Going Through the Motions

This past Shabbat we celebrated Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbath.  A friend asked what that meant to me. In thought it meant all the Sabbaths of the past year, some were most holy and uplifting, some left me feeling that I had missed a Divine appointment and I wanted to go back and do it better not just going through the motions but really being present.  In entering the new year we have the chance to gather all those precious and holy moments and take them with us leaving behind the parts that fail to elevate and uplift not only ourselves but the people around us. After all beloved, we are in this together and owe it to each other to make the most of our time together.

At the Passover Seder we are reminded that the exodus from Egypt was not just a one time historical event. The Hagaddah says, " In every generation one should regard himself as though he personally had gone out of Egypt. ( Ex. 13:8) Metaphorically, we are still in Egypt. The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzraim which means " narrow straits" which represents all psychological, emotional, spiritual and physical constraints. While we are in the physical world, there are varying degrees of bondage that we experience. On Passover particularly and throughout the month of Nissan, it is a propitious time to free oneself from internal and external constraints, to make a personal exodus from our personal mitzraim.

Mindy Ribner asks the question, "How do we really move forward to greater freedom in our lives? That is the question. She says, "It is not easy to change, to become unstuck, and feel free to be who we really are. To help us to spring forward in our lives, we are given the holiday of Passover in the month of Nissan with all its rituals and observances that help us break through limitations and go forward in the ways that our soul yearns to do. We can not do it alone. We need divine assistance. By forging a stronger connection with G*d through prayer, meditation, and doing acts of kindness ( mitzvot) we place ourselves in alignment with Divine blessing. We feel most alive and vibrant when we are connected to G*d. Give yourself time each day in personal prayer to stand in the question. What does G*d want of me? What does my soul need to heal, grow and shine? Talk to G*d and listen carefully to what opens within you."

Mindy also says, "In this month of Nissan, it is particularly important and helpful to watch your speech. The healing dimension for this month is speech. It is through our speech that we redeem or enslave ourselves. We create our reality through our speech. Be sure to take time each day to express your gratitude to G*d and people around you. A word, a look, a gesture of appreciation, a blessing to another person just for being in your life can be a holy passport that opens gates for greater freedom for each of us. We may never know how precious words of blessing and appreciation are to both the giver and receiver."

Let us make the most of the time we have together beloved, let's make this year be different from all other years, instead of going through the motions~May we all have an inspiring Passover~Elisheva

This song by Matthew West is my heart's cry to my Father in Heaven https://youtu.be/ZUg9qE_KjLg
 The Motions

 This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
What if I had given everything,
Instead of going through the motions?

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

Cause I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything,
Instead of going through the motions?

Take me all the way (take me all the way)
Take me all the way ('cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
Take me all the way (I know I'm finally feeling something real)
Take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions

~Matthew West

Fast Forward It's the Month of Nissan

Rabbi Shraga Simmons teaches that Rosh Chodesh Nissan -- the first day of Nissan -- is one of the most significant days in Jewish history. It was then, in Egypt, that G*d gave the first mitzvah to the Jewish people -- the mitzvah of declaring the new moon and sanctifying the new month. For 2,448 years, G*d did so Himself, but now He entrusted the honor and responsibility to the Jewish people.
Why is this mitzvah so significant? Because it shows that we have the ability (and responsibility) to sanctify our lives and the passage of time. With this power to change and determine physical reality, we thereby become partners in the ongoing process of creation.

In Rabbi Abraham Twerski's Growing Each Day series he says of the 1st of Nissan,
This month shall be unto you the first of the months (Exodus 12:2).
The Jewish calendar has two New Years. Rosh Hashanah, the first day of Tishrei, which marks the beginning of the calendar year, is a day of judgment, signifying that we are held accountable for our behavior. The first day of Nissan marks the beginning of the month of our liberation from Egypt, an event which teaches us that G*d watches over us, that He cares about us, and that even distressful experiences, such as the bitter enslavement in Egypt, are part of a Divine master plan.

Six months separate the two New Years. The personal inventory and the analysis of our mistakes and character defects which we do during the solemn days of Tishrei are very sobering tasks. On the other hand, realizing that we hold a lofty status as children of G*d and that we are constantly under His vigilance, which is emphasized in Nissan, is exhilarating and elating. Both attitudes are indeed essential, but if one tries to achieve them simultaneously, one may end up in a state of confusion.

In the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon points out that we should dedicate appropriate times in life for conflicting acts and attitudes. He says, "There's a time to plant and a time to uproot" (3:2), and "There is a time to cry and a time to laugh" (3:4), etc. A healthy adjustment to life is a delicate balancing act. With proper learning and guidance, we can learn to determine appropriate times for what we are supposed to do.

Today I shall ...
... give thought to scheduling my hours and days, so that I can achieve a healthy balance of diverse attitudes.

Below is a teaching from Melinda Ribbner's Kabblah of the Heart site, remember beloved that the joy is in the journey. We are embarking on a whole new mindset, leaving behind our old ways of thinking and relating. We all want to make changes in our life, as the old Hebrew expression goes, "Even the journey of one thousand kilometers begins with a first step." Next year in Jerusalem!!! Elisheva


The Torah says this about Nissan, " This month shall be for you the head of the months, it is the first for you of the months of the year." ( Exodus 12:2) Whatever is the first is the most beloved, the most precious, with the greatest benefit and impact. In the month of Nissan, we should also learn to trust our first impressions and to not second guess ourselves and others.

This month of Nissan is called the headquarters for newness. A sign that we are close to God is that everything feels new, full of wonder and possibilities. These are the precious moments in life when we may be doing what we always do, and suddenly our consciousness is lifted upwards, our hearts open and we are filled with the awareness of the sanctity of life itself. We are so happy to simply be alive. This is a taste of the joy of Nissan. This is the month to leave our personal restrictions and move to greater freedom. There are significant life changes possible in Nissan. If you feel stuck in a life routine that is limiting, take heart, Passover is coming, Nissan is here. Nissan was the month when the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt, it will be the month in the future when the final redemption will take place, and in every Nissan there is the hope and expectation that something new and wonderful will happen. In this month we celebrate the holiday of Passover. Many of us are already planning for where we will be for the Passover Seder. The scent of Spring in the air makes us aware of the new life emerging in nature and that reminds us to pay attention to the new energies stirring within each of us as well.

At the Passover Seder we are reminded that the exodus from Egypt was not just a one time historical event. The Hagaddah says, " In every generation one should regard himself as though he personally had gone out of Egypt. ( Ex. 13:8) Metaphorically, we are still in Egypt. The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzraim which means " narrow straits" which represents all psychological, emotional, spiritual and physical constraints. While we are in the physical world, there are varying degrees of bondage that we experience. On Passover particularly and throughout the month of Nissan, it is a propitious time to free oneself from internal and external constraints, to make a personal exodus from our personal mitzraim.

How do we really move forward to greater freedom in our lives? That is the question. It is not easy to change, to become unstuck, and feel free to be who we really are. To help us to spring forward in our lives, we are given the holiday of Passover in the month of Nissan with all its rituals and observances that help us break through limitations and go forward in the ways that our soul yearns to do. We can not do it alone. We need divine assistance. By forging a stronger connection with God through prayer, meditation, and doing acts ( mitzvot) we place ourselves in alignment with Divine blessing. We feel most alive and vibrant when we are connected to G*d. Give yourself time each day in personal prayer to stand in the question. What does G*d want of me? What does my soul need to heal, grow and shine? Talk to God and listen carefully to what opens within you.

In this month of Nissan, it is particularly important and helpful to watch your speech. The healing dimension for this month is speech. It is through our speech that we redeem or enslave ourselves. We create our reality through our speech. Be sure to take time each day to express your gratitude to G*d and people around you. A word, a look, a gesture of appreciation, a blessing to another person just for being in your life can be a holy passport that opens gates for greater freedom for each of you. We may never know how precious words of blessing and appreciation are to both the giver and receiver."

Chai Sarah

Our sages  say,"Abraham and Sarah showed us how to live a life of faith, and the life of faith is a life of testing". At every juncture we are tested. Passing each test requires stubborn optimism, resolute confidence in G*d and steadfast obedience. Life's problems are opportunities to prove our faith and to improve our faithfulness. We fail life's tests when we give in to despair, lose confidence in G*d or turn away from obedience. Every difficulty and trial is a test of faith. Will we assess the problem through the eyes of faith or not? Will we respond in faith or faithlessness?"

Many sages have asked the obvious question of why this portion is called Chayei Sarah, the Life of Sarah when it speaks of her death. It is because she left us with a spiritual legacy death can not destroy. She seized every moment and infused it with her love of HaShem. It is her ongoing influence that still teaches us today. In a teaching by Eli Touger on this portion he says that the good deeds a person does in life precipitate others, that the goodness that one infuses into ones environment creates an ongoing dynamic toward good. And this dynamic continues to bear fruit even after ones passing, helping to increase the good in the world bringing us closer to the Era of Redemption. May we all aspire to inspire beloved and may our lives reflect our love of G*d as we seek to inspire our sphere of influence.

In a teaching given over in Rebbe Nachman's Torah, Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Portion it says of the verse One hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of Sarah's life, that the word shanah (year) appears  four times. There are four levels of humility, to be more humble than those greater than you, to be more humble than your equals, to be more humble than those lesser than you, and if you are the most humble person to become even more humble. The essence of life, especially in the World to Come is one's humility. The life of Sarah reflects the fourth level of humility, Whether she was one hundred, twenty or seven she kept humbling herself more and more. And "all her day's were good" for in this way, she attained true humility, which is the essence of life. 

Time in this life is not only granted to us to achieve a certain amount of good deeds, time itself is sanctified by our actions. It is said that a perfect life does not end in death, that it sanctifies all that comes after it. The end of our parsha finds Isaac praying in the field towards evening. He lifted his eyes and saw-behold-camels were coming. Rebbe Nachman said it is propitious to pray in fields surrounded by nature. Then all of the grasses and other forces of nature, which continuously sing G*d's praises lend their strength to one's prayers. Beloved it is with a grateful heart that I have the chance to reflect on the life of Sarah and let her radiance inspire me.
Enjoy the poem and song below
Shabbat Shalom~ Elisheva Amaris Chana Bat Sarah 

The Song of Weeds & Grasses
Behold thee
That every shepherd 
Brings out to life
his own special tune.
Behold thee
That every grass and weed
Has a special singing
of its own
And from the singing of the weeds
A tune of a shepherd
is being made.
How beautiful
Beauty and pleasance
while we’re paying attention
to their sound
How good it is
To pray among them
and with joy
to worship the Name
and from the the singing of the weeds
the heart fulfills and belongs.
And as the heart
from the singing is longing
and is yearning to the land of biggest joy
Great light
continues, growing
with radiance of the country for Him
and from the singing of the weeds
A song of the heart is being made~Rebbe Nachman of Breslov


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GDw_2sHhxXQ

Balak A Blessing In Disguise

Where do I start. These past few weeks have challenged us all, young and old. With signs of "Bring Back Our Boys"  always on our minds. I read through a story on Aish that I truly can't do justice to so I am going to add it, but I can't help but see how it relates to this weeks parsha.
Balam wanted to curse Israel but it was in the end for the good. The lives of our three Israeli boys served as a Kiddish Ha Shem. There is so much doubt and negativity in this world but these boys showed that it is all good.Can we choose to see that. I know that it is hard. Ask the parents of these boys, if it is hard to see the good. If they can so can we. That is what this parsha is all about, seeing the good, even if it seems like a curse. Shabbat Shalom Elisheva

An open letter to the three boys

By Sara Gutfreund~ When I heard the horrific news, I was in a coffee shop and the sentence flashed across my screen with a tiny sound. The words tore at my heart: Bodies of Three Kidnapped Yeshiva Boys Found. No! I wanted to scream. I wanted to erase the words. Make them go away. But I couldn’t scream. Couldn’t breathe for a moment.

My eyes filled with tears. I put my head down on the table. My phone started to ring. Text messages began beeping. I sent a message to my husband: What will we tell the kids? Then my daughter called. I could tell by her voice that she didn’t know. “Ima, what’s wrong? You sound funny.”
I cleared my throat. I caught my breath. “It’s a bad signal here. I’ll talk to you when I get home.”
What will we tell them? That all this time that we have been praying, you have been gone? That when extra Shabbos candles were lit, you were already in a different world? They will ask why. They will ask how this can happen. They will want to know how people can be so cruel. How God can allow such suffering to go on. They will ask, and I won’t know what to say. What should I tell them?
All the way home in the car, I cry. I cry for your parents, for your families, for your friends. I cry for the tremendous loss for our nation. For your lives were just beginning, and you had so much to give, to learn, to grow. We lost not only you, but your future children and your children’s children. Whole chains of generations cut brutally short without warning. I cry. I pull up to our house, and I wipe my face. Just my older daughters are home, and they are packing for camp. If I don’t tell them, they will find out anyway. But what will I say? They are looking for pillows for camp when I walk upstairs. They know immediately when they look at my face that something is terribly wrong. “Ima, what happened?”
I shake my head. I search for words. “The boys were found.” I can’t go on.
“Alive?” they ask with trembling lips.
I shake my head again. And then I start to cry. I think about your mothers. I think about your fathers. I think about our nation’s heart breaking into pieces, and the world’s silence. Why, oh why, does the world stand by in silence?
“Ima, all this time, we were crying for the boys, and really they were crying for us,” one of my daughters says.
Her words hit me like a heart rending cry that bridges this distance between you and all of us. Between Heaven and Earth. You have been crying for us. Watching us as we gathered to pray. Looking at us as we brought in Shabbos early. Watching as some of us lit Shabbos candles for the first time ever. As we put aside our differences and came together as one people. As our children prayed and made signs for you. You have been watching us all this time. Can you believe how much strength and love you brought to the Jewish people? Can you believe how much you changed us and inspired us and made us whole?
We are lost in our grief and anger now. How could they? How can this be? So I beg you boys. Cry for us again. We need you now more than ever. Plead on our behalf. We are reeling from your loss. We want to stay together. Don’t let us give up on the prayers that we have uttered and the Shabbos candles that we have lit. Don’t let us give up on each other. All this time we thought we were crying for you, you were the ones crying for us. We don’t know what to say. We don’t know what to do. Please don’t leave us yet. Watch over us. Cry for us as we cry for you. And may our cries meet and rise up together. Like the pieces of shattered prayers, from above and below, finding each other and becoming whole again.

Chukat A Paradox and an Antidote

Below you will find a life lesson that we all can relate to. Some of us more than others. Adapted from a teaching by Adam Lieberman who weaves the antidote of this week's parsha into our lives. May we all be blessed with an extra dose of spiritual eyesight this Shabbat so that our true pure soul that HaShem endowed us with can shine through.
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve your world"
Anne Frank
Shabbat Shalom Beloved
Elisheva Amaris

The law of the red heifer is considered to be a paradox. G*d said that anyone who's involved in the preparation of producing the ashes from the red cow - whether he is the one who slaughters it, burns it, or collects its ashes - becomes spiritually contaminated. However, the ashes themselves can then be used to purify someone. The very same ashes that made a Jew impure are the exact same ashes that are used to make someone pure. While on the surface this seems highly illogical, there is a powerful life-changing message for us to appreciate in this day and age.

We all engage in some sort of behavior that we want to change. Whether it's our unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, unproductive thoughts, destructive actions, or poor character traits - there are things we all do that we truly wish we didn't.

And we've all reached the point at some moment in our lives when one of these things gets out of hand. We just get fed up with what we're doing, a mental line gets crossed, and we know a serious change must take place. A newfound desire to take action occurs because we see clearly that this behavior is preventing us from living a happy life. Before the change, we first hit rock bottom in this specific area, and experienced a sense of "impurity".

But here's the thing. It was this impure behavior that got to a point where a change had to take place. Therefore, it's actually the negative behavior itself that causes you to change. Sometimes it's the negative association and impact of your poor behavior that serves as the catalyst for this change to take place.
So the very act that was so impure is now the very same act that allows you make a real change.

The ashes of the red cow are impure - just like our poor choices are. But when the discontent or outright disgust of our past behavior becomes the strong impetus to finally take serious action, this negative behavior now becomes the pathway for a purification of your soul.

G*d doesn't want us to live a life of regret or to beat ourselves up for making the same poor choices over and over again. But G*d does want us to grow and change, and He's giving us an amazing insight on how to do it in the most healthy way. And that's when you think about your negative behavior and you truly get fed up about it, instead of getting upset for your inability to change, use your frustration, pain, and discontent as the very reason to change.

By doing this, you will have elevated your past impure actions into one of purity. Always remember, G*d demands that we become great. And He's giving us an amazing vehicle to get there~His Word.

"Wisdom lives in the future, and from there it speaks to us. There is no such thing as wisdom of the past.
Wisdom preceded the world and wisdom is its destiny. With each passing moment, wisdom becomes younger, as we come closer to the time when it is born and breathes the air of day.
Our ancient mothers and fathers, the sages, all those from whom we learn wisdom—they are not guardians of the past. They are messengers of the future.
The truth can never be old-fashioned. It was never in fashion to begin with." Adapted from the Chabad Rebbi

Breaking News: Red Heifer Born

 

Korach A Lesson To Learn

This week our parsha is Korach, Numbers 16:1-18-32, which bears the name of the man who sought to replace Aharon as leader. Before we point any fingers let us look at ourselves. How many times have we looked with disdain at the role HaShem has put us in, in favor of the role of someone else. Do we look at our spiritual leaders and think we can do the job better. Do we murmur and criticize, do we try to get people to see our side and what is best for us instead of what is best for the entire community? The question we need to be asking ourselves is this, is a "leadership" role more important than our "relationship" with HaShem? Is HaShem asking us to lead, or is He asking each of us to do our part to further His Kingdom? We must search our hearts beloved, because in the end we will see that Korach, Datan, and Aviram were not only rejecting the leadership, they were rejecting the spiritual quest for holiness, in doing so they were rejecting a relationship with HaShem. May it not be with us.

You may wonder how 250 tribal leaders could get caught up in such an uprising? But we see this happening in our midst today. It only takes a few words of frustration or accusation presented in the form of "concern" to get the ball rolling. We all have to choose whose side we are on. Unfortunately when the dust settles we see some have chosen poorly. Korach, Datan, and Aviram had no interest in the issues of the soul, of purity, of holiness, or the ways of HaShem, so we see that their punishment took them back to the dust from which they were created. The 250 tribal leaders whose motives were pure died a death of holy fire consumed before HaShem. Before it is all over another 14,700 will die because of their murmurings. Korach sought to replace Aharon, but in the end all he brought was death. It was Aharon, acting out of love for the people that stood between the dead and the living to stop the plague,in doing so he prevented more death.

HaShem places before us leaders in the form of Rabbis. The Talmud says that it is a mitzvah to attach ones self to a Torah scholar. Our connection to a Rabbi helps us learn the ways of HaShem and in doing so, it brings us to a closer connection with G*D. Korach's motive can be seen as a way of keeping the people from not only following their appointed "Rabbi", but from following HaShem.

Out of all this death and devastation HaShem gives us a sign of hope in the form of the almond tree.The almond tree is the first to blossom in the spring. The Hebrew word for almond is "shaqed", it is derived from a Hebrew verb root that means to be watchful, to be on alert, to never slumber or sleep. HaShem says in Jeremiah 1:11-12, "And the word of HaShem came to me saying,"What do you see Jeremiah?" And I said,"I see a branch of an almond tree." And HaShem said to me,"You have seen well, for I am watching over My Word to do it." So beloved the next time we feel spiritually dead, that our life is not producing any fruit, turn to HaShem, for it is He that empowers us and remember Aharon's rod, and the covenant promises. Remember that HaShem is watching over us, that He never slumbers or sleeps, He is watching to see if our lives reflect His Word, His Torah. May it be so.

May we all be blessed to find and follow a Rabbi whose love for HaShem is a light in the darkness. May our relationship with HaShem blossom as Aharon's rod, ever fresh, ever fragrant.
Shabbat Shalom
Elisheva Amaris Channa Bat Sarah

Beshalach An Emunah Point of View

This weeks parsha Beshalach is so rich beloved. With a strong hand HaShem has removed the Children of Israel from Egypt, His presence felt constantly as He leads them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Their faith or lack there of is quickly brought to the forefront as Pharaoh himself and his entire army is in pursuit, they are trapped with the sea in front of them and no where to turn.  Even after everything they have experienced so far they still have doubts and cry out to HaShem asking Moshe would it not have been better to serve in Egypt then to die in the Wilderness. Why is the word Wilderness used when it was Pharoah and his army that posed the danger? According to Rambam they were referring to an earlier fear about dying in the desert from hunger and thirst. This is a people who had just lived through amazing miracles, how could they have so little faith. Lest we be quick to judge, would we have had the faith to pick up and go, taking our children and what we could carry and flee into the desert. Exhausted this is almost to much to bear.
We all know what happens next, and the song the people sing together. But I ask you to see things from a different perpective, from Miriam's point of view.

http://www.aish.com/tp/i/10minuteparsha/What-Does-It-Mean-To-Have-Faith.html
Good Shabbos~Elisheva Amaris