Blog

At the end of every command-course in the Israeli army, a questionnaire known as a Socio-Metric test, is given to each cadet which has to be filled out. It’s a pretty simple form: each soldier is asked to list five fellow cadets, in order of priority, whom they would choose to lead their unit, and five fellow cadets, also in order of preference, whom they would not want leading their unit. No-one is permitted to leave the form blank; it’s a pre-requisite for graduating the course (not to mention getting out of the army that ShabbatJ.) I recall finding this difficult; especially at the end of Officers’ course, literally the day before we were all meant to get our bars. There was actually a cadet who had been with me in Commanders’ (Sergeant’s) course who was not accepted to officer’s course, even though he had one of the highest scores in our course, was extremely intelligent, and was clearly cool under pressure,...

Making Every Day Count The Key to Making Life Worth Living One day as I was waiting for a friend, an old woman sits down next to me. Suddenly she jumps out of her seat, turns to me and yells, "I should have never left Mexico!" I look at her and ask, "When did you leave Mexico?" "Thirty years ago!" she cries. "And I regret it every single day of my life!" You would think that after 30 years a person would finally get used to where they were. But people often live in the past. One of my students, age 28, told me that his father insulted him when he was age 12 and till this day he continues to feel hurt and angry. I explained to him that although his father hurt him when he was twelve he has allowed his father to continue to hurt him for another sixteen years by holding on to the pain and constantly remembering it. I suggested...

One of the great satisfactions of life as an educator is watching a student’s face when ‘the penny drops’; when a difficulty or question they have struggled with suddenly is resolved. Equally inspiring is raising a question they have noticed especially when it should be obvious. I have a little game I play with potential students when trying to explain what Orayta students are looking for in our classes on Machshava (Jewish philosophy). I tell them I will ask them a question that they cannot get wrong, and that they will absolutely be able to answer in under three seconds. There are only three possible answers to this question : yes, no or maybe. Then I ask them if they believe in G-d. And inevitably most of them will say yes, some will say ‘maybe’ and the occasional lone wolf will say no. And it does not matter which response they choose (nor will I recall which potential student responded with...

Enjoying Heaven on Earth In this week's Torah portion G-d appeared to Abraham and yet He said nothing. "G-d appeared to [Abraham] in the Plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the hottest part of the day. [Abraham] lifted his eyes and he saw three strangers approaching and ran towards them." Until now G-d appeared to Abraham to instruct, promise or bless him. The Talmud (Sotah 14A) comments that G-d was visiting sick Abraham who was recuperating from his circumcision. What does this mean? When you visit a person who is ill it is not in order to say something; your mere presence communicates your pure desire to identify with this person in his/her time of need. You go for the sole purpose of being there. So it was when G-d visited Abraham. For the first time G-d appears to Abraham only to be with him, identify with him and share this special moment. Sometimes the highest moment...

I can still remember that night; it was the loneliest, most depressing night of my life. After almost a year of training, with only a couple of days to go before getting my bars and finishing officer’s course, I had been ordered to stand before a tribunal headed by the base commander along with my battalion and company commanders and summarily told I would not be graduating. I could not blame them; my maneuvers had not been tight enough, my command not sharp enough; I was not ready. And my commanders did not feel, in good conscience that they could send me out to command men in battle. But it was devastating. With all my fellow cadets giving in their gear and practicing for the final ceremony on the parade ground, I was told I was free to go and was dismissed. We were on a base in the middle of the Negev desert and it was nine o’clock at...

The Secret to Immortality When G-d said to Abraham “Go to yourself-- Lech Lecha” what was He actually asking Abraham to do? This command seems to be contradicted by the remainder of the statement: “...from your country, from your birthplace and from your father’s home.” Are these not the fundamental elements that make up a person’s sense of self? My nation, my birthplace and family together create the context for my identity and establish the vital ground for my sense of self. In addition, they represent citizenship, property rights, and inheritance, all essential sources of personal security. What G-d is actually saying to Abraham is, “Go to yourself and leave yourself,” bidding him to seek himself and at the same time abandon everything that establishes and confirms selfhood. The very order of the statement verifies this, as it is not in chronological order. A person first leaves his father’s home, then his birthplace and then finally the country’s borders, not the...

What it would take today for a person to give up his principles? What would cause a person to leave his faith? The story of Sol Teichman comes to mind. Sol Teichman was twelve years old when World War two began, and the Germans started rounding up Jews all over Poland. Sol and his family lived in the Hungarian town of Munkacz, in a large family home that once occupied two square blocks; their initials are still visible on top of the house.  They are all that is left of the once thriving Munkacz Jewish community, full of Belzer and Munkacz Chassidim. Of the 40,000 people in Munkacz, approximately 80% were Jewish, over 90% of whom were Sabbath observant. Even so, there was always anti-Semitism in Munkacz, and when Sol would visit his grandparents on their farm, they weren’t allowed outdoors on Sunday mornings; after church, as the priests marched with crosses in hand, the parishioners would spit and kick at...

Are You Ready for the Ultimate Pleasure? The generations following the sin of Adam and Eve proceeded upon a path of moral degeneration. Cain, in a jealous rage, impulsively killed his brother Abel. In the next generation, Tuvel- Kain perfected the crime of Cain through manufacturing weapons. Then, Lemach boasted to his wives of committing pre-meditative murder. Idolatry flourished during the time of Enosh. Organized crime was established by a group of hoodlums called “The sons of Elohim.” Sexual perversion was rampant in Noah’s generation. Torah tradition teaches that there are three cardinal sins that a person should choose death rather than be forced to commit. They are: murder, idolatry, and sexual perversion. These offenses are the ultimate denial of G-d’s love and the values that make life worth living. They are a complete violation of living within the context of G- d’s oneness and love and therefore cut humanity off from the source and ground of life. In a span...

There is a story they tell about the “Chazon-Ish” (Rabbi Avrahom Yeshaya Karelitz, 1878-1953).  Towards the end of his life, when he was already quite weak, the phone rang in his home on a Friday afternoon. One of the Chazon-Ish’s students, who was helping in the house answered the call and responded to a fellow on the other end who had a daughter who was quite ill. The man, who was a cab driver, had a six-year-old daughter who had fallen ill with leukemia, and someone had told him about the Chazon-Ish and the legendary reputation his blessings had received.  He was desperate for help and wanted to come to the Chazon-Ish for a blessing before Shabbat.  The student explained that the Chazon-Ish was not well and could not possibly see him in the next few hours, but the fellow should call back after Shabbat. The cab driver, however, would not let the student off the phone, begging for even a moment of...

Created in the image of love The power to be who you are In the very opening sentences of the Torah (Bible) we are told that the first human being was created in G-d's own image. And what was that image? The first human being was actually a man and a woman — a single entity that included the two sexes. "And G-d created man in His own image, in the image of G-d created He him; male and female created He them" (Genesis 1:27). In this union of male and female, in this oneness of opposites, the first human being reflected the image of G-d — a oneness that includes otherness and yet remains one. This is a very important concept. A lone individual does not reflect the image of G-d; an individual in unity with another individual does. So until an individual makes a space to include another, and allows that other to do the same, we do not have the...