The Fireplace of Our Souls - Terumah/Zachor

The Fireplace of Our Souls
Parshat Terumah / Zachor

Extreme heat exhausts a person. The heat overwhelms the person, making it difficult to breath and think clearly. The result is, being overheated with is life threatening.

Extreme cold is just as dangerous but a different animal. It slowly penetrates your bones, and as time goes on, it sets in deeper and deeper till it overtakes you. After experiencing the frigid temperatures in Texas this week, we have all felt the deep and bone chilling cold and how it touches the depths of our being. It leaves you feeling cold, empty and without energy.

And then... thank G-d for fireplaces. It warms, comforts and gives us hope and solace.

This week we read the Torah portion of Terumah which speaks of the building of the first House of G-d, also known as the Tabernacle or Mishkan. The Maftir reading (additional reading) will be about the special Mitzvah to remember the evil nation of Amalek and how they attacked the Jewish people. The reason we read this additional reading is, that as this is the Shabbat before the festive holiday of Purim, we recount the origins of anti-Semitism in its truest form, the anti-Israel/anti Jewish hatred that began with the Amalekites thousands of years ago. Haman, the villain of the Purim story was an Amalekite.

We are taught in the writings of the Kabbalah, that Amalek is an extremely powerful and dangerous Kelipah (unholy power or energy). It represents the indifference to G-d and holiness. It is represented by the apathy, cold and frigid response to anything holy and G-dly. Judaism and our connection to G-d, is supposed to be full of life, fire and enthusiasm, and Amalek represents the exact opposite. The verse states (Devarim 25:17-18) "Remember what Amalek did on the way when you were leaving Egypt. That he happened upon you on the way, and he struck those of you who hindmost". The Torah uses the words Asher Karcha Baderech - that he happened upon you, as the word Kar also means ice or cold. 

Indifference and apathy is Amalek. It seeps into your bones and being, and leaves you feeling cold, empty and void.

There is a beautiful story of the Bal Shem Tov (Russia 1698-1760) about this idea. The Bal Shem Tov taught that everything in life, and for that matter, everything we see or hear is Hashgacha Pratis-Divine providence. As such, he taught, that everything one sees or hears must be a lesson in how we conduct our lives. One day the students of the Bal Shem Tov were traveling through the country side when they saw a river that had frozen over. They observed that someone had carved out an image of an idol in the ice. They were extremely disturbed. 

When they returned home they asked their teacher "what lesson should we learn from what we just saw carved out in the ice?" The Rebbe responded "Water is the source of life and blessing. But when water turns to ice, even this source of life and blessing can turn into idolatry". In other words, when we become apathetic and indifferent, the ice begins to set in.


What is the antidote to this? The answer is to build a Mishkan- a dwelling place for Hashem. This sanctuary exists in each and every one of us. It exists in our souls and our hearts. When we dedicate ourselves to building bridges, helping others, doing Mitzvot, we are throwing logs onto our very own fireplace of our souls. This is why the Mitzvah of building the Mishkan in our portion begins with the idea of Terumah - each individual getting involved in their own way; offering gifts, donations and volunteering to help in whatever way possible. Because, when we get involved, contribute, and ignite our souls, we will have averted the freezing temperatures of Amalek.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Y. Marrus

A Helping Hand - Parshat Mishpatim

A Helping Hand
Parshat Mishpatim

Our weekly portion of Mishpatim is well known for the many laws contained in it. To be exact fifty-three Mitzvot are articulated in our Parshah, the majority of them commandments that are focused on Bein Adam La'chavero - between human beings. As such, Mishpatim is the basis for the laws of Torts and Damages, which fills tomes of the Talmud. But there are also many practical and spiritual lessons to be derived from each of these seemingly mundane legal laws.

The Torah tells us (Exodus, 23:5) "If you see the donkey of someone you hate crouching under its burden, would you refrain from helping him? - you shall help repeatedly with him".

Simply put, this commandment is telling us to help others, even if we don't like them. But as we examine the verse there are so many questions. Firstly, how can we HATE someone? Aren't we supposed to show love and compassion for each individual? Secondly, why does the Torah tell us that we must repeatedly help "WITH HIM"?

The Rambam-Maimonides (Spain 1138-1204) explains that this must be talking about someone who we have a valid reason to hate, otherwise the Torah would not even validate such a statement. As such, we must be talking about a wicked person. Rashi commentary (France 1040-1105) explains further that although you may really dislike this person, are you going to let you hatred of the individual take precedence over helping them in their time of need? Other commentaries explain, that the idea here is, that by working together you will be forced to communicate, and that will begin to mend the relationship between the two people.

Perhaps, we can also see in this verse a more personal lesson, as it relates to the way we interact with our children. Sometimes children do things that are wrong. They need to be disciplined and set straight. As parents, we are upset, disappointed or angered by the decisions our children have made. Yet, while we are upset we also have the responsibility to love them, parent, guide and lift up our children so they will not make the same mistake again. While we have every right to be upset and need to discipline our child, we have to be careful not to let that overshadow our relationship with them. We need to put them first and make sure they are not "crouching under the load" but rather "you shall help repeatedly with him".

The goal is to lift up our children and empower them to grow and learn from their mistakes and then forge forward into the beautiful future that awaits them.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Y. Marrus

New Vistas - Parshat Yitro

New Vistas - Parshat Yitro

In this week's Torah portion we are introduced to Yitro, the father-in-law of Moshe. Yitro (Jethro) had been an important minister, distinguished personality and advisor to Pharaoh. His daughter Tziporah had married Moshe in Midian and had remained there with her children while Moshe went on his mission to free his brethren. 

The Torah states (Exodus 18:5) "Vayavo Yitro Choten Moshe, U'Banav V'Ishto El Moshe El Hamidbar - Jethro, the father-in-law of Moshe, came to Moshe with his sons and wife , to the wilderness."

Rashi commentary (France 1040-1105) explains that notwithstanding Yitro's wealth and affluence in Midian, he chose to join the Jewish people in the wilderness, a place where life was not easy. Yitro was de-facto the first one to convert to Judaism in the Torah. He left everything behind to join Judaism. The Talmud (Zevachim 116a) offers differing opinions as to exactly when it was that Yitro arrived and what it was that inspired him to do so. One opinion stated is, that he arrived before the giving of the Torah inspired by the war with Amalek and the Exodus, while another opinion is that he was inspired by the Ten Commandments and their transformational teachings.

Regardless, of what inspired him, Yitro was a truly unique man. He was not only special because of his intellect and practical knowledge, but it was much more than that. We see later on in this portion, how his groundbreaking idea of setting up a judicial system, became the basis for all court systems and Bet Din (Rabbinical Courts) to this very day. He is so unique because he was willing to embrace new possibilities and vistas and challenge himself. To leave your home and job and everything you know, and go to the Midbar (wilderness) to start anew, is something that takes much courage and fortitude, not to mention pure guts.

One of the most beautiful and inspiring things about children is their ability to wake up each day and embrace it, without the baggage of the previous one. Even if they misbehave, fail, or are given a consequence for their behavior, they bounce back so quickly, and move on. Children go about their lives with such innocence and adaptability, that it leaves us, the adults just shaking our heads. We have not even processed the consequence that we may have given our students or children, and they have already moved on, leaving us behind in the dust shaking our heads.

Not so with adults. We hold on to grudges and baggage, sometimes for decades. We feel extreme shame, fear, judgement, and the inability to let go and move on. Very often, that is what is holding us back from reaching our full potential. 

Yitro was an incredibly special person, because he was willing to challenge himself. He was willing to leave everything behind for the truth. He was willing to explore new vistas without getting bogged down by his own history. Was it easy? I am certain that it was not. But Yitro embraced his destiny and earned a place and a name in our holy Torah. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Y. Marrus