Avraham Avinu / Abraham Our Forefather defeated the 4 kings who defeated 5 kings in a war.
Malki Tzedek – who was Shem – the son of Noach – came to greet him from his battle return with bread & wine.
He said Blessed is Avraham and Blessed is Hash-m / G-d. (Genesis 14:19)
Since he acknowledged and gave thanks to Avraham before acknowledging Hash-m, the priesthood was removed from MalkiTzedek and given to Avraham.
Someone did good to you?
Say Thank G-d & Thank You
Last week we read the first Parasha / Torah Reading of Bereshit / Genesis. Speaking of the creation of Man it says “You will rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and all living creatures.” (Bereshit / Genesis 1:28)
When G-d made man the Torah says “Let us Make man… and He created man.” It should say let ME make man. Why does it say “Let US make man.” One explanation is that he was talking with the Earth. Man is composed of a physical Body made from earth and Spiritual soul that Hash-m supplies. Thus He said to the earth let us make man.
Another Explanation why it says “Let US make man” is that G-d has 10 attributes / Sephirot (Crown, Understanding, Wisdom, Strength, Kindness, Beauty, Splendor, Victory, Foundation & Kingship). He wanted to include them all in Man.
G-d wanted to teach the world a lesson – one should consult other people – even if they may not be as great as yourself. G-d consulted with the angels before creating man – Thus he said – “Let US create man.” When Hash-m actually created man – The Torah says “And Hash-m created {singular verb form} man.”
Another explanation is that G-d created man with all kinds of “animals” in him – at times he is bold like a leopard, or quick like the eagle, (see Pirkei Avot 5:20) or lazy like a sloth. It is up to man to overcome those animal instincts inside him. Thus it says – “You shall master over … the living creatures” – the creatures – inside a person.
When we do mitzvot, learn Torah and rule over our negative inclinations – we dominate our animals and become the way that man intended us to become. We become more like an angel. But really man is greater than an angel – if he uses his time for growing spiritually through Torah. If he follows his passions he becomes more like an animal.
Animals are naturally afraid of man. But when a man follows his animal inclinations – the animal sees the man as another animal and attacks him.
Once the Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh / Rabbi Haim Ben Attar – from Morocco – who wrote a commentary on the Torah – was sent into a lion’s cage by the sultan. The sultan was upset that he – a Jeweler by trade – did not make the Sultan’s Jewelry by the deadline. He took his Talit & Tephillin and Torah Sepharim / Books and sat there learning in the cage. The hungry lions were afraid to approach him.
The sultan saw this, realized that he was a Holy man and released the Ohr HaHaim – and apologized for doing so.
One of the ministers – sneered – perhaps the lions are not hungry. The sultan threw the minister in instead and the lions devoured him.
We can rule over the animals – if we rule over ourselves first.
I was pouring sugar into a spoon to put into my Coffee. The container suddenly let out a spurt of sugar over my spoon. Apparently – it was equal or less to the amount of sugar I usually put into my coffee. I thought – “why did that happen?”
Nothing is chance. I figured either G-d wanted to give me the amount of sugar I needed without me having to make the effort of measuring it out – or He wanted me to limit my sugar intake by allowing less than I usually take to fall into the coffee – yet, an amount that I would be satisfied with. I figured it was something that a parent would do.
Where is G-d
As a child prodigy, Rabbi Yonathan Eibeshutz was asked – I’ll give you a Ruble if you tell me where G-d is. He replied “I’ll give you a Ruble if you tell me where He is not.”
G-d is Everywhere
Hash-m is everywhere. In Hebrew G-d is called “HaMakom” – “the Place” because He is every place. It is not that G-d is in the world – the world is in G-d. G-d is infinite – the universe is finite.
Hash-m Helps based upon Belief
Hash-m helps all people. Yet he helps people based upon how much one believes in Him. One who has strong belief in Hash-m He will help more than one who doesn’t believe as much.
Winning the Lotto
My aunt – once needed to go to visit her parents. She has much emuna. She needed to pay for the plane ticket and travel expenses. She bought a lottery ticket and prayed very sincerely to Hash-m to help her make the money she needed.
She won over $2000 dollars that week – enough money to buy tickets and to pay for traveling expenses.
The King’s Banquet
Once upon a Time two Jewish tailors were having a hard time making a living in their town. Their solution : to go from town to town searching for tailoring jobs. They were traveling for several years. They arrived at a town and saw the governor of the town was troubled. They asked what is bothering you. He replied – he needed to prepare clothing for royal family for the king’s banquet and he could not find qualified tailors.
Family in Jail
“We could do the job!” they assured him. He tested them – finding that they were qualified. After about a year the king had his banquet and was very satisfied with the clothing. The king thanked the tailors and gave them a large sum of money. The queen whispered to the king – “should we tell them about the Jewish family is in prison because they did not pay their taxes?” The king mentioned it to them. They asked how much money do they owe. He said “300 Gold Rubles.”
Redeeming Captives / Pidyon Shevuim
One tailor said to the other – let’s do the mitzvah / commandment of redeeming captives. The other tailor replied “I have to bring money back to my family.” The tailor who suggested helping the family counted his money he earned and found he had just enough to redeem the family.
The family was so thankful. The praised him and blessed him.
The Rich gets Richer – the Poor Remains Poor
The tailors returned to their town. One with much money – the other poor. The poor person came home and told his wife of the story. The man was forced to go from door to door to ask for money to support his family. The other tailor became wealthy.
Discovering a Concealed Blessing
Once a person wanted to give him a valuable coin. He asked him what will you give me in return? The poor man said I’ll give you a blessing. The man needed a blessing because he had an important meeting with wealthy people that evening for a business deal. That evening he noticed that the deal went unusually smoothly.
He thereafter – searched for this poor man before doing a business deal to receive a blessing.
The Power of Blessing
People found out his power of blessing. They started lining up to receive a blessing. The Baal Shem Tov – a great Rabbi – asked his students to ask the man to come to him to talk. At the meeting – he inquired what special deed he did that gave him this power of blessing. He said I don’t know. Finally the Baal Shem Tov told him – the fact that he redeemed the Jewish family – Hash-m gave him the power to bless others and have the prayers readily answered.
I heard this story from Moshe – with whom I learn Torah. He told me he heard it in French from Rabbi Avi Assouline.
We think that blessings are only those that give us material benefit – really there are many blessings for which we can be thankful – good health, children, healing, wisdom, the ability to give blessings, etc.
At times we receive blessings – but we take them for granted. Or someone does something good for us and thank the other profusely – but do not take into account that it was Hash-m who ordained that we should recieve the blessing. The person who helped us get a job or gave us that business deal – was an agent of Hash-m. So really we should first thank Hash-m then thank the person who was the agent.
Malki Tzedek / Shem made that mistake. We can learn from him to give the thanks in the proper order. First thank G-d – then thank the agent.
I think that thanking G-d is appropriate at a personal event – like a Brit / Bris / Circumcision, a Bar Mitzvah or a Wedding. I thought it might be proper for a person to take upon themselves a new mitzvah – as a thanks for G-d that he allowed us to have a new child, to marry off a child, etc.
You lost lotto. The Jackpot. $500 Million. Ok – maybe next time.
But you find out your friend won. He says “I Love you – my friend. Take my winning ticket.”
Is He For Real?
You don’t believe it. You think “it is a joke. Either the numbers are wrong. The ticket is fake. it’s an old ticket”
You check the date. Seems Right. You look at ticket. It has the markings of a real ticket. You check the numbers. Numbers are correct. You bring it in to the Lottery office. “Congratulations. You won the jackpot!” After asking for some papers – they make you fill out some forms asking whether you want to be paid one lump sum after taxes or every year a certain amount.
You don’t believe it. When you receive the first check for tens of millions of dollars, you faint. You pinch yourself. You wake up. You still have the check in your hand. You go to the bank and deposit it. The manager calls you and starts treating you with much respect. He asks you to start a Private Banking account. You check the account and the money is there.
A Small Favor
Now your friend – who gave you the ticket – asks you “can you take a drive with me once a week in the new Rolls Royce you bought with the money you won?” What do you answer?
Doing it For Gratitude
Anyone with a bit of gratitude will say “surely.”
G-d / Hash-m gave us life, children, money, parents, friends, food – worth much than half-a- billion dollars. He asks a small thing to Jews “Observe the Shabbat. Keep Kosher. Observe Family purity.” Put aside the obligation thing. Out of pure gratitude – we should be motivated to listen. He asks a small thing to non-Jews “Observe the 7 Noahide laws from the Torah.” Put aside the obligation thing. Out of pure gratitude – we should be motivated to listen.
How grateful are we really?
Each Yeshiva / Torah Learning institution has a goal. In Hebrew it is called a Shita שִׁיטָה / frame of mind or mindset. Telz Yeshiva – in the outskirts of Cleveland – brought it’s shita to the United States from Europe. They emphasize the importance of proper conduct of a Ben Torah / a Torah learner.
Majesty of Man – Proper Etiquette
Walking down the street with a Telz Yeshiva Alumni – I was impressed to hear of the high standards of personal etiquette recommended of Yeshiva Bachurim / young students. “In Telz people would bring laundry to the laundry room in a briefcase rather than a laundry bag – because it is unbecoming of a young budding Torah scholar to carry a big bag of dirty clothes.” I was impressed. “A person would not drink directly from a bottle. Using a cup is more befitting.”
Bottle Woe – The Nerve Dilemma
He told me – he knew of someone – that did drink from a bottle. The Popular Pop of that time was Royal Crown Cola. The student was drinking from a bottle. Another student bumped into him unintentionally. His front teeth were broken.
He went to a dentist that mentioned he had the option to keep or remove nerves from his teeth.
Encounter with a Gadol – Great Sage
He went to speak with the Rosh HaYeshiva – Rabbi Mordechai Gifter. The Rosh HaYeshiva mentioned to him that if he had the option of keeping his teeth’s nerves – he should do so. Someone he knew in Europe had his nerves removed from his teeth. Several weeks later half of his face welled up due to an infection. He couldn’t feel the pain. The pain that he would normally have felt was not able to warn him of the spreading infection. If he caught it earlier – he would not have to have a much more serious operation now.
The Value of Pain – the Message
Pain is usually viewed as bad. No pain is good.
Pain is not necessarily bad.
Pain can be a message. It teaches us – there is something that needs correction. The proper question – we should ask then when experience pain is “Why I am experiencing this pain?”, “What is the Cause?” – not just how can I alleviate the suffering. Alleviating the pain may deal with the symptom but not the cause of the pain.
Suffering may be from physical pain, emotional pain, psychological pain or spiritual pain.
The Purpose of Pain
The reason of the pain? To prompt one to improve. The tooth story is a good example.
Are You treating the Cause or the Symptom?
One who treats a problem to alleviate the pain – may be treating the symptom – not the cause. Let’s say the person had nerves to feel the pain. Instead of taking antibiotics to treat the infection he took pain killers. He alleviated the symptom but not the cause.
The Spiritual Connection of Pain
G-d sends us pain. We try to alleviate the pain. But really we should ask “What does Hash-m want from me?” “Am I the cause of my own pain?” “How can I improve myself to not ever get this pain?”
Spirituality & Alleviating Physical Pain
Firstly – if the pain is a sign of a physical ailment – the Torah says to seek proper medical treatment from a competent, reputable Doctor. It says you shall very well guard your soul. One is not allowed to live in a Town where there is no Doctor.
There are 248 members of the body. A Jew has 613 Mitzvot / commandments from the Torah. 365 prohibitions that we avoid 365 days a year and 248 active commandments that we do with the 248 members of our body.
Each part of the body is connected to a particular Mitzvah. If one lacks in a particular Mitzvah it has an effect on that member of the body that it corresponds to.
So the second step – is to also see what spiritually one can do to rectify the spiritual aspect of one’s life to cure the physical member of the body.
Spirituality & Alleviating Emotional Pain
Hash-m made a physical nature in the world. An Apple falls. Heat rises. Plants grow. He also created a spiritual nature that corresponds to the physical world. One general spiritual rule of nature is called Midah Keneged middah. Measure for measure. One that does good gets good. One that does the opposite gets the opposite.
If someone yelled at you – check if previously you perhaps raised your voice at someone else. Do Teshuva / Repentance according to Torah and apologize when in order.
Spirituality & Alleviating Psychological Pain
When one feels down – it might be due to your soul’s feeling down. Really the mental condition of a person depends upon their spiritual soul’s state. The person is composed of a body and soul. G-d through the Soul gives the body life. If the soul is happy the person is happy. If the soul is sad – the person is sad. Doing good deeds makes a person happy. Doing bad deeds make a person sad.
The major problem of people seeking the elusive happiness and not finding it is because they think that pursuing bodily pleasures and comforts will make them happy. At times the pursuit of pleasures makes a person even more depressed. It is not pleasure that will make one happy – the satisfaction of the soul that will.
The question one must address is “What are the pleasures that make the soul happy? And which are those that dampen it?” I found from experience – that pursuing bodily pleasure only for pleasure – may give temporary pleasure – but in its wake is sadness. If it is sanctioned by Torah – it brings happiness in it’s wake.
The Definition of Spirituality
Spirituality brings happiness. To understand a concept we must properly define it. Spirituality is having a positive, loving relationship with Hash-m / G-d. To enjoy such a relationship – we follow G-d’s Law – the Torah as a guide to develop that relationship. The Jews follow 613 commandments. The Gentiles follow 7 Noahide laws.
The Three Dimensions of Relationships
A person who relinquishes their relationship with Hash-m/ G-d relinquishes one satisfying relationship of life. A person has a relationship with himself or herself (Ben Adam Le’atzmo). They Have a relationship with people and nature (Ben Adam Le’havero). They have a relationship with G-d (Ben Adam La’Matkom). A non-believer or an atheist or one who disconnects themselves from their Judaism – disconnects from a satisfying relationship that they could possibly have.
The Call of Your Father in Heaven
Pain may be a call for a person to search out a satisfying relationship with G-d – through Torah. G-d is our father. He wants a relationship with His children. Hash-m communicates with us daily. He sends us messages, gifts, kindness, blessings, abundance. Do we communicate with Him? One just has to observe their daily life and see all the blessings.
Measure for Measure from G-d
When people ignore all Hash-m’s kindness – G-d may act with them the way they act with Him – ignoring them – leaving them in the hands of nature. A woman once served her family straw for dinner. The were in wonder – what happened with her. She told them – “You never appreciated – when I served you the best of meals. So I thought for you everything is the same whether it is delicious or not. So I served you straw – it’s much easier to prepare & you don’t appreciate the good food when I make it for you anyway. A parable to teach us to be appreciative of our blessings.
Sweet Melancholy vs. Happiness
Memories of my youth – I remember my old friends and old experiences. I remember with sweet melancholy. Some memories I remember with Joy. I try to distinguish between that feeling of melancholy and the feeling of Joy. My happiness was many a time sweet melancholy. How do I know? Because Joy is an elation – melancholy is a form of sadness.
From experience I have found that doing good, providing kindness, helping others, learning Torah are sources of happiness. Also from Experience , I found pursuing pleasures not sanctioned by Torah is a source of sadness.
The closeness to Hash-m / G-d is a good barometer that is correlated with a person’s happiness. Doing good brings you closer to Hash-m – you become closer to the source of life & happiness. Thus one is happy when they are close to Hash-m. Or more accurately – the closer one is to Hash-m – the greater is their potential and actual happiness. The farther one is from Hash-m – has the opposite effect.
Pain Prompts People to Pursue Truth
In my youth I was like any youth – I sought attention, I did my share of trouble. I pursued fun, ate non-kosher. I played sports. My world was a world of the average boy. But certain difficulties – like skin problems – prompted me to question life. My question “Why Me?” I was a decent person. Ok, I did my share of trouble – but I wasn’t so much worse than others – “or was I?”
How could I get back to being the Handsome young man – people told me I was? What could I do? I thought I could go to a skin doctor – but I thought that the pain was a message from G-d to tell me to improve. It is very hard to break a habit. It is hard to change your lifestyle. It is hard to change your attitude – but a little pain to wake you up will motivate you to pursue avenues that you otherwise you would not have considered.
My pain motivated me to improve my relationship with myself (Ben Adam Le’atzmo) by improving my outlook on life to correspond more to the Torah Hashkafa / outlook. I learned the importance of proper conduct of a Ben Torah. I improved my relationship with people (Ben Adam Le’havero) – by being more considerate of others feelings. I strengthened my relationship with G-d (Ben Adam La’Matkom) by praying to Hash-m, talking to Him, observing Mitzvot. Through Study of Torah Study, Reading Torah Stories, Learning Pirkei Avot / Ethics of the Fathers and making more of an effort to observe Mitzvot / Torah commandments – I made my self-improvement effort to become a better person.
Use Pain to Gain
Some take pain and fall into depression. Some take pain and use it as a spring board to pursue truth and follow it regardless of the changes to one’s lifestyle it entails.
Looking back and looking at the positive points I gained from following the path of pursuing truth & Torah – I am grateful to Hash-m for the hard – but beneficial message he sent me. Now I try to conduct myself in a way to not need those messages anymore.