Search Results

https://www.modernrabbistephen.com/so/bbN1_XFQX?cid=6e550308-48ae-4eeb-b2a2-42dc1b1e892c#/main

Parashat Terumah 5780

Parashat Mishpatim 5780

Newsletter for 2/12/20

Parashat Yitro 5780

Sermon In India there is the tradition of the Vedas. Although this knowledge is associated with Hinduism, they also stand alone as a profound body of Knowledge. These are ancient books, texts and treatises that talk about the Reality of the Universe and are a guide to Enlightenment. Enlightenment, as espoused by the Vedas, is that state of consciousness in which one is attuned to the mechanisms of the Universe and all of his or her actions are correct from that standpoint. There are gurus in India who live in the Himalayas and practice this body of knowledge all their lives. People go to learn and study from these gurus. They spend a great deal of time serving these wise men (usually) and by almost osmosis, gain enlightenment in that service. From the Vedas, we get “yoga”. This Sanskrit word means “yoke”, as in the center of an egg, and the connotation is “union”. The idea of practicing yoga, then, is to gain union with the Cosmos and thus gain enlightenment, that state of consciousness in which one performs right action spontaneously. There are different forms of yoga. Many of us hear that word and think of Hatha Yoga, the various poses that are practiced in succession to gain a state of relaxation or more commonly as a workout. Other forms of yoga exist, such as meditation. Another form of yoga is Karma Yoga, the practice of right action. In our flow of Torah, we are now reading from the book of Exodus. Hashem has dispatched Pharaoh and his minions and made the Egyptians impotent to harass the Israelites. The Torah now focuses on the course of building up and developing this beautiful philosophy and heritage that we now call “Judaism”. As Genesis talked about the origins of our culture with key figures who recognized the Oneness and Omniscience of the ever-present G-d (gurus, sort of), we now focus on the principles that will forever drive our new culture as it builds into a new religion. Moses, our main guru, now starts to introduce the Israelites to our own Karma Yoga, which are, of course, the commandments. He is given by G-d to give to the Israelites at first the Ten Commandments. These are the base of our lives, and the other 603 commandments will build on them and emanate from them. Torah is our Veda and the commandments are our Karma Yoga, our right action. People say, “I wish there was a rule book on life”. There is. We are studying it. When you perform right action, or “mitzvot”, you live a good life. The second paragraph of the Shema is called by our sages/gurus as the paragraph of justice, or, you guessed it, karma. As you do, so do you receive. If you diligently perform the commandments in accord with the b'rit or covenant, good things will happen. If you don’t, bad things will happen. The rabbis call this “measure for measure” as in eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life. It is very easy in Judaism to perform right action and thereby live a righteous life. Just follow the commandments and everything will fall into place and you will live an enlightened life. Well, not really. We all know that reality is a little different than that concept. Theory doesn’t always play out in reality. That doesn’t mean the concept is wrong and you shouldn’t strive to be righteous. Things happen on their own accord and in their own time. As the third paragraph of the Shema states in telling us to put tzitzit in the corners of our garments and mezuzot on the doorposts of our houses and gates, we should not follow our hearts or our eyes, but stick to these commandments. This is the reminder that righteousness is a constant and lifelong process and why we study Torah. What happens when you do good? You create a goodness around you. Sure there will be bad around you and people who don’t have your best interests, and situations that are not to your liking, but the point of this Jewish Karma Yoga is show you the path as to how to deal with things as they come up. As we practice Judaism and live these commandments, we see our lives surround us with good influence more and more. When we encounter challenges that may either be a result of previous not-so-good actions or maybe a test to sharpen our resolve, we always revert back to G-d’s Law. And that way, we know that we’re doing right and getting closer and closer to enlightenment.

Sermon This week’s Torah parashat is “Bo”. In this portion we see the climax of the plagues inflicted on Pharaoh to get him to finally relent and allow the Israelites to leave Egypt and the house of bondage. These are the final three plagues culminating with the killing of the first-born. Pharaoh has now realized that he is up against the force of the Universe and he cannot overpower Hashem. He is defeated. This parashat has also raised some questions about the morals and ethics about what G-d allegedly did to Pharaoh to “harden his heart” and make him rigid to Moses’ and Aaron’s requests to release the Israelites, thus setting him up for disaster. One of the main concepts in Judaism is the idea of free will. Although G-d creates, maintains and sustains, we can always choose our own path. In Kabbalah, in the Zohar, it is stated that someone who pursues good will be shown the way; for those who pursue evil, the way is opened for them. As you seek, so shall you get. Pharaoh had decided what he wanted to do, G-d merely obliged him and in a very real sense, made his own decisions. Pharaoh was prideful. As the ruler of Egypt, and considered a god by his people, Pharaoh had never been challenged. As Pharaoh stood over the Nile, which was considered an Egyptian god, so he felt he “stood” over all the other Egyptian gods. The idolatry of Egypt was such that these kings sought to control their gods and make them bend to their will and thus increase their power. While most modern-day humans don’t believe in gods, there is still this tendency for some people to have that monumental pride and rule over people as sort of a god. Think of some politicians, corporate heads, heads of various groups who feel that they are in charge and it’s their word. They are enmeshed with their own power. What happens when their power is challenged either by other people or situations? For sensible people, who are not imprisoned by their ego, it’s about making the best choice. They derive the best option by evaluating the components of the situation, viewing various solutions and considering the outcome of those various solutions, and thus settling on the what appears to be the most efficacious course of action. Many of these people will also seek out the advice and counsel of others whom they respect for their wisdom and common sense. They reach the best solution. If that solution doesn’t work out, they try another. This is a very simple and practical method, very much like a computer program. If the action works out, great, they’re done. If it doesn’t, try another strategy. Cold, hard logic. For others, the process of solving a problem becomes contaminated by ego. If a solution doesn’t work out, it’s not their fault. Maybe others ruined it for them, or the environment became distorted and hostile. Instead of taking a practical course of action, they get worried that they’ll look bad or that people won’t respect them. Heaven forbid they lose their power. This was Pharaoh. It was obvious after the first few plagues that he was out of his league. Not only couldn’t he or his wise men and magicians stop the plagues, but Moses was able to show him the exact time, per Pharaoh’s request, when the plague would end. In fact, it got to a point where even his counselors were advising him to relent, that they were up against something the was much more powerful than they. Pharaoh wouldn’t listen. His advisors telling him to give up would have saved his pride. How does that saying go? Discretion is the better part of valor? No one would have criticized Pharaoh for allowing the Israelites to leave in the face of such overwhelming power. It was clear, and all of Egypt saw it, that they were outmatched. Pharaoh’s reputation would probably have remained intact. The sad part is that people would have probably respected him for knowing when to quit. He was so used to having people bend to his will that he didn’t know any other way. He couldn’t give up. Pharaoh was a prisoner of his own pride. In a way, he was addicted to power and couldn’t give it up. He had indeed, sealed his own fate. How many of us are victims of our own ego? In some of our prayers, we acknowledge humility in the face of Hashem. We surrender our egos and just favor doing what is right. That doesn’t mean that pride and ego are completely bad. It’s important that we take pride in what we do and who we are. There is, however, a context. We take pride in doing what is right. We take pride in striving for excellence. But part of that ego is to know when it’s time to relent. It can be a tough lesson, but worthwhile. Next time we get in our pride, let’s think of Pharaoh.

"Parashat Beshelach" 5780

This week’s Torah portion is “Vayechi”—“And he lived”. As we come to the end of the book of Genesis, the beginning, Jacob is blessing his sons before he dies. He also adopts Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his sons as well. It is interesting that the Torah invests if not a whole portion at least a couple of chapters to talk about sons whose tribes have been lost to antiquity. Since presumably the Torah was put together by sages many years after the ten tribes of the northern Kingdom of Joseph were conquered and dispersed throughout the rest of the known world, does it make sense to mention those blessings? Or does the fact that the Messianic era promises the return of the ten tribes to the family of K’lal Yisroel demand acknowledgement? Parenthetically, by the way, there was some attention recently given to the return of alleged members of the tribe of Ephraim to Israel. Their validity could still be a work in progress. Some, however, accept their claims as fact and see this as the beginning of that Messianic Era. Could it be that besides the obvious proclamation of the blessings for the sons, there is yet another message here for us spiritually? After all, the name of the parashat is “And he lived”, so perhaps besides being blessings for the sons who became the progenitors of the tribes with similar characteristics, this is advice for us today as well. Just as Esau and Jacob came from the same parents and exhibited completely different personality traits, so too did the twelve sons and two grandsons come from half of the same gene pool. While there were four mothers (or five when you include Asenath, Joseph’s wife) at least half of their essence came from Jacob. And just as Esau and Jacob represented two parts of our life force (bad and good forces, respectively), perhaps these sons represented 14 different aspects of who we are as a people and even as individuals. As the ten tribes (nine-and-a-half, really) did not maintain the principles of Judaism and were thus lost, perhaps mention of these traits should serve as a warning to us today, a list of how to behave. Let’s look at some of these characteristics, then, and see how they may relate to who we are as a people. Let’s start with the tribes that survived: Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. Part of Benjamin’s tribal area was in the south and adjacent to Judah’s territory. Consider the Megillah of Esther. This took place in Babylonia during the period between the two Temples, after the destruction of the first and before King Cyrus allowed the Jews to build the second. One of the main characters of the story was Mordechai, who was from the tribe of Benjamin. Some of us may actually be Benjaminites, then. “Judah is the lion’s whelp…the scepter shall not depart from Judah”. Judah is the main tribe that survived and hence that our religion is called “Judaism” and we are known as Jews. Many sages have stated that our mission in life is “Tikkun Olam”, repair of the world. Our culture is based on helping the poor and weak of society, even caring for the dead who can not do anything for themselves nor return our kindness. We thus take the lead is showing the world mercy and justice, just as a king governs his people to serve them in the highest manner (at least theoretically). “Simeon and Levi…cursed be their anger”. We have been called a stiff-necked people. After G-d showed us Himself and care for us out in the desert, we still resorted to idolatry and challenged our leaders. Even today, some of the infighting that goes on within us about how we feel about the State of Israel and other political matters shows us that not much has changed. Maybe even now more than ever we need to heed these words and while we can agree to disagree, we need to get along. “Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth”. Some will call it miraculous that Israel has been able to fend off many attacks and invasions into the country. Similarly, we have survived 1800 years of persecution that culminated in the wholesale slaughter of the Holocaust. And as antisemitism has increased in recent years, we are now called to action to take steps to defend ourselves from lobbying governments to learning self-defense. Consider the characteristics of some of the other tribes. “Reuben, the excellency of power…unstable as water”. Think before you act. “Dan shall judge his people…[and] be a serpent on the path”. Defend yourself, yes, but don’t attack without provocation. “Gad, a troop shall troop upon him but he shall troop upon their heel.” As above like Dan. Be prepared. “Asher, his bread (“food”) shall be fat and he shall yield royal dainties”. Be productive. (English translation from the Soncino ed. of the Chumash). As a perhaps quick summary, control your passions and focus on the good things in life; strive for excellence and defend yourselves, but don’t go to extremes. And act appropriately to the situation. Consider also that these blessings, this advice, comes as a prelude to the written Torah being formally given to Moshe Rabbeinu on Mt. Sinai. Perhaps these blessings were the precursor of what was yet to come. #FridayNightSermon #AdvicefromJacob #Jacobblesseshissons

Parashat Vayechi 5780 #ParashatVayechi5780 #פרשתויחי #DvarTorah #TorahCommentary

Parashat Vayigosh 5780 If the link above doesn't work either here or on the mobile app, use this link: https://youtu.be/adOjD-IrYOs #ParashatVayigash5780 #DvarTorah

An interesting article about the Jewish community here in Lake Elsinore after World War II. There were two synagogues here. I had also heard that these were Holocaust survivors. Once-busy Jewish cemetery in Lake Elsinore rarely used If the above hyperlink doesn't work may not on the mobile app), use this link: https://www.pe.com/2016/08/28/once-busy-jewish-cemetery-in-lake-elsinore-rarely-used/ #JewishLakeElsinore #JewishHistoryinLakeElsinore