Hassidic Rambler

The Eternal Haggadah

2011-07-26T18:47:00.001-06:00

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear --

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Shelly's poem "Ozymandias" describes a decayed statue with an inscription defying the ages to despair in face of it's might. It expresses sadness at those who thought they were powerful and important and would last forever, and yet their memory has crumbled to dust. Ozymandias is the Greek name of Ramses the Second, considered by historians to be the greatest of the Pharaohs of Egypt. He is suspected of being the Pharaoh of the Exodus. However, although many large monuments were built to him in his time, not enough information about him was preserved for us to be certain whether he presided at that historical event. If not for the Jewish record of it, the whole story might have been lost to history. The Jewish People were at that time only slaves, and built no statues, and yet they are still around today to tell their tale. It is even more ironic than Mark Twain makes it out to be in his essay "Concerning the Jews."

The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.

The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?

A Series of Unfortunate Events

2010-01-04T00:06:00.002-06:00

Click here to read a series of newspaper articles covering the scandal at Agriprocessors meat plant in Posteville, Iowa that lead to the arrest of it's owner Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin. The story has been featured in most major newsmedia, but never before have all the facts been laid out in one place.

Empowered

2009-10-26T11:15:00.005-06:00

Work in progress:

I will do what I want, and not let anything get in my way. Even if it becomes difficult, I will not let that stop me. I will not let anything distract me from my goals. I will figure out a way to make it happen. I don't let circumstances control me. I know that I am in control. Just knowing that makes it all worth it.

Equinimity

2009-10-02T08:28:00.007-06:00

The world is a garden.
It is a beautiful place, with many warm, cozy spots to sit and enjoy.
The many pains, frustrations, and hardships
are the nuances that make it endearing. They make life personal and detailed.
All the effort I put into it on account of these weeds make it mine.
I know it intimately, flaws and all, and
I smile knowingly when I come across one of them. Because nothing has gone wrong. All is as it should be.
These are the little challenges, little games, that it plays with me.
Sometimes I just stop and smell the roses,
and take in the grandness of it all.

Above Self

2009-08-18T20:46:00.002-06:00

Rosh Hashana is about accepting G-d as King of the world, as we see from the three special blessings in the prayers for that day, known as Malchios, Zichronos and Shofros. Malchios, kingship is self-explanatory. Zichronos is about how He is in charge of everything, and Shofros is trumpeting His arrival as is done for a king. But what does that mean? Either He is or not, why do we have to do something? It means accepting Him as king of OUR world, the worldview we have in our minds. Normally, I am the king of my worldview. I am at the center of my life, because from where I'm standing, everything seems to revolve around me. (Just as in the theory of relativity, where the observer appears stationary, and all motion is relative to him or her.) I decide how I view the world and what place things have in it, whether they hold a position of importance or insignificance. I care more about what I think on a topic than what anyone else thinks. Who cares what other people think, anyway? Just do your own thing.

Such self-centeredness is ultimately self-defeating. If the value I ascribe to actions is based on my own perceptions alone, then they are only valuable inside my own head, not in the real world. Why should the rest of the world care about how important I think I am and how good I decide I've been? If the importance of my deeds is all in my head, then is it really worth anything, even to me? What is the purpose of doing what I want, if I am only doing it because of own arbitrary whim? As someone once said, "If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, then why does he keep doing it?"

"Like happiness, self-actualizing is an effect, the effect of meaning fulfillment. ...If he sets out to actualize himself rather than fulfill a meaning (out there in the world), self-actualization immediately loses its justification." (Victor Frankl, The Will to Meaning, p.38)

What does give my actions value then? How do I decide what is really important and good to do? Something is only good in the context of a purpose. The frying pan is good for frying in. It is bad for wearing as a hat. The baseball cap would probably be better for that, but it would not be so good for frying in. Is the frying pan good, or is the baseball cap good? It all depends on what purpose you have in mind.

On Rosh Hashana, we recall that the whole world was made by G-d and is governed by His rules. He had a purpose in mind when He created it. So it's really His view and His wishes that determine what is important, and whether something is fulfilling it's purpose or not. He is the King, not me.

Judaism is about the relationship between me and G-d. I do what He wants because He wants it and I love Him and want to make Him happy. It is an expression of the closenes between us that I do these things the way I know He likes them. It is a way of living in which I invite G-d into my life.

(If I admit that values are external to myself, then I will not use only my own intellect to decide what is good. I will seek the advice of experts, just as I would seek the advice of doctors to heal a disease, and not just insist that it ought to work the way that makes sense to me. This is because I acknowledge that it is an objective reality. These experts are the wise men of Israel in every generation, who are so qualified because they have studied to understand what the unadulterated will of G-d is, and have gained enough wisdom to decide accordingly, not merely according to their personal feelings on the issue.)

The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self.” (Albert Einstein ---From Mein Weltbild (1934). Reprinted in Ideas and Opinions, 12)

If a tree falls in the forest...

2009-08-05T20:46:00.004-06:00

There are certain axioms necessary for the systematic application of reason. This is what Aristotle called metaphysics, the prerequisite to 'physics', which would nowadays be called science. Science is based on a certain metaphysical position called empiricism, which says that I only know about things experienced by the senses. Judaism is a rival system of thought based on a different metaphysical position. Namely, that reality is not limited to the physical, and that things which cannot be directly sensed, called spiritual, also exist. (Math is an example of a spiritual construct. We cannot see it or feel it. We only know of it's existence by observing the effect it has on the world.)

Science does not accept the spiritual, and so in western society, only physical objects can have rational rules of what is correct and what is not. You must wash your hands because it physically removes germs from the surface of your hands, which could make you physically ill. But art, culture, and style of dress have no right and wrong way of doing things, because they don't exist and cannot be reasoned rationally. There is a distinction between rational science and the culture and religion which govern those things which do not use systematic reason.

Judaism applies reason to every aspect of life, even if it is not fundamentally physical. So it will come up with guidelines for good interpersonal relationships, the proper way to dress, and matters of the heart and spirit. Things like ethics, religion and art and style, which in western society are not treated in a systematic way are well-reasoned and developed in Judaism. (Psychology was started relatively recently and by a Jew, who was neurologist, since that was the closest thing the west had until then.)

Garments of Oppression

2009-07-28T09:12:00.004-06:00

People accuse Muslim culture of being oppressive to women. Women are often forbidden from driving cars, going to universities, and even leaving the home without their husband's permission. I agree that this is unjust and oppressive.

However, the criticism of their concealing style of dress seems empty and hypocritical. In Western culture, society pressures women to spend a lot of time and effort to meet expectations. In the land of Cosmopolitan magazine, almost every magazine at the check-0ut aisle has a scantily clad, plastic surgery (and often digitally) enhanced woman on the cover, whether so-called men's or women's magazines. Every day women make up their faces to match the advertised ideal. They get into outfits that are often tight, constricting, embarrassingly revealing, uncomfortable, and even laughably impractical. The typical women's shoe has a high heel, which is painfully uncomfortable, unhealthy for the foot, and makes walking more difficult. The phrase 'wardrobe malfunction' is a nice way of saying that a woman was pressured into wearing clothing that fails to clothe. Many women now use tape to keep the little bits of clothing they wear from falling off. I don't think women in Muslim countries have to resort to taping their clothing on.

In stark contrast, the style of men's dress in both cultures, and virtually every culture in the world, is virtually the same. They wear loose, comfortable clothing that covers most of the body, except for the head and hands. So typical male attire anywhere in the world will be a button down shirt, pants, and shoes. There are places where men wear robes or kilts, but they are also loose and cover the body.

Muslim dress is oppressive because it is too baggy and concealing, and Western dress is oppressive because it is too tight and revealing. Neither allow women the luxury of dressing as comfortably and dignified as men. This is a case where the middle road is best, and either extreme is unhealthy. The West is right in criticising the oppression of women, but they must stop doing so themselves before criticising others.

The Rules According to Hoyle

2009-07-24T01:25:00.017-06:00

Chess is one of the world's most popular and highly respected games. Benjamin Franklin, in his article "The Morals of Chess" (1750), wrote: "The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it." With these or similar hopes, chess is taught to children in schools around the world today and used in armies to train minds of cadets and officers. Countless books are written on the strategy of chess, and advanced computer algorithms are developed to win at chess.

The unique qualities of chess are a result of it's simple rules that nevertheless give rise to very complex interactions amongst the pieces. The development of the rules of chess is a singular accomplishment. I wonder, who wrote the rules of chess?

Legend says that a wise courtier named Sissa created the game and presented it to the Indian King Balhait. The king was so pleased that he promised Sissa any reward he would name. Sissa replied that he wanted one grain of wheat for the first square of the board, two for the second, four for the third, eight for the fourth, and so on to the 64th square. The king was astonished and annoyed by the excessive modesty of his counselor, but it turned out that the number of grains owed was 18,446,744,073,709,551,615, an impossible amount.

When we play chess, the movements of all the pieces are restricted to the rules that have been created for the game. If one were to find a chess board in the middle of a game, with the pieces spread liberally across the board, one might deduce the steps that must have been taken to arrive at such a state by applying the rules in reverse, and thereby recreate each turn of the game from the very first. Of course, this is assuming that the pieces were moved only according to the rules. They may simply have been placed there initially, disregarding the rules entirely.

As Franklin wrote, life can be compared to chess. It operates according to certain rules. Rules of logic, nature, and physics. The endeavor of science is the discovery of these rules that give rise to everything we see around us.

One of the most basic underlying rules of the universe is causality. The rule that nothing is unless something has caused it to be so. (It is this rule that allows science to draw conclusions from observations.) But this could not always have been the case, or the world would never have come to exist. There must have been a time early in the chain of cause and effect when this rule had not yet been enacted, and a cause existed that did not itself require a cause. Something created this rule and began enforcing it. And this makes sense. Why should this rule exist at all unless something is enforcing it? The same goes for all the other rules of nature. There must have been a time when there were no rules, anything at all was possible, and it was decided to make rules.

I wonder, who wrote those rules?

Religion, what is it good for?

2009-03-01T14:57:00.006-06:00

Our time is distinguished by wonderful achievements in the fields of scientific understanding and the technical application of those insights. Who would not be cheered by this? But let us not forget that human knowledge and skills alone cannot lead humanity to a happy and dignified life. Humanity has every reason to place the proclaimers of high moral standards and values above the discoverers of objective truth...What these blessed men have given us we must guard and try to keep alive with all our strength if humanity is not to lose its dignity, the security of its existence, and its joy in living.

-Albert Einstein

I am shocked by people who oppose religion. Why would any intelligent person be opposed to that field of study which investigates the meaning of life and the consequent moral value of our actions? What could be better for the world than for people to learn how and why to be more moral? Certainly, there is much room for disagreement within this field, but to oppose the field of knowledge itself? This would be akin to opposing science because you disagree with a particular theory.

At first I concluded that they were merely ignorant of the meaning of the word. Perhaps they had been taught that religion means superstition, and merely meant that they were opposed to superstition. This is true of some people, and since it is just a matter of which words are used, it is a simple matter to set them straight.

Others say they oppose religion because it is the cause of all wars. This argument is fallacious in so many ways that I hardly know where to begin. Religion never caused a single war. Let us take a specific example that is often used, the Crusades. The claim is that it was their being Christian that led them to massacre so many people. If only they would have been opposed to religion themselves, no one would have gotten hurt. According to that, if there would have been more Christians there would have been more deaths. So if everyone in the world were Christian, it would have caused the most number of deaths. This is not so. If everyone would have been Christian, there would have been no need for them to fight against the Muslims, for there would have been none. It was not the religion itself that caused the Crusades, but intolerance for other religions. The very sort of intolerance that those opposed to religion espouse, except that they are even more intolerant, because at least the Crusaders were tolerant of Christianity. But in hating the Muslims they were the same. If the Crusaders would have been opposed to religion, it would perhaps have been much bloodier, because they would not have had to contend with the Christian teachings about turning the other cheek and the Golden Rule.

The subject of war is a good example of the important need for religion. The Nazi ideology that led to the holocaust came from the most respected secular thinking of the time: racism and eugenics, both considered up and coming new fields of science based on Darwin's theories. Racism applied the evolution of species to humans, with Africans as the least evolved race, and Europeans the most evolved, with the German "Aryan" race at the pinnacle of evolution. Eugenics applied survival-of-the-fittest to humans by advocating that inferior humans be killed out so that only the most evolved pass on their genes. The conclusion was that all inferior races, including the "Semitic" race, as well as those with any disability, infirmity, or deformity, must be systematically eradicated. Hitler only very thinly masked his hatred for religion, declaring the Ten Commandments to be "the worst thing the Jews have ever done to the world." He had to wait longer before he could gradually bring public opinion against Christianity than against other religions, because most Germans were Christian. Countless people felt compelled by their religious convictions to risk their lives defying the Nazis by sheltering Jews and others targeted for annihilation, because even though the secular thinking of the time advocated their deaths, religion placed the value of human life above all else due to the moral value inherent in every person.

The world is replete with examples of the important role that religion plays in the well-being of society. The vast majority of hospitals and charitable organizations in the world were built by religious institutions. It could not be any other way.

If we scrub language of all religious content, we forfeit the imagery and terminology through which millions of Americans understand both their personal morality and social justice. Imagine Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address without reference to "the judgments of the Lord." Or King's I Have a Dream speech without references to "all of God's children." Their summoning of a higher truth helped inspire what had seemed impossible, and move the nation to embrace a common destiny.

... Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Williams Jennings Bryant, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King - indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history - were not only motivated by faith, but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause. So to say that men and women should not inject their "personal morality" into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

-President Barack Obama

Yes We Can

2008-12-12T13:10:00.012-06:00

Moses said a lot. A lot about standing up and changing things for the better. And he didn't just say it. He did it. He showed the world that the impossible is possible. He took a nation of slaves to freedom, and the world hasn't been the same since. Because now we know that we don't have to be slaves to the world around us. We are free to change. No one can tell us that we can't.

When a group of colonists struggled to build a new nation dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, the world was against them. The winter at Valley Forge was a dark one. They were losing the war. A light shone in the snow. It was Channuka and one of the soldiers had lit a candle of hope. He explained how a small team of Maccabees vanquished an entire army. Freedom had won, and so would they.

When slavery was the law of the land, the negro slaves compared themselves to the Hebrews going out of Egypt, and they knew that their freedom would come. They called Lincoln, Moses.

When Jews were trapped behind the indestructible iron curtain, people all over the world rallied together in quoting Moses: "Let my people go!" and the walls fell.

So many have changed the world, and there will be many more to come. It was Moses who taught us how, who taught us that yes, we can.

Transcript of the video:

It was the bold encouragement offered by Moses to a nation yearning for freedom

Yes, we can!

It was the phrase that kept our hopes alive during history's harshest times

Yes we can

It was spoken defiantly to those wishing to stamp out religious freedoms

Yes we can

When triumph seemed beyond reach; G-ds miracle was not. In hidden caves, attics and cellars His people courageously whispered:

Yes He can

THIS was the message that G-d sent the world when a small team of Maccabees vanquished an entire army

Yes we can

And was the comforting answer to the Jews in Communist Russia who wondered: Will the Menorah ever shine in my life

Yes. We. Can.

On Chanukah we celebrate freedom. We celebrate with pride. We celebrate in public, in the open because we can! Whether you lit the menorah last year, or 20 years ago, celebrate this Chanukah with family. Celebrate with Chabad

Start lighting YOUR menorah Sunday evening December 21st, 2008 and let the flame of freedom speak for herself:

Yes. We. Can.

Shabbat

2008-10-23T17:37:00.006-06:00

The Holy Sabbath Day

Shabbat is delicious food, a richly-set table, the glow of candlelight, sweet singing, luxuriant sleep. It is an island of tranquility in the maelstrom of work, anxiety, struggle and tribulation that characterizes our daily lives for the other six days of the week. For 25 hours every week (from sunset Friday to nightfall Saturday) the world literally comes to a halt: the business is closed, the car stays in the driveway, the phone stops ringing, and the radio, TV and computer remain off. The pressures and worries of material life recede as if a weekly low tide to reveal the inner calm beneath.

Our focus turns inward -- to family and friends, to our inner self, to our soul. We remember that G-d created the world in seven days, and put us into it for a purpose. He took us out of Egypt and decreed that never again shall we be slaves to any alien master. Our jobs, financial commitments and material involvements are the tools with which we fulfill our divine purpose, not the masters of our lives. This recognition gives meaning to everything we do and makes our lives holy. Shabbat is one of the most powerful ways to actualize our Jewish values and pass them along to our children. Indeed, the Jews have kept Shabbat for 4,000 years, through all the ups and downs of our miraculously long history.

Shabbat is a day of holiness, set apart and elevated above the rest of the week. The unique quality of Shabbat derives from two types of mitzvot. First are the mitzvot that celebrate and sanctify the day such as lighting the holy Shabbat candles and reciting the Kiddush over a cup of wine. Equally important are the mitzvot which require that we refrain from certain activities termed melachah, or "work".

The Mishnah explains that there are 39 different categories of melachah, which encompass all forms of human productivity. These melachot are not a haphazard collection of activities, and do not necessarily represent physical exertion. Rather, the principle behind them is that they all represent constructive, creative effort, demonstrating man's mastery over nature. (This is why modern innovations such as flipping a light switch or driving a car are included in these timeless principles. They qualify for one or the other of the 39 categories because they represent a very clever manipulation of one's sorroundings.) Refraining from melachah on Shabbat signals our recognition that, despite our human creative abilities, G-d is the ultimate Creator and Master.

Jewish Unity

2008-02-28T21:55:00.003-06:00

1949, just after the establishment of the state of Israel, I heard the voice of David Ben Gurion, first prime minister and first minister of defense. He was on the radio between 7 and 7:30 PM on Yoman Hachadashot, News Journal. I will never forget it. He had come back from a visit to the biggest army camp which there was in Israel at that time, Sarafin, near Ramalah. "I saw there," he said, "the dining room at lunch. All the soldiers sat at the table eating lunch. One soldier stood on the side, not sitting with the others, a loaf of bread in one hand and a tomato in the other. He was eating a piece from the bread and a piece from the tomato. I called him over. I said, 'Are you crazy? Why don't you use a plate, a fork, a knife? Why are you standing? How do you eat like this?' "

"He said, 'I am an observant soldier. I only eat kosher. All the food which is brought here is kosher, but the cutlery, the plates, and the pots are not. In the same pot that they cooked dairy in the morning, they cooked a meat meal for lunch. I can't use anything which is prepared in this kitchen. The bread and the tomato I can eat, but nothing cooked.' "

"I gave an order: All the kitchens of the Israeli Defense Force must be kosher. The same will be in the hospitals and in prison. Why? We are one nation. If there are a thousand soldiers, one observant and nine hundred and ninety-nine liberated, the observant soldier may not eat non-kosher, but the liberated ones may eat kosher. So the kitchen must be kosher. Because we are one nation. We have one army."

This became a law in the IDF until this very day. If there is something not kosher we are to be blamed for it. Maybe the rabbi supervising did not do well. But the orders are strict. All public kitchens must be kosher because one out of a thousand was observant.

I spoke to a group of Members of Knesset. They asked why I insist on halachic conversions. I said, "Aren't you aware of the wholeness of the Jewish People? The unity of our nation? Conversion is the way of entrance to the Jewish family. If you make it halachic, according to Jewish Law, it is accepted by everyone. Thier children can marry my children, and my children can marry thier children because they are converted halachically. All other ways, you can call them whatever; if they are not accepted by the one out of a thousand, create a split in the nation. Is this what you want? To divide the people? To rend it and cut it apart? Or to preserve the wholeness of the people, the unity of Israel? Love of one's fellow Jew. One nation, one family. To ensure the eternity and to ensure the wholeness, and to be loyal to the Torah. What's wrong with that? To ensure that we exist and we are not in a decline, God forbid.

I don't interfere in your synagogues and temples. I do not oversee your prayer book. I do not supervise your meals. If you mix meat and milk, it pains me, but I am not trying to stop you. I have no power to control your behavior. But when we speak about conversion, this is the identity card of our nation. This is the way to enter the Jewish club, the Jewish family, the Jewish nation. There must be one way. This will be the iron bridge. Otherwise it's a paper bridge. We will collapse.

- Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau
Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and Former Chief Rabbi of Israel
in a talk at the Eternal Jewish Family's third national conference
on Adopting Standards for Universally Accepted Conversions in an Intermarriage
in Boston MA on October 30, 2006.

Freedom

2008-02-11T23:52:00.003-06:00

We most often think of the stimulus/response theory in connection with Pavlov's experiments with dogs. The basic idea is that we are conditioned to respond in a particular way to a particular stimulus. We are slaves to our environment. Whatever happens to us determines what we do.

Victor Frankl was a determinist raised in the tradition of Freudian psychology, which postulates that whatever happens to you as a child shapes your character and personality and basically governs your whole life. The limits and parameters of your life are set, and, basically, you can't do much about it.

Frankl was also a psychiatrist and a Jew. He was imprisoned in the death camps of Nazi Germany, where he experienced things that were so repugnant to our sense of decency that we shudder to even repeat them. His parents, his brother, and his wife died in the camps or were sent to the gas ovens. Except for his sister, his entire family perished. Frankl himself suffered torture and innumerable indignities, never knowing from one moment to the next if his path would lead to the ovens or if he would be among the "saved" who would remove the bodies or shovel out the ashes of those so fated.

One day, naked and alone in a small room, he began to become aware of what he later called "the last of the human freedoms" – the freedom his Nazi captors could not take away. They could control his entire environment, they could do what they wanted to his body, but Victor Frankl himself was a self-aware being who cold look as an observer at his very involvement. His basic identity was intact. He could decide within himself how all of this was going to affect him. Between what happened to him, or the stimulus, and his response to it, was his freedom or power to choose that response.

In the midst of his experiences, Frankl would project himself into different circumstances, such as lecturing to his students after his release from the death camps. He would describe himself in the classroom, in his mind's eye, and give his students the lessons he was learning during his very torture.

Through a series of such disciplines—mental, emotional, and moral, principally using memory and imagination—he exercised his small, embryonic freedom until it grew larger and larger, until he had more freedom than his Nazi captors. They had more liberty, more options to choose from in their environment; but he had more freedom, more internal power to exercise his options. He became an inspiration to those around him, even to some of the guards. He helped others find meaning in their suffering and dignity in their prison existence.

The Talmud teaches us that, "a prisoner cannot free himself from his prison." No one rises up out of the pit by tugging at his own hairs. He needs someone else to pull him out. How does one gain the freedom to choose their response? The redemption from Egypt gave us the ability to do so. It is in that sense that the sages say, "not only has the Holy One freed our ancestors, He also freed us with them." How so? By making us aware of an entirely different aspect of our choices and actions. The moral dimension. Something may be enjoyable to do, but not right. Before we would have done it without question. We would have been enslaved by our stimulus response. Now we can think about what we are doing. Is it right? If not, I can choose not to do it. That is the only true freedom.

The sages say that "no one is free except one who studies Torah." Seemingly, the opposite is true. The Torah contains rules which restrict our lives. Don't kill. Don't steal. How does that make one free? Because these moral principles enjoin us to rise above our automatic responses. The choice is now on a level that is entirely in our control. Will we do what is right or what is wrong? That is the one thing that is entirely up to us.

Like happiness, self-actualizing is an effect, the effect of meaning fulfillment. ...If he sets out to actualize himself rather than fulfill a meaning (out there in the world), self-actualization immediately loses its justification.
-Victor Frankl, The Will to Meaning, p.38

It is this message of freedom that the Haggada is meant to teach us. "Not only has the Holy One freed our ancestors, He also freed us with them." It is this vital message that must be passed on to the next generation through the expert interactive teaching technique of the Seder. This is the special gift we Jews have inherited and must pass on. Freedom.

The story of Victor Frankl is quoted from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

Noise and Music

2008-01-17T13:33:00.001-06:00

There once lived an engineer. He would listen to machines for noisy gears and there he knew the problem lay. Then he would fix them, ending the noise.

One day he met a musician. "Play me some music," he said. The musician played a short tune on his violin.

"That is not music, that is noise," the engineer said. "I know noise very well. I work with noise every day. That is noise. I can fix it for you. The problem is that the string of the baton is rubbing against the strings of the violin."

"That certainly is music and not noise. I know music very well. I work with music every day. That is music." insisted the musician.

"Then you are a charlatan. You claim that you work with music but all that you can show me is noise. Perhaps music doesn't exist at all. You have made it up."

"But I have shown music."

"What you have shown me is not music but noise, and I can prove it."

"How?"

"Play one note on your violin repeatedly." The musician did as instructed. Soon, people nearby called out, "Stop that dreadfull noise!"

"I have proven to you that it is noise," the engineer said.

"To the contrary, when I played a tune, everyone enjoyed it and did not complain, but when I played as you instructed they all complained. This shows the difference between noise and music very clearly," said the musician.

"You are a liar. You made up this story about music youself just to fool people," the engineer said.

"You are a fool. You can't even see what is right in front of your own face," the musician said. They both walked away in disgust.

The G-d Microscope

2008-01-17T12:13:00.000-06:00

How did we all get here? G-d must have created the world.

"But that goes against science!" some protest. "It wasn't G-d, it was the Big Bang who created the world."

The Big Bang? Is that a nickname for G-d, like the Big Cheese? Who created the Big Bang? Was it an even Bigger Bang?

"You are just stubbornly refusing to accept the findings of modern science!" they will say.

Does belief in G-d really contradict science?

Did G-d create the world? The question is a metaphysical one. Science does not have the tools to address it, much less argue with it. It is a question of the underlying nature of reality.

Science only deals with the most superficial, those things which are exposed, visible to the eye. The scientific method involves trying different things and watching the results. If the results have some semblance of consistency we presume that we can expect the same in the future. There are some deep questions which never will be and cannot be answered through these means. They remain hidden beneath the surface, beyond the reach of scientific inquiry.

The question is only relevant to science in the sense that science must defend it's borders. Those who pronounce upon such matters in the name of science have overstepped their bounds. They distort science and transgress it's principles of empirical observation. They must be opposed by those who would defend the integrity of science.

In days past, science could not tell you what matter was made of, because that was too small to see. They built microscopes, and we could see the tiny parts that things were made of that we never knew existed. They built huge, powerful electron microscopes, enabling us to see atoms. They built enormous particle accelorators, and we can see subatomic particles, protons and nuetrons.

Perhaps someday they will build one large enough to see even the things that those are made of. But will they ever build one large enough to see G-d? Imagine if they did. What would he look like? If he looked any different than they expected, they would deny that it was him. So he would look just as they expect. They would look into the viewer of their miles-long microscope and see an old man with a long white beard grinning back at them. So that is what everything is made of. Would that prove the existance of G-d? No. The athiests would use that as proof of their cause as well.

They would say, "This shows that there was no need for an intelligent designer of the world to create such a complex being as man, it was built into the very building blocks of creation and therefore bound to happen. We only exist because we are patterning after the most basic element that they saw in the microscopes. More random than anyone had imagined."

"But you have seen G-d with your own eyes!" you will say.

"No," they will answer. "Who is to say that what we saw is G-d? The reason that it looks like a person is not because it is one. It is far too small to be a person, much less anything more powerful than a person. It is we who look like it because we are made out of it."

Don't think so? This is already what they say about revelations of G-d such as DNA. DNA proves evolution because it is far too complex to have been designed that way. Something so intracate must have evolved over millions of years. Everything works together too well to have been set in place by some supreme engineer.

Friday Night

2007-12-25T21:49:00.000-06:00

A poem by my friend Dovid

It's evening.
Friday night.
I have retired from the week and entered the hallowed atmosphere of Shabbat.
I've spent the evening praying in Shul in a beautiful congregation. The prayer is so sweet, as we sing together, and welcome the Shabbos queen.
Then we all wish each other Good Shabbos and return to our homes.

It's time.
The Shabbos candles are glowing softly, the family awaits.
We sing Shalom Aleichem together to welcome the Shabbat angels who have accompanied us back from Shul.
We follow with Eshet Chayil.
We make kiddush and sanctify the Shabbos day and declare it holy.
A day unto G-d.

We sit around the table to beautiful, body and soul warming food. We talk, we chat, we speak words of Torah. We talk about the important things in life, we get a chance to communicate once in the busy week.

Everything is still.
Peaceful.
Quiet.
No phones.
No emails.
No distractions.
Serenity.

We sing the Zmiros, the ancient tunes so beautifully composed, whose holy words shine in the night.
We say Birkat Hamazon - grace after meals, thanking G-d for His infinite beneficience upon us and His endless gifts.

It's time.
I open the front door.
It's cold out, dark.
I slip my coat on and my hat, wish my family Good Shabbos, and brave the elements as I walk the few streets to my destination.

I walk up the path.
The door is ajar.
I walk in.
Some others sit around a long table.
Anticipatory.
The Shabbos candles flicker gently on the table here too.

At the head of the table sits an elderly-ish Rabbi with a big fluffy white beard, piercing sharp blue eyes, a hint of playfulness on his face.
He's surrounded by books. Holy books.
He warmly wishes us Good Shabbos as we enter, and then buries his head back in those books.

The room is filling up.
The table is full.
Others sit on benches, some on armchairs.
Some sit in the adjoining room.
Everyone is waiting.
Silently, expectant.

It's time.
The Rabbi lifts his eyes from his books and starts to speak.
His voice is warm, his tone jovial.
He begins to discuss the Torah portion of the week.
He quotes certain verses.
He raises glaring problems and difficulties.
Then he expounds on the solutions and approaches of various commentators.

As he talks a picture begins to form in the mind.
It is one of a jewel - multifaceted.
As each interpretation is masterfully given over, another facet of the Jewel sparkles, until, finally, the facets sparkle all together like a multifaceted jewel being held in the light.
The begining of the verse is tied to the end and the end to the beginning.
Nuances of expression or seeming ambiguities or superfluities are all explained and made clear.

Stories are told.
Of great men.
Intellectual giants and spiritual masters.
Witticisms are generously interspersed and jokes are told in passing.

There is an atmosphere of divinity in the air.
Everyone is in another world.
G-d's world.
The world of holiness and pure wisdom.
Of spirit.

The intense, uplifting Shabbat atmosphere enters your soul, and you bond with that greater Oneness.
Before you know it it's over, and refreshments are brought.
Cakes and biscuits and apple pie, which the Rebbetzin [Rabbi's wife] has personally baked in the early hours.

We stay behind and chat with the Rabbi.
His eyes twinkle as he engages us in lively interchange.
Questions are answered masterfully, more stories are told and pearls of wisdom exchanged.

Finally, it's time.
We wish each other a Good Shabbos and part ways.
As I walk out the door into the cold, crisp air of the late Friday night, I know I am deeply privileged to be part of a world where every week we can partake of a small piece of heaven.
And as I leave the house behind, I leave my heart behind with me, wishing that I could stay forever in the house of G-d.

And in my heart I wish that every Jew could experience this too.
It's time.

Our Ancestors

2007-11-14T20:44:00.000-06:00

Excerpted from a paper by Philip Levens

Why Study the Past?

In America, history is a subject often slept through in school. Valuing the past and tradition goes against the grain of our national mind set. We are a nation whose collective memory views the Second World War as a black and white documentary and anything before that as ancient history. After all, who has time for the past? What matters is the present, the here and now. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's why our ancestors immigrated to America in the first place. They wanted a chance to live in freedom, unencumbered by tyranny and prejudice.

So why should we take time out from our fast paced lives to be concerned with ancestors we never knew? Because to a large degree the past determines the future. If we don't know where we came from, how will we know where we're going?

There is something within us that says life is more than just us. We are part of a puzzle that can only be understood over time or perhaps from an infinite vantage point, the view that G-d has. If we could step back far enough and see the strands of destiny we might understand the purpose for everything.

Who Were They?

Our immigrant ancestors were working class. They spoke Yiddish at home and more often than not worked sun up to sun down. They had large families to feed and didn't have money or time for vacations; sometimes barely enough money for food, but they got by, nobody starved. They weren't heroic or famous men and women but they were exceptionally good parents who loved and cared for their children. In fact, if there is a common theme that runs through their descendants memories, it is how good their parents were to them.

They didn't keep comprehensive records of their ancestors. The record ends with the immigrants, their parents names just vague memories. Any further research would have to continue in Europe. If we could go back further it would most likely be more of the same, good, hard working people trying to make the best of their lot in life, which was sometimes incredibly difficult. So difficult in fact, with pogroms, poverty, war, the Depression, and the perils of emmigration, that we can hardly imagine how we would have managed... or even survived.

We owe them a great debt for entering into the unknown, for traveling to a new world, a blank page where they dreamed of writing a new script for their futures, and for the future of their children... and we are, all of us, their children. Their memories are perpetuated in the lives of their children and grand-children, through the generations into the stream of history that flows into the ocean of eternity.

How Are We Connected?

We are these people in so many ways; in the obvious: eye color, height, weight, all of which are determined by genes, a circulating pool where certain traits might not re-surface for several generations. We are a mind boggling combination of DNA from an army of ancestors.

But we are not just connected through biology, we are also linked in nearly imperceptible ways, certain gestures, mannerisms, a way of walking, the timber of a voice, even the way we view the world... the subtle things that spell the mystery of uniqueness.

Body vs. Soul: Differing Perspectives

2007-11-14T18:24:00.000-06:00

An intriguing lecture by Rabbi Manis Friedman from the Bais Chana Women International website.

There’s the reflexive way we look at life – the way the body perceives life – and then there’s the way the soul looks at life. To view the world through Jewish eyes is to view the world through the perspective of the soul. Time 9:46
Click on the arrow to listen

The Soul

2007-11-11T01:39:00.001-06:00

Lyrics of the song Neshama from the album of the same name by Mordechai Ben David

A stranger adrift in an unfriendly land
Of mountains, tundras, and sand
To enrichen the lives in that wasteland is his goal
His name is Neshama, soul

From a mountain came a gift of the only true life
Sinai now stands for bloodshed and strife
When rifles fall silent and tanks cease to roam
The victor will then be the soul

Blackened and charred like a synagogue burned
Lies a tank lifeless and overturned
Four heroes within snuffed out like a coal
But forever and ever and ever alive is their soul

Are PETA the new Nazis?

2007-11-02T12:07:00.000-06:00

History repeats itself with anti-Jewish propaganda.

How Genocide Was Made Acceptable to the Masses

On November 10th, 1938, the Führer made an important speech to the German press. Although he made no direct reference either to the Reichskristallnacht itself or to Jews in general, the whole speech can be regarded as his comments upon the lack of support for the pogrom he was getting from the German public. Hitler rebuked the propaganda makers for not having understood his strategy - aiming at war - and he made it unmistakably clear to his audience what exactly he expected them to do in the future:

Coercion was the reason why for years I only talked about peace. But gradually it became necessary to condition the German people psychologically and slowly make it grasp that there do exist things that one has to solve with violent means when they cannot be solved by peaceful means. To do so, however, it was necessary not to make propaganda for violence as such, but to elucidate certain events of foreign policy to the German people in such a way that the inner voice of the people by itself slowly began to call for violence. Accordingly, it meant to elucidate certain events in such a way that totally automatically the conviction would gradually evolve in the brains of the broad masses: What one cannot solve with fair means, one has to solve with violence, because it cannot go on like this.

The rebuke was certainly understood by Joseph Goebbels, who for the first time decided to use the film medium as a tool for inducing anti-Semitism into the German people. Being responsible for Nazi film production he had, however, earlier preferred other topics (including easy entertainment and more "positive" presentations of Nazi world view) , but immediately after Hitler's speech he called upon the production companies to present scripts for anti-Semitic feature films. His wish for a "documentary" could only be fulfilled after the Campaign in Poland in September 1939, because he lacked footage of Jews actually looking like the Nazi stereotype of the Jew, of services in the synagogue and of ritual slaughtering.

From his diary as well as other sources we can follow the production of this particular propaganda film - "Der ewige Jude" - which right from the beginning was intended to become the ultimate public legitimation of anti-Semitism, in accordance with Hitler's afore-mentioned demand.

There are strong reasons to believe that the film and its production history should be characterized as a mirror of the decision-making process to launch the Holocaust itself, because the final version of the film can only be interpreted as a deliberate call for annihilation, through it's juxtapositioning of ritual slaughtering - staged as cruelty to animals - and Hitler's notorious prophecy of January 30, 1939.

In order to create the strongest effect on the public as possible Joseph Goebbels had ordered ritual Jewish slaughtering to be filmed in the Lodz ghetto, and when he saw the rushes of these scenes on October 16, 1939, he wrote in his diary:

Scenes so horrific and brutal in their explicitness that one's blood runs cold. One shudders at such barbarism. This Jewry must be annihilated.

He showed the scenes at Hitler's dinner table on October 28, 1939, and those present "were all deeply shocked." Two days later, Goebbels himself went to the ghetto of Lodz - and commented on his impressions in his diary:

It is indescribable. They are no longer human beings, they are animals. It is therefore no humanitarian task, but a task for the surgeon. One must make cuts here, and that in a most radical way. Or Europe will one day collapse from the Jewish disease.

Goebbels pursued this idea of a genocidal solution during the whole production of a film which can only be seen as his personal advocacy for prevailing on Hitler himself to draw the "natural" consequence of his own - exterminist, yet still theoretical - ideology. The film was recut, rephrased and tested several times in accordance with Hitler's wishes before the Führer finally approved the film for public screening, probably on May 20, 1940.
- An excerpt from a paper presented at the 27th Annual Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA, March 2-4, 1997 by Stig Hornshøj-Møller, Copenhagen, Denmark http://www.holocaust-history.org/der-ewige-jude/tampa-19970302.shtml

PETA Accuses the Jews of Cruelty

After receiving complaints alleging violations of kosher and federal law at AgriProcessors, a massive Iowa slaughterhouse that produces Rubashkin's, Aaron's Best, and Iowa's Best meats, PETA wrote to company officials and asked them to take steps to make certain that cruelty was not occurring. We suggested that the plant hire Dr. Temple Grandin, the country's leading slaughter expert, who has helped advise on matters of kosher slaughter systems, to advise them on how to avoid some of the worst abuses. AgriProcessors had its attorney, Nathan Lewin, write back to us asserting, "Kosher slaughter is being conducted in accordance with the letter and spirit of Jewish law, which prescribes the most humane treatment of animals that has been known throughout human history." The tone of the letter was not persuasive, so we took a look ourselves.
-From PETA's GoVeg website http://www.goveg.com/feat/agriprocessors/index.asp

PETA claims the video, posted on its Web site Tuesday afternoon, shows repeated acts of animal cruelty at AgriProcessors Inc. in northeastern Iowa. The organization filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday that alleged improper slaughtering practices. "They're ripping the tracheas and esophagi out of fully conscious animals, dumping them out of pens into pools of their own blood. The animals stand and bellow and attempt to escape for up to three and even four minutes in some cases," Bruce Friedrich, a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said late Tuesday.

But Rabbi Chaim Kohn, the plant's supervising rabbi, told The New York Times in Wednesday's editions that the tapes were "testimony that this is being done right." In kosher slaughter, the animals' throats are sliced with a razor-sharp blade, intended to cause instant and painless death. Jewish law forbids stunning them first. Federal law considers properly conducted religious slaughter as humane, and allows Jewish and Muslim slaughterhouses to forgo stunning. But the rules outlaw leaving animals killed that way conscious for an extended period of time.

The PETA Web site describes the videos as showing AgriProcessors workers ignoring "the suffering of cows who are still sensible to pain after having their throats slit by the ritual slaughterer." In it's complaint, PETA said its investigator filmed the slaughter of 278 animals, 25 percent which remained conscious "for a significant period of time." "I think we should attempt to ponder how we would feel in similar situations. The level of cruelty is absolutely outrageous," Friedrich said. PETA told the Times that a volunteer was hired at the plant last summer and used a hidden camera to obtain the footage.
- From an article by the Associated Press on Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,140117,00.html

What the Officials Say

The United States Department of Agriculture, with which we have a very cooperative working relationship, supervises this slaughterhouse and has found nothing amiss in its practices. Its on-site inspector, Dr. Henry Lawson, has confirmed to us his opinion that the conditions there are humane and that the shechita method of slaughter employed there renders the animal insensate.
- Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, OU Executive Vice President http://www.ou.org/other/5765/shechita65.htm

PETA's "Holocaust on Your Plate" Campaign

When "Holocaust on Your Plate" was originally launched, we knew that it would be emotionally charged and intellectually provocative. Even if we had used more conventional tactics, people don't like to have it pointed out to them that they're causing unnecessary pain and suffering by eating meat. We did aim to be provocative. We did not, however, aim simply to provoke.

Hard as it may be to understand for those who were deeply upset by this campaign, I was bowled over by the negative reception by many in the Jewish community. It was both unintended and unexpected. The PETA staff who proposed that we do it were Jewish, and the patronage for the entire endeavor was Jewish. We were careful to use Jewish authors and scholars and quotes from Holocaust victims and survivors.
-PETA President Ingrid Newkirk http://web.israelinsider.com/Views/5475.htm

Scene from Nazi propaganda film of Jews being cruel to animals next to scene from PETA propaganda film of Jews being cruel to animals. Can you tell which is which?

The Cosmological Argument

2007-10-26T02:53:00.003-06:00

A logical proof of G-d's existence based on Duties of the Heart by Rabbi Bachya ibn Paquda

Summary:

1. Every finite being has a cause.
2. Nothing finite can cause itself.
3. A causal chain cannot be of infinite length.
4. Therefore, there must be a first cause which is not itself an effect.This is called G-d.

Explanation:

1. Every finite being has a cause.
If it is finite, that means that it began at some point in the past. That means that something caused it to begin.

2. Nothing finite can cause itself.
It cannot cause itself because this would be accomplished either before it existed or after it existed, both of which are impossible. It cannot cause itself before it existed, because it did not exist yet to effect the cause. It cannot cause itself after it existed. It was already in existence at the time and so nothing was accomplished thereby.

3. A causal chain cannot be of infinite length.
It is not possible for something infinite to have parts, because a part is defined as a fraction of the whole.
If a part is removed from an infinite object, then it will be less than it was before. This remainder will be either (a) infinite or (b) finite.
(a)If the remainder is infinite, than this infinity is less than the previous one. Infinities cannot be one greater than the other, for infinity is always greater.
(b)If the remainder is finite, and the part which is removed is returned, then the sum will also be finite. This is a contradiction and therefore false, for we said that the whole is infinite.
Therefore, anything that has parts must be finite.
In a causal chain, each cause is a part of the chain. Therefore a causal chain must be finite. It must have a limited number of antecedents, which end at a cause that has no cause before it.

4. Therefore, there must be a first cause which is not itself an effect. This is called G-d.
There must be a beginning to the causal chain of every finite thing, since every finite thing has a causal chain which does not go on forever. This beginning must be infinite, or else it, too, would require a cause.

That means that it is infinite in time, existing eternally without a time at which it began, as well as space, not having any component parts or a delimited region that it occupies. Since it caused all finite things, being all the objects and properties that we know, it therefore has the ability to effect and exhibit all objects and properties, and since it is infinite, it can do so in infinite measure. This includes the property of intelligence. The first cause exists to a greater degree than other things because it's existence is inherent and not contingent on the existence of anything else, whereas the existence of all other things is contingent on it and so merely provisional.

Mob Rule

2007-10-22T21:17:00.000-06:00

There is an excellent article in the New York Post about the Arab-Israeli conflict. It points out that Fatah and Hamas are merely a bunch of mobsters. Their brutally murderous conduct since they were given control of Gaza proves that. It is now painfully obvious that they are utterly incapable of their own state. They have made a stronger argument against any kind of Arab autonomy in Israel than any of their opponents ever could. Here's my favorite part of the article:

Gaza is Judenrein - emptied of all Jews, just as Hitler dreamed Germany would be. No Jews live in Gaza. No Jews patrol Gaza. It's Jew-Free-by-the-Sea, with a charming Mediterranean coast worth billions of dollars in tourism and trade.

So what's the problem? The problem is that the Jews weren't the problem. The problem is that the Palestinians are the problem: They are drenched in an ideology of blood and murder and suicide.

The sooner people learn this, the sooner we can stop them from murdering more people.

PeaceMaker

2007-10-02T18:22:00.000-06:00

A new video game allows you to try your hand at solving the Arab-Israeli conflict. It was developed by Israeli native Asi Burak at Carnegie Mellon University. He consulted with Arabs and Isrealis on the game in an attempt to ensure realism. You can play as the Israeli Prime Minister or the President of the PLO. Instead of having an objective of merely wiping out everyone in sight like most video games, you win when a lasting peace is accomplished. Read about it here.

Pressing News in the Jewish Chronicle

2007-07-25T16:40:00.001-06:00

Pressing News in the Jewish Chronicle
Originally uploaded by thisisp

My Two Cents

2007-07-25T02:40:00.000-06:00

The Rambler has just begun a second blog entitled "My Two Cents." You can find it at www.ramblers2cents.blogspot.com. Whereas this blog features the Rambler's monologues, the new one will present his dialogues.

The Definition of a Jew

2007-07-15T14:53:00.000-06:00

G-d wanted to put a sign of His existance into the world. He set up a nation that would be that sign. They and their children would, by the fact of their existance, let the world know that there is someone upstairs who cares. That is the definition of a Jew.

Many great thinkers have pointed out that the very fact that the Jewish people have survived all of these years despite the intense persecution and hatred is the best proof that there is a hand orchestrating history. There is no other explanation for how we have survived it all, when many of the powerfull nations that tried to wipe us out are long gone.

Many of the notions that modern religions have of G-d come from Judaism. Before the advent of Judaism, Paganism was the norm. They believed in powerful and corrupt supermen who run the world. Now most of the world follows Christianity and Islam, which have both taken their more enlightened view of G-d from Judaism.

The various mitzvot and Jewish customs also serve to promote the awareness of G-d. Our holidays comemorate different miraculous events in history that occured to us as a sign of G-d's power over nature. The ten plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea that we commemorate on Passover. Women light candles every Friday night, ushering in the Holy Shabbat, which commemorates the creation of the world, in order to spread that light of our creator into the world. Men put on tefillin on weekdays to recommit themselves to the principles of the Almighty which are written inside those little boxes.

Education is valued in Judaism more than anywhere else. Our holy men are called not saints, but wise men. The highest title in Judaism is Talmud Chacham, which means 'wise student'.Our holy book is called the Torah which means 'teaching'. Our places of worship are called in Yiddish shools, which comes from the German word for school. Our most important endeavor is passing on our message to the next generation, so that they too may act as a living sign of G-d and morality. There is a G-d watching over you and urging you to do the right thing, cheering you on when you help others, disapointed when you act selfishly. It is the transmission of this message, more than anything else, that defines us as a people.

Gardeners

2007-06-15T13:51:00.002-06:00

Humans are the only creatures who are sufficiently aware to be concerned with more than their own self-interest. What other creature becomes upset when a species becomes endangered and puts them on a list for protection? A weed doesn't mind that it's leeching life away from the beautiful flowerbed that it grows in. We are the only ones with the imagination capable of making lasting improvements to the world. No other creature dreams of a better tomorrow. They just hope to live to see another day. But we do. We look at the soil and see the potential for a beautiful garden. And not just a better tomorrow for us, but a better tomorrow for others as well. We even grow plants that we do not eat. Just because their living makes us happy. We are the only ones who care about anything besides ourselves. That gives us alone an awesome responsibility. We are the gardeners of the world.

A Tour of the Synagogue Continued

2007-05-20T21:05:00.001-06:00

Additions to the Tour of the Synagogue post.

Prayer

Prayer is what we offer up to G-d, our form of contact with the Divine. We stand in His presence, reaching out to Him with our words, connecting ourselves to Him. The Talmud calls prayer the ‘service of the heart’, for G-d is present to the degree that one makes space for Him in his heart. People are more inclined to relate to things that are of a physical nature. This is not due to an innate lack of spirituality. At our core we are spiritual beings. But our spiritual awareness is hindered by our bodily existence, which makes it hard to see very far beyond ourselves. Through prayer, we are lifted up from our petty self-interest to a higher perspective on life. Prayer helps to remove all of that which covers up and inhibits our soul from feeling near to G-d. Our prayers contain praise, requests, and thanks. In asking G-d for our hopes and needs and realizing that we receive everything from Him, our whole heart and everything we are can go into our words as a pure offering to G-d.

Siddur - The Prayer book

Prayer is the ladder that connects the soul and G-d. The ancient sages of Israel meticulously formulated our prayer book so as best to accomplish this lofty goal. The Morning Prayer service can be divided into sections, which act as rungs on the ladder. The bottom of the ladder, the Morning Blessings, is a collection of simple thanks for the various blessings we have been given. The middle rungs are appreciation and understanding of G-d. The Verses of Praise describe how all the world testifies to His greatness. The blessings before the Shema recount the tremendous awe that He instills in the myriads of angels. Then, in the Shema, we declare our faith that “The Lord is our G-d, the Lord is one.” The top of the ladder reaches the heavens, for by the time we reach the pinnacle of the service, the Amidah, we achieve a total loss of self-centeredness in the face of the utter awe of G-d. The Amidah is therefore recited in an undertone while standing still. The siddur contains the daily morning, afternoon, and evening services, as well as special versions for the Shabbat and holidays. It also includes the blessings said before and after eating.

Ner Tamid - The Eternal Light

There is a lamp just above the Holy Ark which is always and forever shining. The eternal light is a symbol of the "western lamp," the perpetual light which constantly burned in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. A flame constantly flickers and strives to reach higher than itself and reconnect with its source above. Every Jew is like a flame, always yearning to rise up and be closer to our Creator. No matter what influences may act to extinguish this flame, deep down the spark remains untouched, ready to be fanned into a large blaze. Like the Eternal Light, the spark in each of us will never be extinguished.

Seeking Answers

2007-05-17T21:30:00.000-06:00

Once Rabbi Chaim Brisker found some of his former disciples smoking on shabbos, in violation of the holy day. He aproached them and asked them to explain their behavior. They replied that they had big questions on Judaism and didn't feel obligated to keep something irrational. He asked them, "Tell me, when did your questions begin, before or after you stopped celebrating shabbos?" They answered that their questions had occurred to them only after they had become lax in their shabbos observance. He replied, "In that case your questions are not questions, they are answers. I can't answer an answer."

Thanks to my friend Dovid for the story.

The Princess and the Pauper

2007-05-08T13:10:00.000-06:00

A Classic Fable Retold
OR
How Do You Spell Potato?

A long time ago, in a land far away, lived a princess who fell in love with a poor young man. He loved her too, but the the king would not allow his daughter to marry a simple pauper. Her love for him was so great, that she could not be parted from him. She decided to marry him although it meant leaving the grandeur of the palace and never seeing her father again. They wed, and the princess lived with the pauper in his small, one-room shack at the edge of town.

The princess suffered to no end all the indignities and inconveniences of being poor. In the palace she had large, beautiful tapestries hanging on the walls to insulate them from the weather. It was cool in summer and warm in winter. Here, in this shabby hut, the walls were full of that let in the wind as if there were no wall at all. She would lie in bed freezing on cold winter nights. The worn peasant's dress she wore made her no warmer, and she pulled the threadbare blanket over her head, but it didn't help. On those nights, she cried herself to sleep.

She never complained to her beloved husband. She could have stayed in the palace with all it's majesty and myriads of servants catering to her every whim, but she had chosen to live with the man she loved. She tried to live with the consequences of her decision.

One day, the pauper saw how red his wife's eyes had become from crying. He spoke to her tenderly, "My dear, precious wife, why do you cry? It pains me to see you so unhappy."

"I love you," she replied, "and would gladly accept all the suffering in the world in order to be with you, but I nevertheless miss my father."

"Your father has disowned you and kicked you out of the palace without a cent. To me you are still a princess. Am I not better to you than your father? Why do you miss him?" the pauper asked.

"My father always gave me the best of everything; the most beautiful clothes, the warmest bed, the choicest food. You give me your undying love. I could never go back, but it is hard to adjust."

"True, your clothes are plain, but your smile is beautiful to me whatever you wear. You have enough food to keep you healthy and do not go to bed hungry. And with regard to the bed, you are spoiled. Not everyone gets to sleep in a palace. You will get used to it in time as the rest of us have. Now you see that there is no reason to cry."

"You are right," the princess admitted, "but I cannot help being who I am and wanting what I want. Maybe I can't explain why, but I still miss my father."

"I wish I could do something to relieve your sadness," the peasant said.

A ray of hope shone in the princess's eyes and she said, "There is indeed something that can be done, but it is very difficult. There is an island far in the middle of the sea, where diamonds are very plentiful. They lie on the ground for the taking. Few people know of this place, but I have learned many things in the palace that the common people don't know. Perhaps you could take a small boat there and collect diamonds. If you become a rich man, then you will no longer be a commoner, and my father will allow us to live together in the palace. After all, the only difference between a peasant and a nobleman is how much riches he has."

Her husband frowned. "I am not interested in wealth. I am happy with what I have. The journey will be a very difficult one. I would rather continue living a simple but calm life as we have until now then undergo the hardships of a long sea voyage. But if that is what you wish, I will do it because I love you."

The pauper went and bought a small, one-man boat. He brought provisions for the journey and a number of strong, large sacks. He spent many days at sea, with nothing but water all around him.

One day at sea, he lay sleeping in his boat. The trip had taken longer than expected, and he had just run out of food. He was awoken by a sudden jarring motion. The boat had struck land. He opened his eyes and saw that his baot was grounded on a beach. From the way the sunlight glistened off the beach he realized that it was made of diamonds in place of sand! He grabbed one of his sturdy canvas sacks and began eagerly shovelling handfullsof tiny diamonds into it. His hunger was immidiately forgotten at the sight of more diamonds than he could count in a lifetime. He had filled most of his sacks, when he heard the sound of laughter behind him. One of the men who lived on this island had found him on the beach. "That is the silliest thing I have ever seen," the islander called out. "What are you doing?"

"I am collecting diamonds," the pauper replied, "and it is not stealing because they belong to no one. They were left here on the beach."

"Of course they were left here. No one wants them. So why are you collecting them?" said the man.

Startled, the pauper replied, "Do you not know what diamonds are? They are the most valueable thing in the world!"

"Valuable!" the man scoffed. "What makes them valueable?"

"Because they are so rare," the pauper answered.

"How silly you are! Diamonds aren't rare at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Do you know what I do for a living? I clear away the pesky diamonds from fields so that crops can be grown there. People pay me to haul them away. Take my friendlt advice, sir, and stop collecting this worthless junk. You are wasting your time."

"You know you're right. I've never thought of it before. Of what use are diamonds? But my wife sent me here to collect diamonds. And if that's what she wants, I'll do it. Even if I don't understand," said the pauper.

"Do you mean to tell me that you have come all this way from accross the sea to collect what others pay me to get rid of?" the islander asked.

"If that is what my beloved wants, then it is the most precious thing in the world to me," the pauper answered.

"Perhaps you need someone to show you around the island," the islander offered.

"I would be grateful" the pauper replied.

"Then let us go. It is time for the noontime meal and I can show you an excellent restaurant not too far from here."

"I suppose I can finish filling the sacks with diamonds later," the pauper said to himself, suddenly remembering that he hadn't eaten for a whole day. He secured his boat by the shore and gathered all his posesions, including the sacks of diamonds, which he took with him as he followed his friend into town.

They ate a good meal at the restaurant. When the waiter came to collect the bill, the pauper offered him a single diamond from one of his sacks as payment,even though he knew it was worth much more than the meal. The waiter became angry and ran into the kitchen. The chef, who was also the owner of the establishment, came out a moment later. He was overweight and spoke with a raspy voice. "We don't give out free meals here," he said.

"But I payed you a whole diamond!" the pauper protested. "How many do you want?" He pointed to a sack full of diamonds.

"That whole sack isn't enough. It's a waste of a good sack. You better give me something of real value or I'll have you arrested!"

The pauper's friend and the chef looked on as the pauper looked through his few other belongings. Finally he found a misplaced half of a potato at the bottom of his rucksack. It was old and beggining to stink and covered with eyes. He proffered it to the chef. "What's this?" the chef asked.

"A potato," the pauper answered simply.

"What's a potato?" the chef asked, beggining to get frustrated.

"This is," the pauper answered, indicating the object in his hand.

"What's this?" the chef asked again, more frustrated this time.

"You know," the pauper said, "A round vegetable that grows in the ground. Some people call it an earth apple."

"An earth-apple?" the chef asked incredulously. That's the strangest vegetable I've ever seen. We sure don't have any of those around here. What kind of seeds does it have?"

"It doesn't have seeds. You just stick it in the ground and it grows into a whole plant underground."

"That's amazing!" the chef said. "And does it taste any good?" he wanted to know.

"Sure. There's nothing quite like it. Why back home, it's the main staple of my diet," the pauper answered.

"That must be boring," the chef commented. "Eating the same thing every day."

"Not really." said the pauper. You can make many dishes from the same potato. You eat it baked, boiled, mashed, or french fried. You can make it into a soup or a kugel. You can slice it into thin chips and fry them. Those are delicious." The pauper licked his lips as he thought about the potato chips his wife would make him. "You can even make it into a flour and bake bread with it, although it doesn't rise the way wheat flour does."

"Wow!" exclaimed the chef. "If what you say is true, this is a magical vegetable. And I'll be the only one on the island selling it! I'll be rich in no time. I'll consider this payment in full," the chef said, grabbing for the smelly potato half before the pauper could change his mind. Before he could get it into his eager hands the pauper's islander friend quickly ed it up. "I'll pay for my friends meal with my own money," said he. "I don't think he realizes what a valuable object he was about to give away in exchange for a single lunch." The chef reluctantly accepted the payment and returned to the kitchen.

"What did you want diamonds for when you had this earth apple with you the whole time?" the islander asked the pauper. "You see, my wife was the princess of the kingdom I live in, but renounced her rightfull place in the palace to marry me, a simple commoner. If I became a rich nobleman, she can return to the palace once again, because then she will be wed to nobility as befits a princess." Replied the islander, "You are a lucky man to have such a faithful wife and she is lucky to have such a faithful husband. Let me give you some advice, since you are to me a dear friend. If you plant this earth apple and grow a crop of them, I can assure you that you will soon be as rich as a king, let alone a nobleman. Take my advice and do not waste any further time collecting worth less diamonds." The pauper thought himself lucky to have so quickly met such a friendly acquaintance when he was a complete stranger to this island. He took his advice and planted the potato. Soon more potatoes grew from it and he planted those as well. Eventually he had a reasonable quantity of potatoes and opened a shop in the town market where he sold them for a very many coins for a single potato. Soon he was able to hire others to tend and harvest his growing potato crop. He bought a mansion, where he invited his friend to come and live with him.

When he had amassed sufficient wealth, he decided to return home to his beloved wife, whom he missed dearly. He gave his shop, his mansion, and his whole potato farm to his good friend, for he could hardly take those with him on his boat. He took the canvas sacks he had brought to the island and filled them full of the most precious thing he had: potatoes. If he would have taken coins, they would have quickly weighed down the boat too far and sunk it. Besides, no one in his kingdom used those coins so no one would accept them in payment. He packed some provisions into his rucksack and set out into the sea once again.

After a long and arduous voyage, he returned to his hometown, where his wife was waiting for him. He was so exhausted that he dropped all of his bundles at the door to his hut and plopped down onto his bed, and slept. His wife was overjoyed to see him once again. She was even happier to see that he was now finely dressed, in the way of noblemen, and that he returned with all of his sacks full. He had been successfull. She would soon be seeing her dear father the king once more! As the pauper slept from his wearying trip, his wife notied a foul smell coming from the sacks. She opened them and was shocked and horrified to find them filled with not diamonds, but rotten potatoes!

She ran to her husband and woke him. Frantically, she asked him, "Why did you bring back potatoes instead of diamonds? Now I'll never see my father again!" She began to cry. Her husband wiped away her tears and said, "I did it because I love you. Potatoes are even better than diamonds. You can't eat diamonds."

"No. You didn't do it because you love me. If that were the case you would have done what I asked. You did what you wanted because you love yourself. You can go back to sleep now, dear, " his wife said and turned around and left before he had a chance to reply. So, still being exhausted, he did as he was told.

Suddenly the stench came to represent her shattered hopes. She had to be rid of it immediately. She carried the sacks to the town garbage heap and dumped out all of the rotten, inedible potatoes. Then she brought them home to wash out the ing smell. They couldn't afford to just throw away a perfectly good canvas sack. As she washed them she discovered small diamonds stuck in the bottom of the sacks. They hadn't fallen out when he had emptied the diamonds from the sacks to fill them with potatoes. They were rich after all! She was once again overjoyed, and a little ashamed of having doubted her husband for one second. These small diamonds were enough to make them rich. Hiding them amongst rotten potatoes was the cleverest way of preventing anyone from stealing them. No one would steal rotten potatoes. Soon after, they had a joyful reunion with the king, who was grateful to see his daughter again and impressed with his son-in-law, who was apparently quite clever. They moved into the palace and lived happily ever after.

THE END

The Internetter Rebbe's Advice

2007-03-18T04:44:00.000-06:00

Be a Fundamentalist-- make sure the Fun always comes
before the mental.
Realize that life is a situation comedy
that will never be cancelled. A laugh track has been
provided, and the reason why we are put in the material
world is to get more material.
Have a good laughsitive twice
a day, and that will insure regularhilarity.
Remember that each of us has been given a special gift --
just for entering. It's called the present. So you are already a winner!
Life is like photography. You use the negative to develop.
As we go through life thinking heavy thoughts,
thought particles tend to get caught between the ears,
causing a condition called truth decay. So be sure to use
mental floss twice a day.
If we want world peace, we must let go of our attachments
and truly live like nomads. That's where I no mad at you, you
no mad at me. That way, there'll surely be nomadness on the
planet.
Peace begins with each of us. A little peace here,
a little peace there, pretty soon all the peaces will fit
together to make one big peace everywhere.
I know great earth changes have been predicted for the
future, so if you're looking to avoid earthquakes, my advice is
simple. When you find a fault, just don't dwell on it.
There's no need to change the world. All we have to do is
toilet train the world, and we'll never have to change it
again.
If you're looking to find the key to the Universe, I have some
bad news and some good news. The bad news is, there is no
key to the Universe. The good news is, it has been left
unlocked.

We Are One

2007-03-14T14:10:00.001-06:00

By Tzvi Freeman

Some folks think of people much as we think of cars on a highway: Each with its own origin and destination, relating to one other only to negotiate lane changes and left-hand turns. For cars, closeness is danger, loneliness is freedom.

People are not cars. Cars are . People live. Living beings need one another, nurture one another, share destinies and reach them together. When you're alive, closeness is warmth, loneliness is suffocating. People belong to families. Families make up communities. Communities make up the many colorful peoples of the world. And all those peoples make up a single, magnificent body with a single soul called humankind.

Some chop this body into six billion fragments and roll it back into a single mush. They want each person to do his or her own thing and relate equally to every other individual on the planet. They don't see the point of distinct peoples. They feel such distinctions just get in the way.

But we are like leaves extending from twigs branching out from larger twigs on branches of larger branches until we reach the trunk and roots of us all. Each of us has our place on this tree of life, each its source of nurture -- and on this the tree relies for its very survival. None of us walks alone. Each carries the experiences of ancestors wherever he or she roams, along with their troubles, their traumas, their victories, their hopes and their aspirations. Our thoughts grow out from their thoughts, our destiny shaped by their goals. At the highest peak we ever get to, there they are, holding our hand, pushing us upward, providing the shoulders on which to stand. And we share those shoulders, that consciousness, that heritage with all the brothers and sisters of our people.

That's why your own people are so important: If you want to find peace with any other person in the world, you've got to start with your own brothers and sisters. Until then, you haven't yet found peace within your own self. And only when you've found peace within yourself can you help us find peace for the entire world.

Every Jew is a brother or sister of a great family of many thousands of years. Where a Jew walks, there walk sages and martyrs, heroes and es, legends and miracles, all the way back to Abraham and Sarah, the first two Jews who challenged the whole world with their ideals. There walk the tears, the and the chutzpah of millennia, the legacy of those who lived, yearned and died for a World To Come, a world the way it was meant to be. Their destiny is our destiny.

In us they are fulfilled. In all of us and every one of us, and all of us together. For we are all one. When one Jew does an act of kindness, all our hands extend with his or hers. If one Jew should fall, all of us stumble. If one suffers, we all feel pain. When one rejoices, we are all uplifted. In our oneness we will find our destiny and our destiny is to be one. For we are a single body, breathing with a single set of lungs, pulsating with a single heart, drawing from a single well of consciousness. We are one. Let it be with love.

The identity of your ancesters is a part of your identity. Only by understanding who they were can you know who you are. One can only truly appreciate other cultures if one first appreciates his own. The world is like a giant puzzle. You do not want all the pieces to be the same. The question is: Where do I fit in?
-Rambler

Prove it!

2007-02-25T14:47:00.000-06:00

An oponent once aproached an hassidic man and told him, "The difference between us and you is that we think about G-d all day and you think about yourselves all day!" The hassid retorted, "Yes, of course. That is because you are certain that you exist and spend all day wondering if G-d exists. We are certain that G-d exists and spend all day wondering if we exist."

The Rambler once had a friend named Yoni, who heard that story and realized that, indeed, he had no proof that he existed. The Rambler would endeavor to convince him that his existance was an undeniable fact, but no arguments could be found to be sufficiently convincing. Can you prove that Yoni exists? You have probably never seen him, or even heard of him before now. He may just be a figment of the Rambler's overactive imagination. Proving the existance of G-d is a much easier feat, however. He is everywhere. You can't look without seeing Him. He is the one experience that everyone shares. In the words of the Chief Rabbi of Suburban Guadalajara:

Think simple: You wake up in the morning and, even before coffee, there is. Reality. Existence. Not "the things that exist" but existence itself. The flow. The infinite flow of light and energy. Of being, of existence. Of is. Think of all that flow of isingness all in a single, perfectly simple point. Get into it, commune with it, speak to it, become one with it --that is G-d.

Fixer Upper

2007-02-23T14:27:00.000-06:00

When G-d created the world, he left it incomplete. He left some things for people to be able to come and fix up so that they could be his partners in creation. G-d wanted us to feel what he feels as the creator of the world. That's the greatest gift that one could ever receive, to feel like G-d. The mitzvot are the ways of fixing the world that G-d had in mind. Each time someone does a mitzvah, it changes the world a little bit from the way it was into the way G-d wants it to be. It places another brick toward the completion of G-d's creation. When all the work is done, the world will be perfect. This is called the time of Moshiach. Then we won't do mitzvot to fix the world. We will do mitzvot because that will be the natural order of things.

Phone Number

2007-02-23T14:26:00.000-06:00

When you want to get in contact with someone, you ask them for their phone number. If they like you they give it to you. Now you can hook up with them whenever you want. A mitzvah is G-d's phone number. He told us how to get in touch with him. If you change a phone number because you don't like the sound of it, let's say substitute a nine for a seven, then you don't get the same person anymore. That's why the details of the mitzvot are so important.

Understanding the Enemy

2007-02-22T23:36:00.000-06:00

Sadness is the enemy. After all, are we not here to make the world a better place? That means a place where everyone is happy.

The Torah says "I have placed before you good and life and bad and death, therefore choose life." The definition of life is something which grows. Choose to live and grow, always reaching higher. Happiness is energy. You can measure how happy someone is by how energetic they feel. Sadness is withdrawl. A sad person doesn't want to do much of anything.

Since Tanya is a guide to good living, it understandably has a chapter about how to deal with sadness. It says that sadness comes from the evil in the world. People are sad because bad things happen. But where does evil come from? Surely everything comes from G-d! The answer is that even bad comes from G-d, but what we see as bad is not really bad. If an ignorant man would walk into a room where a surgery is being performed he would think it very bad. A bunch of men in masks have restrained another man and knocked him out, then cut him open! But in fact it is very good. They are saving his life. When things appear bad to us, that is merely de to our lack of understanding. We fail to see the big picture. How this is really for the best. It is for this reason that Talmud says that we must bless G-d for the bad as well as the good.

But surely you cannot tell me that there is no bad in the world. You cannot ignore all of the suffering that people endure every day, from minor inconveniences to horrible atrocities. Even though G-d sees the good that will come from it, it does not take away the fact that it is painful. G-d can do anything. Why didn't he make it not hurt? There must be a purpose even for sadness. When a person is happy, they aren't very picky. They don't care about things as much because everything is going well for them anyways. When a person is sad, they are listing to themselves all the problems that they have, what's lacking in the world. In this frame of mind one can become consious that they are not all that they want to be themselves. It bothers them that they aren't trying harder, and so they do try harder. When things look bad, it is G-d's way of telling us that there is still more to be done, not to be complacent.The pain of sadness is the vacuum between where you are and where you will be.

Life is the story

2007-02-22T23:33:00.000-06:00

Life is the story you write yourself.
Every action you take is another word in the book.
The words come together to form sentences.
The sentences, paragraphs.
The paragraphs, chapters.
G-d is your publisher.
He helps polish your story.
When you study Torah, He is teaching you how to write.
With Prayer, you submit your rough drafts to Him .
He sometimes makes corrections.
He always has the final say.
Life is the story you write yourself.
Make it a good one.

Yes and No

2007-01-23T15:51:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-22T16:43:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-22T14:35:00.002-06:00

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?

2007-01-22T14:18:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-18T19:06:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-14T19:16:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-14T18:53:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-10T13:32:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-10T13:26:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-07T18:39:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-01-06T19:49:00.000-06:00

It's Who You Know...

2007-01-06T19:45:00.000-06:00

Polar opposites

2007-01-06T19:26:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-04T21:45:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-01-03T15:18:00.000-06:00

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

2007-01-02T21:53:00.000-06:00

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.