Libi BaMizrach

  I am truly blessed. A great gift of Hashgacha Pratis (Individualized Divine Providence) that I am privy to on a regular basis is that somehow the Lord more often than not arranges current events to have a direct connection with the Weekly Sidrah.  I would have to assume that He provides this service not only as a convenience to Rabbis who are searching for a topic for their weekly sermon, but rather it is meant for all of us, to bring home the that the Torah’s lessons in a very direct and meaningful way.  This week was no exception. The entire world stopped this week, it would seem, to pay tribute to a special man who has gone to meet his maker: Nelson Mandela, former anti-apartheid activist-turned prisoner for life-turned president of the newly non-racist republic of South Africa .  The accolades Mr. Mandela received in his later years were immense, from a Nobel Peace Prize, tributes the world over, and the assumption of an important place in world hist...

The story of Chanukah is well known and beloved by all. It is a thrilling tale of the fight of the Jews against the Syrian-Greek oppressors, who oppressed us and tried to take our religion away. The heroic Maccabees fought the military occupation and miraculously won. Upon entering the Temple they found only one completely pure flask of oil and it lasted for eight days. Accordingly, we light candles, eat latkes, spin dreidels, give some gifts, say Al Hanissim, and . . . that's about it. To quote a popular formula regarding all Jewish Holidays, “They tried to kill us. We won. Let's eat.” Of course, our Sages found far more depth in the story, and there is much commentary about why they instituted this longest of Jewish Holidays (There are really only seven days of Pesach, and Succot & Shmini Atzeret are separate holidays). It is a Yom Tov that is full of meaning and relevance to those who take the time to look a little bit below the surface. To illustrate...

It is apparent in the parshiyot of Bereishit that although the Patriarchs were concerned with many matters, one thing, above all, was crucial. They were determined to pass down to future generations the Bircas Avraham – the blessing that Hashem gave to Avraham Avinu – that of a special relationship between the Almighty and the Jewish People, and between the Jewish People and Eretz Yisrael. This desire is considered a crowning achievement of Avraham: For I [Hashem] have known him [Avraham] because he will instruct his  children and his household after him, that they should keep the way of Hashem  to perform righteousness and justice, so that Hashem will bring upon Avraham  that which He spoke concerning him. [Bereishis 18:19] This desire – to pass down our legacy to our children – is something that we think about more and more as we get older, which we certainly ought to. In our society, the main legal vehicle for formalizing the way that legacy is...

  As we approach the Day of Judgment, one wonders how we might focus in preparing for our case before the Most High Judge, who will judge us with the unvarnished truth, hopefully tempered with mercy.   The truth about all of our lives – our accomplishments and shortcomings, the justifiable explanations and the empty excuses, that which was done with sincerity and the times that we just went through the motions  (or even failed to do that) – all of it will be reviewed and judged by the Judge of Truth on these Days of Awe.  It would seem that the least we could do to prepare ourselves to meet the Judge of Truth is to be truthful ourselves, and only then ask for Divine Mercy given our shortcomings as frail, limited, mortal humans. Unfortunately, it seems to me that whole and complete Truth is a rare commodity in our world.  Note: I did not say that Truth is a rare commodity.   There is a lot of Truth that is spoken about many topics, and that is...

Unless things change a whole lot in the next few weeks, we will one again be going through the days leading up to and including Tisha B’Av, the Ninth Day of the Month of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.   Year after year, we take time to reflect on our condition in the Diaspora, and what this long, seemingly endless exile is supposed to teach us, while awaiting the long sought for Geula (Redemption).    There is an interesting anecdote recorded regarding a meeting between the prophet Jeremiah and the famous Greek philosopher, Plato.  Jeremiah was mourning the destruction of Jerusalem , and Plato engaged him in conversation.  Impressed with Jeremiah’s great wisdom, Plato asked him “I do not understand how a sage of your stature can weep so bitterly over something that is over and done with.   Surely, what is past is finished with, and your concern now ought to be solely with the future, and how you can influence it.   What...

בס”ד When I was given the honor of writing a regular column in the Queens Jewish Link, the question arose, “What should the byline be?”   I thought of ideas such as “A Rabbi Reflects” (too stuffy), “A Tree in the Forest” (a presumptuous reference to Forest Hills), “Libi BaMizrach” (my blog name) and even Mordechai Shmutter's “A Title Goes Here” (it had already been done).  But when I hit on “The Middle Road”, our talented editor Naftali Szrolovits warmed to the idea.  I am not sure what it meant to him, but to me it is a reference to my quest to help articulate the voice of what I believe is the silent majority of those who feel comfortable neither fully in the left nor right of Orthodoxy; seeing both positive and negative aspects of both sides, and seeking to embrace that which is good from all sides.  I suppose that this is a way of moderation – of trying to live within the “Golden Mean” so eloquently described by Maimonides – to stay away from the extr...

There is a demonstration that will take place  in Manhattan today, organized primarily by the Satmar community, to protest the proposed actions of the Israeli government regarding the Hareidi Yeshivot. I am not going to comment at this point on my view regarding this demonstration.   I only want to record here the circus that is being put on by those claiming to report on what "Da'as Torah" is on this issue. Letter #1 allegedly from Rav Chaim Kanievsky, שליט"א  - one should not attend the demonstration Letter #2 allegedly from Rav Chaim Kanievsky, שליט"א  - one should attend the demonstration Letter from Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky שליט"א  - one should not attend the demonstration Letter from Rav Dovid Soloveichik שליט"א  - one should attend the demonstration Letter from the combined Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva  שליט"א  - one should not attend the demonstration Letter from Rav Eliyahu Ber Wachtfogel  שליט"א - one should attend the...

Perhaps I have been marching in this direction for a while, but today I attended my first Fifth Avenue “Salute to Israel” Day parade . If today’s parade is reliable evidence, virtually all of the more Modern Orthodox leaning schools and institutions in the NY area proudly march up Fifth Avenue in support of Israel during this annual event.  Having gone to more “right-wing” schools and yeshivos growing up, this massive parade was not on the radar screen for me.  I did not know people who marched, did not associate much with those who might attend, and was never given information to believe that this was a worthwhile event.  It seemed like a place for the local politicians to demonstrate to gullible liberal Jews that by their attendance at this event they “proved” their love for Israel and Jews, and not something that made any real difference to anyone.    I was wrong.   I was privileged to attend the parade today with my daughter Di...