Mulling Over Succot and The Fragility of Life

There's a great irony in the Jewish Holiday of Succot. It's called זמן שמחתינו Zman Simchateinu, The Time (Holiday) of Our Joy. We're specifically commanded  to be "happy" and celebrate, but at the same time, we must move out of our permanent homes and "live" in a succah with a temporary removable roof.

Nu, what if it rains? How can we keep out the bugs, bees and animals? What type of crazy "festive" holiday is this?

Don't forget that Jews in other parts of the world have to contend with weather a lot more extreme than here in the Holyland.

For many Jews, the logistics of the Succot Holiday are a total nightmare if you try to observe it in an actual succah. Here in Israel it's very common for buildings to be designed with the holiday in mind. There will be uncovered terraces. In other parts of the world, there are even legal problems in having a "hut" for eating and sleeping even for just over a week. And even here in Israel, many people live in places which don't have easily available or designated succah locations. The logistics of a building, neighborhood or other type of communal succah can be a nightmare. And it also happens that sometimes here there are winds and storms that blow off the sechach, special temporary roof of the succah or the succah itself in the middle of the holiday.

Gd designed/created the Succot Holiday to remind us of the fragility of life in This World. Succot is also one of the holidays that cancels or postpones the shiva, mourning period. One is commanded to be joyful, even when a close relative has died and just been buried. The joy of the holiday overrides personal mourning. And if a family member dies and is buried during the holiday, then the shiva is postponed until afterwards. We are first Jews who worship Gd and celebrate His Holidays, then we are individuals. Our personal feelings are secondary to Gd's mitzvot, commandments.

The Succot Holiday is when we are commanded to find the Joy in All that Gd has given us.

חג סוכות שמח

Chag Succot Sameach

Have a Joyful Succot Holiday

Jewish People/Nation/Religion Like No Other. Maybe That's Why We're Hated?

Yesterday, Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, in synagogues all over the world, the weekly Torah Portion, Yitro was read. Yitro, Jethro, was a non-Jew or convert, and there's an irony in that davka in that Torah Portion, named after him we also read the Ten Commandments, the foundation of the Jewish Religion.

The children of Israel camp opposite Mount Sinai, where they are told that G‑d has chosen them to be His “kingdom of priests” and “holy nation.” The people respond by proclaiming, “All that G‑d has spoken, we shall do.”
On the sixth day of the third month (Sivan), seven weeks after the Exodus, the entire nation of Israel assembles at the foot of Mount Sinai. G‑d descends on the mountain amidst thunder, lightning, billows of smoke and the blast of theshofar, and summons Moses to ascend.
G‑d proclaims the Ten Commandments, commanding the people of Israel to believe in G‑d, not to worship idols or take G‑d’s name in vain, to keep theShabbat, honor their parents, not to murder, not to commit adultery, not tosteal, and not to bear false witness or covet another’s property. The people cry out to Moses that the revelation is too intense for them to bear, begging him to receive the Torah from G‑d and convey it to them. (Chabad)

In the title I gave this post, I called us not only a religion, because we're also a people and and nation and I even left out another two crucial aspects.

• We Jews have a very unique language, Hebrew, which unlike other languages has what can be considered "magic letters." As I mentioned in my book review of "Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew," any combination of them has meaning.
• We Jews are a Land, too. Many of our Mitzvot, G-d given commandments are based on being in the Land He gave us, the HolyLand, the Land of Israel. 

No other society or religion or nation or language is like the Jewish one. Is it this uniqueness that is the proof that we are G-d's Chosen People, and the other nations, religions etc are jealous? That could be it, because the two most powerful and ambitious religions Christianity and Islam both attempt to supplant us. Both have stolen the narrative of our Bible, our Land and try to show that G-d has rejected the Jews and chosen them. In today's lingo it's called "identity theft."

And why is, davka, this important Torah Portion named after a man who wasn't born a Jew? That must be because instead of being jealous and hateful of the Jewish People, Yitro accepted and recognized that we Jews are G-d's Chosen People. 

Today's world is mirroring many of the events in our ancient past. And just the fact that we Jews are the same People as lived thousands of years ago, while all of our ancient enemies are no longer in existance, troubles those who are trying to supplant and destroy us.

The Torah Portion of Yitro stresses that the "righteous gentiles" who accept and support us will always be honored. 

Shavua Tov uMevorach

May the New Week be Good and Blessed

Yom Kippur Lesson for All: The Buck Stops Here, Not in the USA nor UN

Most of the Jewish World, or at least those Jews who make a point to live as Jews, has just completed twenty-five 25 hours of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish Calendar praying to G-d to forgive us for our sins and include our names in the Book of Life.

We didn't pray to the IDF, nor to Bibi, nor to Obama etc. We prayed to G-d. There's the saying that "there are no atheists in foxholes," because when up against the wall, in the most dangerous and crucial seconds, the gut reaction is to call out to G-d, or whatever god one believes in. People don't call to "chance," nor the United Nations General Assembly.

Traditional Jewish Prayer includes this line:

There is only one G-d, and He is Our G-d!

In Hebrew there are many terms/names for G-d. They each have different uses and significance, but they all represent the same non-human Being. Our G-d created man and earth.

And G-d gave us required commandments to obey. The first three of the Ten Commandments specifically mention G-d's powers and how we must relate to G-d. Following is the Second Commandment as explained on the Chabad site:

2. You shall not have other gods in My presence: G‑d is the only one who controls all events and occurrences. No other entity—not your government, not your boss, not your spouse—can benefit or harm you, unless G‑d has so decreed. Every one of us shares a special relationship with G‑d, and no power can interfere with or disturb this relationship.

Davka, rather ironically, the media in Israel has been full of articles and commentary about Israel and its relationship with the United States, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his nemesis United States President Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama has been inflated with powers of mythical proportions. It really doesn't matter who is sitting in the White House, the United States President is neither our president nor our god.

The fate of the State Of Israel rests in our hands according to how we obey G-d's Commandments. It's just between us and G-d Almighty. That needs no commentary.

May our government leaders be gifted with the wisdom and moral strength necessary to lead us in the right, yes, Right correct direction, G-d willing.

The Ten Commandments, "No Other G-ds" Includes Democracy and Other Western Idols

Yesterday, Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, was the Torah Portion Yitro, Jethro, in which we read/heard the Ten Commandments.  It begins very simply and clearly, just like the basic writing rules with a "main idea" and "topic sentence:"

ב אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים: לֹא-יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים, עַל-פָּנָי. 2
I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

As the saying goes, everything else is commentary.

Our priorities must be very clear.  First G-d's Laws, then all others.  If the other laws contradict G-d's then they are illegal, immoral.

If the Israeli Government orders soldiers to do something forbidden, like destroying Jewish homes in the Land of Israel, then the soldiers must refuse orders.  Plain and simple.  There's no legitimate way to spin it otherwise.

The custom is to rise when the Ten Commandments are read in the synagogue.  we must focus on the words, on the message.

Democracy is man-made.  It's supposed to complement, not override G-d's Laws.  We shouldn't be begging for the approval of men, only the approval of G-d.

Shavua Tov uMevorach

Have a Good and Blessed Week