Isralight Blog – Page 81

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

April 12, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

Why Eat Kosher? The Talmud tells a story about the famed author of the Mishna, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. The rabbi was walking down the street one day, when a little calf ran up to him and hid under his cloak. Apparently, the calf had run away from the slaughterhouse. The rabbi said to the calf, “Go back to be slaughtered, for this you have been created.” At this point, a Divine decree was made against him because he had not shown pity on the creature. As a result he become sick and suffered for many years, until one day he showed pity on a family of young rats and was suddenly healed. We know that Judaism permits us to eat meat as long as the animal was slaughtered properly, so what did Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi do that was so wrong? He incorrectly said, “for this you were created.” The Talmud is teaching us that, contrary to his declaration, animals were not created for...

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman – Portion of Shemini

April 12, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

There is a little known test that officer cadets undergo in one form or another during Infantry Officer’s training that they almost always fail; which is precisely the point. It takes many forms so that one class will never be forewarned by the previous one. Mine was administered near the midpoint of a horrible experience known as bochan Aricha. We were dropped in the middle of the desert and after a ten kilometer run (more like a jog), within sight of a tent we presumed to be our objective, we were suddenly told we were under chemical attack and made to don our gas masks. Our commanders would often change the rules of the game and throw unexpected surprises at us, to test our resiliency and ability to cope with unexpected situations. It is hard to describe what it is like to run and fight in a gas mask; you are already exhausted, running on little sleep and in the...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

March 29, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

Passover - In the Name of Love Passover commemorates the miraculous exodus of the Jews from Egypt. After 210 years of oppression and cruel servitude, an entire people leave in astounding record time, faster than it takes dough to leaven into bread. We celebrate this event with a festive meal and ceremony called the Seder, during which we recite the Haggadah—the telling of this wondrous historical episode. The Exodus from Egypt, however, is not just another milestone in the history of the Jewish people. In fact, every holiday is actually a memorial to the Exodus. Even Shabbat is referred to as a “Zechar L’Yitziat Mitzraim,”a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt, although it has no apparent connection to the Exodus. In addition, every Jew is obligated to see himself as if he personally had left Egypt and to recount it every day. The first of the Ten Commandments is: “I am YHVH your G-d Who took you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”...

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman – Passover

March 29, 2018March 29, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

(The details of this story have been changed to protect the identity of the commander involved): Jenin during the first intifada was a nasty place to be, especially for a month of reserve duty, but we were all trying to make the best of it. One evening at dusk, we got an urgent call over the radio that terrorists were throwing Molotov cocktails (incendiary bottles) at civilian cars on the road, not far from where we were on patrol. The driver hit the gas even before I had a chance to respond on the radio and a moment later, as we came around a curve in the road we could see two masked Arab men about a hundred yards down the road; one was holding a bottle filled with flammable liquid and a rag sticking out the top while the second lit it up, and we could see an Israeli civilian car headed in our direction about to become a target. At...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

March 23, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

You are Loved! Don’t Pass Up Passover I was once sitting and learning Torah with the Hollywood Actor, Kirk Douglas, when suddenly he turned to me and said, “You know, Rabbi, I love being Jewish.” “Oh, yeah? Why?” I asked. “Because being Jewish is dramatic!” I was surprised by his unusual answer and thought to myself, I guess for these big time actors, everything is showbiz. “Dramatic? I am sorry but I don’t get the connection,” I told him. “Rabbi, I know drama, and let me tell you, Jewish life and Jewish history is dramatic. In fact, there are several archetypical themes to all films, and they are all from the Bible. Here, let me show you what’s drama.” Kirk then jumped out of his chair and began to improvise a drama. “Now, watch this. Let’s say we are shooting a scene and it’s about a guy named Jerry who is going to get some challenging news about his mother. How do we make it dramatic? We would...

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality by Rabbi Binny Freedman- Portion of Tzav

March 23, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

“Nachash Tzefah; Nachash Tzefah.” I remember it like it was yesterday: it was nearly 2AM, and the phone was ringing. I picked it up and was surprised to hear it was my father calling me from America. “Are you all right?” he asked, and I didn’t understand what on earth he was doing, calling us at 2 o’ clock in the morning; much less what he was concerned with. “Of course I’m all right, why wouldn’t I be all right?” And then everything changed, forever. He had heard on CNN that Iraq had launched a scud missile, which had fallen somewhere in Israel. He was more updated than I. As he was explaining what the news had said, the sirens went off, and I dropped the phone to wake up my wife and then one-year old eldest daughter, and rush them into our sealed room, as the code words for an Iraqi missile attack came blaring over the radio. I can remember the fear in my daughter’s eyes...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

March 15, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

SOUL-UTIONS TO PAIN The archetypical story about pain is recorded in the book of Job, who experiences horrible tribulations. Job's friends try to give him answers to explain his pain, but Job is not satisfied with any of their answers. In the end, G-d Himself speaks to Job and gives him resolve. Job's friends tell him that there is no such thing as pain without justice. This means that when a person goes through pain it is simply the fulfillment of justice. Pain is not haphazard or accidental. In some way-even if we cannot possibly fathom why-we have deserved our pain. But Job does not accept this answer. Maimonides, the great Torah sage known as the Rambam, says that this answer is actually the true position of Jewish tradition. In fact, when the Rambam discusses the meaning of "pain" or "suffering," he quotes the verse in the book of Job recording the answer of Job's friend who said that there is no pain...

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman – Portion of Vayikra

March 15, 2018March 15, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

Human beings are like no other animal, in that we will sometimes go against every natural instinct for reasons that often remain beyond the definable. We will give away our food, despite being hungry, when others are in need. We will give another our coat, in the midst of winter, despite the bitter cold, because someone else is suffering. And we will feel good about this, even better than had we eaten the food or retained the clothing ourselves. Half an hour’s walk from the gates of the old city of Jerusalem lays a hill which today sits in the heart of the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of Jerusalem. Situated overlooking the main road from the Damascus gate, so named because it was the major artery from Jerusalem all the way to Damascus, the average visitor will miss this little hill, unless he knows what he is looking for. Even from the air, this small hill can easily be missed. But to any...

Sparks – by Rabbi David Aaron

March 8, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

Successful People are Unaccomplished Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy, a day of solemn rest to the Lord. (Exodus 35:2) During the forty years that the Israelites wandered in the desert they carried with them a portable temple referred to as the Tabernacle or the Mishkan. The creative acts that are forbidden on Shabbat are those acts similar to the skills that went into building or assembling the Mishkan. The Talmud outlines 39 different categories of such creative acts that are forbidden to do on Shabbat. They represent our ultimate power of creativity which is to build a temple that accommodates the presence of G-d on earth. Of course we know that G-d does not literally dwell in the Mishkan, however, the Mishkan symbolizes our ability to serve G-d and infuse every moment and every place with the presence of G-d. In other words the greatest accomplishment of a human being is to serve to make manifest G-d’s presence...

Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman – Portion of Vayakhel-Pekudei

March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 by admin Comment Closed

There are sounds that you hear and things that you see that will always make you stop whatever you are doing. People yelling, the sound of an ambulance racing down a Jerusalem street, or even the backfire of a car, if you’ve just finished reserve duty...and always, the sound of a child crying. I recall one time I was standing at the entrance to a supermarket, and saw a little girl, who couldn’t have been more than three or four, sobbing her eyes out. I didn’t see any adults near her, and she didn’t seem to be physically hurt, so I walked over, figuring she was lost and looking for a parent... as I got within a couple of feet, a man standing on the side, whom I hadn’t noticed before, took a few steps closer and gently nudged me with his hand as if to say ‘don’t trouble yourself’, while continuing to speak on his cell phone. I assumed he...

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