Practice Hitbodedut...

There is nothing in all of life that is as sweet, refreshing, invigorating, empowering, and humbling as connecting with G-d in prayer. I'm not talking about a quick blessing over the food at dinner...I'm talking about escaping to a quiet place where you and G-d are alone and you pour your heart out to Him. The practice is called hitbodedut. It is a Breslover custom and it is beautiful.

Every tefilah (prayer), every bracha (blessing), every whispered thanks, every Psalm and every hitbodedut (private, secluded prayer in one's own words) brings the geulah (Redemption) that much nearer.

The intrinsic power of sincere and heartfelt prayer is beyond our comprehension. One of Rebbe Nachman's greatest legacies to us is his teachings on hitbodedut in addition to formal prayer.

What is hitbodedut? Secluded meditation with G-d. During hitbodedut, we speak to G-d, ask Him for whatever we need, confess our wrong-doings and thank Him for all the good that He has done for us.

When we take time out of our busy lives to be alone with our Creator, to pour out our hearts to Him, to ask Him for guidance and forgiveness and share our troubles with Him, we are binding with the Almighty through bringing Him into our daily lives.

The question arises, how can we call Him by so many names, and speak of Him with so many descriptions? How can we make use of so many representations in praying to G-d?

The Zohar also provides us with an answer, and says that "He is called loving and merciful in order that He might be known." When we want G-d to have mercy on us, then (to the extent that we can express it) He constricts His essence in the word "Merciful," in the Lights and vessels of the letters that make up this word…

How does the transmission of G-d's essence depend on our speech and prayer?

It is written, "From my flesh, I shall see G-d" (Job 19:26). By understanding the human body, we can also understand G-d's ways.

Man is filled with life force and breath, spread inside him. When he wishes to speak, he must constrict this breath through his larynx, and modulate it with his mouth, lips, tongue and teeth. He can then express it as he desires, and only then can his speech, voice and wisdom be detected. [He can communicate] because his life force, wisdom and voice are constricted in his speech.

When a righteous person stands in prayer, he certainly attaches and binds his spirit and soul to the Ruach HaKodesh, which is a simple formless Unity. When he begins to speak, he transmits G-d's very essence into his words and speech. As these words leave his lips, they are very strongly bound to his breath and life force, constructed into the sounds that he expresses.

Then (to the extent that we can express it), the Hashem's essence is bound to this person's breath and life force, and is modulated and constricted in his expression of words. What a perfect unity between the Creator and His created!

Although it's preferable to find an isolated spot to pour out our hearts to G-d, hitbodedut can be done anywhere – in the kitchen, while lying in bed, sitting on the living room sofa. The most important thing to remember is to take time out of our busy schedule to communicate with the Creator.

One of Rebbe Nachman's followers complained to the Rebbe about the difficulties he encountered in serving G-d. The man blamed his difficulties on his house being too crowded and not having a private room for his devotions. The Rebbe answered, "Presumably, if G-d agreed that the only possibility of your serving Him depended on your having such a room He would have already given it to you!" Tzaddik #588

Private conversation with G-d can be either enjoyable or awkward. Try to keep hitbodedut simple – Rebbe Nachman told Reb Noson: A person should practice hitbodedut in a simple, straightforward manner, as if he were conversing with a close friend (Tzaddik #439, Kokhavey Ohr pg.12#4). When speaking with a close friend, the conversation naturally flows from one topic to the next. That's because you trust your friend and have no reason to hold anything back. That's the way to do hitbodedut – simply, directly and with complete trust in the Almighty.

Part of G-d's greatness lies in the fact that nothing is too small for Him. Therefore, speak to Him about everything – personal problems, family problems, mother-in-law problems, problems with children, difficulties with making ends meet, how to grow spiritually, major life decisions… even your difficulty in practicing hitbodedut. Rabbi Nachman teaches: The wise person will pray his entire life to speak just one totally truthful word to G-d (Likutey Moharan I, 112).

You must pray for everything. If your garment is torn and has to be replaced, pray to G-d for a new one. Do this for everything. Make it a habit to pray for everything you need, large or small. Your main prayers should be for fundamentals: that G-d should help you in your devotion and that you should be worthy of coming close to Him. Still, you should also pray even for trivial things. G-d may give you food, clothing and everything else you need even though you do not ask for them. But then you are like an animal. G-d gives every living thing its bread without being asked. He can also give it to you this way. But if you do not draw your life through prayer, then your life is like that of a beast. For a man must draw all the necessities of life from G-d only through prayer. Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom #233

This should be the ultimate goal...the desired result of every person who wishes a close and intimate connection with the One Who loves each of us very much. Let's each take just one step closer to Him...He's waiting patiently to hear all about what's on your heart.

Your Simple Act Of Kindness Can Change A Life...

Here's an AMAZING story by Yossi Refson...

Auschwitz was the largest of some 15,000 concentration, extermination and forced-labor camps established by the Nazis during World War II. It is estimated that, at minimum, 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945; of which at least 1.1 million were murdered.

As a grandson of one of those fortunate to have survived the horrors of Auschwitz, much about this dark chapter in human history informs my personal and professional life.
My late Bubbe (Grandma) Bluma was 13 years old when her mother, five older siblings and their children were exterminated under the orders of Josef Mengele, aptly referred to as the "Angel of Death."

Upon her recent passing at the age of 76, I took the opportunity to reread Bubby's memoirs. In four different instances, my grandmother had stood-amid the smoke of the crematoriums, the barking dogs, the trampling boots and swinging clubs-on the infamous "selection line" at the head of which Mengele and his minions stood, pointing left and right, sentencing some to back-breaking labor, and sending others to the gas chambers. In each of those instances, somebody would come along and say or do something that would change Bubby's fate from certain death to tenuous life. In one such incident, she already had been sent to the line of those marked for death when a man appeared as if from nowhere, physically removed her from that line and shoved her into the other, without saying a word.

Indeed, the miracles and the mysteries of the events of those days abound along with the horrors and the tragedies. In contrast to the vile actions of the "Angel of Death" were the noble and heroic actions of many "Angels of Life" who stood ready to risk their own lives for the sake of saving that of a stranger.

It is thanks in no small part to "Angels" like these, who stepped out from behind their own misery and grief to come to the aid of others, that generations now live on to tell the story. How clearly we see the infinite ripple effects of single acts of kindness and compassion, even if accomplished in a split second.

As incredible and haunting as her story is, I find that the most powerful lessons of Bubby's Holocaust experience are not those found in the words themselves, but those that come piercing through between the lines. Everything about this woman's life-her faith, her dignity, her regal stature, her loving demeanor-makes a bold statement: There shall be no victory for the Nazis and their ilk. I can hear her saying: "Physically, they may have beaten and burned, tortured and maimed us, reducing us to subhuman conditions, but spiritually, there is something within us that they could not touch-not them, not the many others that have tried; not then, not now, not ever."

If Jewish history has proven one irrefutable fact, it's that the soul of a faithful people cannot be vanquished by those driven to destroy that which is good and right in this world. The forces of evil and tyranny are ultimately no match for those of goodness and sanctity.

The matriarch of a family of four children, 25 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren, all raised and educated with the values and traditions of her ancestors, Bubby lived to witness the victory of her convictions and the resounding historical defeat of those who sought to bury them. She established for all time the most meaningful memorial of all to those who perished in Auschwitz, a living, dynamic, eternal memorial: the continuity of a proud and resilient people.
It is to the perpetuation of this living memorial that my wife, Sarah, and I have now devoted our own lives to serving the Charleston communities as sheluchim (Chabad emissaries). With every individual or family in this community helped, educated or infused with a spirit of pride in their heritage as a result of our humble efforts, another nail is hammered into the coffins of Hitler, Mengele, Eichmann and the rest, even as their victims are brought to life in our midst.

We are blessed to have established roots in Charleston. The city remains true to its long and rich history of kindness and benevolence toward the Jewish people. Dating back to the days of the Revolutionary War and even earlier, Charleston was a city that readily provided refuge and haven to Jews fleeing religious persecution in Europe. Indeed, the charter of the Carolina Colony expressly mentioned the granting of "liberty of conscience" to Jews, among others.

It is on this compassionate soil that Sarah and I now seek to promote the ultimate lesson of the Holocaust, for Jew and gentile alike: Whereas evil and selfish acts fade into nothingness, acts of goodness and kindness march across the expanse of time and space, forever illuminating the landscape of human history.

A U.S. serviceman who participated in the liberation of one of the concentration camps recounted how before his platoon entered the camp, the men were briefed by their commanding officer. "What you are about to see is like nothing you have ever seen before," he said.
Referring to the food supplies the soldiers were given to provide to the hungry inhabitants of the cities they had captured, including Hershey chocolate bars for the children, the officer forewarned against giving any of the food to the camp survivors. "You must know that these people have not eaten anything in years beyond scraps and morsels. As much as you may want to load them up with food; as much as you may want to give the children those Hershey bars, you must not. Their systems would not be able to withstand it, and they could die as a result. They will have to be slowly nourished back to health."

As they entered the camp, they were looked upon by the prisoners as if they'd been sent from heaven. A child of skin and bones, barely alive, came up to this soldier and begged him for some food. His heart began to break. A starving, dying child, and he couldn't pull out what was in his pack to give him what he was asking for.

"I don't have any food I can give you," he said, "but you know what I can give you? I can give you a hug."

In describing what happened next, he said, "I put my arms around this child, and he put his thin bony arms around me. Tears began flowing down my cheeks. And then, an incredible thing happened. Hundreds of these children, barely alive, began flocking toward me, asking if they too could have a hug. Before long, there was a long line in front of me. They were standing in line, not for a chocolate bar, but just a hug. After all the hatred and cruelty they'd encountered all those years, just a little bit of love and tenderness from a feeling and caring human being. And then the adults came, too. They waited for a hug; for someone with some strength who could show them just a bit of humanity. We all cried together."

Even when we don't seem to have the answers or the healing people need, there's always something we can do to help. We can share a smile, a caring word, some human connection and understanding; a hug. If we can lighten their burden only a bit, who knows what a world of good we might accomplish.

In a world that, 63 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, is still threatened by forces of evil seeking to destroy innocent human lives, where impulses of hatred, narcissism and greed still wreak havoc upon societies, it behooves people of conscience to counter these with simple acts of kindness. For any selfless step we take to benefit another creates one of those magical ripples.
Auschwitz showed us that just as man can sink as low as the basest animal, so can he rise to the level of angels.

The Golan Heights Peace Plan

I am a huge fan of Moshe Feiglin...I believe that he is the very best solution for the future of Israel. This is a recent talk he gave regarding the suicidal policy of Ehud Olmert to give up the Golan for the empty promise of peace. Olmert is such an idiot, and I pray every single day that Hashem would remove him quickly from his post before he leads us into another exile and massacre of our people. Moshe Feiglin will not give one inch of land to these blood-thirsty vermin, and will help them find homes in countries far far away from Eretz Yisrael.

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Is there a solution for the military crisis plaguing Israel’s south? Can Israel successfully deal with the Kassam rockets? Or is Olmert right when he tells us that we just have to get used to it?
You don’t need to be a military expert to come up with a plan to solve the Gaza problem. Israel already has a successful model that works perfectly - at least since the Yom Kippur War. It is the real peace model that has been implemented for years in the Golan Heights.

Have you ever asked yourself where the safest place in Israel is? Where do you not have to worry about Arabs throwing rocks at your car? Where can you walk around at night without fear of arms or drugs smugglers crossing the border? Where don’t missiles fly and where don’t bombs explode? In short, where is the place that you are safest from both external enemies and from internal Arab terror and crime?

That place is the Golan Heights. Without even trying, possibly even by mistake, Israel enjoys real peace there. Any new peace plan must follow the principles that have brought us true peace in the Golan. There are just five easy steps:

1. Encourage Arab emigration
2. Conquest
3. Israeli sovereignty
4. Settlement
5. No peace accords!

Sixty thousand Syrian Arabs who had been scattered throughout villages in the Golan Heights disappeared even before the Golan was liberated. The only ones who stayed were the Druze in the north of the Golan. These villages are the exception that proves the necessity of implementing the first principle.

The second principle, conquest, was fully implemented by Israel in the Golan. No foreign forces remained there. The area is entirely controlled by Israel.

Israel declared sovereignty over the entire Golan, settled it and most important of all - never signed a peace treaty with Syria. This is how we have prevented the war under the guise of peace that we suffer on our border with Egypt from repeating itself on our border with Syria.
These five steps will bring peace and security to Gaza, Judea and Samaria.

How do we encourage the Arabs in these places to emigrate without the necessity of a major war? University Al-Najach in Shechem answered that question with the results of a poll that it had taken. It turns out that over 60% of the Arabs in Yesha do not need any encouragement to leave. They are disgusted with the rule of the armed thugs that the Oslo Peace Club forced upon them. Their preferred destinations are the Gulf States and Canada.

Many Western states currently suffer from negative demographics - less than two children per family. They are anxious to absorb skilled immigrants such as the Arabs of Yesha who have learned quite a lot from Israel over the past sixty years. The huge current of Moslem immigrants that has engulfed the Western world in the past decades points to the fact that this solution is entirely possible. Israel must make available to the Arabs all the resources necessary to encourage this trend.

Approximately 10% of Israel’s entire budget is wasted annually on impossible solutions based on the Oslo eagerness to partition the Land of Israel. This sum constantly grows as mega-costly solutions like the Separation Fence are proven absurd. They are then exchanged for even more grandiose defensive schemes - cutting edge space technology to protect Israel’s citizens from flying pipes. The colossal sums of money spent on these unrealistic programs could be spent more effectively. Instead of paying for more white elephants, Israel can give $250,000 to every Arab family that will stake its future far from Israel’s borders.

Israel can implement a political plan based on the Golan Heights model. It depends on nothing more than our mentality. All that we have to understand is that this is our land - not theirs. The question is if Israel really wants peace or if the “Peace Process” is just a euphemism for getting rid of the settlements that force Jewish identity on Israel’s tiny “elite".

As simple and effective as this plan may be, it will most likely not be adopted. Instead, Israel’s current leaders will stubbornly continue down the Oslo path of blood and terror. The sensible, Jewish solutions will all be pushed to the sidelines – because the minority ruling our country today is simply not interested.

Arabs Are NOT The Problem

The following article was written by Shmuel Sackett, International Director of Manhigut Yehudit. It is very very insightful with fantastic supporting facts.

Israeli politicians are busy 24 hours a day trying to solve the “Arab problem." Deals are made, complicated agreements are signed and dangerous risks are taken. In an effort to make the Arabs happy; terrorists are released, Jews are kicked out of their homes, shuls and yeshivot are smashed and billions of dollars are taken from Jewish poor and given to the “Palestinians."

After all has been said and done, there is still no peace. Want to know why??? Because all of these efforts are going towards a problem that simply does not exist. There is NO Arab problem in Israel… period! A Jewish problem? Oh yes… that there is… but not an Arab one.

Let me give you some numbers. These numbers are 100% real and can be confirmed. They come from Dr Michael Wise, co-author of “The Arab Population in the West Bank and Gaza -- The Million Person Gap”. Recently, Moshe Feiglin, chairman of Manhigut Yehudit, and I sat with Dr Wise. The discussion was fascinating.

At the present time, there are 1.4 million Arabs living in Judea and Samaria, 1.0 million in Gaza and another 1.35 million living throughout the rest of Israel. This brings the total to 4.75 million. In those same areas there are a total of 5.7 million Jews. That means that Jews outnumber the Arabs: 5.7 million to 4.75 million.

In Jerusalem, there are 230,000 Arabs compared to 460,000 Jews. (That’s double!) Of these 230,000 Arabs, only 7,000 of them have full Israeli citizenship. The remaining Arabs (223,000) have a “blue identity card” which entitles them to vote for the mayor of Jerusalem and to receive National Insurance (Bituach Leumi) benefits but does not allow them to vote in national Knesset elections.

If you are worried about birthrate, it is interesting to note that in 1995 the Jews living outside of YESHA had 80,000 babies while the Arabs had 36,000 babies. In 2006 in those same areas, the Jews had 108,000 babies while the Arabs once again had 36,000. This clearly shows that, thank G-d, it’s the Jews in Israel that are having far more babies!

What all this means is that any way you look at it, Jews are the majority in Israel. Even today, including Gaza, we are 55% of the population in the country. While it would be wonderful to be 95% - and eventually 100% - that is still good news! Think about this: Jews existed throughout history while being the overwhelming minority in every land in which they lived. Jews thrived spiritually - and many even financially - while being tiny little minorities.

Today in the United States, for example, there are 300 million people; only 5.2 million of them are Jews. That translates to less than 2%. Imagine that… Jews thriving (for the most part), building businesses, buying nice homes, living comfortable lives and all this while being less than 2% of the general population!

If Jews can succeed at 2% why do we worry when we are 55%? Israeli leaders today act as though we are the minority. They beg the Arabs for love. They kneel down before the Palestinians as slaves before their master. They give them land, money, weapons, free their terrorist prisoners, educate their kids and give them everything they ask for.

Why is this done? As I wrote at the top of this article it’s not because of the Arabs. It’s because of a very small handful of leftist Jews who have a strangle-hold on the leadership of the country. This very tiny group holds Israel hostage. They control the media, the army, the courts, the educational system and to a large degree, the economy as well.

This is what needs to be changed! Stop worrying about the Arabs. I assure you that strong, Jewish faith-based leadership will show them who is boss and stop them from harassing us. We must focus on the positive! We must concentrate on the fact that most Jews in Israel want a true, Jewish state.

A recent poll was taken in Israel asking the Jews who live here if they consider themselves “Jews” or “Israelis” and a whopping 80% answered “Jews”!!! Do you understand what that means? It means that 80% are proud of their heritage, 80% know why they are living in Israel and 80% want to pass this on to their children. The problem is that the 20% minority runs the country!!!

Let us stop making believe what the problem is and target our efforts at the one thing that needs to be changed… the leadership of the State of Israel. Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin have poisoned our Promised Land long enough. The time has come to grab the reigns of leadership away from the 20% whose sole desire is to turn Israel into a Hebrew speaking Singapore. We are much more than that.

For 2,000 years we dreamed of returning to our land. We prayed towards Jerusalem, cried over the destruction of the Holy Temple and yearned to kiss the holy ground. What has happened to that dream? Has it been hijacked by the two Ehuds -- Olmert and Barak?

I, for one, have not given up on that dream and I know that most Jews haven’t either. All we need is strong leaders who base their ideology on Jewish values and concepts. A strong and mighty IDF. An educational system that teaches every Jew in the country -- via love and tolerance - about his/her heritage and traditions. A proud government that feeds its poor, houses its young couples, rewards its Jewish workers and takes care of its old and sick. Forget about the new Arafat, named Abbas, who wears a tie. He can wear a tuxedo for all I care. He is not the problem.

Jewish leadership is the only answer because it zeroes in on the main problem. May Hashem help us bring this dream of new leadership to fruition.

Is It A Mitzvah To Make Aliyah?

“And the Lord spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to the Lord.” Leviticus 25:1-2

The land keeping a sabbath refers to the shmittah year. Once every seven years, all the fields in the land of Israel that are owned by Jews are supposed to lie fallow. We are supposed to live off of the excess we harvest in the 6th year, and from things that just grow on their own.

Rashi’s comment on these two verses asks “what does shmittah have to do with Mt. Sinai? After all, all of the commandments were given at Mt. Sinai. The Slonimer rebbe points out another curious aspect of these two verses: why does it say “when you come into the land it shall keep a Sabbath?” Shouldn’t it start out by saying you’ll plant your crops and tend the fields for six years, and in the seventh year it will rest? Why start out with the rest? The Slonimer explains that the connecting denominator of all of these issues is kedusha, holiness. The Slonimer says that the world was created for the sake of the Jewish people (and they say humility is an important Jewish virtue!).

That’s because we are called an Am Kadosh, a holy people with a special mission to help bring God’s light to all the people of the world, to be mamlechet Kohenim, a nation of priests. But holiness does not only exist in a people – there is also holiness in place and holiness in time. Mt. Sinai represented the conjunction of these three things – the place was made temporarily holy, as the Torah commands people to stay away from the mountain, and the time of the giving of the Torah was holy, and the Torah was given to the holy Jewish people. We have a similar conjunction of these three types of holiness with the shmittah year—it is observed by the Jewish people and their holiness of spirit, in the land of Israel, a holy place, and a particular time, the shmittah year, representing holiness in time – so, like the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, it’s a holiness in time that is connected to both people and the place.

The Slonimer says it is only when all three of these factors are together – people, place, and time – that complete holiness can be attained. It’s only through the combination of these three things together that we merited the great reward of receiving the Torah.

Mt. Sinai’s holiness was only temporary – it was only holy at the time of the giving of the Torah. We do not understand Mt. Sinai as having inherent holiness because of the place itself. The only place in the world that the Jewish tradition understands as having any inherent holiness is the land of Israel.

If Israel is the only place in the world where we can reach this level of connection with God, of bringing together our personal holiness with the holiness of time and place, it raises a question: are we all required to make aliyah? If we are supposed to be an Am Kadosh, a holy nation, do we have to live in the holy land?

Is it a mitzvah – is it a positive commandment – for all Jews to move to Israel?

Now as everyone knows, mitzvah or not, God willing, my wife and I are making aliyah in about 18 mos. So you might have thought, “he’s got that one figured out already!” But the truth is, prior to this week, I had not really decided where I came down on the “is making aliyah a mitzvah” debate. Our decision to make aliyah was not because it’s commanded of us – we had all sorts of other reasons, which I have mentioned in previous posts. But it is a debate – two of our greatest rabbis, Maimonides (Rambam) and Nachmanides (Ramban) seem to be on different sides of the argument. Ramban includes making aliyah in his list of the 613 commandments; Rambam does not. In fact, there is an opinion in the Talmud which says that whoever goes up from Babylonia to Israel – whoever makes aliyah – TRANSGRESSES a commandment!

No surprise, three Jews, three opinions: one says we are required to move to Israel, one says it is optional to move to Israel, one says it is forbidden to move to Israel. So when I make aliyah does that make me a saint, a sinner, or just a guy doing his thing?

There are so many different rabbinic sources debating this matter, I could probably write 10 different posts on this topic. But I won’t. We’ll just look at a few of the key issues in this post.

The launching point for much of the discussion is the Talmud, at the end of tractate Ketubot. The Mishnah there says “A man may compel his entire household to go up with him to the land of Israel, but none may be compelled to leave it. All one’s household may be compelled to go up to Jerusalem, but none may be compelled to leave it. This applies to both men and women.” In other words, not only can a man force his wife to make aliyah, a wife can force her husband!

The discussion on this passage in the mishnah goes on to emphasize the importance of living in Israel—they say “One should always live in the Land of Israel, even in a town most of whose inhabitants are idolaters, but let no one live outside the Land, even in a town most of whose inhabitants are Israelites; for whoever lives in the Land of Israel may be considered to have a God, but whoever lives outside the Land may be regarded as one who has no God.”

Wow! That’s pretty strong stuff – if you live outside of Israel, it’s as if you have no God! The Sifri goes so far as to say that the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael is as important as all the other mitzvot put together! One explanation given is that there are many mitzvot which can only be performed in the land of Israel, so if you are outside of Israel you are “lacking.” And there is also a statement in the Torah which some, like Ramban, interpret as commanding us to live in Israel. Numbers 33:53 says “And you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and live in it; for I have given you the land to possess it.” “And live in it”—it’s a commandment to live in it. “I have given you the land to possess it”—therefore, we are required to go and possess it, otherwise we look like we are not grateful to God for this wonderful gift he gave us.

Given all of this evidence, why are there some who say it is forbidden to make aliyah?

They base their argument on the continuation of the discussion in tractate Ketubot. R. Zera was evading Rab Judah because he desired to go up to the Land of Israel (from Babylon) while Rab Judah had expressed [the following view:] Whoever goes up from Babylon to the Land of Israel transgresses a positive commandment, for it is said in Scripture, “They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I remember them, saith the Lord (Jer. 27:22).” In other words, once we were carried away from Israel to Babylon, we are supposed to sit there waiting for the Messiah to come bring us back—to make aliyah on our own would be “forcing God’s hand” so to speak.

It seems to me that it would be very short-sighted to hold on to that point of view even after the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians and the Jews were allowed to move back to Israel and rebuild the Temple. It’s like the well-known story about the very pious guy who was caught in a flood. The floodwaters were rising and rising, and had to climb up on the roof of his house, praying all the time. A helicopter comes by and they call out, “come on, get in the helicopter!” Our hero demurs, saying “no, that’s OK, God will save me.” The waters keep rising, some people in a small boat come by and say “get in!” And again our pious fellow says “no, that’s OK, God will take care of me!” He gets washed away by the flood and drowns. When he gets brought into the presence of his maker, he complains to God, “God, why didn’t you save me? I gave so much to charity, I dedicated my life to serving you, has there ever been anyone who prayed with greater intensity than me?” And God says, “nu, you didn’t like my helicopter? What was wrong with the boat?”

When God does a miracle for us, we need to open our eyes and recognize the miracle. I picture God asking the Jews who stayed in Babylon, “nu, what was wrong with Cyrus? Didn’t I remember you?” Fortunately, almost none of the later rabbis sided with Rab Judah. No one anymore thinks it is forbidden for an individual to make aliyah (the Satmar Chasidim, however, continue to believe we are forbidden to make aliyah en masse). The disagreement today is between those who say it is a requirement to make aliyah and those who say it is an option.

We’ve seen why Ramban says it’s a requirement. Why doesn’t Rambam agree with him? Why doesn’t Rambam include it in his count of the 613 mitzvot, while Ramban does?

One possible explanation is that Rambam’s understanding of the verse in Bamidbar is along the lines of Rashi’s explanation. The verse in Bamidbar says “And you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and live in it.” Rashi says “and you shall drive them out, and then you will dwell in the land.” Or Hachayim says the difference between Rashi and Ramban is that Rashi says the commandment is to drive the people out – settling the land is a promise, not a commandment. Ramban disagrees and says there are two mitzvot in the pasuk, one to drive them out and another to dwell in the land.

There is another option between seeing making aliyah as a Biblical requirement and seeing no commandment there at all – and that is to view it as a “voluntary mitzvah.” There are positive commandments that are understood as strict requirements: for example, wearing tefillin. In the Torah it says “you shall bind these words as a sign on your hand,” which is understood as meaning every Jewish man is obligated to put on tefillin every day. And then there are voluntary mitzvot, like wearing a tallis. You are not required to put on a tallis, but if you put on a garment that has four corners, it needs to have tzitzit, fringes on it (take note if you like ponchos!). If you never happen to put on a garment with four corners, you haven’t done anything wrong. But if you fail to put on tefillin, you have done something wrong, because it is an obligation to do so.

Rav Moshe Feinstein, one of the leading Orthodox rabbis of the last century, said that making aliyah is like wearing a tallis. It’s an “optional” mitzvah, one that it’s good to do, but you haven’t done anything wrong if you don’t. Rabbi Zev Leff, a rabbi who made aliyah from Florida to go live in the West Bank, points out that even if living in Israel is only a voluntary mitzvah, isn’t it a bit odd that you have people who are very punctilious about other mitzvot – they always wear a tallit katan even though it’s not strictly required, they spend lots of money on having beautiful mezuzot and other ritual objects. He points out “there are people who build their sukkot using only wooden pegs, just to fulfill the opinion of the Chazon Ish, which nobody else holds like. The same Chazon Ish says it's a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisrael.” So how can someone who takes even other optional mitzvot so seriously ignore the commandment to live in Israel?

I believe it IS a mitzvah to make aliyah, not just a voluntary mitzvah, but a solid required mitzvah. I believe Nachmanides was right to include making aliyah in the list of 613 commandments. Rabbi David Golinkin, the leading halachic authority for the Conservative movement in Israel agrees. In a teshuva he wrote on the subject, he points out that the reason Ramban was in the minority in declaring aliyah a mitzvah is because in those days it was virtually impossible for most Jews to make aliyah. Rabbi Golinkin says “It seems that most rabbis saw no point in requiring something so dangerous and expensive that it was virtually unobtainable. By requiring aliyah, the rabbis would have turned almost the entire Jewish people into sinners. But the thrust of Numbers 33:53 as well as of the entire Bible and Talmud is that all Jews are supposed to live in Eretz Yisrael. That is what God repeatedly promised our ancestors, that is why God redeemed us from Egypt, and that is where a large percentage of the mitzvot need to be observed.”

I mentioned earlier Rashi’s interpretation of the verse in Bamidbar, “you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and live in it.” I disagree with Or Hachayim’s interpretation that Rashi sees “live in it” as a promise not a commandment, because the rest of his commentary says “living in it depends on being established in the land; and if not, we are not able to keep this mitzvah.” In Rashi’s day, in the 11th century, Israel was under Muslim rule, except for a brief period when the Christians took over in a crusade. Not a place Jews could readily choose to go to. Today, however, is a different story. We have “dispossessed the inhabitants of the land.” Whether the way we dispossessed the inhabitants was nice or not, for better or worse, Israel is now a country where the substantial majority of the population is Jewish. We have self-rule. Given that we are once more firmly established in the land, it is incumbent upon each of us to live there. That’s why God gave it to us.

The Chatam Sofer says that even though Maimonides did not list living in Israel as a mitzvah, he believed that nonetheless we are obligated to live there. He bases this on teachings elsewhere from Rambam that when Jews don’t live in Israel it is as if they are contributing to the destruction of the land. He says contributing to the holiness of Israel is a requirement in and of itself, above and beyond a requirement to settle there. As the Slonimer rebbe said, it is only in Israel where we can experience the completion of holiness in soul, place, and time all at the same time.

Perhaps another reason Rambam did not include living in Israel as one of the mitzvot is because it is “p’shita,” so obvious. Rambam does, after all, say that one who lives in Israel cannot leave except under special circumstances, he says that anyone who lives in Israel his sins are forgiven, and he brings the mishnah which “says it is better to live in a city in Israel where the majority of inhabitants are idol worshippers than to live in a city outside Israel where the majority of inhabitants are Jews” as law. Israel is our home, where else would a Jew live if he has any choice?

Living in Israel both makes it possible to observe other mitzvot. It is far easier to observe Shabbat and the holidays in a place that lives on Jewish time. It is far easier to keep kosher in a place where most of the restaurants are kosher and most grocery stores only have kosher food on their shelves. We spend tons of money and effort as a community trying to pump up our kids with a strong Jewish identity in hopes of maintaining Jewish continuity, when in Israel, with 80% of the population being Jewish, Jewish continuity happens on its own.

Even though I believe it is a mitzvah to live in Israel, I don’t believe all Jews in the world have to live there all the time. In fact, given the tensions in the world, it is a good thing to have a vibrant Jewish community outside of Israel – we’re avoiding putting all of our eggs in one basket. However I do believe all Jews should consider Israel home, and should live there a substantial part of their lives. All Jews should have an Israeli passport, testimony to the fact that Israel is truly home in a physical as well as a spiritual sense – even if they also have another passport and temporarily live somewhere else because of work or family considerations. And for me, that is the essence of the mitzvah. Israel is our permanent home – anywhere else is a place we are merely visiting. And Israel is an amazing place.

The Midrash says God created ten portions of beauty in the world, nine in Jerusalem and one for the rest of the world. My feelings toward Israel parallel the way the Spanish writer Goytisolo describes his feelings toward Marrakesh, where he lives. People ask him why he lives there, and his response is “have you seen it? In the 70s, when I was very poor, I was offered a permanent teaching post in Edmonton. I realized I would rather starve in Marrakesh than be a millionaire in Alberta.”

Yes, for most of us, to fulfill the mitzvah of living in Israel requires financial sacrifice. But about living in Jerusalem, I would paraphrase Goytisolo: “have you seen it? I would rather live in a 3 bedroom apartment in Jerusalem than in a 6 bedroom house in New York – or even than in my beloved Portland.” You can’t put a price tag on going home.

Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Lazeh

Once there were two brothers who inherited a farm. They worked the farm together for years in brotherly love. After a time, one of them found a wife, so the brothers divided up the farm. The married one built a new house and lived with his wife, while the single brother lived by himself in the old building. The brothers continued to work their farms and they flourished and made a lot of money.

The one who had a wife eventually had some children. A large family, ten children. And the other brother was still looking for a wife; he was alone.

One day, the brother who was alone thought to himself: "I've got this whole farm and all this money, but I only have myself to take care of. My brother has the same amount as me, but he has twelve mouths to feed." So in the middle of the night he took some bundles of wheat, climbed up the hill that separated the two farms, then over into his brother's farm - putting the wheat in his brother's silo.

One night the married brother was thinking to himself, "You know, I've got ten kids, I've got a wife. My world is rich. But my brother, he's all alone. What does he have? All he has is his wheat." So, in the middle of the night, he took a bundle of wheat, climbed the hill, and carried it over to his brother's silo.

Back and forth each of the brothers went. Every night each one would climb the hill, pass over to the other side and put wheat in the other's silo. And the next morning each one always wondered, how come I have the same amount of wheat?

One night, while they were passing over to bring the other their bundles of wheat, the two brothers met at the top of the hill. And immediately they understood what had been happening. They fell into each other's arms, hugging and awash in love for each other.

It is on this site that the Almighty chose to build the Holy Temple.

Because when a human being loves another human being, the Almighty is with us. Wherever we are. Because that is what living is really about.

My Assignment From Eitan...

My good friend, Eitan, has meme'd me to write a post listing 10 things I would like to ask of G-d. Hmmm.....that's not as easy as I thought! At first I thought I could just be funny, but the more I thought about it, there are some real things I'd like to know, so I thought I would mix it up a little. I won't get real heavy, but I'll have fun with it...good idea, achi! (I will resume writing about the 13 Principles of Faith tomorrow). Here is my list of 10 things I would like to ask of G-d:

1. Could You PLEASE send haMashiach??!!??


2. Please let me watch the moment of creation...when you spoke everything into existance. I would like a front-row seat!


3. If you love Am Yisrael so much and we're Your inheritance, why have we had to suffer so?


4. Please rid Eretz Yisrael of all arabs, leaving only Jews and righteous gentiles, and re-establish our national borders to those outlined in the Torah.


5. I would love to have a front-row seat to watch Moshe part the Red Sea and Elijah call down fire on the prophets of Ba'al!


6. Could You let the Powerball lottery get to $500 million then let me win, please? Please??!!


7. Did I mention sending Mashiach today?


8. Oh Hashem, G-d of my fathers, please let me be the one to bulldoze the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa mosque.


9. Could you make me look like Brad Pitt, wealthy like Warren Buffet, sing like Barry Manilow, and have a passion for You like David HaMelech?


10. (on my face...trembling...in a whisper) Hashem, could I please see Your face?

Well, I intended to be light-hearted and funny with this, but the more I thought about what I would like to ask the G-d of my fathers, the faster my heart started to beat....There are probably a hundred more questions I would like to ask, but this post only allows 10, so the other 90 will have to wait.

Thank you, Eitan, for this 'assignment,' because you caused me to explore my heart and open a new line of communication between Him and I. As I wrote this, I asked Him.... "So G-d, why do we have to suffer so much? You are so amazing, G-d....how I wish I could see your glory....less of me, L-rd, and more of You!" It turned into an awesome time of worship between us, and I am extremely appreciative!

There is no better feeling than after spending time on your face, completely humbled before the G-d of the universe, praising Him for His goodness! It is amazing! If you haven't tried it, DO IT! If it isn't the greatest feeling you've ever experienced, I'll refund your money! LOL!

"For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12