Rabbi Levin's Blog

  Chai – a Hebrew word that most people easily identify with life.  People like to wear Chai necklaces, and many give Tzedakah in multiples of 18, because the numerical value of the two Hebrew letters that spell Chai, chet and yud, have the numerical value of 18.  There are Chai Centers and Chai Clubs, and the word and what it represents are ubiquitous in Jewish culture.  This is also true on our calendar.  The 18 th day of a month connotes a special kind of life on that day.    Today is the 18 th day of the Jewish month of Elul.  Therefore this is a day of special life in the month, and in the work of Elul.  Elul, the last month of the year, is a time for introspection and teshuvah.  Just as every business must from time to time, usually at the end of a fiscal year, make a full accounting of how the business is performing, so too each individual needs to stop and take some time to consider where we are in life.  The business person carefully reviews each aspect of the business, cons

  So what is important in life?  That is a very broad question that I’m sure different people answer differently.  Let’s focus on what is important for us to do in life in order to live our mission.  I’m not talking about our own personal needs like food, clothing and housing, etc.  I’m talking about what important responsibilities we have in order to fulfill Hashem’s will.  Most people identify religiosity with prayer, shul attendance, keeping Shabbat and kosher, and indeed those are all important and necessary to Jewish observance.  Nevertheless, as we read this week’s Parsha which has 74 out of the 613 Mitzvot, more than any other Parsha, we begin to see the importance of human to human interactions.  Conventional wisdom defines a religious person as one who appears holy or, as another religion puts it, a “church goer.”  Let’s take a look at some of the Mitzvot in the Parsha of Ki Teitzei.   It starts with treating captive women with dignity, then how parents should treat their chil

  “Tamim Tih’ye im Hashem Elokecha.” (Devarim 18:13)   Be “tamim” with Hashem your G-d.  The Hebrew word “tamim” can be translated in many ways.  The basic translation is “wholehearted.”   The Torah is telling us to be wholeheartedly devoted to serving Hashem.  The word tamim can also mean simple, or simplistic, or complete.  This simple five-word verse carries a very powerful message for each of us.  Completeness does not necessarily mean complicated or overly sophisticated.  Straightforward, straight up positive actions mean more than all the philosophizing in the world.    Rashi on this verse says:  “Be wholehearted with Hashem, your God: Conduct yourself with Him with simplicity and depend on Him, and do not inquire of the future; rather, accept whatever happens to you with [unadulterated] simplicity and then, you will be with Him and to His portion.” Someone asked me this morning if the Torah says anything about how to be happy.  I was thinking about all the new ideas that have c

I am hearing it more and more - people are suffering from anxiety and depression.  It is another pandemic along with Covid, although the truth is that  There are three railroad crossings in Palo Alto, and for several years there have been guards at each one 24 hours a day to prevent teen suicide.  The press stopped reporting on it because of fear of copycat suicides.  But from what I am seeing and hearing, the anxiety and depression pandemic has gotten much worse. Now we are facing another surge, G-d forbid.  The anxiety levels are higher.  People are “sick and tired” of lockdowns and masks and disruptions of their lives, some are afraid of having to take a third vaccine shot, and of course there is the underlying fear of getting sick.  I am a strong advocate of following professional medical advice in this situation, and a person who is clinically depressed should seek medical help, but how can we deal with the general anxiety?   The situation is so serious that we are devoting a larg