P'nei Shabbat N'Kablah

Wow! It's amazing how Shabbat can make you feel better both physically and emotionally. I went into Shabbat not feeling well, not even wanting to go to shul Friday night where my shul was hosting Yisroel Williger and Rabbi Eliyahu Bergstein for a Carlbach Shabbat replete with Friday night meal and then a Tisch. I literally had to force myself to get dressed and go to my seat for Kabbalat Shabbat. With tears in my eyes, pain in my throat (physical) and heart (emotional) I was glad that someone had forgotten to turn on the lights in my section. I allowed a few tears to fall - happy that no one could see me as I didn't want to invade their beautiful happy personal space. Then slowly it happened. Shabbat, the davening the essense of our beautiful shul, my religion and all the good that I do have began to take over. My mood began its transformation. When my Rabbi later spoke of the power of Shabbos and then the guest Rabbi spoke of P'nei Shabbos N'kablah I truly understood and internalized what they were saying. In a nutshell...this is only a fraction of it...we know that we are married to Shabbos...we know that every night of sheva brachot we need panim chadashot except for Shabbos. Most say that that is because Shabbos (or HKBH) is the panim chadashot. The new idea that struck me though is that if we don't let Shabbos slide by then EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US get our own panim chadashot on Shabbos. That is what we say in L'cha Dodi...P'nei Shabbat N'kablah. I feel lucky for all the good that HKBH has bestowed upon me. Now that Shabbos is over I hope that I can hold those great feelings and let them spill into the chol...and IY"H by Wed. night I will feel healthier and be ready to get onto that El Al plane and to fly to my favorite place in the world. Hoping that everyone else was transformed on Shabbos and that this week will be a good one for you, your loved ones and all of klal yisrael...Shavuah Tov and Gut Vuch.

Simple Truths

As I get older there are certain things that have become obvious to me.
1. The more you pray for others the more HKBH answers your prayers.
2. The more that you allow HKBH to control your life the more in control you become.
3. The more you go to shul and surround yourself by the inspiration of good people (especially good divrei Torah) the more fulfilled you become.
4. The more you control the little things the more the big things fall into place.
5. The more you focus on the positive the more positive there will be.
6. The more you believe in HKBH first and yourself second the happier you will be.

I heard a DT by a colleague and friend which she heard from Sarah Yocheved Rigler. The root hod (hey, vav, daled)is found right in the name Yehudi! This emphasizes the concept of Jews being a nation of people who understand the importance and intrinsic value of hakarat hatov. I loved this so much that I gave it over to my preschool children. I wrote the word Yehudi on a dry erase board highlighting the three middle letters hod in red and leaving the others black. As I was showing them this and talking two things dawned on me. First and foremost...I didn't want them to think that I was implying that non-Jews couldn't have this wonderful middah as well. Then it hit me as a wow! The two letters left in black the book-end were two yuds. That was my answer! For a yehudi the hakarat hatov is encompassed by a life surrounded by HKBH and all that that entails. In fact, if you allow HKBH to be the book ends of your life then you will be thankful because it is intrinsic to your name, fiber and very being. Shavuah Tov and Gut vuch!

Kol D'Asah HKBH L'tav Hu

My son gave over a d'var torah last night that really resonated for me. So simple, so beautiful, so true. I mentioned that this week was the yahrzeit of Reb Shlomo ZTZ'L. So he told a dt that he had heard last year at our shul's Carlbach Shabbaton. He heard it from Rabbi Twerski. In the Shma HKBH is mentioned by both Ha-Shem and Elo-keinu signifying both Rachmim and Din. It seems strange that in the pasuk that is declaring G-d's oneness that he should be referred to by two different names/attributes. The answer that was given is that rachmim and din ARE indeed one. Even when HKBH deals with us in what we call middat hadin in reality it's not...we just can't see it! There are so many examples of terrible things that happen to us. Years later, we realize that these things were indeed rachamim, we just thought they were din.

mundane?

I met my Rabbi at the supermarket a little while ago. He was going in with his son and I was coming out. We both smiled at each other and I said "back to the mundane." He replied "preparing for Shabbos, mundane?" I replied that his wonderful comment reminded me of a friend and colleague who taught me that when she peels vegetables she thinks on each stroke (HKBH please let this be like my aveirot and the aveirot of my family and loved ones peeling away). That had a great impact on me and I usually do have those thoughts when I am peeling. Bringing Kedushah into the mundane, I suppose, really means that if you try hard enough there is no mundane just K'doshim Tihyu, in a beautiful "ki tov" world that HKBH created.

Speaking of B'reishit, my husband was Chasson B'reishit in my shul. Many guys got together and bought him the kibbud. It was a surprise and such an honor for him. I was so happy for his honor and was very proud of him. If your husband has to go under the chuppah with someone else who better than the Torah? I hope that everyone had a meaningful chag and are enjoying getting ready for Shabbos as much as I am ;)

Haazinu

My Rabbi explained that whenever there is a Shabbos between Yom Kippur and Sukkot Haazinu is read.

Many months ago there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about Heavy Metal music. One of the fans complained that the new way that it was recorded was too loud:) This was the idea behind the speech. If everything is loud and there is no quiet then even loud isn't good. You can't have quiet without loud, just as you can't have loud without quiet.

The shir of Haazinu is one that used to be memorized by children in all of the yeshivot. Why is that? It isn't a child's poem or song. It is very depressing. The answer lies in the above. The ending is positive!

The Shabbat of Haazinu is the bridge between two opposite times. Tisha B'Av through Yom Kippur is a mournful and then somber time. However, it goes into Sukkot which is the epitome of happiness!

That is Haazinu and our lives as Jews. We can't give up when we are down. We need to have the emunah in Ha-shem that things will come up again. We are the proof of it. The shoah was the worst of times and look at us now.

The end of Haazinu is positive. That it what we always have to look at. We can't let hard times wreck us. We only need to turn to Ha-shem and ask for his help and he will always be there for us! Gut Vuch!

Seats

I have written about my Yamim Noraim seats before, but this year I realized another reason why I love my Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur seat. In the old days, I was always wary when a date would want to sit in the back row of a movie theater. I mean...near sighted...my eyeball....:). But on the Yamim Noraim that is exactly the seat that I have and love. I think that it gives me that intimacy with HKBH without worrying about anyone else observing me. Of course that does not include my wonderful daughter who sits next to me. From her I get immense nachat from sharing the experience together!

They're Playing Our Song

Wow! My Rabbi gave such beautiful speeches before Tekiat hashofar both days. The first day he said that it was okay to ask...that we shouldn't feel overwhelmed and depressed to the point of not thinking that we are worthy to ask. The second day he gave a mashal and nimshal which I really took to heart and it really spoke to me. He said that if a wife smacks up a car, there is a good likelihood that instead of just telling her husband, she might set up a nice dinner and then play the special music that the couple walked down to at their wedding or that they heard on their first date. By the time she gets around to telling him about the car it will be unimportant. The love will conquer the otherwise upsetting news. The nimshal is that this is how it is in our relationship with HKBH. When else was the shofar blown? At Maamad Har Sinai, when we married HKBH. Now before aseret y'mei t'shuvah and Yom Hakippurim we are playing our song. Yes, we will have negative things to talk to HKBH about and we will want forgiveness, but now we are playing our beautiful wedding music and that is Rosh Hashanah, and IY"H HKBH will accept our wrongdoings and forgive us fully!