Yes and No

The most basic division in the world is between yes and no, there and not there. Either something is or it isn't. One would think that, being perfect opposites, they are a mirror image of each other. Yes is everything positive, and no is everything negative. The difference, however, is more complicated than that. Yes is finite and limited. When something exists, it only exists here. No is infinite, unlimited. When it doesn't exist, it doesn't exist everywhere simultaneously. Yes is material. That which is has color, size, mass, and occupies space. No is spiritual, a conceptual construct. Lack does not exist in the material world. It is created in our minds by comparing the present circumstance to others. If there had never been more, it would not be seen as a lack.

Evil does not exist in the material world. That is because G-d is good and only creates good. That which appears to us as evil is really just a lack of good. It is just a big existential no. And a no is infinite. The good news is that if you add anything to a no, even the smallest amount, it becomes a yes.

Foundations Series

I have added a link in the sidebar entitled "The Foundations Series". It is a collection of articles written by Rabbi Noah Weinberg, the founder of Aish HaTorah International. They explain concepts that are fundamental to our daily lives in a simple, down-to-earth manner. I especially love the one called "5 Levels of Pleasure." That is a must-read for everyone, and that means you!

5 Levels of Pleasure

Life is full of pleasures, but some are a quantum leap above the rest. Rabbi Weinberg puts it all into perspective in his article entitled "5 Levels of Pleasure." Here are the key points:

Judaism says that God is our Father in Heaven, and we are His children. Just like any parent, God wants His children to enjoy life's pleasures. There are five different levels of pleasure -- each a class unto itself. Each of these five levels of pleasures is so unique that you cannot exchange 10 units of level one pleasure for even one unit of level two pleasure. So how do you assign a value to any given pleasure? Pleasure gives you energy. Watch out for counterfeit pleasures. For every pleasure, the price tag is effort.

LEVEL ONE - PHYSICAL GRATIFICATION

Level one pleasure is physical and material pleasure. This includes anything that involves the "five senses." God made the physical world for us to enjoy. God could have created bland mush with all the vitamins and minerals necessary for our survival. And this is the counterfeit of level one -- too much of a good thing. When you partake of level one pleasure without savoring this gift, you end up not being able to enjoy it. The key is awareness. When you are aware, you won't lose control and allow your appetites to rule over you.

LEVEL TWO - LOVE

There is no exchange rate. No amount of level one pleasure can buy you even one morsel of level two pleasure. What is worth more than all the money in the world? Love. The Talmud defines love as the emotional pleasure we get when focusing on the virtues of another. The counterfeit of love is the notion that it is effort-free -- something that just happens to you. Love is built on knowledge. The more intimate the knowledge, the more you can love. Real love is forever, but it takes work.The greater the pleasure, the greater the effort required. Therefore, if you want to succeed in life, the key is not to eliminate pain entirely -- that is impossible. Rather, focus on the pleasure which you receive as a reward for all that effort.

LEVEL THREE - MEANING

What in the world could compel someone to give up what they love most dearly? A cause. The drive to make a difference in the world. The desire for greater meaning in life. The need to do the right thing. In Judaism we say: If you don't know what you are willing to die for, then you haven't begun to live. Otherwise you are merely playing a game.

LEVEL FOUR - CREATIVITY

Level four pleasure is the power of creativity. To take inert matter and turn it into something productive, useful, beautiful. One of the greatest forms of fourth level pleasure is creating a family: giving birth to children, then inculcating them with values, and molding them into healthy, productive, caring individuals. Why is creativity such a thrill? Because it touches the essence of God. The ultimate expression of creativity was God's creation of the world. He made something from absolutely nothing. Only an Infinite Being can do that. Expressing our own creativity is a taste of that power.

LEVEL FIVE - G-D

Imagine someone who has mastered the four levels of pleasure. He enjoys enormous wealth and material pleasures, a beautiful loving family, meaning in life, power used to create good in the world. Yet there's still something missing. An encounter with G-d. No human being is totally satisfied unless she's in touch with the transcendent dimension. When all is said and done, what we each seek is to reach out of this finite world and connect with the infinite. Awe is the experience of merging our small, relatively insignificant selves with something much greater. We break beyond our own limitations and connect to the unity of G-d. Level five pleasure is incomparable to any other experience. Nothing finite, nothing bound up in this world, can compare to the infinite.

Click here for the full article from aish.com.

What is intelligence?

intelligence noun (From Latin intellegentia; inter-"between" + legere-"choose, pick out, read" inter-lege-nt-ia, literally "choosing between").
Capacity of mind, especially to understand principles, truths, facts or meanings, acquire knowledge, and apply it to practise; the ability to learn and comprehend.
-Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Intelligence is the ability to make fine distinctions. The finer the distinctions you are able to make, the more intelligent you are. This is why someone who is intelligent is called "sharp." Just as a sharp knife is better at cutting a thing in half, a "sharp" person is able to make subtle distinctions between two seemingly similar things.

Nothing in this world is entirely one way or the other. It all depends on context. In this situation it's this way and in the other situation, it's the opposite. An intelligent person is one who resists the urge to generalize, to pile everything up in one corner. Because in reality, it depends. It always depends what situation you're talking about. The Brisker school of thought is synonymous with intelligence, because it is known for solving conflicting statements by using qualifiers. The concept is broken down into two component parts e.g the cheftza and the gavra, which can then have differing characteristics.

You must determine the precise difinition. What are the conceptual boundaries. It is often not as simple as it seems. Sometimes a broad rule is applicable, but other times, each case is different. Only then can concepts be properly applied, or even truly understood.

The Yichud of Eating Part 2

The second part of the lecture series that was begun in "Kabbala for Dummies" can be downloaded by clicking here: The Yichud of Eating Part 2 - Inner Dimension

The Name's Origins

The name for this weblog comes from a song by the Jewish singers "8th Day" called, apropriately enough, "Hasidic Rambler"(sic). I couldn't find the lyrics anywhere, so I jotted this down while listening to the song:

Hassidic Rambler, talk to me
Hassidic Rambler, set me free
Tell me all the things I wanna hear
Hassidic Rambler, tell me not to fear

Hassidic Rambler bumble bee
Hassidic-Rambler-finity
Sailin' the waves of your philosophy
Hassidic Rambler, he's no wanna-be

Soup bucket money radio
Eenie meenie and a miney moe
x2

Ya never, never, never know
All dressed up with no place to go

The Rambler believes that Jewish songs are untapped treasure troves of wisdom and inspiration. He hopes to give you the lyrics of other songs in the future. You cannot appreciate their deep meaning by just listening to them. Where do you think the Rambler got all of his great wisdom from?

Vayeishev to Shemos as told by Matisyahu

Joseph descended sold as a slave,
Thrown into a dungeon cause he wouldn't be swayed;
Interpreted pharaoh's dreams and Egypt was saved.
Stock piled food for seven years of rain
Then sold to all the nations when the drought came.
Joseph rose to power and the Yiddin stayed,
They started to build and success was made.
Pharaohs getting worried, "Let's make them pay."
First born were sent down to their graves.
Moshe was saved and a prince he was raised.
Hashem spoke to him, "Here's a message to relay:"
"Take my Nation from Mitzrayim (Egypt) I see the suffering."

Decisions

The age of Bar Mitzvah is the age at which a child becomes an adult. What is the difference between a child and an adult? Why is an adult considered more mature than a child; and why is an adult usually involved in more grown-up activities than a child? A child is not necessarily any less intelligent than an adult. A child's emotions are just as strong as an adult's. The difference lies neither in intellect or emotion, but in a third aspect of the psyche; caring and compassion. A person can know about a situation but it doesn't affect him if he doesn't care.

A famous story illustrates this point.

An illiterate farmer lived in a small, out of the way, farming settlement in Russia. Being that he was uneducated, he decided to hire a tutor to teach his children. The tutor lived with the family. One day the farmer received a letter. He asked the tutor, being the only one in the house who knew how to read, to read the letter to him. He read the letter and then told the farmer what the letter said. He read that the farmer's father had just passed away. Upon hearing this, the farmer fainted. The tutor was surprised. "Why did you faint? I'm the one read the letter. You only heard the letter being read."

Didn't the tutor realize that this was terrible news? Yes, in fact, he understood it better, since he was the one reading, but it wasn't his father. He couldn't care as much as the farmer.

Life is full of decisions. A mature person decides his priorities and follows them all the way, even though it means giving up other things. He invests all of his resources into those things that he cares about. Some decisions will be right and some wrong, but it is important that one make them. The human being is superior to the sheep. Sheep travel in flocks, but none of them is leading. Each one follows the others. If one sheep would accidentally wander off the edge of a cliff, all the others would probably follow after it. They need a shepherd. Helen Keller wrote, "Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."

Success in life comes from efficient use of one's time. Time is the most precious commodity of all, and the quality of one's life can be measured by how much use they made of it. The better the time is spent, the more that will be accomplished. The key to success is not to view life as a checklist. Life is not always the way you want it to be. Don't make a wish list and then go about completing one item at a time, trying to check off all items on the list. You remain unsatisfied, for you will never get to the end of the list. Live in the moment. Do now what is most important. Do what is best to do right now. Then your time will always be well spent. At the end of the day don't ask yourself how many goals you accomplished. Ask yourself how much time you spent doing what was most important.

A man once asked a Chassid, "What is the most important thing to your Rebbe?" "What ever he is doing at the moment," the Chassid replied.

Since you know that what you are doing now is the most important, think only about the task at hand. Don't waste time thinking about other things. They aren't as important as this. Your time will be put to better use because you will not be disturbed by thoughts of other activities. You will not waste time worrying about the next move.

Once, the Previous Rebbe had to go on a dangerous mission to Moscow to intercede with the terrible government on behalf of the Jews. It was a great personal risk, but it was too important to forgo. Certainly a very nerve wracking situation. An hour before his train was to leave, the man who would later succeed him as Rebbe, found him calmly engrossed in his learning. "I know that one should trust in G-d and not let his worries about the future disturb him, but this far?" he asked the Previous Rebbe. "Yes," was the reply, "this is the meaning of success with time."

The first step is to determine you priorities. What are the most important things in your life? What do you most want to achieve? What things are important for you to maintain? You should have at least a general idea of the relative importance of your various priorities. Then do whatever is most important to do right now, and don't let anything of lesser importance distract you. Once you have completed your task, it is no longer a priority. Decide what is now important and do that. Helen Keller wrote," I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."

G-d and science

Maimonides writes at the very beginning of his magnum opus that "the foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a first existence," what we would call G-d. Note that he does not write "to believe" but "to know." Maimonides seems to be saying that belief in G-d is not a matter of faith, but of fact. This only raises the question, "How do we know?"

An answer is to be found in the Kuzari, a classic work of Jewish philosophy. Once a year at the Passover Seder, Jews all over the world retell the account of the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The very fact that G-d came and spoke to the entire people of Israel at Mount Sinai is the greatest proof of the existence of G-d. We know that this is a fact because millions of Jews in our day accept it as such, because they received it as such from their own parents. These millions in turn received the evidence from the previous generation, and so on, in an uninterrupted chain of evidence from millions to millions of witnesses, generation after generation, back to the original millions of witnesses who saw the event with their own eyes. Among the original witnesses were surely many initiated in the sciences of Ancient Egypt, some achievements of which baffle even modern scientists. Also included were thinkers and artisans of all kinds, as well as the uneducated; and men, women, and children of all ages. Yet they all reported the exact same event.

In science, any event or phenomenon testified to by witnesses is considered a fact. This is especially so where the evidence is identical and comes from witnesses of various interests, education, and social background. If such evidence exists, it is considered an undeniable fact, even if it does not fit into current scientific theory.

The existence of G-d is certainly indisputable. I know of no other fact which can match this one for evidence and accuracy. It is unfortunate that this basic difference between the Jewish faith and others is so little known. All other world religions are based on the word of a single man or a few, but ours is the only one that is based on the testimony of millions.

For a more exhaustive explanation of this proof, please see Living Up to the Truth.

Kabbalah for dummies

The newest up-and-coming chassidus genius, Benyomin Walters, gave a series of classes on the yichud of eating. All of existance is really one with G-d. When you trace anything back up to G-d and show how it is all one, that is called making a yichud. This first class in the series explains the four basic levels (called worlds) of existance. Click here to download The Yichud of Eating - Part 1 - From Asiya to Aztilus. For reliable explanations on the subject of Kabbalah in general, visit TrueKabbalah.com. The best site on the subject on the web.

Now this is my kind of T-shirt!

It's Who You Know...

Polar opposites

One of the wonderful values which the Torah has introduced to the world, and which has thank G-d become ubiquitous after thousands of years of osmosis is the principle of human rights. In ancient times they believed that one who is more powerful has the right to do whatever he wants to another who is less powerful. The world was a competitive place where every man fought for his own interests and the winner took all. The Torah argued that every human being has worth and must be treated with a certain minimum of respect regardless of who it may be. This principle has achieved virtually universal acceptance. It is expressed in the famous words of the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." This applies even to people whom we find fault with. It is not our place to judge or punish them. Their moral decisions are between them and G-d. That is why even though homosexuality is wrong, those who practice it must still be treated the same as everyone else. They should not be singled out any more than flat-earthers, Amish, Frenchmen, videogame addicts, Bohemians, lefties, libertarians, or people who watch the Home Shopping Network. So-called gays deserve equal rights. It therefore disturbs me that gay rights have been confused with the paradoxical idea of "gay marriage." The term is incoherent because the two words are mutually exclusive. They could not be further apart. The very fact that people use the words together shows that they don't know what one of them means.

Let's try to understand the concept of marriage, trace it back to it's root. What is it anyways? Where did it come from? The first recorded marriage was between Adam and Eve, the first people. At first they were not separate people. There was one human who Incorporated both genders as one. This human saw that he (or she or it?) was unique in the world. Unlike animals, humans are self-aware. We can think about what we're thinking. This allows us to learn from our experiences and actions. We can invent new things, and make better choices. This is our greatest strength, and what puts us in a higher category than animals. Despite the great value of intelligence, it has one grave disadvantage. The mind is not a part of the world. It stands apart from the world, looking in. We can stay withdrawn and lost in our thoughts, and not participate in the world. A person can live their whole life with their head in the clouds. This way one accomplishes nothing. They are self-centered. So the first human asked G-d to make him a little more like the animals. Animals are active participants in life. They don't daydream. They do. G-d granted his request by dividing him into two people. Not two identical people, but one male and one female. Neither of them was a complete human being. Each had qualities that the other did not. They needed each other. This forced them to shift their focus from inward to outward. The man now has a wife and kids to look out for. The woman is no longer just a woman. She's a wife and mother. They are now integral components of the world, and no longer dispassionate observers.

(This paragraph was inserted later due to comments posted.) All love is inherently self-centered. The elemental difference between love and fear is that I love on my terms, whereas fear or respect is on the other's terms. I act in a loving way because I feel like it and no one can force me to love them. The redeeming quality of love is that it allows one to project their self-interest outside of themselves. Within love, there are two basic categories, known as "love like water" or brotherly love,and "love like fire" or romantic love. Water is enjoyable because it is calm and cool. Tranquil. There is nothing unexpected. One should have love like water for everyone because we are all really more alike than we are different. Love like fire is like the flame excitedly lapping at the air, always wanting that which it doesn't have. That love one should have for their spouse. Because your spouse has traits that you don't.

This is the commitment called marriage. I care about someone else so much that life is not about me anymore. It's about someone else. I do something because my partner wants, not only if I want. Only in this way can man overcome his selfishness. Not by loving someone else because you love yourself and you see yourself in them; but by caring about someone outside of yourself. When two opposites live together as one, each of them is freed from the shackles of their own ego. They become a part of the wide world around them. That is why marriage is so holy that in Hebrew it is called "kiddushin", holiness.

Homosexuality is a condition where, for whatever reason, a person has lost the ability to be attracted to their opposite half. They love what they see of themselves in the other. That's why the homosexual act is called an abomination by the Torah. It is the limiting and ultimately destructive act of indulging one's selfishness. It's the very antithesis of the holiness of marriage. No matter how much freedom there is or how many rights people have, there can never be such a thing as "gay marriage."

A Tour of the Synagogue

The Synagogue (Shool)
A house of meditation, prayer and study.

G-d said to Noah: Come, you and your household, into the ark (7:1)

The Hebrew word for ark, 'teivah', also means 'word'. "Come into the word", says the Almighty, enter within the words of prayer and Torah study. Here you will find a sanctuary of wisdom, meaning and sanctity amidst the raging floodwaters of life. The Yiddish name shool comes from the word school, for this is where a Jew's most important education takes place.

Prayer

We are naturally inclined to relate to things that are of a physical nature; we are not naturally disposed towards spirituality. This is not because spirituality is not our true, natural state -- deep down that's really who we are, we're spiritual beings. But our spiritual identity is covered up with a body. The process of prayer is to help remove all of that which covers up and inhibits our soul from being one with G-d. And I should add that much of the problems, the psychological difficulties that we experience, especially stress, is because of the inflated expectations that we have of ourselves because of our ego. When there is a conflict because we don't seem to be able to live up to our inflated expectations, we have all these problems of stress. When we daven, we help lift ourselves up out of this and reveal our true identity; then, of course, the problems begin to dissolve.

The Partition (Mechitzah)
A divider separating the men's and women's sections of the synagogue.

Prayer is all about focus; focusing on your connection with G-d. Unfortunately, there are always many distractions, both from within and from without, which make it difficult to focus properly. What you really don't need is an additional distraction sitting in the chair right beside you. The synagogue must not be allowed to become a social scene.Socializing may be important (and perhaps that's why there's the Kiddush), but during prayers G-d deserves your undivided attention. The social dimension and distraction which sometimes accompanies mixed groups is therefore eliminated. The Mechitzah allows one to focus on the prayers rather than being focused on whether the girl sitting down the aisle likes your tie.

The Podium (Bimah)

The Bimah is the podium located in the center of the sanctuary, as was the altar in the Holy Temple, where sacrifices were brought. The Torah is read from the Bimah. Whenever the Torah is read at the podium, the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai is re-enacted, with the reader as Moses, and the congregation surrounding the podium as the People of Isreal who stood around the foot of the mountain. The Torah is the inheritance of every Jew. Therefore, it is not enough that one person read it to the rest. People take turns coming up to see it up close for themselves. They kiss it and make a blessing thanking G-d for have given us such a precious gift. If the reader makes a mistake, he is corrected by congregants who follow along in their own books. At the end of the reading, the Torah is held up for all to see. The entire Torah is read annually, one section a week. All of this ensures that we retain the exact same text that was given to Moses over 3,000 years ago.

The Holy Ark (Aaron Kodesh)

Situated in the front, the Ark is the holiest place in the Synagogue, for this is where the holy Torah Scrolls are kept. It is on the Eastern wall, so that when we face the ark, we are facing the holy city of Jerusalem, where the Holy Temple once stood.The ark is only opened during special prayers and when removing the Torah to read during prayer services. Whenever it is open, one should stand out of respect.

But it was just a joke!

One time, in the old country, there were a group of men sitting around and talking. They were talking about this and that. One of the men fancied himself a scholar. He presented a long theory that he had invented himself to explain a particularly difficult passage of Talmud. The others were quick to debate the new idea. Soon it was torn to shreds as various problems were pointed out in his reasoning. Once on the topic of Talmudic insights, another man presented what he thought to be a novel solution to a different problem. This too was debated by the group until a flaw was uncovered. One by one, they went around the table. Each presented a thought to withstand the strictest scrutiny of the greatest minds. Each idea was in turn debated until a crack could be found in the wall of reasoning. Then Yankel spoke up. "It seems that every argument has it's weakness. I know I'm no great scholar or rabbi, but I can come up with something that no one can disprove!" All eyes turned to him. "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One," he recited. "Ah!' cried Shmelke the Shoichet, "I could disprove even this!" Immediately the men convened a council and revoked the Shoichet's license. If someone could even entertain such a heresy, they were unqualified to be the town shoichet.

Hello

I am a Jew, a thinker, a spiritual seeker. The spirit strives to rise above it's material surroundings. It cannot stay bottled up forever. It bursts forth from the shackles of the body and splats upon the paper. A ramble.