Judaism

ASK THE RABBI

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VISITING GRAVESITES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Dear Rabbi

You recently suggested to someone visiting New York that they should go to the Ohel in Queens, the burial place of the Lubavthcer Rebbe. I am all in favour of religion but really have an issue with all this hocus pocus stuff of praying to righteous people who are no longer alive. Besides, isn’t it enough to pray to G-d?

Bradley

Dear Bradley

I don’t know how old you are or whether you still have your parents. But surely you are familiar with the idea of people visiting the gravesite of loved ones. Moreover, most people do that before the High Holidays – and Jewish law actually recommends it. Moreover still, tens of thousands of people go to the tomb of Rachel of the Cave of Machpela in Israel. What’s up with that? Isn’t enough to just talk to G-d? Obviously, the point is that great men and women can be “intercedents” on our behalf. It is not a case of praying to them. It is more a matter of praying at their gravesite such that they can help put in a word for us. Or to put it differently, they can help carry our prayers higher than we might be able to on our own.

The point is that the relationship between loved ones is chiefly of a spiritual nature more so than that of a physical nature. Thus even as the spiritual may be removed from our midst that spiritual bond remains intact for all eternity.

For the record this custom is sourced in many places and has been common Jewish practise for millennia. There are few burial places if any that are frequented by as many walks of Jewish (and indeed non-Jewish) life as the burial place of the Lubavither Rebbe.

Rabbi Moshe Wolson, who is not Chabad; he is the spiritual dean of the famous Yeshiva Torah Voda’as actually said, “The Talmud tells us that all prayers in Israel are channelled through the Cave of Machpela and from there up to heaven. In the Diaspora, all prayers are channelled through the Ohel and from there up to heaven.

So, all things being equal, I think it was a good call to recommend to the letter writer to visit the Ohel. If ever you visit New York I recommend the same for you.

VISITING A CLAIRVOYANT

Dear Rabbi

What is the halachic position regarding clairvoyance and speaking with the dead through this type of medium? Is this something that a Jew should be involved with and if not, why not? Is it classed as black magic? Can someone really communicate with the dead or is it all just make-belief? Should the information obtained be taken seriously?

Sami

Dear Sami

Moshe and Chaim played tennis together for years. The one thing they always argued about was whether they played tennis in heaven. It was agreed whoever died first, the other should try to make contact and he will report on the matter to finally resolve the dispute. Moshe dies and Chaim goes to the clairvoyant. Soon enough Moshe is summoned. “Nu?” Asked Chaim – “do they or don’t they play tennis in heaven?” “Good news and bad news,” says Moshe. “The good news is, you were right all along. They do play tennis in heaven. The bad news is – you’re playing centre court next Friday!”

Yes, there is substance to the notion of being able to communicate with loved ones in the world beyond (see above). There are numerous such stories told whether in the Talmud or elsewhere. However that is when the deceased makes contact. For you to do so is a Biblical prohibition – which by virtue of such an ordinance reflects the reality of it. The most obvious reason for this is because to summon a spirit (soul) of someone, usually involves employing what you call black magic and what mysticism would define as evil energy drawn from the negative forces above – otherwise known as sitra achara or ‘other side.’ That effectively disrupts the serenity of the soul – it disturbs the peace of the dead quite literally which is fundamentally wrong.

Either way you have to ask yourself, how do you know you are actually speaking to them and what that quack in the middle, rolling his head, and staring into some ball is telling you, is really true? Ever heard how they say to you, “I see some tragedy in your life…” and when seeing your strange facial expression, they add, “a long time ago…” and when you start to look a little more inquisitive they’ll say, “A loss of a dog . . .” and when it is obvious you never owned a dog they try, “cat, doll, lollipop,” and when you suddenly show a flicker of light, they say, “yes that’s it, you once lost a lollipop. It was at home…(nope)…’er Chur... (then he sees the yarmulke)…uh Synagogue. You lost a lollipop in Synagogue and you went crying to your father.” Bingo! Only your Dad could have known that so he must have made contact! Tell your friend to read “Confessions of a Clairvoyant!” Steer clear.

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40 JUDAISM

5TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION SPONSORED BY Torah from Israel

Pekudei: We Didn’t Start the Fire… in 1948

BY RABBI MOSHE TARAGIN

Some memories never fade. About thirty-five years ago, as a young talmid in Yeshivat Har Etzion/The Gush I witnessed a heated argument which would recast my view of Jewish history. This quarrel erupted over the Friday night Shabbat table, with claims and counterclaims being loudly hurled across the student dining room. Here is background to that episode.

Every Friday night, our revered Rosh Yeshiva delivered a speech amplifying bold and broad religious ideas from that week’s parsha. That shabbat, parshat Pekudei, my Rebbe, Harav Yehuda Amital- the pioneer of the modern hesder movement- discussed the peculiar conclusion to the parsha.

Each of the five books of the torah was nicknamed by Chazal. Sefer Shemot was dubbed as the sefer ha’ge’ulah or the book of redemption. It begins with a sad scene of suppressed slaves mired in centuries of poverty and absent of hope and of future. Stunningly, they are liberated from this tunnel of despair and begin their march to the promised land. Along the journey, they betray their loyalties to Hashem. Fortunately, through the heroic intervention of Moshe, their fearless leader, they are granted absolution. To signal the rehabilitation of this great love between Hashem and His people, a mishkan is constructed to house the divine presence. The sefer and the saga of redemption concludes, as the presence of Hashem descends into the human realm. When a human structure is suffused with the presence of Hashem the book of redemption culminates.

Isn’t it peculiar that the book of redemption concludes outside the land of Israel- the epicenter of redemption? Evidently, redemption can be realized outside the land of Israel. Evidently, redemption occurs anytime the divine presence descends into our world- even if that rendezvous occurs outside of Israel. Redemption is geographically independent.

The very thought that redemption existed independent of the land of Israel, infuriated many Israeli talmidim who vociferously voiced their disapproval. They had been trained to equate redemption with the land of Israel. This felt heretical. That evening, hearing Rav Amital disassociate redemption from land, revolutionized my own view of redemption and of Jewish history. Redemption shapes our overall view of history. By reformulating redemptive consciousness, Rav Amital was reconstituting my long view” of Jewish history.

History has a genesis and a terminus. It begins with creation and concludes with utopia. The process leading from the “inception” of creation to the terminus is called redemption. The world is constantly surging toward a better reality and human behavior can accelerate or delay that redemptive process. We live in “vivid redemptive history” not in empty and colorless “time”.

The full and final redemption of history only occurs when we finally resettle our lost homeland. As the Jews become realigned with their home and their holy city, universal and final redemption climaxes, as all humanity achieves prosperity and universal welfare. The final chapter of redemption is carved into the land of Israel.

Historical redemption, however, is a gradual “process” rather than a “quantum leap” or an immediate overhaul. Redemption evolves progressively, and any advance of the divine presence in this world contributes to the overall redemptive arc. The first chapter of redemption- the book of Shemot- concludes in a desert, as we embraced Hashem’s presence. Redemption advances any time any individual embraces G-d.

Is our return to the modern state of Israel redemptive? Certainly. But it follows in the wake of thousands of years of gradual redemptive experience. For thousands of years, Jews labored to bring Hashem into this world. Every mitzvah and every moral act, every epic moment of martyrdom and every quiet moment of moral courage, drew Him into our world and silently incremented redemption. The process has been developing for centuries.

We often refer to the state of Israel as “reishit tzemichat ge’ulateinu” or the beginning of the redemptive “flowering”. The flowering didn’t begin in 1948. The process actually began to bud in 70 CE, when the last Jew left the demolished city of Yerushalayim and performed the first act of faith. That act amplified Hashem’s presence in a very dark world and, since that moment, every page of Torah studied, every mitzvah performed, and every act of charity extended has continually drawn Hashem into our world and redeemed it. The process of redemption has been ebbing for centuries. It erupted in 1948 but it began well beforehand. Redemption streams through history.

In 1948, history dramatically shifted, and redemption radically accelerated. The redemptive experience was no longer limited to inaudible acts of faith and behindthe-scenes religious commitment but was manifest in dramatic historical events. Redemption moved from the backstage to the front stage. It no longer occurred purely on a metaphysical level but unfolded in plain view- on the stage of history. Redemption is now expressed in bricks and mortar, homes and communities, social infrastructure and agricultural reconstitution. No longer are we merely laying invisible groundwork for an eventual return. We are actively building the world which will greet Moshiach. Redemption didn’t begin in 1948, but it certainly shifted into high gear.

We have been chosen to live through this great shift. For the first time in two thousand years, Hashem’s presence is clearly manifest and His love for our people unmistakable. Living through historical shifts tempts us to dismiss everything which occurred before the shift. Early secular Zionists were ashamed of the image of a weak and defenseless “diaspora Jew” who had been endlessly beaten and persecuted with impunity. In place of that embarrassing image of the feeble pre-1948 Jew, they mounted a new image of a strong and brave Jew who valiantly defended his land. Everything before 1948 was swept aside as “pre-history”. The two thousand years of exile had little meaning or relevance for the modern era – after the great shift.

Religious Jews obviously vehemently reject this dismissive view of the past two thousand years of Jewish history. It is imperative to delicately calibrate between the rich traditions of pre-1948 and the renewed religious life after “the shift”. So much of our modern world feels new. We have new places to pray and new dreams to pray for. We have reclaimed “lost mitzvoth”, while opening new horizons for religious experience. We no longer imagine religion in purely individual or even communal terms. We think nationally: how to inspirit an entire nation – many of whom are not yet religious- with religious meaning. We are recapturing lost traditions: of politics, policing and serving in a Jewish army. For religious people, everything after 1948 feels new and fresh. Israel has revitalized and expanded our religious identity.

However, all this renewal is a ‘continuation’ not an upheaval. Our Zionist heroes are not only Herzyl and Ben Gurion but Rebbi Akiva, the Rambam and the Vilna Gaon, as well as every Jew who preserved Jewish identity and protected Jewish faith. Without their quiet redemptive faith, we could never have experienced this historical shift. The traditions and faith of the past two thousand years have produced the new world we inhabit. If we sever from those traditions, we lose our warrant for this new era. We didn’t start the fire. But it is clearly blazing like never before. Our world is of light and of future.

For the first time in two thousand years, Hashem’s presence is clearly manifest and His love for our people unmistakable.

The writer is a rabbi at Yeshivat Har Etzion/ Gush, a hesder yeshiva. He has smicha and a BA in computer science from Yeshiva University as well as a masters degree in English literature from the City University of New York.

42 JUDAISM

5TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION SPONSORED BY The Torah path to finding your Unique purpose and passion

BY RABBI SHMUEL REICHMAN

Have you ever struggled to find your unique passion in life? Have you ever felt like you didn’t have a clear purpose? We are often told that we are unique and special. But sometimes we struggle to experience our individuality, feeling almost lost in the crowd. If you’ve ever walked the streets of a crowded city, surrounded by thousands of people walking in different directions, you may have felt almost invisible. We live on a planet with over seven billion people; Earth itself is a speck in the universe. If our planet is so infinitesimally small relative to the universe, and within our planet, each of us is only one of more than seven billion people, how are we supposed to feel special and unique?

So many of my clients struggle to be genuine, to discover who they really are, and to live lives of passion and purpose. With social, financial, and other pressures weighing us down, we often get trapped living inside a shell, stuck and immobilized, unable to find our unique path in life. We struggle to develop ambition and aspirations to become more, because we feel stuck, empty, and aimless. We watch our potential sit unused, but we don’t know where to channel it.

However, there are a few simple keys that can help us unlock our dormant potential and develop drive and passion to achieve our unique purpose. Before beginning the journey towards self-mastery, towards unlocking our dormant potential, we need to understand the secret behind all self-development: Hashem did not put us in this world to create ourselves; He put us here to discover who we truly are. Each and every one of us is unique and equipped with a special blend of capabilities to live our ultimate lives and make our own unique contribution to the world. In this article, we’re going to begin developing some of the fundamental tools and principles that will help you find your uniqueness, cultivate your passion, and ultimately, discover your purpose.

BECOMING YOUR BEST SELF

You are unique. No one else in the history of the world has your unique combination of DNA, your specific family, your mosaic of internal and external influences. As the Ramchal explains, you were born at a specific time in history, with a specific set of capabilities, and a very unique purpose that only you can fulfill. The key to learning and growing is not only about the time and energy you invest; it’s about discovering “how” you learn, “how” you grow, and “how” you process. As simple as it sounds, all of growth is about one simple skill: self-awareness.

HOW DO YOU LEARN BEST?

We need to discover how we work, what drives us, and how we learn best. I remember teaching myself how to play guitar and piano. After much trial and error, I realized that I learn best through modeling success and personalizing it to my specific taste. I immersed myself in the musical masterpieces of the very best guitarists and pianists I could find, worked to understand every single thing they were doing, down to the smallest detail, and practiced day and night until I could do it perfectly. Then, I began using these skills to develop my own creations, ultimately writing my own music.

I used this same model for developing and giving shiurim. I began by immersing myself in the works and ideas of the greatest Torah minds, both of our generation and of our tremendous mesorah (tradition). I spent years learning Torah with my rebbeim, reading and listening to endless shiurim, and thinking about all aspects of Torah thought and practice. At first, when I gave shiurim, I simply repeated exactly what I had heard from my rebbeim, keeping to their exact structure, word-choice, and formulation. After years of learning, I finally understood the inner system of Torah wisdom enough to create my own shiurim and to bring in additional Torah sources that added different vantage points to the topics in discussion. I also used this same model for building my business, for becoming a professional speaker, and for just about every other passion and skill that I have.

Once you understand how you learn, you can spend the rest of your life developing and unlocking your greatest self. So spend some time thinking about how you learn best. Do you prefer in-person learning or online learning? Do you prefer learning through video, audio, or written format? Do you enjoy interactive learning, or do you prefer processing and practicing by yourself, at your own pace?

COMPETE AGAINST YOURSELF

The world is a competitive place. In western culture, and the capitalistic society we live in, competition is the pulse of life itself. If you’re not better than the other applicant, you won’t get the job. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve tried or how much you’ve grown to get here; what’s valued most in the workplace is results and performance. Our inner world, our personal dreams, and our unique passions and goals can easily be crushed by such a reality and its unbounded force. Furthermore, we can easily spend our entire lives comparing ourselves to other people, competing against them; we can easily find ourselves fighting for our selfworth, trying to beat everyone else.

But the key to self-worth is to compare yourself to one person and one person only: your past self. Self-worth comes from becoming the very best version of ourselves, from the realization that we are heading on the journey towards our greatness and fulfilling our purpose. As such, there is no need or place for external competition when it comes to our self-worth. We aren’t here to be better than anyone (or everyone) else. We’re here to become the very best version of ourselves and achieve our personal, unique purpose. When we compare ourselves to others, it only leads to depression; we end up giving up or falling apart. Or worse, we can spend our entire life trying to be better than other people instead of becoming our true selves. This leads to burnout and self-hate. As long as we are making progress and becoming better than we were yesterday, we are succeeding. What other people are or aren’t doing should hold little significance for how we feel about or view ourselves. No one else has our unique package, so their progress or success should have no bearing on our own.

HOW TO FIND YOUR UNIQUE ROLE

Once we accept the premise that we are each unique, and that we are on our own individual path to greatness, we must begin the journey of self-awareness and self-exploration, trying our best to discover what “awesome package” Hashem created us with. Hashem equips each of us with a unique package containing everything we need to fulfill our unique potential; Your unique package could contain empathy, intellectual curiosity, people skills, love of halacha, love of mussar, mathematical gifts, and any number of other skills, talents, or inclinations. Discovering our unique package allows us to understand what we can and should become. Here’s the best way to approach this wonderful and exciting stage:

EXPERIMENT: WHAT ARE YOUR GIFTS?

The first stage is experimenting. Many of us walk around without any idea who we are, what we are capable of, and what we were designed to do. We need to devote a significant amount of time to trying out various areas of life in order to discover what’s lying within us, ready to be developed and actualized. Each of us has a unique chelek (portion) in Torah; what area of Torah do you connect with most? Spend time learning Tanach, Mishna, Gemara, Machshava, Jewish History, and other more specific areas of Torah to see what areas resonate with you. What hobbies, skills, and talents do you have? What have you always wanted to try, but never found the time, energy, or courage to explore? What areas of science, psychology, and general wisdom are you curious about?

For example, I would have never known that Hashem gave me the ability to play and even write music had I not spend years exploring and experimenting, trying to discover what lay dormant inside of me. The same is true for all of us. There is nothing as amazing as the smile I see on my clients’ faces when they begin discovering who they uniquely are and what they are truly capable of becoming.

If you enjoyed this article and want more, then visit my website (ShmuelReichman. com) and learn more about Self-Mastery Academy, my online course. Join our vibrant community of hundreds of people striving to become their greatest selves.

Weekly Dvar Torah

FROM ERETZ YISRAEL Shemot Synopsis

BY SIVAN RAHAV MEIR

This week we end the journey of the Book of Exodus – 40 chapters, 12 parashot, 1209 verses. The following is a summary of what we can learn from this journey:

1. We became a nation. The first person to reveal this secret to us is the evil

Pharaoh who announces to his people:

“Here is a nation!” Until then, we may have felt part of a large family or a group of tribes, but Pharoah, like many of our enemies throughout history, reminded us that we are a special and uniquely united nation. From Hezbollah to Hitler and the antisemitism in

America today, in their fight against us, our enemies know very well that we are all united as one nation.

2. A leader doesn’t have to be charismatic. Moshe Rabbeinu, on the stage of history, describes himself as a stutterer, “slow of speech and of a slow tongue and tongue-tied”. In today’s world, would we choose such a leader? We are told that Pharaoh considers himself almost a G-d who doesn’t admit to needing to relieve himself like other humans, but does so in secret in the River Nile. Then we have Moshe Rabbeinu who isn’t ashamed of his weaknesses and limitations, and because of this he is suited to become such a powerful leader. Our inner qualities are much more important than our external facade. If only we’d remember that at all times.

3. The Exodus from Egypt was known worldwide. It says in the book Netivot

Shalom, “man was placed in the world to strive to take himself out of Egypt”.

The Exodus was not only a historic event but also an ongoing mission. The message here is that we all constantly need to strive to leave ‘slavery’ for ‘freedom’ – to be subservient only to G-d and Torah, and not to any other ‘Egypt’.

4. The Giving of the Torah was the second event recognized globally. After we understood the importance of freedom, we learnt how important it was to fill this freedom with meaning. We didn’t leave Egypt just for the fun of wandering in the desert without any responsibilities, but in order to receive the Ten Commandments on Mount

Sinai. Viktor Frankl said that next to the Statue of Liberty, there should also be placed a Statue of Responsibility.

The Exodus from Egypt is the Statue of

Liberty, the Giving of the Torah is the

Statue of Responsibility. We fulfill the purpose of freedom with eternal messages: I am the L-rd your G-d, you shall not murder, remember the Sabbath day, and many more. 5. The Mishkan (Tabernacle) – this world needs our active mitzvot. This week’s portion, Pekudei, is not the first parasha to talk about the Mishkan. The Book of Exodus contains many verses regarding the building of the spiritual center of the nation in the wilderness. The ultimate aim was not the Exodus from Egypt and the receiving of ‘gifts’ (the splitting of the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments, Manna from Heaven, the water well) but to receive the most precious and important gift – responsibility. To switch from being passive participants to active ones. The heart of the Jewish people is the same today as it always was – to fulfill G-d’s commandments and to build a ‘mishkan’ in every place in this world – in our heart, in our house, in our communities and of course, ultimately, in the Land of Israel.

Chazak, Chazak v’Nitchazek!

Sivan Rahav Meir is a popular Israeli media personality and World Mizrachi’s Scholar-in-Residence.

Pekudei Sidra Summary

“From the purple, turquoise and scarlet wool they made plaited garments to serve in the Sanctuary" (Shemot 39:1).

1ST ALIYA (KOHEN) – 38:21-39:1

The Torah lists the overall weight of gold, silver and copper used in building the Mishkan. The amount of half-shekel silver coins donated form the basis of a census of 603,550 males above the age of 20. The coverings for the Mishkan’s furnishings, used to guard them during the nation’s journeys, are made of turquoise, purple and scarlet wool.

2ND ALIYA (LEVI) – 39:2-21

The priestly garments are made, starting with the ephod, worn over Aharon’s tunic and robe. It has two shoulder straps (ketefot) and a belt (cheshev) attached. A precious onyx stone (shoham) is placed on each shoulder strap. The next item made is the breastplate (choshen), containing 12 different types of precious stones (avnei miluim).

3RD ALIYA (SHLISHI) – 39:22-32

The turquoise robe (me’il) is made. Golden bells (pa’amonim) are placed between multi-coloured woollen pomegranate shapes (rimonim) hanging from the bottom hem. A knitted tunic (ketonet) with a grid-like pattern, a linen turban (mitznefet), linen trousers (michnasayim) and an embroidered sash (avnet) are made for every Kohen to wear. The pure gold band (tzitz) is made, to be placed on Aharon’s forehead. The work of the Mishkan is finished, executed by the nation exactly as G-d had instructed Moshe.

4TH ALIYA (REVI’I) – 39:33-43

All of the structural parts of the Mishkan and its furnishings are brought to Moshe, as well as the priestly garments. Moshe inspects all the work and blesses the workers.

Point to Consider: What blessing did Moshe give to the workers? (see Rashi to 39:43) Rosh Chodesh Nisan, to anoint its vessels with oil and to inaugurate Aharon and his sons.

6TH ALIYA (SHISHI) – 40:17-27

Moshe sets up the Mishkan as commanded by G-d and puts all of the furnishings in their correct place. He brings an incense offering on the golden altar (mizbeach ha’zahav).

7TH ALIYA (SHEVI’I) – 40:28-38

heavenly cloud descends upon the Mishkan. When it lifts, the people are allowed to journey on.

HAFTARAH

Taken from the Book of Kings, the haftarah relates the completion of the Beit Hamikdash under the leadership of King Shlomo (Solomon), based on the preparations made by his father King David. A thick cloud fills the “House of G-d”, indicating that it has become a dwelling place for the Divine presence.