Lazer Beams

Freedom Flame

Let's prepare for Chanuka:

The Palace

This Shabbat, Parshat Massei, is also Rosh Chodesh Av, the first day of the Hebrew month of Av and the beginning of the 9-day mourning period that lasts through Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of Av, the day that commemorates the destruction of our Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Here's an allegory to help understand what it means to lament the loss of our Holy Temple, may it be rebuilt speedily and in our days, amen.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Readers Interpret "The Prince and the Mountain Man"

Here are some choice reader interpretations of our allegory from the day before yesterday, about The Prince and the Mountain Man:

Eliana from Florida: The mountain man represents observant Jews who have grown up in the ways of Torah. Through out history they have maintained their Jewish their heritage and have been the protectors and guardians of Torah.  But sometimes we are so vigilant in being the gate keepers that we become unbalanced.  It's not enough to guard the ancient ways. We need to balance it with emuna and a close relationship with our King. The traveller grew up in the world yet, he was always seeking. Perhaps he is not so well versed in the beauty of a Torah observant life but through HaShems loving grace he grew in Emuna. He found the path and is determined to make it all the way back to the palace where he belongs. If the two travel together they will become one. The traveller will gain the pieces stolen from him and the mountain man will recover his true pupose-- the why in his faithfullness to Torah. They will both balance each other and become one. In doing so not only will they reach the palace and be reunited with the King, but they will hasten the coming of Mashiach when all the Kings children will be reunited and live with emuna, Torah, and the King himself.

Leah Rivka: The King is our merciful Hashem. His Palace could be heaven, olam haba, or in my mind I viewed it as the level of having total emuna. The Mountain Man (or the prince that was guarding the palace) was an angel who already lives in Hashem's Palace and so he already has the special understanding or "power/illumination".  This prevents him from being able to really grow more like the Prince is able to. And the Prince is representing the Jews, in particular, those that have lost their way from Hashem, those that lack faith/emuna in Him, or those who have been "kidnapped" and must run away from the robbers (or in our case the yetzer hara and the idol worshiping that we have in our times=money-hollywood-tv-drama-etc...). These Princes who are really Hashem's precious children all have special souls that reflect a tiny part of Hashem's greatness. 

Debbie from Atlanta: We are all sons and daughters of Hashem. Some of us have been given different paths. We all need to reach out to one another, and despite it being scary (being threatened by a gun - in the story), we have to find the strength in ourselves to connect.

Perla from France: Every child of Hashem has the power to shine, and as Rav Shalom Arush Shlita says in the garden of yearning, when a person doesn't have anymore this will to study, and doesn't yearn anymore to Hashem, spirituality, kedusha, his face doesnt shine anymore. As Rebbe Nachman, said when a person comes closer to Hashem, study, and prays, his face is illuminated by Divine Light. The same with hitbodedut, as you said once. Therefore, we should keep our yearning, and for that, praying and asking in our every hitbodedut, the yearning. that we always, yearn for more spiritual, and a higher level. And as you said once, hitbodedut bring us divine light. The palace in your allegory may be, the Garden of Yearning. And the yearning is fundamental. The only fact to yearn, is great itself as Rebbe Nachman said.

David from London: The brothers are a person and the Tzadik ... they share the same scars, Their souls are bound to each other. The Tzadik is returning to The King and it wants to bring the person with him....to inspire him with light to make teshuva. They have to take it higher , to ascend the mountain...to rise above . This is the mountain. The mountain is Torah.The woods are this world without Emuna. The mountain man knows the woods very well. Initially the mountain man is sceptical and mistrusting. HIs personal space is threatened , the Yetzer Hara wants to eliminate any threat but it's knocked off guard by the Tzadik's statement " I am your brother. " The mountain man cries when he sees the scars ( life's hardships) and that the tzadik suffered too, the same tests , the same pain but different consequences. The gates of tears are always open...his prayer begets illumination from the windows of the soul, the eyes. The Tzadik's knowing eyes give much illumination once it becomes known who he is. Suddenly the mountain man is seeing for the first time. His heart is open. The man can see  past the woods , the world isn't dark and he realises that it never was. The man learns that this light can come from him too by returning to the King, follow the Tzadik 's ways and make teshuva. The Tzadik came from the same place as the mountain man. Every blow and hardship he received in the woods managed to help him learn how to defend himself until they became weights he used to make his emuna stronger and stronger.

Danny from Jerusalem: The Mountain Man was raised far away from holiness and doesn't realize his own strength - the power of illumination of the Jewish soul that his eyes represent. The Prince also grew up that way, but has long since fought his way back to the castle. Now, he's doing sorties back in the woods to bring other lost sons and daughters home to The King - Hashem. The whole thing sounds like an allegory about Reb Lazer or Rabbi Arush or one of the Outreach rabbis.

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Lazer's comment: The allegory was a vivid dream that I had some while ago. Thank you all for your wonderful participation.

The Prince and the Mountain Man

Here's an original Lazer allegory for your weekend table. Discuss it with the family, and if you wish, send me your interpretations, the best of which we'll be happy to publish here on the Beams.

Left: "Mountain Man" by one of our favorite artists, Russ Voelker.

I was hiking in the back woods of Appalachia. All of a sudden, I met a mountain man in a goatskin jacket and a rabbit-fur hat, wielding a double-barreled shotgun.

"Where ya think yur headin', stranger?" he challenged in a menacing tone.

He didn't scare me, and I simply smiled back at him. "I'm heading up the trail to the top o' the mountain. I'm going to visit The King. You're welcome to join me. By the way, I'm no stranger - I'm your brother."

"The heck you are," he replied, waving his shotgun in my face. "Maybe I'll just pull the trigger and blast you outa my space."

"Be my guest," I told him, undaunted by his silly charades. "You'll simply shorten my trek to The King's palace." I rolled up my sleeve, and showed him that I had scars on the same exact place that he did, and repeated, "I'm no stranger - I'm your brother."

Tears welled up in his eyes. The tears washed away the dark clouds that obscured his retnae. Now, his eyes began shining like the sun. "Prove it that you're my brother!"

"No problem," I said. I removed my sunglasses, and my eyes illuminated the entire dark woods, with an array of lights like Aurora Borealis. "You see," I explained, you and I are both sons of the King. Only the King's children are born with such powers of illumination. Our power diminishes when we leave the palace; but, whenever we cry in yearning for the King, we regain some of our power, as you have now. As soon as we return to the palace, our eyes will illuminate stronger than ever."

I then explained to the mountain man, that when I was a baby, robbers kidnapped me from the palace. I grew up in the woods, suffered hardships and injury, and eventually fought my way back to the palace. Interesting, but the eyes of a returning prince shine brighter than the eyes of a prince that never left the palace. In turn, the returning princes are decorated with medals of valor, and become officers in the King's Honor Guard.