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New Clothes, New Perspective - Acharei/Kedoshim 5786

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The High Priest - the Kohen Gadol - wore stunning clothes when he was performing the service in the Holy Temple. Garments made of multicolored materials interwoven with gold, precious stones in golden settings, a golden plate on his forehead and a unique turban. This was the case 364 days a year.  On Yom Kippur, however, the holiest day of the year when he would go into the Holy of Holies to burn incense, he wore simple white garments. No colors, no gold, just white linen. To appear in the holiest place on earth on the holiest day, the holiest person came with simplicity to connect with Hashem on behalf of the people.  There was another difference between the daily garments and those of Yom Kippur. He would wear the daily garments for as long as they were usable. The simple Yom Kippur garments, however, were worn for only one day. As the Torah says (Vayikra 23:16): “Aaron must enter the Tent of Meeting. He must remove the linen garments that he wore when he entered the Holy o...
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Word Power - Tazria Metzora 5786

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Every year when we get to this Parsha, it is a reminder, among other things, of the power of words and how careful we must be in using them.  It also strikes me as a great reminder of how relevant every part of the Torah is, regardless of whether it seems to be something that is distant from our experience. The plague of Tzara’at that we learn about in the Parshiyot Tazria and Metzora has not happened for 2,000 years.  It is not leprosy, as many translations call it.  It is not contagious, does not cause any of the symptoms of leprosy, and happens to humans, clothing and houses.  It does not manifest when the Temple is not standing.  While it does affect the physical person, Tzara’at is a disease of spiritual origin.  Rather than a medical doctor diagnosing the disease, it is diagnosed by a Kohen, a spiritual leader, who also pronounces the disease cured when it is gone.  What does all this have to do with us? On one level, we know that Torah is Hashem...
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Freedom is a Choice - Shemini 5786

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It is the day after Pesach. There is an interesting Chabad custom that differs from many other communities. After the Seder, many sing a song beginning with the words “Chasal sidur Pesach,” meaning the Seder of Pesach has ended. In Chabad we don’t sing that song, because while the actual Seder may have finished, the impact of the Seder should continue throughout the year.  The same applies for the entire holiday of Pesach. The powerful message of freedom that we take from Passover can become a part of our lives.  Our experience is physical. We live within the confines of time and space, and we see and are impacted by the physical environment. “Nature takes it’s course” and we think that we know how everything in the world works and we are in control. We forget that there is Divine Providence. Hashem controls the world and He gives us the strength and the means to do what we need to in order to fulfill our mission on Earth. Nothing can really stop us from this, because the ...
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Be the Sixth Child - Pesach 5786 (2)

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We are in the Monsey NY area with our daughter Menucha Klyne and her husband Rabbi Mendy, who had a son BH the day before Pesach, so I had the opportunity to sit back and listen to the local Rabbi speak on Yomtov. (I am indebted to Rabbi Zalman and Devorah who are so ably leading Chabad Palo Alto.) Rabbi Yosef Ives is from Stamford Hill London where I grew up. He gave a fascinating talk about the importance of the Four Sons in the Haggadah and their relevance to us.  We face many challenges as Jews, in general and in living our lives according to Torah and living up to our purpose and mission.  The child who “doesn’t know to ask” is the Jew who is totally not involved. He knows nothing about his Jewish identity and is clueless about any issues with Jewish life.   The simple child who says “what’s this” recognizes the challenges but has no idea how to deal with it and throws up his hands and gives up.  The Rasha who says “what is this service to YOU” is t...
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Four Questions to Freedom - Pesach 5786

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We celebrate the Exodus as if we were there. We say this in the Haggadah and it is codified in Jewish law. “In every generation everyone must see themselves as if they actually left Egypt.” It goes beyond the Seder. Every day we are obligated to mention the Exodus from Egypt in our prayers.  Another striking example of the centrality of the Exodus to our people: One time in the entire history of the world, Hashem revealed Himself to human beings, at Mount Sinai. How did he introduce Himself to us?  Not as the Creator, not as the one Who constantly sustains the universe, but as the one Who took us out of Egypt. In the Shabbat Kiddush we say: A remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt, and this is also the content of the last verse of the Shema.  There is something about this event that happened 3,338 years ago that seems to be ingrained in our psyche and a central theme of Judaism. The Rebbe spoke on this on several occasions. This is not just a celebration of an event. It...
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Joy in the Details - Pesach Prep 5786

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  We have one week until Pesach, and this is the time to finalize our preparations for this great, uplifting, illuminating and exciting Holiday.  The better we prepare and the more we do to enhance the experience, the more uplifting, illuminating and exciting the holiday will be.  There are physical and material preparations, and there are spiritual and intellectual preparations.  I thought it would be a good idea to talk a little about some of the things we can do to ensure a truly meaningful Pesach. The central pillar of Pesach is, of course, the Seder.  The Seder is one of the key factors that have enabled us to pass our Jewish traditions and identity to the next generation.  A meaningful and enjoyable Seder can have a lifetime effect on children and adults.  This is true in terms of the social, educational and intellectual experience, as well as the spiritual impact of the traditional Seder practices.   For example, Chassidus teaches that...
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Mazal Tov, So Much More - Vayikra 5786

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I am writing these lines at 35,000 feet on my return trip from Detroit, where we celebrated the wedding of my youngest son Yisroel to Gittel Stein. The Talmud (Kiddushin 29a) lists the obligations a father has to his son and vice versa. Along with circumcising and redeeming him (by giving the Kohen five shekels in a ceremony known as “pidyon haben”), teaching him a trade and, according to some, teaching him how to swim, there is an obligation to “marry him to a wife.”  We are filled with tremendous gratitude to Hashem that Dena and I have had the great merit to see all our children married.  As we return home from the beautiful celebration, I am reflecting on this obligation and why it is so prominent in a parent’s set of priorities. Although marriage has seemingly lost some of its importance to many in our society, it is not optional, just like circumcision at eight days, redemption at 30 days, having a means to make a living and the ability to save our lives from drowning....
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