Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Quotes that matter


  “Love G-d with all your heart, with all you soul and with all your possessions” 
 (Shema- V’ohavto at Adoshem Elokecka b’chol l’vov’ch, uvchol nafsh’cho, uvchol m’odecha)

With all your heart?” What does that exactly mean?
 We should not let our love for ourselves get in our way of loving G-d. Our egos were created by Hashem to pull us closer to Him, not to rise above Him. A man who restricts his ego is a man who is trying to attain his true purpose in life- excelling in his serving G-d.

“With all your soul?”
The Rabbis tell us this means, “love Him even if He takes away your soul- even if you are required to give up your life for a kiddish Hashem.”  Rabbi Dessler eloquently responds to this by saying, “some people do mitzvot in order to live, while others live in order to do mitzvot.” With that said, we do not disregard the one who does mitzvot to live, because he does have faith in Hashem, but his faith is ascertained based on Hashem providing him with all his needs. By creating such a relationship with Hashem, this person is treating his private life independent from Hashem. This is a flawed way of thinking, since to attain true unity with Hashem, one must be completely counting on the will of Hashem. In order to reach the complete unity with Hashem, he has to understand the mitzvah of kiddush Hashem, which essentially portrays that one’s life does not belong to him, but rather, his sole purpose is to service Hashem. Because a kiddish Hashem involves giving one’s life up at any moment, a person should recognize that life is a “vehicle for mitzvot, not that mitzvot are a vehicle for life” (Dessler 218). By recognizing this, his relationship with God will be unified.

“With all your possessions?”
Everything that Hashem has given us is to be used as a vehicle to perform mitzvot.  By overvaluing and over identifying with possessions, one is creating an even larger barrier with Hashem, which is a form of idolatry. In order to live a life filled of unity with Hashem, a person must diminish his quench for possessions.

Moshe vs Angels

In this week’s parsha, Mishpatim, when Moshe goes up to receive the Torah from Hashem in Heaven, the angels cried out to Hashem asking what Moshe, a human being, was doing there. Hashem said he was there to receive the Torah. The angels responded,
“Should the precious Torah which was concealed by You for 974 generations before Creation now be handed over to morals? Who is man to deserve this gift?”
Without haste, Hashem demanded that Moshe respond to them.  Moshe responded,
“It says in the Torah, ‘I am Hashem, your G-d, who brought you out from the house of bondage.’ Were you in Egypt? Where you enslaved by Pharaoh? It says, ‘ You shall have no other gods!’ Do you live among idolatrous nations? The Torah commands, ‘Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it!’ Do you work, that you should be in need of a Shabbos rest? The Torah says,  ‘You shall not pronounce Hashem’s name in vain?’ Do you conduct business deals that you should have to swear? ‘Honor your mother and father!’ Do you have parents? The Torah prohibits murder. Is there bloodshed in Heaven? It says, ‘You shall not commit adultery!’ Are you married and in need of this warning? It states, ‘ You shall not steal!’ Is there silver for you in Heaven to steal? The Torah commands not to covet another’s property. Are their houses, fields, or vineyards among you that you should need this admonition? You do not possess a yatzer hara- evil inclination- as humans do. How then do the Torah prohibitions apply to you?
After hearing this, the angels gave into Moshe. From all this we can clearly see how as human beings, Hashem has granted us the ability to follow His commandments or to stray from them; nonetheless, we have the free will to choose either path, which angels do not. Moreover, we should look at all the many commandments as opportunities to grow, rather than as endless prohibitions from Hashem. By observing Hashem’s commandments, we have the free will to continuously elevate our souls, which angels cannot do. We should seize every moment to do mitzvot because the angels are up in shemayim are wishing for the very thing we take for granted.

What is Parshas Mishpatim all about


In this week's parsha, Hashem gives Bnai Israel a set of civil laws- mishpatim. I have briefly listed some laws in below.

TORAH LAW 101:201


 How to own a slave
In the mishpatim, laws, dictated to the Jewish people in this week’s parsha, we see how Hashem has given us a prescription on how we should treat a slave. Who knew that Judaism would allow for slavery to exist? Well, from the description of the laws Hashem has given us, we can see how Hashem has instilled laws to retain honor onto the slave.
For example:
1.     It is forbidden to give him lowly jobs, such as washing his masters shoes (even if his own son or student would do it).
2.     The master must share all his food and drink with his slave. If the master is eating white bread and drinking red wine, so to, should the slave have the same privilege. Additionally, if the master is to sleep on a good bed, so should the slave.
3.     If the master has only one good cup of wine, one good loaf of bread, or only one pillow, he must give it to his slave.
4.     A slave’s service must not exceed six years, he must be released after that time period. If the slave fell ill during his enslavement with the master, the master must pay for any medical expenses, and the slave is not to repay him
5.     If the slave is enslaved, and has a wife and children, the master is obligated to support his wife and children.
6.     If the slave is not yet married, he may not be given a Canaanite maid to live with, because children are not allowed to be created from their union.
7.     If the slave is married during his enslavement, the master is allowed to give him a Canaanite maid; however, the master must raise the slaves children as his own.
Here we can see a few examples of the rules a master must abide by in regards to owning a slave. The Torah creates these guidelines for a thief to repay someone in the most honorable fashion. Instead of putting him in prison, giving him and his family shame and starvation, the Torah places the thief in a Jewish environment, which is influential in many obvious ways. By doing this, the master takes care of the slave and his family’s needs and gives the slave the opportunity to live a Torah driven life.
            However, the Torah gives permission for him to have a Canaanite maid, whose children are in the master’s possession (this type of relationship is forbidden for free Jews) to give the slave a sense of self-inflicted degradation for what he has done.  By giving the slave this guilt, it should give him the incentive to elevate himself from his physical bonds to reach higher levels of spirituality in order to reenter society as a reborn Jew.
In all, we can see how Hashem goes through great lengths in describing how we are to treat a slave who has committed a crime. Hashem not only wants to provide retribution for this man in the most honorable way, but he is giving him the opportunity to change his life by living amongst other Jew families and their positive influence. From all this we can see how merciful Hashem truly is. Even when we sin, He creates a formula for us to succeed and get back onto the path of the just. Know that no matter how far you stray, Hashem, in His great mercy, will guide you back home, and in the most honorable way possible.

TORAH LAW 101:202

Repayment for stolen properly
 If a man is to steal an ox he is to repay the man 5x more; however, if he is to steal a sheep, he only has to repay him 4x more. What is the discrepancy between the ox and the sheep? There are two opinions as follows:
1.     Because the ox is considered a more valuable animal, it can provide labors the sheep cannot, hence, it is deemed more valuable; thereby, the theft is charged 5x.

2.     When someone steals an ox, he can merrily walk away with it, which deems to be a less shameful experience. However, when a person steals a sheep, he must degrade himself and pick it up and carry it on his shoulders; thereby, suffering embarrassment. From this, Hashem diminishes the repayment punishment for the man who steals the sheep, for he already suffered some embarrassment from stealing the sheep in the first place.
It is incredible to see how compassionate Hashem is, to even be concerned about the honor of a thief. From this, we should all have in mind, that indeed Hashem does punish those who sin; however, in His great mercy, He provides punishment in an honorable way. Hashem is not looking to harshly smite His children for sinning, rather, He is acknowledging that we do sin and He punishes us accordingly, but He is still empathetic and punishes with the utter most sensitivity when we do succumb to be sinful. 

TORAH LAW 101:203



Punishments for smiting and cursing one’s parents:

          A person above the age of bar/bar mitzvah who intentionally causes his parents pain, provided the child had two witnesses observing the act, is liable to capital punishment. By intentionally hurting ones parents, a person is portraying the utter most ingratitude for the very people that brought him into this world and bestowed upon him infinite kindness.
            Similarly, a person who intentionally curses his parents, using Hashem’s name, (also with two witnesses observing) is liable to the capital punishment.
            I cannot stress the importance of the having absolute reverence for our parents. In last week’s parsha, when we received the 10 commandments, the fifth commandment ‘Honor your mother and father’ resonated so deeply within me. It pains me that we live in a society that teaches us to be egocentric and take our parents for granted. We should have the utter most sensitivity and respect when speaking to our parents, and hold them in highest regard, even if we don’t think they deserve it. Essentially, the respect we give to our parents is equivalent to the respect we have for Hashem. By observing the mitzvah of kivood ava aim- respecting your mother and father- we are giving kavod- honor- to Hashem. Symbolically, we should look at our parents as a vehicle to serving Hashem.

TORAH LAW 101:204


You can’t charge interest on loans:
In this week’s parsha, Hashem gives over a set of 57 laws to the Jewish people. One of those laws in particular is the mitzvah of free loans. This mitzvah is based on the belief that Hashem and the Torah are in control of the wealth and the possessions we do or do not have.  The law continues describing that any wealth one has, large or small, is entirely from Hashem, and rather, everything a person owns belongs to those who need it most urgently.
For example, if a neighbor of yours is going through financial distress with a failing business, and you have the wealth to help him; you must rush to his aid in assistance. Hashem has given people wealth and success in order for them to assist those in need.
Moreover, many people question why others possess more than they do; however, Hashem wants a rich man to support a poor man, and not out of mercy, but because Hashem deems it as a law. Additionally, Rashi commentates, “See yourself as a poor man.”  In other words, by putting ourselves in a poor mans place, and picturing ourselves with nothing, we can recognize the importance of free loans.
            Many people are blessed from Hashem with the ability to give charity to those in need. However, those people should not applaud themselves too much, which can result in arrogance, since Hashem is the One who bestowed that wealth upon them for the purpose of giving those in need. No matter how much we do amass throughout our lives, we should recognize that it is all a gift from Hashem, a gift we are lawfully required to share with those in need.