ChabadRego Blog

I don't know how I will eat meat tomorrow... I just experienced the death of a living thing. It was helpless. It was also innocent. It was innocent - I am not.

I stood and watched as the shochet slaughtered my chicken and I felt my stomach turn. I felt real uncomfortable.

I'm talking about the custom of Kapparot. Some background: The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch - Abridged Code of Jewish Law says:

"It is customary to carry out the ''Kapparot'' (Redemption ceremony) in the pre-dawn hours of the day before Yom Kippur, as then (the attribute of) mercy is greatest... Each person takes his redemption (the chicken) in his right hand and says the verses starting with ''Man, who dwells in darkness and the shadow of death...'' Then, he swings it around his head and says  ''This is my substitute...''

....A person should not think, however, that this (ceremony) itself actually atones (for him). On the contrary, he should consider that everything that was done to that chicken, should have come upon him (as punishment) for his sins, and he will regret his sins. The Holy One, blessed be He, in His mercy, will accept his repentance. It is customary to throw the intestines, the liver, and the kidneys of the redemption (chickens) on to the roofs or in a courtyard, a place where the birds can take from there, for it is fitting to show mercy on (G-d's) creatures on this day, so that (G-d's) mercy will be on us, from heaven. Also (we throw away these organs] because (birds often) eat (food that was) stolen. By (throwing away these organs) a person puts in his heart that he should distance himself from theft. If chickens are not available, one may take a goose or any other animal that is not fit to be offered as a sacrifice. Some say that even fish (are acceptable), but not pigeons or doves, which are suitable as sacrifices, and it might appear that one is offering sacrifices outside (the Temple). Some have the custom to give (the chickens) to the poor. It is preferable to redeem them for money, and (then) give the money to the poor.

Full text and commentary here.

In any case, I walked away feeling uneasy like I don't want to do this next year. Then it hit me. That's the whole point - we're supposed to be shocked, we're supposed to have our perfect little world shaken up a little. The futility of the life of this chicken and all the chicken we eat every day -but would never see die if not for this custom- should make us think about the meaning of our life and where it is going. Perhaps I deserve to meet an end similar to this chicken. Seeing the end of a life should make us think about the length and meaning of our own life.

Kapparos is a meditation that should be more intense than Kol Nidrei. It is the highest teshuva moment (returning to G-d and our best selves) of the year. It should wrench our gut and make us rethink our place in the world.

So I say: if someone walks away from kapparos without feeling like becoming vegetarian they have not experienced it as it should be.

 

Consider the thought processes of three different slaves:

1. Blindly follows his master, never questioning, no matter how unjust the demands may be.
2. Accepts his servitude as an accident of birth. When he agrees he goes along, when he doesn’t he just ignores the master and tries to avoid a beating.
3. Challenges, argues, rebels. Never takes his master’s demands for granted.

 

At first glance, the least acceptable to the master would be number 3 - he gives his master the hardest time. Just look at Pharaoh in Shmot – he says “who is G-d that I should listen to his voice”

Now look at these words, in Shmot 5:22,23 Moses having been sent by G-d to demand the release of the Jews, when his efforts meet with adverse results he comes at G-d with quite a bit of Chutzpa

 

22."O Lord! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me?

23. Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people."

So how different are Pharaoh and Moses after all??

Whereas Moses obviously followed G-d and Pharaoh did not, as far as challenging G-d’s sovereignty and disagreeing with his decisions they seem to be not too far apart.

 

That being said, it is not Chutzpah that warrants Egypt’s ultimate destruction. The prophet Ezekiel (29:2,3) cites a more benign seeming offence:

 

2."Son of man! Set your face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

3. Speak and you shall say; So says the Lord G-d: Behold I am upon you, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great crocodile that lies down in the midst of its rivers, who said, "My river is my own, and I made myself."

My river is my own I do not need the heavenly powers, for my river provides all my necessities

and I made myself With my might and with my wisdom, I enhanced my greatness and my dominion.

 

 

Is that all that bad? Of all the horrible things Pharaoh has said challenging the existence of G-d, this one that involves no anti-G-d sentiment most warrants Egypt’s final doom?!

We can understand this in comparison to Moses. Moses’ challenge against G-d did not stem from skepticism or a lack of belief in G-d sovereignty or a lack of confidence in his omniscience. It is based on a deep conviction and belief in a good G-d and the need to resolve that with the horrible reality of the suffering of His “firstborn child”. There is an angst and tension in Moses of someone grappling with how to understand G-d.

 

Pharaoh on the other hand had no such problems. He would at once say “Moses, pray to G-d for me”, “G-d righteous and I am wicked” and at the same time say “I made myself”. This is truly despicable. The apathy that it takes to be able to recognize G-d and at the same time disregard Him is far worse than the chutzpa that comes with trying to understand Him.

 

To be continued...

In this weeks reading, the Torah introduces us to the man who would ultimately lead the Jewish rebellion and would serve as the oracle teaching the Jewish people and guiding them in the word of G-d.

 

The name the Torah calls him by - Moses - is a Hebraized version of an Egyptian word meaning “to draw out” on account of his having been drawn out of the Nile river by Pharaoh’s daughter after having been hid there by his mother to avoid the Egyptian decree ordering all newborn boys killed by drowning in the Nile. His birth name Toviah refers to the aura of holiness that surrounded him at birth. Strangely, the Torah refers to the leader of the Jews by the name that seemingly has the least relevance to his important role in shaping our religion.

 

To understand this we must first appreciate who Moses was.

 

Moses’ background and upbringing are shrouded in mystery. “A man from the house of Levi took the daughter of Levi. The woman became pregnant and bore a son and she saw that he was good.” The Torah’s fleeting reference to Moses’ lineage completely belies its illustriousness. Moses’ considerable talents and personal achievements are also blatantly missing from the narrative. We hear nothing of his education, the evolution of his character, the development of his philosophical worldview. In fact, the twenty (and according to some opinions forty) years between Shmot 2:11 when he “grows up” and 3:2 when he has the revelation at the burning bush are a veritable black hole.

 

            Before expecting us to follow his teachings, wouldn’t it be fair for us to hear where he went to college, whether or not he graduated with honors? Does he have a PHD? What are his qualifications? Where is Moses’ resume? 

 

            The Torah does tell us three stories about Moses:

 

·        An Egyptian labor camp guard beats a Jewish man (of dubious character - see Rashi), Moses steps in and murders the Egyptian at risk to his position and life.

·        Two Jews argue nearly coming to blows. Moses reprimands them and in retribution for his intrusion they turn him in for his murder of the camp guard leading to his indictment and a death sentence.

·        Moses, now a shepherd, shows exemplary concern for each individual sheep. The Midrash tells us that this display of concern is what makes Moses worthy of leading G-d’s “sheep” – the children of Israel.

 

These stories paint a picture of Moses – the risk taker, initiator and bold leader.

 

            At the burning bush when he is called by G-d to lead however, we see a bit of a different story. Moses repeatedly tries to avoid the position, finally saying “send another messenger” meaning the Messiah. Where is the bold leader? What of the initiative?

 

The answer is that Moses was not concerned with his station or whether or not he would have power. He was more concerned for the people. He resisted the call to duty hoping that that “other messenger” would have a more lasting impact on our people.

 

Thus when the Torah refers to him it does so not by a name that suggests personal achievement or advanced standing. It is not a testimony to Moses’ credentials. The name Moses does justice to his real selfless commitment to every Jew and all Jews.

 

Moses was prepared to face a people that were physically oppressed by Egypt and spiritually debased by it. He was prepared to face them and “draw them out” (sforno). Just as the Torah doesn’t focus on Moses’ background or his personal standing, Moses ignored those things in his fellow Jew. He was able to look past the Jew’s struggle with Egypt and see beauty of his soul. He was able to see a snake on the ground and realize that it had once been a staff, and to grab it by the tail and make it be a staff again (kli yakar).

 

Let’s learn from Moses, let us make an effort to be devoted to results for our people. Let us look past people’s background and “credentials” lets ignore the rut they may be in, see them for what they are deep down and draw them out. They are people who are capable of really connecting to G-d.

 

“When you take the nation out of Egypt you will serve the L-rd on this mountain.”

In this torah portion we read of the final stage in the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. After Jacob’s funeral, the brothers asked the sons of Bilhah to tell Joseph as follows: "Your father commanded [us] before his death, saying, 'So shall you say to Joseph, Please, forgive now your brothers' transgression and their sin, for they did evil to you. Now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the G-d of your father.'

We have no record of Jacob ever saying such words.

What prompted the brothers to take such drastic action?

The Midrash tells us that the brothers saw Joseph behave in ways that they misinterpreted as holding a grudge against them.

This pattern - the brothers misinterpreting Joseph’s behavior previously led to drastic consequences with his attempted murder and sale into slavery. This time, it seems the brothers were more diplomatic with far better results.

The Talmud teaches a powerful lesson based on this story. “It is permitted to modify (a statement) for the sake of peace”.

This week, America remembered a past president - Gerald Ford. The first thing he did after taking office was to unequivocally pardon the disgraced Richard Nixon. According to many analysts it cost him his reelection. People felt that Nixon should stand trial for his crimes “let the truth come out” they said. Ford knew otherwise “It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must”.

Often times, peace and truth are opposed. Compromise by definition is relinquishing something that you hold to be true. But as the old Israeli proverb goes “you can be right or smart”.

We are still left with a question:

The brothers did not deviate from the trth – they fabricated it!

The Likutei Pirushim explains:

They expanded on Jacob’s words “Gather and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days” Surely, they thought, our father meant for us to be at peace with each other.

May it be G-d’s will, that by us making peace we finally come to the end of days with the coming of Moshiach now!

Below is a screen shot of the website control panel showing ChabadRego.org at #1 of 639 affiliated websites.

Rating is based on traffic from that day.

Mazel Tov!

See Deuteronomy 30:20

"A new study finds people who attend religious services weekly live longer. Specifically, the research looked at how many years are added to life expectancy based on:

Regular physical exercise: 3.0 to 5.1 years

Proven therapeutic regimens: 2.1 to 3.7 years

Regular religious attendance: 1.8 to 3.1 years"

(The study) "also looked at the cost of these three approaches, examining typical gym membership fees, therapy costs from health insurance companies and census data on average household contributions to religious institutions.

The estimated cost of each year of additional life apparently gained by each method:

Regular physical exercise: $4,000

Proven therapeutic regimens: $10,000

Regular religious attendance: $7,000"

See the entire article here 

See a schedule of our weekly services here ;-)

Special thanks to LittleJudy.com

Its a freezing and windy Russian night, the brittle snow crunches under the wheels of the wagon and the hooves of the old trusty horse sending a different sort of chill down the spine. A whiskey merchant bundled up in a thick fur coat sits on the driver's bench on his way to bring his merchandise to the peasants of the countryside who depend on the firewater to get them throught the frigid months.

Off in the dstance he sees a man trudging through the snow. As he gets closer, he calls out "come on up I'll take you as far as I can". As the traveler clambers up onto the wagon, the merchant notices how thin and threadbare the man's coat is, "hmm" he thought "how frozen the poor wayfarer must be". His heart wept for the poor man, " go into the back and warm yourself with the whisky I have there" he said.

After a while the man comes back to the drivers bench, lips blue, shoulders shaking, "thanks for your kind offer but I'm still cold" he said. "My whisky is pretty strong" the merchant wondered, "which barrel did you take?" "this one siad the man as he pointed to a particularly large barrel. I wrapped myself around the biggest one as tightly as I could but Im still so cold. A hearty laugh burst forth from deep in the merchant's belly wheezing through his chest and tearing through his eyes.  "Wrapping yourself around a barrel?! Just a tiny glass is all you need" Puzzled the man said "if the barrel couldnt help how will a glass help, whats the difference?!" " The difference" said the merchant, his whole body shaking from laughter, "is that the glass enters your insidesthe barrel is only part of the environment."

I believe the same is true of the holiday season. We can ride the most beautiful synagogues and surround ourselves with the finest cantors until they are blue in the face. They will not warm our spirit on iota, but if we internalize even one moment of prayer or of the message of the holiday, it can change our lives.

 

Send personalized gift baskets to victims of terror. www.IsraelHomeFront.org The baskets with your name on them, are personally delivered by Chabad Shluchim who will spend time with the families and comfort them, showing them that someone cares and that they are not forgotten

How Much Will It Cost Me?

By Rabbi Yosef Goldman

What do we cherish? What do we truly value? What do we make time for?

 

There is a rather curious juxtaposition of ideas in our Parshah this week. The Torah cautions us against allowing Ammonite and Moabite men from converting and joining the Jewish people. The reasons? Firstly, because they did not greet you with bread and water on the road when you were leaving Egypt. And secondly, because they hired Balaam... to curse you.

 

Such a diverse set of crimes lumped together in one verse. In the same breath we are told to shun them because they didn't play the good host when we were a tired and hungry nation trudging through the desert from Egypt and because they hired the heathen prophet Balaam to destroy us. How can we possibly compare these two reasons? The first is simply a lack of hospitality while the second is nothing short of attempted genocide!

 

The answer is that the two are indeed interrelated. One enforces the other and one proves the sinfulness of the other. If it was only a matter of not showing us any generosity during our journey we could possibly justify it by their own poverty. Perhaps Ammon and Moab were in an economic depression. Maybe they were broke and therefore were not in a position to offer hospitality. If they didn't have enough for themselves how can we expect them to feed others?

 

But when we see that they hired Balaam the prophet to curse the Jewish people, then we know that money was not the problem. Do you think Balaam came cheap? Balaam was a very expensive consultant. "A houseful of gold and silver" was his asking price. If you found money for him you could have found a few shekels to give some bread and water to tired, hungry travelers. The fact that they were prepared to pay such exorbitant fees to Balaam proves the enormity of their crime.

 

Ammon and Moab may be extinct but their legacy lives on.

 

One of the root causes of the Middle East quagmire is the Palestinian problem. So many live in squalor in refugee camps. It is truly a rachmonus, - a terrible pity and a crying shame. But why have these people not been accommodated by their brethren over all these years? Israel has been taking in Jewish refugees from Arab lands--from Syria, Yemen, Iran and Iraq. More recently they have absorbed many Ethiopian and Russian Jews. Israel is a small country with limited resources yet no Jew is refused entry. Everyone is welcomed.

 

So tiny Israel can do it and the combined land and wealth of the Arab world cannot? Saudi Arabia builds palaces and engages in all sorts of royal excess. Have you been to the Dubai airport? Billions are being spent on flippant luxuries, but to help their poor Palestinian brothers and sisters nobody is home!

 

Sadly, we have a problem in our own community too. How often is a Jew approached for a worthy cause and he pleads poverty but the very next day he blows a fortune at a casino? We are too busy to come to a lecture at the Shul, but to kill a night playing poker we have plenty of time.

 

I am reminded of the fellow who asked me if he really needed to put up mezuzahs on all his doorways inside his house. When I answered that he did, he gave a huge krechtz (sigh). "Oh Rabbi, but I just built a new house with eighteen rooms. Do you realize how much the mezuzahs are going to cost?!"

 

We are now in the month of Elul, a time for introspection and coming right before Rosh Hashanah, our Judgment Day. Let us reflect on how we spend our money and our time and let us try our best to be consistent and honorable to G-d and our fellow men and women.

"Tracht gut vet zayn gut" - "Think good and it will be good" Is an old Chassidic dictum. The Rebbe took this a step further saying that thought actually changes reality. Now there's scientific evidence to prove it. See it here. 

...although they are not necessarily true...

This week my wife and I took the kids (and ourselves) to the museum of the American Indian. A recurring theme was the conflict and tension that exists between tradition and progress and how various artists have bridged the two.

This got me thinking about our ancient tradition, why do I not feel the same conflict. I realized, these ancient art forms were ways of living that came out of circumstance -nature reacting to nurture.  It is a tradition born of a lifestyle, and when that lifestyle changes, the tradition becomes irrelevant.

The Jewish tradition however is a one that creates the lifestyle, here nature is nurtured according to the dictates of ancient teaching, resulting in a distinctly Jewish lifestyle.

Here Jewishness relates to the core of existence itself, it is who we are. To suggest that progress would hinder it, is like saying that computers would replace thought. Computers may give us new things to think about or change our external traditions around how we communicate. Computers will never change the fact that we think and communicate, they can only be a platform for those internal traditions - the existence of thought itself.

For the sake of preserving history, I am keeping the blogspot site up. You can still see all previous posts and archives at www.chabadrego.blogspot.com

By popular demand, our webhost has seamlessly integrated a blog option into our website - now you can comment right here!