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Yearning for Salvation, is the force that preserves Exilic Judaism, whereas the Judaism of the Land of Israel, is the very Salvation itself. — HaRav Avraham Itzhak Hakohen Kook
Last Shabbat I went on a shabbaton called Jewlicious and I came back from it with a feeling of optimism and excitement. The shabbaton was geared towards Jews from all different denominations of Judaism and I was curious how this shabbaton would cater to everyone. As the Shabbaton progressed I became more and more amazed at how well everyone got along and respectful everyone was of each other, despite their religious differences and world views. Even during the various learning sessions and activities there was a sense of acceptance of one another for the simple reason that we are all Jews . The highlight of the shabbaton where this achdut(unity) was felt, was during Havdalah, which lasted for 45 minutes and was accompanied by hundreds of voices singing Havdalah together. As I looked around I was inspired by this amazing experience I was experiencing with my fellow Jews and how proud I was to be part of such a wonderful nation. It was also powerful and moving as we sang “Am Yisrael Chai” because there was a mixture of people, those who were experiencing their first Shabbat and were those who have been keeping it all their lives. Despite this, there were no negative feelings felt by anyone from the group.
The reason I left the Shabbaton with such a feeling of excitement, is because of the feeling of unity that surrounded me, unlike during the story of Purim. The commentaries explain that the reason Haman confidently told Achashverosh that they would be able to destroy the Jews was because of their lack of unity. We see from Haman’s observation that we as a nation become vulnerable to attack by our enemies when we lack unity and caring for our fellow Jews. As we know, the way that the Jews were able to repeal the terrible decree against them was by gathering together in unity. It was only then that their fasting and prayers were answered by Hashem. I think that even though this shabbaton was only a fraction of the Jewish population, seeing this kind of unity is encouraging and exciting especially during these critical times in history when there is fear of the unknown. In addition to prayer and doing mitzvot we can’t forget our powerful special weapon that will ultimately bring the Geulah: Our achdut and love for our fellow Jews!
Here is an interview from a year ago, with Rav Weiss, Rosh Yeshiva of Yashlatz (the High School next to Merkaz HaRav where six of the boys studied)”. This is probably the most inspirational interview I have seen in my life! It comes with english subtitles.
The inter-city busrides can get long after many times of making the same trip. I decided to pack a book into my bag, so that I could read or study during the hour or so where I’d be sitting still in a chair anyway. My first thought was to take a volume of Plato’s dialogues, some of which we’re studying in one of my university courses. All was good and well, until I was struck by the incredible irony.
That night would be the first night of Chanukah - a festival where we celebrate the Divinely led triumph of the Jews, in their tiny minority, over the Ancient Greeks, in their almost overwhelming majority. Almost overwhelming - but not entirely. The Jews had lived for some years under the reign of the Greeks, which was not a happy situation; however, it was tolerable, and they tried to get on with their lives. This all changed when Antiochus instituted his evil decrees against Torah and Jewish life. (more…)
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.
I looked over the highway, directly across at the place opposite from where I stood. I still had to walk all the way round to the bridge, and then cross the bridge, to get to that spot. And only then would I be in the right neighbourhood, and my journey could continue. I asked myself at that instant, ‘If there’s one place you could be, where would that be?’ The immediate answer was, ‘Right there! Just across the bridge. I’d skip walking round to the bridge, and then crossing the bridge, and I’d be right at that spot over there.’ But just a second, I said to myself. That’s not really where I want to go. My final destination is the shop over in the neighbourhood, not that spot across the bridge! In fact, if I could really choose to ’skip’ out any part of my journey, I’d skip it all, and be back home with all my shopping in one second’s time! (more…)
