The Kuzari was the king of Khazar, a city whose king and inhabitants are said to have converted to Judaism after lengthy discussion with a Jewish sage.

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69. The Rabbi: “I can answer that in just a few short sentences.  Do you ascribe the wisdom you detect in the anatomy of an ant to the influence of a star, a galaxy or something other than God Almighty?”

70. The Kuzari: “The anatomy of an ant is nature’s doing.”

71. The Rabbi: “And what do you mean by ‘nature’?”

72. The Kuzari: “The scientists call it a kind of force.  I admit, I don’t have the foggiest idea what they mean by that, but I”m sure the scientists know what they are talking about.”

73. The Rabbi: “Believe me, they don’t know any more than we do.  Aristotle vaguely defined nature as the primary cause that makes things move or rest, as long as these changes are inherent — not accidental — to these things.”¹

74. The Kuzari: “Aristotle seems to be saying that an object that changes inherently — in and of itself –[like a plant that grows or dies] — has a cause that makes it change.  He calls that cause “nature.”

75. The Rabbi: “Aristotle drew a sharp distinction between things that move or rest accidentally [through outside influences] and things that move or rest inherently, by nature.”

76. The Kuzari: “If so, [that nature is the cause that makes things grow,] I realize that these thinkers have misled us with the definition of the word “nature.”  They have us believe that nature has the power to think and act, just as God does.  Why don’t we just say ‘God’ instead of ‘nature’?”

77. The Rabbi:  “You are right.  When we speak of ‘the wisdom of nature’ we mean the wisdom of the Creator.  Still, the term ‘nature’ should not be cast aside completely; it does have some validity.  The sun, moon, and stars, all have inherent powers, such as warming, cooling, providing moisture and dryness.  They do these things, not because they have a will and can think on their own, but because God appointed them to perform these functions.  However, the composition of all living things, their ability to reproduce, and their will can be attributed only to the All-knowing, Almighty God.  You may use the term ‘nature’ to describe the functions of the sun, moon, and the planets which affect the climate of the world, as long as you don’t credit them with any intelligence.  A man and woman who have a child did not actually create and form the baby.  They only supplied the seed which is the raw material which is shaped by the Creator into the human form…”

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From “The Kuzari - Part 1″ Translated by Avraham Yaakov Finkel

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Many things are happening right now, in a global way, and in a personal way.

“The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me.  The last of one’s freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance.”

- Victor Frankl

כל העולם כולו גשר צר מאוד, והעיקר - לא לפחד כלל
Kol ha’olam kulo gesher tzar me’od, v’ha’ikar lo lefahed klal.
“All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to fear at all.”

- Rebbe Nachman of Breslev

In these uncertain times, we have great opportunity and need for strengthening our emunah, our trust in Hashem.

One of my rabbis once said to me:
“Pray like everything is in G-d’s hands;
take action like everything’s in your hands.”

I found this “children’s” book of poetry most enlightening.  Here’s one that I enjoyed and reminded me of Rabbi Lazer Brody’s book on emuna. “The Worry Worm.”

Worry
by Jeff Moss
from “The Sesame Street Book of Poetry”

I worry that my fur’s not straight
Or that my shoes aren’t tied.
I worry playing hide-and-seek
I’ll find no place to hide.

I worry that I might get lost
Out playing in the park.
I worry if my night-light breaks
I’ll be stuck in the dark.

I worry that I might be late,
I know I’d better hurry.
Sometimes I worry oh so much
I’m worried that I worry.

“I am certain that the stock market will rise.”
“I doubt whether we’ll ever pull out of this financial mess.”

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In the chumash (five books of Moses) there is no word for “certainty” and no word for “doubt.” The Hebrew word “vaada’ut” and “safek” (certainty and doubt) are of rabbinic origin.  What can we learn from this?

First, we need to know that the Torah is the foundation, the blueprint of existence.  The Torah preceded Creation; Creation springs forth from Torah.

Therefore, certainty and doubt are not real; they are human fabrications.  They are not part of Torah.

The Torah is Truth.
In a world entirely filled with Truth,
there is no room for certainty
because there is no such thing as doubt.

Hashem is the source of my sustenance. Truth.

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p.s. Why do you think our holy Rabbis of blessed memory needed to employ the terminology of “certainty” and “doubt”?

This wonderful cartoon by Dovid Taub is brought to you by Chabad.org <-- Go there for a larger version.

“The man who constantly frets over his own sins and those of the world should constantly forgive himself and the world.

By doing so he will draw forth forgiveness and the light of kindness…and bring joy to G-d and man…And he will earn the blessing reserved for Abraham: “there is no generation without one like Abraham.”
- Rav Avraham Kook (Erpalei Tohar, 53-4)

This week’s parsha is “Lech Lecha.”

This is a wonderful lecture on raising children.

Rabbi Kelemen compares traditional Jewish texts with mountains of modern scientific data to bring us these most precious teachings.  He is a passionate and funny speaker.  I always laugh when I hear him speak. Enjoy!

To Kindle a Soul (stream) (download)

brought to you by SimpleToRemember.com

Better late than never…

Last week’s parsha was parshas Noach.

Question: Why did G-d destroy the world with a flood?  Of all the ways to bring punishment to the wicked people of that generation, why a flood?

Answer: The Lubavitcher rebbe zt”l brings a connection between the 40 days and nights of the flooding and the 40 se’ah (measures) of water needed to create a ritual bath for purification.  Thus, he says, the flood was not just a punishment; it was a process of purification.

Question: Why does the Torah say “And the rain was on the Earth” in one place, and later says “And the flood was on the Earth”?  Was it rain or was it flood?

Answer: Rashi explains that not only did G-d wait 120 years to send the flood, but even if the people had turned from their evil ways at the last moment, when it had just begun to rain, G-d would have turned the rain into gishme bracha “rains of blessing” instead of rains of destruction.  Since they didn’t change, the rains turned to flood.

We also learn from the ritual bath that starting to turn from one’s evil ways requires only a single moment of commitment, just as a ritual bath requires only a single moment of immersion to render the person or vessel purified.  “The Holy One said, open for me a door as big as a needle’s eye and I will open for you a door through which may enter tents…”¹

When a person commits to purify himself or herself, he has to do two things: sur m’ra v’aseh tov.

1. Turn away from the bad
2. Do good

Usually this is thought of for the individual person.  However, we also see this in the process of purifying the world.

Everything that happened outside of the ark was sur m’ra Turn from evil.  The generation of the flood were destroyed because of their behavior in three ways:

1. Ervah - Licentiousness (to put it lightly)
2. Gezel - Theft
3. Avodah zarah - Idol worship

Flooding the world, literally wiped out the entire culture of the people of the world, including the animals who had also become corrupt and started interbreeding.  This is sur m’ra Turn from evil.

Everything that happened inside the ark was aseh tov Do good.  For more than a year Noah and his family are charged with the tremendous responsibility of caring for the animals in the ark.  There was no vacation or days off in which they could rest from the kindness needed for the animals.

However, the chesed kindness of Noah and his family toward the animals in the ark exceeds any kindness that we see today.  Whereas we can care for our pets or farm animals, Noah had to care for the only remaining creatures of each species - thus the fate of each species was in his hands.  Caring for even two lions can be said to have been caring for the entire species of lions.  Since G-d does not watch over individual animals, but does watch over their entire species, this is a true life-saving chessed on Noah’s part.

The other Good that was done in the ark was the separation between men and women.  Whereas today many people hear the phrase “separation between men and women” and automatically think: “sexist!” - let’s think about this for a moment.

Why did Noah have to care for animals and do kindness for over a year? Why didn’t God have him do some other good, such as prayer or study Torah?  The answer is that the kindness towards the animals was a type of Good that was a tikun a rectification for the evil of theft and violence that led to the flood.

Since the generation of the flood was corrupted with immoral sexual behavior, the rectification for their behavior was made through the separation between men and women in the ark.

We are told that immersion in the ritual bath is similar to a baby leaving the mother’s womb.  Thus the ark was the a new creation of the world in the “womb.”  This new world was founded on a proper balance between kindness and self-restraint that is necessary for all new relationships and endeavors.

Thus we learn three main lessons here:

1. G-d is open to us up until the latest moment, waiting to turn our “flood” into “rains of blessing.”
2. When we want to purify ourselves, we have to sur m’ra “Turn from evil” and aseh tov “Do good.”
3. When we want to establish a new relationship, or create a new organization or project, it must be founded with a proper balance between kindness and appropriate self-restraint.

May we find that healthy balance, and may we merit the final redemption through G-d’s true kindness. Amen.

“What is the way of loving [G-d] and fearing Him? When a person ponders His great and wondrous works and creations he immediately loves, praises, and extols and is filled with a great desire to know the Supreme Being . . . And when he contemplates these things he immediately is drawn back with great reverence and he realizes that he is a small, insignificant, unenlightened creature standing with a frail intellect in the presence of a Being Who is Perfect in Knowledge”
(Maimonides, Laws of the Foundations of Torah 2:2)

Excerpt from “The Noahide Commandments”

By Rabbi Yoel Schwartz

It is stated in the book of Zechariah that after the Temple will be restored, during the holiday of Succoth all the nations of the world will make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to bow down before G-d. (Zechariah 14:1-21)

It is worthwhile for a person to take his vacation during this time. By doing so, a Noahide can use this free time to study, to observe nature and to meet with fellow Noahides for mutual prayer with emphasis on world peace just as Israelites did when the Temple existed and, as sacrifices were made for the welfare of all the nations, to pray for the coming of the Messiah who will amend the ways of the world.

Mon., October 13, 2008 - Tues., October 21, 2008.

Click Here for information!