Holy Chevron

On an Egged bus to CHEVRON (Hebron) with my twins .

If Jew s have a pilgrimage to our origins,a journey to trace our roots ,this has to be it .
We begin to teach our children at a tender young age about the stories of our patriarchs and matriarchs ,and they recite it thrice daily in the Amidah Prayer ,"אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו ,Our G-d and the G-d of our fathers".

My hope and prayer for my children and I as we journey to the burial grounds of our holy ancestors ,is that it sparks an inner parallel journey toward the spiritual energy of those same ancestors ,that are buried as well in our own psyches,implanted deep within the collective consciousness and sacred imagination of every Jew.

This will help them make the connection,that the sacred spirit that coursed through the lofty souls of Abraham and Sarah ,flows through our souls as well.

אלקי אבותינו , the g-d of Abraham is indeed אלקינו, our g-d and the g-d of our children.

Tears stream down my eyes as the bus winds it s way up the narrow roadways and I imagine my ancestors,trekking through these same winding paths.

These majestic ,somewhat perilous, mountainous pathways are symbolic of the spiritual journeys we must also undertake as we venture into the unknown often craggy terrain of our own lives, guided by the same faith as Avraham when he embarked on his "Lech Lecha "journey,that continues through us as well today.

I m listening to a cantorial piece by Yitzchok Meir Helfgott accompanied by Itzhak Perlman ,from the new album aptly titled" Eternal Echoes ".

It popped up magically as if the Judean hills were mystically coordinating somehow with the shuffle feature on my iPad.

The lyrics are from the prayer that we recite at the end of the Amidah prayer.

"Yehi ratzon meelephanecha hashem elokainu velokai avotaynu sheyeebaneh
Bait hamikdosh beeymhayrah beeyamaynu vetayn chelkaynu betoratecha."

"May it be your will our G-d and G-d of our fathers that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days ."

As I watched my daughters pour their hearts out to G-d in the presence of the spirit of Avraham and Sara,Yitzchak and Rivkah ,and Yaakov and Leah,I
felt a piece of the temple restored in that holy moment .

I will fasten myself to this moment and bring it back home, and though I won't have to declare it at customs,its certainly more valuable to me than anything else I will have brought!

Winding down a most HEAVENLY day in a slightly more EARTHLY way,with dinner at
Burgers Bar,on Emek Refaim street in the German colony.

Layla Tov !

It s good to be home !!

On the flight from Heathrow to to tel aviv,it hit me how ironic it is that the one time of the year that you can find Jews and Muslims and Christians together is on Christmas Day,either on the picturesque ski slopes of New England ,or on planes headed to Israel. The Christians who are working the holiday shifts,either because they volunteered for double or triple pay,or had the bad luck to be chosen,are all disgruntled and moody. Though the temporary theological solidarity that the Jews and Muslims share is based more on the Christian faith that we don't embrace and less on our abrahamic roots ,it s still something I guess . Then I wake up in Israel and read in the morning paper about an Arab bakery in Jaffa that starts making Sufganiyot a month before Chanukah and is still making them now ,selling about two hundred and fifty of them a day ! Given all that how hard would it be to just acknowledge our eternal connection to our homeland ארץ ישראל ,then we could celebrate annually by establishing dec 25th as a day when Jews and Muslims all over the world eat Sufganiyot together . Until that day comes however, we must do everything in our power to be unconditionally supportive of the only place in the world that every Jew can really call home!

Happy Third Day of Chanukah!

The BeadleIn Jewish life in Eastern Europe, one of the most important positions in the Synagogue “Shul life” was also the least celebrated. He was affectionately known as the “Shamesh” (beadle), caretaker of the shul.Truth is he was far more than a simple caretaker of the Shul. The entire being of the Shamesh was in perfect sync with all the rhythms of Jewish life and the flow of the community. He was the one, always in the background, who truly nurtured the soul of the Jewish community, the quintessential giver, forever in the mode of serving as the name connotes. Le’shamesh, his entire identity was always ready to serve G-d and his people.Tonight as we bask in the glow of the third candle, let us remember that our own lights shine brightest when we act like a Shamesh and help kindle the light of an other.Chanuka SameachRabbi Yossi

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Lech Lecha

Last week s Torah energy was "Noah" Self awareness / inner growth through detachment and being oblivious to the complexity of our surroundings . We Chose inner peace ,serenity and a quick retreat back into the comforting" ark high holiday space". Perhaps the sudden transition into our (Bereshit ) routine was too quick. Suddenly we yearn for "Avinu Malkaynu " closeness again !!!! So we jump back last Shabbat into a mini Yom Kippur closed off experience . This week , G-d gently kicks us off the ark and reminds us We have important "Lech Lecha work to do in the world ! He also reminds us that disembarking from the ark ,like Yom Kippur doesn t mean good bye. We can board the ark daily ,for a prayer service ,a class ,or just to walk in to meditate ,a mini High holiday burst of energy on a daily basis if you will .

Mystical Talmud

For me, the satisfaction that I get after wrestling with the complexities of a page of Talmud is twofold. First is engaging, and wrestling with the complex text on a purely legalistic, Halacha level. Then comes the opportunity to imagine these ideas in their original Meta physical forms, allowing them to take on a spiritual and existential dimension as well. The Talmud in tractate Shabbat that I vet been studying, discusses the prohibition to carry (Did I hear anyone say ERUV?????) between a public domain and a private domain on Shabbat. On a Chassidic mystical level, we can define the private realm and the public realm in spiritual terms. So the private realm the reshut hayachid is a manifestation of the realm of g-d , who IS TRULY, YACHID ,ONENESS. The public domain , referred to in the Talmud as reshut harabim , is the realm of the world , and man . Hence the Hebrew name, RABIM which connotes the realm of "many “ i.e. our physical existence. On a certain level on these two realms are separated and distinct. For the Jew on Shabbat, there is only g-d consciousness (reshut Hayachid -domain of g-d) and we are not allowed to "carry in to the public Domain (Reshut harabim) I.E. worldly /human consciousness. The Jewish festivals are unique in the way that certain laws that we have on Shabbat for example, we don’t have on Chagim. Of course the example I’m thinking of is carrying!! We are allowed to carry on holidays like Shemini Atseret and Simchat Torah. What this means on spiritual terms, is that on these holidays, particularly the one beginning tonight, there are no distinct realms, there is no us versus g_d , no reshut harabim versus the reshut hayachid. On these days there is a magnificent fusion of the upper worlds and the lower worlds, higher consciousness and lower consciousness come together. This is perhaps one of the reasons the holiday has a special emphasis on joy, a joy that comes from moments where we recognize that we are inherently one with G-d!

DANCE DANCE DANCE

The Month of Adar has finally begun, Jew’s all over the world greet each other beaming with Joy. “Mishenichnas Adar Marbim Besimcha (when we usher in the month of Adar we increase our Joy).”

None of the “soul searching” of Yom Kippur, no trace of that “may you inscribed in the book of life” heaviness. Just raising a glass of wine (or something stronger), and saying “l’chaim” (to life).

In the Month of Adar, we get a moment to surface from the turbulence of our existential angst, and the murkiness of our conflicts. Instead, we surrender to the reality of our lives and celebrate the blessings and goodness that we all to often take for granted.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov was the “Joy Authority“ of the Chassidic world. He was at the forefront of a movement that saw “true joy” as the master key to unlocking the mysteries of the Divine.

Here is one of his classic teachings on Joy: Clapping and Dancing

Dear G-d,
Stir my heart with the spirit of joy,
Imbue my arms and my legs with that spirit,
For my arms have become heavy and my legs encumbered
Fill me my G-d, with the cleansing spirit of holy joy,
Enliven my all my limbs,
Help me raise my hands and clap,
Help me lift my feet and dance, dance, dance.

Looking forward to saying l’chaim with you personally this Purim!
Rabbi Yossi