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Commentary. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/XXJ5mpOSDs0

This week’s Torah Portion is Noach. The story of Noach is pretty simple. He lived ten generations after Adam and Eve. Humankind had become wicked and HaShem was going to destroy them. Since Noach was a righteous man, he and his family would be spared by building an ark, loading a bunch of animals on it, and staying afloat and safe during the torrential rains that would wipe out humanity. Mishpacha Noach would then repopulate the Earth with a more righteous species. Let’s consider some of the particulars and see how it relates to us today. Mankind had become wicked and corrupt. As the Torah relates, people were engaging in robbery. The commentary is that people had started small, stealing from each other. When they saw there were no consequences, they stole more and more until they were actually robbing each other, that is taking people’s possessions directly from them. One might consider if they were actually hurting each other in the process or overpowering each other. In any case, they had no respect for other people’s possessions. Noah was apart from this. Some think he may have been a farmer, but he spent his life minding his own business and supporting his family. So HaShem approached him knowing he was above the others. There’s a lesson here about peer pressure and mob rule. We are often tempted to join in with the crowd. We want to be accepted and we certainly don’t want to be bullied by being not part of the crowd. So we join in, especially if everybody else is doing it. If someone robs from me, and no one does anything about it, then I’m going to be inclined to rob my stuff back from them and maybe even take a little extra to punish them. And if they come back with a gang, I’m going to get my own gang. Now we have a society that is not functioning. Noah apparently knew better to stay out of this mess. He marched to a righteous beat, and Hashem took notice. And of course, it may not have been easy with all the pressure, to stand alone. Yet still, Noah did what was right. That was foremost. Just because everyone else is breaking the law, doesn’t mean we should. Consider what happens, especially in school. Two kids are going to go fight. What does everyone else do? Does anyone try to talk sense to these kids and try to get them to talk it out, rather than risk injury? No! Other kids follow along to get a thrill of watching two kids go at it, right? Same thing with cheating. You’re sitting there and you’ve studied and are doing your best on a test. You can see out of the corner of your eye that kids are looking at hidden notes, or copying off each other. So now you’re thinking, why did I bother to study? Or if you’re an adult doing your taxes. You hear of other people, rich people, getting away with paying less taxes than you. Again, no one is doing anything about so what do you do? That’s right, figure out ways, one way or another, to not pay your taxes either. And so on. It’s takes a lot of character to be moral and ethical when everyone else isn’t. Someone once said that integrity is doing what’s right even when there’s no one around to see you. Now of course, we all know that HaShem sees everything that we do, whether we see Him or think he’s around. Adam and Eve learned that the hard way. This is also why we repent for sins that we may not think we did. This is just to make sure. And this is what Torah is all about, making sure we do the right thing. It is our guidelines for living a good life, and if we live a good life, good things happen to us. Maybe not all of the time, but we know that things will work out in the end.

Commentary on this week's Torah Portion, Noah. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/se0Dk0UCoYQ

Sermon from Friday night Ma'ariv service, 10/13/2017 My wife and I have been big fans of Bill Maher, his show on HBO, “Real Time”. In fact, we saw him live last summer. I don’t always agree with what he says or how he interacts with some of his guests (or vice versa),but I like the uncensored and unabrogated discussion. Every now and then he goes a little too far, but I’ve always thought that was the price for free speech. Since his show airs on Friday nights, we’ve been recording the shows and watching them later. Such was the case with the show that aired on October 29. This was, of course, Yom Kippur. There was a lot going on that weekend, so it’d be a few days before we got to catch up. It started out like any of his other shows. Towards the end of the show, he said he was going to do the thing that CSI shows and cops do. He revealed a board of pictures of people associated with the current administration and red threads connecting various people. He then proceeded to describe each person’s role in the latest scandal. As he identified each particular player, he used three different terms, reminiscent of crime nicknames. He came to Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and an informal advisor, he identified him as “Jared The Jew Kushner”. I was aghast. He was using our heritage as an insult. But there was more to it, in my mind. A number of months ago, Mr. Maher, in an end of the show commentary, referred to himself as the “house ni…”. We can’t even say the word. Not that any of us would want to, but he was making a point using what has become a sort of slang; many of us have heard it used. People went off the rails. He was criticized and castigated all across the media, despite the fact that I believe he used that term in front of a person of African descent and no one batted an eyelash at the time. The following week he invited notable black people on his show so that he could apologize for his insensitivity and reiterate that he is a champion for civil rights. Not so here. Apparently, Jews or people of Jewish descent, don’t seem to be entitled to the same respect. Not a word from the media anywhere (check the internet—I have). There are some points that bother me. First of all, this was on the same day as Yom Kippur, our most holy day when we are taking stock of ourselves and working on becoming better people. The second is that, to reiterate, not a word from anyone. This is disappointing as he’s had lots of prominent Jewish people on his show: Al Franken, Barney Frank, Rob Reiner, Barbara Boxer, and just last week, the week after the gaff, Billy Chrystal. Oh, and Bernie Sanders. Not a peep from any of them. Last week he described Cornel West—outspoken in his denigration of Israel as oppressing the Palestinians—as his “good friend”. But isn’t this par for the course? We Jews don’t seem to stand up for ourselves unless it’s do-or-die. The Torah warned us, beware lest you acquire wealth and forget your commandments. It seems like we’ve integrated so much into society, being Jewish is an occupational hazard, a minor inconvenience. Contrast this to the Middle Ages. An article I read reiterated something I—and probably a lot of other Jewish leaders and clergy—considered, that when the King’s men are patrolling the streets looking for errant Jews committing the heinous crime of observing our religion, we’re down in semi-dark basement, rubbing the name “Haman” off the souls of our shoes rather than sounding a grogger lest we be discovered and put to death. When we’re free to do what we want, who cares? Now I get it, Bill Maher is a political satirist. He pokes fun at people in government to make a point. He has to come up with jokes that are appropriate to their positions, situation and character, many times as he sees it. And he has to appeal to his audience. Jared Kushner is an Orthodox Jew and it’s been proclaimed in the media many times to the point that Mr. Maher would rationalize satire. In fact, it’s probably true that there are more Jewish people serving in the current administration than any other administration in the history of our country. And this monocle is something that would definitely set Mr. Kushner apart. Some might also contend that Bill Maher is in fact Jewish himself by virtue of being born of a Jewish mother. Unfortunately, that’s where it ends. Mr. Maher’s mother has never practiced Judaism as an adult. Bill Maher has never practiced Judaism and is a self-proclaimed atheist, referring to the Torah as “The Book of Jewish Fairy Tales”. That is his opinion; I obviously vehemently disagree with him, but again, I respect his opinion. I am troubled by this double standard. I admire people of African descent for standing up for themselves. Some may argue in the current events that they’ve gone too far. Possibly. But I contrast that with us, that we don’t go far enough and sometimes, like now, we don’t go at all. Some may criticize me for being too sensitive. I’m just worried that if we don’t address this, the next time it will be more brutal. I feel that now, more than ever, we HAVE to be diligent. There are Nazis marching openly in the streets chanting “Jews will not replace us.” Now this. We said it could never happen here in the US. They said it could. They were right. Let’s nip this in the bud before it gets worse and we’re back to observing our religion in dimly-lit basements.

Commentary on this week's Torah portion. We re-roll the Torah and start our study. https://youtu.be/qj_b-DWu

Chag Sameach - Happy Simchat Torah We celebrate the evening of Thursday, October 12, 2017, completing the Torah then rolling back to the first two chapters of Genesis. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/rXyFgeOJLGg

This past Sunday night, we saw the worst mass killing in our US history. 59 dead, almost 300 wounded. There has been a universal outpouring of sympathy from all over the world. There has also been a lot of talk about gun control. Many people are calling for a renewed effort for improved legislation meant to prevent in some way, this type of tragedy from happening again. This has been a very contentious topic and no doubt the debate will continue for a while. The bottom line is that people are frustrated with all the violence and want desperately a solution so no one else has to face the pain of grieving for victims of senseless murders. Pat Robertson, the famous televangelist who founded the Christian Broadcasting Network and the 700 club, had a different perspective. The minister, who by some unsubstantiated estimates, is worth in excess of $30 Million, had this to say about why people were mercilessly shot like animals: "There is disrespect now for our national anthem, disrespect for our veterans, disrespect for the institutions of our government, disrespect for the court system. All the way up and down the line, disrespect." Pat Robertson For what it’s worth, in my opinion, this is exactly what religion was never meant to be: judgmental, demeaning, criticizing. I have always felt that religion, especially Judaism, is supposed to facilitate spiritual growth. We’re there to give people solace in times of distress and hope in times of tragedy. To criticize people when they are at their lowest point of emotion is inexcusable. This is my response to Pat Robertson: So, Pat, you think that a random shooter in Las Vegas killed 59 innocent people because of disrespect for our national anthem and president? And just how do you know that? Did G-d, Himself, tell you that? Well, as one religious leader to another, I can tell you I got a different message. You see, Pat, G-d told me that humans are not exactly using that whole free will thing too wisely. He told me that it's up to people like me, and you, Pat, to inspire people to lead a righteous life. That means to aspire to be kind and just with people, accept people with and for their failings, but also to look beyond that to the goodness. He told me to facilitate hope and help people become the best they can be. That means help people grieve and mourn, feel their pain with them and help them go on with their lives, focusing on the positive. So I wonder, Pat, do you and I serve different G-ds? I think we serve the same G-d, the One, True G-d, but I think you may have been sleeping in class. Maybe you might want to go back to the seminary for a refresher course. Looks like it's been a while and you may have forgot a few things. Enough said.

This Saturday is the intermediate Shabbat during Sukkot and we have a special Torah Portion. Hope you enjoy the commentary! https://youtu.be/4PUiu-tt3pg

“Oh, Lord, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking falsehood; and to those who slander me, let me give no heed. May my soul be humble and forgiving to all.” Three times a day we close our silent standing prayer, i.e. the “Amidah”, with this sentence. It is noteworthy that in the Torah, the commandment to not murder is cited only twice. The commandment to not talebear or bear false, on the other hand, is cited about eight times in one form or another. There is a purpose to everything that is in the Torah—the order, the specific words, and yes, the amount of times something is discussed. And yes, the fact that the former is mentioned twice and the latter is mentioned eight times is significant. Gossip, “L’shone HaRah” (Evil Tongue), has been described as being sort of a living death. When a person is dead, they’re dead. That’s it. When someone’s reputation is maligned, it affects every faucet of their life in a negative way. If people have a bad image of someone, they are very likely to not do business with them. This affects their ability of make a living, and maintain shelter from the elements and put food on the table and clothe themselves, etc. These people would invariably have to leave their home and settle somewhere else where people don’t know them and they can start fresh. In the Torah, there is the case of a husband who suspects his wife of adultery. The woman is put through tests and when she passes those tests, her husband and her community are commanded to act as if it never happened. She is vindicated. This is a negative commandment, a commandment in which we are told NOT to do something. There is a positive commandment that may be considered to be the converse of this. That would be to “love your neighbor as yourself”. If you are loving your neighbor as yourself, what would make you want to demean them? During the High Holidays, we’ve chanted the “Ashamru”, the list of insults that we’ve committed as we strike the left side of our chest with our right fist. Interesting, by the way, that, according to Kabbalah, we are striking the “judgement” side of our body with the “mercy” side. We recite such sins as “we’ve gossiped” and “we’ve lied”. What would make people gossip and slander and demean people? Consider that it’s an attack. It’s a way of belittling someone. Of course we’re looking to hurt them. It’s also very cowardly because people are talking about other people behind their backs, when they’re not there to defend themselves or set the record straight. This is the whole point. The people who are demeaning the others don’t want a fair fight; they just want to hold all the cards and not be confronted or challenged. They also don’t want to be held accountable for their statements. This has even spilled over into social media. How many people—kids, actually—have been bullied even to point of suicide by people posting untrue declarations about them? Gangs of kids attacking other kids for really no reason, just because. Why? They want that power. There are people who make their living, gossiping about famous people. These people sit in judgement of others, discussing in a lot of cases, their problems and weaknesses ostensibly to reveal the “truth” about these people. Many people believe that this is OK, because since these are public figures, they have implicitly accepted this “occupational hazard”. Some famous people have even given up their celebrity rather than bear this situation. Judaism would not condone this; a commandment is a commandment. Consider that there is a larger picture. Politics, today, has devolved into a battle of wits, and contest of insults, what we used to call—in grade school—a big rank out session. No longer are elections about policy or how candidates are going to make life better for their constituents. Rather, it’s about how bad the other person is and all the terrible things they’ve done. In fact, as many of us have seen, some of those things that politicians are purported to have done aren’t even real and are the stuff of fiction. During the last presidential election, it wasn’t about problems facing our country and who is best capable of fixing them. It was about someone’s wife, or someone else who was crooked or a liar or their honesty in business. Etc. Name calling and accusations. And we love it. It’s the best reality show on air! People are talking about it all the time. Journalists, many of whom have won prestigious awards, are visibly uncomfortable attempting to treat this childish nonsense in an intellectual capacity. The problem is that after years of this, it’s become the new normal. People have accepted this and are now making their voting decisions based on who can rank out their opponent better. L’shon HaRah at its absolute worst. Asking forgiveness for our sins does not come cheap. When you repent, you have to mean it. It’s been said that if you repent and ask forgiveness for a sin, HaShem will put you in the same situation again to give you the opportunity to show that you are sincere in wanting to change. The only way we are going to be forgiven is not accept gossip and not listen to slander. Beyond that, we shouldn’t allow others to talk bad in our presence. Confront them with facts, suggest that if they have an issue with someone, rather than talk about them behind their back, they should approach that person and resolve the issues. If they’re not willing to do that, then they shouldn’t say anything. As it has been said: Evil flourishes when good does nothing.

Commentary on this week's Torah portion. It is special because this Shabbat is also Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, or At-One-Ment. https://youtu.be/XSRgu28RDkE

As we come to the last Shabbat of the year, we start thinking about our New Year’s resolutions. We look into the next year and wonder not just if we’ll be inscribed into the life (some of us take that for granted), but how will this year lead us. Death is easy, in a bizarre way, because everything done, no worries, right? But we are looking at meeting the challenges of life. Many of us have struggled and are still struggling with day-to-day issues. We have concerns about finances, health, family and social interactions. Sometimes the challenge is not just doing what we need to do, but it’s the stress involved. Our car breaks down, or the dishwasher needs repairs, we have to get the money to fix it. It may be a matter of just taking money out of savings, or not taking the vacation we really wanted because of the added expense. It’s actually black-and-white, really. We have a problem, find the solution and just take care of it. Simple. Not really. Because there’s the emotions that inevitably accompany the decisions. It’s not just a matter of fixing the car. It’s worrying over whether it would be better to buy a new one, but now we are taking on car payments and our kids our really enjoy that karate or soccer or gymnastics class, and that’s really more of a priority. So we make the decision to fix the car. But now we’re feeling a little resentment, maybe? Having to spend that money and wondering what next is going to go wrong, and just how good is that mechanic anyway? The logical thing is to ask the mechanic to look over the rest of the car. As long as they have it apart, why not see if there’s something else looming on the horizon and if so, while the car’s apart, save ourselves some future labor dollars and grief worrying and take care of it now. Again, very logical. But again, there’s that stress. Now we’re angry—at our car! Why did it have to break down now? Why couldn’t it wait until after we won the lottery? And so on. We handle our problems in life not just dealing with the problems but also getting upset because we have to deal with the problem to begin with. Life has become stressful dealing with these problems. The stress starts to affect us. We want to get healthy and enjoy life but we’re real upset and don’t want to take that walk to go to the gym because we’ve tired ourselves worrying. This now starts to affect our health. Statistics tell us that one out of three Americans will have to deal with cancer in their life. Add to that diabetes and heart disease. Could it be that modern life has gotten a lot more stressful these last years? The stress affects our mood. We’re not as understanding as we should be. When the mechanic calls us to discuss the car, we snap at him—or her. We order coffee from someone who’s taking too long; we’re on hold with a doctor or Amazon way too long. We can feel our blood pressure rise to pre-stroke levels. Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur, and yes, Shabbat Shuva, are there for us to take a break. It’s there for a respite from the ugliness that we never imagined part of our lives would be. It’s there to find spiritual, and thus emotional solace. It’s there to connect with Hashem. Yes, we’re angry at Hashem, aren’t we? I’ve been good, I’m taking care of my family, where’s my reward for that? What did I do to deserve my car breaking down, just to have to shell out money to repair at the time when my taxes are due? As HaShem puts these challenges in front of us, he also gives us clues to their solutions. And He knows, better than us, that we are capable of handling these. Isn’t it easier to focus on the solution to a challenge in a good frame of mind than a bad one? Doesn’t a level head help us find solutions. And maybe it’s a good thing that the car needed to be looked at because the mechanic just found another potential problem that would have been a whole lot worse. But because we had to bring our car in, it got looked at beforehand and yes, it may be more money, but as much if it had broken down. 2500 years ago, King Solomon said, “Who is mighty? One who controls their passions”. We can learn from this. It’s not easy. But if we keep calm, and work at handling our problems more dispassionately, we’ll be able to handle them more effectively and perhaps avoid some dangerous potentially life-threatening diseases that will affect our lives more severely. And that is how we’ll get written in the book of life for a more successful year.

Moses' last day; Last Shabbat Torah portion of the year; A song of advice to the Israelites; Bricks and half-bricks. https://youtu.be/sYzGuEFbltI