B"H

Thursday, Sivan 12, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / June 1, 2023

During the summer months, we recite a chapter of the Pirkei Avot every Shabbat. One of the teachings of the Talmudic sage, Hillel The Elder, in the second chapter of Pirkei Avot, (sometimes called “Ethics of our Fathers), is, “Do not judge your fellow until you come to his place.”

In other words, if we see someone doing something wrong or something which in our eyes seems wrong, we should not judge them, unless we are in their place; in their position and have experienced what they experience.

Too often we judge others negatively, without giving any thought as to why they acted that way. Hillel tells us that if we put ourselves in their position, we may see that perhaps it wasn’t their fault, as we originally thought. Or perhaps, the fault we see in others, may be our own faults which we don’t see in ourselves but we see in others.

A man came to the doctor and complained that his wife has a hearing problem.

“How do you know she has a hearing problem?” asked the doctor.

“How do I know? I talk to her, and she doesn’t answer. Surely, she has a hearing problem. But she refuses to see a doctor, claiming that she has no problem for she hears perfectly well,” he replied.

The doctor thought for a while and said, “I want you to conduct the following test. Ask her something from across the room. If she doesn’t reply, get a few feet closer and ask her again. Get closer and closer to her, a few feet each time, this way you’ll be able to judge how bad her hearing is.”

The next day the man asks his wife from across the room, “What’s for supper tonight?” No answer.  He walks a few feet closer, “My dear, what’s for supper?” No answer. He goes another few feet forward and asks the same question. No reply. Finally, he gets within a foot of her and screams, “What’s for supper?”

She yells back at him, “What’s with your hearing. For the seventh time… chicken and potatoes!!!”

Too many times, we see faults in others and judge them negatively, when the faults may in fact be with us!

Hillel teaches us, get close to him. Get into his shoes and you may see things very differently. When you consider the person’s background or conditions, you may realize that the flaw you see is not as bad as you think. You may even see that the fact that you perceived him or her in a negative light may actually be a result of something lacking within yourself!

We should always heed to Hillel’s teaching, “Do not judge your fellow until you come to his place.”

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Monday, Sivan 16, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / June 5, 2023

Each Shabbat between Pesach (Passover) and Rosh Hashanah, many recite one chapter of the Pirkei Avot (Chapters of our Fathers).

Thus, throughout the summer months we go through these chapters a few times.

After reciting each chapter, we conclude with the saying of Rabbi Chanania son of Akashia; “The Holy one, blessed is He, wished to confer merit upon Israel; therefore, He gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance."

The Torah commands us to fulfill 613 mitzvot.  The Talmud explains that the mitzvot are divided into two general categories. There are 248 positive commandments; and 365 negative commandments (prohibitions). 

The 248 positive commandments represent the limbs/organs of a person. The number 365 prohibitions represent the days of the year. The reason for these numbers is that Mitzvot serve to involve and protect a person's whole being and to cover every day of the year.

Our sages explain that G-d gave us Torah and mitzvot in abundance for our benefit. With so many mitzvot, there will be at least one or more mitzvot which each person can perform to perfection.

However, we must be careful not to change the mitzvot to conform to our standards. Rather we must raise ourselves to the standard of the mitzvot.

The following parable of the Magid of Dubna explains this point. A general once toured his training camps to check his soldiers' level of readiness. In one of the camps, the soldiers were shooting arrows at targets. Upon observing closely, he noticed that one of the soldier's arrows were all in the center of the target. The general was very impressed.

"You are a great marksman!  How did you manage to get every arrow exactly in the center?" the general asked with amazement.

The soldier replied. "The others first set up their target, then they try to hit it. I, on the other hand, first shoot my arrows, only afterwards do I place the target around them. Thus, all my arrows are on target..."

G-d gave us many mitzvot so that we can aim for perfection at some of them. He even commanded us to perform mitzvot which we would logically do on our own, in order that we may be rewarded for them, because they are G-d’s commandments.

It is far better to aim at the Divine targets, even if we miss a few, rather than create our own targets in order to feel satisfied and accomplished all the time, when in reality we accomplish nothing…

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Tuesday, Sivan 17, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / June 6, 2023

At the end of this week’s Parsha, Beha’alotcha, we read how Moshe prayed for his sister, Miriam, that G-d heal her from her affliction when she was punished for speaking against Moshe. Moshe’s prayer for Miriam consisted of only three words – “G-d heal her.”

Our sages say that G-d hears our prayers at all times. It doesn’t matter how long or how short one prays. It is the dedication, feeling and intent which matter.

Prayer is very important in a Jew's life. The three daily prayers originated with our patriarchs. The morning prayer with Abraham; the afternoon prayer with Yitzchak and the evening prayer with Yaakov.

Although it is preferable to pray each of the three daily prayers in synagogue with a minyan (quorum), if this is not possible, one should still pray wherever they are.

One can liken prayer to a pipe and faucet.  No matter how much water may be on the other end, if the pipe is not connected or turned on, the water will not flow where it is needed.

The same goes for prayer. On G-d's side there is an abundance of blessings, but to receive them on our end, we have to be connected and turn on the faucet. This is done through prayer, through which we acknowledge that we are totally dependent on G-d.

A group of very wealthy Bedouins, with vast oil resources, decided to have a 10-day convention at one of the prominent hotels in New York. When the convention was over and they all left for the airport, the rooms were inspected and to the amazement of the hotel manager, they found that in each of the rooms where they stayed, the faucet was missing!

The police were notified, and they caught up with them as they were about to board the airplane.  A thorough check of their bags revealed that each one had a faucet carefully packed away in their bag.

"Just name the price. We will pay you as much as you want for the faucets," they said.

"Why do you want these faucets?" the police asked in amazement.

They replied: "We live in the desert where finding water is a tremendous hassle.  But in the hotel, we saw this wonderful gadget which just with a simple turn gave as much water as we needed.  This is exactly what we need in the desert, and we are willing to pay any price…"

One of the translations for "Tefilah" (prayer) is "connection."  Just like water flowing from the faucet has to be connected to the reservoir, so too, in order for G-d's blessings to flow we have to connect to the source of blessings.   This is accomplished when we connect to G-d through prayer which keeps G-d's blessings flowing.

May we stay firmly connected and may G-d’s blessings to us keep flowing and flowing.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY