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Making G-d's Will Ours  "Behold you have sinned against G-d. And you your sin will find you." ~~ Numbers 32:23 THE PROCESS OF 'I'-DENTIFYING If G-d were the sun each of us would be a ray of His divine light. The goal of the spiritual disciplines of daily Torah (Bible) life - study, prayer, meditation, and the performance of mitzvas (religious duties; plural formitzvah), is to serve G-d and, thereby, become one with our true essence. Through these practices we experience our self an aspect and individualized expression of the Timeless Universal Self - G-d. The 20th century Kabbalist Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains in his book Inner Space that in order to feel this powerful truth, we must learn to disengage our inner self from its outer trappings. In other words, we have to get in touch with our soul as distinct from our persona, thoughts and feelings. The goal of disengaging the self from the outer trappings is to realize that you are not your thoughts, your emotions, your body, your money,...

(reprinted from 2004) In 1986, an Israeli fighter-plane was shot down over Lebanon, and the pilot and navigator, safely ejected from the burning plane, found themselves trapped behind enemy lines. In one of the most daring missions of the war, an Israeli search and rescue team flew in under heavy fire, and in a classic retrieval operation, with an Israeli commando suspended from a helicopter by a cable, literally plucked the pilot from the jaws of the approaching enemy only eight hundred yards away. His co-pilot already surrounded by an enemy that was only fifty yards away, could not be rescued. Ask any Israeli air force pilot what his ultimate nightmare is, and he will tell you of Ron Arad, the navigator of that flight who had to watch his co-pilot whisked away to safety, while he was left behind. Years later, Ron Arad is still missing. This mission raises one of the classic questions in military operations: at what point...

Can You Forgive G-d? How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~~ Anne Frank This imperfect world is the perfect place for a dynamic life filled with challenge, growth and love. That’s the way G-d planned it. Here is what the Torah tells us: “In the beginning G- d created heaven and earth. And the earth was chaos and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep....And G-d said: ‘Let there be light’: and there was light....G-d divided the light from the darkness. G-d called the light ‘Day’ and the darkness He called ‘Night’...Let there be firmament in the midst of the water...Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear...G-d called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of waters He called Seas, etc.’ (Genesis 1:2-10) G-d intentionally created the world in a state of chaos, void, and darkness. This...

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson had finally had enough. For the better part of twenty-five years Americans had been paying ransom and tribute to the Arab nations of the Barbary coast (Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Algiers, amongst others) to avoid having their ships taken and their sailors enslaved.  But by 1801, when Jefferson was inaugurated as President of the United States, America was paying ten percent of its national budget in payments to the Pirates. There were many, John Adams amongst them, who believed paying the Tribute was the best option. Still recovering from the American Revolution, with barely a navy to speak of, the Americans had attempted negotiations with the Pirates to no avail.  When asked by Jefferson (when still Ambassador to London) and Adams by what right the Barbary states preyed upon American shipping, enslaving both crews and passengers, Tripoli’s Abd Al-Rahman responded that nations who had not accepted Islam were sinners and that the Koran mandated war and...

To Teach or to Preach? The meaning of true education What is a true educational experience? The Hebrew word for education—chinuch—gives us a clue. Chinuch is associated with the Hebrew word chen, which means “grace”. When you meet people with chen, you realize there is something very attractive about them. But chen is not the same as “pretty,” which is yofi in Hebrew. To help you appreciate the difference between chen and yofi, imagine the following scenario. A friend wants to fix you up with a gorgeous-looking woman who is nothing less than a model, or so he tells you. You are excited. You anticipate love at first sight and wait for days till the date. Finally, the day arrives and you knock on her door. Someone opens the door. You’re a little shocked. “Is your sister home?” you ask. “I don’t have a sister. Who are you looking for?” she says. “I’m looking for Debbie.” “I’m Debbie.” “Oh, oh ... I’m David’s brother. He couldn’t make...

There is a story in the Talmud about Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach who lived during the second Temple period and was the President of the Sanhedrin, the Rabbinic high court. It seems he bought a donkey from a non-Jewish fellow and was riding back to Jerusalem when one of his students found a rare and valuable gem in one of the saddlebags. Halfway to Jerusalem, Rabbi Shimon, without thinking twice, immediately turned the donkey around and headed back to find the original owner of the donkey. "But you bought the donkey with the saddlebags!" exclaimed one of his students. "Isn't anything found in them rightfully yours?" "I paid for a donkey", replied Rabbi Shimon, "I did not pay for such a valuable gem." After journeying back to their point of origin and restoring the priceless gem to its original owner, the non-Jew, clearly overcome by Rabbi Shimon's integrity, exclaimed: "Blessed is the G-d of Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach!". The first time I came across...

Beating Jealousy Jealousy, that dragon which slays love under the pretence of keeping it alive. --Havelock Ellis In this week’s Torah portion Korach, a member of Moses' tribe the Levites and other communal leaders challenge Moses’s leadership and the appointment of priesthood to Moses’ brother Aaron. Motivated by envy toward Moses and Aaron they argue for equality. We are all holy. How can there be a hierarchy in holiness within Israel? They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly? Moses responded to Korach: Now listen, you Levites! Isn't it enough for you that the G-d of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near Himself to do the work at the Lord's tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to...

Many years ago, a good friend of mine who ran a high school shared with me parts of the process he used to employ in interviewing prospective applicants. The boys were invited to a day of interviews, tests and experiences, and in the middle of the day they broke for lunch. When they entered the dining room the tables were set with six seats per table. On each table a large platter was waiting, with rice, and five pieces of Schnitzel. The boys who took first, were usually the ones he was less interested in. Without discussing the ethical and practical implications of that ‘test’ (not sure I am personally comfortable with such a methodology), what I think this educator was attempting to ascertain was, whether the boys were takers or sharers. This week, we read the portion of Korach, which tells the story of Korach’s famous rebellion against Moshe and Aharon, which does not end well for Korach who is...