By Rabbi Yisroel Shusterman
This week’s Parsha
Perspective is dedicated in memory of Elka
bas Zisel OBM
Dedicated in memory
of Leah bas Rochel OBM
Dear Friend,
We are currently in
the Hebrew month of Elul, just a few weeks away from Rosh Hashanah and the High
Holidays – a time of reflection, introspection and taking on new resolutions
with which to enhance our lives, spiritually and meaningfully.
Cheder Chabad of
Monsey hopes that these weekly Torah thoughts will help inspire to achieve
those goals. All the students, staff and administration of Cheder Chabad of
Monsey wish you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. May this
year be the year of the full and complete redemption with the coming of our
righteous Moshiach - NOW!
For most people, the
vacation is well and truly over. The relaxed atmosphere of the summer has been
replaced by the challenge of a new season, whether in academic study, business,
or simple daily life. At this point people sometimes ask themselves: am I really
happy? Wouldn't I always prefer the carefree atmosphere of the vacation,
traveling, doing as I please, being free...?
Indeed there are
many for whom the summer months themselves were tense and problematic, for
whatever reason. How do they look towards the coming months of the autumn? With
joy or with foreboding?
At this
point this week's Torah portion of Ki Sovo (Devorim [Deuteronomy] 26:1-29:8) is
enlightening. It reveals that joy and gloom are not, as we might suppose, a
kind of thermometer of our general situation in life: if everything is alright,
the person is happy; if not, he feels miserable.
The Torah suggests
that joyfulness is a state of mind which we should aspire to achieve in
virtually every situation, especially when things are going well, but even if
unfortunately there are set-backs.
A long section of
this Torah portion describes the terrible suffering which will come to the
Jewish people if, when they are in the Land of Israel, they do not
properly serve G-d. The Torah speaks of destruction, famine, war, illness,
exile. The sins which provoke this terrible punishment seem to be those of
idolatry and general rebellion against G-d's law.
Yet then comes a
surprising statement. Why have these terrible things happened? "Because
you did not serve G-d with joy and a happy heart, when you had everything"
(Deuteronomy 28:47).
Maimonides writes
that this verse shows that one must serve G-d with joy. The same comment is
made by the great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria, and this is a central theme
of the Chassidic movement. Our lives as Jews should be joyful; keeping Commandments
should be joyful. Even when we have done wrong, perhaps something seriously
wrong, and we regret the past and attempt to mend our ways for the future -- we
should at the same time be joyful that G-d grants us this possibility of
change.
The Chassidic
masters ask us to be joyful also when we have serious problems! Rabbi Schneur
Zalman gives advice in his Tanya (chapters 26-31) how to achieve
a state of joy even if, G-d forbid, a person has grave worries concerning
health, children or lack of livelihood; or if one has distressing guilt
feelings about the past; or if one regards oneself as a terrible person in the
present. In each case he presents a path towards a balanced and joyful state of
mind, despite all. That joy, he says, is the key to inner mastery. It enables
the person to win as a human being and as a Jew, despite the pain.
Paradoxically, a
person can experience grief and at the same time feel a sense of joy. This can
only come from the realization that happiness, as well as that which seems to
be distressing and uncomfortable, all emanate from G-d Al-mighty and we need
only to appreciate that only goodness comes from Above, whether we understand
it or not and that ultimately, it is all for our benefit !!
(Excerpts
from Chabad.org – by Rabbi Tali Loewenthal)
May you have a
meaningful and uplifting Shabbos!
If you would like to
dedicate the weekly Parsha Perspective in honor or
memory of a person or occasion, please contact Rabbi
Shusterman at yshusterman@chedermonsey.org
