Lazer Beams

A Glimpse at a Chassidic Bar Mitzva

In Chassidic Israel, a Bar Mitzva is very simple. We don't make tremendous receptions in lavish halls. The Bar Mitzva boy puts on his new tefillin in the morning and gets called up to the Torah (if it's a Monday or Thursday). In the evening, we have a festive meal with family and friends, and sometimes a musician, and the Bar Mitzva boy gives a speech, usually a Talmudic elaboration with an important ethics message. The budget is very low but the joy is very high. Here's a clip from the Bar Mitzva of my grandson Yaacov Yosef, the son of my first-born, Rabbi BenTzion Brody of Jerusalem. Enjoy it and have a wonderful Shabbat!

"Hadlaka", Lag B'Omer Bonfire in Ashdod

Here's a glimpse of Chassidic life in Israel, showing the traditional Lag B'Omer eve bonfire led by the Melizer Rebbe shlit'a, this past Saturday night, April 27, 2013. May the fires of Torah always burn bright!

The "Challakeh" ceremony: Significance of a boy's 3rd birthday and first haircut

The "Challakeh" ceremony is when a Jewish child receives his first haircut at the age of three.

The age of 3 marks a turning point in a toddler's life. Shedding the long locks of babyhood helps little boys look forward to their new "big boy" responsibilities. Gone are the days of bottle, diaper and nestling in Mommy's arms. A 3-year-old boy is ready to receive "payis", his side curls, a "kipa" (skullcap), and "tztitzis", the ritual fringes that every male Jew is commanded to wear. With his new haircut, kipa, payis, and tzitzis, the little fellow of 3 is ready to move up to the world of friends, school and formal Torah education. He will learn blessings, prayers and the Hebrew alphabet. Yes - we begin teaching our little boys to read at the age of 3.

Cutting his hair makes a strong emotional impression on the child. He knows he is entering a new stage of maturity, a fact that helps him live up to his new role and responsibilities.

Numerous families celebrate the "challakeh" at the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai, in Miron, Israel, and cut the child's hair near the cave where he lived and later died. Others prefer to take the child to a yeshiva or to their own rabbi - preferably a scholar and a pious man, because the "upsherin", or actual 1st haircut, should be done in a holy place and by a righteous person. Oftentimes, before the child gets his final haircut, first the scissors go from hand to hand while family, friends and rabbis take turns snipping. The first cut is at the spot where tefillin will be placed.

In Israel, this custom is closely associated with Lag B'Omer, which this year is today, April 28. It's an incredibly joyous scene as hundreds of 3-year-old boys receive their first haircut at the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai. Because this custom is tied into Kabbalistic thought concerning the spirituality of hair, many put off the ceremony until Lag B'Omer. Following their haircuts, the children each get a plastic Aleph-Bet card, with honey smeared on each letter. Parents then encourage their little ones to lick the honey while saying each letter, so that Torah should be "sweet on their tongues."

A hearty mazal-tov to all of us who will be making "Challakehs" for our 3-year olds today - may we have all the sweetness and joy in the world, and see our children and grandchildren growing in health of body and spirit, amen.

Shabbat of Love: Song of Songs

This Shabbat is Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach, the interim Sabbath of Passover. In the south of Israel, the citrus trees are in full blossom. The weather is perfect. Hashem has taken us out of physical and spiritual bondage, for each Passover is our renewed freedom that we never take for granted, for every day, we thank Hashem shelo asani aved, for not making us slaves. This is a time when our hearts overflow with the love of Hashem; to express this love, we all recite King Solomon's Song of Songs this Shabbat before the Torah reading. As it is, many people sing the Song of Songs every Friday afternoon to welcome the Shabbat.

I'd like to share with you a beautiful taste of traditional Yemenite Jewish prayers. Here is a moving segment of Rabbi Yehuda Gamliel shlit'a reciting Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs. It's hauntingly beautiful. Have a wonderful Shabbat and a continued joyous Passover!

Today! Say "Parshat HaMan" to Insure a Good Income

Don't forget to say "Parshat HaMan" today: Segula (spiritual invoking ploy) for a good income - on the Tuesday of the Parshat Beshalach week, our sages tell us that it's an opportune time to recite "Parshat HaMan", the story of the manna, the Heaven-sent bread that sustained the Children of Israel for forty years in the desert. One should read it in Hebrew if possible, twice mikra and once targum. For your convenience, here is a clearly presented Parshat HaMan. If you read English only, then you can find Parshat HaMan in your English Chumash, Exodus Chapter 16, verses 4-36. May Hashem send a wonderful parnassa to everyone, amen! 

Spiritual Hygiene

The Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Aruch) is like an iceberg: The statutes that teach proper conduct in every facet of our lives are only a mere manifestation of deep spiritual causes and effects that transcend time, place, and matter. What you see is only a tiny portion of the spiritual benefits you get.

During the period between Rosh Hashana and Yom kippur - what we call the "Ten Days of Repentance" - we can do wonders in mitigating harsh judgments. This is a propitious time for prayer and self-improvement. All Hashem expects of us is that we're a tiny bit better today than we were yesterday.

If up until now, you weren't careful about washing your hands first thing in the morning, here's a great chance to perform an easy mitzva that could save your life, literally.

Jewish law dictates that you should wash your hands as soon as you wake up in the morning, pouring water three times alternately on each hand from a large cup, a minimum of approx. 150ml on each hand. The apparent reason for the hand washing is that one inadvertantly touches or scratches unclean parts of the body at night, and before saying G-d's name, the hands must be clean. Yet spiritually, the explanation is much deeper, as follows in a nutshell:

When you sleep at night, your soul leaves the body and enters upper spiritual realms. A body without a soul is tantamount to dead, even if the basic life forces continue functioning. When the soul leaves the body, as in the case of a dead person, the body is rendered ritually impure. Evil forces of the "Sitra Achra", or the dark side, easily control a person who is spiritually and ritually impure. That's why many people - especially Chassidim - put a pail with a large plastic or tin cup that holds a liter of water immediately beside their bed, so they can wash their hands even before taking their first step of the day, thus cleansing themselves from ritual impurity at their very first opportunity of the day. Why the hands? Spiritual impurity is especially concentrated in the fingertips, the point where the soul leaves the body.

One who harbors ritual impurity has difficulty believing in G-d or understanding the Torah, since ritual impurity acts as a barrier against Divine Illumination, thus preventing Divine light from reaching the soul. Only Divine light can nourish the soul. Therefore, an undernourished soul is easily vanquished by the animal urges of the body. The minute the body reigns, the person becomes a slave to base inclinations, and that's bad news, both in this world and in the next. You can study Kabbala day and night, but if you don't wash your hands in the morning, you're spiritually in the mud.

If you don't do so already, start washing your hands every morning, and within a week, you'll feel a marked change within yourself - LazerBeam guaranteed.

12 Words and 12 Seconds

A Jew starts his morning by saying "Modeh Ani", thanking Hashem for returning his soul and giving him a new day. We say this as soon as we open our eyes, before we even get out of bed...

Yehudit Levy writes:

My brother in law was speaking to a doctor friend of his who had just returned from a medical conference. He told him that they had learned the best way to overcome morning dizziness and low blood pressure was to sit up on the edge of the bed immediately upon waking, legs down, for at least 12 seconds. The doctor was absolutely amazed by this medical fact since he then realized there are exactly 12 words in Modeh Ani....