An unbiased observation

In a strange twist of fate, the greatest compliment to the Jews came from our greatest enemy: Bilaam. The midrash admits as much when it says: ‘...The blessing of Bilaam was greater than the blessing that Yaakov blessed the tribes and from the blessings that Moses blesses the tribes. When Jacob blessed the tribes he admonished Reuven, Shimon, Levi while the blessings of Bilaam don’t contain any negativity. And Moses only blessed after extensive rebuke.  But the blessing of Bilaam didn’t contain any rebuke.’ Why does it take an enemy to sing our praises?

             In the court of law, a witness who is related to any parties can't testify. Why? Because it is understood if someone is related to the case he can't be an objective observer. It stands to reason that the less related one is to the parties, the more objective he can be. Therefore, when it comes to seeing our self, we are our own worst witness.  When we look at who we are, we have an inkling of what we could be and are not at the moment.  It is hard to celebrate what ‘feels’ like a failure. We see our latent potential that is not being actualized and that diminishes our vision for what we could be and who we are.  In contrast, someone who is at a distance can see what the person is accomplishing and can appreciate that greatness.

    

             It is for this reason that it is Bilaam’s words that make it into our liturgy.  As an enemy, he stood at a distance from us and he had a great interest, albeit negative ones, for knowing exactly who we are. He originally intended to curse our essence and G-d ensured that it would be our essence that is blessed.  So what is our essence? When we enter a synagogue, the siddur quotes Bilaam, ‘how great are the tents of Yaakov’.  What is it about our tents that define our strengths?  There are two qualities that a tent captures, internality and study.  A tent can be the only hidden place within a large, exposed field.  It is a retreat where one can go inside.  That is strength one- it is our inner world that comes first.  Second, a tent is also a reference for a place of study as it says about Yaakov he was a person 'who sat in tents'. Our sages learn this to mean a house of study.  Our other strength is that each Jewish person is required to study every single day- no exceptions. That is the fuel that keeps us fresh and growing.  Our greatest enemy saw our real strengths and it would be wise to take note. 

A small paint job

Boston has a hot real estate market.  Apartments are on the market for a day or two and they are lapped up at exorbitant prices.  With the high demand, the motivation for landlords to spruce up the place is low.  So one is left with centenarian apartments in bad need of a makeover.  With summer upon us, it was time to fix up the entrance- paint the door and whiten the walls.  Sounds simple, right? Paintbrush, paint, and wall. What could go wrong?

                Had I not observed how some handy friends had helped paint my basement some time ago, I would have forgotten multiple items as even a simple paint job has a decent list: a special tool to open the can of paint (one could use a screw driver but the special tool really helps), plastic lining, sand paper, rags, paint tray, multiple brushes for different areas, tape to protect edges, and clothing ready to get some paint on them.  Each one of those items a while back would have been a new trip to the local Home Depot.  I made sure to have them prior and it made the job go smoothly.

                Yet even with all the right tools, the execution has its own quirks.  How much paint to glob onto the brush to get a thick coat on the wall without spraying extra paint everywhere else?   What types of strokes to use and what brush when? Should I tape every edge or rely on a steady hand for some of it (spoiler: always tape!)? 

                These two aspects of life: understanding the job at hand and executing it were exemplified by Aaron who passes away in this week's Torah portion.  It says he is buried on ‘har hor’, which literally reads the mountain on a mountain.  One commentary says that it literally looked like a mountain with an extra apple like protrusion that resembled a second mountain. But the mystics give a different answer. They say there are two ‘mountains’ each of us must climb in our life. It is the mountain of understanding how the world works, and the mountain of executing that vision.  Aaron exemplified this on both levels.

                He was the high priest that executed (pun intended) the sacrifices. It was his job to bring spirituality all the way down into the world and he understood how to then bring the lower world back up to G-d. For that, he needed a deep understanding of how the spiritual worlds work. On the deepest level, these correspond to the two ה’s of G-d name, the upper ה and lower ה. Not surprisingly, the word mountain in Hebrew, הר, really means- the full of expression of ה as the letter ר in Hebrew is the letter that means to bring something out (it trills in the mouth). In other words, Aaron was buried on the ה’s that he brought into the world. 

                Shabbat Shalom! 

Matzah, our baby food

As we pass the midpoint of Passover it could be some of us are tiring from our new eating habits.  One facebook update summed it up best, ’The kosher struggle is real. Passover is a difficult time for me. EVERYTHING I eat on a daily basis contains rice, wheat, flour, etc. 

I'M SO HUNGRY, HELP! ‘ Now is a good time to get another idea to carry us home.

                The reason Jews tend to go to extreme lengths in their Passover preparation is because the verse in the Torah with respect to Passover is different.  It says one shouldn’t consume even a trace amount of chometz or leaven. When it comes to most mitzvoth we determine a generous amount until one has officially transgressed the prohibition of eating non-Kosher food but not here.  Why the difference? 

                The midrash relates that the exodus from Egypt was similar to a birth from an animal.  Perhaps, the major hall mark of a new born is how sensitive their stomachs are.  They can breathe easily, see, and hear, but digestion takes time.  The first few months of feeding is no simple matter.  With my colicky second, each feeding came with a half and hour of gaseous screams.  As the baby develops, food needs to be introduced slowly to assure there are no allergic reactions. Further, it is crucial that food be soft with no peel left on the outside.   On Passover, we recreate this initial stage of life where what we eat needs to be just perfect (obviously spiritually as Matzah is anything but soft!).  Leavening is related to the evil inclination and externality- it is akin to a peel.  We need to remove all traces of leavening for a week as we relate to our deepest sense of self.  After that is established we can introduces heartier substances.  With that in mind, eat carefully as digestion takes time to develop!  

Metamorphosis

One of the most stunning processes in nature is the metamorphosis of a butterfly. An insect burrows into a cocoon for a period of time and then emerges a new creature of astounding beauty along with an entirely new power, flight. Typically, a change like that is reserved for the fantastic realm of comic books and phone booths. But, in reality, it is also the essence of seder night.  On seder night we transition from Israel the person to Israel the nation after a period of time in the cocoon of Egypt- a change of massive proportions and massive implications for world history.

 The children of Israel, aka Jacob, came down to Egypt a robust family of 70 impressive people.  They were capable of influencing a powerful empire, with one son, Joseph, climbing to the no. 2 post.  But the goal of Israel was not to influence the empire but to be a positive influence on the world and for that a nation was needed.  After Pharoh died, Israel the family lost its influence and we were off the map and in the ‘cocoon’ for a period of time as lowly slaves.   However, even as slaves, things began to change as we grew into a nation of 3 million strong within a few generations.  Despite the degrading work of slavery, the nation maintained an independent identity.  And via the plagues of Egypt and subsequent revelation at Sinai, this nation became witness to the deepest reality of the world. It is this intellectual clarity that gives us beautiful wings to fix the world.

We mark this change with matzah and questions. I’ve tried many varieties of matzah, and give or take a few millimeters of thickness they all taste like cardboard.  Bread is very different. With extra ingredients and variables of time bread rises to different levels and has many different textures and tastes.  Bread is a testament to the baker while matzah is a testament to its basic ingredients flour and water brought to you by the Creator with minimal human intervention.   We recognize that our creation as a nation is due to G-d’s influence and matzah is our testimony.  And this change should draw our curiosity. Which is why we start the night with ‘what is the difference between this night and all other nights?’  On this night we became a nation with crucial knowledge to share with the world.

Re'eh Make it you

While not in the top ten most stressful situations, moving is an acknowledged best of the rest.  And it is obvious why. It is hard to know where many of your things are.  The simple things in life are suddenly not so.  It took my wife and me a day and a half to find out how to turn on one of the lights. To be fair, the switch was inside of a closet- who would have thought! However, I did witness a turning point in all this among the morass of boxes and I was surprised that it made such a significant difference, though, had I understood a perplexing point in this week’s parsha, it shouldn’t have been. 

                While wading through the sea of boxes, low on energy and high on stress, we found our pictures and paintings wrapped in a neat bundle with translucent green plastic.  Perhaps, the one easy thing about the move was that there were already nails in the wall at more or less the right place so we could take our pictures and throw them up.  Despite the fact that we were less than half way done, a new motivation took hold. The mood lifted and our pace hastened.  What was behind this psychological, yet really, spiritual boost? 

                Of the many subjects dealt with in this week’s parsha, one of them is about a false prophet. This is a person who comes with incredible signs and proofs that he is indeed correct, in contrast to the dated Torah, and he tries to lead others towards ideologies that are antithetical to Torah. G-d says this is just a test to see if you really love Him.  This is a strange point, for if we are dealing with a person who comes and tells you interesting information that seems to disprove Torah and you have other information that seems to prove Torah and the proof of Torah is stronger, one should go with that.  But what does that have to do with love?  It should say that you should be smart and hold on to your logic in the face of contradicting logic. 

                The answer goes back to our move.  When something is intrinsic to your identity, when it’s you, you fight for it.  Therefore, when it is boxes that need unpacking for the sake of unpacking that is not so motivating. But when a house becomes yours and it is a reflection of you, then it is easy to make it look great.  With our pictures on the wall, it became our house and that is something that we want to improve.  Similarly, love is when you take something that was external and merge it with your own personal identity. That is the idea of the verse. G-d doesn’t want us to believe in Him because of a proof based on logic alone.  That would be weak and shift according to the information of the times.  He wants us to connect because we have the correct observation that our true eternal self is really a part of G-d.  It is that self-identification that defeats any proof against it because it is a bond that exists from a deeper place than the intellect.  

Leaving with Riches

There is an ancient Egyptian papyrus sitting in the Leiden Museum of antiquities in the Netherlands.  It is known as the Ipuwer papyrus from the middle Kingdom (circa 1600 BC) and it recounts a mysterious series of calamities that befell Egypt.[1] Water had turned to blood, plagues descended on the land, and there was a tremendous darkness.  Towards the end, the papyrus claims that slaves had rebelled against their masters and taken their riches.  One scholar states that this fact destroys the credibility of the parchment for how could a decimated Egypt have riches to take? However, that is exactly the claim stated in Exodus 12: 35, ‘The Children of Israel carried out the word of Moses; they requested from the Egyptians silver vessels, gold vessels, and garments. Hashem gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians and they granted their request- so they emptied Egypt’. This fulfilled the promise G-d made to Abraham centuries earlier that his descendants would leave Egypt with tremendous wealth. [2]

                But we are now faced with a troubling contradiction. On the one hand, on Seder night, we celebrate Matzah, the bread of poverty which some commentaries say is a reference to its unencumbered nature.[3] It is flour and water minus time, oil, and eggs.  Pesach is a time to return to simplicity for it is the secret to freedom.  When we overly indulge in the material we become enslaved by it. When we don’t act with speed but meander through the river of time, the present inertia maintains the status quo.  On the other hand, in accordance with the verse above, Jewish law states that a person’s most ornate dishes and silverware should be saved for the seder night.[4] It says that part of being free means that one should feel wealthy and display it. How can these two ideas be reconciled?

                To uproot the contradiction we need to dive into the fragile psyche of a slave, especially a Hebrew one that was born into a nation enslaved for over 200 years. What can develop is what is called a slave mentality, the feeling that one is powerless to effect the world.  After all, a slave is a person whose thoughts have no impact and whose actions are not his own.  After the physical slavery ended, one more thing had to change, the mental slavery.  That is what was behind Moses’ command to grab wealth away from the Egyptians.  They needed to not only leave physically but to leave in a way where they felt they had the means to then impact the world in a positive fashion- an idea could come to fruition. 

               That is the depth of the seder night. It is about fostering proactivity, not accepting the status quo.  If something doesn’t make sense, don’t accept it; rather ask a question, try to understand. It is about the mental switch from living a reactive existence to living a free, proactive existence.  To do that, we first cut off external influences, matzah.  We then look deep inside to who we really are- part of a nation on a noble mission.  And then we realize that we do have the means to carry out the mission.  Though only some of us may have material wealth, all of us have spiritual wealth to share with the world. 

               

               

               

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[1] It is for this reason that scholars miss this as clear evidence of the Exodus story as the middle Kingdom existed in 1600 B.C. and the Exodus was thought to take place in 1300 BC.  However, there is now a movement to revise the dates of the middle Kingdom.  See the documentary ‘Patterns of the Exodus’ for other evidence of the authenticity of the Exodus. 

[2] See Genesis 15:14. It raises the question as well as to why it was so important to not only be redeemed but to be redeemed with wealth.

[3] See Maharal in Gevuros Hashem on the hagaddah chapter 51

[4] Shulchan Aruch תעב"ב.   

More important than intellect

I received an incredible video yesterday from 2011 that showed a clip from Israeli national news which documented a South Korean news crew that came to Israel to discover the secret to Jewish success. One of the South Koreans in explaining the mission said that it couldn’t be mere chance that a population of Jews that make up less than .5 percent of the world population could contribute to 25% of Nobel prizes.  Something must be behind this success. The intriguing part of the video is where the South Koreans went to investigate.  They didn’t investigate the pedagogical techniques of the Technion, Israel’s equivalent to MIT, or the creativity of Israel intelligence units in the army.  Instead they went to one of the oldest Yeshivas in Israel to study how Jews study.  They were astounded by the extraordinary analytics happening in a religious environment and the theory is that millennia of Talmudic discourse has shaped the Jewish brain to what it is today- a well-oiled machine able to handle complexities of the highest magnitude.  But is that really the only key to Jewish success?  Is there something else as well?

                It seems based on recent studies that a key component to success is not mere brains.  Research has shown that out of 36 character traits, self-control turned out to be the only trait that predicted a college student’s grade-point average better than chance.  Self- control also proved to be a better predictor of college grades than the student’s IQ or SAT score.[1]  And it seems that Judaism also espouses this view that self-control comes even before brains in terms of importance.

                Every morning, Jews wrap tefillin- those black boxes with long leather straps.  What is strange is the order in which they do it. One would think that first comes the head tefillin and then the arm tefillin.  Instead, we start with the hand tefillin and then put on the head tefillin.  Why?  As one commentary explains[2] before the brain starts one has to be able to control his actions. If there is no basic self-control then there is no hope of developing the higher faculties.  

                It could be the South Koreans traveled unnecessarily in their quest to discover Jewish greatness.  Perhaps a local Chabad would have been enough and they could have witnessed the daily morning prayers where Jews have been putting control before head for over 3,000 years starting with the command at the end of this week’s parsha to wrap tefillin.

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[1] See WillPower page 11.

[2] See the Malbim on at the end of Parshas Bo