Devarim Portion

In my professional field of psychology and neuroscience, as well as in so many other fields in the history of mankind, there has been a debate between those researchers and philosophers who think that there is no soul - that we are just body and that our brain is just a machine, and those who think that there is a duality between mind/soul and body, which, in this perspective, are two separate entities. As someone who have faith, I KNOW that there is soul, and that it is separate from the body. The body is just a vessel that carries the soul and allows it to materialize in this world. The soul affects the body, there is a lot of mutual influence between the body and the mind, but at the end of the day (at the end of this life), the body goes back to the earth, and the soul goes up to the next world, to heaven. Some researchers from the first school of thought (those who think that there is only body and nothing else) give as support for their world view the fact that if for whatever reason there is damage to some parts of the brain, a man's whole personality can change. There is the famous story of Phineas Gage, a young man who was very sweet, kind, nice. Then, one day he had an accident, and the frontal lobes of his brain (the part that is responsible for all the 'higher', human faculties like morality, decision making, etc.) was damaged. Since that day he changed completely, and became a difficult person, with lots of social, moral and emotional issues, like a completely different person. This, the researchers say, is one proof that there is no soul - you damage the brain, and the person changes completely in the most human aspects of his existence. 

Of course, to me this is no proof at all. I like to liken the brain to a radio receiver, and the soul to the radio announcer. If your radio set falls and gets broken, there might be problems in hearing radio programs. Does that mean that the man who broadcasts the radio program is damaged too? If you can't hear him well because the radio is broken - does it mean that he is not there, or that there is something wrong with him? And if the radio set is ruined completely, does it mean that the radio announcer no longer exists? Nope. But sadly, I know personally very successful scientists who truly believe that the body, the brain (the radio set) is all that there is, and that when the body dies, that's the end of everything. Of course, gladly, I know researchers and scientists who don't think so. 

A couple of weeks ago I had an experience that made me think again about this topic. It was on a Shabbat. I was visiting a very sick lady, who has diabetes (horrible disease - do everything in your power to preserve your health and not to develop this disease!) and other horrible problems. One of her legs is amputated, and she suffers pains of all kinds. One of the pains she suffers from is called "phantom pain" (neuropathic pain). The leg that is no longer there - hurts her, but there is nothing she can do about it, because there is no leg, it is all in her brain! I've visited her a few times, and one of the times I saw how, just before the pain started, the stem of her amputated leg was shaking uncontrollably, and then she would scream in pain - pain in the phantom leg, the leg that is no longer there. It was very hard for me to see this - to see her pain and suffering, to see her helplessness, to see how her body (she's a beautiful woman, even in her older age) is not whole. The first time I saw this, I felt a wave of nausea, the world started turning around me, and I thought I was going to faint. Gladly, I managed to stabilize myself by breathing, sitting, etc. The next time I visited her, I felt like this again - a feeling that my mind (and body!) cannot contain this. And then the next time that I visited her, this feeling was very strong. She had tubes connected to her arm, and she was scratching, and her arm was wounded because of the scratches. She couldn't hear much, but she talked. She told me things that were very personal and deep, lamenting the fact that her life as she knew it was basically over, that just five years earlier she was young and beautiful (she still is beautiful, but I don't think it matters to her now), that her life is in shambles, etc. I sang to her some Shabbat songs, some Jerusalem songs - very soothing songs - she could hear the singing, which was strange, because she couldn't hear the talking. She was so grateful to be sang to. She said she feels as if an angel is singing to her. And then, the familiar feeling came back. It started with the world getting dark in front of my eyes, and a feeling of nausea swelling up within me, a huge wave of heat that I wasn't familiar with washed all over me and I was sweating like I never do. I tried to breath, to stabilize myself, to take my mind off her pain to other places, but I couldn't. I felt a huge wave of heat in my chest, and I felt that LITERALLY my soul was trying to leave my body. I felt a huge pressure in my chest, and it was very painful, and it truly felt as if my soul was trying HARD to get out of my body, to leave, to escape that painful scene. My body resisted, I felt the battle between body and soul, as if the soul says: 'let me go!', and the body says: 'not now, not yet!'. That was such a strange feeling. My body was so strong in resisting! I've never ever felt the separate existence of body and soul in such a tangible way. Never. The body won - I'm still here to write about it, but truthfully, I think it ended with a temporary compromise. Because a few moments later, I opened my eyes and found myself on the floor, three nurses looking at me with worried looks and kind, soft smiles. 'What happened?', they asked. 'Were you hurt?'. When I realized that I fainted, I was quick to try to get up on my feet again and to brush this off as nothing. I told them that everything is OK, that I just feel weak. They didn't let me get up. They insisted that I sit and recover completely, and gave me water. When they realized that what caused the fainting was my reaction to the pain of the woman in the bed, they escorted me out of the room. One of the nurses told me that she saw me as it was happening and rushed to me, and therefore managed to catch me in time, to catch my head, before I hit the floor. I was so grateful. Another nurse, an Arab man, asked me again and again: Are you sure nothing hurts? You weren't hit by the floor? Nothing was hurting, thank G-d. They took me out to sit on a chair outside of her room, but I could still hear her cries of anguish from there as well, and a wave of tears welled up inside of me and - how embarrassing - washed my face. I was sitting there, drinking the water that they gave me, hiding my face with my arm, and crying quietly, trying hard to let no one notice. The wave of emotions was so powerful, I just couldn't contain it. After some ten minutes, I was back to myself. I went back to the room (with the Arab nurse with me this time), and said goodbye to the woman. She made an unhappy face, because the visit was too short. I really want to visit her, but I don't think it's a good idea, since every time I see her I feel like I'm going to lose consciousness. I'm thinking that perhaps I can go for only ten minutes or so, and when I feel that I'm going to faint, I can leave immediately, and not try to stabilize myself. Anyway, this whole episode demonstrated to me even more tangibly than ever before - that body and soul are not the same entity, and that the soul, most probably, resides in the heart - in the chest area - and not in the brain, as I felt it trying to leave from the chest area. 

It reminds me of something that I heard a few years ago from Yossi Sarid (a super leftist Israeli politician, very secular, an intellectual, who - despite his political opinions - was a good man). He died a few years ago, but years before he died, he experienced clinical death, and told about it in the radio as a by the way story, even though he knew that it might risk his reputation as a rational man. It started with the same experience I had - a huge pressure and heat wave in the chest area, a feeling that the soul wants to leave, but in his case - it managed to leave the body! He died a clinical death, but his soul was present there, hovering above the scene, and saw everything that was happening from above. It happened to him in a car, when his wife was driving and the kids were in the back. They all panicked and started crying. He saw the medical team at the hospital taking care of his body, etc. And he started to feel how his soul is leaving this world - this world started looking very small - until he was so high - and then the doctors managed to bring him back. To hear something like this from a super secular, lefty, rational person - is something to remember. And he is known as a very very honest person. No corruption was ever found with him, which is rare in politics. And he had nothing to gain from telling this story - he could only lose: his reputation, his respect in the eyes of people, his electoral power, etc. So I believe him. Anyway, experiencing what I had experienced during my last visit to the hospital, I got yet another evidence that it was true.

This week's Portion, Devarim, starts a whole new book in the Torah: the fifth book of Moses. This whole book is a goodbye speech that Moses give the People of Israel, shortly before they enter the Holy Land. In this very long, powerful speech, Moses reminds the people of the things that happened in their journey in the desert - the good, and the bad. His purpose is to remind the people not of the events themselves, but rather the moral lesson to be gleaned from them. Moses will not be with the Israelites when they enter the Land of Israel. They will not have them to rebuke them and bring them back to the right way, to the good way, and he tries his best to teach them - to be good even when he is not around them. It is a little bit like a father with children. The father's goal is to make sure that his children behave well not only when he is around, but especially when he is not around. 

The Prophet Portion (Haftorah) that we read this week is from Isaiah 1: 1-27, in which the prophet Isaiah rebukes the nation for not behaving according to the values of the Torah. But even within this text, G-d says a few very hopeful, beautiful words: "Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes, cease to do evil;  Learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken." In these few words, as well as in many other places in the Bible, G-d gives us a free choice - to choose between good and evil, and promises reward for those who choose good. Even more important than this, He gives us the ability to REPENT - not only to say we are sorry for our bad deeds, but to actually change our ways and be better - and then He promises to forgive us. No need for blood, no need for sacrifices ("To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the LORD; I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.") In order to be forgiven we don't need blood to atone for us - we only have to purify ourselves and change our ways for the better, and He will forgive us.  

Shabbat shalom!

Mas'ei Portion

This week's Torah Portion is that of Mas'ei (journeys of Israel). In it, the Torah details the 42 journeys of the Israelites in the desert. It is funny, because this Portion is the one Portion I think of almost everyday. The reason for it is that many streets in the area where I live are named after these journeys - the places where Israel stopped before they continued on their journeys. Places like Di-Zahav, Etzion Gaver, Yam Suf, Paran - are all stops on the way of the Israelites in the desert, but are also landmarks in my daily walks. It is so nice to be living in an area in which all the stops of the Israelites in the desert appear on street signs. It really connects one to the Torah, and to our national history. Many commentators find deep meanings in the names of those stops - and it's beautiful to read. But the most important question is: Why does the Torah detail all the stops that the Israelites do in the desert? After all, we have already read about them in previous chapters.
The Ramban (a famous Torah commentator, and generally my favorite one of all) said that it was simply to emphasize the length of the journey in the desert. People think that it is a short distance between Egypt and Israel. They are right. But it isn't short if, instead of going in a straight line, you have to zig-zag from point A to point B to point C in a very interesting non-straight line, and stay a while in each stop.

Since they were leaving places and staying in places by G-d's sign - I think that it emphasizes the fact that G-d was constantly with them, guiding them, even when they got to places in which they did horrible things - He kept guiding them and supporting them, like He does with each of us. In our lives as well, G-d shows us the way, guides us, shows us where to go and what to do. The problem is that most of us don't see and don't understand G-d's 'language', His 'signs'. I remember times in my life that I felt that He was guiding me, but it was such an irrational feeling, something that the secular world in which I lived never talked about or recognized, that I ignored it, very sadly. I often wish I could go back and follow G-d's guidance in the most critical years of my life. Everything would have been much better then. But I try to do it now, as much as I can, and I feel so awed when I feel that I'm guided - it is such an amazing feeling that this human being who is me, housed in a body of flesh and blood - is helped by the Eternal One up high. It is humbling. Anyway, the good news is that He is with us. And eventually, He would lead us, and all of humanity, to Redemption.
This week on Thursday was the passing date of a very special, holy and important person whom I would always admire - Chiune Sugihara - a Japanese diplomat who saved thousand of Jews in WWII. He sent them on a journey to life, and paid a dear price for it - but I'm sure he will be rewarded eternally for his heroism and righteousness. It is so nice to know that there are such good people in the world. He passed away on July 31st, 1986. Like him there are a few other diplomats who helped Jews and I feel a debt of gratitude to each of them, and to G-d for placing them there at such a time.
July 31st is also meaningful to me because a terrorist went into the Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus and bombed the Frank Sinatra cafeteria during rush hour there. Nine people were killed there, some students, some university workers. It is so sad. Near this place there is a monument today - a tree that is planted in what looks like a huge pot, but the pot looks as if it has fallen. Yet, the tree still grows and strives upward. It is very symbolic - despite the loss and tragedy, despite the evil - life goes on and strives upwards.
This is going to be short today. So much more to write, but Shabbat is just around the corner, and I have to get ready.

Shabbat Shalom!

Matot Portion

Two weeks ago I wrote about the gentile prophet Balaam. I said that we perceive him to be an evil person, but I'm sure that some people can disagree with this and claim that he was actually righteous, because he believed in G-d, and he constantly and repeatedly told King Balak of Moab that he would only say that which G-d puts in his mouth. So far so good - wonderful. But really, if you give this whole episode another look, you realize that something is very wrong with this picture. King Balak wanted to curse the People of Israel to bring a calamity, a disaster upon them. This is a horrible thing. And he tried to get prophet Balaam to help with it - so that he would curse them for him. Balaam should have said right then and there: No! I cannot do so. They didn't do anything to harm you to deserve this. But instead he said: OK, but let me ask G-d first. Can you imagine? If someone would have told you to kill an innocent person - instead of saying 'no', you would ask G-d for permission to do it, and not just once? Again and again and again? To defend Balaam, you can say that he knew G-d wouldn't allow this. If this is the case, then why did he ask Him in the first place, and so many times at that? You can also claim that he didn't have any choice. The mighty King Balak asked him to do it, and it was dangerous for him to disobey him. Wrong again! In the end, when Balaam blessed Israel instead of cursing them, King Balak was not happy, but there was no punishment or revenge to Balaam. They parted peacefully. Balak was king of Moab, and Balaam was from another nation, Midian. So no excuses for Balaam. But if you needed more proof than that to indict Balaam, it comes in this week's Portion.

Do you remember that last week I wrote here that the women of Midian seduced the Israelite men to sin with them, and while doing so - to worship their idol, Peor? This caused thousands and thousands of Israelites to die in a plague, until Pinchas did what he did and stopped the plague. How is this episode related to anything? In this week's Torah Portion we hear that the scheme to make the Israeilte men sin with the Midianite women so that G-d would be angry with us, and punish us as a result - this evil advice came from... Balaam!!! In this week's Torah Portion, in Numbers 32:16, Moses tells the People of Israel about the Midianite women: "Behold, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to revolt so as to be unfaithful to G-d in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck G-d's people". Peor was the Midianite "god", their idol. Do you need any more evidence that Balaam was truly an antisemite who hated G-d's people and wanted to cause them harm? 

The fact that Balaam talked about G-d doesn't make him a righteous person. Senior Nazi officials were talking about G-d all the time. Hitler in his infamous book, "Mein Kamph", talked about G-d quite a lot. In fact, he saw himself as a messenger of G-d to eradicate the inferior parts of humanity (in his view). He said things like: "I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator". "Even today I am not ashamed to say that I fell down on my knees and thanked Heaven from an overflowing heart for granting me the good fortune of being permitted to live at this time". "Anyone who dared to lay hands on the highest image of the Lord commits sacrilege against the benevolent Creator of this miracle and contributes to the expulsion from paradise." In Israel we cannot get our hands on this book - it is forbidden to sell, and I believe it is a respectful gesture for the millions, Jews and non-Jews, who lost their lives due to his distorted worldview. But I read the first volume of the book "The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich" and it was abundant with quotes like this from that book. 

Adolf Eichmann also talked about G-d in his trial. I was shocked to read it. How can they be so evil and at the same time talk about G-d? Do they think G-d likes their ways? They committed the most horrendous crimes humanity has ever known, and they talked about G-d in the process of doing so. When I think of this, verses from Psalm 50 come to my mind: "But to the evil person G-d says: 'What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you. When you see a thief, you join with him. You throw in your lot with adulterers. You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother's son. When you did these things, and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now charge you and set my accusations before you." 

The moral of all of this is that people can seem very religious and G-d loving, and talk so much about G-d, but their hearts are not upright and clean. And Balaam was exactly such a person. I'm constantly checking myself to make sure that I don't only talk about this, but actually be this - the cleanest I can be. Not easy, but this is our life's task, to take the weeds out and leave the blossoming flowers in. 

I think of a person who is the exact opposite to that of Balaam: Rabbi Yitzchak HaLevi Herzog, who passed away 60 years ago, and did everything in his power to fulfill G-d's will and help the Jewish people. His Jahrzeit was just recently. He was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland. When the British published their White Paper (a resolution to limit the number of Jews who can immigrate to Israel), he tore it apart and said: "We cannot agree to the White Paper. Just as the prophets did before me, I hereby rip it in two". During WWII, he went to the USA to meet with President Roosevelt and ask him to help the Jews of Europe. He didn't get help from Roosevelt, and was heavily sorry and disappointed. Some people who were there say that his hair turned white as he was leaving the meeting. It shows just how deeply he cared. After the war, Rabbi Herzog went to Europe and together with many other people from Israel tried to bring Jewish children who were hidden in monasteries and local families back to their nation. In some of the monasteries, they met with resistance from the monks and catholic priests who didn't want them to take the children back and didn't tell them who of the children was Jewish. But the Israeli people were very clever. When they got to the monasteries, they cried in Hebrew "Shema Israel..." ("Hear, oh, Israel..."), and suddenly, from all the many orphans present, a few children closed their eyes by putting their fingers on their eyes, and completed the verse aloud "HaShem Elokeinu, HaShem Echad" ("G-d is our L-rd, G-d is One!"). It was almost like a secret password, a Shiboleth, that runs through the Jewish People for generations since time immemorial, and unites us all in one unbreakable chain. This is how they identified the Jewish children and took them back to their nation, to their homeland, to their religion. There were some righteous gentiles who helped the process and did everything they could to help find the kids and return them to their people. Their purpose was to build, whereas Balaam's purpose was to destroy. May we always merit to be among the builders and not among the destroyers, among the Herzogs, and not among the Balaams. 

There is much more to say, we'll leave it to other times. 

Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach!

R. 

Pinchas Portion

Tomorrow will be the 50th anniversary of "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" - the landing and walking of the first man on the moon. What an amazing achievement, something that is so hard to imagine. Until this very day it is simply unbelievable to think that human beings flew to outer space, to discover parts of the universe outside of our planet. How did they do it? How is it possible for a human to do that? It is so amazing.
I sometimes think of the fact that our planet, a huge, immense, indescribably heavy body of material, is floating in space... can you imagine? It sounds so so unbelievable, so hard to grasp! This planet that weighs who knows how much, floats in the space, and does it in a fixed orbit... and not only that, it also turns around itself while doing so. If anyone would have told me that a thousand years ago, I would have burst out laughing. What? No way! Not in a million years! But... it is true. The pictures from outer space show it. And sometimes, when I need perspective on things, when things weigh me down and I need to put things in perspective, I think about this. I realize that we live in a mysterious universe, created by a really, truly omnipotent G-d, who can make huge planets float in space without falling, without crashing, without deviating from their orbit. A G-d that created not just this planet but all the endless number of other planets and stars. A G-d that created our planet with the perfect conditions to sustain life, all kinds of different forms of life, in a perfect way. If our planet would have moved a little too close to the sun, everything here would have burned and died. If it were moving a little too far from the sun, everything here would have been dark and cold. When you look around and see all the myriad forms of life - all the different types of plants and animals: sea creatures, reptiles, mammals, birds, butterflies, etc, you can't help gasping in awe. So much creativity, so much beauty and wisdom and perfection! And when you look inside one species, no one specimen is identical to the next. Think of us, humans. Our faces are so different from each other's. Even identical twins can be told apart by their relatives. We each have our unique finger prints. We each have our unique DNA. Each of us has a different voice, by which we can be recognized. Have you thought once that it is so incredible that there are SO MANY different kinds of human voices in this world? And you can tell by someone's voice so many things about them: their gender, their age (more or less), their current mood, their intentions. And it is not just within one generation. I would doubt that any time in History there was someone with exactly the same voice like mine, or who looked exactly like me, who had the exact DNA that I have. Isn't it amazing? So much creativity - endless! So much wisdom - unfathomable, and endless! How could anyone look at the world, live in this world, and not recognize that there is a Creator to all of this wonderful universe? So in relation to these thoughts, I'd like to share the following:
It is so interesting to see how things happen. I recently felt a deep desire to go deeper in my Torah learning, to penetrate some more mystical layers of commentary and wisdom. I felt a desire to read the book of Zohar, which is an ancient Torah commentary, that reveals a lot of deep secrets about this world and its reality, based on the different layers of the Torah texts. So inside of me I felt like I wish I could learn the Zohar, and then a couple of days later, when I went into my favorite synagogue in the world, the one of the university on Mt. Scopus, I saw there, in the entrance to the synagogue, a Zohar book. It was placed where people usually leave books to give away. I took it in my hand. It wasn't the WHOLE Zohar, just a part of it, but it was interpreted in a way that is easy to understand, even for people with not much background. I started reading it, and I try to read a part of it every Shabbat. It is interesting. I want to continue. I feel that without intending to, I'm also learning Aramaic in the process, because the original text is in this language, and then it is translated to Hebrew.
The Zohar is the main book of the Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism). Our tradition holds that it was written in the 2nd century by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Secular researchers want to think that it was written in the 13th century. Either way, everyone agrees that it was written many hundreds of years ago - before anyone ever thought of establishing NASA, the American space agency, which provided us with satellite pictures from outer space. When you read some of the things that are written there, you are left with a feeling of awe and wonder: 'How did they know these things back then?'. I'll give you an example. The Zohar on the Book of Leviticus (page 10, A) says the following amazing truths on astronomy, at a time and age that humanity didn't possess such knowledge. The following is my translation of it, so don't expect it to be perfect:

"The whole world is turning around in a circle like a ball. Some people live in its bottom, and others live above. And all those who live in the different parts of Earth are different from each other due to the changes of weather, according to the weather that is in every different place. This is why they look different. There are places in which some have day light while the others have night. And there is a place in the world that is always with light without night, except for a very short time". 

If you want to see the original, I'll keep it at the bottom of this post. But - isn't it amazing? Long before Copernicus and Galileo, whether it was in the 2nd century or the 13th century, humanity didn't yet possess this kind of knowledge, and this Zohar book of Torah commentary tells this so explicitly! I'm so impressed!!! What else does this book know that we do not know today? Whatever it is, I would like to know it, so I've started learning. I wish there was more than just one Shabbat a week, so that I could read and study a lot more. I feel so privileged to be able to read it!

And also - the way it happened - I just felt the desire in my heart to study this book - and here it appeared in front of me at a place where they give books away. It was SO amazing! And it is not the first time that something like this happened to me. I wanted to study more about some areas of Jewish Law, and a specific book appeared (in exactly the same place!) just on time. HaShem listens.

We're experiencing a very hot summer here, which makes one want to stay indoors and not go out, and I've started feeling that I just don't move enough, and it is not good. Last Shabbat I took a walk to explore some streets in my neighborhoods and I discovered a street that I wasn't familiar with before. It's a villa street, and it is circular and quiet. I decided to start a walking routine every morning, and have this street as a regular part of my track. It's a big circle, with uphill and downhill parts, and I do it twice every day. To give myself the motivation to do it, especially in this heat, I listen to Torah classes while I walk, and then I feel like I'm not wasting my time on physical things, I actually gain some spiritual gains at the same time. When I need to give myself the motivation to go on a walk, I tell myself that it's time to listen to a Torah class on my smartphone, and so I go.

This week's Torah Portion is that of Pinchas. In last week's Portion, it was told how the Israelites started worshiping the Medianite's foreign god, and this happened because of their sexual promiscuity with the women of Median. A very prominent Israelite person, the prince of the tribe of Shimon, brought a Medianite woman and sinned with her in front of Moses and the whole nation, and in front of the Tent of Meeting. G-d punished us with an epidemic because of these sins. Then Pinchas, grandson of Aaron, took a spear and killed the Jewish prince and the Medianite woman. By doing it, the epidemic stopped and G-d gave him the gift of priesthood. You may ask why a gift of priesthood, isn't he a priest already, just by being Aaron's grandson? The answer is: no. Descendants of Aaron who were born AFTER Aaron was anointed as priest - they and their offsprings are priests, for ever. But Pinchas was born BEFORE Aaron was anointed, and therefore was not a priest. There is a lot to say about this whole episode. But I think the main message here is courage. Courage to be just, even if it is politically incorrect, non popular. Even if everyone around says and does the exact opposite of G-d's will - the courage to stand for what G-d wants. This is very relevant to our day and age. The Torah commands us to keep certain moral laws. But modern society has started fashioning their own laws, calling that which is good 'bad', and that which is bad 'good'. Horrible phenomena of people who do the exact opposite of G-d's will, proudly, without apologizing, and society celebrates them and prides them, and parades them. The cost for society in the long run, in the future, is going to be immense. It affects us in all kinds of different ways and we do not know where it would end. G-d stated His will in the Torah, but these people trample His word with their behavior and parades. He tells them in so many ways that this is wrong - including creating a disease that is specific to this kind of behavior, but they use modern medicine to get over it, to get healed from it, to avoid it. They don't want to listen. I think the whole world is washed with this wave, and it is very regrettable. If you don't agree with this now, you'll be forced to agree with this in the future, when the societal consequences of such behaviors will be evident and apparent to all, when it will be clear that the Torah is truly divine and unchangeable, and that "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace" (Proverbs 3:17). And Pinchas got a covenant of peace from G-d. None of us should kill, ever. But we should speak against that which is wrong. Not easy to do, but we should, each in our own way. So I did it now, in my own way.
Shabbat Shalom!

This is the original text from the Zohar book - in Aramaic with Hebrew translation in brackets. 

"כל ישובא מתגלגלא בעיגולא כדור (כל העולם כולו מתגלגל בעיגול ככדור). אלין לתתא ואלין לעילא (חלק מבני האדם מתגוררים למטה בתחתית כדור הארץ, וחלק למעלה). וכל אינון בריין משניין בחזווייהו משנויא דאוירא, כפום כל אתר ואתר, וקיימין בקיומייהו כשאר בני נשא (וכל אלו המתגוררים בחלקים השונים של כדור הארץ - שונים אחד מהשני בגלל שינוי מזג האויר, כפי מזג האויר של כל מקום ומקום. לכן תראה אותם שונים). ועל דא אית אתר בישובא כד נהיר לאלין, חשיך לאלין. לאלין יממא, ולאלין לילא (ישנם מקומות שלאלו יש אור ולאלו יש לילה). ואית אתר דכוליה יממא, ולא אישתכח ביה ליליא בר בשעתא חדא עירא (ויש מקום בעולם שמואר תמיד ולא יימצא בו לילה, אלא זמן מועט). 

Balak Portion

This week's Torah Portion is that of Balak (starting in Numbers 22: 2). It tells the story of Balak, King of Moab, who was afraid of the People of Israel and sends the non-Jewish prophet, Balaam, to CURSE the Israelite nation because of this fear! Balaam is considered to be an evil person in our tradition. And why is that? If you read the Portion superficially, he may appear a very good person, perhaps even righteous - he believes in G-d, and he constantly says that he will only say that which G-d will put in his mouth. So why do we view him as evil? Because he wasn't against this cursing - he didn't mind cursing Israel, it was OK with him to do it, and he even agreed to try again and again and again to change G-d's mind about it. But every time he was about to curse, G-d put blessings in his mouth instead, including the verse: Those who curse Israel will be cursed, and those who bless Israel will be blessed. Balak and Balaam tried three different times to curse Israel, but three different times G-d put blessings in Balaam's mouth. 

We learn from this a few things. One, the power of words is so great. Blessing or cursing people is not a mere useless speech. Our speech, according to Jewish tradition and Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism) has power to create reality, to change reality, to build worlds, to destroy worlds. We have to be very minded of the way we use speech. When I was a little girl, I remember thinking to myself that perhaps each person can only say a fixed number of words in life, and if he talks too much and wastes his words, his life will be over sooner than it was supposed to. When I grew up, I found this idea in one of Shai Agnon's books, and it was nice to feel like someone else in this world had this idea too. I no longer think this way, but I am trying to always be very minded of the things I say, and I try not to say much and stay away from gossip and evil speech as much as I can. 

We also learn from this that G-d has His will, and even if it is not compatible with what we want, His will will prevail. I'm sure you have felt it in your life - that you seek G-d's guidance. In certain junctions in life you ask Him whether you should turn right or left. And the answer comes, in G-d's wonderful, mysterious ways - either through a clear feeling in our hearts, or a clear thought in our minds, through a line in a song that plays on the radio or a casual conversation taking place behind us on the bus. We get a clear answer, and we KNOW this is the answer. But if we don't like the answer - if we wanted a different answer, we ask G-d again, hoping He will change His mind and give us a different answer. But He doesn't. And we do this again and again, and He, with His endless patience, keeps sending us guidance, even though we try to have things our own way. 

I find it so strange that Moab, an established nation, was afraid of Israel - a small, physically week, peaceful nation - I remember many years ago, a very special meeting I had when I visited Seoul in South Korea for a couple of weeks. I was staying in a special guest house - the guest house was actually the real home of the landlady and manager. They had many rooms in the house and the guests slept in the rooms. During the day or in the evenings, the guests would meet with each other in the living room, and the landlady would cook and give food to everyone. I remember a few things from that time, but I'll focus here on the one that left a big impression on me. One day, I saw in the living room three men. From their appearance, it seemed like they came from a Muslim country, which of course, made me tense - how will they react when they'll here I'm from Israel. Will they be hostile to me? I tried to avoid them, but they turned to me, asked where I was from and we started talking. They were from Pakistan, and yes, at first they were cold and suspicious, but little by little they warmed up to me and I felt that eventually they even respected and liked me as a person. They asked me if everyone in Israel was like me. I took it to mean that they no longer felt any hostility towards me. Anyway, since it was in a time that was very hard for my country, with buses exploding and coffee shops and restaurants blowing up in the air, I told them frankly about how we feel, and the fact that we feel fear of the situation. I wasn't religious at that point, and I didn't know to look at the situation with a wider perspective like I do now, that even if we have rough time, we are moving forward to a future of redemption, a good future. I told them we feel that the whole Muslim world is against us, and (I'm ashamed now to admit that I said something like this to them!) - I told them we were afraid. When they heard that, they opened their eyes wide and looked at me with amazement. I felt like they were laughing in their hearts thinking something like: "What, are YOU afraid?!". You know, as non-religious as I was back then, I FELT there was an undertone, a subtext in their question, telling me something like 'how can YOU, with G-d behind you and at your side, be afraid of US?". I felt from the tone in their question that THEY were afraid of US, of that tiny nation that we are, a nation that just emerged from the holocaust not too long ago, and who returned to its country from a long, bitter exile everywhere. I was shocked at their reaction, and it is etched in my mind forever. Just like Balak, King of Moab, was afraid of the peaceful nation of nomads, former slaves, that we were, so the huge Muslim world is afraid of that same nation - and not because of our physical power, but because of the spiritual Power that stands behind us. I will never forget them, or the conversation we had. I know now that if that same conversation would have happened today, I would have never said to them something like 'we are afraid', simply because we, the believers, are not afraid. We see the bigger picture. 

My new neighbors next door, Ruth and Boaz, who came to Israel from America a few weeks ago, asked me where should they run if there is a missile attack on Jerusalem. I checked it for them and told them where the shelter is (in the basement of our building), but I also told them that it had never occurred to me to look for a shelter, not in this neighborhood, not in my former neighborhood. Last time there was a siren warning us of a missile attack in Jerusalem a few years ago, it was a Friday night, just before Shabbat, and I went to the synagogue like everyone else did. The siren was hauling outside, and we were peacefully praying inside, without any proper shelter other than our trust in G-d. 

Now that I wrote about that visit in Seoul, two more episodes cross my mind from that time. One, in the living room I met a young man from Germany. When he heard that I was from Israel he was SO nice, SO sweet, too nice, too sweet, too polite. He asked me out for coffee in the city, and I know that he wasn't asking ME out, he was asking the Jewish people out, to talk about what had happened in WWII. I didn't want to go, but didn't want to offend him, so I reluctantly said yes. And in the coffee shop he asked me: "Do all people in Israel think that all Germans are bad?". Straight to the point, just like that. Again, that was another conversation that I will probably not forget too quickly. It made me feel so uncomfortable. Do I know what every Israeli think? Most probably some think that, and others don't. I think most people don't think that. Yes, there is suspicion, and there will always be, probably, but whenever I myself feel suspicion when I meet some people from Germany, I try to remind myself of all the saintly Germans who saved Jews from the Nazis while risking their own lives. I'd rather look at every German and think that they would have chosen to be heroes, and not villains, during that war. It is not easy. I've met many people from Germany during my travels, and there is always a tension when they hear that I'm from Israel. They suddenly become very cautious and polite, like they're walking on eggshells. When I studied in Japan, the family of one of the German students in my dorms, a very sweet girl, came to visit her. They sat at the communal kitchen in my floor, and for some reason I went in to take something that I needed. She introduced me and said where I was from, and the moment she did, for some reason my eyes fell on her father's face. His face became pink, I felt the food he was eating was stuck in his throat, and I only wanted to run away from there, which I did, without being impolite. I don't know why he reacted like this. Was it guilt? Was it antisemitism? Was it that his parents or grandparents did something wrong during the war? Is is a simple prejudice? I don't know. But not with every German it is like this. With his daughter I always felt very comfortable. I've met many Germans with whom there was no problem, perhaps just a bit of a tension. One German girl that I traveled with told me bluntly one day that as a German, she's had enough of hearing about the Holocaust in her country, that they teach it to them too much in the school system, etc. I was shocked. Too much? Is there such a thing as 'too much' after their nation and culture brought about something so unimaginable? I don't think there is 'too much'. Her generation is innocent, for sure, but they are bred in the same culture that brought about Nazism and the Holocaust to the world. No one asks them to pay for their fathers' sins, of course, but the least they could do is accept the fact that they need to learn from it and study about it, and there is not 'too much' in this respect. 

One more thing I remember from that visit to Seoul was my friendship with the landlady of the guesthouse. She really liked me and kept in touch with me later as well, for a long time. She was so nice to me, spilled her heart to me, told me about her aches and pains, and was eager to hear everything that I had to say. I remember her very fondly, except for one incident that broke my heart. As I said, I wasn't religious at the time, but I grew up in a traditional home, and for me - eating shrimp, crabs and all those sea creatures was an absolute no-no, even then. I would never do something like this, even as a secular person. She promised me that the food she served me was 'kosher-style' - without things I'm not supposed to eat. She introduced Kimchi to me, a national dish of Korea, and I liked it. It was healthy and tasty. I thought it was 'kosher' until one day I returned to the guest house in the middle of the day, and saw her preparing Kimchi. She was scrubbing the cabbage leaves hard with shrimps... to give it a taste. When she realized that I saw her, her face 'fell'. She was so embarrassed and ashamed to be caught in a lie, and my heart was broken. How could anyone do something like this to anyone else? Even if you feel that the other person's habits and customs are strange and meaningless, don't promise them that you do everything to keep it, and then violate it without their knowing. When I lived in my previous neighborhood in Jerusalem, I used to host many Shabbat dinners. And some people were vegetarians or Vegans. Even though I myself am not, I was so meticulous to cook for them food that didn't even TOUCH chicken, fish or meat. 

Anyway, all these memories from Seoul all of a sudden. 

The Prophet Portion that we read this week is from Micah, 5:6 - 6:8. The first verse in this Portion has my name in it in Hebrew: "And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many nations as dew from the Lord, as showers upon the grass, that do not wait for anyone, nor are awaited at the hands of the sons of men". This verse says that when the people of Israel will be in exile, they will be like a gift from Heaven to those nations. They will be a blessing to those nations - but a blessing that the nations don't ask for, don't wait for, perhaps even don't want. And still, the blessing will be there. And when you think of all the blessing that the Jewish presence brought to the nations in which they were scattered, the blessings are so many; not just intellectual, cultural and economic blessings, but also - spiritual ones. Look around you in the world. All the nations which the Jewish people was scattered to - turned from being idol worshipers to being believers in the One G-d. Jews were exiled to Europe, and Europeans became Christians. Jews were exiled to the Middle East and Arab countries, and those nations turned into Muslims. Jews were NOT exiled to Japan, Papua New Guinea, India, etc., and in those countries - people remained idol worshipers. Now everything changes, and Christianity and Islam are growing in such countries as well, but for most of history, there was no awareness or worship of the One G-d in those areas. 

Anyway, the Prophet Portion ends with another verse that I like so much: "It has been told to you, Oh man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. Only to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your G-d." This verse is not directed only towards Israel. It is directed towards all the nations of the world. HaShem expects greatly of the nations of the world as well. He loves them too, He guides them too, and through our scriptures, He instructs them and brings them closer to Him. I like the universal aspects of the Torah and the Prophets. 

Shabbat in Jerusalem will start tonight at 7:12.
So I'll quit here to be able to prepare. 

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem!

Korach Portion

In this week's Torah Portion is the shocking story of Korach and his followers, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron, with envy in their hearts. They so wanted to be the first, the highest ranking, the most important people in the Nation. It ended when G-d made the earth open its mouth and swallow the rebels. They wanted to climb too high, and found themselves at the lowest place one could get. In Psychology there is the concept of ego inflation, and I think it was Jung who said that a person who lets his ego inflate, risks a total collapse later on. We've seen it is true with Korach and his group. The Book of Proverbs says: "Pride comes before destruction" (16:18), and we can see it often time in life.

There is one expression that repeats itself in both the weekly Torah Portion and the Weekly Prophet Portion (HafTorah). In the Torah, Moses says to G-d: "I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them." (Numbers 16:15)
In the Prophet Portion, Samuel says to the People: "Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defraud? Or whom have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind my eyes with?" (I Samuel 12:3).
The Hebrew word for donkey, חמור, has the same letters as the word for "material", חומר. So donkey in ancient times was a symbol of materialism, and in Torah commentary it is often used as such. We are souls who are temporarily living in a physical bodies in a material world, but not for ever. We go through lessons and tests here, and without the physical dimension, this would not have been possible. In order to survive, we must eat. In order to eat, we must work and serve humanity in one way or the other. In return, they give us money, and we buy our food with this. Once I wondered why we are born with a body that needs to eat. Why didn't G-d plan the world so that we won't have to eat. But then I thought - if we didn't have to eat, we didn't have to work, we wouldn't have made the world a better place for other people, we would not have depended on other people. Every person would have lived for his own sake, doing nothing, or led by boredom to do bad things. Material in this world is used by G-d to test us: to test our integrity, to test our honesty, to test our capability of giving, to test our faith in Him. Material is a means with which we can perform acts of chessed (kindness) to others and by doing this we perfect our souls - and it is one of the hardest thing for most people to do. Both leaders, Moshe and Samuel, stress the fact that they did not sell their souls for material gains, that their hands are clean, that for them there are values that are above the material dimension of the world. Sadly, not everyone is like this. Money is one of the hardest tests for people. Someone once told me that if someone is clean and "kosher" with money matters, then you can probably trust them with other things as well, because money is such a tough test for most people. That person used to be my student. He was surprised that I give receipts and pay taxes for private lessons - I think most tutors in the world do not give receipts, and do not pay taxes from this money. I could easily drop it and no body would care, but I feel that this is a test that I have to succeed in, time after time, after time. When I started teaching, I opened it as a legal small business with the Israeli tax authorities, and people were shocked. For every class that I teach, the State gets a very generous percentage of this as tax. It hurts me, because I need the money, I need to be able to buy a house one day, and it is far from being feasible - and yet I pay the taxes. It's doubly sad to then learn what is being done with my tax money (reelections in just a few month - something that is going to cost the government billiards of shekels). In addition, I also give away tithes - 10 percent of my net income, and give it to people who need it. I don't think of it as my money. I think of it as G-d's money, and He entrusted this money for me to handle it for Him and give it to whoever I think is deserved of it. These are not easy tests. Nobody forces me to do it, and I can easily stop and no one would notice or care, and my bank account will grow very fast. But this is part of my relationship with G-d: He gives me what I need for my sustenance, and I need to show Him that I know it's from Him, that I care for His other children, those in a greater need than me, and that I participate in the building of the State of Israel through my taxes, even though the sums I pay are not even a speck of dust in the total budget of the State of Israel. Again, so sad it goes on non-worthy goals, but it doesn't make me change my mind. I do it because it builds my character and makes me a better person, more trustworthy and honest in my own eyes, and I hope in G-d's eyes as well. This week's Portion speaks about the importance of tithing - what a merit to be able to do that, and I so admire people like Bill Gates who give most of their fortune to charitable causes! I often think, I wish I had all this money to give away - I would buy homes to all the homeless, and pay social workers to be with them, make sure they're well. I would give all the money needed to families with a sick parent, who need every shekel. What I give now is a lot for me, but it is not a lot objectively. Then again, I think that as a test, mine is greater than the test of people like Bill Gates. For him it is easy to give 90% of his fortune for charity, billions of dollars, because he would still have more than he needs left. But a small person who gives 10% when they can't own their own place, etc., is much harder, and I'm happy to go through this test. I hope I pass it.

I'll end with a quote from Sivan Rahav Meir's daily Torah:
Wise, famous people can make mistakes, big time. Some time in the middle of life, Korach voiced publicly a statement that sounded very appealing: "The whole congregation is holy", he yelled at Moshe and Aharon, "And why should you raise yourselves above them?" So much demagogy, so much populism. Of course everyone is holy, but Korach decided that he leaves the constant self improvement and self correction track that leads to holiness. Everyone is holy, therefore he himself is on the level of Moshe and Aharon. Everyone is holy, therefore there is no point at all in the practical Mitzvot and in learning the Torah, which he started mocking. In contrast to the statement "everyone is holy", Moshe Rabbenu presents a completely different way: "You shall be holy", he says to the People, and gives them 613 tasks on their way to holiness.
Korach speaks in the present tense ("everyone is holy!"), as if we have already reached the destination. Moshe speaks in the future tense ("You shall be holy!"), because one has to toil to get there. One speaks about rights, and the other about obligations. One flutters the masses, and the other demands from the People and challenges them. According to Korach, the Torah brought down to the world an automatic form of holiness, whereas according to Moshe, the Torah brought down to the world the potential for holiness, and one needs to toil to achieve it.
Rabbi Kook writes that in our generation as well we must be wary of people who mock the Torah of Moshe like this and who do not understand that life is one long, thorough workshop for building our personality, step by step.

Shabbat Shalom!

The Magic of Israel - Shavuot 5779

Israel has such an attraction power on people of all nations, and it is so exciting and moving to see this! What makes the founder and chairman of Vanke, China's largest real-estate company leave his base in China and come to Israel as a simple student of Hebrew and Bible studies at the Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus? Wang Shi, 68 years old, whose company's worth is estimated at 200 billion dollar, with about 80,000 employees, came here for a few years to study the culture that, according to him, influenced the whole world, and the Book through which it did that.
Wang Shi, who climbed the seven highest mountains in the world, including the Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt. Everest (twice! The second time at age 60!), says in an interview to the Hebrew University student newspaper that learning Hebrew is a harder task for him than climbing the Everest. It is a mental mountain, that in order to climb it, he gave up the desire to climb other, physical mountains.

Wang Shi with his Hebrew University Student Card

Wang Shi says that his acquaintance with the Jewish culture has been an eye opening experience. "The Jews believe in one G-d", he says, "while the Chinese used to believe in many gods, and today they believe in a different god: communism. That is, the Chinese believe in blind obedience, whereas the Jews believe in constantly asking 'Why?'. Asking questions has a great importance these days for entrepreneurship and HiTech - an integral part of which is asking questions and not just obeying. In addition, the Chinese must learn from the Jews how to rest. In the Chinese culture, from the traditional agricultural era until the industrial era of our days, there is no set time for rest, and accordingly, people do not appreciate rest, and this is very different than the Jews, who have the Shabbat. I think that we, the Chinese culture, can learn from the Jewish rest."

At the Hebrew University Library on Mt. Scopus

Wang Shi lead the Chinese delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference four times already, and at the beginning of the year he won the Asia Game Changer award for his activities in the areas of environmentalism and climate. From this perspective, he says: "The Shabbat is also important for the land, which needs rest". Indeed, the Land in Israel gets rest once every seven days, and also once every seven years for a whole year - by religious Jews who observe the divine laws of the Torah. So much wisdom in these laws, wisdom that is above what any human being can come up with.

This weekend is a special one. Right after Shabbat starts a very important holiday, the Holiday of Shavuot, also known as the Holiday of the Giving of the Torah. We celebrate receiving the Torah: the Torah that so changed the world, the Torah that the wisdom of its laws slowly and gradually becomes apparent to all residents of this world, the Torah that defines us as a nation which is dedicated to the promulgation of G-d's name in the world. It is thanks to the Torah, and G-d's will which is expressed in it, that we survived as a nation for almost 2000 years in exile; it is thanks to the Torah that other nations started learning about G-d and turning to Him; it is thanks to the Torah that divine moral laws such as the Ten Commandments have become the basis and foundation of the judicial system of great world powers, such as the United States of America. To celebrate this great divine gift and our special role in keeping it for the whole world - we celebrate this weekend the Holiday of Shavuot, in which we will stand up on our feet in synagogues that are decorated with flowers and hear the reading of the Ten Commandments from a Kosher Torah Scroll. We will then also read one of my favorite stories in the Bible, that of Ruth. I will spend it in the holy city of Hebron, the place of burial of Ruth and Yishai (Jesse; father of King David), and also of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Leah and Avner ben Ner.

Shabbat Shalom, and Happy Shavuot!

Jerusalem Shabbat

Today, the 26th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, is the first day of the miraculous Six Day War, in which the Jewish people liberated the City of Jerusalem and returned to it as a sovereign after almost 2,000 years. People who were adults at that time, in 1967, and are here with us today to tell the stories of that time, say that before the war broke, people were SURE that this was going to be the end of the Jewish State. There was a sense of doom all over the country. There were bitter utterances of people saying 'let the last one who survives and remain here turn off the lights at Ben Gurion Airport'. The government of Israel prepared 70,000 (!!!) coffins and dug thousands of graves for soldiers, anticipating numerous casualties. In reality, at the end of the war, there were about 780 dead Jewish soldiers, each of them precious, each of them indispensable, but it means that numerous other precious lives were spared. The tiny state of Israel, only 19 years old at the time, who managed to build itself under constant hostilities from neighboring countries and Arab residents of Israel - this little David had to face a whole out war with no less than 4 great, established Arab armies that aim to destroy it, the armies of Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Some of the readers of this blog have lived as young adults during that time, and can probably tell of their own impressions of those days. The whole world was in a state of shock to find out that Israel, who was destined for destruction in that war, emerged victorious, and did it in SIX DAYS!! Who could have ever imagined? It was a proof to many in the world that G-d does exist, and that He has not forsaken His people. This war was like another chapter in the Bible - a sequel of the great miracles of the Splitting of the Red Sea, the Manna from Heaven, the Pillars of Fire and Cloud.
In fact, every day that the State of Israel, even to this day, exists in the hostile Middle East, is a miracle. How could this be? With so many millions of Muslims who are hostile to our presence here, and with so many wars and terror attacks against this little State, we not only survive, we also thrive and prosper, against all odds, against human reason, and countries from the far flung corners of the world come here to establish Innovation Centers - to employ Israelis to think and develop new ideas for them. Three Japanese technology giants have already opened Development Centers here, including Mitsui and Hitachi, and Mitsubishi declared a few days ago that it is going to do the same soon. In synagogues this coming Shabbat, after reading from the Torah, we will also read from the Prophet Hosea: "And it shall come to pass that, instead of that which was said unto them: 'You are not My people', it shall be said unto them: 'You are the children of the living G-d'." (Hosea 2:1 - in Christian translations it appears in Hosea 1:10). It is SO fitting!!

Yesterday I was privileged to attend a very special event. It started with a WhatsApp message that was posted in one of the groups. It said: "Rene Zlotkin, an Auschwitz survivor and one of the Mengele twins, is coming from New York to Jerusalem today with his daughter, to bury his twin sister. They don't have much family in Israel, so anyone who can, please come to be there with them." The funeral was at Mt. of Olives. I debated whether to go or not because it was such a hot day yesterday (36 Celsius...), but I decided to go. When I arrived, I realized it was the right thing to do. Other people came too, which made me happy, but there were not that many of us, so every person who was there made a difference.
We walked from the "7 Arches Hotel" to the back of the mountain in the east - a stunning, gorgeous area that I've never visited before. When we reached the family plot, they opened the car where Irene's body was, and her brother, husband and daughter said their eulogies, without reading, just speaking from their heart, crying while they did so. After coming back from the funeral, I wrote the following, and I share it with you:

Rene Zlotkin and his sister Irene were inseparable throughout their lives. Together they were born in Czechoslovakia on the same day in 1937, together they were deported by the Nazis with their mother to Theresienstadt, then to Auschwitz, and together they were taken to the notorious clinics of Dr. Mengele, where they were subjected to inhumane experiments. Though they lost their mother in the war, they both managed to survive, rebuild their lives and start beautiful, thriving Jewish families.

Irene, who suffered tremendously due to the experiments done on her body, passed away yesterday in America at the age of 82. Her family in America chose to bring her to burial in Jerusalem, in the family plot on Mt. of Olives today. Since they do not have a lot of family and acquaintances in Israel, Israelis who have heard about it came to the funeral to accompany Irene on her last journey.

Rene, who eulogized his sister before the burial, said: “We were together since we were born. We were in Auschwitz together, we came out of there together, we were in New York together, we went to the same schools, but yesterday morning, when we found out that she was no longer here – for me the whole world wasn’t the same, the whole world was different, changed.” Later, he added to a small circle of people around him: “When we came to Jerusalem today, and I was looking around me, I realized that we are part of an ancient chain, that we are the continuation of this chain, and seeing the rebuilt Jerusalem made it clear to me. It moved me a lot. I’ve looked at Jerusalem today and seen it like I’ve never seen it before. Not just with my eyes. With my heart”.

One of Irene’s daughters told the crowd that her mother’s favorite song was Naomi Shemer’s Yerushalayim shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold). After the burial was over and the prayers were said, the crowd stayed standing around her grave and sang for her the song that she so loved, on the backdrop of the beautiful golden hills of Jerusalem, the city of her final rest.

In Memory of Irene Hizme, Rivka Yocheved bat Zvi Meir. 

Here is a short video from a couple of years back in which Rene tells a bit about his holocaust experiences, in a very bright, faithful attitude:

https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-a-survivors-deep-faith-in-divine-providence/

Shabbat Shalom!

R. 

Weekly Torah Portion: BeHar + Jeremiah 32

It is so hot in Israel these days, it is hard to think, and it is harder to write. My Yiddish speaking next door neighbors moved away two weeks ago, and in their place an older couple moved in. They are Americans, they are religious, they are new comers to the Land (only a few weeks here!), they don't speak any Hebrew at all. I'm pretty sure they are converts. I haven't asked them if it is so or not, but with names like Ruth and Boaz and the unmistakable beautiful Arian look, I don't think they can be anything else. Anyway, it makes me very happy. I love converts and I feel it is a great privilege for me to be able to help them, which I hope to do as much as I can. When the wife came here so I'll help her with some bureaucratic staff, she told me joyfully that they had prayed so much to have good neighbors. Well, I hope to be that for them, for sure.

Two days ago people in my new neighborhood posted that they found a baby bird in their garden, and since they are older, they can't take care of it, would anyone take it? I went there and saw the bird. It was a Laughing Dove. It was scared and frightened. They said it doesn't eat or drink and doesn't even poop. I was afraid to take it, fearing it would die in my custody. But no one else offered himself, so I had no choice. They gave me some seeds for her and I took her. I called her Yonah, which means "dove" in Hebrew. I'm not sure whether it is a male or a female, but since in Hebrew a dove is a feminine noun, I refer to it as 'her'. I placed her beak in water, and she took one or two sips and that's it. She didn't want to eat anything. When it was getting dark, she found a quiet, hidden corner in my living room and sat there, very quietly. When I woke up in the morning I found her in the same place, and realized she must have eaten something, because her poop was all around her. It was nice to have her, but my fear that she might die kept nagging me. Happily, I found adequate people who are bird lovers and have a lot of experience with birds, to take her and take care of her. I feel relief on the one hand that she is in more adequate hands right now, but also a bit sad that I didn't take care of her myself until she is old enough to be in nature on her own. Still, I think it was the best thing for her. There is a lot of symbolism in this story for me, but most of it is very private, so I won't share it here.

This week's Torah Portion is BeHar (Leviticus 25:1- 26:2) and the Haftorah is from Jeremiah 32. The Portion talks about the commandment of observing a Shemitah year - a seventh year of rest for the land, in which we are supposed to not work the land at all, to let it rest. This commandment takes place only on the land of Israel, so Jews who live in other countries can keep working the land there. Many religious farmers in Israel observe this commandment, and report amazing miracles following it. This is a very hard commandment to perform - a farmer is supposed to stop working for a whole year, to let others eat freely from whatever grows that year in his field, without getting money from the government for that. The farmer must trust that his livelihood will come from HaShem, and according to the stories told by farmers who observe it - their livelihood indeed comes in amazing, unexpected ways. During those Shemitah years, we, religious consumers, try not to purchase vegetables and fruits from farmers who do not keep this commandment. It is not easy, but it is a great merit for us to do that. Instead, we buy carrots from Holland, oranges from Spain, etc. It is challenging, but we do it.

In the Torah Portion it is said: "You shall do my commandments and keep my ordinances and do them, and you shall dwell in the land in safety" - our safe dwelling in the Land is dependent on our fulfilling of the Law. The connection between the Land and our moral and religious behavior is constantly reiterated in the Torah. If we do G-d's will, we will have the Land and live safely in it. If we don't observe His Law, we will live here unsafely and lose the Land eventually.

In the Prophets portion (Haftorah) of this week, we read the exact same thing, in different words, about the Land and us: "And they came in, and possessed it, but they did not listen to Your voice nor did they walk in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do, therefore you caused all this evil to befall on them". (Jeremiah 32:23). If we behave properly, we get the land. If not, we suffer and might lose it.

One of my favorite quotes in the whole Bible appears in this week's Prophet Portion, Jeremiah 32:15:
"For thus said the Lord of hosts, the G-d of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land". Isn't it amazing that we live in an era in which this ancient prophecy, this divine promise, comes true? Thank G-d! It is this kind of prophesies that opened my eyes to the truth of the Torah and the Prophet's words.

Shabbat Shalom!

Weekly Torah Portion: Kedoshim (Leviticus 19 - 20)

This week's Torah Portion is one of those that are most about the essence of the Torah: lots of moral edicts that differentiate between people who love G-d and follow Him and those who don't (like the Nazis). It is a beautiful portion, and I really recommend reading it and thinking about it. In it we are commanded to fear our parents (unlike the Eichmanns of the world who say: "If I was ordered to shoot my father, I would"), not to steal, not to lie, to leave some of the fruit of our fields (or our salaries today) to the poor, not to gossip or speak evil things against other people, not even to hate others in our hearts - a commandment that is inner, and only G-d can know whether we fulfill it or not. Not surprisingly, many times during this Portion, the verse "I am the Lord your G-d" appear, telling us that some of these commandments that we perform cannot be witnessed or judged by others around us. They can be witnessed and judged only by G-d. He is the only one who knows our heart and our thoughts, even much better than we do. We can lie to ourselves about our true feelings or intentions. But we cannot lie to G-d. He asks us to purify our hearts and be holy. If He asks, it means that it is possible. Perhaps not in a moment, but in a process that takes a life time to better ourselves, to purify ourselves, to improve our ways, to change, to be good. It is possible, and this is the work we do in this world.
I'm under the impression of the holocaust stories we heard everywhere on the Holocaust Memorial Day that took place this week in Israel. I have just finished Haim Guri's book about the Eichmann trial, and some stories that appear there haunt me. My thoughts are that people who cling to the Bible - Jews, Christians - usually keep their morality. People who leave the Bible, even if they talk about G-d, they lose their morality and step by step might slip to very dark places. The Nazis talked about G-d. Hitler thought he was G-d's messenger, kind of a Messiah in this world. He talked often about G-d, but it didn't bother him to instruct his people to burn the Bible, all the copies of the Bible they could get their hands on. He didn't believe in the validity of the Torah as G-d's word. Eichmann too talked about G-d and believed in Him, but he despised the Bible. His beloved wife was a devout catholic woman, and Eichmann ripped her Bible apart twice. In the end, he allowed her to keep the torn copies and read from them. So strange, when the Israeli Mossad caught him in Argentina and brought him to trial here, she sent him a letter telling him that she is praying to G-d to get him released. She was praying for a person who boasted of being in charge of killing 6 million Jews (he bragged about it to his Nazi friend in the infamous Sassen Interviews, before he was caught). She was praying for the release of a man who was disappointed that he couldn't complete the original plan of killing 11 million Jews. Did she really think that the G-d of mercy should have mercy on her husband? Bringing Eichmann to justice was a merciful act for the victims and their families, for all the people of Israel. To feel that the evil ones are not sent free to celebrate their lives while their victims suffer forever. Justice is an act of mercy. Had Eichmann achieved his original goal of killing 11 million Jews worldwide, I would probably have not been sitting here today writing to you.
By the way, Guri's book about the Eichmann trial is not the best choice of book for someone like me who reads it after the fact. As I was reading, I was feeling like he was talking to people of his generation, who experienced the trial together with him and know what he was talking about. He referred to many things as known facts - they were indeed known to people of that time, but not to people of our time. When I reached the end of the book, I realized my feeling was right. This was not really a 'book', but a collection of newspaper articles that he wrote about the trial as it was going on. So if you're thinking of reading about the trial, another book might be a better start. Anyway, I did get a picture of what was going on then, so I do not regret reading it.

One of the commandments that repeats in the Torah Portion this week is about the Shabbat: "You shall keep My Shabbats and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:30). It appears in other parts of the Bible, such as: "You shall sanctify my Shabbats, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your G-d". (Ezekiel 20:20).
Keeping the Shabbat is A SIGN between G-d and Israel: a sign for all of humanity to know that the world was created in six days - therefore we rest on the seventh (and all the Darwins of the world are wrong); a sign that the Torah is true and that there is a moral code that man should follow; a sign that G-d exists, and that He is the one and only G-d. We haven't forsaken the Shabbat since the time we received the Torah. There is a famous saying: "More than the Jews kept the Shabbat, the Shabbat kept the Jews" - keeping Shabbat helped us survive spiritually and physically. People who know me know what it means to keep Shabbat - the peace, the tranquility, the spirituality, the time to pray, to think, to reflect on things, to be with G-d completely, to thank Him, to learn His Torah, without the hassles of everyday life. It is a day, that if observed properly, increases one's wisdom. It is a day that frees people - frees them from the need to work and make a living, frees them from the need to be available online or on the phone constantly, frees them from thoughts about business and mundane things and allows them to lift their eyes and hearts high up, to life their thinking up, to get close to G-d. Without this day, it would be very hard to look at the world with spiritual eyes. It is no coincidence that many of the abuses that the Nazis inflicted upon the Jews were deliberately done on Shabbat and on the religious holidays. They wanted to annihilate what the Shabbat and the Torah symbolize in this world.

Anyway, I think I need a break from reading Holocaust books, it is not easy and it brings me down. I read them because I'm trying to fathom the psychology of the perpetrators, to know what went through their minds when they did what they did. But I guess it's impossible. I will never understand. And maybe it's not something to regret. We'll leave it at this.

I wish you all Shabbat Shalom, and have a restful, beautiful weekend,
R.

Seventh Day of Passover

Tonight we celebrate the Seventh Day of Passover, which is a holiday in its own right - the ending day of the holiday of Passover. I don't have much time to write now, so just a few short words about the whole holiday of Passover.

1. A true story: There is a big, successful, famous bakery in Israel, in the city of Jaffa near Tel Aviv, owned and managed by an Arab owner, Said Abulafia. Every year, they kept the bakery open during the seven days of the holiday of Passover, and sold Chametz (unleavened bread) to non-observant Jews. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Stauber, who saw this, felt a lot of pain. He turned to the owner and told him that he will pay him the entire sum of money that the bakery makes during that week, if the owner promises to close the bakery during the whole week of Passover. The owner had nothing to lose from this deal, so he agreed. He closed the bakery for the whole week of Passover, and enjoyed some free time to do his own things and to do some renovations in the bakery. The same story repeated itself the following year. Rabbi Stauber paid for a whole week of revenues, and the bakery was closed during Passover. After a few years of doing this, Mr. Abulafia turned down the rabbi's offer. He said: "I do not need to take money away from you". "Why?", asked Rabbi Stauber, sure that the owner of the bakery wants to open it on Passover. But the answer shocked him - Mr. Abulafia told him that since they started with this deal, the revenues of the bakery throughout the year became so great, he felt the blessing of G-d, and he didn't need the money incentive from the Rabbi to close the bakery on Passover. It's wonderful. I checked it with them before posting it here, just to be sure I'm giving the correct information. And the pictures speak for themselves (see below). This is how peace will come to the world. On the outside of their bakery, during the week of Passover, there is the a sign (you can see in the picture), which tells the whole story and is written by the bakery owner. The message of this is: If you help the Jews fulfill their mission in the world - help them observe their G-d given commandments, G-d will bless you.

Rabbi Stauber with Mr. Abulafia

2. I was impressed to see that at the entrance to the Hadassah Hospital, the guard doesn't look only for weapons, but also for Chametz. All chametz products that he finds are kept outside of the hospital gates.

3. I visited an older lady who had a stroke. Because of her situation, she had to do the Seder night of Passover at the hospital. She said that religious volunteers came to the hospital, set the tables with white table clothes, brought Kosher food and led the Seder in such an impressive, festive way. I am so impressed. There are good things done in this country. 

Shabbat shalom, and Chag Sameach!

R.

Passover 5779

I finished reading the traumatic book, "PuppenHouse" ("House of Dolls") by Ka-Tzetnick 135633 (AKA. K. Tzetnick), a strange name for an author. This name actually means "A prisoner in concentration camp" (short for Konzentrationslager). He was a holocaust survivor, and survived the worst. His book describes some of the horrors he and others have been through. I'm still shaking and feeling a deep sense of revulsion, as if my body wishes to purge itself of all that I had read. It is a harsh reminder to the evil that still exists in the world, to the fact that cultured people, who have free choice, can choose to use all their high intelligence, all their creativity and sophistication, to inflict the worst kinds of suffering and humiliation upon other human beings like themselves. It is something that is hard to grasp, the heart refuses to believe it can be. Yet, we know it can be, unfortunately. People, who have been endowed with so many gifts - instead of using these gifts to make this world a better place for themselves and for others, use their gifts to degrade themselves by degrading others. It is unfathomable, but this book is a reminder that this kind of reality exists. The Germans, who are considered to be of the highest culture in terms of music, literature, art, made themselves into the worst satanic beasts the world has ever known, using all their talents to ruin the world and endless numbers of lives in it. I just can't understand it.
Yet, the wheels of justice keep rolling, and even if it sometimes takes time, justice is being done. It is no coincidence that recent historic events made it so that all the Muslim refugees flood into Europe. And - mostly to Germany. The beginning of the end has started for Europe, and for Germany most of all. Sad, but true.
Similarly, the Notre-Dam in Paris was the place in which some 700 years ago they burned all copies of the Talmud they could put their hands on. And now, 700 years later, the same thing happened to the structure itself. Sad, but true. G-d is a G-d of justice and His hand in History shows this. At least the Germans recognize their responsibility and guilt and some of them try to make it better by volunteering in hospitals here, etc.. It's one thing I give them. One other thing that I give them is a neighbor of mine - she is a tall, beautiful ultra-orthodox woman, a doctor. She was born to a non-Jewish German family. She met a secular Israeli man in Berlin, they fell in love and moved in together. One day, she asked him to take her to a synagogue, to see what it was like. He wasn't enthusiastic about it, but they went anyway. And from there started her love story with Judaism. She converted orthodox conversion, and her secular boyfriend became very religious following this, and now they are ultra-orthodox, living in a huge, beautiful villa down my new street, raising 6 beautiful religious children who are bilingual, and doing a lot of Kiddush HaShem (sanctifying G-d's name by their way of living). Their home is always open for guests, and they are just beautiful. If Germany can produce people like her, then maybe Germany has hope after all.
So I went to the library to return this book today, and took three other books. One of them is about a topic that I wanted to read about long ago - the Eichmann trial. I didn't plan to look for the book this time, but the book just found me. My eyes fell on it, "accidentally", and I took it. It's a book by Haim Guri, a famous Israeli poet who was a reporter in the trial back then. I had a few minutes before my class, so I sat there at the Bet HaAm library and started reading. First of all, my eyes fell on this sentence by Guri: "I know now that I will remember this day all the days of my life. I'm writing it in my notebook: April 17th, 1961". I shuddered. April 17th. It's today. What are the odds... And then I keep reading, and it says that the trial took place in Jerusalem at... not other than BET HAAM! Where I was just sitting and reading the book... What are the odds? Same place, same time, just 58 years later... I've been to Bet HaAm many times before. I've never known that the trial took place there! What are the odds of finding it out this way, as I was accidentally sitting and reading the book there, at this time, at this place? I feel it is meaningful and that I should really read the book. Don't know why, but perhaps I'll know when I finish it. One thing that struck me there was that Eichmann kept saying he was not guilty. He didn't deny what he did, he just attributed the guilt to his commanders. He was just an obedient clerk, he said. Since he was a child he was trained for obedience, and even if they had ordered him to shoot his own father to death, he would have done so. What a horrible thing for a human being to say! As if he has no free choice, no moral reasoning that can help him choose when to obey and when to disobey. As if obedience for the devil is as praiseworthy as obedience to G-d. Horrible. I thought to myself that perhaps it is good that the Torah was not given to the Germans, because they would have fulfilled it with obedience to the letter - but not for the right reasons, just for the sake of blind obedience. The Torah, instead, was given to a stiff-necked people - a nation that chooses to choose, that chooses to exercise its own free will, and when such a nation observes G-d's commandments, it's not out of blind obedience to whomever. It's because they want to obey G-d. I must admit that I have the deepest respect for those of the Germans who were righteous and did exercise their right to choose, and chose right by saving innocent lives, often at the risk of their own lives and that of their families. I admire them because I know it is probably harder for them to overcome their childhood indoctrination to blindly obey authority and power. And there were many like them. Yes, perhaps Germany does have hope, after all. Still, when I tried to learn their language after my military service, I stopped short. I couldn't stand hearing those sounds coming out of my own mouth. It was too chilling for me to bear. My neighbors next door are ultra-orthodox - they and their children speak Yiddish. It's a much softer version of German, and it doesn't make me feel bad at all. To the contrary.

Yesterday, after a whole day of working and studying, I went to the Hadassah hospital to visit Esther, the woman I wrote about at an earlier post, from the hospice. I didn't plan to go, but something inside me urged me to. When I got to her room, I saw that it was empty. I rushed up to ask the nurse to which room they moved her. The nurse asked me what I was for her. I told her that I was just an acquaintance. She asked me to sit and brought me a cup of water. She said she was sorry. I was so shocked to hear it. I wasn't prepared at all. I thought she had at least a few good months to live. I felt so bad, and sorry. Yes, I feel relief for her. She was under a lot of suffering. I wanted to tell her that there will be a Seder at the hospital, and that she could join it, but this year she will look at us from above and see the Seder from there, without doing it herself. I'm sad for her family. But I think she must feel relief. She is an example of someone who observed the Torah to the last moment, even under very strong pain, exercising her right to choose by choosing the right way.

Passover is just around the corner, and in it we will tell the story of another holocaust we had, the Egyptian one, in which all the baby boys were killed and our fathers were enslaved in Egyptian arbeitslager, work camps. How sweet it is to lift my eyes from the horrible holocaust stories, look around me and see Jerusalem all around me... to realize we are a free nation in Zion, in the Promised Land, in the Land of Israel. What a gift, what a blessing. Even though our troubles haven't ended yet, our situation now is better than any we have ever had as a nation - even better than in King David's and King Solomon's time, and I'm thankful to have been born at such a time in history, when all the promises of G-d are being fulfilled - on me, and on all my neighbors, colleagues, friends, family.

There are so many places I wanted to be this coming Passover, and so many things I wanted to do, but I promised my mother that I will go there and be with the family this year, and I cannot let her down. She is working hard to make the house glatt-Kosher for Passover, for me, as she says. All the guests will be instructed not to turn on the TV, not to talk on the phone, not to discuss politics, etc., just to give me the right holiday spirit. And still, I'm apprehensive, as I'm going to be the only religious person there. All the others, while they believe in G-d, are not very observant, and I'm afraid it would ruin the holiday atmosphere for me. But I feel it's important for me to be there - to give the next generation a proper holiday experience in the hope that it would inspire them when they grow up to live a more observant life. Amen. Last Shabbat was Shabbat HaGadol, the birthday of my father of blessed memory. I hope it would make him happy, wherever he is in heaven, that the whole family will do the Seder together this year.

Anyway, for those of you who celebrate a real Seder or a model seder of some sort - have a good Pesach and keep writing to me! Your emails keep this blog going!

R.

Weekly Torah Portion: Metzora

What a blessed day for the people of Israel. To wake up to such good news - the leadership of our country is given to parties that will not give away our sacred land to other nations, parties that will preserve the integrity of the land of Israel, parties that are for the People of Israel, the Torah of Israel and the Land of Israel. With all my sympathy and appreciation to Benny Gantz and his fellows on the political left (and I do have a lot of respect for them, personally) - I am so happy that it is not them who are going to be sitting in the coalition and leading us towards another Oslo disaster. Our prayers were answered, and a coalition made of parties who love the land and the people will be ruling once again. Hallelujah!
I must admit - I did not vote for Netanyahu, because he is not fully observant (an acquaintance of mine is a close friend of his wife, and she told me that he does try to observe Shabbat, but he is not yet really observant, and I do not want to vote for a non-observant person). However, I think that overall he is a good Prime Minister, he knows the job and he's doing a good job under the given circumstances, and it seems like G-d is behind him as well, for whatever reason. And as to all the claims against him by the left and the super-leftist media - I won't have an opinion, until things are clarified in court. The media gives him an unfair field-trial - when we do not know all the facts. I'm not suggesting he is righteous, but I'm not sure he is so corrupt as they try to make of him. Time will tell and we will all be wiser then.
Yesterday was a wonderful day, with great beautiful spring weather, and a festive atmosphere all around. I voted for the first time in my new neighborhood. Voting in Israel takes place mostly in schools, and I was impressed by the schools I saw in this neighborhood (I saw two of them, because I wasn't sure in which one I'm supposed to vote). A lot of light, colors, motivational messages on the walls, works of art by the students. So different than the urban school I went to for the second half of my school years (the first half was gorgeous, but it wasn't in a city).
After voting, I took a walk in Nahal Tzofim (The Tzofim Wadi) below the neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol. They made it into a park now, with a bicycle trail. There were not that many people there. The few whom I did see were all ultra-orthodox, Hassidish man, each on his own, each walking around alone in a different part of the park, between the trees, talking to G-d. In Hasidism it is called "Hitbodedut" - talking to G-d alone, in your own language, in your own words, usually in nature. From time to time you could hear a cry "Oy, Tate!" (Oh, Daddy!), when they call G-d and turn to Him as a father. I wish I had the courage to do that, but I do my own Hitbodedut at home, silently, spontaneously, every day. Thankfully, thanks to my ceiling window, I can also look to the skies while doing so. I spill my heart to Him, talk to Him like the best, most loyal, most faithful friend. He is a person's best friend - the only fully trusted friend from whom we do not have to hide anything.
When I saw those Hassidish guys, it reminded me of a popular TV drama in Israel (I do not have TV at home, but I watched it online for work - long story...): Shtisel. This TV series is about a Haredi family in Jerusalem. To watch it, I need subtitles, because half of it is not even in Hebrew, it's in Yiddish! The actors are completely secular, but with some of them, it is hard to believe that they are not Haredi-born. To train themselves for the job, they had to live for a few good weeks in the ultra-orthodox neighborhoods of Jerusalem, to learn how to behave, how to say the blessings, how to talk, how to walk, how to speak Yiddish with the proper pronunciation, etc. The father in the show, Shulem Shtisel (Dova'le Glickman), used to be a very popular comedian when I was a little girl, so it's quite astonishing to see him playing a serious Haredi man. And he does such a good job at it!! And to think that in real life he is a super secular. Unbelievable. In short, yesterday I felt I was witnessing a scene from Shtisel, and it was very nice! You can see a trailer for the show here: https://vimeo.com/105325576

This coming Shabbat in synagogues, after reading the weekly Torah Portion, we will read a part from the Prophets. Because this is the Shabbat just before Passover, a Shabbat we call Shabbat HaGadol ("The Great Shabbat"), there is a special part of the Prophets: Malachi 3: 4-24. One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible is there. It is a verse that ten years ago, when I was living in Tel Aviv but yearning to move to Jerusalem - when I was traveling in the morning to Jerusalem a few times - I saw this verse sprayed on one of the closed doors of one of the shops on King George street: "שובו אליי ואשובה אליכם" - return to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Wow, what a powerful sentence. Back then, this verse gave me power to keep praying to move to Jerusalem - to find work and a place to live here, and I did manage to do that. I remember the hope and inspiration that I got from these words, and the motivation it gave me to keep praying.
Another favorite verse is there as well - when G-d tells us that we can test Him with only one thing: if we give tithes, He will open the treasures of heaven for us. "Bring the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now with this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour unto you a blessing with no ending". I love this, and I found it is true on my own flesh, in my own life! When I moved to Jerusalem, I didn't have a regular job, and my income was very very small, sometimes less than my rent. But I started giving tithes to the poor - trusting G-d to take care of me - and slowly, gradually, my situation got better - I found a stable job, with a salary that is enough to pay the rent and more, and to do other things that I want. Baruch HaShem! It is so good to be Jewish!
I love hearing stories of faith, and I love to tell of my own stories of faith. Such stories give us so much strength, hope and inspiration. They show us the way. In our lives we all face times of hunger, different kinds of hunger, different things we're missing - and faith is the only remedy, the only solution. I'm trying to post messages of hope and inspiration in my Facebook page, "Jewish Inspiration". Make sure you give it a Like and follow us daily: https://www.facebook.com/JewishInspiration5773/

12.4.19:
I wasn't near a big screen when the first Israeli spaceship, Bereshit ("In the beginning" or "Genesis"), made history and landed on the moon  (landed, just not in one piece 😅) . I was walking the long walk home from the city center to my new neighborhood, but I was listening to the live news from the event on my smartphone as I was walking home. I was so impressed with the vision of the young people who decided to start this project, and even more impressed with everyone's reactions to the 'failure': instead of lamenting and crying and feeling sad or disappointed, or worst - trying to find people to blame, everyone took it with a positive spirit and decided to emphasize the achievement part of it and to look for the future, saying: 'if we failed now, we will succeed next time'. The big donor for the project was present and already promised to undertake the next project of an Israeli spaceship. Such a positive spirit, of vision, of looking forward, of daring, of getting up after falling. Such a healthy, dynamic spirit!
The last time we had a connection with the spaceship was when it was 150 meters above the surface of the moon. Shortly before crashing, the spaceship managed to take two 'selfie' pictures of itself approaching the moon. On the spaceship there was a tiny sign in Hebrew: "עם ישראל חי" (The Nation of Israel is Alive), together with an English scripture: "Small Country, Big Dreams". So moving!
As I was walking and listening to the broadcast, I looked up to the sky, trying to find the shattered pieces of the spaceship Bereshit 😅   I didn't see them, but the moon was so beautiful!

One spiritual message we can learn from the spaceship Bereshit (except for the fact that it is OK to fail as long as you know to get up and try again) is the following: Each of us have a moon in our lives to which we are striving - a big, distant goal we want to reach. In order to do that, we have to keep our eyes on the goal, and keep moving, mentally and otherwise, in its direction. The spaceship Bereshit didn't go to the moon in one direct line. Rather, it had to get closer and closer, in orbits that were closer and closer to the moon, until eventually it crossed a critical point and was pulled by the moon's energy to its inner orbit. Similarly, if we invest spiritual effort (prayer, yearning, etc.) in trying to achieve our goals, in many cases we will reach a critical point in which reality will pull us in the desired direction. Not always - after all, G-d doesn't work for us and He is not obliged to give us all we want (some of the things we want are not even good for us) - but in many cases it would help take us in the desired direction. The important thing is to keep pushing forward, to do our own spiritual effort, let go of the past so that it won't pull us in the wrong direction, and hopefully we will be attracted by the inner orbit of our own personal moon. Letting go of the past can be very hard to do. It's like trying to disconnect from planet Earth, with its huge gravitational field, and breaking free from it. It's hard, but it's possible... It must be possible! Keep our eyes on our moon.



Thank you, and Shabbat Shalom!
R.