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The anniversary of our Shul related to the reincarnation of our souls

Friday, June 12, 2015 - 11:15 AM

As they stood on the threshold of the Promised Land in the Torah portion, Shelach, our ancestors still didn’t believe that they were actually going to enter it successfully. Despite the assurances of the Almighty, they insisted on sending spies to scout the land. Tragically the majority of the spies, though hand picked by Moses himself, returned with a scathing report of the Holy Land and a macabre prophecy of doom if the Jews should even attempt to conquer her.

Sadly, their lack of faith in G-d led to the decree that that generation would wander in the desert for forty years. Indeed, this is the origin of the term ‘wandering Jews’.

As a community, we too faced our Promised Land June 13th, 2014. It was then that we finally entered our Promised Land when we finally had overcome all the odds that were stacked against us in building our Shul and prevailed to build ourselves a permanent home. From Zoning and Building Permits to the Great Recession and bureaucracy that could make one ill, we persevered through seven long years and refused to stop believing that we would enter our Promised Land. And enter it we did!

On the very same Shabbos where we read of the Jews failure to enter the Promised Land, we celebrate our entry?

This irony is the purpose for which we were created:

The Rebbe revealed to us that our generation today is the reincarnation of the generation that died in the desert. We were all on this earth before, as followers of Moses.

Whilst they failed to believe in G-d (in the Torah portion Shelach) their souls were sent back to this world in order to exhibit their faith in G-d and reverse their error. We are they.

The successful completion of our Shul was proof that we refused to stop believing.

But we're not done yet.

Our souls were sent here to actually enter the Promised Land. Whilst our community will be making a temporary pilgrimage to the Holy Land this summer, G-d willing, the ultimate goal is to do so on a permanent basis, with the coming of Moshiach. Very soon, when the Moshiach will bring peace and harmony to the world, we will all have completed our tikkun, soul repair, from the error we made in our previous lifetime.

We hold the key. Let it be sooner, rather than later.

One statement that will bring love to your life...

Monday, June 8, 2015 - 12:50 PM

‘I have lived thirty years in these thirty days. I am thirty years sadder. I feel like I am thirty years wiser’.

These words were posted on Facebook by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, upon concluding the Shloshim (thirty days of mourning) for her husband Dave Goldberg. Dave was the CEO of SurveyMonkey, a successful Silicon Valley Startup until his tragic and sudden passing. Doing his daily routine on his treadmill, Dave suddenly fell and died at the prime of his life, creating a huge hole in the lives of his devoted wife and loving children.

I was deeply touched by Sheryl’s words, not only because of what they teach us about death but, more importantly, what they teach us about life.

Now hopelessly bereft of her husband’s love, if Sheryl could have sensed her husband’s mortality every day of her life, what would have their relationship have looked like? How would our marriages and relationships change if we lived each and every day as though it were our last?

Though we don’t live under tyrannical rule, Jews declare twice daily their readiness to die for G-d in the Shema prayer: ‘and you shall love G-d, your G-d….with all your soul’! This bold statement serves as a reminder even more potent in peacetime than in wartime. It’s the simple recognition that we are ultimately willing to actually die for our Creator that motivates us to live today as if it were our last. A simple hamotzi blessing, an aliyah, coins in a tzedaka box, observing a Shabbos; are all suddenly infused with new vigor and passion, the instant we recall that this just might be our last mitzvah!

Indeed, this is exactly the reason why we say the Shema Yisrael prayer twice daily. Not so much that G-d remember our devotion, but more importantly, that we remember our devotion to Him! If this is true of our relationship with our Creator, it is true of relationships with our loved ones too.

Imagine we did the same with the one person we love the most. By daily declaring our commitment to them, professing our willingness to leave no stone unturned to help them when in danger, we would quickly learn to value and appreciate the good times that we experience each day, and yet so easily dismiss. If we were to live each day like it were our last, our love would know no limits!

Despite being unable to complete college, Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave the commencement speech at Stanford University in June 2005. He publicly spoke about his recent diagnosis with pancreatic cancer and how the doctors instructed him to go home and ‘prepare to die’. But Steve refused to do so. Instead he went home and realized that if he didn’t live every day like it was his last, he had little chance of changing the world. Ironically, it was his imminent death that motivated Steve Jobs to transform the way the world communicates and is entertained, the way the world lives.

Facebook’s COO left us with some very wise words this week. Let's allow them sink in and enhance how we love our close friends and our Creator.

Unlocking the code that Jewish Parents use to bless their kids

Monday, June 1, 2015 - 2:39 PM

Some of my fondest memories are of my family's Friday night Shabbos dinner table as I was growing up. The joy and song of the moment was always backed by the serenity on our parents' faces, reflecting the strength and devotion of two people who were committed to raising their nine children to be proud Jews in the remote town of Springs, South Africa, so many thousands of miles from their native Israel.

In a ritual that blended love with awe, at the beginning of the Erev Shabbos meal, just before Kiddush, in birth order, each child would approach our father for a solemn blessing, the priestly blessing of which we read in this week’s Torah portion: ‘May G-d bless you and guard you; May he shine his countenance upon you and grant you grace; May he lift his face towards you and bless you with peace’. I was pleasantly reminded of this ritual recently, as one of our members told me that he proudly blesses his grown children before Shabbos each week.

My father’s holy blessing was always preceded by a brief prayer ‘May you merit to be like Efraim and Menashe…’. We never quite understood why our parents would want us to be specifically like these two biblical characters more than any other, until we became parents ourselves.

As Chana and I raise our seven precious children here in Palm Beach Gardens, thousands of miles from our native homes and our parents, we draw great inspiration and meaning in the very same blessing my parents would bless us with.

Efraim and Menashe were the two sons of Joseph, Ruler of Egypt in Biblical Times. Unlike their Jewish cousins, these two boys were born in Egypt and not in the spiritual cradle of Israel. Despite being born in a culture of decadence and paganism, they managed to maintain their identity as proud Jews.

This is the heartfelt prayer of Jewish parents to their children through the past two centuries of exile: Have the courage to be proud Jews, no matter what your friends say. Stand up for your people no matter the allure of the world that surrounds you!

Have you considered offering this blessing to your kids as well? Imagine what would happen if every Friday afternoon you called your kids for a brief moment and blessed them from the bottom of your heart with this timeless blessing:

[For a son:] May G‑d make you like Ephraim and Menasseh.
[For a daughter:] May G‑d make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.

The L-rd spoke to Moses saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them: 'May the L-rd bless you and watch over you. May the L-rd cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you. May the L-rd raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace.' They shall bestow My Name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them."

By taking the time to introduce this special ritual into your life, you will be sure to experience closer family bonds with your children in addition to imparting upon them the coded blessing that Jewish parents have given their children for millenia: infusing them with the courage and qualities they need to ensure a stronger Jewish Future!