<p>Every Small Step of a Person Is One Giant Leap for Mankind</p>


Every Small Step of a Person Is One Giant Leap for Mankind

Man on the Moon

<p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">This lecture was presented to the Ida Crown High School in Chicago on Thursday, December 21, 2017</span></p>


Is Halacha a Manual for Repression or a Blueprint for Self Actualization?

Chicago Lecture to Teenagers

Why Does Torah Impose So Many Limits on My Life?

<p>This class was presented at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY, on Sunday Parshas Vayakhel Pekudei, 21 Adar, 5777, March 19, 2017.</p>

<p>It is a strange story. Moses seemingly distorted what G-d told him, telling the craftsman of the Sanctuary to first build the furniture and only afterward the outer structure. It was Betzalel who reminded him of the simple truth that you first build a house before you furnish it. Upon deeper reflection, this incident captures the story of our lives.</p>

<p>Many great thinkers, writers, and artist, produced extraordinary works. Their content was great, their message potent, and their talent exceptional. What they lacked was the exterior structure for their souls lavish output. Sadly, in our world &ldquo;art&rdquo; needs a proper &ldquo;frame.&rdquo; Lacking the frame, the art may remain in its corner and melt into oblivion.</p>

<p>The great argument between Moses and Betzalel was which came first&mdash;the energy or the container, the vision or the structure? Moses was a visionary; Betzalel was a man of action. In conclusion, we discover, they were both right: In the world of thought and strategy, art precedes the frame; in the world of action and implementation, the frame precedes the art. In the world of light, vision takes precedence. In the world of shadows, your dreams must follow your actions, not the other way around.</p>

<p>The class continues to explore another perspective by Reb Tzadok of Lublin. Judaism consists of two components&mdash;what G-d gives us and what we give G-d. The Written Torah and the Oral Torah. One is Divine; the other is filtered through human creativity. But are they really different? Depends from whose perspective.</p>


What Comes First, the Frame or the Art? The Debate between Moshe and Betzalel

How Do I Know When to Trust a Rabbi?

The Story of the Oral Tradition 

The Emunah Series

Basics of Emunah #8: How Judaism Developed Over the Ages -- Part Two

How Judaism Developed Over the Ages

Basics of Emunah #7: Can an Intelligent Person Believe the Oral Tradition is Divine?

<p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Is there a rational basis to accept that some 3300 years ago G-d revealed Himself to our ancestors at Sinai? Why was Maimonides, a rationalist par excellence, so convinced of the historicity of this event? And in what way is the Jewish claim of divine revelation any different from the many thousands of claims made by various other religious groups.</span></p>

How Do We Know That We Heard G‑d at Sinai?

Basics of Emunah #6: Can An Intelligent Person Believe That Torah Is Divine?

On 27 Adar 5775, March 18, 2015, Rabbi YY Jacobson addressed Chabad Chassidim at 770 Eastern Parkway, broadcast to communities the world over. The address called on the audience to realize their true inner beauty, to see themselves as the blue sky, not as the black clouds, and to reestablish Torah as the supreme value in our lives.

Reestablishing Torah as the Supreme Value in Our Lives

To See Yourself as the Blue Sky, Not as the Black Cloud

<p style="text-align: justify;">There is only one portion in Torah, Tetzaveh, where Moshe&rsquo;s name is not mentioned. Why?</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">King David dispatched three worriers to obtain information from the Sanhedrin, yet he refused to associate this halacha with their name. Why?</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">A sword was etched in the study hall and as a result, nobody could dispute the eighteen edicts issues forth on that day. Why? And why will the Megilah of Esther never be nullified?&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The story of the Cantonists dancing on Simchas Torah with their shirts removed captures the truth that there are some people whose very I becomes aligned with the Divine I. They don&rsquo;t teach Torah; they are Torah.</p>


The Day that Moshe and Torah Became One

Class Tetzaveh/Sisa/Purim

Why Was Moshe’s Name Deleted from Tetzaveh?

<p>This lecture presented at the A-Time Shas-A-Thon on Sunday, Shevat 26, 5775, February 15, 2015, when hundreds of Jews completed Shas together. A journey into the story of the Jewish nation, the power of Torah, and how to view the future of our children and our nation.</p>


A Nation Continuously in Question: The Future of the Jewish People

Siyum Hashas A-Time  Lecture

Parchment Burning, Letters Soaring

<p><strong>The Scroll</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>This week’s portion (Vayalech) relates the dramatic events that transpired during Moses’ last day on earth. Among the many things he did on that fateful day was committing the entire Pentateuch (the Chumash, the Five Books of Moses) to writing<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>. The Torah scrolls we use today are copies of copies of copies of the original Torah scroll written by Moses on the day of his passing, on 7 Adar of the year 2488, 3,286 years ago.&nbsp;</p>

<p>After completing the writing of the full Torah, Moses commanded the Levites, “Take this Torah scroll and place it at the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your G-d, and it shall be there as a witness for you<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a>.” The Tabernacle in the desert and later the Temple in Jerusalem housed a Holy Ark containing Two Tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments and the newly completed Torah scroll needed to be placed at the side of this Ark.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The exact location of the Torah scroll&nbsp;on the side of&nbsp;the Ark inspired a debate between the Talmudic Sages<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref3')">[3]</a>. Rabbi Meir held that the Torah scroll needed to be placed inside the Ark, at the side of the Two Tablets. Rabbi Judah was of the opinion that a shelf protruded from the outside of the Ark and the Torah scroll was placed on that shelf.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The logic behind their argument lay in the proper interpretation of Moses’ above-quoted words, “Take this Torah scroll, and place it at the side of the Ark.” According to Rabbi Judah, “at the side of the Ark” is to be understood literally—that&nbsp;the Torah scroll ought to be placed not inside but outside the Ark. Rabbi Meir, on the other hand, believes that the words “at the side of the Ark” are merely coming to tell us that the Torah scroll should be placed not between the two Tablets, but rather at the&nbsp;<em>side</em>&nbsp;of the Tablets, next to the interior wall of the Ark<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref4')">[4]</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Three Questions&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Three questions come to mind.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Firstly, why did Rabbi Meir feel compelled to impose an apparently twisted interpretation on the words “at the side of the Ark”? Why did Rabbi Meir not embrace Rabbi Judah’s simple and straightforward explanation that when Moses instructed the Torah scroll to be placed “at the side of the Ark” he meant it literally, outside the Ark?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Second, why was there a need altogether to have the Torah scroll situated in such close proximity to the Ark<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref5')">[5]</a>?&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Finally, we discussed numerous times that the Torah and all of its commandments and episodes were transcribed to serve as a Divine Blueprint for living, as a road map for life’s challenging journeys. How can a 21st-century human being glean wisdom and inspiration from an ancient commandment to place a Torah scroll at the side of an Ark, at a time when we have no Ark and no Tablets? What type of relevance can Moses’ instruction to the Levites carry for our lives today?&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>The Root vs. the Branches</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Our Sages have said<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref6')">[6]</a> that the Ten Commandments presented at Sinai and inscribed on the Two Tablets of the Covenant embodied the quintessence of the entire Torah, all Five Books. All perspectives, themes, ideas, laws, ethics, and stories of Torah are encapsulated in the brief 620 letters of the Ten Commandments<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref7')">[7]</a>. The Five Books of Moses, then, serve essentially as a commentary to the Ten Commandments, elaborating and explaining the background, meaning, and significance of these ten pillars of the Jewish faith.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Tablets constitute the source, the epicenter, the nucleus of Judaism; the Five Books are the elaboration, the explanation, the outgrowth.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The debate between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Judah on the kinship between the Torah scroll and the Tablets is not merely a technical argument concerning the proximity of two physical entities; but rather a profound disagreement on the fundamental methodologies of the development and communication of Judaism.&nbsp;</p>

<p>How close do we need to uphold the connection between the core of Torah and its expansion? Are we capable of “leaving the box” containing the Tablets without losing the "real thing"?&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>This is by no means an abstract dilemma. How does one communicate ancient truths to a young generation molded in a secular weltanschauung? How does one present a Torah which is over 3,000 years old to a modern 21st-century&nbsp;iPhone-addict? How do we pass on the gift of “In the beginning, G-d created heaven and earth” to Stanford and Yale graduates for whom Charles Darwin holds more sway than Moses?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Are we to present Judaism in its original form and composition, without employing modern-day terminology, techniques, and structures of thought? Or must we take Judaism “out of the box” and re-package it in contemporary language?&nbsp;</p>

<p>The argument rages to this very day. Some teachers and presenters of Judaism are accused of lacking the ability to communicate to a “new generation” of Jews, while other teachers are accused of “liberalizing” Judaism, of diluting its pristine ideas on order to accommodate the modern Jew or non-Jew.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One of the Ten Martyrs executed by Rome&nbsp;in the second century CE was Rabbi&nbsp;Chutzpis&nbsp;HameTurgeman, whose name means Rabbi&nbsp;Chutzpis&nbsp;the Elucidator. The&nbsp;Kabbalists&nbsp;comment that to truly elucidate and present something in a new form you have to have Chutzpah, hence his name was&nbsp;Chutzpis.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>The Light and the Vessels</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p> The Talmud<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref8')">[8]</a> says something profoundly moving about Rabbi Meir: It is known to the creator of the world that Rabbi Meir surpassed his entire generation and he had no equal. Why then did they not establish the law according to his opinion?&nbsp;Because the Sages could not comprehend the depth of his wisdom.”&nbsp;Rabbi Meir was misunderstood by his own colleagues; his ideas were too advanced for his times.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>“Meir” in Hebrew means “the Illuminator<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn9" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref9')">[9]</a>.” The light that emanated from Rabbi Meir’s mind and heart were too profound for his colleagues and students. Why? Because Rabbi Meir was of the opinion that all interpretation and development of Torah-thought must remain intimately bound with its source. The commentary and exposition may never be removed from the space of their progenitor. The Torah must be placed right near the Tablets. To dilute the light in order to accommodate the vessels will do an injustice to the integrity of the message.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to Rabbi Judah, however, the word of G-d needs to leave the perimeters of the sacred Ark, and be brought outward.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Judah,&nbsp;Yehudah&nbsp;in Hebrew, means surrender or submission. One has to surrender his or her own elevated state of consciousness in order to reach out and present the Torah to the student who would not be able to absorb the intense light dwelling “inside the box.” Judaism, Rabbi Judah argued, needed to be presented in a manner that would make it accessible, relevant, and pertinent to people trained in a different mindset and even those educated in the schools of Athens.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For according to&nbsp;Rabbu&nbsp;Judah this is not a cop-out, but rather a great noble act of self-surrender (Yehudah). It is easier to just repeat the old phrases and sayings, to remain secure in the ancient pathways, but you need to transcend your comfort zone in order to bring the light and truth of Torah to those outside.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I once received an e-mail from a weekly reader, a very learned and observant Jew from Los Angeles: “Rabbi Jacobson, would you cease transcribing your psycho-babble and begin teaching good old Judaism.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>So I wrote back: "You are of the opinion of Rabbi Meir; in my emails I attempt, at times, to&nbsp;follow the path of Rabbi Judah. May G-d be with me in my&nbsp;writing."&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Loyal to the Source</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Yet here is the critical catch: Even according to Rabbi Judah, the Torah must always remain connected to its source by means of a plank of wood.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>What this means is this: There is a difference between presenting Judaism in terminology and methodology that can&nbsp;speak to the mind and heart of&nbsp;modern man vs. attempting to prove that Judaism conforms to modern trends of thought. The former path is noble; the latter path is intellectually dishonest, as it does not seek to discover the authentic message of Judaism, only to create a fluffy Judaism that does not challenge the comfort zones of&nbsp;modern man.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>This distinction between the two approaches has been profoundly blurred in recent years, and the results&nbsp;are&nbsp;obvious. The former approach has given countless students the opportunity to challenge themselves by the Divine truths of Torah; the latter approach has brought down Torah to suit the fancy of&nbsp;every imagination. In the end it comes down to the question: How confident are&nbsp;you&nbsp;in the truth of Torah? Are you employing modern thought merely to communicate Torah, or are you employing it in order to confirm to yourself and others the appeal of Judaism?&nbsp;</p>

<p>What Rabbi Judah is saying is that as far out-of-the-box as you travel, a “plank of wood” must always connect you to the original, pristine “Tablets” inside the box. The link between the nucleus of Torah and&nbsp;its expansions must always remain evident. If not, you may be depriving yourself and your students from the vibrant, pulsating, divine wellsprings of G-d’s&nbsp;word.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Not long ago I had a conversation with a&nbsp;friend, a&nbsp;popular rabbi, who is&nbsp;heavily&nbsp;involved in broadcasting Judaism to the secular world. I told him that in my humble opinion, his communication of Judaism was lacking the energy that emanates from someone who is entrenched in&nbsp;serious&nbsp;Torah learning. I told him that he must dedicate time each day to study Talmud—those parts of Talmud that deal with intricate Jewish law and rituals that are&nbsp;abstract and&nbsp;not for “public consumption.” Only when&nbsp;he&nbsp;will be entrenched in the source of the wisdom, will&nbsp;his&nbsp;communication to the outside world be real and effective. He challenged my position.&nbsp;Yet I believe this is the truth: Only when you are submerged in the highest and deepest level of Torah study, will your communication of “sound bite” Judaism be authentic and meaningful. A “plank of wood” must always link the outside to the inside.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Who has the right to “re-package” Judaism? Only someone who is selfless (Yehuda),&nbsp;has no ego involved, and his only agenda is to share the word of G-d with others, a person who is completely loyal to the authentic source. But if someone lacks these qualities, they will frequently compromise and dilute, if not pervert, the pure waters of Judaism with the tarnished bacteria of trends and notions that are alien to Torah<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn10" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref10')">[10]</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a> Deuteronomy 31:9. Cf.&nbsp;Rambam’s&nbsp;introduction to his&nbsp;Mishnah&nbsp;Torah.&nbsp;<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a> Deuteronomy 31:26.&nbsp;<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn3')">[3]</a> Bava&nbsp;Basra 14a-b, quoted in&nbsp;Rashi&nbsp;on this verse.<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn4')">[4]</a> See&nbsp;Bava&nbsp;Basra ibid.&nbsp;<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn5')">[5]</a> In fact, the location of the Torah scroll made it unavailable for use, since nobody was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies where the Ark lay.<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn6')">[6]</a> There are two opinions if and when this Torah scroll in the Ark was used. According to&nbsp;Rashi&nbsp;(Bava&nbsp;Basra 14b) during the ceremony of&nbsp;Hakhel&nbsp;the king of the Jewish people would read chapters of the Torah from this scroll. Also, the High Priest read from it on Yom Kippur. According to&nbsp;Tosafos&nbsp;(ibid. 14a) this scroll was taken from the ark only for the purposes of maintenance and it was never put to use.<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn7')">[7]</a> See Talmud&nbsp;Shabbas&nbsp;87a;&nbsp;Rashi&nbsp;to Exodus 24:12; Baal&nbsp;Haturim&nbsp;to Exodus 20:13.<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn8')">[8]</a> This number is not coincidental: it represents the 613 Biblical&nbsp;mitzvos&nbsp;and the seven&nbsp;Rabbinical&nbsp;injunctions.<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref9" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn9')">[9]</a> Eiruvin&nbsp;13b; ibid. 53a.<br>
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref10" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn10')">[10]</a> See Talmud&nbsp;Eiruvin&nbsp;13b.<br>
This essay is based on a talk delivered by the Lubavitcher&nbsp;Rebbe,&nbsp;Shabbas&nbsp;Vayelech&nbsp;5729,&nbsp;September&nbsp;1968. Published in&nbsp;Sichos&nbsp;Kodesh&nbsp;5729 pp. 9-19. Large parts of the talk were later published in&nbsp;Likkutei&nbsp;Sichos&nbsp;vol. 9 pp. 196-203. For another English rendition of this talk, see Week&nbsp;In&nbsp;Review (edited by&nbsp;Yanki&nbsp;Tauber) vol. 5 number 32.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Who Has the Right to Re-Package Judaism? - A 2000 Year Old Debate Whether to &ldquo;Get Out of the Box&rdquo;</p>


A 2000 Year Old Debate Whether to “Get Out of the Box”

Essay Vayalech

Who Has the Right to Re-Package Judaism?

<p style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">A Can of Beans</span></strong></span></p>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black">Three guys are alone on a desert island: an engineer, a biologist and an economist. They are starving and don't have a thing to eat, but somehow they find a can of beans on the shore.</span></strong></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black">The engineer says: "Let's hit the can with a rock until it opens."</span></strong></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black">The biologist has another idea: "No. We should wait for a while. Erosion will do the job."</span></strong></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black">Finally, the economist says: "Let's assume that we have a can opener".</span></strong></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">The Desert</span></strong></span><br>
&nbsp;</div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">What was the significance of the fact that Torah was given in a wilderness, in a barren and infertile desert, not in a civilized terrain, nor on soil conducive to human living and nature’s blessing. Why did G-d communicate His blueprint for life and enter into an eternal covenant with the Jewish people in the aridity and desolateness of a desert?</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; ">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">In a past essay, we discussed three explanations.&nbsp;1. The Torah was given on soil not owned by any particular people or community, to signify that the Torah belongs to every single Jewish soul. 2. The giving of the Torah in the wilderness represents the idea that Torah is not a product of a particular culture and genre. It enriches all cultures, but transcends them. 3. The function of Torah is to confront and refine the “barren wilderness” within the human psyche and the world.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">Today we will explore a fourth and deeper dimension, articulated by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in a pre-Shavous address, 1972. It is a message that may be&nbsp;particularly relevant to the modern Jew.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">Feel-Good Religion</span></strong></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">One of the errors that a Jew living in the modern era is likely to make is that Judaism makes no existentially profound demands on its believers. Judaism is a feel-good religion, and its objective is to make one feel comfortable about ones self. For many religious leaders and teachers today, the primary objective is to present a version of Judaism that will fit nicely in to the mind-set and living patterns of their constituents and will reassure them that they are wonderful people. Many rabbis are committed above all to teach a Judaism that will not shake up our comfort-zones.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">In many ways this has become the hallmark of the American version of Judaism – designed to conform to the paradigms of modernity. “In the image of the modern, American Jew, have we created Judaism.”</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">“My goal is to study and practice a Judaism that does not interfere with my conveniences,” a man once told me. “I have my lifestyle, philosophy, schedule, habits, and social patterns; as long as Judaism can fit into this, I will make room for it and enjoy it too.”</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">But if we communicate a Judaism just to make people feel good, why do we really need it? Why not just figure out what works best for our lives and pursue <i>that</i>? Therapy, yoga, exercise, suburban living, meditation, nutrition, sports, the arts, music, etc. If Judaism is merely here to nurture my pre-defined identity and satisfy my ingrained appetites, why bother with it all together?</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">And can the feel-good Judaism inspire a future? Can such a type of Judaism take root in the hearts of the youth? Can it appeal to the idealistic dimension of the human soul, searching to touch the Divine?</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">A Tale of Two Images</span></strong></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">But suppose that Judaism was real -- it was the authentic blueprint for life from the living G-d -- then the question should not be, “How do I find a Judaism that does not disturb me too much,” but rather – what does Judaism really say about my calling? What does Judaism believe about life, death and everything in between? What does Torah have to say about the most important question and dilemmas facing the human mind and heart? The question must be not&nbsp;how I can mold Judaism in my image, but how I can mold myself in the image of Torah? How can I revisit my image and recreate myself based on the visage of man articulated in Judaism?</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">If Torah is true, I must have the courage to take a hard, deep look at my preconceived notions, thoughts and behavior patterns, ready to discover truth that may challenge me.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; ">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">This is why Torah was given in the barren desert, in uncivilized wilderness, where it had no predefined culture to contend with and to be compared with. Only in the physical and artistic silence of the desert can we open ourselves to a radical search for truth. Only in a desert, can we walk into something with our whole being, ready to find anything.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">If Torah would have been given in a city or amidst a beautifully natural terrain, it would have, by definition, conformed to the culture prevailing in those particular areas. In the great river lowlands where civilization began (the Tigris-Euphrates rivers and the Nile), the eye is captivated by the shifting scenes of nature; in cities, the eye is overtaken by the works of man -- art and architecture. In such environments, the Israelites would only be able to absorb a religion that would fit into their psyches, patterns, and sensibilities, like all the Pagan religions of the time. The Jews could never attune themselves to the word of a G-d who transcends nature.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">Sinai challenged the Jewish people to revisit all of existence from its deepest genesis; to reexamine life and history from its very nucleus; to see the world not from the human perspective, but from the perspective of G-d who cannot be confined in human modalities. A revolution of this magnitude cannot take place in a populated environment, not even in an environment where life blossoms and nature flourishes. Only in the emptiness and desolateness of the wilderness is the ego subordinate to the search for truth. Only in the silence of the desert</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #675785">, </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">can a person bid farewell to all of his or her paradigms and allow his soul to absorb radical transcendence.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">A Rash People</span></strong></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">This explains a deeply enigmatic episode which occurred at Sinai.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">The Bible relates that when Moses presented the covenant before the Israelites, they responded, "We will do and we will listen" (Exodus 24:7). This expression has always been a source of wonderment and surprise to rabbis and a refutation of the anti-Semitic portrayal of Jews as calculating and self-protective. "We will do and we will listen" implies a commitment to observe the covenant even before the Jews heard its details and understood its ramifications.</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">The Talmud (Shabbas 88b) tells a story about a Sadducee who once saw one of the great Talmudic sages, Rava, so engrossed in learning that he did not attend a wound in his own hand. The Sadducee exclaimed, "You rash people! You put your mouths ahead of your ears [by saying "we will do and we will listen"], and you still persist in your recklessness. First, you should have heard out [the covenant details]. If it is within your capacity, then accept it. If not, you should have rejected it”!</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">His argument was logical. Imagine somebody offers you to invest a large sum&nbsp;of money in a developing company. To respond, “Sure, here is the money, and then afterward I will listen to the details,” is ridiculous. If you do not know what the company is all about, why subject your money to possible loss? And yet, in this case, the Jews declared that they were ready embrace a life-altering covenant, even before they heard all the details and knew what Judaism was all about! Why? How?</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">Rava answered the Sadducee with these words: "We walked [into it] with our whole being.”</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">What Rava meant was this: By definition, a relationship with G-d cannot be created on our terms; it must be on His terms. If there is something called Truth, if there is something called Reality, we cannot define it; it must define us. We cannot accept it on condition that it suits our senses and expectations. On the contrary, we must realign our condition to it. Once the Jewish people knew that G-d was communicating with them, they did not want to fit religion into their imagination; they had no pre conditions for a relationship with truth. It was in the desert that the Jews can declare, “We will do and we will listen.”</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;</span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black">This process must occur each year anew. To receive Torah, we must have the courage to walk into a desert; we must strip ourselves from any pre-defined self-identity. We need to be ready to hear the sound beneath the sounds we are accustomed to. Torah is not merely a cute and endearing document filled with rituals, to satisfy nostalgia or tradition. Torah demands that we open ourselves up with our whole being and declare, “We shall do and we shall listen!”</span></span></div>

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Verdana">&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 7.5pt; color: black">(This essay is based on a talk delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, on Shabbas Parshas Bamidbar, 29 Iyar, 5732, May 13, 1972.)</span></span></div>


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