B"H

Tuesday, Sivan 17, 5780 / June 9, 2020

 Every Shabbat, during the summer months, we recite a chapter of the Pirkei Avot - Chapters of our Fathers or Ethics of our Fathers.

One of the teachings of the Talmudic sage, Hillel The Elder, in the second chapter of Pirkei Avot, which we will recite this coming Shabbat, is, “Do not judge your fellow until you come to his place.”

In other words, if you see someone doing something wrong or something which in your eyes seem wrong, do not judge them, unless you are in their place, in their position and have experienced what they experience.

Often we judge others negatively, without giving any thought as to why they acted that way.  It is only when we find ourselves in their position that we can see that perhaps it wasn’t their fault, as we originally thought and that we too may have acted the same as they if we were in their shoes.

 A man came to the doctor and complained that his wife is hard of hearing.

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

“I talk to her so many times during the day, but she doesn’t answer.  For sure she cannot hear,” he replied.

The doctor thought for a while and said, “I want you to go home and conduct the following test.  First 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 gauge how bad her hearing problem 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 to her, “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!  I told you chicken and potatoes!!!”

Many times, we see faults in other people and judge them negatively, when the faults may in fact be with us!

Hillel the Elder teaches us, “Do not judge your fellow until you come to his place.”  Get close to him.  Get into his shoes and you may see things very differently. You may realize that the negative you saw, is not as bad as you thought, taking into account the person’s background or the conditions which he has to endure. Or 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, as the story above illustrates.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslav explains it this way: G-d is called “Hamakom” (“the place”).  Here the word “Limekomo” (Do not judge your fellow until you come to his place), means, G-d’s place.  Hillel teaches us that unless we see things as G-d sees them, for He sees the past, present and future, we cannot pass judgment on someone else, because we do not see the full picture.   

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Thursday, Sivan 19, 5780 / June 11, 2020

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 dosen’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 (as today with the Corona Virus), 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 and the faucet not turned on, the water will not flow to where it is needed.

The same is with prayer. On G-d's side there is an abundance of blessings, but to receive the blessings 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 all be connected and blessed with all our needs.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Monday, Sivan 23, 5780 / June 15, 2020

This week’s Parsha, Shlach, begins with the story of how, before entering the promised land, Moshe, upon the insistence of the Jewish people, sends twelve men to investigate the land of Canaan and bring back a report.

Moshe instructs them, “Go and see what kind of country it is. Are the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many? Is the country good or bad? Are the towns open or fortified? Is the soil rich or poor? Are there trees or not? Make sure to bring back from the fruits of the land.”

After forty days, they return with enormous fruit; They cut a branch with a cluster of grapes. It took a few of the men to carry it. They also took pomegranates and figs. The fruits were of enormous size. 

They return and report, “The country we scouted is one that devours its settlers. All the men that we saw are men of great size, and we looked like grasshoppers in our own eyes.

The people of Israel believed them and broke into loud cries, lamenting that it would have been better to die in Egypt than to confront this ominous situation.

Two of the scouts, Caleb and Joshua, have a very different story to tell. They said, “The land we traversed and scouted is an exceedingly good land.”  They expressed their faith that G-d will aid them and we shall conquer the land. Yet, the Jewish people react by threatening to pelt them with stones.

The entire congregation cried, refusing to go up to the land.  As a result, they were punished to stay in the desert forty years (one year for each day which the spies scouted the land).

Though all twelve of the spies saw the same land, ate the same fruit, and observed the same occupants, their reports could not have been more different.  Calev and Joshua saw the good in the land while the ten spies saw only negative.

In Psalms, chapter 128, we read: May the L-rd bless you O Zion, and may you see the goodness of Jerusalem all the days of your life.”  It is indeed a special blessing to see the good of Jerusalem.

You probably heard the story of the wealthy man who traveled first class on the train from Moscow to Warsaw.  When asked how he enjoyed the trip, he replied that the ride and service in first class was great. However, he was upset that the people in third class, who paid a fraction of what he paid for his first class ticket, saw through their windows the same sights and scenery as him…” 

We must learn the lesson of this week’s Parsha about the sin of the ten spies.  Instead of looking at Israel through the window of the bias world media, we must, as instructed in the Psalms, search and, “See the goodness of Jerusalem.”  May G-d spread His canopy of peace over Israel.  Amen.    

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY