Category: Society

Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Chayei Sara: Sara's Tent as the Prototype for the Beit HaMikdash

22/11/2019

(B'ezrat Hashem, any limud or positive acts from this post should please go as a zechut for the complete & speedy recovery of Menachem Mendel Shlomo ben Chaya Rochel.)

In Rav Avigdor Miller's dvar Torah on Parshas Chayei Sarah 3 – Sanctuary of Sarah, we learn that Sara Imeinu's home was the greatest home in history.

Like the Kli Yakar, Rav Miller compares Sara Imeinu's home to the home of the Mikdash.

And her passing was like the Churban (Destruction).

Rav Miller states that the first Churban in Jewish history was actually Sara's passing.

While we tend to think of the Giving of the Torah as our Nation's monumental event (and it was indeed), Rav Miller explains that our founding Fathers & Mothers were the magnificent part of our history.

The Shechinah dwelt in their homes.

It's amazing. What was in the Kodesh Kadoshim (Holy of Holies) in the Beit Hamikdash was actually in the homes of our Avot & Imahot.

When they passed on, the Shechinah went into Exile.

What Were Avraham & Sara like as Chatan & Kallah?

Rav Miller describes what the beginning of the marriage must have been like.

Initially, Avraham Avinu was Sara Imeinu's teacher (they had a 10-year age difference & people married young back then), so he showed her all he had learned about his own observations of the world, observations that gained him tremendous TRUE knowledge because "he saw better than any professors will ever see."

And Sara Imeinu soaked it all in.

On page 5, Rav Miller describes what Sara's own study of the world must have been like.

Sara started off as the brilliant student of her husband, then she rose to great heights on her own, eventually achieving nevuah that surpassed even that of her holy husband.

A Truly Fun Home

On page 7, Rav Miller describes the great challenge of perceiving Sara Imeinu's home:

Now as much as I’m going to tell you, you must know that it is not going to approximate what the greatness of that house was.

I’m like an ant looking up at a tremendous mountain trying to describe what’s high up on the summit.

I’m not capable of fully understanding the greatness of Sarah’s tent.

It’s like a blind man speaking of the glory of the sunlight — we never saw it and we have no idea about the splendor that prevailed in that house.

Let's consider this for a moment.

Rav Miller acknowledges that we generally consider Avraham Avinu the builder of our Nation. He was the one out there doing things.

And indeed, he was a tzaddik beyond our imagination.

However, who built the Beit HaMikdash?

Sara Imeinu. In her tent.

When they slaughtered meat, they were like the Kohanim performing korbanot.

When they ate, it was like they were eating offerings from the mizbeyach.

Sara Imeinu's challot were the prototype of the Lechem Panim in the Beit HaMikdash.

Rav Miller goes on to say (pg. 8):

All their thoughts and all their deeds were devoted to the ideal that Hashem is in our house.

That’s what made it a beis hamikdash — the kedusha, the Awareness of Hashem, was so dense that it constantly impinged on their awareness in everything they did.

Now don’t think that a Jewish home is lacking cheer and fun.

Avraham and Sarah lived very happy lives. They had more fun in their home than we have – much more.

Why was Yishmael's Laughter So Bad?

And now we can understand the problem with Yishmael's laughter.

Rav Miller acknowledges what the mefarshim say about the symbolism of Yishmael's laughter.

But Rav Miller says that just the plain meaning, that Yishmael was laughing & jesting in such a holy home – the same as clowning around in the Beit HaMikdash on Yom Kippur – just the laughter on its own was absolutely appalling.

What's the Secret to Keeping House like Sara Imeinu?

Interestingly, despite the fact that Sara & Avraham were extremely wealthy with hundreds of servants, Sara Imeinu performed most of the housework herself.

And what's the secret to housekeeping like Sara Imeinu?

It's on page 11:

Every chore that people do in that house, if it’s a frum house and they do it l’shem Shamayim, that’s the ingredient – l’shem Shamayim, then they’re building something that’ll last forever.

Then Rav Miller says even more radical things (radical to our ears, anyway):

When a mother is putting clothing into the washer she’s thinking, “I want to maintain a frum Jewish house because Hakodosh Boruch Hu gave me this function. I don’t have to work in an office. I won't run for elections to be a city councilwoman – it’s a waste of my life. Right here is the place where I achieve.”

And children!

“The more children that I can have, the bigger the achievement.”

A woman like that is building a Beis Hamikdash – she is emulating the avodas Hashem that made Sarah into Sarah Imeinu.

Rav Miller acknowledges that the term "l'shem SHamayim" is bandied about so much nowadays that it has lost its meaning for us.

So he emphasizes that l'shem Shamayim means "with the awareness of Shamayim."

Everything Avraham Avinu & Sara Imeinu did, it was with this awareness.

People talk about "mindfulness" a lot nowadays, and an awareness of Shamayim is the real mindfulness we are supposed to cultivate.

The Old Treasure in the Home

On pages 12-13, Rav Miller goes into vivid detail of the baby-steps we can take to add to our lives more kavanah l'shem Shamayim.

He also mentions a pithy proverb from Gemara Erechim 19b:

"Saba b'veita – pacha b'beita."

"An old man in the house is a calamity in the house."

Retired men belong in kollel, says Rav Miller, not being a nuisance to his wife in the home all day.

It's such an interesting 2000-year-old observation because we see in our times how shalom bayit often disintegrates when a husband retires. So many women complain of a retired husband who spends his time nitpicking at how she runs the home, criticizing how things are organized, and kvetching.

Get thee to a kollel!

Then Rav Miller quotes the same Gemara:

"Savta b'veita – sima b'veita."

"An old woman in the house is a treasure in the house."

A man is a treasure in yeshivah.

A woman is a treasure in the home.

Rav Miller explains how women grow wiser as they grow older. They dispense wisdom & chessed.

Yes, I see in the Yerushalmi communities how dedicated older mothers are to their grandchildren & adult children.

For example, when a daughter gives birth before Pesach, Yerushalmi mothers invite the entire family (all those little darlings!) for the entire week of Pesach.

It is tremendous work to host small children and take care of a yoledet, all the more so over Pesach and often with their own children still at home and more guests coming. But they do it so willingly!

I really look up to them.

And their wisdom is a real treasure too.

My husband and I still turn to his mother for health remedies & advice, plus a little bit of dream interpretation. (Her own mother was a kosher dream interpreter in Morocco.)

Although sometimes, the dreams go a bit too far – like when my mother-in-law's long-dead brother came to her in a dream after yet another son was born to us and requested that we name this son after him because none of his secular children had done so.

So we did. It's hard to say no to the dead. Chessed shel emet and all that. Do the dead favors, even though they'll never be able to pay you back. It's a big mitzvah.

Anyway...

Among frum women in general, I've seen how grandmothers develop patience they lacked in their younger years.

I've seen how supportive & discreet & sensitive they are with their children struggling with their own children – struggles these older women didn't necessarily have to deal with in their child-rearing years, but have become all too common now.

Society considers older women crones and old-fashioned and no longer useful or beautiful.

But Judaism declares: sima – She's a treasure!

Reaching Back to the Original Nature & Nurture

On page 14, Rav Miller goes into a brief yet lovely exposition of Eishet Chayil (A Woman of Valor).

Ultimately, Avraham Avinu & Sara Imeinu are the prototype for us.

No matter what home we grew up in or what background we came from, our real nurturing comes from this first Jewish couple.

A convert is referred to as the son or daughter of Avraham Avinu & Sara Imeinu.

We need to stretch back further than our immediate family & background to reach it.

It's there, it's accessible, but we need to cultivate an awareness that it's possible.

Let's wrap up on Rav Miller's final note (pg. 15):

It’s beyond our sight; it towers beyond our range of vision how great we could become – but every person who begins the career of building a home has the right, the obligation, to build that home on the same foundation that Avraham and Sarah laid down for their home.

And that’s the foundation of the greatest possible loyalty to Hakodosh Boruch Hu and the greatest possible dedication to the ideal of making the very best home that they could make.

0 Comments

An In-Depth Discussion of One of Today's Most Despised Topics: Tsniut/Tsnius/Modest & Dignified Behavior & Dress

17/11/2019

2 Comments

Today, we're going to discuss something a lot of people (even some frum people) resent: tsnius/tsniut.

But we're not discussing the halachot.

Why?

Because it's the attitude of tsniut, the ideology of tsniut that is the key to everything.

In fact, it's almost impossible to keep the halachot of tsniut unless you have the mentality of tsniut.

That's why some girls & women get fed up with all the halachot.

Knowing ONLY the technicalities of inches & centimeters & decibels & colors & designs is not enough and sometimes even makes this mitzvah confusing.

(This is in contrast to most other mitzvot: Tsnius is very individual with a lot of nuance involved.)

In fact, if you internalize the ideal of tsniut, you almost don't need to learn the technical halachot because they're actually self-evident once you get the mentality correct.

(Please note: I did not say that the halachot are irrelevant – on the contrary, they're quite important! But tsniut is unusual in that the knowledge of halachot ALONE is really not enough to keep this mitzvah properly, especially with changing times & styles.)

Also, while it is a major mitzvah for women, tsniut also applies to men.

Contrary to what some people think, Jewish men cannot actually go around with all their hairy chests, armpits, and knees showing. No offense.

That's why most frum men dress in a dignified & modest manner.

Significantly, covering themselves was one of the first acts of rectification Adam & Chava performed after eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

(Actually, Chazal say that prior to that Original Sin, they were enclothed by a material similar to our fingernails, but more luminous. So they weren't bare in the way people tend to assume.)

People Wear Clothing; Animals Don't

One of the brachot we say in the morning is "Baruch...malbish arumim."

"Blessed...is He Who clothes the naked."

Clothing (and the mental realization of the need for clothing) is one of the major differences between us & animals.

The less you cover yourself, the closer you are to an animal state.

The more you cover yourself, the farther you are from an animal state.

(Rav Avigdor Miller discussed this idea, but I can't remember where.)

Since time immemorial, people have understood that one way to degrade the humanity of a person is to remove his clothes.

This affects the self-perception of the victim (he or she feels humiliated) and it also affects the perception of those around the victim (they see him or her as degraded & less human, which either inspires pity or cruelty).

Even cultures that go around wearing very little can still have strict customs about removing that little bit.

Despite this innate common sense, certain cultures throughout history have warped this intuitive response, like the Greek Olympics promoting unclothed participants as a glorification of the human body.

Or today's Western world insisting that the less covered a woman is, the more liberated she is.

Unfortunately, feminism's dumbing-down of even very intelligent women has blinded most women from seeing the hypocritical double standard. If body-baring fashions are so liberating, why aren't professional men encouraged to exchange the 3-piece suit for shorts & a sleeveless undershirt?

Why, in the last line-up of Republican candidates, did we see a line of men from different backgrounds & body types all wearing dark neutral-colored 3-piece suits with neck-hugging ties...and the one female candidate wearing a red suit with a miniskirt and a plunging neckline?

Did anyone think she looked "liberated" in contrast to her male colleagues?

Did anyone think she looked "equal" to them?

(To me, combined with her paradoxically modest hair style, the whole look at her age made her look more like a madam than a presidential candidate...and according to the guardians of political correctness, such an observation now makes me catty, jealous, and repressed. Oh well.)

Conversely, professional women ARE supposed to cover their face...with make-up.

Skillfully applied make-up can actually transform ALL facial features (including the shape of the face) so that the woman is unrecognizable from her natural bare-faced state.

So you are:

a liberated woman if you bare your body yet smother your face into unrecognizabilty.

AND

you are also equal to your male colleagues who do the diametric opposite and cover their entire body from ankle to wrist to neck, while leaving their faces bare of any creams & powders.

Yeah. Right. Sure!

And I've got a bridge to sell you...

A Covering as Physical Protection

In his book, Nefesh Chaya, Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus explains that tsniut plays an enormous role in the act of protection, and that one of the main roles of a woman in her home is to protect her family & home.

(The most basic level of this is the Mama Bear archetype.)

So let's look at the idea of protective clothing, starting with physical protection:

Many cultures who inhabit some of the hottest places on Earth actually cover themselves from head to toe.

(Think of traditional Arab dress.)

Why are these Beduin men all covered up? Don't they know it's hot out there? Why aren't they more "liberated"?

Why is this man wearing such long loose clothing & a head-covering? The camels seem just fine without any clothes or kefiyah at all!

Why?

Their clothing protects them from the sun, from sunburn & sunstroke.

Long, loose clothing allows air to circulate around shaded skin while total exposure cannot do the same.

Clothing also protects against mosquitoes & other pests.

In areas of excessive dust, sand, or smoke, people place some kind of covering over their face to protect their eyes and lungs.

In the Philippines and other areas in the East, hikers are advised to avoid wearing red garments and other bright, eye-catching colors when entering the forests (which they say attracts unsavory entities – and they don't mean the physical 4-legged kind) because many people have gone missing while wearing red and other such colors. In the US too, an unusually high number of missing people were wearing the color red and other bright colors.

(Wearing a red garment is a problem in Judaism too, interestingly.)

So all in all, we see that physical covering offers physical protection.

A Covering as Spiritual Protection

In Judaism, there are some important concepts regarding protection:

ayin hara – the evil eye

This comes from envy. One of the best protection against ayin hara is to keep a low profile.

Bracha ba'ah b'seter – Blessing comes in secret/when hidden.

This means that good things are more likely to happen behind the scenes.

Ein habracha matzuyah eleh b'davar samui min ha'ayin – Blessing is only found in something concealed from the eye. (Bava Metzia 42)

Very similar to the concept above it.

Likewise, if concealment enables & enhances blessing, then the opposite must also be true: Publicity can decrease or eliminate blessing.

In Nefesh Chaya, Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus notes that the most amazing miracle of life occurs in a completely hidden manner: the creation of a human being.

Think about it: According to halacha (and traditionally common sense), conception occurs in the dark under a bedsheet or blanket.

Then the process of pregnancy occurs under the concealment of a woman's layers of flesh, in a completely dark environment.

The angel sent to teach the child Torah does so in complete concealment, its miraculous & holy mission invisible, silent, and unfelt by even the pregnant mother herself.

For reasons of ayin hara, increased blessing, and modesty (they're all connected anyway), some frum communities have a custom not to speak about a pregnancy until a certain month or they don't even speak of it at all.

(For these same reasons, ultrasounds are controversial for some frum people.)

Going back to humanity's beginnings, the Creation of the World was a massive light show.

But the creation of Man was not.

Adam was quietly formed from the clay of the Earth.

Woman's creation was even more subtle. Adam was even put to sleep for the event.

It was not witnessed by anyone except Hashem Himself.

Yet what a powerful, world-changing event it was!

Tsniut & Miracles

In Melachim II:4:1-37 (which is also the Haftarah for Parshat Vayera), we have the famous story of Elisha Hanavi & the miracle of the never-ending oil.

The widow & orphans of Ovadia Hanavi turn to Elisha Hanavi after King Yehoram's officers threaten to enslave the orphans if the widow cannot pay the taxes.

In verse 4, Elisha Hanavi, after encouraging her to gather as many empty vessels as she possibly can, he instructs her to then close the door "about yourself and about your sons."

(The word ba'ad, translated here as "about," can also mean "for the sake of.")

Rashi comments: "The kavod of a miracle is to come in hatsne'ah" – hiddenness, modesty.

You probably recognized the root of hatsne'ah as the same root of tsniut or tsnuah.

Okay. It's admittedly not so clear in English.

Here's the Hebrew:

הצנע
צניעות
צנוע

And the text is not even talking about clothes or women.

Hatsne'ah is simply a core Jewish concept that concerns protection & blessing.

Many of us know that every real Jew possesses the following 3 middot:

chessed (loving-kindness)
rachamim (mercy, compassion)
bushah (a healthy sense of shame, which should naturally lead to tsniut in behavior)

Jewish who show a serious lack of one of the above are suspected of not being Jewish at the soul level, according to Chazal.

And now that we understood the physical & spiritual protection of hatsne'ah, we can better understand why terrorist & missile attacks often result in a call for increased tsniut.

In other words: increased spiritual protection.

As noted by Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus in Nefesh Chaya, page 72:

"If a war would break out, chas v'shalom, and there would be a lot of casualties, with blow after blow from the enemy and troops falling every day, people would ask: Where is the missile defense? Where is the air-force cover? Where is the navy protection?

"If there are a lot of casualties, it is a sign that there is a problem with the protection..."

The Greatest Achievements are Unseen

Many, many Jews in Tanach achieved their greatness in their smallness & concealment: Leah Imeinu, Gidon, Chana the Mother of Shmuel Hanavi, Ruth, David Hamelech, Har Sinai (the smaller & quieter mountain), and so many more.

Yes, David Hamelech became quite famous later on. But the greatness that led to his kingship was achieved at home and out alone in the pastures surrounded by sheep.

For some of them (like Chana), we only know about them because Hashem chose to publicize their greatness in Tanach. With Chana, she's always indoors, either at home or davening in the Beit Hamikdash.

Even her tefillah, which became the basis for our all-important Amidah prayer, was barely above a whisper.

Who would ever know of Chana without her appearing in the book named after her holy son, Shmuel Hanavi?

So please note: Tsniut is a quintessentially JEWISH middah.

If you're Jewish, whether male or female, it's a core part of who you are at the soul level.

Modern society is trying to mash it out of you.

Don't let them do it.

Follow-Up Post:
What is the #1 Ultimate Way to Improve Your Tsniut/Tsnius/Modesty? (And absolutely NO tape measures, rulers, or mirrors necessary!)

For related posts:
The Overlooked Prophetess: Chana
Why a Leah Imeinu Can't (and Shouldn't) be a Sara Imeinu

2 Comments

What is the Message of Galut Yishmael?

12/11/2019

4 Comments

An Eye-Opening Experience at an Israeli Men's Prison

Recently, my son was called upon to do some work at an Israeli men's prison.

A Muslim Arab fellow (we'll call him Achmed) worked with my son and Achmed was a bit apprehensive about working at a prison, even though it was a minimum security area (i.e., the prisoners aren't dangerous).

My son reassured Achmed that these prisoners were not violent criminals, that they were in prison for non-violent crimes, and he had nothing to fear.

There was a pause as Achmed tried to think of what these people could have possibly done that earned them a prison sentence for a NON-violent crime.

(In Achmed's world of the Palestinian Authority, white-collar criminals presumably can buy their way out of a prison sentence & sx offenders either aren't persecuted – because what they did isn't considered wrong in their society – or they manage to buy or intimidate their way out...or they're executed. It depends.)

Finally, Achmed asked my son if these non-violent prisoners have been locked up due to same-gender hanky-panky.

He couldn't think of anything else to fit the circumstances.

My son burst out laughing.

"We don't imprison people for that!" he said.

Achmed was shocked to hear that. He was even more shocked to learn that such activity isn't remotely illegal in the Medinah, let alone punishable in any way.

Insularity can be Fun!

So it was a funny story.

And it is also a very telling one.

It is also intriguing how some Arabs living their entire lives in Israel remain clueless about the basics of Israeli society & laws, including basic halachah, and they never even learn Hebrew despite the similarities between Hebrew & Arabic, making it an easy language for Arabic-speakers to learn.

Even if they're more secular, they still live relatively insular lives.

And they PREFER living relatively insular lives.

They like their culture.

Here's a sharp story related to that...

Tsniut Saves from Death

Yad L'Achim regularly hosts events in which a woman they rescued tells her story.

One woman, the daughter of a Jewish mother & a Muslim father, was married off in her teens to a Muslim in the village of her paternal grandfather, who was also the local sheikh.

Yad L'Achim helped her escape & make a new life for herself.

She became totally frum & married a good Jewish man.

But remember: The Muslim world considers her Muslim. And her escape from her Muslim husband is a terrible dishonor to him and to their clan. (Not to mention, leaving Islam is itself an executable crime, technically speaking, even if it's not always enforced.)

Anyway, long after her teshuvah & Jewish marriage, she was walking down the street one day (maybe Geula, Yerushalayim?) and dressed in full tsniut-mode: long skirt & sleeves, hair fully covered with a nice scarf, etc.

Suddenly, an Arab man stepped out in front of her, blocking her way & glaring at her.

It was one of the cousins from her ex-husband's village.

She was terrified he might kill her on the spot.

(Though that sounds melodramatic, it was actually a realistic possibility, given his value system & his ability to hide or be hidden among the alleys & other fellows working there, OR if he was caught, he could always rely on Israel's revolving doors of "justice" for Yishmaelim.)

Instead, he just stood scowling at her & looking her over.

Finally, he said something like, "I really should kill you for what you did. But as long as you're going to keep the family honor by dressing modestly, I guess we can let you go."

Then he left.

She explained to us that due to their insular lifestyle, her Muslim family members really have no clue that Judaism commands modesty for Jewish women (and men too, actually).

The Arabs mostly see secular Jewish woman who give no thought to tsniut (dressing & behaving with dignity).

So when this Arab cousin saw that she dressed modestly & even covered her hair (like Muslim girls & women do), he could only assume that she was doing so out of respect for the values of the Arab side of her family.

Without knowing Jewish Law, he could only assume that her intentions were to "keep the "family honor."

(And yeah, it's weird because he was in a place like Geula where you see modest Jewish women everywhere. But for some reason, it just did not compute with him. He thought whatever he thought. And baruch Hashem for that! Otherwise, she may not have lived to tell the tale...)

A Combined Message from Galut Yishmael within Galut Edom

But let's ponder this for a minute:

THIS is the Galut (Exile) that Hashem put us in.

Yes, Galut Yishmael applies more to Eretz Yisrael, but the Western countries (especially Europe) are also increasingly experiencing Galut Yishmael.

And look at how Yishmael is:
Unapologetically insulated.

They often keep their names. (There isn't even an Anglicized form of names, like Yassar needing to be called Jassar, like there is with Hebrew names. And I don't mean for ease of pronunciation, like "Mohammed" instead of "Mochammed." I mean, if you say Yechezkel instead of Ezekiel, no one will know who you mean. I haven't heard such an equivalent done with Muslim names.)

They keep their style of dress (more or less).

They keep their language (even when they could learn Hebrew so easily & it would help them so much to know Hebrew well).

They cling to their beliefs without apology or appeasement. (They may fudge things a bit, like redefine the meaning of Jihad with a false watered-down definition, but mostly they simply insist that Sharia law is just & compassionate & better, and that they aren't all terrorists – which is mostly true – or that what you consider terrorism isn't actually terrorism, and that if you think badly about Sharia or the way individuals practice Sharia, then you are an Islamophobic racist bigot who is persecuting them, and you'd better shut up.)

They have neither tolerance nor respect for atheism or polytheism.

And whether their values & laws are actually correct or not, they hold on to them unapologetically.

Having said all that, yes, they want a lift in their material lifestyle.

They want to enjoy the material comforts of the West. So they head West.

And while they're living on welfare in Europe or North America, they not only hold on to their own values, but unapologetically insist that others not only respect their values & beliefs, but even adopt them too.

(A British Jewish friend related how a Nigerian Muslim woman stood outside a British mall, boldly calling on everyone to dress more modestly. Let's see a religious Jewish woman try something like that! Even her fellow frum Jews would censure her and feel embarrassed by her.)

Look at how Yishmaelite weekend-schools in England have no problem teaching children how to cut off the hands of thieves without killing them – including detailed diagrams of the anatomy of the human arm, wrist, and hand to show how to carry out this procedure.

(And they also teach other stuff many Westerners find disturbing.)

And look at how British authorities minced around the whole thing!

Compare that to the British handling of frum schools for simply refusing to teach anti-Torah values.

In the Yishmaelite weekend-schools, you have the active instruction of how to carry out brutal punishments & executions for crimes (including acts that are not considered crimes by your average Brit).

And the Yishmaelites are unrepentant. You don't like it? Then YOU are the one who's wrong. That's their attitude. They don't go groveling or trying to smooth things over.

But for simply NOT teaching a secular value, the Jews get skewered?

Seriously?

Anything good & just in British law comes from Jewish Law.

Western countries originally based their laws on their religion, which derives any of its positive values from Judaism.

Yet it's against that same Judaism they turn.

(Interestingly, the Ofsted [The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills] that minced around what to do with the Yishmaelite curriculum was the same Ofsted that downgraded a Jewish school for hosting separate classes for boys & girls. I didn't realize gender-segregated education was such a problem for British authorities. After all, Eton still doesn't accept girls & there are still no boys at the Cheltenham Ladies College. Am I missing something?)

Here's Part of the Message...

Certainly, much of the above is a generalization and does not apply to every single Muslim.

There are certainly exceptions to everything written above.

But in general, the attitude of Yishmael today is as described above.

And it's actually how we're supposed to be with OUR own pure Torah value system of TRUE justice & compassion, as defined by Hashem Himself.

WE are supposed to insulate ourselves within our own holy Torah value system.

WE are supposed to dress, speak, act, and look like Jews – and do so with quiet dignity & without apology or embarrassment.

WE are supposed to dismiss the pop psychology & teach our children according to the purity & beauty of Torah Law.

Look at what Hashem is shoving in our face all the time.

There is definitely something He wants us to glean from Galut Yishmael. (Actually, there are a few things. This post addresses only part of the message.)

Will we get the message?

And even more importantly, will we be able to act on it?

4 Comments

Guess Who Else is Jewish?

11/11/2019

4 Comments

Recently, my son ended up working with a Jew with a shady past who is now doing teshuvah.

This Jewish guy said that he used to sell stuff cheaply to a Yishmaelite crime family who lived in an area controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

The Jewish guy quickly discovered that the Muslim-Arab head of the family was married to an Jewish-Israeli woman.

They had several children (all Jews, of course, but who looked, talked, and thought of themselves as Muslim Arabs) and who were married to Muslim Arabs.

Unusually, the Arab head of home treated his Jewish wife very well and she was happy in the situation. Her children, both the sons & daughters, also seemed content with their Arab lifestyle & identity.

The Jewish guy said he used to hang out with them until late at night. He said it was just like hanging out with his Jewish Israeli friends. He said he sat in their living room, looking around at the room full of "Arabs" and thinking, "Whoa, almost everyone here is Jewish!"

My son told him he should've told the grown children that they are Jews.

"Yeah, I know that now," said the Jewish guy.

"You can still tell them," said my son.

"No, I can't," he said.

Why?

One day, the Palestinian Authority descended upon the home with 30 officers and there was all kinds of chaos & fighting, maybe shooting, not sure exactly what. The Jewish guy dashed back into their home & hid there until everyone was gone, then he made his way out and back to the Israeli side.

He never went back.

It's heartbreaking to think of all the children of all the married daughters of the Jewish woman & Muslim man. So many Jews! Yet not a clue to their real identity.

But again, this comes on the heels of Who is a Jew? Disturbing Stories & Inspiring Stories. And How to Prevent Problematic Lineage from Affecting You & Your Descendants?

This also reminds me of an article in Hamodia, which featured a Romanian worker here in Eretz Yisrael who is 100% Jewish.

Yet he came here with all the non-Jewish Romanian workers and no one guesses that he is really Jewish.

On the other hand, there are so many people declaring they're Jewish & even celebrating Jewish holidays, but are not Jewish at all.

I heard that people who work in kiruv at college campuses now say that they've come to realize that the Jewish-looking student named Michael Goldberg or Abigail Schwartz is probably not Jewish at all, but only the child of intermarriage. (Their last name & their look is from their father while their Biblical first name happens to be in fashion this millennium.)

It's getting so that you don't even know who to approach anymore.

We really need Mashiach to come & sort us all out.

4 Comments

Why Does Hashem Want Us to Talk to Him So Much? Rav Avigdor Miller Provides the Answer in Parshat Lech-Lecha

8/11/2019

0 Comments

It's always very interesting to hear detailed descriptions of our Tanach tzaddikim as real people with real lives.

It makes their lessons more tangible.

So Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Lech-Lecha:The Childless Righteous starts off by emphasizing Avraham Avinu's prestige in his time.

Avraham Avinu was rich in livestock, gold, and silver - all the best wealth of ancient Mesopotamia.

He was both famous & respected. In Hilchot Avodah Zarah 1:3, the Rambam states that Avraham Avinu spoke before large audiences; eventually, 10,000 gathered around him.

Rav Miller also states that ancient Greek historians claimed that Avraham Avinu taught mathematics & astronomy (not astrology) to the Egyptian priests. Josephus quotes ancient sources, which state that Avraham Avinu even composed books, only one of which is known today.

Together, Avraham Avinu & Sara Imeinu cultivated an ideal marriage and because of everything they managed to achieve together, Rav Miller describes them as "one of the most successful husband and wife conglomerates who ever lived."

Yet all they ever wanted was a child.

Why are Jews So Often Compared to Grapevines or Olives?

Avraham Avinu & Sara Imeinu struggled with infertility for decades.

They needed all those decades to pray.

Why?

Rav Miller explains (page 7):

But when some situation comes up and we respond by turning to Hashem with urgency and desperation, then the benefit we gain thereby is extremely great – that’s when Awareness of Hashem becomes seared into our minds.

There’s no question that when people are mispallel with sincerity it causes them to have more Awareness of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Rav Miller then states that prayer from a feeling of longing enhances yirat Shamayim and makes a person grow spiritually in ways he cannot otherwise.

Needless to say, Judaism's first Jews were already very special & spiritually elevated people.

But just like pressing grapes or olives brings out their most precious aspects, Hashem wanted to wring out every last drop of the superior qualities of Avraham Avinu & Sara Imeinu.

He needed that every drop of that material in order to create a very special Nation.

(Which is the deep & primary reason they wanted a child.)

Paradoxical Truth: Your Lowest & Bitterest Moment was Also Your Most Successful

When Hashem squeezes people, we often look outside for the solution.

A better medication?

Perhaps I should try the newest self-help guru?

Maybe I should check my mezuzahs!

Maybe I should also give tzedakah...

Rav Miller agrees that spiritual efforts, like checking mezuzahs & giving tzedakah, are very good efforts.

We SHOULD do them.

But what else does Hashem really want?

Rav Miller states (page 10 - emphasis mine):

But among everything, what He chiefly desires is that you should cry out.

Not once and not twice; over and over again you should cry out with all your heart.

Pour out your heart to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

And that's going to be a success that Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants for you.

And if subsequently He grants your request and you're redeemed from your tribulations, and from then on you live a tranquil life, don't think that now you’ve achieved the purpose of life – to live successfully and happily.

No; your success was already achieved when you were in the midst of the tzarah and you called out to Hashem.

And the more you called out, the more you thought about Hashem, the more successful you are.

And why is Hashem's Way to success paved with such a painful road?

The answer lies on pages 10 & 11 of this dvar Torah booklet.

(Sorry, it's too much for me to sum up here. Very fascinating & worthwhile reading, however!)

Is This Breslov Chassidus or Litvish Slabodka? I Can No Longer Tell the Difference!

Rav Miller stresses that we should turn to Hashem with requests before everything we do, like before we:

bake a cake
buy a new fridge
drive to work
put ointment on a cut

Bring Hashem into everything you do.

Guess who said the following?:

When a man utilizes his misfortunes, not merely suffer like a like a stone, like a tree, but he reacts, he reacts with emunah, and he prays and prays and prays, and he pours out his heart more and more, then this man should know he’s gaining the most out of life.

Who said it? Rebbe Nachman? Rebbe Nosson? Rav Shalom Arush?

Nope.

Rav Avigdor Miller (page 15).

Rav Miller stresses that Hashem WANTS you to do this. You're not bothering Him.

In conclusion (page 15):

If you think about Hashem one minute a day you’re already great.

If you do it more frequently then you're an exceptional person!

Try it. Right now.

Don't postpone; it’s an opportunity.

And if it becomes part of our daily program, it means that we are embarked on a career of coming closer and closer to Hashem.

All credit for quotes goes to Toras Avigdor.

0 Comments

2 Links to Expand Your Mind & Improve Your Life (with commentary)

5/11/2019

0 Comments

Here are some links you might really enjoy:

Rav Avigdor Miller on Losing Your Bashert
Rav Miller describes how you can miss out on marrying your Divinely-ordained spouse, both before and even AFTER marriage.

This ties in with Rav Kanievsky's 5 tips for finding your soulmate because the idea of not criticizing nor being makpid with people helps you find what you really need in a spouse prior to marriage & is essential for a successful marriage after the wedding is over.

Rav Itamar Schwartz on Erev Rav: Amalek Exposed
Amalek seems a totally separate nation from the Erev Rav, who came from Mitzrayim and are now part of the Jewish people – at least in body.

So why is it that the Vilna Gaon typifies one of the Erev Rav types as "Amalek"?

There's a real connection, which is described in the above article.

Also, Rav Schwartz explains the connection between Erev Rav, Amalek, and the twin Exiles of Esav & Yishmael.

Just to give you a taste: Rav Schwartz explains that Amalek cannot stand Hashem's Oneness.

Amalek's all-consuming goal is to prevent Hashem's Oneness from being revealed.

This might explain why there is such a resistance to pure monotheism throughout the world, including self-proclaimed monotheists who are actually polytheists in belief & practice.

So Amalek strives to destroy Am Yisrael's oneness so that Hashem's Oneness cannot be revealed in This World.

Pretty nasty stuff, Amalek.

In line with that idea, please note that the Nazis were either nature-worshipers or atheists (both of which deny Hashem's Oneness), the Jew-persecuting Communists were atheists, and the Catholic Church, which instigated terrible persecution against the Jewish people over the centuries, has been polytheistic or pagan, depending on who you follow.

Why did they care so much about Jews secretly keeping Shabbat during the Inquisition?

Why did the Church feel the need to so horrifically torture Jews for keeping Shabbat?

Shabbat is a massive revelation of Hashem's Oneness in the world, if you read all that Chazal has to say about it.

(Note: I am not talking about the praiseworthy individual Catholics who risked torture & death to save Jews, but the powers-that-be behind the Catholic Church.)

Likewise, the holy & pure tzaddik Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender was one of the Ministry of State Security's most wanted "criminals" in the Ukraine in his time.

Why? Because he was so committed to Torah.

(Russia's Ministry of State Security was the forerunner to the KGB. Didn't they have bigger fish to fry than a couple of gentle, kind, saintly chassidim? I mean, it's the Ukraine after all...a matter of "state security," eh?)

Rav Bender & his fellow tzaddikim were forced to convert gerim in secret for fear of the Ministry of State Security. He was nearly executed for davening at the gravesite of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.

Yes, saying Tikkun Haklali by the grave of a tzaddik is DANGEROUS to your nation's survival...if you're Amalek.

However, we can overcome Amalek by connecting to the point that came before Creation.

Why?

Because Am Yisrael came before Creation; we were b'machshavah techilah - we already existed in Hashem's Thoughts before Creation.

Only Am Yisrael possesses the power to connect to that pre-Creation point.

How to do that?

It's in the article, but just as a hint:
The Torah was the blueprint for Creation. It also preceded Creation.

Anyway, the whole post is really fascinating.

0 Comments

5 Tips from Rav Kanievsky to Find Your Soulmate, Plus Some True Stories to Illustrate Why These Tips Really are So Important

4/11/2019

0 Comments

Recently, Hidabroot published a response from Rav Kanievsky that was unusually long for him.

(For the whole story leading up to the list & the list itself, please see the original article: Searching for Your Soulmate? 5 Tips from Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky)

Here are the 5 tips:

1) Take upon yourself to be extremely careful of speaking or hearing gossip.

2) Don't criticize anyone.

3) Don't bear a grudge (be makpid) against anyone.

4) It is also very important that nobody is makpid on them. So if there is a suspicion that they caused somebody pain – they should appease them, ask for forgiveness and ask them not to be makpid.

5) They should pray for friends who are searching for a shidduch.

We All Know Some Crazy Shidduch Stories

After hearing rounds of discussions for years regarding all the derech-hateva theories for the shidduch crisis in America (I haven't heard of a similar crisis in Eretz Yisrael, regardless of community), it's refreshing (as usual!) to hear da'as Torah on the issue.

And just to be clear, I did NOT say that there are no desperately-seeking-shidduch situations in Eretz Yisrael (there are, unfortunately). However, I'm not seeing the mass-crisis proportions they apparently face in America.

I know way too many stories of unlikely meetings & marriages between people for me to take derech-hateva theories lock-stock-and-barrel.

My own Israeli husband is a few years older than me & started dating when I was still an assimilated high school girl in America. Would a round of 40 days at the kotel have helped him when I was in tenth grade?

Well, he did it. And yes, it helped!

But not immediately.

Another friend of mine was an American chassidish girl in her late 20s who met her bashert in America right after he'd gotten off the plane from Tehran. And they met in the waiting room of the office of a Reform rabbi!

(She was passing through for business & having just arrived in America, he didn't realized this wasn't a real rabbi. Noticing the serious young man in a kippah & tzitzit who clearly didn't belong there, she quickly got him pointed in the right direction, and then they married a year later. See? You don't NEED a hotel lobby. It's nice, but Hashem can set up your meeting anywhere.)

That's just two examples of situations in which the derech-hateva solutions would not have helped. We all know others.

I know people who are overweight, not extremely attractive, people who are jerks, obnoxious people, and decent but eccentric people, physically disabled people, and even mentally disabled people who got married without a long wait.

We all know people like this.

I know people who are not so attractive with some pretty bad middot who are happily married because their spouse has bad middot in the same way and they have a Bonnie 'n' Clyde compatibility.

And again, I think we all know couples like that.

Watch Out for Those Hakpadahs!

And yes, the hakpadah thing can be a real issue.

I personally know people who traced their delayed zivug back to people they'd hurt.

In one case, an engagement broken without proper consideration or apology delayed the ultimate shidduch.

How did was that figured out?

Well, prior to their ultimate marriage, one spouse was on the brink of coming to a BT institution in Eretz Yisrael, but an odd experience cast the possibility out of mind.

Two years later, that partner finally arrived at the same BT institution, and via a staff member at this institution, this couple finally met and married.

"Why did that happen to me?" said that partner later on in the marriage. "I was all set to go – and it would've been GOOD for me to go there earlier – why did I suddenly decide not to go?"

After determining the approximate time this sudden refusal happened, the other spouse reluctantly admitted that not only had the broken engagement occurred around that time, but it was broken in a way lacking in derech eretz. Not intentionally hurting anyone, but lacking the courage to deal with the situation correctly, the partner just ditched.

Now think about that. Because of a broken engagement handled poorly, the ultimate shidduch was pushed off by at least 2 years.

Selfless Tefillah

Also, my husband's nephew ended up stuck in shidduchim for a few years.

Finally, my husband's nephew and one of his mother's co-workers (a much older woman) decided to daven for each other that the OTHER should get married first.

My husband's nephew is a very sincere and temimusdig person. He truly davened that she would marry first. (Also, let's be completely honest: He was still younger than she and likely feeling less pressured about getting married already.)

Not long after he took on this davening, my husband's nephew met his wife who is such a wonderful young woman. It was an unusual shidduch because she was FFB from a chashuv family (my husband's nephew was secular until he decided to go to yeshivah for 9th grade), but they are quite compatible and have been producing beautiful Jewish children at a rapid clip. (Their first 2 children are only 11 months apart.)

Derech Hateva: Only be a Small Slice of the Hishtadlut Pie

Please note that I'm NOT calling for completely ignoring derech-hateva theories & solutions.

These theories & solutions exist for a reason.

But based on the above & many other stories like all the above, I really feel that tefillah & cheshbon hanefesh MUST be a MAJORITY part of the solution.

In all the above examples, only tefillah & cheshbon hanefesh could help.

All the derech-hateva solutions do not help one whit if your bashert is in Tehran, high school, and so on.

God willing, may all our singles (whether never married, divorced, or widowed) please find their good & true shidduch b'sha'ah tovah umutzlachat.

(This is a nusach I personally heard from the late Dayan Fischer ztz"l, who advised the girl I accompanied to daven that Hashem should bring her shidduch hatov v'hanachon b'sha'ah tovah umutzlachat.)

Related Post:
When Giving Results in Receiving: A Love Story

0 Comments

The Lessons Found Deep Within

3/11/2019

2 Comments

Even when you are firmly embedded within your frum lifestyle, you can still face startling wake-up calls about something you thought was 100% kosher – or even laudable – and discover that it actually isn't.

It could even be something that makes you feel good.

It could be something with pseudo-rabbinic approval.

But then you discover it's all wrong.

Or at least, partly wrong.

My latest wake-up call came after reading Rav Itamar Schwartz's ideas about concentrating on one's breathing, which he takes from Chazal (as clarified by Rav Abulafia, apparently), and does not borrow from non-Jewish sources.

Then a caring reader sent me a booklet of Rav Schwartz's ideas on breathing & how it specifically relates to the month of Cheshvan:
http://bilvavi.net/files/Bilvavi.On.Breathing.pdf

You can also see a version of it as a blog post:
http://bilvavi.net/english/rosh-chodesh-avodah-008-marchesvan-breathing

Now, I was never one of these people who likes to meditate, but I have done guided meditation with frum rabbinically approved people.

And these are people who care about their methods being 100% kosher.

So imagine my dismay when I read in the Q&A section (emphasis mine):

The Torah’s approach to the power of using breathing is not so that we should expel negative energy contained in the body and bring in positive energy.

A Torah-approved method that is being somewhat mirrored in the gentile practices of breathing is that a person can bring positive energy into his system; however, this is not being accomplished through the gentile methods.

A Torah-approved method would be to imagine a thought about something holy and to imagine that it is entering him, or that it is his enveloping his body, or something similar to this.

The gentile approach of breathing exercises, however, involves imagining a “light” that enters the body which purges it from all evil or negativity found in the body.

This approach is heretical to our Torah.

Uh...oh.

And while I haven't done this a lot nor have I done this since a while ago, I was concerned that something so seemingly innocent & positive is actually "heretical."

Trusting that Rav Schwartz is truly knowledgeable in this area helped me be honest with myself, and convinced me that I must not again try anything that instructs me to inhale "light" or "a power" – ANY kind of "power."

There's just Hashem.

Having said that, I think that one of the frum methods I tried indeed described it as imagining "the light of Hashem" being inhaled into you, which suits the Torah-approved method of breathing, according to Rav Schwartz.

That felt nice, but I never saw any of the promised effects from it, as far as I remember.

At the same time, I don't think all these things always make sure to mention Hashem as a firmly entrenched part of the exercise – which might explain an odd reaction I had to one given by a frum person, which was not only unhelpful but caused a very unpleasant feeling.

Rav Schwartz goes on to explain (emphasis mine):

The purpose of the Torah’s approach towards breathing is that breathing enables us to reach HaKadosh Baruch Hu found in the depths of the soul.

Unlike the gentile methods, which are entirely self-focused, the Torah way of breathing exercises is to come to live with Hashem in our life, through the breathing exercises.

And in a nutshell, I feel that's the problem with a lot of "kashered" exercises borrowed from Eastern practices.

It's all focused on self.

I remember when I read about Buddhism, for example, to see what all the attraction was about, and when I learned what the whole point was & what the greatest achievement could be, I was like, "That's it?"

Just something like, reaching a state of nothingness for absolutely no reason.

Whoopdee-doo.

And investing TONS of work and discipline to get there.

It was so pointless and meaningless, I really didn't & don't understand why intelligent, spiritual people were & are so attracted to it.

So I decided to try breathing Rav Schwartz's way, and immediately saw the difference.

Concentrating on my breathing sparked a dim image in my head of the whole breathing apparatus, the diaphragm, everything. My mind automatically thought, "Wow, how great are your deeds, Hashem! Look at how everything works together so well without my even noticing! I'm so grateful to You! You're Amazing!"

This was the spontaneous thought, not that I was trying to make it Gratitude Time. (Remember, I was just focusing on my breathing without using my mind for anything else.)

Needless to say, feeling awash in awe & appreciation of Hashem both relaxed & uplifted my mood.

At this point, I plan to use this periodically, but don't intend to make a daily practice out of it because, like I said, I'm really not a meditative type. Anyway, he said this isn't necessary spiritual work; it's just for people who feel attracted to it and wish to make it part of their avodah.

Not every soul needs this particular method of getting close to Hashem.

But yet again, it showed me the great importance of deriving help from authentic Jewish sources.

We don't need to look so often to the non-Jewish world for help.

And we certainly don't need "kashered" versions of unkosher methods.

Mah rabu ma'asecha, Hashem!

2 Comments

Rav Avigdor Miller on Parshat Noach: The Nice Guy Always Wins in the End

1/11/2019

0 Comments

Yet again, Rav Avigdor Miller makes the parsha come alive for the modern mind.

Parshat Noach is an intriguing parsha, full of stories that teach us valuable mussar lessons and introduce the beginning of the world & human history.

This parsha has both fascinated & inspired its descendants worldwide for literally millennia.

In Parshas Noach: Great Men of the World, Rav Miller starts us off imagining those first events of human history as if reported in an ancient newspaper.

Also, Rav Miller introduces concepts I never imagined, like how the creators of tents and musical instruments were inspired by the mechanisms of wildlife around them.

He also introduces some intriguing chiddushim regarding their sister, Na'amah, who is mentioned alongside them.

Rav Miller notes that in those days, Kayin's family looked super-successful; they had it all.

Adam & Chava's third son, Sheis/Shet/Seth, could barely be noticed amid all the flashy innovation of Kayin's brood. In Rav Miller's words, Kayin's offspring were considered "the heroes of humanity."

Yet only Shet remains. No human descendant remains from Kayin today.

Who's the Last Man Standing? The Nice Guy.

Despite all the truly beneficial inventions Kayin's descendants provided humanity, it still wasn't enough merit to save them.

It was the descendants of the overlooked nice guy (along with his descendant, another overlooked nice guy) who saved humanity.

This is a running theme throughout Tanach, as discussed on the blog previously.

The very people who are ignored, rejected, dismissed, overlooked, and overshadowed end up as the Chosen and saving the day: Leah Imeinu, Yosef Hatzaddik, Chana Haneviah & Mother of Shmuel, David Hamelech, Gidon, Har Sinai, and on and on and on.

Even ma'asu habonim hayata l'rosh pinah – The stone despised by the builders became the cornerstone.

That's the history of Jewish greatness in a nutshell (and this still applies to Noach even though he wasn't Jewish).

Every living creature you see today survived through Noach's Ark.

And even a squirrel is a happy reminder of this fact (pg. 12):

When we see today a squirrel climbing a tree or a bird flying in the sky, we know it was an inhabitant of the Ark.

Don’t waste that opportunity when you see a squirrel – you’re being taught now that the righteous individuals are so important in the eyes of Hashem that for their merit the entire Creation continues to live.

Therefore, this is the big lesson of Noach according to Rav Miller (page 12):

"It’s a lesson for always; it was intended as an eternal demonstration for all future generations that those who are serving Hakodosh Boruch Hu, they are the protectors of the world."

Who are Hashem's Celebrities?

Then Rav Miller recalls being called a parasite when attending yeshivah in Eastern Europe in the 1930s.

By his fellow Jews.

Not all Jews, of course. Just the apikoris Jews.

Sort of like today.

Also, Rav Miller notes that many people think they're doing a big favor by supporting the Torah-learning poor in Yerushalayim, like those with 14 kids living in a small apartment.

But really, he notes, they're doing US the favor.

The greater the person is in Torah and personal refinement, the greater their merit.

Here's Rav Miller's take on the role of tzaddikim (pg. 14):

A tzadik is a very great benefit for you, for the generation.

The Gemara (Taanis 24b) tells of a bas kol, that’s a minor form of prophecy, that was sent to reveal that the entire world received its sustenance in the merit of Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa.

Who knows how many times we have had good suppers because of tzadikim?

Who knows how many times you’ve made a good business deal or found a good job because of tzadikim?

Who knows how many times tragedies would have happened; families destroyed, communities uprooted if not for the merit of the tzadikim who have found favor in the eyes of Hashem?

Who knows how many times you didn’t get sick because of the nighteousness of tzaddikim?

Hashem loves tzaddikim so much, so that means we should love them too.

And we should look with love upon all Jews who strive to fulfill Torah & mitzvot.

As always, all credit for quotes goes to Toras Avigdor.

0 Comments

The Kli Yakar on Parshas Noach: Why Did Hashem Destroy the World with Water? And What is the Connection to Hurricanes?

31/10/2019

0 Comments

The Kli Yakar on Parshat Noach (Beresheit 6:17) explains why a flood of water was the fitting consequence for Dor HaMabul.

And it all has to do with boundaries.

Without a Sanhedrin and Torah-mandated executions (which hardly ever happened), Hashem executes by strangulation those who deserve it – and one of those ways is by drowning.

So here are why the Generation of the Flood suffered torrents of water:

1) First of all, strangulation is the halachic execution for those who indulge in relations with a married woman. The Generation of the Flood was really into this particular sin. Such a sin is an invasion of the boundaries of marriage & family. It also affects the children's lineage, since people can't know who is the child's real father, which was also a huge problem during Dor HaMabul.

2) Secondly, the sin of theft is another invasion of boundaries. So middah k'neged middah, the water overrides its boundaries into flooding (or into lungs, invading the air that is supposed to be there instead). The Generation of the Flood was hopelessly steeped in theft and all kinds of deception – "deception" is referred to as geneivat hadaat (theft of mind/knowledge) in Hebrew.

3) Third, avodah zarah is another breach of boundaries. Everything originates from One Creator. There is only ever One God. Scattering one's prayers among other entities is a terrible breach. So even though the official execution for avodah zarah is stoning for an individual and the sword for an entire city of idolaters, Hashem sent a flood instead.

Furthermore, Yirmeyahu 2:13 mentions the people who forsook Hashem, "the source of fresh water," and who instead dug "cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." Radak interprets this as abandoning Hashem to worship idols. So that's another aspect of this theme of water.

Furthermore, because Dor HaMabul worshiped the luminaries & constellations, Hashem spread an opaque density of clouds to block out all sight & light of the astronomical bodies.

(Note: Rabbi Elihu Levine's English-rendering of the Kli Yakar proved invaluable to understanding the above points.)

The Kli Yakar & Hurricanes

In places with severe, and especially unnatural flooding, we can see the above breaches are rampant in those societies.

In addition, Netivot Shalom explains that the Rosh Hashanah idea of everything passing in judgement before Hashem is actually metaphor for Hashem's scrutiny of every living creature to see whether its existence is necessary for the coming year.

I couldn't help thinking that Hashem decided that certain islands in the Caribbean are no longer necessary, and that He decided so for the reasons stated above – all based on how they were mostly wiped out by the flooding of ferocious hurricanes.

If you know anything about that part of the world, the above breaches are part & parcel of those societies.

May we all merit to remain joyfully entrenched within our Torah boundaries.

For more on Parshat Noach:

0 Comments

<<Previous

What Were Avraham & Sara like as Chatan & Kallah?

A Truly Fun Home

Why was Yishmael's Laughter So Bad?

What's the Secret to Keeping House like Sara Imeinu?

The Old Treasure in the Home

Reaching Back to the Original Nature & Nurture

People Wear Clothing; Animals Don't

A Covering as Physical Protection

A Covering as Spiritual Protection

Tsniut & Miracles

The Greatest Achievements are Unseen

An Eye-Opening Experience at an Israeli Men's Prison

Insularity can be Fun!

Tsniut Saves from Death

A Combined Message from Galut Yishmael within Galut Edom

Here's Part of the Message...

Why are Jews So Often Compared to Grapevines or Olives?

Paradoxical Truth: Your Lowest & Bitterest Moment was Also Your Most Successful

Is This Breslov Chassidus or Litvish Slabodka? I Can No Longer Tell the Difference!

We All Know Some Crazy Shidduch Stories

Watch Out for Those Hakpadahs!

Selfless Tefillah

Derech Hateva: Only be a Small Slice of the Hishtadlut Pie

Who's the Last Man Standing? The Nice Guy.

"It’s a lesson for always; it was intended as an eternal demonstration for all future generations that those who are serving Hakodosh Boruch Hu, they are the protectors of the world."

Who are Hashem's Celebrities?

The Kli Yakar & Hurricanes

​May we all merit to remain joyfully entrenched within our Torah boundaries.

Myrtle Rising

Categories

Jewish Blogs

Jewish Current Events

Jewish Health

Archives

Copyright Notice

May we all merit to remain joyfully entrenched within our Torah boundaries.