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I would like to start off with a scenario. A guy/girl gets back after a great year in Seminary/Yeshiva and are so pleased with themselves because of how much torah they have learned and how much they have grown spiritually. As they get acclimated back into their surroundings they tend to notice that there is a staggering spiritual difference between them and their high school friends who didn’t spend a year with them in Israel. All of a sudden they begin to look down on the friends they have been friends with for years. Whats the reason? They are not on the same “spiritual” level as them.

I know you may argue, well I went to Seminary/Yeshiva and I wasn’t like that so why are you generalizing? My answer to that is, yes maybe your case is different but there are numerous cases that I have wittnessed that are this way. The reason I bring this topic up is really to address a more general topic that I have been thinking about, which is how can we inspire more Jews to embrace Judaism and live the Torah lifestyle? I think this scenario not only applies to Seminary and Yeshiva students, but also to all Jews. Unfortunately, even though there are so many Jews that are in some way connected to Judaism, there are many more that aren’t. I know there are numerous reasons for this but I would like to focus on one that I think we can do to prevent any more Jews from being disconnected. One reason that there is a reluctance to embrace Judaism is because of the negative energy that comes from people who are too busy judging other Jews’ actions, that they forget that they are also Jews and still deserve respect.

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Here we are a week after Tisha Be’av and as another Tisha Be’av goes by without the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash we feel dissapointed and discouraged. We wonder why are we still in Galut and when will this bitter exile end. I heard an interesting insight that addresses our concern. In addition to fasting on Tisha Be’av because the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, we also are fasting for the destruction of our hearts. We know that the reason for the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash resulted from the sin of baseless hatred and it is the reason that we are still in exile today. So during the time of the destruction as a result of baseless hatred the sensitivity and caring for a fellow jew was “destroyed” in our hearts. The destruction of the Beit Hamikash is a refrence to what happened in our own hearts. Now that we know this is there anything we can do to change this? Fortunately, there is and each of us can rectify for this sin in our own lives. We have the power to end this exile and speed up the redmption process. We need to all look into our lives and see where we can improve. This way if we each are doing our part we will hasten the redemption.

In addition, in the haftarot following Tisha Be’av Hashem comforts us and promises that even though we will be in exile we should not lose hope because one day we He will return us to Eretz Yisrael with joy. As it says in this weeks haftara for parshat Ekev “For Hashem shall comfort all her ruins. He shall make her wilderness like the garden of Eden and her wasteland like a garden of Hashem; joy and gladness shall be found there, thanksgiving and the sound of music.” May we all merit to see this prophecy fulfilled! Amen!!!

In this week’s parsha,Parshat Masei there is a list of places where Beni Yisrael stopped on there way to Eretz Yisrael. An obvious question we can ask, is why does the Torah need to list every stop that Beni Yisrael made and does this have any important implications for us? An intresting answer that I heard to this question, was that since Hashem told Moshe to include these details in the Parsha, it obviously has some significance and there is a lesson we must learn from this.
Every stop that Beni Yisrael made throughout their journey was important in order to prepare them before their entry into Eretz Yisrael.At each stop they learnt new lessons and went through various hardships.As a result,by the time they reached Eretz Yisrael they were ready to enter the land and were able to deal with the problems they were faced with.In addition, since it was these hardships that made them into a great nation, without these difficulties they would not have reached the same level of greatness.

This lesson can be directly applied to us in our personal lives.There are times in our lives that are happy and joyful, but there are also times of sadness and challenges. Our goal in life is to be able to overcome our challenges in order to help us become stronger in our Judaism and to approach life with a more positive outlook. In addition, just like how Beni Yisrael’s challenges helped them become a greater nation, we too can increase our personal greatness and be merited to fulfill the high level of kedusha that we aspire towards.

Ever since I went on my senior class trip in elementary school I realized that I want to live in Israel. As I toured the country with my class I realized that Israel is different that any other country and I felt that it was the place I belonged. I have visited numerous countries around the world and I have never felt the same feeling as I did when I was in Israel.

When I would try to explain this feeling to other people I wasn’t able to and I could never understand why. Later I realized that this feeling has something to do with the neshama(the soul) and since it is something spiritual it can not be put into words. Ever since that trip, that feeling has always remained with me and I feel that the only place where I belong is in Israel. It is the only place I can call my true home. Since I discovered this feeling I have also been faced with a dilemma that is common to people who want to make aliyah but for various reasons they are prevented from doing so. I have this burning desire to live in Israel but at this moment I am unable to move and it pains me not to be able to live in the Eretz Hakodesh that was promised thousands of years ago to Avraham Avinu.

Thank G-d I have been able to return to Israel many times, but every time I have to leave I am faced with the same dilemma. I have always heard that everything is in Hashem’s control and that whatever one’s life situation is, is what has been chosen for that individual by Hashem. This means that even the place where one lives is also determined and if they are supposed to live in that specific place, any plans they make to leave that place with not follow through. I have always believed this to be true, but it took a while for it to finally sink in. It was only after I came back from my recent trip to Israel that I took this lesson to heart.

Before I boarded the plan I thought to myself, why is it that I am able to visit Israel but I am not able to live there? Then I thought about this lesson and it became clear that for some reason that I am currently not aware of I need to continue living in Los Angeles. There is a reason why Hashem has not allowed me to live in Israel and I need to accept this. I also realized that though I am forced to live in Chutz L’aretz it doesn’t mean I should give up on my dream, but at the same time I need to accept my current life situation and make the best of what I can before I can finally return home forever. May we all merit to return back home soon with the Geulah Shelamah. AMEN!