Jethro / Yitro - See the sounds

BS"D

 

Non believers say seeing is believing and so the saying goes, but if you listen closely you may come to see the unknown, the invisible but ever present, let me try and explain how the Parsha of Yitro teaches us this lesson that by hearing you will come to see and understand the primary cause of all causes.

Let’s go back to prior Parsha Beshalach:

The last few posts highlighted that Israel experienced the 10 plagues where G-D showed he was all powerful over every aspect of nature and that he is intimately involved in and can control and change nature. The Israelites were inspired and broke out in song,(in the siddur when  we mention the song at the sea we say a quote from Exodus Ch14 v 31 "Israel saw the great hand that Hashem inflicted upon Egypt and the people feared Hashem, and they had Faith in Hashem and Moses his servant, then Moses and the children of Israel chose to sing the song of Hashem..." 

They saw, and had faith and then they sang - faith leads to song - Heard from Rabbi Moshe Chaim Saltzer)

but  then ... what did they then do with that experience and inspiration, they lose it, and then get tested in the place Refidim (a combination of Refi which means slackened or to be weakend and Yadayim is hands - Midrash Tanchuma) at the waters of Mirvah Exodus 17:7: (Mirva mean bitterness and strife - Riv means to quarrel, as in quarreled with Hashem) here they start to doubt G-d's involvement in the world and start to question it.  I think a lesson here, is the "wonder" in and of itself was not enough to maintain the inspiration and faith, the Israelites, needed to find a way to keep and build the connection, through their continual efforts(so as not to become slack), when they failed to do so, they began to doubt, Amalek comes and attacks them in this weakend status. Amalek the nation is also synonymous with doubts, on a mystical level the numerical value of doubt in Hebrew is the same value as Amalek.

- It states after the 10 makkos and sea splitting, in Exodus 15 v 14 the nations were terrified. 

Then Amalek comes and displays defiance against Israel and G-D, they do not acknowledge what had just happened to Egypt, most nations embedded within them a fear of Hashem, they Amalek ignore the message and in doing so bring doubt back into the world. The antidote was Moses holds up his hands (Exodus 17 v 11) towards the heavens and when he does so Joshua and the army of G-d fearing soldiers reaffirm their faith and in doing so defeat Amalek. 

We now come into Parsha Yitro

Why does the receiving of the Torah start with the story of Yitro coming to meet his son in law Moses and the Israelites - a deed so fantastic that the name given to the sedra is Yitro after the Median priest.  Yitro is so deeply impressed at the wonders that he is inspired and he acts on this inspiration by throwing away Idol worship and embracing the Israelite nation:

Let’s look at how the Parsha starts Exodus 18 v 1 "And Yisro, the Priest of Midyan, the father-in-law of Moshe heard all that G-d did to Moshe and to Israel, His people -- that Hashem took Israel out of Egypt."(Va yishma - heard and listened and with this newly felt inspiration acted, responded.)   This is the opposite of Amalek, Rashi teaches us that Yitro actually heard about the 10 plagues and the splitting of the sea - he heard and acted on it... he left his job as high priest in the good city and travelled to the barren desert and wilderness, with his daughter and grandchildren (the wife of Moses and their two sons), He schleps the entire Mishpocha why - because he HEARD and believed he had faith in Hashem! Yitro heard and had faith, Amalek heard and chose to ignore. Rav Mohorosh Shlita given over in 5771 quoted a Rashi comparing the attack by Amalek "to a boiling hot bath in which no one would dare enter. One Villain came and jumped in although he was scalded, he cooled it off for others" i.e. all that inspiration and faith was weakened. Hashem gives man free will, and a non G-d fearing person is a huge danger to the rest of us! We need to be strong, hold onto our inspiration and faith.    

So listening seems a key theme we need to be aware of prior to receiving the Torah. 

Quoting from a Dvar Torah of the Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein who brings down this principle of listening:

 http://www.chiefrabbi.co.za/2012/02/the-art-of-listening-edited-transcript/

Listen to these beautiful words click above for the full article on the Rav's website:

G-d sends us messages all the time. We can have two responses to exactly the same set of facts – just like Yitro and Amalek, whose reactions to the same event differed radically. For example, take the human brain: the average human brain weighs about 1.5 kilograms, has about 160 billion cells and about 100 billion neurons connecting the cells. The complexities of the brain are inconceivable. One can look at the brain and see the incredible complexities and the miracles of Hashem and respond like Yitro, who saw Hashem’s hand very clearly, or one can respond in the spirit of Amalek, that this has nothing to do with G-d. Some people will be inspired with belief in Hashem; others will claim that somehow billions of cells and neurons working together can be created through random evolution.

Listening is a prerequisite to receiving the Torah 

The messages are out there, but we have to respond to them. Perhaps this is why the parsha is called Yitro, after the one who was searching for the truth and listened to it when he finally found it. In order to receive the Torah we have to throw ourselves into it. We have to listen for the truth, be receptive to it and be able to change who we are based on the messages that G-d is sending us. The art of listening is about shifting our positions and seeing the world from a completely different perspective. Yitro exemplified this ability. The starting point to receiving G-d’s Torah is to be a good listener. In fact, often when the Talmud wants to bring a proof of something in the discussion concerning a particular halachah, it says Ta shma, “come and listen.” The most famous verse in the entire Torah is Shema Yisrael, “listen Israel.”

Open-mindedness and humility

Listening is indeed a necessary life skill. It means being ready to change direction in life and being open to new things. Let me give you an example from our parsha: Yitro arrives and one of the first things he does is criticise Moshe, saying that he cannot judge the people singlehandedly. The people are standing around waiting all day for Moshe because there is too much work for him. Yitro tells him he needs to set up a system to devolve the powers so that judging the people will be more manageable and the people will be better looked after.

Put yourself in Moshe Rabbeinu’s shoes: here he is at eighty years of age; he has led the Jewish people through the ten plagues and the splitting of the sea; he has stared down Pharaoh, one of the great tyrants and mighty superpower of that time; he has been leading the people through the great miracle of the manna falling from heaven and he is about to lead the people to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. He has achieved so much and then someone comes and criticises him. How would you react?

When someone criticises us, the natural human reaction is to defend ourselves. We think, well, what right have they to say that? But Moshe didn’t do that. As we know from later on in Parshat Beha’alotcha, Moshe is described as anav mikol adam, “the most humble of all men.” Moshe Rabbeinu heard his father-in-law’s criticism, and he honestly and humbly acknowledged that Yitro had made a good point.  Moshe referred the matter to Hashem, Who instructed Moshe to accept Yitro’s advice and set up a whole judicial system with a hierarchy of judges so that the people could have better access to justice.

What is interesting is that the verse says Vayishma Moshe, “and Moses listened.” It’s the same word as by Yitro, Vayishma – “and he listened.” Moshe was prepared to listen and go in a different direction and that required tremendous humility. This episode is recorded just before we receive the Torah to teach us that in order to receive the Torah we have to be humble and ready to listen. We have to be ready to hear that somebody else may have a better idea, to see things from Hashem’s perspective. Sometimes we look at life in a certain way and we have a different opinion. In the Torah, however, Hashem speaks to us and guides us in a different direction. It requires humility to really listen. This is a growth process, and why learning Torah is such an important mitzvah: we are constantly being called upon to shift the way we look at the world. But we can only do so if we are ready to listen with humility.

Being a good listener is the key to learning Torah and receiving G-d’s wisdom for life. The Rambam writes in chapter 4 of his Laws of Repentance that one of the greatest obstacles to repentance is the inability to hear constructive criticism. When someone who loves and cares about us tells us where we have gone wrong, we must be receptive to it because that is the basis of all personal growth. Sometimes we get stuck in our ways, we don’t listen; there is a stubborn arrogance and inflexibility which prevents us from being ready to change. But the essence of Torah learning is to be able to listen and to change as a result. This is why the Gemara says Ta shma, “come and listen.” When we are ready to listen, with humility, we are ready to learn.

And so we see that the name Yitro is a very appropriate name for the portion where we read about G-d’s revelation and his giving of the Torah. G-d has given us the Torah but we actually have to receive it. We can only receive it and listen to Hashem’s words of wisdom and guidance if we are prepared to listen to all of those messages with an open mind and a humble spirit. Yitro is a shining examples of this, as is Moshe, the most humble of all men, who was ready to listen and to change even at the age of 80, despite everything he had achieved. Most people by that stage of their lives have all their opinions set. Yet Moshe Rabbeinu was prepared to listen with humility and openness. These two people serve as role models for us on the art of listening and being open to change

 

Did you ever notice this interesting dilemma in exodus Ch. 20 v 15 where sounds are seen! Their perception and hearing G-d speak was so real they saw the sounds!

Found on an Ohr Somayach site with the weekly portion http://ohr.edu/tw/5760/shmos/yisro.htm

The SIGHT of SOUND

"And all the people saw the thunder (lit. The voices.)" (Exodus 20:15) 

Twice a day, the Jewish People cover their eyes, meditate on the ineffable Unity of the Creator and intone, "Shema Yisrael - Hear! O Israel, Hashem our G-d, Hashem is One!"

The Shema is the basic credo of the Jew, his first declaration of G-d's Unity and the last words to leave his mouth when he passes from this world.

Why is it that we say "Hear! O Israel?" Why don't we say "Look! O Israel?"

When the Jewish People stood at Sinai to receive the Torah, they underwent an experience which was literally out of this world. When G-d spoke, the Torah writes that the Jewish People "saw the voices." There was a dislocation of the natural perception of the senses. Kinesthesia. Seeing sound. What does it mean to see sound?

Sight and sound are very different. Sight operates instantaneously. We see through the medium of light. Light is the fastest thing in the universe. It travels at 186,000 miles per second. Sound is relatively slow, moving at about 800 miles an hour.

The difference between the speeds of light and sound symbolizes a fundamental difference between the two senses. With sight, we perceive a complete whole instantaneously. After this first sight, we may analyze what we are looking at in more detail, focusing on one element and then another, but the essence of vision is an instantaneous whole.

Sound, on the other hand, is assimilated as a collage of different elements. We order these separate pieces of information, giving them substance and definition, and in the process, we understand what it is we are hearing. This process of assembly is not instantaneous. Our brain takes time to balance and evaluate what it is hearing.

When you listen to a lecture on a tape recorder, it's amazing how much distracting ambient noise there seems to be on the tape. You think to yourself: "That's not the way it sounded!" When you listen to a lecturer in person, you aren't aware of the constant drone of the traffic in the background, the noise of the fans and the air-conditioner. However, when you listen to a tape, those extraneous sounds vie for your attention. The tape recorder is not the human ear. The tape recorder is an indiscriminate "vacuum cleaner" of reality. The human ear, however, takes the elements of what is available and it "hears" - it discriminates and balances.

This world is like an assembly line. The Hebrew word for "world" is olam which means "hidden." You don't see G-d in this world. He is hidden behind the facade of the world. You can't see G-d in this world - but you can hear Him. If you tune your ears carefully, you can hear an unmistakable pattern in events. If you listen carefully to the history of the Jewish People, and weigh it in the balance of probability, you will hear G-d's Voice. If you listen to all the seemingly coincidental events in your life, you will hear Him.

The reason we say "Hear! O Israel" is that, in this world, you cannot see G-d. You have to "hear" Him. You have to take the disparate, seemingly random elements of this world, and assemble them into a cogent whole.

There was only one time in history that you didn't have to "hear" G-d's Unity; one moment when you could actually see it. At Mount Sinai. There the Jewish People "saw" the voices. They saw with an incontrovertible clarity those things that usually need to be "heard." Seeing is more than believing. When you see, you don't have to believe. It's in front of your eyes.

The clarity at the giving of the Torah, was so real that the sounds were  literally seen - though in a normal situation Hashem cannot be seen but needs to he heard. We need to listen to the wonders note the experiances and events as they unfold before us and act - keep listening and seeing and believing ! 
Purim is coming up in  a couple of weeks it is a celebration of the destruction of Amalek's plans - Haman was a decendant of Amalek.

In the entire Megillah Ester we do not see G-d's name even once, we can perceive his hidden hand, but we do not see the name appear anywhere in it, yet it is a mitzvah to listen to every word, I think the principle is same. By the way the name Ester means hidden. G-d is currently described as being in a state of Hester Panim - a hidden face in this world, so how do we find him how do we see? It starts with listening...

I remember as a child the Late Anne (I do not recall her surname), may her soul receive an Aliya, It was a passover at my Aunty Valarie, I, as a young child she an old lady, were leaving the house but I will never forget what Anne said that Passover night, as she said goodnight she said "I've seen too much in my life, to much not to believe in G-d", you know what, thank G-d I was listening, she was older wiser this moment was the beginning of many special revelations in my life that I took note of, the inspiration is always around us,  take time out to Listen – The Torah was given after this lesson for a reason – it is the vehicle to maintain the connection to build our Faith, using the revelation and ultimately SEEING (please G-d, we should all be worthy!)

 So record the events that inspire you, that make and made you have faith, the times where you see the hidden hand of G-d working in your life, but remember experiencing these events relying on these alone is not enough however big or small, the splitting of the sea was the greatest open miracle there ever was, but you need to act on them, never lose sight of them. I think we received the Torah after the bitter waters event, as an antidote and also to have a means to connect, Hashem blessed is he, spoke to us directly giving us our vehicle to hold onto that faith, a way of acting on it - as blind faith is dangerous, non-lasting it fades, act on moments of inspiration by drawing closer to Hashem through studying his will as given to us in the Holy words on Sinia,  study  them,  enhance and solidify your faith, so it becomes a reality and enables us to keep that connection - so when the Amalek’s' may appear in this world destroying hope and bringing destruction, look up to the heaven hold onto your faith and defeat him! May it be soon in our days!

 

A Good Shabbat

 

Michael

Shmot ch 20 v 19 You have seen that I have spoken to you!

Amalek - Doubting Life

This Past Sabbath we read Beshalach: Exodus 13:17–17:16.

My Introduction

The mystics teach us Amalek is associated with that, that denies the creator in the world, doubt when darkness creeps into our lives and we start to deny G-d (G-d forbid), these are the times to hold strong and pray for faith, easy for me to say - but if you can find the faith of David of Blessed memory  as he says in Psalm 92 “A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day (it speaks of a time to come – a time when we will understand the why of the pain, and suffering in the world) verse 1  of the Psalm states “It is good to praise the L-rd and make music to your name, O most High, and verse 2 goes onto say “ proclaiming your love in the morning, (when things are clear) and your faithfulness at night (when times are hard and uncertain and at times sad) i.e. a time when the dark creeps in is a time of Faith if we can muster it!  Just a note to say I do not judge anyone (evil actions yes and there needs to be consequenses - Amalek needs to be destroyed) but to presume and judge good people who truly suffers from darkness, faith is hard in these times who am I, to claim to know. My advice is in your suffering find light around you and cling to your faith where ever you can! Look for the spice of Joseph (he smelt it after losing his mother at a young age,he had been taken away from his father and sold into slavery by his own brothers who hated him - but he saw in the sweet smelling spices being carried on the Ishmalite wagon that G-d was with him)

A word of thanks to my guest Contributor 

Towards the Light - Facing the Future with Faith Parshat Beshalach

The Israelites left their slavery in Egypt, they reached the pinnacle of their redemption at the splitting of the Reed Sea, and in our parsha they reach a place where they are thirsting for water.

Amazingly, even though they had experienced so many explicit miracles, especially the splitting of the Reed Sea, they still complained hysterically that they had no water.

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore its name was called Marah.

And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

And he cried to the L-rd; and the L-rd showed him a tree, which when he threw into the waters, and made the waters sweet; there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them.

Understandably, they were terrified at the thought of being stranded in the wilderness without water – it's a terrifying thought!

This episode, aside from its historical truth, is also is a lesson for us for all ages. Life is full of bitter experiences and we, as human beings, have to face its challenges. Would that it were different! Would that life were sweetness all the time. Let's face it – often, when we come to drink from the well of life, we find that the waters are bitter – illness, separation, discord – and many other things– make life bitter.

What is bitterness? It is the feeling that one can't get naches –enjoyment- from life. Life should exhilarate and enhance, but it doesn't.

This is what happened to the Israelites when they came to Marah and found the bitter waters. Even following their redemption they tasted life as bitter! The Rambam in Hilchot Deot, in fact, says that someone who is spiritually ill experiences the sweet as bitter.

Moshe was told by Hashem to take a tree and cast it into the waters – and behold! The waters became sweet.

The Kli Yakar cites a rabbinic comment that states that the tree was actually bitter. This is an anomaly. The bitter tree is placed into the bitter waters and makes the water sweet? The Ramban says that this shows us that Hashem sweetens the bitter with bitter. It was this experience that made us ready to receive the Torah.

The Torah is compared in the eyes of Chazal (the sages) to an olive. Just as an olive is initially bitter and then becomes sweet, so, too, the Torah.

Torah is not immediately and obviously sweet. If we would be candid, it is at times so difficult to understand, so hard to comprehend. Some concepts seem unpalatable; hard to digest. The secular modern world throws so many challenges our way.

But as we progress and persist and, more importantly, as we hear the words of Torah as the still, small voice of the Master of the Universe and absorb it into the "marrow of our bones", it begins to taste so sweet and gives us a perspective on life. It's the "bitter Torah" that, when thrown into the bitterness of life, enables us to truly taste the sweetness of life.

The Midrash says that someone who speaks in public and knows that some of his words will not be perceived as sweet should rather not speak them, but should keep the words "under the tongue". It takes time and work to be able to taste the sweetness of Torah; one can't assume that one's audience is there.

Someone was describing to me what it's like to be "high" (before the physical damage sets in). Tastes are more intense, sounds are accentuated – one just feels so much more acutely.

This is what Torah does! It makes us high, but through hard work and conscious involvement. Not through tricks. There are no shortcuts. The Torah connects us to Hashem, Who is the Source of Life and, when we are connected to the Source of Life, life will always be sweet.

The Israelites were shown how something bitter – the tree – could make something bitter become sweet. Once they had seen that, they were ready to receive the Torah.

ENTRY 2

Much action!

There's lots of excitement and high tension in this week's parsha. The Bnei Yisrael have fled Egypt, seemingly under the pretext that they are going for a three-day excursion. On realizing that they are not coming back, Par'o mobilizes his army and pursues them. And we all know what happens with the splitting of the Reed Sea - the final destruction of Egypt

Cloud of Amalek looms.

Much happens thereafter but the parsha exposes us to the cloud that will hang over us for all time - the cloud of Amalek. Amalek   that ominous force that hovers over history, the embodiment of the plague of darkness, which is not just an absence of light but a tangible reality (cf. Ramban, Reb Chaim Shmulevitz, Sichot Mussar).

After the splitting of the Reed Sea, all the others nations are terrified.

Peoples heard - they were agitated; terror gripped the dwellers of Plishtim. Then the chieftains of Edom were confounded, trembling gripped the powers of Moav, all the dwellers of Canaan dissolved. Exodus 15:14-15

All the nations were afraid   all except Amalek, who was brazen enough to attack the nation of Israel at Refidim. Amalek attacked between the splitting of the Reed Sea and the giving of the Torah. When Bnei Yisrael were on the way to attaining spiritual perfection at Sinai, Amalek attacked.Thats when he enjoys to attack!

Amalek came because of Refidim

The rabbis understood that Amalek came because of a spiritual vulnerability that was found in Am Yisrael. So they tell us that Am Yisrael was in a state of Refidim. Refidim was not only a geographical location but a spiritual level. Refidim is an anagram of Rafu Yadeihem min HaTorah   they loosened their grip on the Torah.

Says Rav Wolbe in the Alei Shur, "It was not that they simply neglected the Torah; it was much more subtle than that. They made this enigmatic enquiry 

"... because of their test of Hashem saying,' Is Hashem amongst us or not'?" (Exodus 17:7).

Sin not lack of belief but doubting Hashem's involvement

It seems incredulous that the generation that had witnessed so many miracles could doubt Hashem's existence! In a deep, sublime interpretation Rav Wolbe explains that their sin was not in doubting Hashem's existence; they were questioning the nature of Hashem's relationship to the world. Is Hashem remote and transcending, or is He involved and imminent? The 'sin' was after they had experienced all the miracles how they even doubted Hashem's imminence. Rav Wolbe says sometimes we walk with Hashem, sometimes before Him, sometimes behind Him   but we are never ALONE. Any discussion about our relationship with Hashem must be predicated on the understanding that Hashem is always with us. The feeling that G-d is so remote that we are alone, abandoned   is Amalek! Amalek is the embodiment of the idea that Hashem has abandoned the world   left it to its own devices. The ideology of Amalek is not that there is no G-d (chas veshalom) but that He is not involved in the world. He is indifferent and therefore MAN is in control. Everything that happens in the world is coincidence and chance.

Sometimes it does, indeed, feel that we are the victims of a blind, callous, indifferent fate. We feel that Hashem has abandoned us. So- this is another version of the footsteps in the sand "I was carrying you" story.

And the L-rd went before them by day in a pillar of cloud (provides shade from the heat) to cause it to lead them on the way and at night in a pillar of fire (provides heat and light in the night) to give them light [they thus could] travel day and night.

Then the angel of G-d, who had been going in front of the Israelite camp, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved away from in front of them and stood behind them.

These are quite complex verses, but it seems from the Ramban that the pillar of fire that would travel before them in the night to illuminate the way for them, moved to the rear. Now the pillar of fire was behind them, as the Ramban explains "  it illuminated the night for them, but not as on the other nights to lead the way, for on this night it was not going in front of them, but behind them."

Sometimes Hashem moves to the Back

The Ramban then goes on to explain why the pillar of fire moved at that point which we will not go into it now. But from it we can learn a great lesson for our lives. There are times when we are in the night but we see Hashem in front of us, leading the way. But there are times when we feel enveloped by the dark and grisly night - and what intensifies the darkness is that Hashem seems removed. So let me tell you, my friend, He is not removed. He has moved to the back and is illuminating you from there.

Why Hashem moves to the Back

When does this generally happen? When we are standing in front of the Reed Sea. The Egyptians pursuing us, the sea before us, and Hashem seems to have disappeared. Gevalt! What a position to be in. It's precisely in these situations that we must feel Hashem behind us. Listen to what Hashem said to Moshe:

"Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them journey forth  "

True, this verse has caused much heated debate amongst the commentators. But we see that taking action, knowing that Hashem is behind you, is a greater act of faith than praying!

So why does Hashem do it? Why does He move from the front to the back? How can we know Hashem's motives? This is pure conjecture: All I can say is Hashem wants us to be part of the miracle. He wants faith not only to guide us but also to build us, and for us to be part of our own creation (as Rabbi Soloveitchik says in Halachic Man).

The Ultimate take home lesson-the ultimate Prayer

The Alei Shur that we quoted, as he himself points out, is a very deep exposition; but the message is clear. We are never alone. We are never alone. We must understand this in our minds, and feel it in our hearts, and live it with our souls.

ENTRY 3

 Towards The Light – Facing the Future with Faith

Parshat Beshalach

Please read this majestic piece from the holy Rav Kook:

The Fourfold Song

There is a person who sings the song of his soul. He finds everything, his complete spiritual satisfaction, within his soul.

There is a person who sings the song of the nation. He steps forward from his private soul, which he finds narrow and uncivilized. He yearns for the heights. He clings with a sensitive love to the entirety of the Jewish nation and sings its song. He shares in its pains, is joyful in its hopes, speaks with exalted and pure thoughts regarding its past and its future, and investigates its inner spiritual nature with love and a wise heart.

There is a person whose soul is so broad that it expands beyond the borders of Israel. It sings the song of humanity. This soul constantly grows broader with the exalted totality of humanity and its glorious image. He yearns for humanity's general enlightenment. He looks forward to its supernal perfection. From this source of life, he draws all of his thoughts and insights, his ideals and visions.

And there is a person who rises even higher until he unites with all existence, with all creatures, and with all worlds. And with all of them, he sings. This is the person who, engaged in the Chapter of Song every day, is assured that he is a child of the World-to-Come.

And there is a person who rises with all these songs together in one ensemble so that they all give forth their voices, they all sing their songs sweetly, each supplies its fellow with fullness and life: the voice of happiness and joy, the voice of rejoicing and tunefulness, the voice of merriment, and the voice of holiness.

The song of the soul, the song of the nation, the song of humanity, the song of the world-they all mix together with this person at every moment and at all times.

We all have a song to sing. A song which expresses a harmony of so many different aspects of our being – of who we are and what we are meant to be. The song is made from the essence of our souls, of who we are in the eyes of Hashem. That is the main melody; but intertwined with that are the tunes of sadness because of the pain and disappointments in our lives. Of course there are the joyous notes of jubilation and celebration, too. All these notes blend into a harmony, into a song that is uniquely ours.

How this song wants to burst forth and find expression! How stifled we feel because the song seems locked in and silenced – or worse – singing someone else's song or a one-size-fits-all song that sounds like everyone else's.

The Zohar says that not only were their bodies enslaved in Egypt, but their mouths, their voices were, too. They couldn't sing their songs. They were on the 49th level of suffocation. Even after they were redeemed they couldn't sing until they come to the splitting of the Yam Suf (Reed Sea). Why then? Because that was the moment of clarity when the heavens opened up and the diverse strands of the song merged in perfect harmony.

The Slonimer Rebbe describes it magnificently. He says that the song embraces all of our being – our mind, our heart and our physical being. At the time of the splitting, they saw the whole picture and understood how all the pain, suffering, and heartache that they had experienced was really leading up to this momentous time.

It was not just a physical splitting of the sea. The waters of doubt, confusion, and paralysis parted and exposed the meaning that lay beneath the murky waters. They saw that in a life of tumultuous and engulfing waters, in which we fear we are going to drown, there is a path that leads to the Promised Land.

So many of us are standing at the entrance to the Reed Sea. We have escaped our Egypt's but now the sea looms ahead, and it will not split on its own. No! We must make the bold and audacious first move. Only when the waters reach our nose will they split. It is sometimes a long and tortuous wait; and it will happen only in Hashem's time – BUT IT WILL HAPPEN! And when it does: Gevalt will we know happiness! Gevalt will we know freedom!

And then, as Rav Kook says, we will sing our own song, then the song of our nation, and then the song of the universe.

I bless us all that we should experience redemption from our own personal Egypt's and that we should feel our hearts and our souls opening up to sing our song – a song that only we can sing.

The Ten Commandments Part II

BS"D

The Kli Yakar on the 10 Commandments learnt tonight  27/1/2013 with Rabbi Turnheim of the Yad V’Chesed Institution Jerusalem

Hi all I’m bursting with enthusiasm as Rav Turnheim and I were talking words of Torah and he looked up a Kli Yakar and gave me such powerful insight into the connection – which I had a feeling existed but was not fully satisifed.

The two pairs that did not sit well with me were 3 & 8 and 5 and 10 - well the good news is now that problem is solved read more below:

1 corresponded with 6;
2 with 7; and
3 with 8,  (MORE INSIGHT Read below) 
4 with 9 and
5 with 10 (MORE INSIGHT Read below)

1. Know the L-rd your G-d who took you out of Egypt and bondage

2. You must have no other G-d's beside me.

3. Do not say G-d's name in vain

4. Keep and Honour the Sabbath

5. Honour your parents

6	You must not murder.
7	You must not commit adultery
8	You must not steal.
9	You must not bear false witness against your neighbour.
10	You must not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s. - Thought (corresponds to honouring your parents, if you truly appreciate the goodness and the gift of life and those whom bestowed it to us - we will count our blessings and this gratitude will help us maintain a good eye without getting jealous of our fellow human beings. (this is my own interpretation)

The insight I learnt tonight on 3 and 8

The Kli Yakar points out if a person steals and gets himself into trouble, if he is then taken to court he may very well end up using Hashem’s name in vain or swear falsely – in order to escape a nasty verdict – wow how simple was that connection, but I needed the geniuses of the past to highlight it!

The second insight which was given over to me by Rav Turnhein was on 5 & 10

He told me something really brilliant, yes most of us do honour our parents they provide for us and look after us well so it is quite easy for us etc. but  sometimes in life we are not always blessed with righteous loving parents yet based on the command we need to still honour them, this is an instruction - Hashem tells us in spite of them not being the best people in the world you need to have faith in Hashem who selected them for you – accept this is your lot in life, grow from the experience and be good in spite of the situation with this understanding now it is easy to connect the 5^th command with the last one not to covet, if a person accepts his lot in life – then he is not going to be jealous of others !

At the end of our daily prayer services we normally say Aleinu (it is our duty) and there is an interesting verse towards the end (Veyakablu Kulam es Oyel Malchusecha) which translated means "and accept with all (our heart) the yolk of your kingship." that both the good and the seemingly bad come from Hashem even though we don't always understand, we must try move forward accept the decree with love and that will be the start of dark diminshing and the lights arrival.  We should all know only good things.

Thank you for taking of your precious time in reading my words...

HOW GREAT IS OUR TORAH & THE GIANTS OF THE PAST AND PRESENT!

The Ten commandments Part I

BS”D

A deeper aspect of the 10 Commandments

The Torah is deep and we are fortunate to have sages that have helped us plough into the many hidden layers below are insights into the 10 commandments where the Abraham Ibn Ezra describes a hidden message which I have expanded on as a lesson that our Creator may be trying to teach us :

The Ten Commandments are basic fundamentals in serving G-d, on close scrutiny the Ibn Ezra sees three main facets of service: - Thought; Speech and Actions

The first 5 are between Man and our Creator:

1. Know the L-rd your G-d who took you out of Egypt and bondage - Thought

2. You must have no other G-d's beside me - understanding the oneness of the Creator - Thought

3. Do not say G-d's name in vain - Speech

4. Keep and Honour the Sabbath - we honour the Sabbath through - Actions

5. Honour your parents - we honour our parents through - Actions

Note the first 5 commandments deal with the relationship between man and G-d moving through stages of service from 

 1) Thought to (It all starts with reflection)

2) Speech to (grow through reflection and behaving accordingly, we are greater than animals and are differentiated from them by our ability to think and speak, as Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein points out humans talk with intelligence and walk upright, we have a higher calling)

3) Action (action evolves from our thoughts the knowledge and awe which is used as a catalyst in creating energy to serve G-d by performing good deeds)

People often say they know and love G-D but that is words do their deeds correspond to this expression of love. For if you truly love someone you will show it by your actions, otherwise it is just lip service.

The command to honour the Sabbath a day of recognising and thanking the creator, is followed by the commandment to honour our parents who provided for us and gave us life. By honouring them we Honour Hashem they say when a human is born there are three partners the man the woman and G-d who sends down the holy spark a soul of the child to be born.

THE NEXT 5

The last 5 commandments are between man and man, Hashem tells us:

6	You must not murder.  – Actions (I think corresponds with 1. knowing G-d and the holiness he breathed within each man a holy soul)
7	You must not commit adultery. – Actions (I think corresponds with 2. having no other gods, total loyalty to each other.)
8	You must not steal. – Actions (I think corresponds with not taking Hashem's name in vain, to show disdain for the creator or your fellow men by not respecting their domains and rights) (this is my own interpretation)
9	You must not bear false witness against your neighbour. – Speech (I think corresponds to keeping the Sabbath as by doing so we recognise and testify that G-d is the true creator of the world)
10	You must not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s. - Thought (corresponds to honouring your parents, if you truly appreciate the goodness and the gift of life and those whom bestowed it to us - we will count our blessings and this gratitude will help us maintain a good eye without getting jealous of our fellow human beings. (this is my own interpretation)

Ibn Ezra points out the opposite order to the facets of service from the first five (Thought- Speech- Actions), compared to the last five where the order is

1. Actions

2. Speech

3. Thoughts

TO OUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS

Do not Murder commit adultery and steal – These are actions we all know are wrong.

You should not bear false witness –Speaking truth always and being a genuine person. A greater level to live and speak with truth to other people, always be honest.

Finally thou shalt no covet – Consistent purity of thoughts is probably the hardest but greatest level to achieve to always have a good eye see the best in another and not to judge them, to be happy for their successes in our heart and minds. Thought is a hidden facet from your fellow man but our thoughts are not hidden from the holy Creator. Hence a much harder level of service  to achieve unless we have really internalized and made the Creator a reality in our life, by doing so I believe we will recognize our blessings and not be envious of others (it should be so)

The difference is our fellow man only sees our actions but not our thoughts, so this area of thought requires more self-reflection and work, it’s harder to be good when no one is watching, or if we believe no one is watching - it takes effort and reflection and self-discipline!  To master the first 5, will ultimately help in achieving the next 5, we should be assisted in this difficult task!

We need to think about the world reflect on it, when the Creator, G-D becomes a reality, we will speak well and with respect, and serve our G-d by doing his commands, and always be good to our fellow human beings in deed, speech and finally thought!

Discussed below are my thoughts on the above facets of serving our creator

 

THOUGHTS OF G-D 

We need to reflect on nature, e.g. the billions of stars and amazing planets out there, placed in an order with such precision, have you ever thought how we are situated close enough to the sun as to not burn or freeze, and worked out it must have been an intelligent force that made the self-sustaining world, how the dead decay, nourishing the earth and life is renewed through watering from above.

Have we seen the luminaries in the sky, I mean their beauty, the lights in a grand palace cannot compare, and by night have you  ever seen and experienced a solar eclipse,  I heard from Rabbi Tatz who said the moon lines up exactly in front of the sun - what beauty what mathematics for G-d to allow such a phenomena! 

Rabbi Bachya in Duties of the hearts states in creation we see the kindness of the creator - what is essential is abundant on earth what is luxury is rare!
E.G.: AIR WATER FOOD CLOTHING GEMS

Think about the abundance of air that is free and abundant without effort and so essential for us to be able to exist.

Think about the earth and its structure the ice capped mountains and valleys with rivers running into the sea and the lakes, systems of water for all the living creatures to drink from. For most of us easily accessible!

Think about the meteorites’ that science has discovered and found, they have a core made of ice and constantly burn up in our higher atmosphere  and thereby replenish our supply of water Refer Genesis 1:7 And  G-d made the firmament (the layer of air that envelops the earth), and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and so it was"  (recommended reading The coming Revolution it speaks about the Water Reservoirs in Space- Zamir Cohen).

Ample supply -all the kinds of fruits and veggies and plants, wheat and grain and so much food sources - the colors and kinds it is really amazing. Not as abundant as water but in ample supply. 

Materials for clothing ...available with a bit of work and manufacture, but we manage.

Then precious gems and minerals... these are rare, difficult to obtain but not really essential to our existence!

Let’s not even get started on the wonders of the body, the eyes, I always wondered how people could think two sexes one male and female bodies so different yet biologically suited, evolved from nothing by accident, and we see that human beings are of a higher status - we are the only mammals, as mentioned before that stand upright that can be intimate face to face in loving embrace. 

- Okay so we reflect and please G-d have worked out through thoughts, that there must be a  G-d, but what do I do about it, how do I repay the Creator for this gift called life...

SPEECH

... By showing some respect would be nice, if we are a creation that actually has free will and the greatest powers of speech and understanding then we ought to use this gift showing respect for our Creator by the way we speak, through our words, i.e. do not swear or be vulgar. You give us all these things we need to live, so let me respect you in the same way a grateful person should honor any person who has bestowed an abundance of goodness on him.  We should use our mouth for prayer, for building up and motivating those in need, our speech kept clean out of respect.

Highest expression of Love in service to G-d is ACTIONS

-  We express that respect and love by our deeds. Service through Action is the highest expression of love, if we tell our wives, moms friends we love them but then do nothing to show it - well our marriage/relationship will be a disaster as the words will seem shallow even if we sincerely feel that love!  But in the Torah Jews were given hundreds of commandments a way of serving and expressing our love to our benefactor G-D blessed be he. So we should do the will of our master in heaven, the instruction book is the Torah and her mitzvahs, the how has been taught to us from generation to generation in an unbroken chain going back to Sinai! What a treasure we have!

And righteous converts from other nations the likes of Ruth the Moabite, or Jethro the Medianite, the Torah demands of us a special command to love a righteous convert who is not born to these commands but chooses to join the Jews in the responsibility of performing the commands - out of love! 

Have a blessed day

Michael

Did you know?

In most religious depictions, the tablets are depicted as large, flat stones with rounded tops, although they sometimes appear rectangular. However, according to the Talmud (the Jewish sacred text), the tablets were actually square.