Thursday, August 9, 2012

Parshas Aikev

This week’s parsha, Aikev, begins with Moshe telling the Jews that they will in fact prosper in this world if they observe Hashem’s mitzvot. Moshe tells them, not only will they be rewarded in this world for observing the mitzvot, but the full reward will be given to them in the World to Come. What is the sense of receiving the reward in the future and not now? Essentially the physical world we live in currently cannot adequately reward us for our mitzvot. Since the pleasures of this world are so limited, we must wait to reap the fruit of our labor in the World to Come, where the spiritual delights surpass any pleasure we have in this world.

Additionally, Hashem waits to give us the full reward in the next world because He does not want us to follow His mitzvot solely on the expectation of reward, but rather because observing the mitzvot are Hashem’s Divine Will and our way of apprehending Him and His will. Moreover, in His great mercy, He allowed us to see intermittent gratification to keep us motivated to continue doing mitzvot.

This should shed some light into our own lives. Observing mitzvot are quite challenging; however, we should bear in mind that we will reap some reward in this world. The parsha promises the following rewards for following the mitzvot:

1. Hashem will love you, when a person is loved by  Hashem, the creator of everything, he will only receive blessings.
2. Hashem will bless you with material wealth.
3. Hashem will multiply you extraordinarily fast.

By observing the mitzvot, Hashem will protect us from sickness, war, hunger, and with more opportunities to do mitzvot; hence the opportunities for being rewarded will be continuous.

Every effort we make to cling to our Source does not go without notice. We should all be blessed with the strength to observe Hashem’s mitzvot and reap the benefits in this world and the next!

Giving thanks for the simple things...even for a morsel of bread

This week’s parsha continues discussing the commandment to bless Hashem after you have eaten and are satiated. Thereafter, the sages instituted the prayer of Birkat Hamazon- Grace after meals- if a person eats a kezayat- size of an olive- of bread.

When the Jews received the Heavenly mann in the desert, they were able to see Hashem’s kindness. When they entered the land of Israel and had to sow and reap their own harvest, they were still  aware of Hashem’s hand in allowing their land to reap results. How great their emunah was in Hashem; despite the fact that they had to work the land, they knew that their efforts were rewarded by Hashem. In our lives, we may devote much of our efforts to our work; however, it is all in Hashem’s hands if our efforts are successful or not.

The first blessing of the Birkat Hamazon allows us to acknowledge Hashem’s kindness upon bestowing us with food, despite the fact that we had to labor for it.

The second blessing is over the land of Israel. In the merit of the brit mila, Hashem gave the Jewish people the land of Israel. Additionally, we thank Hashem for the Torah He graciously gave us, thus the ultimate purpose of the Land of Israel is to observe and perform Hashem’s mitzvot.

The third blessing is for peace in Jerusalem and the Bait Hamikdash. King David and King Solomon established this blessing so that their rulership, their dynasty, and peace would continue. Now, we pray for the rebuilding of the temple.

The fourth blessing was added to honor the Bar Kochba rebellion, where a great miracle occurred.

A person should have the same concentration when reciting the Birkat Hamazon as he does when he is reciting the Shemona Esrei- Amidah, 18 blessing prayer. Additionally, the Grace after Meals should be said with intense joy and happiness for the meal that was graciously given to us by Hashem. We should all strive to keep this in mind next time we are fortunate enough to be nourished and sustained by Hashem.

It's a mitzvah to ask God for things?! What?!

This week’s parsha continues its discussion with the commandment to pray, to love, and to serve Him with all our hearts (1:13). The minimum obligation a person has is to formulate a daily personal prayer (in his own words). In addition to one’s daily personal prayers, the sages instituted three daily prayer, shachrit, minchah, and ma’ariv;however, if for some reason a person misses these prayers, he is obligated to formulate a personal prayer so that the person recognizes Hashem as the omnipresent ruler of the universe who continuously provides him with everything has or does not have (not having something is also a blessing, ie. Sickness, etc.).

Additionally, the mitzvah of prayer benefits us in many ways.
1.  By fulfilling this commandment of praying, Hashem listens in and if He feels that our prayers are genuine, He answers them.
2.   Through prayer, we can grow spiritually. When we pray to Hashem for the things we want and need, we are reaffirming our belief that is Hashem who provides us with everything.                                


Furthermore, prayer is meant to act as the “service of the heart.” When we pray to Hashem, we need to clear our minds of all external thoughts and imagine ourselves standing in front of the shechina- divine presence. This should act as meditation, and stir the mind to contemplate Hashem’s awesomeness and infiniteness. We must also strive to understand all the words we are reciting. Some of us unfortunately are not able to pray in lashon hakodesh- the holy tongue; however, if we recite our tefillot with a true heart, they are nonetheless accepted and heard by Hashem.

Additionally, by making requests to Hashem, we think introspectively about what it is that we really want and need; thereby, that enables us to contemplate how that certain request will fill the void we feel in our lives. With that in mind, we can see the true intentions of our request. Will the fulfillment of that void change us internally or make us happier? Is what we are asking for going to help us actualize our potential in this world? Prayer is meant to evoke this questioning within us. Next time you feel the need to connect with the Source of all, let your prayers act as a meditative experience within yourself to contemplate your very existence, your desires, your needs, and your growth.