Lazer Beams

The First Blemish

Life is a classroom.

I saw a cute 5-year old with curly red payis (sidelocks) in synagogue on the first day of Succoth 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 holiday-and-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.

Today is Hoshana Raba; tonight in Israel is Simchat Torah (Shmini Atzeret outside of Israel, and Simchat Torah abroad is on Monday night and Tuesday). Now's the time 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 - this 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. Dancing with all our hearts not only cleans our pores, but it cleans our souls. Have a wonderful Yom Tov!

It All Adds Up

Down in this world, people respect and remember the one-time grandiose deed, the proverbial grand-slam homerun in the bottom of the 9th that wins the game.

Up in Shamayim (the Heavens), the seemingly unglorious mundane day-to day mitzvoth that a person does with uncompromising perseverence 365 days a year is much more respected.

Take for example a page of Gemara; some people ask, "what's the big deal" or "so what?" They turn their nose up at a person who's not in Kollel or is not some big Rosh Yeshiva. Let me enlighten the snobs: you have no idea how much Hashem loves the guys who make an honest living then come home to learn Daf Yomi, a daily page of Gemara. Today, Hashem is especially rejoicing in these guys. Do you know why? 

Those of us who have been learning the Daily Page of Gemara for the last seven years are today finishing the entire Gemara. Mazal Tov, dearest brothers; you are the true unsung heroes of Torah.

Tomorrow, the tens of thousands of us shall, G-d willing, begin a new 7-year cycle, beginning with Tractate Berachot, the first of the Gemara.

This is a perfect time to join. Don't say you're too busy; calculate the time you spend reading the news and surfing on Facebook. They leave you with nothing. The Daf Yomi leaves you with everything - a better life in this world, and a ticket to walk right in the next world.

Anyone can learn Gemara today; there are online lessons in English, English-Hebrew Gemaras, and Daf Yomi lessons in every neighborhood. You can finish Daf Yomi during your lunch break, learning while you munch. Many people do this too.

Daf Yomi is a great replacement for the morning newspaper with your morning coffee. Hashem doesn't get any gratification when you read the NY Times or Washington Post, and not from the Jerusalem Post either. He gets untold gratification when you learn Daf Yomi.

Even if you fly through the Daily Page in 30 minutes, it all adds up. After 7 years, look what you've accomplished. I know a retired taxi driver who has been learning Daf Yomi for over 60 years straight! He's in his late 80's, and his head is as clear as a bell. After his 120 years on earth, he'll be higher up in Gan Eden than most rabbis.

It all adds up.

A Public Sacrifice

While we were fast asleep Friday night, brutal inhuman terrorists infiltrated the village of Itamar not far from Shechem and barbariously slaughted Rabbi Udi Fogel, 36 and a tank officer in The IDF reserves, his wife Ruth, 35, and three of their six children - Yoav (11), Elad (4), and Hadas (3 months).

The words to describe this tragic loss and massacre defy my sorely-limited lexicon. The Fogel family was symbolic of the most beautiful aspects of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel - there is no replacement for them. This is a gaping wound that any Jew anywhere should feel, if he is truly a part of our people.

As with everything that happens to us and around us, we must try to interpret the Divine message here, for everything is from Hashem.

As hard as you look at the Fogel family, you won't find a blemish. Public sacrifices in the Holy Temple must be unblemished.

The Gemara teaches us (see tractate Moed Katan 28a) that the death of tzaddikim - the righteous and the pious - atones for Israel just as the public sacrifices did at the time of the Holy Temple. The Fogels were undoubtedly a Korban Tzibbur - a public sacrifice. They died on Shabbat Vayikra - the Shabbat of the exact Torah portion that describes how to perform a public sacrifice.

We now must do some serious soul-searching as to why we needed such a terribly high-priced public sacrifice to atone for us. Anyone who fails to do this is Poraish min haTzibbur - shirking his or her shouldering of mutual public responsibility, a serious offense. Was it our lack of emuna? Was it our intramural hate? Was it our shady practices in commerce? Was it our failure to keep our word? Was it our unwillingness to observe Hashem's commandments? Each one of must do his or her own self-evaluation and subsequent efforts to improve. Emuna and teshuva are the key words...

Although I detest the secular media's self-deprecation and the Israeli Government's fear of foreign powers rather than of Hashem, this is not the time to point fingers and to play blame games. The biggest sanctification of the Fogel Family's is for each of us to try and better our ways. May Hashem avenge their holy blood, amen.

The Big 4: The Train's Almost Here

According to the Gemara in tractate Shabbat, many folks will be in for a big surprise and a rude awakening when their time's up down here on earth. The Heavenly Court judges don't care about what most people consider important down here; they'll ask four main "make it or break it" questions:

1. Did you negotiate fairly? Were you honest and did you keep your word? Did you pay your bills on time? Did you knowingly cheat or swindle other people? Did you pay your workers fully and on time?

2. Did you set aside time for learning Torah? Did you utilize all your after-work hours for Torah? Did you waste time on the web and watching DVDs? Were you more familiar with Facebook than you were with a holy book?

3. Did you eagerly anticipate the Redemption? Did you care whether the Divine Presence (Shechina) was in exile and we didn't have a Holy Temple? Did you beg Hashem for Moshiach? Did you do your utmost to move to Eretz Yisrael with your family or did you look for more excuses to remain in exile? Did you beg Hashem for Moshiach? Did you care whether Hashem's Holy Name was exalted or not? Did you help spread emuna in the world?

4. Did you marry and have children? Did you use your body for the mitzva of marriage and raising a family, or did you use it for debauchery? Did you maintain personal holiness? Did you dress, act, and speak modestly? Were you a faithful spouse and loving parent?

Why do the Heavenly Court judges ask these particular questions? The reason is that positive responses to the above "Big 4" expedite the Geula, the full redemption of our people, while negative answers prolong the exile and delay the redemption.

When a person is more concerned about the new bathroom tiles and the brass door handles in his Diaspora home, he delays the Redemption for everyone. But, there comes a time - which the spiritual leaders of our generation say is sooner than we can imagine - when the train of Redemption will leave the station. Anyone who misses it will be sorry forever. People get ready, 'cause the train's a' comin'...

Here's an oldie but goodie - Curtis Mayfield singing "People Get Ready". This was a favorite of mine way back when. (Lyrics Below)

People Get Ready, by Curtis Mayfield

People get ready, there's a train comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith (emuna!) to hear the diesels hummin'
You don't need no ticket you just thank The Lord

People get ready, there's a train to Jordan
Picking up passengers coast to coast
Faith (Emuna!) is the key, open the doors and board them
There's hope for all among those loved the most

There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner whom would hurt all mankind
Just to save his own
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there is no hiding place against The Kingdom's Throne

People get ready there's a train comin'
You don't need no baggage, just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
You don't need no ticket, just thank The Lord

This week's Solar Eclipse

 

July 11, 2010: Astronomer Constantinos Emmanouilidis, one of a team of astronomers who studied the total solar eclipse, took this magnificent photo from his vantage point in Mangaia in the Cook Islands. Image courtesy of www.space.com via Foxnews.com.

A total solar eclipse arced across the southern Pacific Ocean Sunday, the eve of our new moon of Av and right at the start of the infamous "Nine Days" between Rosh Chodesh Av and Tisha B'Av, blotting out the sun and offering stunning views to skywatchers.

The Gemara mentions solar eclipses in the second chapter of tractate Succa, page 29a: "Our sages teach four causes of solar eclipses: A chief rabbi that dies who wasn't properly eulogized; an engaged girl who screamed in the city and wasn't saved (i.e., raped); sodomy (i.e., homosexuality); two brothers from the same family whose blood is spilled. The Gemara adds that when the Jewish people do Hashem's will, they have nothing to fear from natural phenomena.

This solar eclipse should make us tremble in our boots. Is it oddly coincidental that another Gay parade is planned for Jerusalem later this month? If that's not enough, Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu of blessed and saintly memory, former Chief Rabbi of Israel and one of this generation's greatest Torah scholars and Kabbalists, passed a way just recently. Timely, or what? Who could be so blind to shrug shoulders and plead "happenstance"?

The anti-emuna magpies will all chime in that the solar eclipses arrive at regular, expected intervals. Our sages knew that full well, says the Aruch L'Ner. And still, writes the Ramban, such natural phenomena are messages from Above.

Hashem is telling us once more that we had better get our act together.

Our job as Jews is to bring light into our world - "light unto the nations" - and especially to spread the light of emuna. The light of emuna guards mankind from the unspeakable social ills mentioned in the above-cited Gemara tractate. Hashem is showing us - by way of the solar eclipse and what it stands for - how dark the world is without the light of emuna. Emuna is the only chance of keeping this world from sinking into total darkness. Let's strengthen ourselves in emuna and help spread emuna; that way we'll keep the world from exploding altogether, and we'll the spiritual darkness from overcoming the light.

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.