Community Links Magazine Issue 230

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May 3 - May 17, 2 0 1 3

Vol. 10 Issue 230

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8

How Do I Love Thee

Marriage is the ultimate classroom, your process with your spouse is the ultimate curriculum and shalom bayit (peace in the home) is your ultimate goal and reward.

Me and My Shadow

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The truly great people are the ones who are close to HaShem. The closer they get to the real source of enlightenment, the bigger shadow they cast.

Mia Adler Ozair, MA, LPCC, NCC Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

THE COMMUNITY LINKS is published biweekly and is distributed free to the Jewish Community of Southern California.

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32 Learning to Trust Living by Faith

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How Do I Love Thee?

MIA ADLER OZAIR, MA, LPCC, NCC

I

n just a short time Shavuot will be upon us and we will once yet). We have no control over others or over G-d’s greater again rejoice in the marriage of the Jewish people with the plan, but we do have some control over the person we are and Torah and our G-d. The concept of unity—with G-d, as a na- are working to become. Somehow the magic happens and . . . tion, or as a couple—is foundational to the Jewish experience and to our personal experience in this world. From the time HURRAY! THE CHUPPAH IS FINISHED, SHEVA most are little there are dreams of finding our beshert, the one BRACHOT DONE! Mazal tov! You found him or her and you’ve stomped the glass! destined for us, and we daydream about who he or she is, how we will meet, and what our lives will look like together. Will All was (hopefully) delightful and now it’s time to send thank you there be a big wedding or small? Will there be good familial re- notes and start to build a home together. At first things are amazing. You’re sharing time together, learning about each other more, lations between in-laws? Will there be children? and getting into a married-life rhythm. There are If so, how many? Who will they look challenges here and there but you face them like? Where will we live? The quesas a team and feel that together you can tions are endless, as is the subject of take on the world! Until that first mamarriage and unity throughout the jor conflict . . .

Torah and our most revered texts.

Given the importance of marriage I HAVE MADE A HUGE MISboth in our personal lives as well TAKE. as our religious paradigm, I’d like You are upset. You feel a knot to spend some time with you in in your stomach. You feel a bit this article exploring various facets of nauseous. How can it be that this Jewish marriage in modern day as I see person, my other half, my “you comit through my lens of being a married obplete me”, doesn’t do exactly as I say? How servant Jewish woman who also works with One of the best ways can he be so insensitive? Does she think couples in private counseling practice. Let’s start with one of the most anxiety-produc- to draw our partner to I’m her child to order around? What hapto that perfect person I fell in love ing subjects related to marriage . . . us—married or not yet pened with and married? Was he or she replaced married—is to focus with an evil twin? After the initial shock WHERE IS MY BESHERET??

Or, am I married to my besheret? Or, is on our own personal of a first major argument one comes to realize that in fact our spouse is a person, he The One? Or, am I The One? The truth spiritual work. and like all other people, he or she has is there is only one answer to these quesstrengths and weaknesses. We all have tions: Only G-d knows. I know that’s not what we want to hear, but there is no way for us to know who wonderful character traits and some wretchedly awful ones is destined for us, what our soul’s path requires, and if we will too. The beauty of marriage in its rawest form is that there merit our true “soulmate.” However one thing I do know for is no hiding. Mistakes will be made. Words will be said. certain is that one of the best ways to draw our partner to us— Regrets will be created. However there are blessings in evmarried or not yet married—is to focus on our own personal erything and so the trick is to take those mistakes, words, and spiritual work of becoming the best versions of ourselves and regrets and squeeze the lessons from them. It’s important to to focus less on what the other person needs to fix (if married) never get stuck in those less-than-perfect moments and conor on what we want our ideal mate to be like (if not married sciously shift your view to see the glass as half-full . . .

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s”xc OKAY, I’VE GOT THIS. Somewhere within those first years of marriage the three parties who married under the chuppah— the bride, the groom, and G-d—will start to coalesce and gel into something that becomes its own creation, different and unique than any of the individual parties prior to the chuppah. This new formation or unit must find its own feet to stand on, its own code of ethics, its own pattern of living. For a Jewish couple, this can be done using the technology of Torah and mitzvot as foundations.

Once this entity called “couple” begins to have its own unique identity, the work really begins. Much like a person drawing closer to G-d, working to draw closer to a spouse requires focus, dedication, empathy, attachment, vulnerability, willingness to admit wrong-doing, and generally an attitude of “I’ve got this.” In marriage you will be witnessed—for better or worse. You will be tested. You will be elated at times and at times brought down low. Regardless, mar-

Marriage is the ultimate classroom, your process with your spouse is the ultimate curriculum and shalom bayit (peace in the home) is your ultimate goal and reward. riage is the ultimate classroom, your process with your spouse is the ultimate curriculum, and shalom bayit (peace in the home) is your ultimate goal and reward.

HAPPILY EVERY AFTER . . .

Okay let’s just pop this bubble right now: “Happily ever after” is a Disney story, a completely fictitious affair. Got it? Get it out of your head that marriage can be, should be, or is . . . EASY. Most of us have a hard enough time managing our own ups and downs let alone those of our spouse and children. In today’s divorce-ridden society we simply do not know what will be, and the truth is we don’t need to know.

What we DO need to know is that it us up to each and every spouse to show up—day in and day out—and to hold on to the idea in our heads that as long as we give 100% in the marriage then whatever the outcome it will ultimately be the best result for all involved. No matter what, if we fail to see that we are accountable to our spouse in marriage, it is imperative to be clear that we are accountable to HaShem in every moment of our lives.

Whether you wish to get married or are married, or wish to get unmarried or re-married, take time this Shavuot to appreciate the ultimate marriage—that of HaShem to us, his people—and ask yourself how you are doing with that marriage in order to draw the strength you need to merit meeting and/or building a home with your partner in life. Part of the process of effective personal growth and relationship development is to take time to deeply reflect on lessons learned and lessons yet to be learned. The holiday of Shavuot provides a beautiful time and energy to do just that. Chag sameach!

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The Observant Jew

Me and My Shadow

locale (currently at my computer with no one else around,) but I can still reach others and my shadow-like sphere of influence is many times greater than my physical sphere would be, for example if I tried speaking or calling out to whoever could hear me.

R’ Moshe Feinstein z”l, was a giant, even though I don’t think he broke the five-foot mark. He said he feared that when he got to Heaven they would ask him if he had spread enough Torah, so he began writing seforim. A book can travel much farther than he could, can be in multiple places at one time, and can last for years, reaching people he couldn’t physically have reached. That’s the shadow effect, ometimes, people get spooked by things or are eashelping someone to be larger than life and greater than ily frightened, and we’ll say they’re afraid of their own their physical dimensions. shadow. Well, I’m not generally a fraidy-cat (no offense if Say you had to go to the hospital with someone on Shabyour name is actually Fraidy Katz) and usually I investigate bos. You might find Kosher food and drink there because first. Then I might get scared. someone thought about setting up a hospitality room for One day I was in my kitchen and I glanced out the glass such circumstances, even when they wouldn’t be there in patio door. That’s when I saw it. A huge monster was on my person. If you compliment someone, or teach them somedeck, just a few feet away from my table. I couldn’t actually thing, your words could live on in their memories for years or see the monster; I could just see his shadow. Now, I’m not decades, maybe even a lifetime, affecting their behavior, and one to be afraid of a shadow, so I went to check it out. And even what they pass on to others. That larger-than-life result that’s when I saw it: an eensy-weensy spider who probably can be attributed, once again, to the shadow effect. couldn’t have climbed up a… up a … well, let’s just say it was That also got me to thinking about how shadows are tiny. made. We don’t have shadows in the dark. That’s because in He was climbing up his web, or maybe going down it, I order to cast a shadow you need a light source. I remember don’t know, I’m not an expert in things arachnid, and though one night when I went to pick my daughter up and left the he was physically barely larger than a speck of dust, the after- car running as I walked to her friend’s home. The headlights noon sun made him cast a huge shadow. Like most things, it made my shadow HUGE and I looked taller than the house. got me to thinking.

It seems that the closer you are to the light source, the bigger I thought about the fact that though he was a tiny spider, a shadow you will cast. And that fits in exactly with my leshe was able to make a much bigger impact on me. Though son from the spider and R’ Moshe. physically small, the shadow he cast was many times larger Have you ever tried to catch a shadow? You can’t do it than he was. How many times have we walked with children because a shadow isn’t tangible. In essence, a shadow is just who point with glee to their shadows and say, “Look! I’m a measure of how great the object between you and the light taller than you!” Now, in my case, at a whopping five feet, source is. It’s the effect that object has in blocking the light seven inches tall, that isn’t a big deal, but for a five-year old, and casting its shade on other things. that’s huge.

Throughout the Torah, shade is construed as a form of It would seem, then, that shadows can teach us a lesson protection, and a sign of closeness. Lot said the visitors had about physical limitations. The truth, it turns out, is that come to the shade of his roof beam and so he was bound empirical evidence is not generally a determining factor in to protect them. Moshe said that Betzalel must have been environmental impact. I may be just one person, in a specific “in the shadow of HaShem,” i.e. very close to Him, to have

BY RABBI JONATHAN GEWIRTZ

S

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such a deep understanding of how to build the Mishkan. In use their shadow to comfort people, protect them, and guide Tehillim, Dovid HaMelech says, “HaShem is your guard; them. They don’t block the light. They reflect it themselves HaShem is your shadow upon your right side.” so it spreads even further and we who see them get a sense of The greatest light source in the world isn’t their greatness by how far the shade of their The truly great the headlights of a car, it’s not the spotlight protection spreads. on a stage, and it’s not even the sun. In truth, We all have the ability to cast a shadow, people are the the greatest source of light is HaShem, Himand we all have the ability to make it spread ones who are close self. And, the closer to Him you get, the bigas far as possible by coming closer to the ger your shadow, the bigger your potential to HaShem. The Light Source. We have a responsibility to influence on others. go beyond our perceived limitations and recloser they get to Sometimes this influence is misused, alize that we can influence more people than the real source of we imagined by recognizing how our shadwhen people in leadership positions take their opportunities for guiding people and enlightenment, ows work. use them for personal gain either financially, So, am I afraid of my own shadow? Not the bigger shadow emotionally, or otherwise. You may have at all. I’m in awe of it. they cast. people coming to a Rebbe, a Rabbi, or even Jonathan Gewirtz is a freelance writer whose work has apan entire movement of Judaism seeking enpeared in publications around the world. He also operates lightenment but simply being put more in JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custommade speech for your next special occasion. the dark then they were before. Those are the people in front of an artificial light source.

For more information, or to sign up for his weekly Dvar Torah in English, e-mail The truly great people are the ones who are close to info@JewishSpeechWriter.com and put Subscribe in the subject.

HaShem. The closer they get to the real source of enlightenment, the bigger shadow they cast. Like R’ Moshe, they © 2013 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.

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The Weekly Sabbatical

BY ZALMAN POSNER

“G

-d spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai and said ... Six years you may plant your fields... and the seventh year shall be Shabbat, you shall not plant.” Why was this Divine commandment of shmita (Sabbatical year when fields are left fallow) particularly related to Mt. Sinai? After all, the entire Torah was taught to Moses on Sinai.

Shmita, perhaps to a greater degree than other commandments, tests the Jew’s faith in G-d, because it explicitly calls upon him to demonstrate his confidence in G-d’s bounty, his belief in Gd’s power and providence. “And if you ask what will we eat during the seventh year -- we have not sown and harvested? I will give you My blessing”.1 This is a difficult test, undramatic, there is no heroic martyrdom involved. There is no reason for its fulfillment but faith in G-d, and without faith its fulfillment is impossible. As Sinai is symbolic of Judaism, shmita is symbolic of devotion to Judaism.

We have our own shmita every week -- the Shabbat day that is no less a test of our religious convictions.

How many who profess to cherish Judaism and insist that dire necessity forces them into reluctant violation, have actually made an effort to keep just one Shabbat and failed? How many admittedly unconcerned with earning their next meal, thank G-d, and even familiar with luxuries, nonetheless continue to desecrate Shabbat -- with no excuse of hardship?

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We have our own shmita every week — the Shabbat day that is no less a test of our religious convictions.

Few today fail to subscribe to the beauties and rewards of religious faith. Everybody “believes” in G-d, faith is declared to be a “wonderful thing,” and it’s very important for domestic tranquility, preventing juvenile

delinquency and peace of mind. But what is faith if not the power to act by that faith? And if our faith ends at our pocketbooks, then how valuable is it?

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17

The Fiftieth Miracle

BY SHLOMO YAFFE

N

o two festivals on the Jewish calendar are more coupled than Passover and Shavuot. And no two festivals seem further apart conceptually.

We proceed from Passover to Shavuot along the pathway of the 49-day Omer Count which delineates them both. The Omer period always begins on the second day of Passover and ends with Shavuot. Shavuot is defined by the Torah as the day following the Omer Count, the 50th day after Passover. Shavuot is thus the only festival on our calendar not set by the date of the month but by its position vis-a-vis another holiday: Passover defines Shavuot.

Yet when we look at these two festivals, we discover that they represent differing, even opposite, ideas. Passover is called by the Torah the festival of “leaping” (pesach). We leap out of exile on the heels of ten supernatural Plagues. We are guided across a sea that splits open and then engulfs our pursuers in a process that violates every law of physics and chemistry. A nation of slaves, uncoiled a mere six days from the fetishism of Egyptian idolatry, perceives “more than the prophets” and sings a sublime song of transcendent beauty!

In contrast, Shavuot is called by the Torah Chag Habikkurim “The Festival of the First Fruits”. In the Temple period it marked the beginning of the wheat harvest and the first use of the new crop by a communal offering of loaves of wheatbread in the Temple as thanks for blessings of the harvest.

Shavuot also marks the giving of the Torah, which, though a supernatural experience, actually marked the beginning of the era of the natural, the human and the ordinary in Jewish life. From the moment the Torah was given to the Jewish 18

people, G-d decreed that “It (the Torah) is not in the heavens” but in our world. Only human beings can interpret the Torah and its rulings. After Sinai, G-d’s voice, by His own choice, cannot itself issue a ruling on the practice of Judaism. Furthermore, all of the Torah’s precepts (mitzvot) are defined as certain actions that are done with certain objects in precise mandates of time, mass, volume and space, the very boundaries of the natural world.

Nevertheless, the primary name used for this festival, Shavuot (“weeks”), refers to the seven weeks of the Omer.

Seven weeks of a seamless continuum which define Passover and Shavuot as a single entity.

We are told by the Talmud that a farmer “believes in the Life source of the worlds and (therefore) sows”. At first glance this seems a poor example of faith, one sows because it is a fact of nature that sowing seed brings a harvest in its wake, and we all need to eat.

In truth, this is the whole point of the progression and growth that we experienced as a people in those momentous seven weeks between the first Passover and that first Shavuot.

To see G-d in the “fireworks” of the Egyptian Exodus is something that even a child can do. As our sages say, “A child at the splitting of the sea saw more than the prophet Ezekiel”. Indeed, how could he not? It is obvious that the “Hand of G-d” is at work in the wholesale upending of the natural order.

Far deeper and more mature is the understanding that the natural cycle is no less a miracle than the splitting of the Red May 3, 2013• 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

Sea and all the miraculous drama of the Exodus. Both flow exclusively from G-d’s essence. The only difference between the natural and the miraculous is frequency.

It is an axiom of Judaism that creation is an ongoing process. At every moment, the flow of divine energy is being condensed into the stuff of our bodies and souls and of every entity in all universes; were it to cease for even a split second, we would cease to exist instantaneously and utterly, it would be as if we never had existed. So it is clear that no accomplishment can be made, no purpose attained, without the energy for it flowing from the Source of all life.

This is reality; we need only to look beneath the surface of things to perceive it. Sometimes it leaps above the surface on its own, that is a miracle. When that happens, seeing is no longer a choice: it is there before our eyes.

When our perception is driven by the force of the novel and the spectacular, we are passive bystanders, we are “forced” into recognizing our relationship to G-d. But when we choose to see G-d’s essence in the first green shoot of wheat, this is our

accomplishment. We have found G-d not as an external force impacting our world, but as the very fabric of our (seemingly) ordinary being.

Nature exists because G-d chose the natural order as the “default” option for all time. Miracles, on the other hand, are a concession to the human need to see things from a different perspective in order to apprehend what they’ve already seen.

G-d entrusted us with a “natural” existence because G-d has faith in our capacity to find the essential reflected in each moment of our lives and in each strand of the natural world.

G-d takes us from the obviousness of Passover and impels us, with confidence in our success, to the subtlety of Shavuot. This is because as much as we think of “faith” as our belief in G-d, there is an equally significant faith, the faith G-d has in us. G-d knows that with the light contained within Torah we have sufficient illumination to find, and live, the Gdliness that is the core of each being and the fabric of every moment.

When we choose to see G-d’s essence in the first green shoot of wheat, this is our accomplishment.

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love, tasting the cheese in every stage of preparation, adjusting and refining the process as he goes.

“The cheese we create is an expression of the land on which it is created,” says Seltzer. “Month to month, year to year, according to the weather, what the goats are eating and the land on which they are grazing , the cheese changes. We can give a name to each type of cheese but it is incomparable to cheeses created elsewhere. Our cheeses are simply an expression of the Judean Mountains.”

Alongside the natural limestone cave in which the cheeses are stored to mature and ripen, over 170 goats graze on the mountainside. These goats have adapted to their lush, mountainous surroundings and produce high quality milk, rich in fat and dry matter (milk content excluding the liquid). The Seltzer family has developed a range of cheeses which they serve to visitors alongside specially selected wines which bring out the unique flavors in the cheese. “Wine and cheese make a wonderful pairing once you discover the perfect match,” explained Shai Seltzer’s son, Omri.

Omri Seltzer produces overflowing cheese platters and the wines with which they are served.“Here in Israel we have wonderful wines but we chose the award winning wines from the Golan Heights Winery both due to their depth of flavor and also, in our opinion, because they are the best kosher wines.” Being a kosher dairy has not limited Seltzer and he says that their farm is one of the few places that observant Jews are able to sample hand crafted, artisanal food served with high quality, internationally acclaimed wines.

SOFT CHEESES The first cheese group to be sampled is the Seltzers’ range of soft cheeses. These are deliciously decadent, creamy cheeses whose flavors coat the tongue as it melts in the mouth. There is a scrumptious fresh cheese wrapped in vine leaves which adds yet another dimension to the flavor and then there is the crumbly Mony’ cheese which has a much softer, delicate taste.

The soft cheeses, Omri Seltzer pairs with the Yarden Gewurztraminer. The Yarden White Gewurztraminer is what can be described as an off-dry, fruity wine which noticeably enhances the cheeses’ flavor. The fruitiness and tart acidity of the wine cuts through the creamy cheese, refreshing the palate and allowing the individual flavors in the cheese to be fully expressed.

HARD CHEESES Proceeding to the hard cheeses, the platter Seltzer produces is laden with cheeses of a range of colors, textures and sizes. These cheeses have tough rinds which absorb the earthy aromas of the cave in which they are stored. One such cheese, ‘Michal’, is a young hard yellow cheese. Its ability to both crumble and melt in your mouth is only half of its charm. An exhale through the nose completes the tasting, leaving the tongue with a robust flavor majestically capturing this rich cream of the goat’s milk and the gentle bitterness and earthy flavors from the seven months of fermentation in the farm’s cave May 3, 2013 • 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

These harder cheeses need a fruity, fuller bodied wine to complement them and Seltzer pairs them with the Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon or the Yarden Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir’s fruity notes of sour cherry and raspberry are delicious on their own but paired with these hard, goat’s cheeses; develop into a well-rounded wine filling the palate with its elegant finish. The Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon is undoubtedly a full bodied wine, fit to pair with the strongest cheese. It is deliciously complex and in addition to its noticeable fruity character, its earthy and oak notes complement the earthy flavors present in the cheese.

AGED CHEESES Ending the tasting with the special Yarden Heightswine, Seltzer produces their masterpiece, a cheese aged for four and a half years in their cave. This aged cheese, hard like the rind of Italian Parmesan but crumbly like short bread, is an ecstatic collision of sharp nutty flavors with gentle creamy tones. It has a subtle sweetness and for this reason is delightfully paired with the Yarden Heightswine, a sweet desert wine.

The Yarden Heightswine has deliciously concentrated flavors with a long finish leaving aromatic hints of litchi and summer fruits lingering on the tongue and complementing this unique cheese. The Heightswine is a sweet wine that leaves even the most ardent ‘dry-wine fan’ hankering after a second glass and could easily be served with any cheese platter. Paradoxically, sweeter wines are often paired with sharp, blue veined cheeses as they break down the salinity and sharpness of the cheese, creating a perfect balance.

For visitors travelling the beaten paths of the Jerusalem Hills, the Seltzer’s farm is a highly recommended pit-stop to tantalize the taste buds. For those wishing to recreate the experience at home this Shavuot, presenting a smorgasbord of carefully paired cheeses and wines will delight guests and elevate this dairy-themed festival to new levels.

How to get there: From the Sataf Visitor’s center, either park your car and descend by foot or continue on the rocky path following the signs with pictures of a goat until you reach the small farm nestled on the mountainside.

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F ully IInteractive, Fully nteractive, Re volutionary App App Revolutionary Targets T argets JJewish ewish Youngsters Youngsters iShtick, a developer of Jewish educational apps for children, has announced the release of its inaugural app, a ground-breaking, fully interactive, musical siddur, designed for children ranging in age from two through nine.

Kids Siddur, which is available for all iOS and Android devices, including smart phones and tablets, is a full featured app designed to appeal to young children with state of the art graphics, interactive features, quality music, over twelve minutes of original, animated content that teaches them to embrace tefila with open arms. “ While there are many very nice Jewish apps out there for adults, there are no apps that are really entertaining for our children, that can stand up next to the higher quality games that are available,” said Netanel Hershtik, creator of iShtik.

The father of three young children under the age of seven, Hershtik saw the need for a line of Jewish educational apps firsthand, as his own children would often commandeer his phone. “ Everyone uses smart phones,” reflected Hershtik. “ But there is nothing out there with educational content designed specifically for Jewish children.”

Kids Siddur features the entire davening typically said by the younger set, along with fun activities designed to delight and entertain. As the cantor of the prestigious Hampton Synagogue, with two albums to his credit and a fourteenth generation chazan, Hershtik refused to compromise on the musical quality of the app, enlisting the services of his nephew, Shlomo Zichel, an eleven year old finalist on the renowned Israeli prime time reality show, School of Music. Kids Siddur also allows users to toggle between Hebrew and English modes with just the touch of a finger.

“This app brings the traditional daily prayer to life, with fresh new arrangements,” explained Hershtik. “ It is a fun, cool and entertaining Jewish animated app that teaches little ones Jewish values and prayers. There is no other app on the market that does that.”

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Kids Siddur is available from both iT Tunes and Google Play for $2.99 and is just one of several apps being developed by iShtik.

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Countdown

BY NAFTALI SILBERBERG

T

he preparations for any given event give us an idea as to the substance of the anticipated event. The woman in a bridal boutique purchasing a white wedding gown is preparing for her wedding day, and the person in a camping site collecting dry wood and arranging it in a pile is getting ready to make a bonfire. It’s a pretty fair assumption that the wedding gown isn’t intended for wear at a bonfire, and the wood isn’t being stacked in a pyramid in anticipation of a wedding reception. The same applies with preparations for spiritual and religious events. A month of introspection and repentance is certainly the suitable preparation for the High Holidays, when G-d examines our deeds and renders a judgment regarding the new year. And scouring the house in search of chametz is a sure sign that Passover is approaching, a holiday when the possession of all leavened substances are banned for eight days.

Shavuot is the holiday that marks the anniversary of the day when G-d gave us the Torah. This monumental day also follows a preparation period, the seven-week Omer counting period. We prepare for Shavuot by counting numbers.

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Interestingly, the Torah portion of Bamidbar is always read shortly before Shavuot, usually the Shabbat immediately preceding the holiday. This Torah reading begins the book of Numbers, and the portion is indeed filled with numbers. First a census is taken of the Israelites, and the Torah supplies us with the number of Israelites in each tribe, in each of the four “flags,” and then gives the grand totals. The Levites are then counted, twice. The firstborns earn their very own headcount, too.

Why the countdown to the holiday of Shavuot? What is the connection between numbers and counting and the special gift our nation received on this holiday?

Counting is an equalizer. Every unit which is counted adds up to one, no more and no less. Let us use the two countings which we have just mentioned, the Omer counting and the censuses of the Israelites as examples: The seven weeks of the Omer period contain many different days, some holy and exciting, others seemingly mundane and ordinary. On one side we have the days of Passover, seven Shabbats, Rosh Chodesh, and the deeply mystical holiday of Lag B’Omer; May 3, 2013• 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

and then we have the “back to dull work” Mondays and the rest of the run-of-the-mill days. But as concerns the counting of the Omer, each of these days has the exact same value: one day in the journey towards Shavuot. This is because no matter the external qualities (or non-qualities) that any given day may possess, in essence every day is a carbon copy of the day that just passed and the day to follow. Every day is a gift from G-d, and we are intended to use it, maximize it to its utmost in His service. How we are to serve Him on any particular day will vary, some days we serve G-d by going to work, and on other days we serve Him by abstaining from work. Some days we serve Him by eating, and on others we serve Him by fasting. Counting days allows us to focus on what unites them all, their common factor and purpose.

The same is true with regards to counting Jews. As a nation we are far from a homogenous group. This is true in all areas, and our service of G-d is no exception. Depending on our unique talents, some of us serve G-d through assiduous Torah study, others through volunteering time in public service, others through financially supporting worthy causes, and yet others through reciting Psalms with devotion and sincerity. Leaders and followers. Old and young. Men and women. Scholars and laymen. Every segment of our nation, and indeed every individual person, serves G-d in his or her unique way.

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And the counting of the Jews teaches us that the service of any one person isn’t more or less important than the service of another. One’s service may be more attractive, flashy and attention-grabbing than another’s, but at the core we are all involved in the exact same pursuit, serving our Creator with all our available talents and resources.

All these countings lead to Shavuot, the day when we were given the Torah, the ultimate equalizer.

The essence and purpose of all of creation is G-d’s desire for a physical abode, an earthly realm which would be transformed into a hospitable habitat where His essence could be expressed. It is the Torah that a) reveals to us this divine plan; b) contains the mitzvot, the tools with which we bring this purpose to realization; and thus c) brings harmony and equality to all of creation, for it shows us how every one of its myriads of components is essentially identical, for they all have one purpose.

As Shavuot approaches, let us take this message to heart. Every person counts. Every day counts. Every component of creation counts. And we should be counting our blessings that we were given the Torah, without which nothing would count.

Reprinted with permission from www.chabad.org.

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31

Learning to Trust; Living by Faith

BY RABBI REUVEN WOLF

T

he Parsha—Behar—deals with, among other Mitzvot, the rules of Shemita, the sabbatical year, during which the land must lie uncultivated and unworked by the people; and the rules of Yovel, the Jubilee Year. The Shemita was observed every seventh year, and during that year, the ownership of the land was, in a sense, suspended—anyone could eat what grew in the field; even animals could enter the field and eat, though the ownership of the field remained in effect and resumed the following year. As for the Yovel, that was a year that occurred after seven Shemita cycles, so that the fiftieth year was sanctified and, again, the fields were not farmed.

Here, the ownership was radically affected in that the land reverted to the original owners (or their heirs) as determined all the way at the beginning of the Israelite settlement in the Land of Israel. Yovel had other aspects that made it a kind of “reset” of the Land of Israel: debts were forgiven, for example, and slaves were freed.

These institutions were practiced during the period when the entire Jewish People lived in the Land of Israel, but the Talmud (Erechin 32) tells us that only then was the Yovel in effect. Once the Jews began to be exiled, as they were 150 years before the Destruction of the First Temple, when Sennacharib exiled the two and half tribes living east of the Jordan, then Yovel—its economic and legal practices, at any rate—ceased to be observed. Shemita, on the other hand, remained in effect and was observed even after the First Temple was destroyed and the Jews were driven out of Israel in 422 BCE. (According to some rabbis, however, Shemita became a rabbinic decree, aimed at insuring that the institution would not be forgotten, but was no longer a Biblical Mitzvah as it had been before.) Yovel, the Sages tells us, will be reinstated only when the Jewish people are brought back to Israel en masse during the Messianic Age. Shemita, however, is in effect even today.

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The Torah addresses the question that was very likely on everyone’s mind—“what will we eat on the seventh year” (Vayikra 25:20) and how will we survive if we suspend farming for a year?— by assuring Israel (25:21-23) that the harvest of the sixth year will be so abundant that they will be able to live on it well into the following year when the new harvest is ready.

Two questions arise from the difference between Shemita and Yovel: First, why did the institution of Shemita continue through all the historical ups and downs of the Land of Israel, while Yovel was suspended? Second, if the Jews living in Israel were worried about what they will eat during the year of Shemita, they would be even more concerned about how they will survive the year of Yovel, when the land will lie fallow and be uncultivated for two years. Rashi assures us that the surplus of the year before the two sabbatical years of Shemita and Yovel will be even larger—large enough to ensure the survival of the land’s inhabitants, but shouldn’t such an assurance have been made explicitly in the Torah? Why doesn’t it?

To understand this, we need to take a closer look at the ideas that lie at the core and the foundations of Shemita and of Yovel. Clearly, in both institutions, we are learning to live with faith in Hashem, dedicating ourselves to Him as our primary task in life, and we are letting the land become replenished by resting it, though one year would certainly have been enough rest. In the days of the week, a single day—Shabbos—is enough for us to experience this setting aside of time for service to the Almighty and to sanctify our lives. But in years, a single “year of rest”—Shemita—doesn’t seem to suffice. We need an additional year, Yovel, and it must come right after the land (and, one would think, we ourselves) have rested. What new, additional purpose is served by this additional year, by Yovel?

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LOOKING DEEPER AT THE WORLD When we look at the world, we see that there are two ways of looking at it—two very different ways of seeing and interpreting the facts and happenings around us. In one of those ways, the world seems to be operating according to “rules of nature,” an order imposed on the physical world. We think, for example, that we survive by the sustenance that we draw out of the earth by planting and harvesting, and that we depend on our own talents, our own initiative to earn a livelihood. The business ventures that we embark on succeed or don’t succeed because of our abilities and the effectiveness of what we come up with in the way of creative ideas, plans and management. And before our actions bear fruits, there are many other people in a chain that leads up to us who likewise are providing what is needed for people to live—the farmer planting the seed and cultivating the crop; the manufacturer processing the food and making it edible and getting it to us; the grocer putting it on the shelves in the super market. And there’s a similar chain leading from us: the people who depend on what we produce; the people who care for our affairs and the doctors who treat our ailments. At each step in the process, each link in the chain, there are people who believe—or at least acting as if they believe—that how well we live, how we survive and enjoy the good things in life, is the product and result of what we and others like us accomplish and succeed in doing through our own talents and abilities.

But there is another way at looking at the world: That clever idea that you thought was responsible for your success—who put it in your head? Hashem! Who was responsible for the chance meeting of the person who appreciated your idea and acted on it? It wasn’t chance at all—it happened as the will of the Almighty. And going back into the chain, what was it that created the food that we are buying from the farmer—not the cleverness of the farmer to plant a seed because he knows that planting a seed results in things growing. It was the Will of G-d that was responsible for it all.

The seed doesn’t “just grow” and food doesn’t “just appear”—your business doesn’t “just prosper,” your website doesn’t just appear on the first page of Google because of your talents in “Search Engine Optimization”, and your YouTube video doesn’t “go viral” because you’re a genius. It’s all directed by Hashem, all part of His majestic plan for the world and for each life in it.

It may appear that we are the authors of what happens; this is only an illusion, a game we play—and ruse we play along with. The “laws of nature,” the “forces of the market,” the “chance meetings” and the “lucky breaks”—they are not things that “just happen,” but they are things that are orchestrated, designed and made real by Hashem. And why do we choose this view of the world and not that other, nicely ordered, “scientific” view? Because there are times when those “laws of nature” and those “rules of life” are clearly not working. If we are honest with ourselves, we don’t know why the seed germinates, why food appears out of the ground, why the living cell reaches out for warmth and sustenance, why the plans we cook up in our professions work out. Because sometimes, for May 3, 2013 • 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

no apparent reason—for no reason even deep down no matter how closely we look—the seed doesn’t germinate; food doesn’t come from the ground (sometimes, it comes from above, as it did when Manna fed Israel in the wilderness!); the plans we make don’t work—and the souls in us don’t wake up refreshed and energized.

Sometimes, sadly, that soul doesn’t wake up at all, and medical “science” can’t say why.

As King David puts it in the very last verse of Psalms, his concluding statement in Tehillim (150:6): Kol haneshamah tehallel kah, Hallelukah:“Let every soul praise You, Lord, Hallelukah!” And as the Sages interpret the verse, “Le-kol neshima u’neshimah”: “For every single breath” must we thank and praise Hashem. This is a choice we make between these two competing and diametrically opposed views of the world and of life. The “reasonableness” and all the “evidence” (such as it is) that supports that first “rational, scientific” view is itself part of the Divine Design: it makes our choice of the second, G-d-centered view a free choice that we make by a conscious decision. But we make that choice in the dark—as do those who choose the first view, if they are totally honest about it.

But then there are times when we can make that decision “in the light”—when the Presence of the Almighty and His Dominion over the world and the lives we live becomes apparent.

This is what happens on Shavu’os, the occasion of our direct meeting with the Almighty at Sinai and our experiencing of the Divine Presence and the Divine Utterance of “Anochi—”: “I am the Lord, Your G-d—”. This occurred (then, after the Exodus from Egypt, and occurs now) after seven weeks of counting and on the fiftieth day. And it occurred in Yovel, the Jubilee Year, after seven cycles of seven years. But it could only occur with all of the Nation of Israel in the Holy Land, and when the miraculous G-dly elements of the First Temple, absent in the Second Temple—that made the presence of Hashem immediate and manifest—existed.

In the year of Yovel, the faith that Israel lives by and the trust the Nation of Israel has in Hashem, is at a higher level than it is on Shemita. That’s why there is no need to assure Israel explicitly that they need not worry about being sustained during Yovel—something they do need to be assured of for Shemita. In the same manner, we seek and aspire to a deeper level of faith that derives from a greater appreciation of the rule and dominion of Hashem over all the goings on in the world—in fact, from an appreciation of the fact that Hashem is manifest and present in the world—through the Torah and through Mitzvot. This is the higher level of our meeting with Hashem that we prepare for by counting the days—fifty days, like the fifty years of the Yovel cycle, and like the “Fifty Gates of Wisdom” through which the Presence of Hashem becomes radiant and apparent—readying ourselves for the Festival of Shavu’os.

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EGGPLANT ROLLUPS Times Prep Time : 20 min Cook Time : 35 min Ready Time : 55 min Servings 8 Servings Ingredients 2 medium eggplants 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large egg 1/2 cup Whipped Cream Cheese 1/2 cup small-curd cottage cheese 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 cups marinara sauce, divided 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two or three baking sheets with aluminum foil. Cut eggplant lengthwise into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange eggplant slices on baking sheets. Brush eggplant slices with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until eggplant is soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix the egg, cream cheese, cottage cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella, basil, oregano, salt and pepper until well-blended.

Spread 1 cup marinara sauce to cover the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.

Place a tablespoonful of cheese filling at the bottom edge of each eggplant slice and roll up.

Put the rolls seam side down in baking dish, placing them close together. Pour remaining 1 cup marinara sauce over top of rolls and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and optional red pepper flakes over the top. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling.

Reprinted with permission from www.joyofkosher.com.

GOAT CHEESE WALNUT SALAD Times Prep Time : 12 min Ready Time : 12 min Servings 6-8 Servings

Ingredients 2 (5- ounce) packages mixed field greens 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries or Craisins 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 1 (5.5-ounce) log soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled 1-1/2 cups walnuts

For dressing: 2-1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped 7 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions Mix greens, cranberries and onion in large salad bowl.

Sprinkle cheese and walnuts over salad mixture.

For dressing, mix vinegar, mustard and thyme in small bowl.

Gradually whisk in olive oil; season with salt and pepper.

Toss dressing with salad immediately before serving.

Reprinted with permission from www.joyofkosher.com.

TIP To bring out a nice roasted nutty flavor, place the walnuts in a shallow baking dish and roast them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. 34

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CHOCOLATE NUT CHEESECAKE WITH CARAMEL SAUCE Times Prep Time : 30 min Cook Time : 2 hours Ready Time : 2 hours, 30 min

Directions

Servings 8-10 Servings

Crust: In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter until well combined. Spread mixture evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing down firmly. Set aside.

Ingredients Cream Cheese Filling 4 (8-ounce) bars cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 2¼ cups packed brown sugar 5 large eggs ¾ cup sour cream 3 candy bars (total 6.5 ounces) filled with nuts and caramel (e.g. Paskesz’s Smirk), broken into pieces Graham cracker crust 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Garnish Purchased caramel sauce 1 (3½-ounce) bittersweet chocolate bar, shaved into curls

Prep: Preheat oven to 300˚. Grease a 10×3-inch spring form pan. Using heavy duty foil, wrap the outside of the pan with foil.

Cream cheese filling: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed in a large bowl until creamy and well blended, about 1 minute.

Add brown sugar and continue beating until combined. Reduce mixer to low speed, adding eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add sour cream and blend. Add broken candy bars, beating for 15-20 seconds, until candy bars are broken up. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and place into a large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with hot water until it comes halfway up the sides of the spring form pan.

Bake: Bake for about 2 hours, until center has set completely and top is golden brown. Remove cake from the roasting pan and set on a wire rack until it comes to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Prior to serving, carefully release and remove the sides of the spring form pan.

Garnish: Warm caramel sauce slightly in the microwave. Pour over cooled cheesecake, covering top and letting it drip down sides. Decorate with shaved chocolate curls.

Reprinted with permission from www.joyofkosher.com.

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Baby B abby B aaby Bo Boyoy Births B h

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Noach Bransky to Karen Kragen e Akiva Leyton to Chaaya Rochel Greif Yeermi Udkoff to Reena Greenberg Rachel Leah Maannoucheri to Yehuda Keradnam Alizah Kreisberg to Shmuel Krischer Dina and Eli Kamionski Eliot aannd Ilaanna Kaufm man Carrie aannd Yossi Gewirtz Nechama and Yonaaton Zakem e Rebecca aannd Boaz Kohn Rabbi aannd Mrs. Moshe Fisher Nachmaann and Baaiila Hiller Jared and Eliza Hochman Rabbi Gavriel and Shira Hershoff Ari aannd Rebecca Adlerstein Tiffany aannd Rafi Cohen Yossi aannd Kendel Leah Feldman Dina and Eli Kamionski Abby aannd Aaron Symonds Michaal aannd Gavi Sytner Chesky and Lieba Rodkin Leah aannd Yossi Censor Shula and Yehuuda Goodmaann Moshe aannd Elisheva Belinow Brachie and Yakov Garfinkel

S Send end yyour our M Mazel azel T Tovs ovs ttoo iinfo@communitylinks.com nfo@c o ommunitylinks.com

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May 3, 2013• 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

1. A bracelet on the boy in bottom left is missing. 2. The boy’s kippa changed colors from blue to black. 3. There are now 6 windows on the building instead of 5. 4. The cleaning gloves are now pink. 5. There's an extra brown paper on the chalk board. 6. The word "bais" on the side of float is added a second time. 7. The maroon wall on the right is now taller. 8. The color of the hanging banner changed from blue to green. 9. The words "lab 101" is missing from the top of the chalk

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Please email us your event pictures to Info@communitylinks.info

A float drives by during the Great Parade on Lag B’omer.

Can you spot the differences in these two pictures?

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May 3, 2013 • 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

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Candlelighting Times May 3 May 10 May 14 May 15 May 17

Adam Bodenstein Licensed Tour Guide #10696

7:20 pm 7:26 pm 7:29 pm 8:29 pm 7:31 pm

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MUSIC BANDS

Music by Ariel Louk "Because a Simcha should be happy"

One man band to a full orchestra.

Please call now for availability & rates!

323-997-2647

Rochel Duchman 323-938-8222 or 323-620-3618

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A Time for Dance fall classes! Join the fun this year as we kick off season 9. Amazing classes include ballet, gymnastics, jazz, tap, hip hop, zumba and drama workshop for girls and teens. New Boys Gymnastics and Kickboxing ages 4-15 and Women's Ballet, Modern and more! Check out our schedule at www.atime4dance.com or call 323 404-0827 for more info.

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BABYSITTER Orthodox woman available to watch your children full time or part-time hours, at your location.

Excel. references. 323-651-9389 -1750-

524 N. La Brea Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036 323-930-0444 (office) 323-646-2356 (Cell/after hours)

CERTIFIED s”oc PERSONAL TRAINER Certified Personal Trainer for Women only, individual or groups.

For more info please contactSarit: 424-653-8705 or email Sarit1911@hotmail.com

POSITION AVAILABLE Community Links is currently looking for energetic and outgoing sales people. Positions are available in the Los Angeles area as well as the greater Valley.

Competitive commission rates!

Please email resume to info@communitylinks.info EDEN MEMORIAL PARKPLOT FOR SALE Eden Memorial Park - Plot Complete with Service, Burial, Stone Sold Out Court of the Matriarch's Bronze Marker, Base, Outer Container, Opening/Closing plus services $12,500.Please call Robert Cancilla 562-290-2849 IMMEDIATE OPENING FOR PRESCHOOL TEACHERS AND ASSISTANT TEACHERS Looking for staff who loves working with children ages 3-4 & 4-5 in the Pico Robertson area,have all their education units completed.

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May 3, 2013 • 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

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May 3, 2013• 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

May 3, 2013 • 323-965-1544 • info@communitylinks.info

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