Lazer Beams

Mitzvot and Body Health

Hello Rabbi,

Does the performance or violation of the mitzvot affect the body? More specifically, I have a pain in my right leg that no doctor has been able to cure? Is there something spiritual I may have done wrong or a correction to make? Thank you! Wim B., Amsterdam

Dear Wim,

A 16th century CE scholar from Tzfat, Rabbi Elazar Azikari (who composed "Yedid Nefesh" and was a colleague of the famed father of Kabbala Rabbi Yitzchak Luria) wrote a monumental book called "Sefer Hacharedim", or The Book of the (G-d) Fearing. In this book, he takes each part of the body and lists the corresponding mitzva. There are 613 mitzvas that correspond to the 613 parts of the body. The fulfillment of a mitzva adds to the spiritual vitality of the corresponding body part, and the spiritual vitality strongly influences the physical health of that particular body part.

For example, tefillin affects the left arm and the front part of the head. Belief in G-d affects the heart. Eye problems can often be traced to stinginess (refusal to give charity) or to looking at forbidden things. It's quite noteworthy that cervical cancer is almost unheard of among woman who practice family purity. The list is long and elaborate.

The famed Shatzer Rov of London o.b.m, the grandfather of the Melitzer Rebbe of Ashdod, would go to the doctor when he was sick and simply request a diagnosis. Then, he would go home and improve his practice of the mitzva that corresponds to his sick part of the body in order to cure himself.

I often use the Sefer Charedim in helping others. I've seen it do things that the doctors can't do. All a person needs is faith. Physical sicknesses are rooted in spiritual causes, since the spirit is the life force. Therefore, many physical ailments can be cured by Teshuva, that is, correcting a mitzva that in turn healthfully influences a certain part of the body. That's it while standing on one foot.

As far as the pain in your right leg, ask Hashem in your daily hitbodedut sessions to enlighten you as to what has brought on the pain and to help you to make teshuva for the root cause. I'd also suggest that you check if you haven't insulted your father or fail to honor him in any way.

Stay healthy, Wim. Warm regards to all our friends in Holland. Blessings always, Lazer

Pesach Sheni Today: A Great Second Chance

Today is the 14th of Iyar - Pesach Sheni.

During the time of the Holy Temple, anyone who deliberately fails to participate in the Pascal sacrifice on Passover eve is punished by karett, a terrible punishment that amounts in the severance of a person’s soul from the Jewish people. Yet, a person who was far away from the Holy Temple or ritually impure on the afternoon of 14^th of Nissan, when we prepare the Pascal Lamb Sacrifice that we partake of on Seder night, the eve of the 15^th of Nissan, is given a second chance. Hashem invites all those who were “ritually impure” and “far away” to return to the Holy Temple a month later on the 14^th of Iyar. They fulfill the obligation of “Pesach Sheni” – a second chance to fulfill the Pascal sacrifice – and are completely forgiven for missing Pesach Rishon, the first Pesach.

You are the greatest, Hashem!

Few people could have been “further away” or more “ritually impure” than I was, the way my secular lifestyle used to be. But Hashem is ever so patient – He grants us a second chance. In fact, “far away” and ritually impure” are not only the two tickets to a second chance, they describe much of our assimilated youth. But don’t give up on them – Hashem gives everyone a second chance. We should help others become aware of that second chance. Just as a little footnote, Pesach Sheni – the second chance – is not only prophetic for me, it’s the story of my life. I was born on Pesach Sheni.

The King's Coffers

The Mishna teaches (tractate Avos, 4:17) that an hour of Teshuva (penitence) and good deeds in this world is worth more than the entire World to Come, yet a minute in the World to Come is more sublime than all the pleasures of this world combined.

From the above Mishna, we learn that every moment of Teshuva, Torah learning, and charitable deeds is an asset of indescribable value that can never be taken away from a person.

Imagine that you have 120 seconds inside the King's coffers. The King has given you a big burlap sack, and whatever you can grab in the designated two minutes is yours for ever. Once inside, you can shovel into your sack all the gold, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds that you can; once your time's up, you pick up your sack and leave, a multimillionaire forever.

Now imagine that once inside the King's coffers, somebody approaches you and asks you what's going on in Afghanistan. Somebody else approaches you and invites you to watch Star Wars. A third person yells that you're missing the action of the playoff game, and a fourth person wants to share the latest juicy gossip with you. Would you listen to these people? No way! You'd ignore them and keep on throwing 5-karat diamonds into your sack. Each second counts, and the clock keeps on ticking. Soon, the time's up...

**********

We all hope to live until 120, yet we know that the years flash by ever so quickly. In that respect, our term of duty on this earth is like 120 seconds inside the King's coffers. If we use our time wisely, we can accumulate timeless assets of Torah, tshuva, and good deeds, whose value in the World to Come defies all description. When we waste our time in idle gossip or in meaningless pastimes, we're simply squandering each valuable moment that The King of Kings - Hashem our Creator - has granted us on this earth. The worst fires of purgatory is the embarrassment a soul experiences when it reaches the next world and discovers that its golden opportunity inside the King's coffers - that is, on this earth - was wasted on nonsense and idle pastimes of no consequence.

These 49 days of Counting the Omer are an opportune time for us correct our souls and strengthen our character, for each day corresponds to a different character trait and part of the soul. From now until Shavuot, we can't afford to waste a single day. Every day, the King's Coffers are handing out different types of rare gems for all that seek them. Teshuva, from now until Shavuot, is a unique invitation to enter the King's coffers. Here's a chance - grab it while you can! 

Blessings for a wonderful Shabbat Tazria-Metzora.

Counting the Omer

" By virtue of the Omer that I counted today…may I be purified and sanctified with the sanctity from above, and may this cause an influence of great abundance in all the worlds."(Seder Sfirat HaOmer, terminating prayer).

At the conclusion of each night's counting of the Omer, we ask Hashem that we be purified and sanctified. We also say that our purification and sanctification triggers an influence of tremendous abundance in all the worlds – both material and spiritual.

Before attempting to comprehend the above principles, we have to realize that the people of Israel at Pesach are a nation of newly redeemed slaves. Not only were we newly redeemed slaves at the time of our exodus from Egypt, but every year at Pesach as well. Pesach is the furthest time of the year from the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when all of Israel makes teshuva out of the awe of Hashem. As the long winter months transpire, we drop our guard and fall slaves to our bodily urges and appetites.

At Pesach time, we complete a process of physically cleaning our domains from chometz, or leavened agents, and begin a spiritual process of cleaning our hearts as a preparation for freedom. Teshuva is the cleansing of the heart from all evil.

True freedom, which includes the liberty from social pressure and bodily urges, comes only from Torah. Therefore, even though we break off the chains of bondage at Pesach, we're not really free until we receive the Torah 50 days later on Shavuot. During the interim 49 days, we count the Omer as a process of preparing ourselves to receive the Torah. Rebbe Nathan of Breslev says that each of the 49 days corrects a character attribute that corresponds to the 48 ways of attaining Torah (see tractate Avos, 6:6 for the entire list), while the 49^th day serves as a correction to our prayers.

Rebbe Natan writes (Abridged Likutei Moharan 63:2) that the 49 days of the Omer also correspond to the 49 gates of Tshuva. By reciting Tehillim (Psalms) every day, one can open each gate of Tshuva. Therefore, concludes Rebbe Natan, saying Tehillim during each day of the Omer is extremely important.

Rebbe Natan's principle of Tehillim and Tshuva explains how the purification of our souls during the days of the Omer invokes abundance in all the worlds, as we shall see – with Hashem's grace – in the following parable:

Spiritual Cause and Effect

I'm privileged to bear the name of the holy Mishnaic sage (Tanna, in Aramaic) Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov. His gravesite is 2 kilometers east of the Hananya crossroads, about 10 kilometers south of Meron.

Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov was nicknamed kav veNaki (Gemara tractate Eruvin 62b, Yevamot 49b, and other places), which literally means "grain with no chaff". The connotation is that he didn't say much, but almost everything he did say was codified into law. One of Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov's most well known sayings appears in the Mishna, tractate Avot, chapter 4, mishna 11. He says, "One who performs a mitzva earns a defense counsel, and one who transgresses earns a prosecutor; teshuva and good deeds are a shield against calamity."

The defense counsel that Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov was talking about is a defending angel, and the prosecutor is a dark-side force of evil. This mishna is the key to spiritual cause and effect, a notion that permeates all of Torah.

In light of Rebbe Eliezer ben Yaakov's teachings, we can say our enemies are born from our own misdeeds. This is the key to understanding what's going on in the world. The ATFAT law is at work here: every breach in personal holiness - especially here in our beloved homeland - brings with a breach in national security. 

We all must stand strong against the spiritual defilement of the Land of Israel if we expect to maintain true sovereignty on this tiny strip of holy real estate that the entire world is trying to take away from us. Debauchery is our worst enemy; the Hamas and Hizbulla were only created from our lack of holiness. You know what that means? Lack of modesty and lewdness ultimately manifest themselves as Kassam and Katyusha rockets. 

Personal holiness and modesty are the best defense against all of our enemies. We strengthen our holiness by guarding our speech, guarding our eyes, dressing more modestly, avoiding lewd sites and literature, and by strengthening our emuna. Emuna and prayer are our two strongest weapons. Let's pick them up right now. The more we fight for an Eretz Yisrael of kedusha (holiness), the faster the forces of impurity within our midst will crumble. Don't think for a minute that if you're outside the physical borders of Israel, you're exempt from doing your part.

For the defense of our Holy Land, let us become more holy. Holiness is our deed to this cherished piece of real estate that Hashem has entrusted to our safekeeping.

 

Spiritually Preparing for Passover: Avoiding Slavery

We hope everybody is making final preparations for Passover with big smiles on their faces. We must also prepare ourselves for true liberation - freedom of the soul.

The minute one loses one's personal sense of worth and a positive self image, he or she becomes a slave.

Lack of self-respect, self-deprecation, and ignorance of one's own marvelous qualities and heritage are tickets to the slave train. Shame or embarrassment about one's ethnic or religious background is tantamount to carrying around an iron shackle with a 50-lb. ball and chain.

These feelings of inferiority are an invitation to let society dictate how you should live your life. People who feel inferior are weak; it's easy to exploit a person with no backbone. Controlled and exploited people are the most miserable creatures on the face of the earth.

For a Jew, one of the most important Passover preparation - after getting rid of the chometz - is learning who we are and why we're celebrating. Modern society often discourages us from learning about our wonderful background, our G-d, and what emuna - the full and simple faith in Him - can do for us in every level of life, be it emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and even physical.

Emuna helps you feel good about yourself.  As soon as you begin feeling good about yourself, you become free. Every human has an inherent right to freedom; that's the universal message of the Passover holiday. Happy Passover preparations!

Without the Branch, There's no Fruit

Dear Rabbi Brody,

I became an observant Jewess about 3 years ago, when I was 17. Today, I have a wonderful schedule and I love my life and learning - I'm studying to be an optometrist in the morning, and in the late afternoon I attend classes at a Jewish Women's Seminar. But, I have a fly in my ointment - my parents.

My parents are lovely people, but their world is still at the level of 9 to 5 followed by dinner and popcorn in front of the television. Although they respect me, they embarrass me all the time. I've told my father a million times that he can't shake hands with my girlfriends, but everytime I bring one home he sticks his hand right out. I've tried to explain to my mother the severity of slander and idle gossip, but she says everything about everybody. Even worse, all this gives me a nasty guilt trip; after listening to lectures from the best Torah teachers one could wish for, I come home to two people who only seem to be interested in what's for dinner and what's on TV. It's hard for me to respect them, and that's a big test, since I'll be living at home at least for another two years or until Hashem sends me my intended (please make a blessing for me). Please give me some advice on how to accept my situation with emuna. Thank you for being there, Rabbi. With sincere appreciation, Karen from New Jersey

Dear Karen,

First of all, I'm glad that you're still at home; the advantages of your sanctity far outweigh the peripheral aggravation you have from little details at home. Please forgive me, but I must take exception with the "fly in the ointment" metaphor. Maybe your mama isn't a Lakewood rebbetzin and your dad isn't a Rosh Yeshiva with a Homburg on his head, but I'm sure that they're wonderful people to merit a daughter that's devoting her life to Hashem. Remember, they are simply the products of their environment, much like babies that grew up in captivity. They never cast away Yiddishkeit, for they never had it. There's a lot of headway to give them the benefit of the doubt.

You can influence them best by being a kind, considerate, understanding and loving daughter. Please don't preach and don't look down on them. Concentrate on your own soul-searching and self-improvement. The more you show compassion for your parents, the more Hashem will have compassion on you - that means you'll find you bashert (intended) with considerable less hassle.

You don't have to respect your parents' lifestyle, but Halacha requires you to give them absolute respect. Since this is the month of Shvat, let me explain in terms of a fruit tree: Fruit can't develop on its own; it must grow on a branch. You, as a baalas tshuva with a bright future, are the aromatic fruit. Your parents though, are the branch you grow on. One doesn't eat the branch, but without it, there's no fruit. Don't forget that, and you'll be fine - I'm glad you wrote. May Hashem send you your true soulmate in the nearest future, amen. Blessings always, LB