble the greatest of men and man-made creations. The Titanic has become a symbol of this humility.

Land always seems so safe. That’s where we built our homes. We know how to navigate land. We have tamed the wilderness, learned to protect ourselves from the elements, built great edifices. We are proud of our land – our lands, countries, states and cities.

Water has always been the strange place – the dark depths of the unknown.

Yet, we are always drawn to water. Beachfront property, swimming, boating. We are drawn to our source. Yet, at the same time terrified of it. And we run to land for cover, for refuge.

Land and water, exile and redemption, comfort zones and truth, denial and reality – these are the poles we continuously negotiate. Fluctuating between the comfort of our status quo and the discomfort of our transcendental restlessness is the story of our lives. What will it be: a life of comfortable oppression (Thoreau’s ‘life of quiet desperation’) or uncomfortable freedom?

Land has always seemed safe and water dangerous. When things were difficult at sea, we always looked forward to reaching the peaceful shores.

Land, Real Estate – the permanent commodity – has always been our source of security.

But then came September 11^th…

With all the chaos and upheaval on land, I feel how water is quite a respite. With all the confusion and uncertainty, we must reach back into water – into the Moses within us – to access greater strength, to transcend the space we are in and reach a higher place.

And when we do, we must draw it down, into our daily land life.

Life on land can be difficult. We see that now. Yet it gets a little easier knowing that we have protective waters surrounding us. I wonder if it would give us more comfort if 2/3 of Earth were land and 1/3 water… It also seems worthwhile mentioning that over 90% of the human body is comprised of… water (not land).

Water always seems so awesome, so frightening.

Yet never have I felt the comfort of the sea as I do today.

Perhaps the sea is the safest place on Earth after all.

Tags: Moses, kabbalah, exile, water, Egypt, safety
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Shmos: Entering the Real World

January 3rd, 2002

The First Great Empire

[G-d said to Abraham]Your descendants will foreigners in a land that is not theirs for 400 years. They will be enslaved and oppressed. But I will finally bring judgment against the nation who enslaves them, and they will then leave with great wealth
Genesis 15:13-14

As we enter a new solar year, we begin a new chapter in history: We start reading the second book of Torah, the book of Exodus/Shemot, which documents the first global clash of civilizations, the first historical case of state sponsored racial discrimination, as well as the first organized act of Anti-Semitism and genocide.

After Jacob, Joseph and his brothers all pass away, a new king arises in Egypt, one who does not recognize Joseph. Sensing a threat from the Israelites, Pharaoh incites the Egyptian nation to rise up and enslave the Israelites. “The Israelites are becoming too numerous and strong for us…they may increase so much, that if there is war, they will join our enemies and fight against us, driving us from the land.”

The book of Exodus continues with Moses being sent by G-d to redeem the people, his confrontation with Pharaoh, and finally how he prevails and frees the Jews from Egypt in the great Exodus which we commemorate ever since. The book of Exodus continues with the subsequent events following the Exodus: the parting of the Sea, the receiving of the Torah at Sinai and the building of the Mishkan, the portable Sanctuary.

Though the book of Exodus begins with the enslavement of Israel by the Egyptians, the terrible oppression they endured for 210 years, our sages call it the “Book of Redemption,” ¹  the “book in which Israel goes from darkness to light.” ²

In other words, Exodus is the story of process – the process of loss and renewal, of suffering and growth, the process of death and birth.

The Egyptian exile served as an ‘iron furnace’ that hardened the Israelites and shaped them into a great nation, an eternal nation. The oppression that the Israelites endured in Egypt is precisely the source for their strength. “The more they were oppressed, the more they proliferated and grew.”

In the Book of Genesis the stage is set. All the characters that will shape civilization to come are in place: Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, Jacob, Joseph and his brothers (see at length last week’s essay). Everything that happened in the first book in microcosm now begins to play itself out in the real world, in macrocosm. Everything that happened to the patriarchs is an indication for their children.

In this new Book of Exodus real life begins. The first real national challenge takes place. True, in Genesis there were many battles, but relatively speaking, they were all on a microcosmic plane, between individuals – between brothers in their homes. The slavery in Egypt is the first global conflict: The superpower Egypt declares war on the Israelites. And it is not just a battle, it is an aggressive sustained effort to suppress, enslave and utterly demoralize a nation. To steal the power of freedom from an entire nation.

Egypt is the first great empire, the archetype of all empires to come. All exiles, all challenges, all forms of bondage and oppression are called by the name mitzrayim. The Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitzrayim, means limits and boundaries. It represents constraints, inhibitions and traps of every form and shape – psychological, emotional, physical, spiritual.

After all the seeds are planted in the book of Genesis – up until the preparations for the great exile by Joseph – finally, the vision of Abraham several hundred years ago is fulfilled. You may recall that G-d shows Abraham the events to come. Abraham was told that his “descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs for 400 years” and they will ultimately leave “with great wealth.” He is shown the future great empires that would control and terrorize the world, each in their own way: the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman and Ishmaelite empires.

These empires represent the different stages of refinement (birur) that we achieve throughout the generations. Everything in our material existence contains Divine ‘sparks,’ i.e. spiritual energy, and we are charged with the mission to redeem and elevate these sparks, and thereby refine the material universe and transform it into its true purpose: a vehicle for spiritual expression.

Beginning with the enslavement by the Egyptian empire – the archetype and root (‘head’) of all the exiles and empires – each subsequent empire symbolizes another stage of refinement in integrating G-dliness into the material world. 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.

Abraham’s vision begins to be realized in this week’s Torah portion. Abraham’s descendants begin their hard labor under Egyptian enslavement in order to refine the land and leave with great wealth – the great wealth of the 202 Divine sparks they will refine and elevate during the Egyptian bondage. As the archetype of all exiles to come, this 202 refinement process empowers all generations to come to endure, prevail and elevate their respective sparks in their respective time, under each of the world empires to come.

So, as we open a new book of Torah, we enter a new world, a very real world where pain is perhaps more prominent than joy. A world that can at times appear senseless and directionless. With all life’s challenges we often feel enslaved – by our work, by our passions, by material life and all its demands and burdens. We each find ourselves in our own little (or big) Mitzrayim – the forces that trap and constrain us. All our inhibitions and fears sometimes seem the ones in control.

Is there hope? Yes, but only if we respect and embrace the process.

Can we break out of the patterns that seem to trap us? Can we ever truly transcend and reach over and beyond, or are we forever locked in a world with a glass ceiling, a world that is going nowhere, where, as cynics say: the more things change, the more they stay the same?

These questions are answered in the story of the Egyptian Exile.

Yes, life is harsh. Yes, life can be overbearing. Yes, we are enslaved in many ways. But within the oppression lies the freedom. As the misery grows, Moses is born to save the people. Exile is but one step in the process of redemption. Darkness is a step toward light.

And we hold onto the process by remembering Abraham’s vision, in which he is shown the entire picture, not just the oppression but also the freedom and the ‘great wealth’ that follows. As Moses is born, he begins to fulfill the vision that was revealed to Abraham seven generations earlier.

Our greatest challenge is not allowing ourselves to be deceived by the momentary pain. Our broken spirits and hard labor can often stop us from hearing the voice of hope (Exodus 6:9).

Never has the message been more appropriate and relevant than today – as we face another global confrontation involving all the children of Abraham, revolving around the same region where our Torah story takes place.

Allow me to speak in personal terms.

Though several months have passed since September 11 and all wounds heal, I look around and see people struggling. They are struggling between the past and the future. September 11 has exposed a raw nerve. A new reality that many of us have never seen before. We are still numbed by it. Yet, we want to move ahead, we want to almost believe that nothing has changed and that things are going to go back just to the way they were. Yet… Yet there is gnawing feeling inside that perhaps things are not going back. And then what?

Standing between two paradigms is perhaps the most unsettling feeling in life. As a child I remember the difficulty of learning how to dive into a swimming pool. How many times did I count to 10, summer after summer, and could not bring myself to take my first dive? I probably would still not know how to dive had someone not pushed me in. What fear did I face? I knew how to swim, so it wasn’t the fear of water. I knew how to jump, so it wasn’t the fear of jumping. The fear was: the suspension – the split second when you are neither on the ground nor in the water. This unknown stops us from moving forward. But no great move can happen without a transition, and every transition inevitably requires at least a suspended moment as we shed one layer to assume a new one.

When big events happen that affect a critical mass, the forces unleashed are unpredictable. Too many unknown variables, too many confluences and synergies strip us of context and familiar points of reference. The events following September 11 are like a seismic shift that has shaken up the entire system. Yet that is precisely why this time is so precious.

We stand in a rare time in history – a moment that separates two paradigms. Paradigms have shifted in the past. Yet, they usually happen in an invisible fashion. We cannot see the crack that divides before and after – we recognize it only in retrospect. Today we may be able to see it.

That is why we are so unsettled – suspended between two states, in the twilight zone of the unknown.

Our best recourse is to find precedents to moments like this. To ask those that have been here before us: What is it like?

The opening of the book of Exodus tells us in detail about one of the first big paradigm shifts in history, one that took place around 3800 years ago, and one that sets the tone for all future shifts.

May we learn from the Egyptian exile. May we see our experiences today as a wake up call to transcend our hardships and fears – to listen to the voice of Moses that we will be redeemed, we will be free. As the prophet Micha tells us: “As in the days of Egypt I will show you wonders.”

Tags: raising the sparks, suffering, exile, transcendence, Egyptian slavery
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Vayechi: End of Book One – Jacob Never Dies

December 27th, 2001

The Seeds of Today’s World have been Sown; The Stage Set

Jacob called for his sons and he said to them: Come together and I will tell what will happen at the end of days
– This week’s Torah portion – Genesis 49:1

Don’t be afraid, said Joseph to them [his brothers], shall I then take G-d’s place? You might have meant to do me harm, but G-d made it come out good. [As a result of my ending up in Egypt] I am enabled today to preserve the life of a great nation. Don’t worry, I will fully provide for you and your children. He thus comforted them as he spoke to their hearts
– 50:19-21

Joseph remained in Egypt… Joseph said to his family: I am dying. G-d is sure to fulfill his promise and bring you out of this land, to the land that he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Joseph then bound the Israelites by an oath: When G-d fulfills this promise, you must bring [elevate] my remains [bones] out of this place. Joseph died at the age of 110 years. He was embalmed and placed in a casket in Egypt
– Conclusion of the book one, Genesis 50:22-26

As the solar year comes to a close with America searching for Bin Laden and an uncertain future looming ahead of us, we read the concluding chapter of the first book of the Torah. Endings require summations – sort of an accounting of where we stand and where we are headed.

Fifteen weeks have passed since September 11th. If you were truly living with the times – both the physical times and the spiritual ones – you were living not only with world shaking events of these times but also with the spiritual events of these times as related in the weekly Torah portions that we have been reading these last three months.

During these fifteen weeks we have traveled through Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, we have read the first eleven portions of the book of Genesis (Bereishis), and are now reading the twelfth and final chapter: Vayechi, which begins “and Jacob Lived.”

Jacob, his twelve sons and Joseph are now all living in Egypt. Pharaoh has provided them with the best of the land. Indeed, Jacob’s last seventeen years in Egypt are his best years. The theme of this week’s Torah chapter is about Jacob’s last days and his burial. Jacob gives his final instructions to his children, he blesses each of the tribes, and finally asks that they bury him not in Egypt, but in Israel, together with his parents (Isaac and Rebecca) and grandparents (Abraham and Sarah) in the Cave of Machpela burial plot in Chebron.

Our weekly portion seems to be overly preoccupied with death and burial. Besides the detailed narrative of Jacob’s burial, we also learn about Rachel’s burial as Jacob explains to Joseph the reason he buried Rachel on the roadside. And finally we read at the end of the chapter how also Joseph is consumed with the plans for his burial.

Another unusual twist to this is that the word ‘death’ is never mentioned in regard to Jacob. The Talmud points this out and explains that “Jacob our father never died.” The Talmud continues and asks: “But didn’t they eulogize and bury him?!” And answers: “Just as his children are alive, so too is he alive.”

What is the story and what is its relevance today?

As we conclude the first book of Torah, a chapter – the first chapter – in history comes to a close. The book of Bereishis – aka Genesis – is exactly that: A book that lays out the genesis and the framework for all of existence. It is a blueprint for life that sets the stage for all the events to come. The chapters in the Book of Genesis – from Bereishis to Vayechi – tell a sequential story that spans a period of 24 generations:

Chapter one – the story of creation and of Adam and Eve.
Chapter two – the story of Noah and the flood 10 generations later.
Chapters three, four and five – the story of Abraham, ten generations after Noah.
Chapter six – the story of Isaac.
Chapters seven through nine – the story of Jacob
Chapters ten through the end and twelfth chapter – the story of Joseph and his brothers.

As we discussed in our previous articles, Abraham, Sarah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, Jacob, Joseph – are all the pivotal characters that will shape history to come.

Eating from the Tree of Knowledge creates the first distortion: The universe and its higher purpose separate. The dichotomy between spirit and matter begins. The Tree of Knowledge experience creates the split between fruit and peel, light and vessel, energy and container, spirit and matter – between the inner soul and the outer shell. Life is aligned as long as the shell is aware of its role as protector of the fruit within. But when the shell perceives itself as an end in itself – that I am it – then all problems begin.

A confusion of roles begins to emerge. This first identity crisis is the root of all role confusions throughout history: Who am I?

This alienation process deteriorates from generation to generation. Abraham is the first to reverse the disorientation process; he reintroduces G-d into life. Yet he is faced with a daunting challenge, to refine a world that is unreceptive and even antagonistic to anything G-dly.

Once the balance has been upset, it takes an extraordinary amount of effort and clarity to reclaim balance. After the balance has been lost it takes more effort to recreate harmony within chaos than it does to create harmony in the first place. Once the shell (kelipah) has taken control, it does not easily relinquish it. Once the cat has been let out of the bag and the universe feels that it is independent, it no longer wants to dance with G-d.

Abraham passes on his faith to his children. But living in an unbalanced world, this faith is difficult to integrate into regular daily life. Each progressive generation of Abraham’s children continues the work of integrating spirit and matter, and each respective generation is faced with its unique challenges in achieving these goals.

Here’s a brief map of the Book of Genesis – the building blocks of existence.

Abraham is chesed – the right flank.
Ishmael is chesed to its extreme, unbridled chesed.
Isaac – gevurah – the left flank.
Esau – gevurah to its extreme.
Jacob – tiferet – the spine in the middle, balancing the previous two.

These elements define the world of vision – the vision of how life is to be lived and how we fulfill the purpose of existence.

Joseph and his brothers actualize the vision in the material world. They enter into Egypt and begin the process of refining the land. Joseph, as leader of Egypt, turns the country into a wealthy superpower.

Now the nation is ready for its first great challenge: Overcoming slavery to barbaric Egypt and thereby elevating and refining the sparks within. Egypt (Mitzrayim) is the archetype of the ‘shell’ existence, where the material dominates and enslaves the spiritual.

As difficult as the task maybe, the people are well armed. They come with an arsenal consisting of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; they are equipped with the seasoning of the forefathers, who pass on their battle experiences to their children. They have seen the traps of faith, the extremes of Ishmael and Esau; and now they are ready to face materialistic Egypt.

What gives humans the power to overcome formidable challenges that defy mortal strength? The answer is one word: Hope. Faith in the process, trust in G-d and His promises, gives us superhuman hope and confidence that we will prevail. Our connection to the past is our guarantee for the future.

Hence, the strong emphasis on the burial of Jacob, Rachel and Joseph. Honoring and remembering the lives of our patriarchs and matriarchs and the promises told to them, give their children the power to endure all. Furthermore, our connection to the pioneers that came before us and paved the way bring them alive. They live on through their children.

Thus the word ‘death’ is never associated with Jacob. “As his children live so too he is alive.” When children perpetuate the spirit of their parents they show how their parent, whose inspiration lives in them, is truly alive. Hence the name of this week’s portion: Vayechi Yaakov – Jacob lives. Though the chapter discusses his death and preparations beforehand, the entire chapter is named and epitomizes that Jacob lives.

Yet, Jacob is still part of a higher world. He was a shepherd like his father and grandfather, insulated from the harsh business world out there. Joseph is the one that bridges the two worlds of sanctity and secularism, of spirituality and the material world. Thus, Joseph insists on being buried not in Israel, but in Egypt.

Joseph wants to serve as a reminder to the people during their long hard labor years in Egypt, that they should always remember via his remains, the promise that they will leave this place, and their oath that they would leave together with Joseph’s bones.

Like his mother Rachel, who is buried at the roadside to console the Jewish people as they leave Israel in exile (“Rachel cries for her children”), Joseph too ensures that he remain with the people.

The lesson of hope is relevant today more than ever. As civilizations wage war it would be wise to remember that these battles began many years ago. They were foretold together with the promise that we will prevail. The Egyptian exile is the archetype of all the battles to come. Jacob and Joseph always remind us that we can overcome any challenge and they give us the power of eternity – through them we never die and through us they never die. When we connect and hold onto our faith in G-d and His promises, then we will win any war and always prevail.

A chapter ends. A new and very difficult chapter is about to begin. But the seed of redemption has been planted. In the throes of the Egyptian exile and persecution Joseph remains as a standing declaration that we will leave this place. Abraham’s vision and G-d’s promise will be fulfilled. We will prevail and we will leave with great wealth. Richer and greater than we were before we arrived.

And we will leave with the power to bring freedom to the entire world.

The book of Genesis concludes with Vayechi Yaakov and Joseph’s casket being placed in Egypt. Never have deaths been more alive.

Vayechi Yaakov – Jacob lives. The promise lives. The vision lives. Joseph reminds us throughout the harshest periods that it all continues to live.

Hold on to the vision. Hold on to the generations past that have been there. Hold on and see it through – we will be free. That is a promise.

© Copyright The Meaningful Life Center, 2001. May be reproduced in print media with permission of the author. May be forwarded as e-mail as written, without editing.

Tags: purpose of life, life, purpose of existence, Jacob, Life's Challenges, Joseph, living, faith, self-discovery, hope, redemption
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Vayigash: Joseph & Marx – Work & Alienation

December 20th, 2001

How to Ensure that Your Work does not Alienate You
The Continuing Story of Today’s Events

And Joseph could control himself no longer (Torah portion this week – 45:1)

Joseph said to his brothers: Don’t worry or feel guilty because you sold me. Look, G-d sent me ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the area… G-d sent me ahead of you to insure that you survive in the land and to sustain you through great deliverance. It is not you who sent me here, but G-d. He has made me Pharaoh’s vizier, director of his entire government and ruler of all Egypt  (45:5-8)

Joseph gathered all the money in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the food the people were buying. Joseph brought all the money to Pharaoh’s treasury (47:14)

I am the Omnipotent G-d of your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for it is there that I will make you into a great nation. I will descend into Egypt with you, and I will also bring you back and ascend with you (46:3-4)

Israel settled in Egypt, in the Goshen district. They acquired property there and were fertile, with their population increasing very rapidly (47:27)

I will take the stick of Joseph…and put it together with the stick of Judah to form one stick, so that they are one in my hand… I will make them one nation in the land…One king will be the king over them all, and they no longer will be two nations… And David My servant will be their prince forever (Haftorah this week – Ezekiel 37:19-22,25)

Finally some good news. In this week’s Torah portion Joseph and his brothers reconcile.

Macrocosm/microcosm: Just as Jacob reconciles with his brother Esau after building his family in Charan, Joseph reconciles with his brothers after building his family in Egypt and establishing himself there. He spearheads the huge business of Egypt, selling grain to the famished nations in return for their money. The great wealth Joseph generates turns Egypt in a superpower, the most powerful empire of its time.

But with one major distinction: Jacob and Esau’s reconciliation was incomplete and they needed to separate ways (See: The Big Confrontation). Joseph and his brothers, on the other hand, make peace and stay together for the rest of their lives. Only later, would their rift manifest itself again, in the split between the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

Jacob, Joseph and his brothers are now together. They are planting the seeds that would empower the Jews as they begin their exile in Egypt and redemption.

In spiritual terms: Jacob concludes the work of Abraham and Isaac in constructing the ‘building blocks’ of existence – the structure of Atzilus, the world of unity. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the sefirot of chesed (love), gevurah (discipline) and tiferet (beauty and compassion) – the three primary pillars that define the vision of life; the vision of transforming existence into a ‘home’ for G-dliness, of integrating matter and spirit as it was in the Garden before the Tree of Knowledge. The twelve tribes – with Joseph at their head – actually carry this vision into the material world of Mitzrayim (which refers to all the constraints and boundaries of material existence), the spiritual worlds of biy”a, acronym for briyah, yetzirah, asiyah.

However, the real work of refining Egypt begins in the next generation, with the Egyptian bondage. The children of Jacob and the tribes would spend 210 years under very harsh conditions to refine and elevate the 202 Divine sparks embedded in the first great empire. And this work would in turn imbue in the people and ultimately in the entire human race the personality of true freedom and transcendence, the ability to face any material challenge or adversary. It instilled in future generations the power to face all the challenges posed by the empires to come, all of which are rooted in the Egyptian archetype.

The strength and ability to achieve all this work begins with Joseph and his brothers – permeated with the strength of their forefathers — paving the way during the first years following their arrival in Egypt. As G-d tells Jacob: “I am the Omnipotent G-d of your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for it is there that I will make you into a great nation. I will descend into Egypt with you, and I will also bring you back and ascend with you.”

There are therefore many lessons in these weekly Torah sections that give us both guidance and strength in dealing with different aspects of our particular crisis today, as the children of Abraham – Ishmael, Esau and Jacob – are pitted against each other.

Let us touch upon one of the lessons we can glean from Joseph as he began the process of uniting his family – both scions of Judah and Joseph – which empowers us with the ability to unite Esau and Jacob, matter and spirit.

One of the most compelling forces haunting us today is: Uncertainty. Today’s prevailing fear and uncertainty is having a particularly devastating effect on our economy. The security of this country’s basic business structure, even with its inevitable ups and downs, is now under question. We would like to believe that we are undergoing just another economic downturn – albeit a very different type, but still one that has precedent. But this premise is built on our old paradigm. And that is a big but: perhaps we are entering a new paradigm in which old rules don’t apply. Perhaps this will not just be another repeat of old market patterns. Is anyone willing to bet that this will just pass with no real change?

These and many other plaguing uncertainties cloud the business climate. And like bad weather, everyone is taking cover. People everywhere are withdrawing. As we enter this year’s holiday season, there is conspicuous lack of enthusiasm, actually lack of anything optimistic coming from any given sector of this country.

Allow me to submit the following theory: A study of Joseph in Egypt will give us a powerful forecast for the future of business in America and the world. I will allow myself to make a bold prediction: Understanding Joseph will help us create certainty in these uncertain times.

In his scathing critique of capitalism, Marx brilliantly describes how the Capitalist system devalues the worker, reducing him to no more than a commodity, thus leading to mans’ inevitable alienation and estrangement from his essential self. “Labor is external to the worker, i.e. does not belong to his essential being; that he, therefore, does not confirm himself in his work, but denies himself, feels miserable and not happy, does not develop free mental and physical energy, but mortifies his flesh and ruins his mind. Hence, the worker feels himself only when he is not working; when he is working, he does not feel himself. He is at home when he is not working, and not at home when he is working. His labor is, therefore, not voluntary but forced, it is forced labor. It is, therefore, not the satisfaction of a need but a mere means to satisfy needs outside itself” (Paris Manuscripts, 1844).

Marx asked all the right questions; he just didn’t have the answers, as we retrospectively know today after the failure of the Socialist and Communist experiments. He highlighted the flaws of capitalism without ever really providing a viable alternative.

Reading this week’s Torah portion I was thinking how Joseph, the first “Capitalist,” would respond to Marx. Joseph was faced with this very dilemma. His fathers chose to be shepherds, thus avoiding confrontation with a corrupt marketplace, allowing them to discover their true essence while meditating among nature as the docile sheep grazed in the fields. Joseph, however, was thrust into Egypt, first becoming an accountant (yes, there you have the first Jewish accountant) in the house of Potiphar, and then becoming the viceroy of Egypt, running the entire grain business of the land.

When Joseph’s brothers and then Jacob reunited with Joseph the first thing they recognized was that despite the formidable challenges he faced for 22 years, he had not in any way compromised his profound spiritual connection. The first words Joseph utters to his brothers, as he is no longer able to control his emotions: “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive? I am Joseph your brother!” Joseph sends a sign to his father that he is intact by telling him the topic in Torah (the laws of the eglah arufah) they were discussing 22 years ago when they were separated!

How did Joseph maintain his spiritual integrity – his connection with his essence – even while hard at work, in a corrupt Egypt at that?

Over all that transpired during these years Joseph never lost his connection to G-d. As harsh as it was to accept that his brothers sold him into slavery, Joseph never became bitter and was never broken. He always knew that his arrival in Egypt and the work he did there was G-d’s plan. As he tells his brothers: G-d sent me ahead of you to insure that you survive in the land and to sustain you through great deliverance. It is not you who sent me here, but G-d. He has made me Pharaoh’s vizier, director of his entire government and ruler of all Egypt.

As immersed as Joseph was in the massive Egyptian grain industry, he did not experience alienation or estrangement, because his work was not something external outside of himself; he saw it for its true nature: Divine work, as part of his Divine essence and mission in this world: to save lives, to insure the survival of his family and ultimately the entire Jewish nation. Arriving first in Egypt allowed Joseph to prepare the ground so his family could survive the great famine; it allowed the Jewish nation to be born – fulfilling G-d promise and vision to Abraham.

Throughout all his work as head of state and ruler of Egypt, Joseph never let go of the vision; he always held on to the promise; he was eternally connected to the Divine process, always recognizing the deeper spiritual meaning of his work as director of the grain industry – the biggest business of its time.

Joseph had to first be leader before Judah could become leader, because Joseph had the unique power to integrate spirit and matter in an imperfect world where materialism dominates. Joseph begins preparing the ground for a more perfect world when Judah’s faith and bittul could dominate.

The message and lesson to us today is clear:

America today is suffering from some of the flaws of Capitalism that Marx describes. September 11 just amplified these weaknesses. Joseph can teach us how to get back on course.

The unprecedented prosperity of this nation has spoiled us. We have built the greatest empire in history, with the highest standard of living, and the most powerful technology. Witness the American firepower in Afghanistan, a new type of war if it can even be called war, fulfilling its goals with virtually no casualties.

Everything seemed to be going so well. The unheard of economic boom, the information revolution, the unbelievable advances in medicine and science, promised to deliver a new world order. Consumption – mass consumption, enabled by mass industry – became the dominating driving force in our consumer driven economy.

But this great corporation lost its soul somewhere along the way. American business forgot its true mission statement.

The mission statement of this country was defined by the Founding Fathers 225 years ago when they established this great nation. They engraved it on the currency of this nation: In God We Trust.

By studying different systems and their failures, by personally experiencing the consequences of being denied basic human freedoms, by building this country’s pillars not on their own subjective whims but on eternal values rooted in the Bible – the Founding Fathers understood that the grand American experiment is only possible with a firm foundation that absolutely guarantees individual rights.

And they fought the Revolutionary War to defend this mission stated in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

A nation built on the principle that “All men are created equal” as “One nation under God” created the best business climate to allow this nation to flourish. With its promise of freedom and equal opportunity, the United States has welcomed people from all over the world and encouraged them to contribute to the growth of this country.

And flourish it did.  The investment of the Founding Fathers paid off. The synergy of people from all backgrounds coming together as equals under God created the highest developed country of all time.

For 225 years our mission statement – the principles of the revolution – has never been challenged. Indeed, our sustained prosperity has given rise to a profound complacency. Now, 225 years later, on September 11, this nation has been issued the greatest challenge it has ever faced. The attacks put into stark relief the fact that we have taken for granted many of the freedoms and blessings that were contained in the vision of our founding fathers. Our newfound vulnerability and deep feelings of uncertainty expose more than ever the emptiness of financial security. It makes us realize how alienated we become when we our jobs and careers become an end in themselves, divorced from their deeper mission statement: an expression of our souls.

We are locked in a struggle to renew our contract with the soul of our nation. In many ways we now are faced with the formidable task of finishing what our founding fathers began.

One cannot be sure whether the Founding Fathers saw in Joseph the model businessperson and CEO paragon, but their extensive knowledge of the Bible definitely could not ignore Joseph’s critical contribution to balancing business and spirituality, Capitalism and compassion, matter and spirit.

Joseph offers us a new business model, a new paradigm – one that integrates our work with our essence. By recognizing that our careers and businesses are means and vehicles to fulfill G-d’s plan in our lives, we can reclaim the core beliefs that are the secret of the nation’s endurance.

But with all that Joseph accomplished, he was also fully aware of the sad reality to come. When he meets his younger brother Benjamin, he weeps over the destruction of the Holy Temple. Additionally, his descendants would split away from the Kingdom of Judah. Both these fracturing events would have profound implications in the split between matter and spirit and between work and the human essence.

Today we are faced with the challenge to finally and permanently mend the fracture. By reconnecting our material lives, our businesses with their true spiritual mission statement.

Let us learn from Joseph how this can be achieved.

The United States now stands at perhaps the most defining moment of its history. We need to fight a war that goes far beyond the military one. This is not a war against. It is a war for: For the fundamental beliefs that this nation was built upon. Our greatest enemy is not Bin Laden, or any terrorist; it is complacency.

We must balance our economy of consumption with higher values. Let us learn from Joseph how to reclaim our mission statement: What are we? Who are we? What is this company called America?

New paradigms are always difficult. That’s why they are new.

© Copyright The Meaningful Life Center, 2001. May be reproduced in print media with permission of the author. May be forwarded as e-mail as written, without editing.

Tags: spiritual and material, September 11th, Joseph, alienation, business, career, founding fathers
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