Feeling Hashem's Presence

Much of the focus of Pesach, specifically the Seder, is recognizing Hashem's control over the world. Whether we focus on Him causing unexpected frog invasions, keeping the world dark, or changing nature by splitting the sea, we emphasize His all-encompassing role in our world. These miraculous events allow us to tangibly feel Hashem's presence in our mundane world.

As we know, however, that feeling is less tangible nowadays (this is perhaps the motivation to retell the story each year). This idea may also be a reason for what we read in shul tomorrow, on Shabbos Chol HaMoed. Moshe Rabbeinu asks to see Hashem, to make His presence more tangible. 

As much as Hashem tells us that Moshe can only see His "back", the Torah never actually tells us that he saw it. An additional level of interpretation, however, explains that we do see Hashem's back, as the Torah continues "Hashem said to Moshe, 'carve for yourself two stone tablets...'" (34:1). Hashem's back is the luchos, the Torah. 

True, the main message of the Seder was to recognize Hashem's role in the world, which is the idea behind three of the four cups- "v'hotzeiti", "v'hitzalti"and "v'ga'alti" (I took out, I saved, I redeemed). But perhaps the last cup is to ensure that our connection to feel Hashem remains without the miracles. "V'lakachti" (I took) is to take Bnei Yisrael as a nation, to bind them to Him with the Torah.

Many times we find it difficult to connect to Hashem in our routine Jewish practices. The key is to follow the message of Hashem to Moshe Rabbeinu. To follow the idea of the fourth cup of the seder. If we want to make Hashem more tangible, we can look in the Torah.

What If Moses Had Facebook?

Faster Than Time

(From a shiur by Rabbi Akiva Tatz)

Our Rabbis tell us that the Jews in Egypt were on the 49th level of impurity and had they stayed in Egypt a moment longer they would have sunk down to the 50th level and would never have been able to be redeemed.

How could it be that in one second the Jews would have fallen to the lowest spiritual depths? One moment seems like a very short amount of time for that to happen...

The danger to leaving Egypt wasn't that we would sink to the lowest level in a moment, but that if Hashem waited any longer we would have lost our momentum and our alacrity to push ourselves from the depths to the higher levels.

We could think about this a little further: What's the difference between matza and chametz? Time! The ingredients are basically the same, but the time it takes to make it makes all the difference in the world. If we delay one more second than the matza will turn to chametz.
Our Rabbis say: "Mitzvah haba'a leyad'cha, al tachmitzena (from the root of chametz)" - " When a mitzvah comes to your hand, do let it become sour." We learn from here that when we have the opportunity to do a mitzvah, to do something great, we should grab at that opportunity right away! If we wait we will lose our excitement and we could lose that opportunity.

That's why it was so important for the Jews to leave Egypt very quickly. The Jews were on an intense spiritual high, and if they didn't leave at that moment they would have lost their inspiration and wouldn't have been able to leave Egypt.

We can apply this to our own lives: When we feel inspired or when we have the opportunity to do a mitzvah, we should grab hold of that inspiration right away and do something great with it!

Have a chag kasher v'sameach!!

Fire Burning

We have recently begun reading the book of Vayikra, also known as Leviticus. While Breishit and Shmot, the past two books of the Torah, have been mostly narrative and stories, this one, simply put, is not.

How can we make sense of and relate to a book that discusses the duties of the priests when most of us aren't priests and we don't (YET) have the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple?


In the beginning of Tzav, the parsha that we just finished, the Cohanim are instructed to leave a fire burning on the mizbe'ach, the altar. This fire burns the sacrifice all night and they "clean up" (a bit more complicated than that) in the morning.
How can we even BEGIN to relate to this?
Well, each of us within us has a metaphoric mizbe'ach - although we don't live in the Beit HaMikdash times (YET), we are each able to access and utilize our own altar. On that altar, we have a fire that is always burning. That fire is the spark of Gd within every person. No matter what, that fire is never extinguished. That fire enables us to make our own sacrifices, whether that be taking on a new mitzvah, davening, learning, granting yourself the permission to feel or do what you aren't accustomed to. The goal of the korbanot, the sacrifices, was to become closer to Gd (Korbanot comes from the root of karov, to come close!). We, too, are able to come closer to Gd if we recognize and appreciate that fire that always burns within each and every one of us. Often we feel as though we need to look outside of ourselves for the resources to change when in fact, more often than that, Gd has already given us the resources and tools that we need!

You're Never Alone

"I am HaShem your G-d, who took you out of Egypt."

Remember that HaShem is ALWAYS there for you. 

Happy Pesach!!!

Substance Over Style

In a Parsha which at face value seems tediously descriptive of foreign concepts, one statement of our Rabbi's stands out as a message not only for karbanos but for our lives.

In Vayikra (Leviticus) 1:17, we read about the poor person's korban. As opposed to the wealthier members of the Jewish people who brought big animals, the poor person only a bird or two (depending what he is bringing). This could be fairly discouraging.

The pasuk, however, tells us that this korban was just as pleasing to Hashem as the others. As Rashi quotes from the Midrash, "He who brings a lot or he who brings little, [it is pleasing to Hashem] as long as their intentions are for Heaven". 

Many times we become discouraged by our lacking circumstances or even our inability to do practice X or Y. Sometimes we can only do Z. As long as we have the right intentions, and we are truly doing all we can, that is all it takes to pleases Hashem. 

Have a great Shabbos.

“It’s not how much or how little you have that makes you great or small, but how much or how little you are with what you have.” 

- Rav Shimshon Rephael Hirsch

Education = Freedom?

We clean our houses like crazy; there is never enough time before Pesach. We dread the lack of bread and fill ourselves up with the same sugary snacks year and year. By the time Pesach is over, we are thankful that we can finally eat normal food and not have so many days of chag...

BUT WAIT! 

Why rush through the Seder?!!? 

Quick thought about the Seder: 

The mitzvah of Seder is to tell the story, to teach your children (okay, to teach the people around us). 

Seders are supposed to be engaging and lively! 

We are commanded to educate others for multiple reasons, including the necessity of passing down the story, as well as the strength and inspiration that we can gain from teaching. 

(In your head, you're saying: Sarah, this is nice, but I don't have kids, how does this relate to me??!!) 

Even if you don't have kids, teaching other people is something that you do daily, whether or not you realize it. Whenever you answer a question, you are teaching (yes, even your teachers and rabbis!). Your beliefs can be strengthened by strengthening others. 

Brief overview: 

The real power of the Seder is education: technically, to educate your children, but loosely, to educate the people around us. Through transmission of thought and tradition, we are ensuring the existence of our people. The very ensuring the existence and vibrancy of our people IS freedom. 

What Is Our Secret?

”...If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.

The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”  

 - Mark Twain
(“Concerning The Jews,” Harper’s Magazine, 1899
see The Complete Essays of Mark Twain, Doubleday [1963] pg. 249)

What do you think is our secret?

Leading with Lollipops

You don't have to be on *Regional Board to be a leader. In all likelihood, you already are one... you just might not know it yet! Take 6 minutes and be inspired by someone who changed another's life through a story he doesn't even remember happening, and pay it forward! Give another person the gift of knowing how they've changed your life. Candygrams, ncsy tzadikim on fbook, or old fashioned phone call... there are ways to show gratitude and at the same time help enlighten others to their impact as leaders!

*That being said...  RB might just want you anyway :)