Rabbi Levin's Blog

  Imagine you are Noach.  The strong rule.  Robbery is a way of life.  Adultery is normal.   Hashem is non-existent in people’s consciousness.  People believe in the power of idols and the power of the Elites.   What kind of inner strength would it take for one person, or even an entire family, to decide that this is not the way to live?  Now you may say that if Hashem appeared to you, you would also follow His instructions.  Maybe or maybe not, as we have seen throughout history. But more importantly, Hashem appeared to Noach because he was “completely righteous.” He and his wife chose to live a moral life even before Hashem spoke to him. Now imagine the derision and harassment you would receive while building the Ark by hand and telling people there will be a flood.   The people of his generation made fun of this one 500-year-old man with the fantastic claim that the whole world would be destroyed for its robbery and immorali...

  Human animals. That is how one of my teachers insisted on referring to human beings.  "We are the same as all the animals," she said, "except that we can speak."   It didn't sit well with me.  Although I was a young kid, I knew that Hashem had created us as unique creatures, and there was much more to us than just being human animals.  You have probably heard the story about a kid who asks her mother how we got here.  She tells her that in the beginning there was nothing and then Hashem created everything, including human beings, whom He created from the earth and blew life into his nostrils.  She then asks her father, who tells her we evolved from monkeys.  She goes back to her mother confused and asks her about what Dad said.  “Oh,” says the mother, “he's talking about his side of the family.”   As I grew up, I noticed a marked difference in the Torah’s description of all of creation and that of the human.  Hashem created the mi...

  Chag Sameach and happy Chol Hamoed.   A holiday with so many themes!  Sukkot is a time of joy, a time of unity, a time of gathering, a time of spiritual growth, a time to celebrate our precious heritage – the Torah.  Special Mitzvot for this holiday include the Sukkah, the Four Species, celebrating and dancing throughout the holiday, dancing with the Torah, special prayers, special meals and more. This is a holiday of sharing.  It is customary to invite people to join us in the Sukkah, to share the Mitzvah of the Four Species with those who don’t have, to share meals and celebrations and events in the Synagogue, and in general people try to spend time together with family and friends.  And of course Simchat Torah is a great day of gathering, dancing and celebrating with the Torah. Gathering is especially important this year, a year of Hakhel .  It is a time for men, women and children, even very young children, to get together to strengthen our ...

  Our Sages taught that during these days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot people don’t have time to sin. This is based on a Midrash, which says:  You shall take for yourselves on the first day [of Sukkot] … (an etrog, lulav, willows and myrtles).  The Midrash says that the words “the first day,” in addition to the simple meaning of the first day of the holiday, alludes to “the first day of accumulating sins.”     During Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the year, and Yom Kippur, and the days in between, we are involved in Teshuva. On Yom Kippur we achieve atonement and are like righteous people. Then come the four days of preparation for Sukkot.    We build a Sukkah and cover it with branches. We buy the four species ( we still have some available to order ), cook for the holiday and study its laws and customs. We read about the spiritual and mystical meanings of the holiday and its observance.    Doesn’t leave any time for sin. These four d...

  Teshuva – sounds frightening.  Do you think of teshuva as beating your chest and announcing how horrible you have been?  Is it shame and guilt and feeling like a bad person? Is it changing your life to become righteous?   What is teshuva anyway?   Usually translated as repentance, that is not exactly what teshuva means. Merriam-Webster translates “repent” as follows:  To feel regret or contrition; to change one's mind; to feel sorrow, regret, or contrition for, all implying regret for the past and trying to change, etc. But the translation of Teshuva is “return.”  This implies returning to your true self..  According to the actual definition of Teshuva, all the other things we have done that are not compatible with our Jewish mission represent a deviation from our self.  I recently read a study that says that what we think we want is not necessarily what we really want.  The author of the study developed tools to teach us how to f...

  Unity. Is it just a catchphrase nowadays?  The very same people stressing the need for unity seem to do everything they can to undo it. We live in a polarized world where everything and everyone is categorized by politics, race, gender and religious factions, just to name a few. It’s incredible how many ways we allow ourselves to be divided.   I have had many discussions with people about the need to step back from a dispute in order to create unity. Often the person will wholeheartedly agree and state that indeed, the other party should stop whatever it is they are doing that is causing disharmony. But why does it have to be that way? The Torah teaches us that the greatest vehicle for blessing is unity and peace. This is especially important as we approach Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment. ( Speaking of upcoming holidays, have you reserved your Lulav and Etrog yet? There’s still time to order at chabadpaloalto.com/mylulav ) Our tradition teaches, and the Rosh Hashan...

Have you ever planted tomatoes?  They say they are the most expensive tomatoes you’ll ever eat. But they taste much better than what you buy in the supermarket and they are the product of your own work.  You dug a hole in the ground, delicately placed the plant, added soil and fertilizer, and then watered it and protected it. You waited for a while to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Finally you see a ripe tomato. The moment you’ve been waiting for. You take the delicious fruit and savor every morsel.  Imagine if it was a grape vine or a fig tree. You had to wait even longer for the tree to develop and the fruit to grow, and for the first three years the fruit is forbidden. The experience of tasting that first grape or fig would be much sweeter than the tomato.  Well, in the Land of Israel, you would need to control that urge and take the first fruits to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and give them to the Kohanim (priests) as a gift to Hashem. How would you feel about t...