Lazer Beams

The first blemish

Life is a classroom.

I saw a cute 5-year old with curly red payis (sidelocks) in synagogue on Shabbat that was wearing a brand new pair of shoes. When his peckal'e (his little bag of goodies) was depleted, he ran outside to play with the other little tikes. A few minutes later, he ran back in shul, wailing to his daddy; the little guy's spanking new patent leather Shabbat shoes had just received their first nasty scoff. A pat on the head and a piece of toffee calmed him down, and within a minute, he returned to the action outside. By the end of services, the little fellow's new shoes were not only scoffed, but covered with dust and many more blemishes that didn't seem to bother him any more.

There's a profound lesson here: Rav Huna teaches (Talmud, tractate Yoma, 86b) that once a person commits a misdeed for the second time, then it becomes permissible in his or her own mind.

The soul is like a lily-white garment. A misdeed, such as a lie, a dishonest dealing, or an act of adultery blemishes the soul seriously. Human nature is to become extremely ashamed of the first blemish, but once the garment (or soul) is soiled and blemished, then anything goes.

Repeated offenders, such as gossips and those who short-change their employees, have 101 reasons to justify their actions. Repeated misdeeds have a way of desensitizing us, for the cleaner a soul is, the higher its sensitivity.

The soul suffers unfathomable humiliation from each blemish.

A good detergent will clean a garment; Teshuva will clean a soul.

Hoshana Raba is this coming Thursday night and Friday. It's when the judgments and verdicts of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are not only finally signed and sealed, but delivered too. In the next 48 hours, one can certainly do Teshuva that's sufficient to sweeten the most severe judgments. The gates of Heaven are wide open right now - Chol Hamoed Sukkot is a wonderful time for the type of joyous teshuva with love that will completely cleanse our souls. Let's not squander these valuable hours.

Doctors and Moshiach

This post is in loving memory of the Lubavitcher Rebbe of blessed and saintly memory, whose 15th yahrtzeit is today, 3 Tammuz.

Disclaimer: This post does not refer to those very special physicians - may G-d bless them - who observe The Almighty's commandments and refuse to perform abortions.

The Talmud in tractate Yevamos (pg. 63b) says, "[Moshiach] Ben David won't arrive until all the souls are depleted from the body."

Rashi, our 11th Century sage from Ashkenaz (Germany-France) and the most important Talmudic commentator of all times, explains this very cryptic passage. "Body," says Rashi, "is the name of a partition that separates the Schina (Divine presence) from the angels, which serves as the warehouse for all the souls that were created during the six days of creation, and that are destined to be given to bodies that will subsequently be created."

The above Talmudic passage teaches us that all the souls must assume bodily forms on earth before Moshiach can come. Even though unborn babies all possess divine souls (neshoma, since the unborn learn the entire Torah - oral, written, and esoteric - from an angel while in the mother's womb), the entire spiritual/soul complex that includes nefesh, ruach, and neshoma [basic vitality, spirit, and divine soul] all come together in the body momentarily before the baby is born (for further reference see Talmud in tractate Nida, pg. 30b; Tanya, first chapter; Eleph Hamagen, commentary on Mateh Efraim, intro. to laws of Rosh Hashonna; Sha'ar Hagilgulim, Seder knisas haneshoma). So, when for some reason the baby is not born, then the soul cannot leave "Body" (or 'Guf' in the original Hebrew), the heavenly warehouse for unborn souls. Until Guf is empty, Moshiach is delayed in arriving.

In light of the above Talmudic teachings, any person who performs, supports, assists, or encourages abortions is delaying the arrival of Moshiach with his or her own two hands.

I often wondered why the Talmud is so severe in its condemnation of doctors, when it says (tractate Kiddushin 82a), "the best of doctors are destined to Gehennom (purgatory)." When considering that in Israel alone, doctors perform over 20,000 abortions a year, then it's easy to understand why Moshiach is not yet being allowed to reveal himself. No, one does not receive a prize for contributing to the delay of Moshiach. Our sages in their infinite wisdom could see far into the future; that's why they said what they did about doctors.

So, if you'd like to lend a helping hand in bringing Moshiach as fast as possible, do what you can to fight against abortion in every way possible. I pray for your health, but if you ever need a doctor, I strongly suggest that you choose a physician who's opposed to abortion. A good physician recognizes the sanctity of human life.