Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Sparks From Israel
The Leaders of the Redemption
Amid the loud trance music, tattoos shops, Russian punks with spiked hair, and provocative women staggering out of discos, there are many run-down Beit Knesset’s where the Torah observant few come to pray and argue past the disco hour the relevance of their particular stream of Judaism.
In one of these holy places, made even holier by the three shots of Arak I ingested, a man gave over a Dvar Torah about the Parasha Ki Sisa. He quoted a local man Rav Alfasi from a Beit Knesset in the affluent North Tel Aviv.
Regarding the Tehillim we read before the Birkat Hamazon (the blessing after the meal) which reads: ‘When Hashem will return the captivity of Zion, we will be like dreamers. Then our mouth will be filled with laughter and our tongue with glad song.’ Rav Alfasi asks the question, why will our mouths be filled with laughter? Why not with joy, with happiness, with praise?
He answers, ‘Because we will see that the redemption is being brought by the lowest element of society. What the holy rabbi’s failed to bring, what the purest souls were incapable of achieving, will be achieved by thugs and gangsters!’ These are the times we are living in now, and soon, with laughter we will see, how the lowest elements of society, will in fact be the redeemers of our generation. How funny is that?
A Familiar Song
I met with a fellow countryman who has been in Israel for a month now. We spoke about the synagogue we both used to go to, and I told him that for over a year now, I have searched for a synagogue that sings Chadesh Yamenu with the same melody that we both were familiar with. I added mystically, that when I find the place that sings that melody, I will know that I have found my inheritance in the Land of Israel. We laughed and parted.
The next day I met a friend who offered to guide me to a synagogue across from the Temple Mount where most of our Arab cousins live. I was surprised, in the middle of the service to hear a familiar tune. As I walked back through the Arab shuk, I heard my words echoing from the night before. Is this my inheritance? It’s not exactly the easy going life style I have in Tel Aviv.
The message seemed clear to me, coming one week before Rosh Hoshanna. If one wants to continue to receive Hashem’s blessings, he must continue to grow and fulfill the potential given to him. Each of us has their own definition of what that growth entails, but each of us must conquer new territory within.
Just as our Nation settles the Land of Israel despite the worlds protest, as individuals we also must conquer new territory within, and subdue the forces that seek to undermine the fulfillment of our potential. I thought for a moment of my younger brother, who would often add at the end of his letters. Grow or Die.
The Watermelon man
As I walked through the market on a hot sunny day, I saw a merchant sitting next to his kiosk eating freshly cut pieces of watermelon. As I approached he saw me looking at the appetizing cold slices and motioned to me to take a piece. I said ‘no’, but he insisted. As I continued on my way munching my slice of watermelon I thought to myself. ‘Is there any other place like Israel, a family that became a Nation?
‘Tis the Season
All the shops are busy once again with last minute shopping. Soon the whole country will be closed down for two days. Extra people are hired just to wrap merchandise and in most corner kiosks you can pick up some last minute gift packages for the holidays. It all seems reminiscent to me of a holiday that falls in December in North America, but it’s now early September. What was once a religious day of observance to a tiny Jewish minority is a National Holiday here in Israel. It’s Rosh Hoshanna, and even the bus drivers wish you Shana Tova ve Metuka. Have a good and sweet year!
The Leaders of the Redemption
Amid the loud trance music, tattoos shops, Russian punks with spiked hair, and provocative women staggering out of discos, there are many run-down Beit Knesset’s where the Torah observant few come to pray and argue past the disco hour the relevance of their particular stream of Judaism.
In one of these holy places, made even holier by the three shots of Arak I ingested, a man gave over a Dvar Torah about the Parasha Ki Sisa. He quoted a local man Rav Alfasi from a Beit Knesset in the affluent North Tel Aviv.
Regarding the Tehillim we read before the Birkat Hamazon (the blessing after the meal) which reads: ‘When Hashem will return the captivity of Zion, we will be like dreamers. Then our mouth will be filled with laughter and our tongue with glad song.’ Rav Alfasi asks the question, why will our mouths be filled with laughter? Why not with joy, with happiness, with praise?
He answers, ‘Because we will see that the redemption is being brought by the lowest element of society. What the holy rabbi’s failed to bring, what the purest souls were incapable of achieving, will be achieved by thugs and gangsters!’ These are the times we are living in now, and soon, with laughter we will see, how the lowest elements of society, will in fact be the redeemers of our generation. How funny is that?
A Familiar Song
I met with a fellow countryman who has been in Israel for a month now. We spoke about the synagogue we both used to go to, and I told him that for over a year now, I have searched for a synagogue that sings Chadesh Yamenu with the same melody that we both were familiar with. I added mystically, that when I find the place that sings that melody, I will know that I have found my inheritance in the Land of Israel. We laughed and parted.
The next day I met a friend who offered to guide me to a synagogue across from the Temple Mount where most of our Arab cousins live. I was surprised, in the middle of the service to hear a familiar tune. As I walked back through the Arab shuk, I heard my words echoing from the night before. Is this my inheritance? It’s not exactly the easy going life style I have in Tel Aviv.
The message seemed clear to me, coming one week before Rosh Hoshanna. If one wants to continue to receive Hashem’s blessings, he must continue to grow and fulfill the potential given to him. Each of us has their own definition of what that growth entails, but each of us must conquer new territory within.
Just as our Nation settles the Land of Israel despite the worlds protest, as individuals we also must conquer new territory within, and subdue the forces that seek to undermine the fulfillment of our potential. I thought for a moment of my younger brother, who would often add at the end of his letters. Grow or Die.
The Watermelon man
As I walked through the market on a hot sunny day, I saw a merchant sitting next to his kiosk eating freshly cut pieces of watermelon. As I approached he saw me looking at the appetizing cold slices and motioned to me to take a piece. I said ‘no’, but he insisted. As I continued on my way munching my slice of watermelon I thought to myself. ‘Is there any other place like Israel, a family that became a Nation?
‘Tis the Season
All the shops are busy once again with last minute shopping. Soon the whole country will be closed down for two days. Extra people are hired just to wrap merchandise and in most corner kiosks you can pick up some last minute gift packages for the holidays. It all seems reminiscent to me of a holiday that falls in December in North America, but it’s now early September. What was once a religious day of observance to a tiny Jewish minority is a National Holiday here in Israel. It’s Rosh Hoshanna, and even the bus drivers wish you Shana Tova ve Metuka. Have a good and sweet year!
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