Seeing Yad Hashem in the World

Remember those "Magic Eye" books?
A few years back, these books were all the rage. You've seen them – pictures of seemingly blurry blotches of nothing, but if you look at the picture in just the right way from the proper distance, you begin to see that there's a picture inside the picture, hiding in plain sight.
If you never figured out how to properly "see" the hidden image, these books are infuriating. After all, your friends stare at a page for a second and then say, "Whoa! Look at that!" And no matter how long you look, you can't see anything at all. But it's not that you can't see the picture. You're looking straight at it. You just haven't learned how to look at it in the manner which will allow you to see the picture inside the picture. With enough practice, a person can indeed learn to see the picture in the picture.
These Magic Eye books are a great metaphor for spiritual life.
We live our lives knowing that God plays an intimate, direct role in our lives, aware of the fact that God's firm grasp continues to guide klal yisrael. And yet, we cannot see what's right in front of our eyes. Like those "magic" pictures, the keys lies in learning how to look for what we see but cannot identify. How can we learn to see the Hand of God in the world? Rav Kook, commenting on a beautiful Aggadah, provides an fascinating suggestion.
The Gemara (erachot 58a) tells the story of ben Zoma, and the proper attitude towards the acts of kindness that others perform for us.

He used to say: What does a good guest say? 'How much trouble my host has taken for me! How much meat he has set before me! How much wine he has set before me! How many cakes he has set before me! And all the trouble he has taken was only for my sake!' But what does a bad guest say? 'How much after all has mine host put himself out? I have eaten one piece of bread, I have eaten one slice of meat, I have drunk one cup of wine! All the trouble which my host has taken was only for the sake of his wife and his children!' What does Scripture say of a good guest? "Remember that you magnify his works, where of men have sung." (Job 35:24)  But of a bad guest it is written: "Men do therefore fear him; [he regards not any that are wise of heart]". (37:24)

It's so easy to write off the things that other people do for us, as his "bad guest" so easily does. After all, they didn't make the effort for us - they made if for themselves. But all too often, we take this attitude not with our hosts, but with those we love the most - a spouse, a parent, a sibling or friend - we just take them for granted, which we should never allow ourselves to do. If we took the time to focus on the effort that goes into meeting our daily needs, and appreciating the good that others do on our behalf, we'd be much happier, content and more fulfilled.
It's a beautiful Gemara. But Rav Kook, in his commentary Ein Ayah on the Aggadah, sees ben Zoma's lesson as a critical key to seeing God's hand in the world.
Rav Kook begins his essay by noting that the issue of whether to believe in God's Hand in the world or not is not an intellectual question. It's not a matter than can be proved or disproved. "Rather, these two [attitudes] are dependent on the condition of the soul, whether for good or for bad…" How then do we learn to see God's goodness in the world? We do this through practice, by learning to see the good in those around us.

…the pure soul, which is ready to do good, will look upon the Divine influence with a good eye, for his soul will see that God's will is only to bring good. And where does this goodness come from, if not from the Divine light that is good and bestows good. Therefore, he will be certain that all is done for the good, and those seemingly negative events in the world have an ultimate positive end.

In essence, the way we look at the world at large is the very same way that we'll see the people who surround us. If we see God's goodness in the world, we'll also see that goodness in the actions of our fellow man. And, if we refuse to see the Hand of Hashem in the world, we won't see goodness or kindness in the things others do for us either.
Yet, the opposite rule also applies. If we can learn to see the goodness in the small things, that positive attitude will spread as well to the way we look at the world. In essence, if we can learn to not only see, but appreciate the small acts of kindness that others do for us in life, we'll train ourselves not only to see small acts of goodness in the world, but the big ones as well. In a nutshell, the more goodness we learn to see, the more we'll see it all around us.
How many kindnesses do we allow to go unnoticed? How many times has a loved one gone out of his or her way on our behalf, and we just took it for granted? How many times has a neighbor done us that small favor – one which we forgot to acknowledge? Think about the small kindnesses built into the fabric of daily life: someone cooked us dinner (and if you cooked it, odds are that someone else earned it.) Someone made sure to post the schedule of davening in shul. Someone took the time to ensure that the community tiyyul arrangements were properly addressed. The list goes on and on. And it's not their job. They weren't doing it anyway. (That's what ben Zoma's "bad guest" says, remember?) They did us a kindness, and we didn't even notice.
And then we wonder why we cannot see the larger, hidden good, when we fail to pay attention to the obvious acts of kindness happening right in front of us!
How then can we learn to see something we know is there but invisible all the same? Like those "Magic Eye" books, the answer lies in knowing how and what to look for. When we start focusing on all of the good in our lives; when we begin to see the small acts of kindness and goodness that surround us, we'll begin to train our eyes to see that which was already there: the Divine goodness of God, guiding us and bestowing goodness upon us, our families, and Klal Yisrael.

The Right Rosh Hashanah Video

In a previous post, I questioned the wisdom and value of a video produced by Aish Hatorah that featured cool break dancing and great scenes of Yerushalayim, but little religious value. This morning, I saw the Rosh Hashanah video that it could and should have been, produced by the Maccabeats.
I'm pretty sure that the piece will virally make its way through the Jewish world.  It's a powerful example of the strength that these videos can have simply by combining wonderful music, talented singers, clever lyrics and a sense of the story the video can tell.
We tend to compartmentalize our religious lives and our "outside" lives. When we look at the past year and the process of Teshuvah, we place our primary focus on our religious lives: how was my Shemirat Shabbat? Did I speak too much lashon hara? (Of course I did. Who hasn't?) But we don't ask the broader questions: Was I a good, sensitive spouse? Did I live a healthy life? Not only did I go to the shiur, but did I listen and use the time in the best way that I could? Was I a good employee or boss?
Rosh Hashanah really is about all of these questions, and not just how many mitzvot or aveirot I've done over the past year. Teshuvah must be about improving ourselves in all areas of our lives - in shul and yeshiva, but also at home, work, on the subway and at the gym. All represent critical areas of our lives, and all reflect our relationship with God.
This video conveys this powerful message in a strong, but meaningful way. It might even be the perfect video. If only they were filming it depicting life not in Washington Heights or Riverdale, but Tel Aviv or Modiin. Hopefully, someone as talented and insightful as the Maccabeats and their producer will come here and produce similar Hebrew language titles for a public that badly needs meaningful, beautiful, spiritually motivated media.

Orthodoxy in the Age of Groupon

I'm not the greatest at taking care of things exactly on time. For reasons that are not so difficult to understand actually, I usually put off buying my 4 Minim (Lulav, Etrog, etc) until I find myself scrambling to see who's got a set left, and how much it will cost.

Imagine my surprise then, when I opened my email this morning, and found a Groupon (OK, it's not Groupon - it's really a much smaller business called "Group-E" - it Hebrew it's גרופי, which makes more sense), email offering me "top of the line" sets of 4 minim for the whopping price of...59 shekel a set, a discount of 61 shekel off of the normal 120 shekel price. Group-E is Groupon for frum people. What a concept!
I can guess what you're thinking: That seems too low to be true. Actually, I was thinking that. But then again, 120 shekel is about right for a very good set here, and one of the distribution points happens to be right here in Yad Binyamin. Maybe it's worth their while to guarantee the sale. Then again, who knows? Also, in the end I was going to buy a "closed" set for myself without searching through crates and boxes shopping for 4 minim. I'm past the point of going into the shuk and bargaining for the "best" lulav that I can find, searching for minute differences between lulavim. I'm happy buying something good and kosher, and calling it a day.
So I bought three- for myself and my two sons. If the sets are good, which I'm confident they will be, I will have saved a ton of money. And if they're not so great, how much can I really expect for a whopping sum of 177 shekel?

Parshat Netzavim-Vayelech: The Real Peace Process of Teshuvah

Audio Shiur:
Parshat Netzavim-Vayelech: The Real Peace Process of Teshuvah

Moshe's efforts to reach out to the Jewish people before his death, carries a powerful message found in Kli Yakkar for each of us before Rosh Hashanah.

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A Jarring, But True Video

In its efforts to encourage expatriate Israelis to return home, the government of Israel has latched onto a sure bet: Jewish guilt. That's right, come back to Israel, or your children won't really be Jewish.
If you can't understand the video, the grandparents ask their granddaughter, "And do you know what holiday it is?" Hint - see the menorah in the background! Granddaughter doesn't really know. Deep Voiced Israeli Announcer says: "They will always be Israeli. But their children won't. Help them return to the Land." What he doesn't need to say is, "Before it's too late."
Sadly, the video is totally and completely accurate. Israelis assimilate better and faster than almost any other ethnic group, for a very simple reason.
Israelis take their Jewishness for granted, for good reason. It's everywhere, all the time. It's impossible not to know when Rosh Hashanah is, because all the grocery stores switch over to RH mode weeks in advance. (The might be true in highly concentrated Jewish areas, but certainly not in the mainstream United States, where most secular Israelis live.) The country shuts down for the chagim - so even if you never set foot in shul, you didn't really work on Rosh Hashanah. Or Shabbat (usually). Judaism is simply pervasive in the Jewish state, as well it should be. It's a really good reason to live her.
It's not even only for religious people. Many secular Israelis like the Jewish rhythm of life in Israel. It gives you structure and informs life with meaning, all without needing to make any special effort. You don't need to reach out to other Jews. After all, everyone is Jewish.
Now take that person and plop him down into the melting pot that is the United States. Jews who grow up in America (at least the ones that want their kids to be and act Jewish) understand that you can't take religious affiliation and involvement for granted. You've got to reach out, connect and involve yourself. This represents the essence of community life for Jewish Americans. But the Israeli isn't used to reaching out and getting involved. For his entire life in Israel, religion and Jewish identity flowed in your veins. So many Israelis fail to make that necessary effort to connect to the larger Jewish community. And while they themselves might connect to other Israelis, their children, lacking any Jewish structure and home, assimilate at a fantastically quick pace into mainstream American society, and out of Judaism.
Exhibit A: A recent New York Times piece about a chef who, after the death of his brother in the IDF, turned to making Israeli food.

The chef, Michael Solomonov, following the death of his brother by a Hizballah sniper, decided that the best way to honor his memory was to open a restaurant dedicated to Israeli food. He's the poster child for Israel's message about assimilation:

He was born near Tel Aviv, spent much of his childhood in Pittsburgh, then returned to Israel with his family. 

Nothing altogether surprising here. After all, he spent most of his childhood in Pittsburg. I guess in a way it's at least good that he felt enough of a connection to cook Israeli food. But what about the larger point? What about the issue of assimilation? Does it strike even the cook closely connected to the Jewish State whose brother died protecting it? Sadly, yes.

Last year, in a piece about the restaurant, the Chestnut Hill Local reported,

“Everyone in my family is a good cook,” Michael told me, “including my father, who was born in Bulgaria, and my grandmother, who is a Sephardic Jew. She really inspired me.” Michael’s wife, Mary Armistead Solomonov, who grew up in Mt. Airy, now lives with her husband in South Philadelphia. “She’s an Episcopalian, which is close to Judaism,” joked Michael. “They just drink a little more.”

No, Michael. It's not close. And your children will indeed know more about Christmas than they do about Chanukah, no matter how many hummus infused latkes you sell in your Israeli restaurant.
And that make me sad.

Derech Hashem Shiur 3 - Finding God's Goodness

Audio Shiur:
Derech Hashem Shiur 3 - Finding God's Goodness

(This shiur studies the classic work of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto on Jewish Thought.)

Returning to the beginning of chapter 2, we review the notion of God's goodness, His desire to bestow that goodness upon others, and the very best way to achieve that goal. Then, we study a section of Agaddah from Brachot and a piece from Rav Kook in Ein Ayah, focusing on precisely how to recognize the goodness of God in our daily lives.

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The Boss from Hell

My wife never ceases to amaze me. After trying the seminary scene here in Israel, Rena decided that she had had enough:

• Enough of trying to entertain rather than teach
• Enough of running from school to school, trying to find hours
• Enough of not knowing whether you'd have a job the next year, depending on whether the school had a good year recruiting or a not-so-good year

So she decided to retrain as an English teacher in the Israeli school system. Last year, Rena started taking classes at Achva College nearby (she'll finish hopefully this year. That's a long story too) and taught part-time at a local elementary school. She also subbed, which is no picnic.
This year, she found a full-time job teaching at a high school in Gadera to mainly disadvantaged children from the city. They're not your typical, privileged American Day School students: many divorces, single parent homes, victims of abuse - they're the Israel that you normally don't see on the tours.
It's been a difficult transition, not the least of which is getting used to the job. The problem isn't really the teaching; that she'll figure out over time. She's a great teacher, if I do say so myself (and I do). The problem is her Boss.
Who. Is. Incompetent. Truly.
Where do we begin? Let's start at the beginning:

1. Rena didn't get a schedule until the week before school started, which means that she couldn't prepare any classes until that time, as she didn’t know what classes she'd be teaching.
2. By the first day of school, they had not yet ordered books. That continued for at least a week until Rena finally went herself (remember, she's never taught in Israel before) and forced the secretary to order the books. They have yet to arrive. Oh, yes, her Boss suggested that until they come, she should purchase her own books herself (which is incorrect. The publishers supply them for the teachers. It's the least they can do.)
3. At least one of her classes wasn't really divided properly by level. So she was supposed to teach a group of high-school kids, without books, who weren't even on the same level. They finally divided them last week. Rena got 28 students, and the other classes were 11, 11 and 14. Ummm….something's wrong here.
4. One of her classes takes place in the computer room, as there's no other available room. But the computer room is locked, and they haven't given Rena the key. Instead, she's supposed to find the principal to open the room. Today, Rena went to the office to find her Boss (instead of eating lunch), and she wasn't there. So, when the time for class came and Rena wasn't in the room, her Boss yelled at her for not being in class on time. (Did I mention that she's a yeller? No? Apparently she is.) When Rena pointed out that she skipped lunch to find her and she wasn't in the office, her Boss said, "I was here!" Sorry, yelled. She's something of a yeller. But I mentioned that already.
5. Rena went over her test schedule, which is divided up at the beginning of the year. Many of her classes are fine. One of them has a test tomorrow (yes, the third week of school. And they didn't have books. But so what?) Their next scheduled exam? January.
6. Remember what I told you about the books not arriving on time. I neglected to mention that her Boss also carefully monitors and limits the amount of copies that teachers are allowed to make. (After all, why make copies, which are expensive, when you have books. Makes sense, unless you don't have books because no one ordered them because the classes weren't divided because no one's in charge…but I digress.) Anyway, when the books failed to come, she told her Boss that she'd have to photocopy pages until they did. "No problem. You can copy as many as you need." Sure thing. Tomorrow, Rena's supposed to give a test, but when she went to make copies of the tests she's supposed to give, she learned that the machine locked her out. She was out of copies. Something about making too many.
7. Today takes the cake. Rena's in her classroom teaching and in walks her Boss along with another teacher and that teacher's class in tow. She tells Rena, "You'll sit on one side, and she'll sit on the other, and you'll teach alongside each-other." What? Really? Rena says to her boss, "Can I speak to you outside for a moment?" Her Boss, outside, tells her why she's combining the classes, and that there's no other option. "This is common practice. Call the regional supervisor and ask her." To which my wife replied, "I will." And she did. And it turns out not to be so common after all. Shocking.

If you're a teacher, ask yourself: as bad as your Boss is – and there are better principals and worse – you may have dealt with one of these problems, or two. But all of them, at the same time? At let's not forget: Rena made it clear that this would be her first year teaching full-time, and that she'd need some help getting settled.
"Sure," her Boss told her. "No problem."
I could only my wife one suggested consolation. This must be a kaparah for something. Whatever she's done wrong this year, the suffering she's undergoing trying to be a capable teacher for her students – and that's really what motivates her – must be atoning for a great many sins.
My wife is a tzadeiket. Of that I am sure.

A Truly Ridiculous Position. Goldblog Strikes Again

Did you hear? The Palestinians would not allow Jews to live in their new state. Shocking.

"After the experience of the last 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it would be in the best interest of the two people to be separated," Maen Areikat, the PLO ambassador, said during a meeting with reporters sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor. He was responding to a question about the rights of minorities in a Palestine of the future.
Such a state would be the first to officially prohibit Jews or any other faith since Nazi Germany, which sought a country that was judenrein, or cleansed of Jews, said Elliott Abrams, a former U.S. National Security Council official.

Commenting on this less-than-shocking revelation, Atlantic Blogmeister and Middle East expert Jeffrey Goldberg wrote,

"The Jews who would theoretically live in Hebron under the framework of a theoretical peace deal should be offered Palestinian citizenship, and would have to live under Palestinian law, and be protected by Palestinian authorities. But the idea that Israel would agree to a settlement in which Jews were denied their religious rights in Hebron is ludicrous."

The last time Jews lived in Hebron under Arab rule

Seriously? Would he live comfortably under Palestinian law and feel safe protected by the Palestinian Authorities? Jeff, have you forgotten what happened the last time Jews lived in Hebron under Arab authority (er, British. Sorry, my bad. Didn't see much difference.) And have you forgotten what happened last week in Cairo, when no less than the President of the United States had to intervene to prevent a lynching of Israelis in Cairo. (How's that Arab Spring going?) And what of the Jew who was killed this year in Nablus (which we call Shechem) by a Palestinian police officer for committing the crime of wishing to pray at the Tomb of Joseph?
Goldberg lives in that American liberal fantasy world where because people should act reasonably and nicely, they will. He advocates relinquishing Judea and Samaria (er, the "West Bank") because the current situation is "untenable," but then makes crazy statements suggesting that Israel should not hand over said land without first guaranteeing their religious rights to live in the territories that they hand over.
The only sensible statement in the entire post is Areikat's. He might be stupid for telling the truth, but at least he's being honest.

Derech Hashem Shiur 2: God is Good

Audio Shiur:
Derech Hashem Shiur 2: God is Good

(This shiur studies the classic work of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto on Jewish Thought.)

We conclude the first chapter, spending some time focusing on the Oneness of God, and then begin the second chapter which deals with God's goodness, and tries to answer the question, "Why did God create the world?"

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Parshat Ki Tavo - Viduy Maaser - Our Money, Ourselves

Audio Shiur:
Parshat Ki Tavo - Viduy Maaser - Our Money, Ourselves

How we give our money to others says everything about who and what we are. The unique mitzvah of Viduy Ma'aser conveys critical messages about how the Torah wants us to relate to money, and to God.

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