Yitro, Moses’ father-in-law, arrives at the Israelite camp with his daughter Tzipora, Moses’ wife, and their two grandsons, Gershom and Eliezer. The reunion was very emotional. Moshe told Yitro in detail everything that happened in Egypt: the story of the ten plagues, the endless negotiations with Pharaoh, the sea opening, and how God saved them from slavery. The next day, the Tora says, Moses returned to his duties as the supreme leader and the most respected person of the people. Moses acted as mediator and arbitrator, judging his people — avoiding ion this way disputes and conflicts — from morning till night. But upon seeing this, and instead of praising him, his father-in-law criticized Moshe: “What you’re doing is wrong! … this work is too heavy for you. You won’t be able to do it alone,” he said.  Yitro didn’t limit himself to criticizing Moses. He also told Moses what to do: “delegate your power and assign more judges: an arbitrator for every ten people, one for every 50, one for every 100, and one for every 1,000.”

Before analyzing Moses’ reaction to Yitro’s criticism, let’s remember some facts. 1. Moses is no longer a child. He is over 80 years old. At that age, a man like Moses has enough experience to give advice, not to receive criticism! 2. Moses is the leader of 3 million people. Yitro, on the other hand, was not even a political leader. He was a priest in Midian, a town with many fewer people under his charge. 3. Moses is the man of the hour. As Yitro himself confessed: everyone at that time had heard about Moses. And I imagine that he was more admired among non-Jews than among Jews. Why? Because the Jews knew that God had done all these miracles, but the Gentiles would surely have thought it was all Moses’ own powers. Moshe had all the reasons in the world to reject Yitro’s advice and say: “Dear father-in-law: I greatly appreciate your concern, but please don’t interfere with what doesn’t concern you!” . Moses could have said in the best style of Bil’am’s arrogance. “God speaks to me! I am His chosen one. His spokesman. I don’t need any human advice!”

However, and in an incredible display of humility, Moses listened to his father-in-law and carried out his advice. This shows us why Moses was called by the Tora “the most humble man on the face of the earth”. Because despite being so wise, famous, and connected to God, Moses had the humility to listen to others and adopt their advice. As we once explained, when a human being comes closer to God, he better understands his own finitude, limits, and smallness. As the Chinese say, “The bamboo, the higher it grows, the deeper it bends.”

Humility is a rare and valuable quality in our modern world, where people seek to assert their dominance and knowledge by precisely rejecting listening to other people’s opinions or ideas. Absurdly, we ignore good advice because we feel it would amount to admitting that we are inferior to the one guiding us. According to modern psychologists (see this article), people often ignore good recommendations because they want to feel in control and demonstrate competence. The more an individual suffers from low self-esteem, the more arrogantly he or she will react toward advice and reject help. A person with low confidence often refuses to accept good advice, even though they know those recommendations will benefit their decisions. A small ego desperately wants to avoid being perceived as needing help, even at the price of sabotaging his own interest.

The example of Moses demonstrates that true power and wisdom come from humility, which manifests, not infrequently, in the willingness to listen to others

Spech given on April.25.2009 Tazria – Metzora (Holocaust) 1.Yiar.5769

This is a difficult week for a Rabbi to decide on a subject for his speech. This Shabbat falls in between the commemoration of the Holocaust, Yom HaShoah, and Yom Haatzmaut: respectively the biggest tragedy and the biggest achievement of the Jewish people in modern History. Luckily, YMJC Board made my life easier by deciding to celebrate Yom Haatzmaut next Shabbat.

I will dedicate this week’s sermon, therefore, to reflect on Yom haShoa, or better said to reflect on the circumstances that surrounded the advancement of the Nazi death machinery. This past Monday night, we commemorated in this building Yom haShoa and we had two special guests. First, we had a veteran American soldier who was present at the moment of liberating the concentration camps. We saw some very shocking pictures that he took with his camera, but as we said to him that night, the most important thing for us was to be able to look directly at the eyes that witnessed this horror. This will be our way to become witnesses ourselves… Then we listen to Mr. Stephen Berger, a Holocaust survivor who was born in Hungry and lost in the Shoa 26 members of his immediate family. The fate of the Hungarian Jews was unique. Unlike other Jewish communities in Europe, the deportation of Hungarian Jews started when the Nazis knew that the war was lost: they invested their forces to pursue the final solution rather than fighting the Soviets. In a matter of months, half a million Jews were deported, mainly to Auschwitz, where 90% of them were killed at their arrival…. Winston Churchill wrote in a letter to his Foreign Secretary dated July 11, 1944, “There is no doubt that the persecution of Jews in Hungary and their expulsion from enemy territory is probably the greatest and most horrible crime ever committed in the whole history of the world….”

Mr. Berger told us many stories of the horrors he and his family had lived. But what personally shocked me the most was to hear him saying that in his dictionary, the word “never” does not exist. I think that he was hinting at the fact that, ironically, on the same day that we remembered the Holocaust in Europe, specifically in neutral Geneva, Switzerland, the Durban II conference was taking place. Very much like Durban I, back in 2001, Israel -the Jew among the nations- was bashed over and over. The deplorable highlight of the conference was –incredibly- the President of Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad, who once again hinted at the denial of the Holocaust and advocated for a second one.

Interestingly, when this man started to speak, many European countries walked out of the room, and some European countries stayed in the room: Switzerland because they still didn’t get that neutrality is a form of collaboration, and when a member of the UN is calling for the elimination of another UN member, silence is agreement. Do you know who else stayed from Europe? One of Israel’s “best” friends Norway. Norway justified its presence because it defended “freedom of speech”. So, they should let anyone, including a dictator who incites to mass murder like Ahmadinejad, freely express his ideas. Norwegians are very consistent with their beliefs. Last month, as it was reported in a Norwegian newspaper, Adressavisa, an exhibition by painter Guillvag took place: “Requiem for the children of Gaza” (check: http://www.israelwhat.com/?p=1116 ) where you could enjoy the art of giant paintings depicting blood thirsty Israeli soldiers stepping on the heads of naked.

Palestinian children… everything in the name of freedom of speech. However, that same week in the same city, there was another important exhibition: “It’s not forbidden to think” by Ahmed Mashhouri, who, in a series of prints, exhibited some of the most controversial parts of the Koran. After only a few hours, the exhibition was attacked, partly demolished and subsequently taken down from the town. Not surprisingly, nobody complained, no demonstrations about freedom of speech because when “Islam” is criticized, Norway does not advocate freedom of speech. In Norway, NO newspaper would dare to reproduce the drawings of the Prophet or to say anything critical of Muslims. It is a new kind of selective and COWARD freedom of speech, typical of the new era of paralyzing personal fear, which started so victoriously for radical Islam with Salman Rushdie’s persecution. Even in America, cartoons like “The Simpson” or “Family Guy” will make frequent unrestricted fun of the Jewish or Christian faith, but they would NEVER, EVER make fun of Mohammad or Islam. More from Norway, a country that obviously has no geographical or political reason to hold any conflict with Israel: This week, I’ve got an email called: “Why I won’t be seeing the fjords this summer”. Thanks to this email, I’ve learned that the Norwegian supermarkets decided to place special identification stickers on products coming from Israel. To add insult to injury, they dare to affirm to the press that the stickers “do not constitute a boycott of Israel”. Norwegians do not have anti-Semitic feelings! They just are pro-Palestinians. Now, why a European country would be Pro-Palestinian? In which sense the Israeli Palestinian conflict affects Norway, directly or indirectly? When the Norwegians care so much exclusively about Palestinians, it raises a flag of suspicion!!!. Let me explain: Is Norway weighing boycotting Chinese products from their supermarket in protest of China killing and expelling the Tibetans from their territories? Are the Norwegians going to ban Sri Lankan products because Norwegians identify with the Tamil victims? I guess that only if the Tamil Tigers decided to fight Israel instead of Sri Lanka, would Norway and many European countries will pay a lot more attention to the Tigers and less attention to the Palestinians. (PLEASE, PLEASE see the following link: you won’t believe your eyes!!! http://www.israelwhat.com/?p=1778&cpage=1#comment-79. This fixation to empathize exclusively with the enemies of Israel is very suspicious of a different kind of hate. Interestingly -and ironically- in 1941, the popular graffiti on Jewish business in Oslo read: “Jews, go to Palestine”. But now that Jews have built a beautiful country, to their distress, the new Norwegian slogan is: “After 50 years of Jewish occupation: free Palestine!” Talking of anti-Semitism and Norway. I’m reading here from Asianews.Net,. I quote: “Judges of the organization of the Islamic conferences and Norwegian lawyers accuse Israel of war crimes and ethnic cleansing during the recent war in Gaza….Norway and Iran want to sue Tel Aviv for the bombings in Gaza. … Norwegian lawyers have accused Israel of war crimes for the Gaza offensive…The lawyers have said that they will charge Tzipi Livni (prime minister at the time) and Ehud Barak (defense minister at the time), asking for their extradition and arrest”.

Going back to Mr. Berger’s; as he was leaving the building, somebody asked him: “Do you think it can happen again?” And he said: NO. But not because the world has changed. Our case study, Norway, is the living proof that anti-Semitism disguised as “anti-Israelism” is still very much alive. Mr. Berger believes that the Shoa is very unlikely to happen again

because now we have Medinat Israel. Now we have an army to deter those who seek our annihilation. Now we can defend ourselves!!!.

I agree. Anti-Semitism is on the rise in a level that the world has not seen, probably since 1939. Incredibly, in an era of scientific progress and unprecedented progress in human rights, a dictator who is explicitly known to support terrorist organizations denies the horror of the Shoa in European soil, advocates for the extermination of the Jewish people on an International Forum gathered to fight persecution and racism, and he does not only walk away with murder but he is also applauded by more than 100 nations of the world… Can we still have faith in any international system of law or justice? If Chas veShalom there is a new threat of a Shoa against the Jewish people, do you think that these 100 nations will raise a finger to stop it? I can’t help but believe that the conditions right now are, unfortunately, fertile for a new Shoa.  Radical Islamic regimes are gaining more and more ground. The Muslim demographic is a huge threat to Europe and even to America (I urge you to watch this video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jerusalemon)

I really hope I’m wrong, but I believe that the world would not do anything that will imply even a diplomatic risk for them, in order to save Israel…

HaShem Almighty is on our side and He will always protect us from our enemies. And they know that now, unlike 1939, we have Medinat Israel. All the modern Hitlers and Ahmadinejad are fully aware that if they ever want to pursue their evil plans, they will have to face one of the most powerful armies in the world and the most amazing and motivated soldiers.

May HaShem always protect us. May He inspire the world to see the truth and pursue peace. May we have the merit of seeing the dream of SHALOM coming true in our days,

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, the Greek empire set out to impose its Hellenic culture on all conquered peoples. They did this in a peaceful and persuasive manner, rather than through force as other empires had done in the past. They were so successful that they caused the disappearance of all other religions in the world. This process of universal acculturation is known as Hellenization. The diffusion of Greek cultural and religious ideas also affected the Jews. Those who lived outside of Israel, in Alexandria for example, were the ones who assimilated the quickest. And they began to practice what some historians describe as a “Hellenic Judaism,” a combination of some “humanistic” Jewish ideas stripped of religious rituals and elements of Hellenic culture. This new form of Judaism became the new religion of many Jews in the diaspora. However, the Jews of Israel remained faithful to their traditions. But the coming to power of the new emperor Antiochus (Antiochus) Epiphanes in 215 BCE worsened the situation of these Jews. Antiochus was much more aggressive than his predecessors in his campaign of Hellenic proselytism. And the pressure was so great that many Jews fully assimilated to Hellenism, and others practiced a “light” Judaism adapted to the values of Greek society. As has happened many times in the history of our people, religious assimilation did not come from a theological place but from a social one: assimilated Jews were desperate to be fully accepted by the Greeks, whom they looked at with admiration. And religious rituals were a barrier to social integration into the attractive Greek culture, which was as influential as Hollywood culture in the United States and the world.

Let’s look at some illustrations. Kashrut (kosher), which is the strict Jewish religious diet, created many obstacles and social barriers, limiting the integration of Jews with Greek citizens. If the table could not be shared with Gentile neighbors, Gentiles could not be expected to accept Jews as their equals. And probably, Gentiles would not be willing to marry their daughters to Jewish boys. The practice of Kashrut, then, began to decline. It was shown as something primitive. And negative. Because in the new Hellenic world, the separations between peoples did not look good. Assimilated Jews justified their abandonment of Judaism by stating that “in order to survive, Judaism had to modernize.” With this slogan, also Shabbat and circumcision had to be eliminated because they were considered obsolete. They were rituals that caused division. At this point, there is something important that must be clarified. This assimilation process occurred mainly in the cities, especially in mixed urban areas where Jews and non-Jews lived. The poorer Jews, the peasants residing in towns and villages, were insulated from the influence and social pressures of Gentile society and remained faithful to the Torah.

THE REFORMS OF JASON AND MENELAUS

Knowing that some Jews were still reluctant to abandon their religious practices, Antiochus Epiphanes set out to forcibly Hellenize them. Why? It was a matter of principle. Few and discreet though they were, the Jews who still observed the Torah were, practically speaking, “the only citizens of the Greek empire who openly rejected Hellenism.” Antiojus sought allies among the Jews themselves, those who had already voluntarily Hellenized. And he appointed as High Priest of the Temple of Jerusalem, that is, as the maximum representative of the Jewish religion, an assimilated and easily corruptible Jew: Jason (175 B.C.E.). Later, he replaced him with another priest who was even more corrupt: Menelaus (171 BCE). These new “priests” who were in charge of the Jerusalem Temple were leading the reformation of Judaism. Jason, for example, led a delegation of assimilated Jews who, instead of attending the Bet haMiqdash service on Shabbat, went to the Olympic stadium to watch and participate in the games and competitions. It was not just Jewish ritual practice that was being reformed. Also religious principles and beliefs were subject to reform by these false priests. Jewish monotheism was no exception. The reformers wanted to adapt the most basic Jewish principle, monotheism, and they formulated more flexible and, as we say today, more inclusive religious rules, which would recognize the Greek gods, and then accept that everyone, Jews and non-Jews alike, would offer sacrifices to their gods. gods in the Great Temple of Jerusalem. The corrupt priests argued that monotheistic “fanaticism” was a thing of the ancient Jews, and that if it was not reformed it would hurt the sensibilities of the Greeks. The Jews, the assimilationists argued, should also be more “tolerant” and offer sacrifices to the God of Israel in a slightly more Greek way. For example, also sacrifice animals that were used in Greek rites. This led Menelaus, in the name of the new multiculturalism, to desecrate the Jewish altar in an extreme way: in 170 BCE this “Jewish priest” offered a pig as a sacrifice at the Bet haMiqdash.

HOW TO CAUSE THE JEWISH REBELLION?

Although many Jews remained loyal to their faith, more and more Jews, due to tremendous social pressures, were adopting the path of the Greeks. But in the year 169 B.C.E. a providential event took place, a miracle, which would change the course of Jewish history. Antiojus Epiphanes lost patience. He lashed out at the few Jews who still refused assimilation, and decided it was time to stop being nice, gentle, and persuasive to those “stubborn peasants” who resisted change, and officially decreed a ban on the Jewish practice. . And he ordered his armies to enforce these laws by imposing the death penalty for those who practiced Judaism. However, Antiojus’s attitude had an effect contrary to what he wanted to achieve. This assimilation by decree aroused Jewish pride, even in those who, perhaps unconsciously, were inadvertently assimilating. Unintentionally, Antiochus provoked what was later known as the armed rebellion of the Chashmonayim, who fought not only against the Greeks but also against the Jews who had led the assimilationist movement. If Antiochus Epiphanes had not lost his patience, the assimilation of the Jews would have continued without resistance. The rebellion against the Greek empire would never have happened, and the Jewish people ח”ו might never have recovered from assimilation. It could have disappeared forever, being integrated into the empire, as it happened with all the other religions and civilizations of antiquity. “The impatience of Antiojus” was absolutely providential and should be considered one of the Chanukah miracles.

UPCOMING BOOK

His next book is about Genesis Chapter 1, verses 26-28, on the creation of man and woman. Creation is a progressive process: from atoms to life, from life to intelligence, and from intelligence to empathy. Man was created on the Sixth Day, the same as other mammals. But unlike animals, mas was granted a Nefesh Chaya (ruach memalela) that is: verbal intelligence. Unlike animals that perceive reality through sight, smell and sharing, humans think with words, that is: we grasp reality linguistically. And among other things thought makes room for many possible responses to any given impulse. Humans possess freedom of choice or the ability to respond (response-ability) and say yes or no to our urges. Language also allows man to classify reality: he names the animals and the surrounding elements, creating systems that connect words to things.    Unlike all other animals, in the beginning, a man was created alone. And in a different act of creation, both in terms of timing and the source of this creation, God fashioned woman: as a special companion opposite to man. Designed with a unique type of non-verbal intelligence, that modern scientist Simon Baron-Cohen, author of the book “The essential difference” defines as“empathy”.   Both men and women are to act and work together, using their different uniqueness to complement and supplement each other in synergy and harmony.

IF YOU LOVE ME, READ MY MIND

IF YOU LOVE ME, READ MY MIND
a Shalom Bayit Workshop, by Rabbi Yosef Bitton.

One of the biggest challenges we face is the rise of divorce rates, the growth in the number of men and women who chose to remain single, and the difficulties with Shalom Bayit for the couples that stay in their marriage. To address these very real crises, we must first understand the causes. This workshop addresses one of the main reasons for the lack of happiness and fulfillment in marriage: men and women were created differently by design. Their nature, needs, thought processes, and communication methods are different. Men and women differ in the way they experience and convey emotions; in the way they deal with tensions and challenges; in the way that they solve problems, and in the way that they communicate feelings and love. These differences, when unknown and unacknowledged, cause a lot of unnecessary stress and friction and often damage the relationship between husband and wife. Learning about these differences is essential for achieving a level of understanding and acceptance which will strengthen the married couple for years to come.

THE WORKSHOP
The workshop I’m presenting consists of three units, each focusing on both theory and practical application regarding the innate differences between male and female brains.

The first class is for the couple; we explore the biblical story of Creation and what we learn from the fact that men and women were created in two different acts, from two different sources, and with two different types of intelligence. We explore the ways men and women communicate with each other and the tools we need to learn to reach a better and more healthy relationship.

The second class, just for women, focuses on what men need: physically and psychologically. The challenges of direct or indirect communication and how learning the language of “trade” can improve men’s response. We also refer to the eighth week and the beginning of the male brain and the dynamics between love and intimacy in a man’s world.

The third class is addressed just to men. Women yearn for love and companionship and yet, they would hardly express these needs explicitly. The female brain expects her love circle to understand each other without the mediation of words, almost telepathically. Husbands need to learn how to listen to their wives and almost how to read their feelings. Mastering the 5 love languages

THE SOURCES
(1) This workshop is based on Tora and Jewish values. Is presented around biblical verses and examples. And yet it is designed for modern couples, and it is suitable for all levels of religious observance.
(2) All the information brought in the workshop about the brain and the innate differences between the genders is based on peer-reviewed scientific findings. Mostly on the research of Dr. Simon Baron Cohen, a neuroscientist from Cambridge University, and Dr. Louann Brizendine, an American neuropsychiatrist.

HAFTARAT VAYIQRA

HAFTARAT EMOR