Praying ‘ exclusively’ to God

23rd day of Av, 5770

God is the only one whom we may serve, praise, and whom we may pray to. Praying to anything or anyone other than God is absolutely forbidden.

We can’t pray to an angel, and not even to ask from an angel to carry our prayer to God.

Three times a day, every day, we express our belief that: “Ki Atta Shomea’ Tefillat Kol Pe…” “YOU listen to everyone’s prayer… “. YOU, directly, without any intermediaries.

While other religions might consider ‘a grave’ (keber) as a sacred place of worship, our Rabbis warned against praying in a cemetery, next to a grave — except for saying Kaddish and Hashkaba — lest one be carried out by an impulse to address a loved one or a deceased Rabbi in his prayers, instead of praying directly to God Almighty. This is why one should avoid praying next to a grave, like other religions do.
Even in me’arat hamakhpela, in Chebron, where the Synagogues are close to the graves of our ancestors, one is warned not to address our prayers, God forbid, to our ancestors but only the God of our ancestors.

Part of being Jewish is the strong belief that haShem is ‘directly’ responsible for our fate. He forbade us to use intermediaries of any sort and commanded us to address and worship Him alone (Va’abadtem Et Hashem Elokekhem… ). Addressing another entity-intermediary –regardless of how important this intermediary might be–would be a great offense to His name.

Maimonides formulated this rule as the 5th of the 13 principles of our faith: “… it is only proper to pray to God. One may not pray to anyone or anything else”



HONORING ONE’S PARENTS: The difference between ‘respect’ and ‘honor’.

Today is the 22nd of Av, 5770

In The Torah there are two Mitzvot which regulate children/parents relationship. The first one is kabbed et abikha ve-et imekha “Honor your father and your mother”.
This important Mitzva is the fifth of the Ten Commandments. There is a second Mitzva (vaikra –Leviticus- 19, 3) ish immo veabiv tira’u “A man should fear/respect his mother and his father”. These two Mitzvot are different from each other and actually complement each other.
‘Honoring’ includes all what we must do for our parents: watch them and when necessary feed them and help them to get dress, take them out, drive them, etc. In other words: take good care of them.
‘Respect’, on the other side, is about what we are not allowed to do to our parents: we can’t call our parents by their name, we can’t sit in their seat, we can’t contradict them, etc.
In a practical sense, the Mitzvah of ‘respect’ applies mainly when we are young and we depend on our parents. A Jewish child observes a strict system of discipline and behavior which trains him to accept authority.
The second Mitzva, honoring, applies mainly when our parents are older, and (or when) they depend on us. We have a direct obligation to take good care of them. This Mitzva emphasizes the duty of gratitude and payback for those who fed us, dressed us, and took care of us when we were children.


THE SHABBAT TABLE. (Part 1) Friday night dinner and Parenting

Today is the 19th of Av, 5770

“A core predictor of which families produce children who grow up to be described as “mentchen” (decent and good) children is the amount and quality of time spent by parents with their children.

In a fascinating series of studies that have recently received media attention, researchers have found a direct correlation between the number of times a week parents eat dinner with their children and the risk of abusing drugs. Families that eat dinner together once a week have children with lower risk for drug-abuse than those that never do.

With each increasing night that parents and children eat together, drug abuse risk decreases to the point that there is virtually no risk for drug abuse in families in which parents and children dinner together every night.

The importance of eating dinner together is not the ‘eating’ or dinner; it’s the uninterrupted, focused interaction that seems to bear such valuable fruit” (from the book ‘Balanced Parenting’ by R. and D. Pelcovitz).

Shabbat dinner -among other things- creates a sense of belonging and responsibility: a young adult who spends quality time with his family will think twice before doing a wrong thing. Because he realizes that whatever negative action he might do, it will bear unwanted consequences to all his beloved relatives.

Shabbat dinner is a God-given gift -a night which enriches our souls and strengthens our family.

 

 

Shabbat Shalom!

 

 

Candle lighting 7:55 PM.



What makes a fish ‘Kosher’?

17th of Av, 5770

The Torah says that fish or any creature that lives in the water must have both scales (kaskekset) and fins (senapir) in order to be considered Kosher. The rabbis of the Talmud teach us that all fish that have scales also have fins, so in practice Kosher fish are identified simply by their scales. Obviously, crustaceans (such as lobster) and other shellfish (such as clams) are not Kosher because they lack scales.

Not all scales are considered Kosher by Jewish Law. It must be removable without damage to the skin of the fish. Sturgeon, although it has primitive bony plates on its sides, is not considered Kosher because the scales cannot be removed without damaging the flesh. Sharks are similarly not Kosher, because their skin is covered with tiny teeth-like armor, which are not considered scales at all.

Jewish Law requires only a minimum number of scales to accord a fish Kosher status. Tuna, for example, have very few scales, yet are nevertheless considered a Kosher fish.

There are a few more factors that complicate this determination. For example, a given species of fish may be known by five or more names, some of which are common to known Kosher species. “Rock Salmon”, for example, is a non-Kosher fish (otherwise known as Atlantic Wolfish), and bears no relationship to the common Kosher species of true salmon.

For a list of Kosher and non kosher fish see: http://www.kashrut.com/articles/fish/


Adapted from The Fortunes of a Fish by Rabbi Blech.



TEFILA and HUMBLENESS

16th of Av, 5770

I’ve got a few new books in Israel. One of them is BET ELOKIM written by Rabbi Moshe ben Yosef Miterany (Salonica 1505- Jerusalem 1585)

In section # 1 he talks about Tefila and the first thing he teaches us is about the attitude of humbleness that we have to show when praying to God Almighty. We cannot ‘demand’ from God to fulfill our needs or requests. We must realize that God Almighty does not owe us anything. Humbly, we approach Him, asking Him and begging Him to hear our prayers knowing that we don’t necessarily deserve His attention or response… We should see ourselves like a poor person asking for charity, requesting a ‘favor’ not a ‘payback’.

All the Mitzvot we do are not ‘favors’ for God for which we should expect God’s attention. On the contrary: a Jew ‘owes’ God the privilege of having being chosen by Him and every Mitzva we do, it’s ultimately for our own benefit: to refine our character and to feed our soul with the nutrients necessary for the world to come. God Almighty is like a father that loves his son and if he demands from his son, for instance, to study, is having his son’s interest in mind, not his own!

Similarly, every Mitzva we do by the command of God it was given by Him for our benefit.

This attitude of humbleness and acknowledgment to HaShem is a prerequisite for a sincere prayer.

Read more about rabbi Moshe Miterani, the MABIT: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=294&letter=T#1241



TU BEAV: The happy side of the month of Av…

Today is the 15thof Av

The Talmud in Masekhet Taanit says that today, Tu BeAv, the 15thof the month of Av is one of the happiest days of the year. No special customs or celebrations are performed, except for the omission of Tachanun (the confessional prayer).

Why is the 15thof Av such a happy day?

Many positive things happened to the Jewish people on this day.

1. As we know from the story of the 9thof Av, when Am Israel complained about their every person older than 20 who had left Egypt was condemned to die in the dessert. Well, on the 15thof Av, 40 years after they left Egypt they stop dying.

2. In order to ensure the orderly division of the Holy Land between the twelve tribes of Israel, restrictions had been placed on marriages between members of two different tribes. (Bamidbar chapter 36). This restriction was lifted, on the 15th of Av.

3. Av 15 was also the day on which the tribe of Benjamin, which had been excommunicated for its behavior in the incident of the “Concubine at Givah,” was readmitted into the community of Israel, as related in Judges 19-21.

For these two last reasons, the 15thof Av was known as a day of ‘dancing and dating’. The girls would go to the fields and dance among themselves and the guys would come and ask them out.

To read the whole story of the 15 of Av please see: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/717167/jewish/Why-Do-We-Celebrate-the-15th-of-Av.htm



 Snapshot of Israel

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Middleeastweb/snapshot/Israel.htm

I took this picture 3 days ago. Anything special? Just children playing, right? Not so fast…

I’m in the Old City of Jerusalem on a street/square called Batei Machase. I see to my left elders sitting in a bench, looking at those children play. Then, there is also a scripture craved on a stone, just behind me. It’s a quote from the prophet Zekharia. 8: 4-5

Zekharia lived at the time (540 BCE) when the Jews were exiled to Babel and their future looked very grim. Following the course of history, the Jews should have naturally integrated/assimilated to the Babylonian Empire, and disappear….

Yerushalaim was totally destroyed, completely in ruins; everything was ashes, death and desolation….

But from the mist of the ruins, Zekharia had an incredible courageous vision: Chapter 8 4 – 5

“And now haShem says: I will return to Mount Zion, and I will live in Yerushalaim”

“…. And once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play”.

Now, the whole picture: I’m reading this very verse, engraved on the stone next to me. I see the elders, sitting in a bench. I see the children playing on the street. And I realize, I have the incredible –an undeserved- merit of being a witness to Zekharia’s words.

In MY days, in YOUR days, in OUR incredible days his words were finally fulfilled. Zekharia was talking about US! We are living a prophecy…

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®



Torah thoughts from Yerushalaim: THE PALACE.

Today is the 24th of Tamuz, 5770

These days I’m reading More Nebukhim, ‘Maimonides Guide of Perplexed’. In the third section of the book, chapter 51, Maimonides talks about the way of ‘knowing’ (in the sense of connecting to…) God and he gives the following example: the King (God) resides in an inner chamber of the Palace.  Some people, the prophets, are inside the palace wandering in the hallways, looking for the King. Some people know of the Palace and are searching the paths that lead to it. Others also know of the Palace, but they are confused and keep looking in the wrong/opposite direction, ironically, the more they search for it, the further away they get from the Palace. And finally, most people, who have no clue of a Palace or they just don’t care about it…     

The ‘prophets’ are not crystal ball readers but those few individuals who, first of all, have gain perfection in their character: They are ‘rich’ because regardless of how much they posses, they manage to ‘need’ very little and they are fully content having the minimum necessary to live. They are ‘wise’ or completely ‘humble’ because they are constantly learning from others and they never consider they know enough. And finally they are ‘strong’ because they have control on what they eat, on what they say, on what they see and on what they think. 

As you can see, the way to the Palace or ‘the Jewish spiritual journey’ requires first of all, a good dose of self-discipline and character refinement.
The blessing of ‘milk and honey’:  http://www.aish.com/ci/s/97371409.html


The desired effect of praying


23rd of Tamuz, 5770


When we pray with Kavana, focusing our mind exclusively on God, our Tefila leaves a long lasting effect in our personalities, enough to impact our deeds, thoughts and values. When we mentally strive to maintain God at the center we regain consciousness of our place on the periphery of reality.

Still, we try to change and improve what we can change and improve, but at one point we learn to ‘accept’ (not ‘give up’, but accept. Notice the difference!) that some things are beyond our reach and beyond our power to modify. ‘Emuna’ faith is usually understood in the sense of ‘hope’, but to me the proper understanding of Emuna is ‘acceptance’.

This state of the mind, acceptance, is also known as ‘anava’ humbleness. It consists on recognizing the existence of a higher power which control what we don’t. When we reach this state, many small things that use to make us angry becomes less important… we try to make the best of it, of what we can’t change, and we let go easier …

If prayers don’t bring my mind to a higher level of ‘Emuna’ and ‘humbleness’, then probably I have not prayed with enough Kavana. I might just have articulated some Hebrew ‘sounds’….



Prayers from Yerushalaim

19th of Tamuz, 5770

BARUCH HASHEM I’m now in Erets Israel for the next three weeks. I’m staying in a small apartment in Yeshivat haKotel, a two minutes walk- literately- from the Western Wall. It is also thirty seconds away from Beth-El Synagogue, where I go to pray.
Beth-El synagogue is one of the ancient Synagogues in the Old City and one of the most special in the world. When you pray there you really feel transported to a different planet. In that Synagogue the lachash (silent Amida) lasts at least 40 minutes. Which gives you the unique opportunity -and forces you- to take very seriously every word of the Amida.
Stopping to think for a few seconds when you say ATA (‘You’), for example, being conscious that you are addressing God in the second person and feeling that you’re really in front of God Almighty, is probably one of the most important goals of our spiritual journey. Every word of the Amida guides you to follow a path that leads to His presence. And when you think about Him, the focus shifts from asking things from God to a mental effort to get closer to Him, as you would do to be closer to someone you deeply love.
You’ve to concentrate and focus in every word without letting any other thoughts -even thoughts about your basic needs- invade your mind. At those precious minutes you’re trying to find in your soul the right way to think about God.
It is indeed a very challenging exercise of concentration but extremely rewarding. I tell you why, BH tomorrow.
Note: It is really difficult to find an accessible Wi-Fi in the vicinity . So, BH I’m not sure at what time of the day you will get the HOTD for the following 3 weeks…..