Who do I admire

If I could be like any other person in the world, who would I be like?  Who do I truly admire?  I'm not talking about a celebrity or public figure who I would want to be like because of the amount of money they have, but rather whose personal traits would I like to emulate?

I would like to be like somebody who is a true eved Hashem, but not someone whom other people are uncomfortable to be around.  I wish I radiated love.  I wish I had true restraint and personal control over myself, so that all of my actions were driven by avodas Hashem and I had no desire or interest in wasting time.  I would like to emulate someone who dresses well, looks good and is physically fit and healthy. 

My love would be a deep concern for the other people I interact with every day.  I would truly want the best for them, and would take action to facilitate their achivement of the best.  I would be a giver and receiver, but not a taker. 

I would be sensitive to the people around me, choosing my words carefully, and being a listener.  Yes I want kavod (honor), but I would achive honor by serving others and by not pursuing credit for things. 

I would have rock solid principles that I would never compromise, but I would be patient and accepting of life as it comes.  However, I would give up my life if I had to.  I would be a deep thinker that can see the consequences of my actions many steps down the road from where I am now. 

And I want a swimming pool for my house.  I want to spend Sundays with my family enjoying the outdoors and each others company, talking and laughing.

I keep thinking of Rabbis David Silverman and Ilan Feldman in Atlanta.  Also my Rabbi Shmuel Berkowitz.  I haven't interacted enough with Rabbi Silverman and Rabbi Feldman to know if my perceptions of them are correct.  My only hesitation with Rabbi B is that he doens't meet the requirements in the last sentence of the second paragraph.  Also, Rabbi S and Rabbi B don't have pools; I don't know about Rabbi Ilan. 

I also should list Rabbi Leib Keleman who is the teacher of my Mussar Vaad.  I admire the way he is involved with all sorts of outdoor activities and yet still is a pure servant of Hashem.     

The Jews Achilles Heal, part 2

Rabbi Motty Berger said in the name of the Chiddushei Harim and Sfas Emes the same medrash and explained that "do not approach the mountain" relates to the first two commandments.  Us Jews have trouble with "I am G-d" and "You are not!"

The question

Was the Torah given to us by Hashem, or was it made up by the Jews?  If it was made up, the authors certainly have a lot of blood on their hands.  Hitler thought that the Torah was made up by the Jews, and thought that its effect on his society was such a "disease" that every person with at least 1/4 Jewish ancestory needed to be killed to eradicate its influence.  Western (secular) society today believes the Jews made it up, but that to a certain extent (less and less each year) we need to pretend that it came from Hashem.  Most secular Jews act like they believe their (our) ancestors made it up.  They think that the more outragous and weird the culture becomes, the better it is, so they lead the charge, in many cases.  But G-d forbid when the pendulum swings the other way, and our society looks to find those who were responsible for the outragousness and weirdness.  Woe to the Jews who never deeply investigate this question. 

A Jew who believes, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the Torah was given by Hashem can either strive and struggle to serve Hashem, or can commit suicide, either quickly or slowly.     There is no middle ground.  If Hashem "divinely influenced" the Torah, that is another way of saying that the Jews made it up. 

Why should I have hakaras HaTov to Hashem?

Why should I have hakaras HaTov to Hashem? After all, he created me! Yes, he freed me from slavery in Egypt, but he also made me a slave in the first place. I didn’t ask to be created.


It seems to me that the world we live in presents an ideal “playing field” or “movie set” for the battle between our Yetzer HaTov or intellectual desires or “best intentions” and our Yetzer HaRah or physical or emotional desires. I would be hard pressed to say that the world is very well designed for any other purpose that I can think of. It doesn’t seem well designed for hedonism, since we quickly get bored with any particular kind of pleasures, and we often get hurt or burned. It doesn’t always reward the person who plays by the rules or puts in the most effort, although I think that effort in the right direction is often well rewarded. Striving for money…there are plenty of rich people out there who are unhappy. Depression and anxiety are very common.

However, since Hashem gave us the Torah, we can serve him no matter what situation we are in. All a person has to do is 1) know the halacha and 2) implement the will and strength to do it. There are people alive today or who were alive in the recent past who are or were like angels, following the will of Hashem with beautiful middos and assuredly not suffering from depression or anxiety.

I believe that we chose this life, or we would choose it if we had complete information. I believe that Hashem created us to benefit us by letting us “play the game” or “be in the movie”. Life is a benefit when one strives to be an eved Hashem. He has given me many benefits, advantages and blessings, from before I was born until now. I choose to have Hakaras HaTov, because I believe that Hashem has decided to benefit me by putting me in the life situations that I am in.

Jewish control of the media

If the Jews controlled the media, we would never see the word "Jewish control of the media" in print, would we? The real issue that bothers those who talk about "Jewish control of the media" is the fact that Jewish donors make up an overwhelming proportion of those who donate to Democratic candidates and the Democratic party, and that when a Democrat, as is their right, decides to not support Israel, some of that financial support disappears.

The Jews Achilles Heal

Ben Manevitz shared a dvar torah with me. When Hashem offered the Torah to the nations of the world, each nation asked what was in it and He responded. When he offered it to the Jews, we said "we will do and we will listen and attempt to understand". But if we had asked what was in it, what would Hashem have responded? What is our national trait that we have to overcome to receive the Torah?

The answer is what the Torah brings just before giving us the Torah at Mt. Sinai. He commanded Moshe to command the bnai Yisroel "not to touch the mountain, not to approach the mountain, lest they will die".

Jews long for closeness with Hashem, just like others love murder and sexual perversion. We want to climb the mountain, but Hashem is warning us to follow his directions, to relate to Him His way, following His commands. When we do what we want to do, what we think is best, that is when we get into trouble.

What is wrong with Reform and Conservative Judaism?

Recently, Gary Rosenblatt mentioned in his column in the New York Jewish Week that the idea that orthodox Jews don’t respect or appreciate the Jewish devotion of “serious” Reform or Conservative Jews. It got me thinking about what exactly is wrong with Reform or Conservative Judaism. To understand this, I contrast the devotion of these Jews with the devotion to Roman Catholicism of the late Cardinal Lustiger, who converted from Judaism and became the Archbishop of Paris. Instinctively, I know that there is a huge difference between a Jew who involves him or herself with the heterodox movements and those who convert to another religion.

The main difference that defines and differentiates orthodox and heterodox Judaism is that orthodox Jews believe that they have covenantal obligations to Hashem. The covenant is found in the book of Exodus, chapter 19, verses 4-6, with our acceptance in chapter 19, verse 8 and in chapter 24, verse 7. Crucially, we believe that the entire Torah explains to us how to fulfill these obligations. Satmar Chassidim and talmidim of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah may disagree about the application and fulfillment of these obligations, but both agree that the commandments in the Torah are obligatory as a result of our covenant with Hashem. A Jew, or all Jews, may fail to perfectly fulfill their covenantal obligations, but more fundamentally, a Jew needs to first recognize that there is a covenant, that he or she is a party to it, that Hashem has perfectly fulfilled and fulfills every day “his” covenantal obligations, and that they are obligated to respond by fulfilling his/her obligations as commanded in the Torah.

According to my understanding, Hashem created the Jewish soul with a drive for connection to him. Since the Jewish soul comes from an entity, a “general soul” called Knesseth Yisroel, the drive often manifests as a desire to connect to the Jewish people. A serious commitment to one of the heterodox movements is a strong expression of this. However, even the institutions of the Orthodox community struggle, and often fail to elicit improvement in the fulfillment of each individual’s covenantal obligations to Hashem. How can organizations affiliated with movements that institutionalize the denial of the “ways and means” by which we fulfill our covenantal obligations to Hashem be places that I should respect and appreciate? I feel pain when I think about the condition of my own soul, and sadness when I think about the efforts that serious heterodox Jews make. It is hard enough to fulfill a mitzvoth with the proper kavannah, and mitzvoths require kavannah. When the Jew is being taught that he or she is not even obligated, how can his/her acts of service be acceptable to Hashem?

Still, the service of Jews who practice within the framework and according to the teachings of the heterodox movements is motivated by a Jewish ruach, a desire to connect to Hashem through Knesseth Yisroel. My understanding is that the heterodox movements accept that there is a coventental relationship between the Jewish people and Hashem, even as they deny that there are specific obligations that go along with the covenant which are described in the Torah. A Jew who practices a non-Jewish religion has veered much further from the mark than has the Reform or Conservative Jew, as non-Jewish religions either deny that there is any covenantal relationship between the Jewish people and Hashem at the present time, or deny that the Jew can fulfill his/her end of the relationship without adopting beliefs and/or practices that do not fall within the framework of Judaism.