Thursday, October 21, 2004
Sparks From Israel
The Times of Moshiach
And it will happen on that day that there will be neither clear light nor heavy darkness. This will go on for a whole day-understood only by Hashem-neither day nor night; but toward evening it will be perceived as light. (Zecharia 14:6)
We are all waiting for Moshiach to come, but in Sfat he has already arrived. When we say we are waiting for the times of the Moshiach, what exactly are we waiting for? The times of Moshicach are supposedly a time when the light of Torah will be revealed and the world will return to its original condition. The delight of such a world one can feel in Sfat where sometimes you walk into an empty shop and must wait for the owner to return in order to buy something. Or a Jew might come dancing out of a Beit Knesset and grab your hands and dance with you as he continues on his way. Certainly we are still in the middle of a war, and the battles that Joshua left unconquered are still being waged by his children. But when one needs a rest from the state of darkness that emanates from the valley of Schem and hovers around the globe, one can slip into the future for a few days and visit the dreamy city of Sfat. Then one can return to the war with purpose and knowledge of a time that awaits us. Every battle and revolution brings us closer to that day that is neither light nor dark, but something we have never known before.
My Kind of Tzaddik
The ‘Tish’ (banquet) of Shmini Arzeret is a time of lots of Lechaim’s (words of Torah accompanied by shots of Vodka). Of course, if Chabad didn’t invent the Lechaim tradition, they certainly perfected it. I was in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City at this festive occasion that marks the culmination of the days of awe. There was a very distinguished speaker at the head table who had written many scholarly books that I remember from my youth. It was exciting to see this great Rabbi and even more exciting when he greeted me in the most unorthodox fashion.
As I sat at the corner of the table trying to discuss some idea with the students across from me among the noise of 60 Jews eating, drinking, and schmoozing I felt the splash of vodka on my head. We stopped talking and turned to the main speaker Rabbi Steinsalz who had just thrown a plastic cup of vodka at the three of us and smiled sweetly like a lovable grandfather. ‘Shudd up over there..Shush..Im trying to speak’.
This was my introduction to Rabbi Steinsalz. As people tried to ‘shush’ the crowd, he continued to discuss the meaning of Shmini Atzeret and explained that it was not a time to learn Torah, but to celebrate with our bride – The Torah. Afterwards I went over to him and asked him, ‘Isn’t that more appropriate for Shavuot, the anniversary of when we received the Torah for the first time, and were not so aware of what was contained in it? Don’t they say now it’s like a second marriage, this time one with more knowledge of who it is we married? He gave my face a gentle slap and answered with his Albert Einstein voice ‘Ve are in love, silly, the commandment now is to be happy and to dance with your bride..He continued to slap me..your in love!’…Ok, I guess I understood.
Now that’s my kind of Tzaddik, a man who can throw vodka at you and then slap you on the face. Sometimes those things are more meaningful than another speech.
A Picture on the Wall
There is nothing like being at the kotel for the climax of the chagim, When you see all of the diverse streams of Judaism mixed together in a soup of souls dancing beneath the angels as the birds fly in circles above it makes you feel like a tiny drop which seen from afar becomes the face of the Almighty.
The Times of Moshiach
And it will happen on that day that there will be neither clear light nor heavy darkness. This will go on for a whole day-understood only by Hashem-neither day nor night; but toward evening it will be perceived as light. (Zecharia 14:6)
We are all waiting for Moshiach to come, but in Sfat he has already arrived. When we say we are waiting for the times of the Moshiach, what exactly are we waiting for? The times of Moshicach are supposedly a time when the light of Torah will be revealed and the world will return to its original condition. The delight of such a world one can feel in Sfat where sometimes you walk into an empty shop and must wait for the owner to return in order to buy something. Or a Jew might come dancing out of a Beit Knesset and grab your hands and dance with you as he continues on his way. Certainly we are still in the middle of a war, and the battles that Joshua left unconquered are still being waged by his children. But when one needs a rest from the state of darkness that emanates from the valley of Schem and hovers around the globe, one can slip into the future for a few days and visit the dreamy city of Sfat. Then one can return to the war with purpose and knowledge of a time that awaits us. Every battle and revolution brings us closer to that day that is neither light nor dark, but something we have never known before.
My Kind of Tzaddik
The ‘Tish’ (banquet) of Shmini Arzeret is a time of lots of Lechaim’s (words of Torah accompanied by shots of Vodka). Of course, if Chabad didn’t invent the Lechaim tradition, they certainly perfected it. I was in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City at this festive occasion that marks the culmination of the days of awe. There was a very distinguished speaker at the head table who had written many scholarly books that I remember from my youth. It was exciting to see this great Rabbi and even more exciting when he greeted me in the most unorthodox fashion.
As I sat at the corner of the table trying to discuss some idea with the students across from me among the noise of 60 Jews eating, drinking, and schmoozing I felt the splash of vodka on my head. We stopped talking and turned to the main speaker Rabbi Steinsalz who had just thrown a plastic cup of vodka at the three of us and smiled sweetly like a lovable grandfather. ‘Shudd up over there..Shush..Im trying to speak’.
This was my introduction to Rabbi Steinsalz. As people tried to ‘shush’ the crowd, he continued to discuss the meaning of Shmini Atzeret and explained that it was not a time to learn Torah, but to celebrate with our bride – The Torah. Afterwards I went over to him and asked him, ‘Isn’t that more appropriate for Shavuot, the anniversary of when we received the Torah for the first time, and were not so aware of what was contained in it? Don’t they say now it’s like a second marriage, this time one with more knowledge of who it is we married? He gave my face a gentle slap and answered with his Albert Einstein voice ‘Ve are in love, silly, the commandment now is to be happy and to dance with your bride..He continued to slap me..your in love!’…Ok, I guess I understood.
Now that’s my kind of Tzaddik, a man who can throw vodka at you and then slap you on the face. Sometimes those things are more meaningful than another speech.
A Picture on the Wall
There is nothing like being at the kotel for the climax of the chagim, When you see all of the diverse streams of Judaism mixed together in a soup of souls dancing beneath the angels as the birds fly in circles above it makes you feel like a tiny drop which seen from afar becomes the face of the Almighty.
Sparks From Israel
Yom Kippur in Israel
The delivery man arranges to bring your bookcase to you after the Chag and wishes you an easy fast ‘Tzom Kal’. The security guard at the passport office answers a few questions you had and he too wishes you a Tzom Kal. So does your neighbor, the shop owner and the street cleaner. Your workplace has a Sukkah and Etrogs are available for the employees to purchase. Your co-workers put customers on hold, in order to finish their Torah discussion. After work, half of the staff stays behind to do Selichos. In the exile, we are like a secret society, but here it feels so good to be in a normal environment.
A friend of mine recalled how when he was young a gentile would ask him what his Nationality was and he would say ‘Jewish.’ His friend would answer, ‘not your religion, your Nationality!’ The truth is, we were never meant to be a ‘religion’, nor were we meant to be a Hebrew speaking Scandinavia. Whether one is religious or not, our National holidays were written long before 1948 in the constitution of the Holy Torah. As our Religious Nation takes shape and comes of age, may we be privileged to see its light revealed and reflected to the world thirsty for its light.
Yom Kippur in Israel
The delivery man arranges to bring your bookcase to you after the Chag and wishes you an easy fast ‘Tzom Kal’. The security guard at the passport office answers a few questions you had and he too wishes you a Tzom Kal. So does your neighbor, the shop owner and the street cleaner. Your workplace has a Sukkah and Etrogs are available for the employees to purchase. Your co-workers put customers on hold, in order to finish their Torah discussion. After work, half of the staff stays behind to do Selichos. In the exile, we are like a secret society, but here it feels so good to be in a normal environment.
A friend of mine recalled how when he was young a gentile would ask him what his Nationality was and he would say ‘Jewish.’ His friend would answer, ‘not your religion, your Nationality!’ The truth is, we were never meant to be a ‘religion’, nor were we meant to be a Hebrew speaking Scandinavia. Whether one is religious or not, our National holidays were written long before 1948 in the constitution of the Holy Torah. As our Religious Nation takes shape and comes of age, may we be privileged to see its light revealed and reflected to the world thirsty for its light.
