Sukkot – Praying for what?

his is a busy time of year. We just finished the High Holydays and now we’re right into Sukkot. Since nothing in the Torah is there by chance, there must be some reason that Rosh HaShanna, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot fall so close together.

The relationship between Rosh Ha’Shanna and Yom Kippur is clear. On Rosh Ha’Shanna we’re judged based on how well we used our lot in the past year and on how we plan to use our lot next year. Then we have a chance to perform teshuva so that some of our transgressions can be undone on Yom Kippur. But how does Sukkot relate into this?

On the High Holidays, what we’re really praying for is life. Being inscribed in the Book of Life rather than the Book of Death. Who shall live and who shall die… Once that has been determined (and we’re hopefully in the book of life), we can start praying for other things; physical things. But it seems anti-Jewish to associate praying for physical wealth to be associated with a major holiday.

The holiday of Sukkot has always been associated with rain. It falls at the start of Israel’s rainy season, during Sukkot we start to add the line to the Amida “mashiv ha’ruach u’moriv ha’gashem” - “Who makes the wind blow and the rain descend”. What does it mean to pray for rain? In ancient Israel, having rain meant you would have plentiful crops, which means you would eat and be wealthy for the year. If it didn’t rain, you would be poor (and worst case – you would die from starvation). So praying for rain is really praying for wealth.

The Hebrew work for rain is gashem, which comes from the same root as gashmias, which means physical. Today, when we pray for rain, we’re really asking for quality of life.

Of course, at the same time as we’re asking for quality of life, we’re told to leave our luxurious homes and live in a temporary hut for the week. This puts everything into perspective, the only thing we really have, the only think that will really comfort and protect us is G-d. Once we have that correct mindset, there is no harm in being given a good quality of life on top of that.

So tonight, when we eat our first meal of the year in the Sukkah, lets appreciate the quality we have in our lives, and know where that really comes from.

Chag Sameach

Ready for Yom Kippur

Rosh Ha'Shanah is about generalities. We pray for favourable judgements for the entire Jewish people, all of humanity, and all creatures in the universe, because we all stand before G-d in Judgement that day. our actions of the past year, and plan for the new year are taken as a whole and we're judged based on that.

Yom Kippur is different. It's about specifics.

The central prayer on Yom Kippur is the Al Chet, where we bang on our hearts and ask for forgives for a variety of sins. We list out 44 different types of sins; sins committed through harsh speech, sins committed in business, sins committed with haughty eyes. Such a prayer forces us to think about the specific things we have done in the past year that we seek forgiveness for.

I decided that my Yom Kippur preparation for this year would be to study the Al Chet prayer. Through this study, I have made up a sheet that lists each line of the prayer, and under each line lists a specific items that I am asking forgiveness for. Sometimes it is a bad habit, or a character flaw I want to work on, other times it refers to a specific incident.

This sheet will be folded up and kept in my machzor, so every time we say Al Chet over Yom Kippur, I can take it our and read it along with the prayer. Every time I bang my chest I'll be asking G-d for forgiveness for a very specific sin.

This process has forced me to really examine myself. Some of the 44 sins were very hard to come up with an example for, but by forcing myself to find something about that type of sin that I need to work on, I have laid the groundwork for self improvement for the coming year.

May the gates of heaven be open to the teshuva of you all and all of your loved ones, so that you may be sealed in the Good Book of Life for the coming year.

Gmar chasima tova. Wishing you all an easy fast.

My theme for the new year – Selichah

Each year, I try to choose one character trait to improve on. Last year it was charity; the year before it was prayer. This year it will be selichah, forgiveness.

Usually when we think about forgiveness, we think about forgiving others when they have wronged you; not carrying a grudge. This is actually not something I generally have a problem with. I don’t tend to carry grudges; I forgive people when they ask for it; of course there is always room for improvement. There are three other aspects of forgiveness, which I feel I need to focus on.

First, I need to work on asking others for forgiveness. This is one of the hardest things to do. It entails saying you’re sorry and asking the injured party to forgive you. Saying you’re sorry is when you’re wrong (as apposed to when you accidentally did something) is very difficult, for everyone, including me. The problem lies in the fact that it means admitting you were wrong, and we all like to think of ourselves as perfect creatures living in an imperfect world. And there in lies the problem. Humans are not perfect; only G-d is perfect. Being able to admit our imperfections by seeking forgiveness is a way of sanctifying G-d’s name through the acknowledgement that G-d is the only perfect being in this universe.

Second is being able to ask myself for forgiveness. As hard as it is to ask others for forgiveness, it’s even harder (and more important) to ask yourself.

Finally, just as I grant forgiveness when others seek it of me, I need to be able to grant it to myself when I seek it. If I err, I need to acknowledge it, by asking myself for forgiveness, and then forgive myself so that I don’t tear myself up over it. Finally, I need to use that mistake as a stepping stone to improve whatever character flaw lead to the mistake.

I am going to try to use some the techniques of Mussar to improve this character trait. I’ll write about that later.

Parashat Ha’azinu – The greatness of Moses

This week, we read the second last parashat in the Torah. As we read the Torah’s closing chapters, we see Moses take a different course. Until now, Moses has either taught or re-taught G-d’s commandments, or rebuked the people for their misdeeds. In this week’s portion, Moses breaks into song.

This is not the first time that Moses sings; the most famous being Shir Ha’Yam, Song by the Sea, which Moses lead the people in singing after crossing the Sea of Reads. That song was in response to seeing a miracle of unparalleled greatness; it was a song of religious ecstasy. But the generation that sang with Moses at the Sea is now dead, and Moses knows he will soon follow. In that light, it seems like a strange time to sing. But there in lies the greatness of Moses.

Give ear, O you heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. Because I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. (Deut 32:1-4)

Here, Moses refers to G-d as “the Rock”, while not uncommon, if we remember that Moses’ downfall came when he tried to get water from the rock, it seems all the more surprising that Moses would choose to use this term to describe G-d.

In his song, which is sung immediately preceding his death Moses completely accepts Divine justice: He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Instead of avoiding this painful topic, Moses addresses it head-on, displaying absolute acceptance of God and His will. This is yet another indication of the spiritual level which Moses achieves.

When a Jew hears good news, they praise G-d with a blessing ending with Ha’Tov vHa’Metiv – who is good and does good. When we hear bad news we say the blessing ending with daan v’emet – the True Judge. The sages teach us that we are suppose to pronounce each of these blessings with equal enthusiasm, because in both cases we recognize G-d as the source of all and completely accept Divine judgment. Most of us find it very hard to do this – it takes a man of Moses’ level to be able to do it.

Shabbat Shalom

How did I do?

As we’re about to enter another Rosh Ha’Shanah, I though I should try to look back on the past year, and see how I did.

Last Rosh HaShanah, I proposed a theme for the new year. The theme was focused on improving myself through the performance of just one mitzvoh. The mitzvoh I choose was the very important mitzvah of tzdukah, charity. I wanted to give more and give better.

On year later, looking back on things, I can honestly say that the “year of tzdukah” was successful. I am giving more charity, I am actively looking for places where my charity will be best used and I am giving it out of joy, not obligation.

I am also giving in the form of my time, by volunteering for the Board of Governors and various committees at my Shul.

My theme also seemed to rub off on those around me. Mandy has always been very charitable, but now we are both paying attention to al the mass mailings we get asking for money, where as before they would have gone right in the trash. We both try to never turn away a request (as long as the charity is reasonable).

Of course, there is still much room to improve. My donation levels still fall well short of the 10% required by Jewish law, and I’m giving through agencies, rather than trying to help the needy directly. These are obviously things that I will continue to work on this coming year.

Shanah Tova

Rosh Hashanah

The concept that people generally relate to Rosh Hashana is that of reward and punishment. The idea being, that your relative levels of reward and punishment for the upcoming year, will be based on the mitzvoth and sins your committed in the past year.

The Talmud is quite clear, that this is not the correct way to look at things. The Talmud says that mitzvoth cannot be rewarded in this world; the commentators explain that there is not enough pleasure in this world to compensate you for the performance of even a single mitzvah.

The Book of Life and Book of Death don’t relate 1:1 to good and evil. Many good people die every year, and many evil ones live. Good people who have not yet earned the merit for entrance into the world to come are written into the Book of Life to compensate them for past good deeds, and to give them a chance to do more good deeds so that they can merit entrance into the World to Come in the future.

So then just what is the judgment being don e in Rosh Hashana? The best way to look at it is as an investment model. On Rosh Hashana it is decided how much Divine energy will be invested in you this year. Just like the amount of grant money that will be granted to a researcher is based on how well he used the money last year and how good a plan he has for the coming year; on Rosh HaShana, we all stand before G-d and are Judged on how well we used the opportunities of the past year, then present our plan to G-d on how we will use what is given to us this year.

Remember that the ultimate goal is to earn as much pleasure as possible in the world to come, and the way to do that is by performing mitzvoth in this world. So question is, will G-d hand us these opportunities, or will we have to work harder to find them?

This year, when we all stand before G-d may we receive a judgment that will afford us many opportunities to earn a favorable place in the world to come.

Regret vs. Guilt

On of the key steps in true teshuva is that we have to regret the mistakes we have made. Amongst Jews, the concept of regret is often confused with the concept of guilt. However, there is a fundamental difference between the two.

Regret and guilt are not the same thing. Guilt creates paralysis. Regret creates redefinition. Guilt is passive - e.g. I can't deal with this right now. I think I'll eat chocolate and go to sleep. Regret is active - e.g. I really feel terrible about what I did, what can I do to make things right. Regret leads to release from the prison of self-limiting behavior. Guilt goes nowhere, and is so unpleasant that we tend to blame anyone available -- just to liberate ourselves from its violent grip on our souls.

On Rosh HaShana, we should not feel guilt about the mistakes we have made in the past year, but we do need to regret then, because regret helps prevent you from making the same mistakes again.

Time Travel through Teshuva

The theme of the High Holidays is Teshuva (usually translated as “repentance”, but more accurately as “return”). According to tradition, before G-d created the world, he crated teshuva. The usual interpretation of this is that when G-d created the world, he knew that man was fallible, he would make mistakes, he would sin. So before G-d created the world, he put in place a process in which man can return to G-d after sinning.

This is a deep and meaningful interpretation, but there is another very interesting one, a metaphysical one, that I wanted to look at. If teshuva was created before the universe, then it is not bound by the limitations of the universe. Time, on the other hand, was created by G-d as part of this universe. So time is a restriction of the universe, and anything that is not bound by the universe is not bound by time.

This is why we say that G-d can see the future. G-d exists outside the limitations of the universe, so is not bound by time. It’s not that G-d can see the future; it’s that to G-d, there is no such thing as time. It’s a difficult metaphysical concept to understand, but fundamental to Jewish belief.

In the same way, teshuva exists outside of the bounds of the universe, so it is not restricted by the law that time only flows in one direction. While we’re not able to undo our past actions, through true teshuva, we are actually able to travel back in time and undo the negative effects of those actions. Through teshuva, we are not only forgiven for our sins; when we do teshuva honestly, God reverses time and opens doors that we may have locked years ago, erasing the negative impact of our choices.

In this way, we’re Rosh Ha’Shana is actually an opportunity to engage in time travel, but only if we do teshuva properly. Now if that doesn’t encourage people to come to Shul, I don’t know what will.

The Month of Elul – Why do we need to prepare?

The month leading up to Rosh HaShana is a time of soul searching and preparation. Ideally, I would have liked the month to have been filled with posts here at Pintele Yid, but my little Jonah has made regular posting difficult. But in the final few days on the month, I wanted to try to get some reflections committed in writing.

Rosh HaShana is the Day of Judgment, the day when we stand before G-d and he the actions of the past year are judged and a verdict rendered that will decide what our fate will be in the next year. Surely if you were on trial in a human court, you would spend some time preparing, and not just show up on the court date and wing it. The same reasoning should apply here, if we are to successfully plead our case before G-d, we need to be prepared.

So why don’t people prepare? My guess is that people view Rosh HaShana as the start of the case, not the end of it. They view Yom Kippur as the end. Whatever verdict is rendered on Rosh HaShana can be appealed on Yom Kippur. People rely on that. Of course, this technique would never be applied in a human court. “I’ll take my chances at trial, and if I don’t like the verdict, there’s always the appeal.”

By spending the month of Elul preparing for the Day of Judgment, we can obtain a favorable verdict, and then user Yom Kippur to further improve our lot for the coming year.

I challenge everyone to take these last few days to prepare. Examine your past year and see where you have made mistakes, understand what your are asking G-d to forgive. Then when you pray, pray for forgiveness of specific acts, not generalities.

This is the path towards being inscribes in the Good Book of Life.

Parashat Nitzavim – Vayelech

The week we read a double Torah portion, which marks the final section of the book of Deuteronomy, and the Torah. We have reached the last day of Moses’ life, and we read his final address to the people. It is here that the reigns of leadership are passed from Moses to Joshua.

While Joshua was a worthy leader, how can anyone compare to Moses? In comparing the two, the Talmud (and Rashi) describe Moses as being like the sun, and Joshua like the moon. The common interpretation is about the relative luminance of the two; the moon is the brightest item in the night sky, but it pales in comparison to the brightness of the sun. This is not what the intended interpretation. The Talmud was refereeing to the source of the brightness. The sun’s brightness comes from within, but the moon reflects the brightness around it.

The light of Moses -- the greatness of Moses -- was his status as representative of God. With his death that light would be spread out among the people. The only way to get the light to shine forth was when the people gather and form a whole. The light had now become the domain of the entire nation. This is represented by the mutual responsibility, and the spiritual reciprocity which it implies. All future leaders (including Joshua) would reflect that light. You could say that upon Moses’ death, the Jews went from being the people of Moses, to the nation of Israel.

This week’s portion is also significant because it contains the final of the 613 commandments of the Torah; that every Jew should write a Torah for himself. After giving 612 commandments on how to live, and how to bring G-d into the world, we are told that we must each write them down and bring them into our personal lives. The Rabbi’s teach that this commandment can be fulfilled by writing one letter of a Torah scroll, since if one letter in the scroll is incorrect, the entire scroll is invalid. Writing a Torah is a difficult process, one that not every one is trained in, so this mitzvoh can be fulfilled in a different way. By hiring a trained scribe to write the Torah on your behalf (or even one letter on your behalf), you have fulfilled the mitzvoh.

Earlier this year, I sponsored the writing of an aliya in the new Torah scroll that my Shul is commissioning. In such, I have fulfilled this final commandment of the Torah. In contrast, the first commandment in the Torah is to “be fruitful and multiply”, to have children with your wife. This commandment I also fulfilled this year.

As we approach Rosh Hashana, and we reflect on your actions of the past year, I can take pride in the fact that I have fulfilled the first and the last mitzvot in the Torah. With these book ends in place, I anxiously await the opportunity to fill in the intermediate mitzvoth in the coming year

Shabbat Shalom

Parahat Ki Tavo

This week’s Torah portion starts with an interesting commandment. Upon entering the promise land, the Jews are to take the first of the fruits and bring them as an offering to G-d.

Durring the 40 years in the desert, the Israeli people had a very clear world view; everything comes from G-d. This was clear because they saw it, the food came down from the heavens, a well of water followed them around, and their clothes did not wear out. In that type of environment, it is easy to understand that everything comes from G-d. But when they enter the land of Israel, things will change. No longer will their food come directly from G-d. They will now have to work the land to get grain and fruits; G-d, of course, still guides things to ensure that the land “flows with milk and honey”.

When the children of Israel entered the land, so close to fulfilling their destiny, the most crucial of questions emerged: Would they see the fruits of their labor independent of God? Or would they bring the fruits to Jerusalem part and parcel of their religious experience?

This is, of course, the fundamental question of Judaism. What is G-d’s place in the world? Does G-d exist in the spiritual realm, with the physical world being independent? Or does G-d permeate all aspects of the world? The Jewish position is the latter, but to many of us seem to live as if the former were the truth.

After the miraculous victory of the 6 Day War in 1967, the popular slogan heard amongst Jews was “By our hand and our might”. This was a complete denial of G-d role in the physical world. The near destruction of Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War was G-d way of sending a wake up call; “See how close to destruction you come by your hand.” It wasn’t until G-d intervened, that the war turned into another miraculous victory for Israel.

As the children of Israel prepared for their entrance into Land of Israel, they were given a strategy which will allow the stay to be enduring and meaningful. God provided the tools needed to create a society with a God consciousness -- a society which will have tents of study and fields of labor.

But no schism could exist between the two. God must be found in the fields, marketplaces and study-halls. Every day revelation would be experienced. Holiness would permeate the streets and fields. This is the goal of the commandment of the first fruits.

Shabbat Shalom