Time is everything - Mussar from the Parsha - SHEMOT

Time is everything - Mussar from the Parsha - SHEMOT

Pharaoh commanded that "Let the workload be made heavier on the men and let them do it; and let them not be occupied with idle talk".

The Ramchal - Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato is one of the most renowned authors of works of ethics and rebuke - Mussar - the most famous of with is Mesilat Yesharim - Path of the Just.

In the "Path of the Just", the Ramchal writes that one of the cunning techniques of the evil inclination is to keep a person so busy with sinful and destructive activities and thus to deny him the opportunity to actually stop, think and ponder the direction his life is taking, and where he wants it to go.

"For the evil inclination knows that if people had the time to stop and plan their life plan carefully they would feel regret for their sinful actions, and eventually transform their lives into lives of righteousness and goodness."

This is the same principle as Pharaoh's plan. By keeping them preoccupied with their back-breaking labour they had no time to focus on serving God or their redemption from slavery.

However, the Shem MiShmuel points out that this exact same stratagem can be inversely used for the good. By filling up one's time with constructive and useful good deeds, one has no time to sin. When one is so absorbed in good, it is just impossible for any sliver of wickedness to creep in.

The Talmud relates that Rava, the 4th generation Babylonian "Amora" Talmudic sage was once so engrossed in his learning that he failed to realise that a bench had falled and completely crushed his foot to a pulp. He did not even notice this severe fose of excruciating pain.

Similarly, the great Chassidic Master, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk told his Chassidim - followers:

"I want you to refrain from sinful activity not because you are repelled by its defilement and baseness, but simply because you have no time for it."

We are all so busy these days, running to and from work, school, home, etc but we have to set aside time for the things that really matter to us in life.

A recent global campaign was held a few months ago which encouraged users to disconnect from all digital devices - iPhones, Blackberries, iPads, Android, Windows mobile devices - you name it - and devote one hour - smartphone-free - for the things that really matter; from spending time with the family to volunteering at an old-age home or an institution distributing food for the needy. The principle was that we should fill our time with what is good and important - and we should just open our eyes and realise what is what.

Commencing with Pharaoh and continuing with all the "Pharaohs" that have been around since, they strive for our spiral into despair. We must only move uni-directionally.

And that way is up.

Ethics from the Parsha - Vayechi

Ethics from the Parsha - Vayechi

OPEN YOUR EYES - VAYECHI

This week’s Torah portion entitled Vayechi is unusual in one respect; it continues without pause from the previous Torah portion of Vayigash, which we read last week. Usually, there is a gap or pause between two portions, which indicates where each one starts and stops. But not so for Vayechi. Why is this so?

The biblical commentator Rashi explains that the Torah portion is “closed” – meaning that it continues from last week’s portion and there is no gap or indicative spacing in the text, is because the “eyes of the Jewish people were closed.”

In today’s world, we are truly witnessing amazing phenomena. The strides the world has taken in politics, economy and technology, amongst other fields is outstanding.

On a daily basis we witness sighs of redemption in the world; but not always do we realise this and take note of what is happening.

One such sign that redemption is on its way is the general treatment of the Jewish people by would leaders. More Jews than ever now have full access to Judaism, with no regimes such as the Soviet Union to restrict religious observance.

The fact that there is also a Jewish state; one in which religious observance is unhindered and where one can fully live like a Jew in the open without the existing levels anti-Semitism that is still prevalent even in civilised western countries is another such sign.

The Jewish perception in the world is another such sign. Whilst persecution of the Jews was ripe even until just before the Second World War and beyond; where a religious Jew couldn’t even hold a job in America as working on the Sabbath was required. Today one can see Jews sporting traditional Jewish garb on the executive boards of major global companies and corporations.

However, what is painful is that many of us take these signs for granted. The world is changing and it is changing in the path of eternal good.

The longing of thousands of years is no longer an unrealistic dream - it is within grasp.

All we have to do is open our eyes.

Only then will we be able to usher in the ultimate redemption.

Shabbat Shalom.

Setting Realistic Goals

Setting Realistic Goals

This week’s parsha, as do the next few parshiyot of the Torah as well, combines in its text exalted hopes and blessed situations as well as dire predictions and warnings of wretched events that will somehow all occur to the Jewish people. There are wonderful blessings and predictions of happiness and stability and unlimited success in the parsha. But there are also almost unspeakably dire predictions of how close the Jewish people will come to annihilation and disappearance in the future.

It is as though, so to speak, on the surface of the text, the Torah cannot make up its mind regarding the Jewish future and destiny. And it must also be noted that the Torah makes little provision in its statements for an “ordinary” existence. It always seems to be an “all or nothing” situation for the Jewish people – great moments of triumph and/or desperate times of persecution, discrimination and potential destruction.

Part of the main unfulfilled hope of secular Zionism was to make the Jewish people “normal” – to avoid the extreme swings of Jewish life and history. But it is obvious that the State of Israel, the crowning achievement of Zionism, has not succeeded in making us “normal.”

We are not Paraguay or Australia. In the short space of sixty-two years of Israel’s as an independent sovereign nation - only a blink of an eye in terms of history - it and the Jewish world has experienced soaring moments of success and miraculous accomplishments as well as terrible times of tension, pressures, fear and loss. Apparently this pattern is destined to continue and it has truly been the hallmark of Jewish life over the past century of our existence.

As the Torah indicates, the end of the pendulum we will be on is partially dependent upon us - on our behavior and spiritual thoughts, plans and acts. Just as the events of Jewish life always appear to us as being somewhat extreme, so our goals and behavior are also judged in the extreme, so to speak.

We always have to aim high for ourselves - very high - when it comes to matters of personal development, spiritual attainment and Torah observance. The status quo is an unacceptable state of being in the matter of spirit and tradition. A business that does not grow at least incrementally will surely sink. The same is true for human beings in their spiritual growth.

This is essentially the message of Elul and the High Holy days now upon us – the message of how to attain blessings. Even though spirituality and faith exist in extremes, as I have pointed out above, all extremism must be tempered by the recognition of one’s true self and capabilities. Reasonable and reachable goals should always be our true agenda.

Religious life is not a sprint race. It is a long marathon requiring pace, consistency, training and commitment. There will be a day of greatness and tranquility for the Jewish people. So we are told by our prophets who have never misled us. But we have to do our part to make that promise a reality.

Building Fences

Building Fences

The idea of the necessity of a fence on one’s roof and exposed staircases and high landings is a very logical and realistic one. The Torah itself advances this simple reasoning by stating that otherwise one may fall from that exposed area with painful if not tragic consequences. However halacha and practicality indicate that not everyone is obligated in this mitzvah and that there are physical instances where such a fence is impossible to construct or is even unnecessary.

Nevertheless, the moral imperative that drives the mitzvah seems to be omnipresent and always operative. A house, a home, a family always needs to be protected, both physically and morally. Just as negligence in failing to erect a fence around one’s exposed roof is a cause for monetary and even criminal liability, so too negligence in failing to construct the moral fence to protect our home and family from the ravages of a rather depraved society is seen to be a serious transgression.

In raising children, as well as in governing society generally, there can be no doubt that fences have to be fashioned and protected. The rub always is as to how many fences and where they are to be placed and how high the actual fence should be. When it comes to the issue of the physical fences around our rooftops, halacha answers all of these questions for us. But when the issue is regarding the moral fence that we must construct for our family and ourselves, there we find minimal guidance.

Just as every physical fence must be constructed to conform to the dimensions of the roof it protects – a circular fence will not completely protect a rectangular roof – so too there is no one-size-fits-all moral fence that is appropriate for every home and family. Tragically, in today’s Jewish world, there are many homes that have no moral fence at all protecting the house and family.

Everyone is allowed, if not even encouraged, to live a life without limits, restraints or moral discipline. And at the other end of the spectrum of Jewish society there are homes where the fence has been constructed too high and is too constrictive as to impede and prevent healthy individual development and constructive discovery and innovation. It is therefore obvious that knowing where, when and how to create this moral fence that will safeguard the Jewish home is the main challenge of parenting and family dynamics.

The Torah in this week’s parsha speaks of ben sorer u’moreh – a rebellious, undisciplined youth – who will grow to be a very destructive force in society. Such a child in most cases represents the failure in the family in erecting and enforcing the proper moral fence in the house. That negligence of safeguarding the home spiritually, emotionally and morally will invariably come back to haunt that family and all society generally.

There are no magical ways to build these necessary fences. Every family and home is different and unique and there is only the common necessity for all families to erect the proper and fitting fences within their home and family. Patience, wisdom, restraint and prayer are key ingredients in accomplishing this vital task

Rabbi Berel Wein

SHOFTIM: God and Man

"After God, your Lord, you shall go" - Deuteronomy 13:5

Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen, more popularly known as the Chafetz Chaim, once asked Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter of Gur, the Imrei Emet, the following question: "Why does the verse use the word 'after' - a term that normally denotes separation and distance? Surely we should strive to be as close to God as possible, and not go 'after" Him?"

The Imrei Emet responded with a brilliant answer: "The more one recognizes God's greatness and his own worthlessness, the more he will realize how far he really is from God. Therefore, only after one recognizes the infinite distance that exists between God and himself can one start to come closer to God. This is what is meant in the verse's usage of the word 'after' God."

Death of a Tzaddik

Chukat: The Death of a Tzaddik

As the Israelites neared the end of their forty-year trek in the wilderness, they lost two great leaders, Miriam and Aaron. While a tremendous loss for the nation, their passing had a hidden spiritual benefit.

The Torah informs us of Miriam's death immediately after enumerating the laws of the Parah Adumah, the red heifer whose ashes were used for purification. The Talmudic sages already wondered what connection there might be between Miriam's death and the Parah Adumah :

"Why is the death of Miriam juxtaposed to the laws of the Parah Adumah? This teaches that just as the Parah Adumah brings atonement, so too, the death of the righteous brings atonement."  (Mo'ed Katan 28a)

While this connection between Miriam and the Parah Adumah is well-known, the continuation of the same Talmudic statement, concerning the death of Aaron, is less so.

"And why is the death of Aaron juxtaposed to [the mention of] the priestly clothes? This teaches that just as the priestly clothes bring atonement, so too, the death of the righteous brings atonement."

In what way does the death of tzaddikim atone for the people? And why does the Talmud infer this lesson from both the Parah Adumahand the priestly clothes?

Larger Than Life

The principal benefit that comes from the death of tzaddikim is the spiritual and moral awakening that takes place after they pass away. When a tzaddik is alive, his acts of kindness and generosity are not always public knowledge. True tzaddikim do not promote themselves. On the contrary, they often take great pains to conceal their virtues and charitable deeds. It is not uncommon that we become aware of their true greatness and nobility of spirit only after they are no longer with us. Only then do we hear reports of their selfless deeds and extraordinary sensitivity, and we are inspired to emulate their ways. In this way, the positive impact of the righteous as inspiring role models increases after their death.

While stories of their fine traits and good deeds stir us to follow in their path, certain aspects of great tzaddikim — extraordinary erudition and scholarship, for example — are beyond the capabilities of most people to emulate. In such matters, the best we can do is to take upon ourselves to promote these qualities in our spiritual leadership, such as supporting the Torah study of young, promising scholars.

Two Forms of Emulation

In short, the death of tzaddikim inspires us to imitate their personal conduct — if possible, in our own actions, and if not, by ensuring that there will be others who will fill this spiritual void.

These two methods of emulation parallel the different forms of atonement through the Parah Adumah and the priestly clothes. Ritual purification using Parah Adumah ashes was only effective when they were sprinkled on the body of the impure person; no one else could be purified in his place. This is comparable to those aspects of the tzaddik that are accessible to, and incumbent upon, all to emulate.

The priestly garments, on the other hand, were only worn by thekohanim. It was through the service of these holy emissaries that the entire nation was forgiven. This is like those extraordinary traits of the tzaddik that are beyond the capabilities of most people. These qualities can be carried on only by a select few, with the support of the entire nation.

(Gold from the Land of Israel, pp. 263-265; adapted from Midbar Shur pp. 346-347)

Total Dedication

Chukat: Total Dedication to Torah

"This is the Torah: when a person dies in a tent ..." (Num. 19:14)

While the topic of this passage is the ritual impurity (tum'ah) that comes from contact with the dead, the Talmud (Berachot 63b) gives a homiletic interpretation about those who toil in the study of Torah:

"From where do we learn that Torah study is only truly absorbed by one who 'kills himself' over it? As it says, 'This is the Torah — when a person dies in the tent [of Torah learning].'"

Why does Torah study require such a high degree of self-sacrifice and commitment?

The purpose of society is to provide normal living conditions, without excessive hardships, for its citizens. In order to achieve this goal, however, there must be some individuals who are willing to serve the community beyond the ordinary call of duty. For example, firefighters, soldiers, police officers and other security personnel must be prepared to work long and irregular hours, and accept the dangers inherent in their jobs. Without their willingness to accept these hardships, the entire populace would suffer from untended fires, violence, crime, war, and other threats to the community's stability and safety.

Guarding the Spirit of the Nation

In a similar fashion, those individuals who are willing to dedicate their lives to Torah study are guardians for the entire Jewish people. Just as a soldier cannot properly perform his service to the nation without a willingness for self-sacrifice, so too, Torah scholars must totally dedicate themselves to their mission. Only with this spirit of commitment will they succeed in nurturing the spiritual light of Israel and enriching the authentic inner life of the nation.

The breadth and depth of knowledge required for true Torah scholarship necessitates long and intensive hours of study. This must come at the expense of pleasures and leisure activities that are acceptable for the general population. Only by overcoming the desire for creature comforts and 'the easy life' — by demonstrating their willingness to 'kill themselves' in the tents of Torah — do these scholars prove their worthiness to lead the nation in attaining its spiritual aspirations.

(Gold from the Land of Israel, pp. 261-262; adapted from Ein Eyahvol. II, p. 390)