Seasons of the Soul High Holiday: a Rosh Hashanah Anthology the Tzimmes

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Rosh Hashanah 5763 (2002)

Seasons of High Holiday: a Rosh Hashanah the Soul Anthology The Cry of the Shofar: Two Chassidic Parables... There can be no king without Sweet: A Divine Revelation... The 48-hour Brain... Cooking the Year... The Waking of a people.

Kad HaKemach Story A Pittsburgh Miracle The warmth and the songs uplifted Marilyn in a way she hadn't expected -- creating a sense of openness inside her to whatever destiny had to offer Voices In and Out The doctor and a team of nurses surround the laboring woman. One wipes her furrowed brow with a damp cloth. Another grasps her clenched fist. Anticipation fills the sterile, white room

Inner The Making of Sacred Time Dimensions Time, like every body, is punctuated by differences of shape, form and substance. The Hebrew month of Tishrei is the "brain" through which the soul of time flows before spreading its life force The Mystery of Rosh Hashanah There is a great secret in the Voices One year Later: a 9/11 Anthology drama of Rosh Hashana. It is A year should give us perspective. 365 days to the mystery of a Creator asking cart off the debris, get our bearings, and take the His creations to participate in first small step on the path toward understanding. the birth of their own world and Of course, none of that has occurred of themselves. He asks the created beings to ask Him to create Parsha Rosh Hashanah Torah Readings — them. Genesis 21:1-34; Genesis 22:1-24 The wonder of Rosh Hashana Remembrance and laughter, banishment and is between Him as He is Above benevolence, seven sheep and a well, the ulti- and Him as He is in within us. mate sacrifice and the origin of Jerusalem

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seasons of the soul High Holiday: A Rosh Hashanah Anthology the tzimmes. But here is a sampling of essays, insights and stories — some Rosh Hashanah reading to get us in the mood:

It’s difficult to write about the festivals of the Jewish calendar in the English language. None of the available words seem to capture the mood of these landmarks in Jewish time. Holiday? Too frivolous. Holy Day? Too somber. Festival? Better, but still not quite the right word. The Hebrew phrase Yom Tov literally and blandly translates as “good day.” How, indeed, to describe the blend of reverence and revelry, seriousness and exuberance, liturgy and lokshen kugel that is the Jewish festival? In particular, the first festival of the year, Rosh Hashanah, seems to fit no familiar mold. It is the day on which we tremulously submit to the divine sovereignty and crown G-d as our king, but as the Chassidic masters point out, a coronation is always a festive event, with bands playing in the streets and crowds picnicking in the parks and fields. It is the day on which we stand in judgment before G-d, the day on which the Heavenly Court rules “who shall live and who shall die...who shall be impoverished and who shall be enriched... who shall fall and who shall rise”; but also the day on which we “eat lush foods and drink sweets... for the joy of the Eternal is your strength.” The Talmud offers the image of a person coming to court where a life-or-death verdict will be handed down on him, but he is dressed in white and has a lush feast awaiting him at home, confident that he will triumph in his trial. No single article can capture the paradox of Rosh Hashanah, much less explain it. To understand Rosh Hashanah, we need to exprience it — spend those hours praying in shul, hear the shofar’s hundred notes, dip the apple in honey and eat

Seasons of the soul The King and I

Hamelech (“the king”) is an oft-occurring word in the Rosh Hashanah prayers, whose dominant theme is our coronation of G-d as king of the universe and our submission to His sovereignty. Indeed, it is the first word chanted by the cantor on Rosh Hashanah morning, as he opens the Shacharit prayers with an awe-inspiring melody that climaxes with a sonorous Ha-me-lech! One Rosh Hashanah morning, the great Chassidic master Rabbi Aaron of Karlin fainted when he came to the word Hamelech. He later explained that he recalled the Talmudic passage that describes Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai’s encounter with Vespasian. Rabbi Yochanan had himself smuggled out of the besieged city of Jerusalem to plead with the Roman general to spare the Torah center of Yavneh. When Rabbi Yochanan entered Vespasian’s tent, he addressed him as “Your Majesty.” “You are deserving of death on two accounts,” said Vespasian. “First of all, I am not the king, only His Majesty’s general.” (In fact, a messenger from Rome was already approaching the general’s camp to inform him that he had been appointed sovereign of the Empire.) “Secondly, if I am indeed king, why did you not come to me until now?” “I thought to myself,” said the Rebbe of Karlin, “if we address the Almighty as ‘King,’ does this not invite the question, ‘If I am indeed your king, why did you not come to me until now?’What can we answer to that?”

From the Chassidic Masters

seasons of the soul was the king and escorted his master out of the forest and back to his palace. The king later rewarded him The Cry of the with many presents, and elevated him to a powerful Shofar: Two minister’s post. After a while, however, the man committed an act Parables which was considered rebellious against the king, and he was sentenced to death. Before he was taken out to be executed, the king granted him one last request. A parable from Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov: The man said: “I request to wear the clothes I wore A King had an only son, the apple of his eye. The when I escorted His Majesty when he was lost in the King wanted his son to master different fields of forest, and that His Majesty should also wear the knowledge and to experience various cultures, so he clothes he wore then.” sent him to a far-off country, supplied with a gener- The king complied, and when they were both ous quantity of silver and gold. Far away from dressed in the garments they wore at the time of their home, the son squandered all the money until he was meeting, he said, “By your life, you have saved your- left completely destitute. In his distress he resolved self,” and called off the execution. to return to his father’s house and after much diffi- The meaning of the parable is that when G-d gave culty, he managed to arrive at the gate of the court- the Torah to Israel, he offered it first to all the nations yard to his father’s palace. of the world. They all refused, except the people of In the passage of time, he had actually forgotten Israel, who willingly accepted the yoke of Heaven the language of his native country, and he was and fulfilled the commandments of the Creator. unable to identify himself to the guards. In utter But now we have transgressed and rebelled, like despair he began to cry out in a loud voice, and the the man in the parable, and with the arrival of the King, who recognized the voice of his son, went out Day of Judgment we are fearful indeed. So we blow to him and brought him into the house, kissing him the shofar to recall the shofar blowing that accompa- and hugging him. nied our original acceptance of the Torah and coro- The meaning of the parable: The King is G-d. The nation of G-d. This merit stands by us, and G-d for- prince is the Jewish people, who are called gives us all our sins and inscribes us immediately for “Children of G-d” (Deuteronomy 14:1). The King a year of goodness and life. sends a soul down to this world in order to fulfill the Torah and mitzvot. However, the soul becomes very distant and forgets everything to which it was accus- tomed to above, and in the long exile it forgets even Excerpted from Days Of Awe, Days Of Joy, www.kehoton- line.com by Rabbi Eli Friedman, published by Kehot its own “language.” So it utters a simple cry to its Publication Society Father in Heaven. This is the blowing of the shofar, a cry from deep within, expressing regret for the past and determination for the future. This cry elic- its G-d’s mercies, and He demonstrates His abiding affection for His child and forgives him.

A parable from Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev: A king was once traveling in the forest and lost his way, until he met a man who recognized that he

seasons of the soul Cooking the Year standing of what energy is. He willed everything into being through Divine Utterances. Yet, the Creation is a tremendous work, a phenomenally incomprehensible enterprise designed and executed for us to live in. He gives us freedom of choice. How You are probably wondering what the Attia fami- do we wish to live our lives? We were created in the ly is going to eat on the two nights of Rosh image of G-d. But how can we live up to our image? Hashanah. The righteous Jewish women of Tripoli Between being a passive consumer or an active (where my husband was born) in their wisdom creator, we resemble G-d more by doing, making, through the centuries have removed the burden of giving. Our creativity is not His Creativity; and our menu planning. Every holiday has its specific menu, hardest or most sophisticated labor cannot produce from which we must not deviate, neither to add nor His handiwork. Yet still I believe that working, cre- detract. ating, and giving with the right intentions are analo- My husband Yehuda, however, has improved gous to G-d’s ways. upon the tradition. Before the main course there are Cleaning the house and cooking for guests is not hors d’oeuvres of seventeen types of food over the sum total of the effort needed, though. The which all Sephardic Jews say a blessing beginning housework and cooking only set the stage for higher “May it be Your will…”. The blessings are both puns action — mitzvot commanded through the Torah. on the names of the foods and reflections on their Every mitzvah requires will power, energy, time. meaning. Over beet leaves (selek) we implore G-d These are the hospitality gifts we give our Maker for that our enemies should vanish (yistalku). Over the giving us such a wondrous world. lung we beseech a year light as a lung. If you are Of course, I shall never deliver this speech to my interested in the benedictions and the recipes, I’d be mother, but perhaps you, dear reader, will forgive happy to send them to you, but that’s not the point I my excesses and judge my intentions for the good! want to get to. I would like to use this forum to reply May your year be as sweet and full as our table laden to my mother. with the banquet of life. The improvement that my husband has made to the Rosh Hashanah banquet is that he discards the main course (couscous and mafrum, naturally) and By Ilana Attia, [email protected]. Ilana is the man- instead serves a full course of each “May it be Your aging editor of B’or Hatorah Journal of Science, Art & Modern Life in the Light of the Torah, www.borhatorah.org Will” hors d’oeuvres. This way our twenty guests can drink their fill of the homemade kiddush wine, eat plenty of the home baked challah, and fully enjoy: the Golan apples dipped in honey; the raisins and bananas; pumpkin jam, apple jam, and quince jam; leek, dates; pomegranate seeds; candied carrots; beet leaf and sunflower seed patties; piquant fish; heart and lung cooked with black-eyed peas (rubia); and the tongue cooked in tomato and leek. “But hon- estly, Eileen,” my mother always remonstrates. “Why so much work?” Why, indeed, so much work? What could be a more appropriate way to bring in the new year than to work hard to celebrate it? On Rosh Hashanah the universe was created. G-d did not stand over boiling pots to do this. His energy transcends our under-

Seasons of the Soul | Story | Voices | Inner Dimensions | Voices | Parsha | Week at Glance 5 www.Chabad.org seasons of the soul Days of Awe There are, of course, plenty of people out there who are prepared to tell us what to do, including many who, given the opportunity, would force us to Kings have been in rather short supply in recent do what they are telling us to do. But that’s not generations. authority, any more than Saddam Hussein is a king. And we can, of course, appoint our favorite psy- Of course, there’s still the Queen of England. She chologist, pundit or fashion guru as the authority in has a crown, a throne, a palace, guards, ladies-in- our lives. But in the final analysis, that’s just anoth- waiting—the works. Theoretically, she can even dis- er form of take-or-leave-it advice. It’s not the author- miss her parliament and start issuing decrees. But we ity we need and crave, any more than the Queen of all know that she’ll never do that. So all the pomp England is a king. It’s nice and beautiful and impres- and ceremony has a false ring to it. The crown on her sive, but at the end of the day, we’re left with the head looks like a Purim costume. same hollowness inside. So we’re looking for a real despot? There are still True authority is absolute. It commands, not some of those around. Saddam Hussein—now advises. At the same time, it is not something there’s someone who can bark “Off with his head!” imposed upon us, for it is fully in harmony with our just like in the old days. Still, one would hardly call quintessential will. It is something to which we sub- those fellows “kings”. They instill dread, not awe; mit wholly and unequivocally, but to which we want they possess power, not majesty. A crown on their to submit wholly and unequivocally because we rec- head would look ludicrous (Saddam knows that— ognize it as the voice of our deepest self. that’s why he doesn’t wear one). On Rosh Hashanah, we devote two days to the The kings we remember from our childhood story search for the voice of authority we so deeply crave, books had majesty. They evoked fear, but also love. for the king of the universe we have been seeking Their subjects trembled before them, but they want- since our childhood. But don’t look for Him in the ed to tremble before them. There was lots of pomp synagogue, in your prayerbook or in the rabbi’s and ceremony, but the pomp and ceremony meant speech. Look for Him in your deepest self: in the something, represented something real. The crown things that no one has to tell you, because you on their head looked like it belonged there. already know them absolutely; in the commitments ______to which you willingly submit, because you recognize them to be expressions of, rather than imposi- tions upon, your true will. The essence of Rosh Hashanah, our sages tell us, On second thought, do go to the synagogue, is that it is the day on which we crown G-d king of where you will be in the company of many others the universe. conducting the same search, seeking that same core Unless you’re particularly religious, “G-d” is of truth and source of awe. Do read the verses print- probably not a word that you use comfortably. Add ed in the prayerbook, which capture humanity’s six- to that “king of the universe,” and that’s enough to thousand-year quest for a king. make a modern person squirm. When we go to the When the shofar sounds, close your eyes. Imagine synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, most of us would not yourself in the midst of a jubilant crowd who has think of it as attending G-d’s coronation. gathered to celebrate the coronation of their king. But let us contemplate for a moment what is it that Hear the trumpet blasts that express the terror and we are missing in our lives. Why it is that we still joy of a people submitting to an authority that yearn for those kings of our childhood world. embodies their own deepest strivings and aspira- What we lack in our lives is awe. With a click of tions. the mouse, we can purchase a meal or a house, find a job or a marriage partner. What is much more dif- By Yanki Tauber, [email protected]; ficult to find is a source of authority in our lives. based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

seasons of the soul Cold Soup You asked him if he believes in G-d and he said “No.” Or “When I was younger I used to.” Or “When I get older I’ll start to.” “So you don’t believe in G-d?” “No. I don’t.” “Are you religious?” “Furthest thing from it.” If you ask someone coming out of church on a Sunday, “Do you believe in G-d?” the worshipper is “So why are you here?” shocked. “What type of question is that? Of course I “Because it’s Yom Kippur!” do!” If you then ask him, “Do you consider yourself What he’s saying is this: “Why am I here? religious?” what will the answer be? “Certainly. Because G-d wants a Jew to be in the synagogue on That’s why I’m here!” Yom Kippur. So where else should I be?” If you go to a mosque on Friday and you ask the So you say: “But you don’t believe in G-d.” average person there, “Do you believe in G-d?” what He says, “So what?” and he doesn’t understand will the answer be? “Definitely.” “Do you consider your problem. yourself religious?” “Well, obviously.” He is saying: “Today is Yom Kippur even if I This is normal. These conversations make sense. don’t have a calendar. This is a synagogue even if I Now go to a synagogue on Yom Kippur. Ask the don’t like it. I am a Jew even if I’m not religious, and Jew sitting in the synagogue on Yom Kippur, fasting, G-d is G-d even when I don’t believe in Him. So “Do you believe in G-d?” what’s your problem?” You cannot get a straight answer. “Umm, it Now that can be dismissed, and unfortunately depends on what you mean by ‘G-d’.” That’s if many of us do dismiss it, as sheer hypocrisy. We say, they’re the philosophical type. Otherwise they’ll “You don’t believe in G-d and you’re not religious— simply say, “What am I? A rabbi? I don’t know.” don’t come to the synagogue. Don’t come here just So then ask them, “Do you consider yourself reli- to show how Jewish you are.” gious?” Have you ever asked an American Jew if The Lubavitcher Rebbe has a different approach. they’re religious? They crack up laughing. And they This insanity is what makes us Jewish. This is what assure you that they’re the furthest things from reli- shows how special we are in our relationship with G- gious. “Are you kidding? Do you know what I eat for d. breakfast?” That’s called truth. It’s not about me. I don’t want Then every one of them will say, “I had a grand- to be religious. I don’t want to believe in G-d, I don’t father, on my mother’s side, oh, that was a religious want to hear about this. But He wants me here, so man. But me...?” here I am. So you ask what appears to be a logical question. The same thing happens on Passover. Every Jew “Then why are you here?” sits by a Seder. Ask the average Jew at a Seder, do For some reason, this average Jew, who doesn’t you believe in G-d? Leave me alone. Are you reli- believe in G-d and is very not religious, will look at gious? He chokes on the matzo laughing. So you’re you like you’re crazy and say, “What do you mean? celebrating the Exodus from Egypt 3300 years ago? It’s Yom Kippur!” History is not my subject. Then why are you here? This is not normal. Where should I be? It’s Passover! That’s what’s so magnificent about the Jew. Let’s analyze this for a moment. What is this Jew actually saying? Now let’s put it all in context. Three thousand,

seasons of the soul Cold Soup cold. We suffer from separation anxiety. We suffer from a loss of connection to our ancestors. We suffer a loss of connection even to our immediate family. The soup is cold. The soup is very cold. But whose fault is that? And who gets the credit for the fact that there is soup altogether? three hundred and fifteen years ago G-d asked us if we We are a miracle. All we need to do is tap into it. would marry him. We had an extraordinary wedding We are the cure. Not only for ourselves, but also for ceremony, with great special effects—we were wowed. the whole world. Through us the healing is holistic, After the wedding He said, “I have a few things I’d like it’s natural, it’s organic. Our relationship with G-d is you to take care of for me so, please... I’ll be right organic. It’s not a religion that we practice—it’s us, back.” He hasn’t been heard from since. For three thou- it’s who we are, it’s what we are. sand, three hundred and twelve years. He has sent mes- So the Rebbe tells us that the way to go is straight sengers, messages, postcards—you know, writing on to G-d. Skip all the steps, skip the Kabbalah, go the walls... but we haven’t heard a word from Him in straight to G-d and be in touch with your purpose. all this time. The purpose is not Kabbalistic. The purpose is per- Imagine, a couple gets married, and the man says to sonal. G-d needs you to do a mitzvah. He sent you his new wife, “Would you make me something to eat, into this world to be who you are, because only you please? I’ll be right back.” She begins preparing. The can do this particular kind of mitzvah. True, the guy comes back 3300 years later, walks into the house, mitzvot are the same for all of us. But when you do up to the table, straight to his favorite chair, sits down it, it’s different, because it’s holistic. It’s with your and tastes the soup that is on the table. The soup is cold. emotions, with your past problems, with your fami- What will his reaction be? If he’s a wise man, he ly background, with your knowledge and with your won’t complain. Rather he’ll think it’s a miracle that ignorance. All that comes together and makes your the house is still there, that his table and favorite chair mitzvah holistically unique. are still there. He’ll be delighted to see a bowl of soup So let Moshiach come now and catch us here with at his place. The soup is cold? Well, yes, over 3300 our cold soup because we have nothing to be years, soup can get cold. ashamed of. We are truly incredible. When G-d Now we are expecting Moshiach. The Rebbe intro- decided to marry us, He knew He was getting a real- duced this radical notion that Moshiach is going to ly good deal. come now. What makes that so radical? It means he’s going to come without a two-week notice. We always Rabbi Manis Friedman, www.rabbifriedman.org, a noted thought there was going to be some warning, so that we Chassidic philosopher, author and lecturer, is dean of Bais could get our act together before he comes. Moshiach, Chanah Women’s Institute of Jewish Studies. coming now? But now I’m not ready. I don’t want to be judged the way I am. I need a little bit of a notice. If Moshiach comes now, and wants to judge, what’s he going to find? Cold soup? If Moshiach comes now, the Rebbe tells us, he will find an incredibly healthy Jewish people. After 3300 years we are concerned about being Jewish, which means we are concerned about our relationship with G- d. Moshiach comes today, he’ll find that our soup is

seasons of the soul ing this time, that it affected their own souls’ invest- The Waking of ment in their bodies. What does it mean that the world is asleep? How Creation does our sounding of the shofar restore the consciousness and vitality of creation? Why is G-d’s inner will withdrawn on Rosh Hashanah eve, and why does His outer will remain behind? What, indeed, is the difference between “inner will” and “outer will”? To answer these questions, we must On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, all things revert to first examine the dynamics of “will” in our own their primordial state. The Inner Will ascends and is lives. For as the Sages of the Talmud have revealed retracted into the divine essence; the worlds are in a to us, “As the soul fills the body, so G-d fills the state of sleep and are sustained only by the Outer world.” Will. The service of man on Rosh Hashanah is to rebuild the divine attribute of sovereignty and The Layers of Will reawaken the divine desire, “I shall reign,” with the Will is the soul of deed. Ultimately, no act is ever sounding of the shofar. performed that is not driven by the engine of voli- The Kabbalistic masters. tion. One night a year, the world succumbs to a cosmic But will is a multi-layered thing. There is the out- slumber. ermost layer of will that directly drives our actions. Then there is the deeper will that underlies this On the functional level, the sleeper’s vital signs external will, which, in turn, contains yet a deeper plod on: the sun still rises, winds blow, rains fall, will, which is itself an outgrowth of yet a deeper seeds germinate, fruit ripens. But the consciousness will, and so on. of creation is muted. For its soul of souls—the “inner will” of the divine desire for creation—has Thus, the relationship between will and deed is ascended, retreated to a place from where it views its not static, but subject to changes and fluctuations. At body and life with a calculated detachment. Only the times, the innermost level of will suffuses our “outer will”—the most external element of the actions, enlivening them with the desire and satis- divine desire—remains to sustain the sleeping body faction that motivate them. Other times, our deeds of creation. may be lifeless and lethargic, sustained only by the most superficial aspect of our will. And then, a piercing sound rises from the earth and reverberates through the heavens. A sound that To illustrate, let us take the example of a person wakens the sleeping universe, stirring its soul to who owns and operates a business. Our businessman resume its conscious, willful animation of its materi- does many things in the course of the day—waking al shell. at an early hour, commuting to his office, answering the telephone, meeting with potential clients, and so The cry of the shofar resounds. A profound yet on. On the most basic level, these deeds are driven utterly simple cry, a note free of the nuances of by the will to do them: he wants to get out of bed, he rational music. An utterly simple cry that rouses the wants to start the car, he wants to pick up the receiv- soul of creation to a renewed commitment to the er—if he didn’t want to do these things, he wouldn’t endeavor of life. do them. But why does he want to do these things? Thus the Kabbalists describe the cosmic drama Because of an underlying will that his business which repeats itself each year, as the world “falls should survive and prosper. But why does he want asleep” on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and is “awak- his business to survive and prosper? Because it ened” the following morning by the sound of the brings him income and prestige—if this were not the shofar. Indeed, it is told of certain tzaddikim that on case, he would have no desire for a business. the night and morning of Rosh Hashanah they would Delving deeper, the desire for money and status stem feel physically weak: so attuned were they to the from deeper wants—the desire for food, shelter and diminution of divine involvement in the world dur- acceptance by his fellows—which, in turn, are out-

seasons of the soul The Waking of Creation from its slumber. King of the Universe Once a year, the universe enters into a state of suspended animation. G-d reconsiders His creation. Is it turning a prof- growths of the desire, intrinsic to every creature, to it? Is it realizing My goals? Do I still desire to invest continue to exist. Myself in the role of “Creator”? This does not mean that every time our business- The sun still rises, winds blow, rains fall, seeds man picks up the telephone he does so because he germinate, fruit ripens. G-d’s desire for a world con- senses that his very existence depends on it. Indeed, tinues to sustain and drive the universe. But G-d’s he need not even be convinced that the act will yield desire for a world is but the most external layer of a profit, or even that it is crucial to the functioning the universe’s soul. of his business. Ultimately, however, the act of lift- Why does G-d desire a world? There is a deeper ing that telephone receiver “contains” the entirety motive beneath this membrane of will, and yet a of the will that drives it, including its deepest cause deeper motive beneath it, and so on. The Kabbalistic of causes. writings abound with various divine motives for the This “inner will” is the soul of his action, suffus- creation of the universe: the desire to express His ing it with a life and vitality that reflect how deeply infinite potential; the desire that He be known by His its origins lie in his innermost self. Thus, there is a creations; the desire to bestow goodness; among oth- quality to the way that the owner of a business picks ers. Each of these “motives” relates to another layer up the phone that shows a desire and commitment of the divine will, describing the soul of the universe deeper than that of the most devoted employee. as manifested on another level of reality. Assessment At the heart of it all lies the very essence of the There are times, however, when the soul of a divine will to create: G-d created a world because He deed ascends a notch, to view its body and life with wanted to be king. a calculated detachment. Defining Sovereignty There are times when a person reassesses what G-d is all-capable and all-powerful. So it would he does. Is the business indeed turning a profit? Is it seem a relatively simple matter for Him to make meeting my needs? Is this what I want to do with himself king: all He has to do is create a world, pop- my life? ulate it with creatures, and rule over them. But this His actual involvement with the business contin- alone would not make Him a king, at least not in the ues as before. He continues to get out of bed in the ultimate sense of the word. morning, continues to drive to the office, continue A shepherd who drives a herd of a million sheep to answer the telephone. He continues to “want” to is not a king. A tyrant who rules an empire of a bil- do these things on the most external level of will. lion terrified subjects is not a king. A benevolent But the deeper elements of his will are no longer in patriarch who extends his authority over dozens of it. The business can be said to be “asleep,” animat- his descendants is not a king. A teacher with a thou- ed only by the most external layer of its soul. sand devoted disciples is not a king. All these have Then something happens to rekindle our busi- one thing in common: their subjects are compelled nessman’s desire. Perhaps he sees a lucrative figure to submit to them. They may be compelled by their on the year’s balance sheet or a most promising pro- reliance on the shepherd’s devotion to their needs, jection for the future. Or a certain deal materializes by their ruler’s power over them, by their filial bond that embodies everything he loves about his busi- to their father or by their appreciation of their mas- ness, everything about it that reaffirms his self- ter’s wisdom—the bottom line is that they are com- vision and furthers his goals. His deeds, dry and pelled. And true sovereignty cannot be compelled. mechanical in his contemplative interim, are rein- A true sovereign is one whose subjects freely fused with life and vitality. The business wakens choose to submit to him. Not because they need him,

seasons of the soul ated the heavens and the earth, the animals and the The Waking of Creation angels; He already presided over a world that sub- mitted to His rule, over creatures who feared and loved Him and appreciated His wisdom. But the world was still in a state of suspended animation: its soul of souls had yet to be evoked. Then G-d created man, the only one of His creations with the free- not because they fear his power, not because they dom to choose or reject his maker. love him, not even because they appreciate his great- Moments later, G-d was king. “When Adam stood ness, but because they choose him as their king. up on his feet,” the Zohar tells us, “he saw that all So to become king of the universe, G-d created creatures feared him and followed him as servants man—a creature endowed with free choice. He cre- do their master. He then said to them: ‘You and I ated a being that is both the furthest from Him and both, come, let us worship and bow down, let us the closest to Him of all His creation. Furthest from kneel before G-d our maker.’” When the first man Him in that man is a free and independent being— chose G-d as his king, the primordial purpose in cre- free even to rebel against his maker. Closest to Him ation came to fruition, infusing G-d’s work with life in that man is a free and independent being—as only and vitality. He is free and independent. In the words of the first Every year, “all things revert to their primordial man, Adam, “First and last, You created me.” G-d state” as G-d again relates to His creation as He did created man, “dust from the earth,” the last and prior to Adam’s crowning Him king. On Rosh lowliest of His creations, and “blew into his nostrils Hashanah eve, the divine “inner will” for creation is a breath of life” that is the very “image of G-d.” retracted and the world is plunged into a state of There are many aspects to our relationship with “sleep.” G-d. We relate to G-d as our shepherd, expressing Then, a piercing sound rises from the earth and our gratitude for His providence over and sustenance reverberates through the heavens. The cry of the of our lives. We fear and revere Him, ever mindful shofar resounds: an utterly simple cry, reflecting not of His majesty and power. We love Him with the the fear of the subject, not the love of the child or the boundless love of a child, recognizing our intrinsic sophistication of the student’s understanding, but the bond with our Father in Heaven. We gain a student’s simple trumpet blast of a people’s coronation of their unique appreciation of his master by studying His king. A cry that reflects the simplicity of choice— wisdom, implicit in His creation and revealed to us true choice, choice that is free of all external motives in His Torah. Each of these relationships realizes and influences. another aspect or “layer” in the divine motive for A cry that rouses the soul of creation to a renewed creation, intensifying and enlivening G-d’s involve- commitment to and involvement in the endeavor of ment with His world. life. But once a year, “all things revert to their primordial state” as G-d reevaluates the very core of His Based on the teachings of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi desire for a world, the underlying “why” of His and six successive generations of Chabad rebbes; rendered involvement with us as shepherd, ruler, father and by Yanki Tauber, [email protected] teacher. Once a year, G-d asks Himself: Why create For more on the deeper significance of the history and a world? observances of Rosh Hashanah festivals, go to the “Inner The First Coronation Dimensions, www.jewishnewyear.com/holidays/tishrei/4710 section of Chabad.org’s High Holiday site. The timing of this cosmic audit is not arbitrary: Rosh Hashanah is the day on which G-d’s sovereignty of the world was first realized. Rosh Hashanah is the sixth day of creation, the day on which man was created. G-d had already cre-

seasons of the soul The 48-Hour Brain By Yanki Tauber, [email protected]; based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, www.therebbe.org

Today’s neurology has caught up with yesterday’s science fiction. Maps have been drawn up of the interior of our skull. Virtually every hillock and groove has been tagged: tweak this neuron-trans- mitter, and you’ll hear lyrics of a song you haven’t heard or remembered in 30 years; pinch that nerve ending, and you’ll zap your craving for potato chips and lose 15 pounds in a month. Well, not quite. But we’re getting there. The year, a body of time with 365 organs and limbs, also has a brain — the 48 hours of Rosh Hashanah. That’s what the Hebrew words rosh hashanah literally mean — “head of the year.” On Rosh Hashanah, we crown G-d King. On Rosh Hashanah, G-d is aroused, once again, with the desire to create the world. Channels of vitality and awareness connect the 48 hours of Rosh Hashanah to each of the hundreds of days, thousands of hours and millions of seconds of the year, like those that join the brain to its body. That’s why the two days of Rosh Hashanah are so special: the impact of our every action, word and thought increases thousand-fold. If we’re kind on Rosh Hashanah, we’ll be kinder people throughout the year. If we weigh our words carefully during these two days, our speech will be more refined throughout the year. If we focus on a certain weak- ness of ours and resolve to make a stronger effort, we’ll find our resolution translating into action far more effectively than resolutions made at other times. If you can access the brain, you can do just about anything. You can waken memories, restore lapsed talents, alleviate fears, magnify joys, abolish preju- dices, stimulate interest and charge up motivation. You can basically re-program you life, at least for a year.

Seasons of the soul The Master Key At the conclusion of the day’s prayers, the Baal Shem Tov made his way to the corner where Rabbi Ze’ev sat sobbing under his tallit. “Gut Yom Tov, Reb Ze’ev!” he called, “That was a most extraordinary shofar-blowing we heard today!” “But Rebbe ... I ...” “In the king’s palace,” said the Baal Shem Tovl, One year, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov said to “there are many gates and doors, leading to many Rabbi Ze’ev Kitzes, one of his senior disciples: “You halls and chambers. The palace-keepers have great will blow the shofar for us this Rosh Hashanah. I rings holding many keys, each of which opens a dif- want you to study all the kavanot (kabbalistic medi- ferent door. But there is one key that fits all the tations) that pertain to the shofar, so that you should locks, a master key that opens all the doors. meditate upon them when you do the blowing.” “The kavanot are keys, each unlocking another Rabbi Ze’ev applied himself to the task with joy door in our souls, each accessing another chamber in and trepidation: joy over the great privilege that had the supernal worlds. But there is one key that been accorded him and trepidation over the immen- unlocks all doors, that opens up for us the innermost sity of the responsibility. He studied the Kabbalistic chambers of the divine palace. That master key is a writings that discuss the multifaceted significance of broken heart.” the shofar and what its sounds achieve on the various levels of reality and in the various chambers of the soul. He also prepared a sheet of paper on which he From Rabbi S.Y. Zevin’s Sippurei Chassidim; transla- noted the main points of each kavanah, so that he tion/adaptation by Yanki Tauber, [email protected] could refer to them when he blew the shofar. Finally, the great moment arrived. It was the morning of Rosh Hashanah, and Rabbi Ze’ev stood on the reading platform in the center of the Baal Shem Tov’s synagogue amidst the Torah scrolls, surrounded by a sea of tallit-draped bodies. At his table in the southeast corner of the room stood his master, the Baal Shem Tov, his face aflame. An awed silence filled the room in anticipation of the climax of the day — the piercing blasts and sobs of the shofar. Rabbi Ze’ev reached into his pocket and his heart froze: the paper had disappeared! He distinctly remembered placing it there that morning, but now it was gone. Furiously, he searched his memory for what he had learned, but his distress over the lost notes seemed to have incapacitated his brain: his mind was a total blank. Tears of frustration filled his eyes. He had disappointed his master, who had entrusted him with this most sacred task. Now he must blow the shofar like a simple horn, without any kavanot. With a despairing heart, Rabbi Ze’ev blew the litany of sounds required by law and, avoiding his master’s eye, resumed his place.

Seasons of the soul “Begin what?” asked Rabbi Shmuel, quite obvi- A Glass of Milk ously annoyed. “It’s the middle of the night. Why are you waking me in the middle of the night?” “What’s the matter with you?” cried the villager. “Tonight is Selichot! A fine Jew you are! Why, if I hadn’t woken you, you would have slept through the entire Selichot!” “Selichot?” asked Rabbi Shmuel. “What is Selichot?” As she prayed profusely before G-d, Eli ... thought Rabbi Shmuel’s host was beside himself with her a drunkard. incredulity. “Are you making a mockery of me? Don’t you know that today was the Shabbat before And he said to her: How long shall you be drunk- Rosh Hashanah? Every man, woman and child of en? ... And Chanah replied: No, my lord... I have the village is now in the synagogue, trembling with poured out my soul before the face of G-d... trepidation. Soon the baal tefillah will begin chanti- I Samuel 1:12-15 ng the Selichot prayers and the entire community The chassid Rabbi Shmuel Munkes was traveling will burst into tears, praying and begging G-d to to spend Rosh Hashanah with his Rebbe, Rabbi bless them with a good year...” Schneur Zalman of Liadi, when he was stranded in a “So that’s what this commotion is all about?” small shtetl over Shabbat. asked Rabbi Shmuel. “You’re going to the syna- Soon after Shabbat was over, the village retired to gogue to pray? What’s so urgent that can’t keep until an early bed. Several minutes before midnight, the morning? What are you praying for?” shamash began making his rounds with a lantern in “There’s so much to pray for, Reb Shmuel,” one hand and a wooden mallet in the other, pound- sighed the villager. “I pray that the cow should give ing on the shutters of each home and calling, “Wake enough milk to keep my children healthy. I pray that up! Wake up! Wake up to the service of the the oats should fetch a good price on the market this Creator!” The entire village climbed out of bed, year, for soon I shall have a daughter to marry off. I dressed swiftly, and hurried to the brightly lit syna- pray that my horse should not break a leg, G-d for- gogue for Selichot, the solemn prayer that opens the bid, as happened the year before last...” High Holiday season. “I don’t understand,” interrupted Rabbi Shmuel. In the home of Rabbi Shmuel’s host there was “Since when do grown men wake up in the middle much confusion. The entire family had dressed and of the night to ask for a bit of milk?” gathered at the door, prayerbooks in hand, ready to The Villager Was Right depart for the synagogue; but their prestigious guest had yet to emerge from his room. Finally, the vil- Rabbi Shmuel Munkes wished to impress upon lager knocked softly on Rabbi Shmuel’s door. No his host that there is more to preparing for Rosh response. Slowly he entered the room. To his amaze- Hashanah than praying to G-d for one’s material ment, he found the chassid sound asleep. needs. Rosh Hashanah is the day on which we proclaim G-d king of the universe and commit our- “Reb Shmuel, Reb Shmuel,” he urged, shaking selves to obey and serve Him. It is a time for teshu- his guest awake. “Come quickly. Selichot.” vah, for repenting for one’s sins and failings and Rabbi Shmuel’s only response was to burrow resolving never to repeat them. Is this the time to even more deeply under the covers. approach G-d with a “shopping list” of our material “Hurry, Reb Shmuel,” his host persisted. needs? “They’re about to begin in the synagogue any And yet, a glance at the Rosh Hashanah prayer- moment now.” book shows that it abounds with requests for life,

Seasons of the soul physical world? Because only in the physical arena does true choice exist. The world of spirit is natural- A Glass of Milk ly inclined toward its Divine source. Thus, our service of G-d in the spiritual areas of our lives is a “compelled” service, driven by the natural inclinations of our spiritual selves. On the other hand, when we invite G-d into our physical lives, when we serve health and sustenance. For on Rosh Hashanah, the Him through physical deeds and with the materials of Divine energy that vitalizes all of creation is our physical existence, we are truly choosing to sub- “renewed” for another year, and every creature is mit to Him, for such servitude goes against the very allotted its share of life, happiness and wealth. The grain of our physical nature. simple villager was right: Rosh Hashanah is the Thus, one who considers it “unbecoming” to time to pray that the cow should give milk and the entreat G-d for milk for his children on Rosh oats should fetch a good price in the marketplace. Hashanah rejects a most fundamental aspect of the How, indeed, are we to reconcile the loftiness of Divine sovereignty. Crowning G-d king means the day with the mundane subject of a significant accepting Him as sovereign in all areas of our lives, part of its prayers? including — and primarily — our most mundane needs and requirements. It means acknowledging our But the very concept of prayer carries the same utter dependence upon Him not only for our spiritu- paradox. Prayer is the soul’s communion with its al nurture, but for the piece of bread that sustains our Creator, its island of heaven in an otherwise earth- physical existence. bound day. Indeed, the Hebrew word for “prayer,” tefillah, means “attachment,” it being the endeavor Seen in such a light, our needs are not personal to rise above our pedestrian concerns and connect to needs, and our requirements are not selfish require- our Divine source. Yet the essence of prayer, the ments. Yes, we are requesting food, health and foundation upon which its spiritual edifice rests, is wealth; but we are requesting them as a subject our beseeching the Almighty to provide us with our requests them from his king — as a servant asking everyday needs. his master for the means with which to better serve him. We ask for money to observe the mitzvah of The paradox of prayer is magnified a thousand charity; for strength to build a Sukkah; for food to fold when it comes to the prayers of Rosh keep body and soul together so that our physical lives Hashanah. On Rosh Hashanah, we are not only may serve as a “dwelling in the lower realms” that standing before G-d; we are crowning Him king, houses His presence in our world. pledging to Him the total abnegation of our own self, and all its desires, to His will. What place is Chanah’s Prayer there on this day for the very notion of personal The haftarah (reading from the Prophets) for the need? first day of Rosh Hashanah tells the story of Chanah, A Dwelling Below the mother of the prophet Samuel: As discussed at length in our previous Rosh Chanah, the childless wife of Elkanah, came to Hashanah essays, only man can make G-d king, for Shiloh (where the Sanctuary stood before King only man possesses the capacity for free choice— Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem) to pray without which the very concept of “kingship” is for a child. devoid of significance. By freely submitting to the She prayed to G-d, weeping profusely. And she Divine sovereignty on Rosh HaShanah, we reawak- vowed a vow, and said: “O L-rd of hosts... If You will en His desire to be king and infuse a new vitality give Your maidservant a man child, I shall dedicate into His involvement with the whole of creation. him to G-d all the days of his life...” The Divine desire to be king is also described by Eli, the High Priest at Shiloh, watched as she our sages as a desire for “a dwelling in the lower prayed profusely before G-d... Only her lips realms”—a home in the physical world. Why the

Seasons of the soul selves of the awesome moment of G-d’s coronation The Glass of Milk to approach Him with requests for our everyday needs. For on this day, our “personal” needs and our desire to serve our Master are one and the same.

Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, www.therebbe.org; adapted by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]

moved; her voice was not heard. Eli thought her a drunkard. And he said to her: “How long shall you be drunken! Put away your wine!” Chanah replied: “No, my lord... I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink. I have poured out my soul before the face of G-d...” Eli blessed her that G-d should grant her request. That year, Chanah gave birth to a son, whom she named Samuel (“asked from G-d”). After weaning him, she fulfilled her vow to dedicate him to the service of G-d by bringing him to Shiloh, where he was raised by Eli and the priests. Samuel grew up to become one of the greatest prophets of Israel. The “Prayer of Chanah,” as this reading is called, is one of the fundamental biblical sources for the concept of prayer, and many of the laws of prayer are derived from it. Indeed, the dialogue between Eli and Chanah touches on the very essence of prayer, and of prayer on Rosh Hashanah in particular. Eli’s accusation of “drunkenness” can also be understood as a critique of what he saw as an exces- sive indulgence in the wants and desires of the material self on Chanah’s part. You are standing in the most holy place on earth, Eli was implying, in the place where the Divine presence has chosen to dwell. Is this the place to ask for your personal needs? And if you must ask for them, is this the place to “pray profusely,” with such tenacity and passion? You misunderstand me, answered Chanah. “I have poured out my soul before the face of G-d.” I am not merely asking for a son; I am asking for a son that I might “dedicate him to G-d all the days of his life.” Our sages tell us that Samuel was conceived on Rosh Hashanah. G-d’s fulfillment of Chanah’s prayer on this day encourages us to indeed avail our-

Seasons of the soul I can’t translate those words she said. It doesn’t work in English, “My dear sweet G-d”. It just does- Sweet n’t happen. Because in English you don’t talk to G-d the way a wife talks to her beloved husband, a husband who went away on a distant journey and you never knew if he would return, and now you’re suddenly in his arms. Like a mother talks to her small, sweet children and like a daughter talks to her father who she knows will never abandon her. All in one. In English there is no such thing. But in the Yiddish of her Once, I had a divine revelation. childhood she could say it. It was on the holy day of Rosh Hashanah, but I For me, her cries smashed through the most pro- wasn’t in shul. I was in a hospital on that very wet found journeys of the philosophers, popping them morning, in a sterile and depressing geriatrics like a child pops bubbles in the air, like shadows dis- rehab ward, where a few old bubbies (grandmoth- appear in the sunshine. They had no meaning here. ers) had gathered to hear the sounding of the sho- They are ideas. This is G-d. The real thing. This was far. revelation. Something the old bubbies had back Every year I do this—blow shofar in the hospi- there, back then. Something we had lost. Almost. tals. Every year at least one person cries. I had to leave to go to shul. She was still in tears. This year there was a bubbeh who didn’t seem I discovered I was smiling. You’ll think I’m insensi- so old. She was very with-it. The sight of a shofar tive, but I was helpless before this deep, uplifting joy filled her with excitement. She poured out to me that just arose from inside. memories of her childhood, it seemed the past had She cried. I was full of joy. Why shouldn’t I be? I just come awake for her. She had grown up had just seen G-d face to face. Unzer zisseh G-tt. steeped in Chassidic warmth and soul, and even here in Vancouver it had never left her. She recited the blessing and I began to blow the By Tzvi Freeman; [email protected] shofar, softly but clearly. The tears began to come. I’m used to that already I just keep going. But when I finished, that’s when it was obvious that G-d was there in the room. Because she was talking to him. “Oy, zisseh G-tt! Tiereh, zisseh G-tt! Mein zisseh G-tt!” She was crying and she was holding G-d in her hands. The hands of an old bubbeh holding an infinite, timeless G-d. She called him “ziss”. I had never heard that before. “Ziss” I had heard applied to desserts and to grandchildren. The Psalms of David and the Song of Songs talked about the Almighty in that way. But this was an old bubbeh. Her voice had that tone of love and compassion, yet she was filled with awe. She was crying wth sorrow, with joy, with pain, with longing...yet her words were sweet ecstasy.

Story ing engagement in Atlantic City, and everything A Pittsburgh went smoothly until her return flight home. On her itinerary, she had one layover in Miracle Philadelphia, then a second short one in Pittsburgh, where she would board a final plane to Los Angeles. The flight from Atlantic City to Philadelphia went without a hitch, and she was eager and excited to return home and see her son, David, who would be leaving for his first trip to sleepaway camp that coming weekend. She sighed. It would be the first time they would be apart for an extended period, and she Dr. Abraham Twerski is a renowned psychiatrist couldn’t help feeling a little wistful about it. I guess and rabbi who descends from a long line of revered my little boy is growing up, she thought. Hasidic leaders. Dr. Twerski founded and operates a But as she exited the gate at the Philadelphia air- successful drug rehabilitation center in Pittsburgh port, she heard over the loudspeaker. “Flight 181 to and has authored several popular books on drug Pittsburgh will be delayed fifteen minutes because of addiction and spiritual well-being. On the Sabbath weather conditions. We apologize for any inconven- and holidays, he retreats to his home, where he ience.” invites guests to share festival meals with his family. At these meals, he relates remarkable Hasidic “Oh, no,” Marilyn said under her breath. She felt tales that have been handed down from generation to a flutter of panic and checked her watch. Luckily, generation — legacies of the Jewish oral tradition. she still would have just enough time to make her connecting flight to Los Angeles. During one Sabbath meal, after Dr. Twerski had related a particularly striking tale, one of the guests As she waited impatiently, however, there was politely suggested, “Why don’t you collect these another announcement: “Flight 181 to Pittsburgh stories in a book? They’re so moving, but I can bare- will be delayed another twenty minutes.” ly remember enough details to do them any justice “Don’t they know people have connecting planes when I try to recount them myself.” to catch?” she cried. Dr. Twerski was silent and looked thoughtfully at Her chest tightened. Now she really feared she the man. “I used to say the same thing to my uncle,” would miss her connecting flight, and she ran to the he said after a few moments. reservations desk to see about other planes to L.A. Later that year, Dr. Twerski published his first But she soon discovered there were none that could work of nonfiction stories, titled From Generation solve her particular dilemma. As an observant Jew, to Generation. she could not drive or take an airplane on a Jewish holiday or the Sabbath; Jewish law forbade it. A two- In Venice, California, Marilyn received a copy of day Jewish holiday was to begin after sundown that Dr. Twerski’s new book from a friend as a thank you evening, which was a Wednesday, followed immedi- gift. In her thirties, Marilyn was divorced and rais- ately by the Sabbath, which would not end until late ing her young son, David. She had not grown up in Saturday night. If she missed her flight, there was no a religious household, and she knew little about way she could get home before Sunday afternoon. Judaism, her religion. At the recommendation of a And her son was leaving for camp Sunday morning! friend, she attended a few lectures on it, and she was so moved that she began to go to synagogue and Everything was falling apart. She still had to help learn more. Soon, she was incorporating some of the David pack — and how would she get him to the air- practices of Orthodox Judaism into her life, such as port on Sunday? Even if he got a ride from a friend, keeping kosher and observing the Sabbath. how could she miss sending him off on his first long trip away from home? And where would she stay for Marilyn was a respected lecturer in sports nutri- the next three days — so she could properly observe tion, and she had been on the staff of the 1984 the holiday and Sabbath? These thoughts played Summer Olympics. In June 1986, she had a speak- over and over in her head until they finally

Story A Pittsburgh Miracle nervous. “Of all people, the rabbi would understand,” Marilyn pleaded. “Please, you have to help me. I don’t even have any money left for a cab.” Marilyn’s distress was so genuine that the associ- announced that Flight 181 was ready for boarding. ate finally said she would call Dr. Twerski’s son, who also worked in the hospital. She called him at She fretted the entire way from Philadelphia to home, and he arranged for Marilyn to spend the hol- Pittsburgh, hoping and praying that she would make iday and Sabbath with a family near the Twerski res- it. As the plane landed and arrived at the terminal, idence. Dr. Twerski’s son arrived at the hospital she grabbed her duffel bag and dashed to the exit, twenty minutes later and drove Marilyn to the neigh- slightly crazed. She ran all the way to the connecting bor’s house. She almost couldn’t contain her grati- flight, but it was no use. The flight to Los Angeles tude and relief. had already left. As he dropped her off, he wished her a happy hol- “Oh, no!” she cried aloud, suddenly paralyzed by iday. her anger and frustration. For a moment she just stood there and sobbed, feeling the sting of life’s “And you too, happy holiday,” she replied. “And unfairness. thank you again! “ After a few minutes, she’d calmed down and Marilyn’s hostess greeted her warmly at the door, gathered her wits about her. She called her rabbi in surrounded by the exquisite aroma of freshly baked Los Angeles. bread. “We’re delighted to have you,” she said. “Come, let me show you to your room.” She led “Stay in Pittsburgh for the holiday and the Marilyn upstairs and left her alone. Sabbath,” he advised her. “We’ll help you with your son. Find a Jewish family to stay with.” Relieved but still worried about her son, Marilyn immediately called a good friend in Venice to make Since she didn’t know anyone in Pittsburgh, she sure he would be taken care of and would get to the tried to reach some local synagogues. But with the airport all right. Then she called David and holiday approaching, their offices were closed. She explained what had happened. She concealed her tried a few other Jewish organizations. No luck. own disappointment, reassuring herself that he was Panic began to overtake her again. She checked her in good hands. wallet; she had almost no money. She had never felt so helpless. Then Marilyn lay back on the bed, exhausted and hungry, and began to relax for the first time in hours. Then, suddenly, the name Abraham Twerski She replayed the day’s tiring events in her head. She popped into her head. He lived in Pittsburgh. Yes. freshened up and went downstairs. The house was Yes, she was sure of it. She remembered his name full of holiday spirit, and the good cheer and smells from inside the jacket cover of his book, “From of cooking were intoxicating. She lit candles with Generation to Generation.” He runs a hospital for the other women in the dining room as they waited drug addicts in Pittsburgh! I must find him! for the men to return from prayer at the synagogue. She took a cab to Twerski’s hospital, spending The men arrived with great noise and abundant nearly all the cash she had. She bolted inside and greetings, and the family sat Marilyn at a place of found Dr. Twerski’s office, but it was empty. She honor for the evening meal. The warmth and the joy- uttered another cry of despair. ous songs uplifted and enraptured Marilyn in a way Marilyn found one of the doctor’s associates. she hadn’t expected — creating a sense of openness “Please give me his number at home,” she asked. inside her to whatever destiny had to offer. When she “I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” the associate replied. went to bed that night, she fell into a deep and peace- Marilyn explained her situation, but her frenetic, ful sleep. panicked manner only made the associate more The next day, it was arranged that Marilyn would

“I changed my lunch plans and came over the next Story day to where you’re staying so we could have lunch together. But I guess you went somewhere else.” A Pittsburgh Miracle Marilyn smiled, but decided not to say anything. “Are you leaving tomorrow?” he asked. “Yes. First thing in the morning.” “Would you like to go out for a drink tonight?” “Yes,” Marilyn answered. “I would.” That night they went out, and their connection felt have lunch at the Twerksi’s home nearby. After hear- just as strong as it had at lunch two days before. And ing of Marilyn’s mishaps, Mrs. Twerski said, “There as it turned out, he wasn’t dating anyone seriously. must be a reason for all this.” The next day he drove her to the airport. At lunch, Marilyn felt the magic of the previous When Marilyn got home, she was just pulling her night lingering inside her. Across the table, several key out of the latch when the telephone rang. It was men were engaged in various conversations, and one Steven. of them, Steven, began to catch her attention. He had “Was your trip all right?” he asked. light, kind eyes and a warm manner, and he displayed “Yes. I just walked in.” an admirable conviction in his beliefs. He was also quite funny. Every so often Marilyn laughed at one of Then he dispensed with further small talk. “I’d his offhanded comments, and as the meal progressed, like to come to L.A. to see you.” it seemed his lighthearted jokes were meant especial- The next week, Steven went to L.A. and not long ly for her. afterward, Marilyn visited him in Pittsburgh. Five At the end of the meal, Steven offered to walk weeks later, neither of them had doubts about their Marilyn home. They walked slowly, talking easily feelings for each other, and they became engaged. and comfortably. It was not long before Marilyn felt After they married, they settled in Pittsburgh, not far as though she had known him all her life. She was dis- from the Twerskis, and they had four children appointed when they arrived at the house where she together. was staying, hoping for any excuse to continue talk- But their fated match was set in motion long ing. For the rest of the day, all she could think about before fog delayed Marilyn’s flight. was Steven. Who was the young gentleman who politely sug- The next morning, over coffee, she asked her host- gested that Dr. Twerski memorialize his Hasidic ess where Steven would be having lunch after the tales in a book? That gentleman was Steven. morning synagogue service. Marilyn arranged to eat lunch in the same place. But when lunchtime came, From SMALL MIRACLES FOR THE JEWISH HEART by Yitta Steven didn’t appear. When Marilyn made some Halberstam and Judith Levental casual inquiries about him, she found out he was dat- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/- ing someone. Oh, how could I have been so wrong? /1580625487/qid=1030832760/sr=2-2/104-9620044- Marilyn thought. Was I the only one feeling a connec- 4127948?v=glance&s=books tion? She thought that perhaps the wine and song from the night before had deluded her, and she could- n’t help feeling disappointed. On Saturday night, Marilyn quietly packed her few things for her trip back home the next morning. The telephone rang. It was Steven. “Hi. I so enjoyed talking to you,” he said. Marilyn’s heart skipped a beat. “Me, too.”

Voices surrounded by her many children and grandchildren. In and Out A tear rolls down the cheek of one adult child, while a younger one clasps her grandmother’s frag- ile hand, and yet another sings softly some words of prayer. All eyes are focused on the matriarch of the family. Each one’s thoughts are varied. One reminisces a special, private moment shared with this elderly woman. Another, her sage words of advice that were to change the direction of his life. While yet a third, her open home, filled with hand-baked delicacies The doctor and a team of nurses surround the and her equally open ears, perpetually ready to lis- laboring woman. One wipes her furrowed brow with ten. a damp cloth. The other grasps her clenched fist. Anticipation palpably fills the sterile, white room, My aged grandmother, like the members of her but for now, only groans and forced short pants of family encircling her, is aware that the end is but breath can be heard. moments away. Each laborious breath attests to its imminent arrival. She gazes intently, poring into the A final loud moan is accompanied by a difficult eyes of each of her loved ones. An inner contentment push of exertion, and then utter stillness envelops and peace passes over her features. Her breathing the room. The shallow moment feels like eternity becomes softer and softer. until the baby’s long-awaited wail pierces the silence. And then her chest falls and rises no longer. A large smile, then a gentle, soft laugh breaks With her final exhale, the legacy of this cherished across the tired woman’s features. The moment of family matriarch has come full circle. tension has passed. The newborn shrieks louder and with each wail a Breath, the inhale and exhale, marking life itself. greater blissfulness fills the room. The baby’s cry From the first breath to the last, the constant inhale signifies vitality, health and vigor. Great expecta- and exhale signifies vitality. tions await this child! Take a moment to experience it. Breathe deeply. Gently the baby is hushed, swaddled and tenderly Fill your lungs with the fresh, pure oxygen. This cradled on her mother’s bosom. As the mother’s inhale represents your very inner, core essence; your chest calmly rises and falls, baby’s does too, and the very being in life. It signifies who you are. only sound now is the content breathing of both. Now, release it; let it all out. Witness your breath With each tender inhale and exhale of her child, exiting and meshing with your surrounding. This mother gains newfound appreciation for the miracle represents your doing in life, your impacting on the of her baby. Each inhale and exhale is a testimonial outside world and accomplishing. and a tribute to life itself. Your inhale is self-preservation, defining your own boundaries of self. Your exhale is your univer- But a few floors down, in the corridors of the sal imprint on the society and world around you. same building, a very different scene is unfolding. All beings and any life force experience this dual- Here my aged grandmother lies motionless on the ity of inner and outer; inner parameters and bound- sterile sheets of the hospital bed. Her labored breath- aries versus outer affects and imprints. Who it is and ing complements the soft beeping of the heart-mon- what it does. The protection of its inherent bound- itoring machine. aries, and its reaching out to the world. My grandmother’s face is slightly wrinkled; yet The greater a life force the more evident is its her eyes are fully focused and attest to her years inhale and exhale. filled with experience and shared wisdom. She is Indeed all of creation, say the Kabbalists, is char-

Voices In and Out feminine self, a woman would need to discover what and how to use her feminine energies productively and positively. The same holds true for a man. Torah encourages the awareness of these equally important, yet different arenas of masculine and feminine energies. We are encouraged to learn how acterized by this to and fro movement, called ratzo to integrate these qualities in our lives, on a person- v’shuv (running forth and drawing back) or mati v’lo al as well as on a cosmic level. mati (reaching and retreating). This awareness may uncover some of the secrets The heart contracts and expands; the lungs exhale in understanding why each of us, man and woman, and inhale. On a deeper level, the body sleeps, extin- husband and wife, brother and sister, behave the way guishing its active faculties in order to rejuvenate. we do — sometimes to the very chagrin, or allure, of The earth enters an interlude of night and winter in the other. order to vivify itself with the necessary energies for its more outward oriented dawn of spring. In tribute to my grandmother, Sara Sosha Schochet, of blessed memory The same is true of the flow of vitality from G-d to His creation. This flow also comes in flashes of running forth and drawing back, reaching and From The Feminine Soul by Chana Weisberg. Mrs. retreating. Weisberg is the dean of the JRCC Institute of Torah Study in Toronto and lectures worldwide on issues relating to Furthermore, each breath of life — each protec- women, relationships and mysticism. She welcomes your tive withholding of boundaries as well as each outer comments or inquiries about her speaking tours and books, exertion — reflects the Divine balance and flow to and can be contacted at [email protected] creation. The masculine and feminine dichotomy is not simply two genders within a species. Each reflects, rather, subtle forms of Divine energy that are constantly being renewed within the process of creation. In its most abstract form, the feminine energy reflects internal energy, the withdrawal and inhale of the cosmos. The masculine energy reflects projec- tive energy, expansiveness and revelation, or the cosmic exhale of all creation. This is not to say that all women have only char- acteristics of this elusive inner trait, or all men of this powerful external trait. While it is true that a woman is generally more characterized by her feminine energy and a man by his masculine energy, the energies of both are found in each other. This is true because ours is a world of integration, where there are no absolutes, but rather things blend- ing, sharing and balancing each other. So, in everything male there is at least a small bit of female, and likewise in all things female, there is some male. As a result, every aspect of creation shares in this duet of masculine and feminine. However, to be attuned to her inner self and her

Inner dimensions must prepare first to be worthy of absorbing the wisdom. So do we spend the month before, Elul, preparing The Making of spiritually for the moment when the soul of creation flows anew, embracing creation with the new garment Sacred Time of a new age. Most potent in Tishrei is the beginning of this fore- most of the months. Just as the most creative moment of any thought is its beginning — the moment of con- Like water artfully filling its vessel, the soul, too, sciousness when the spark of illumination becomes adopts the contours of its container — the human apparent for the first time — in like manner, the first body. It flows into each limb and organ, interfacing two days of the first month are the most creative days of with the biological machinery appropriately, allow- the year. ing the body to express the life force within. The soul animates the big toe no less than it does the These formative days of Tishrei are called Rosh brain, but the spiritual energy of the big toe is limit- HaShanah — “the head of the year.” And you and I ed to the function of this part of the body, while the spend the remainder of the year accepting the new energy transmitted via the brain is of greater intensi- bounty of this “new-time” and work at becoming a wor- ty and amplitude. Through the brain, the life force of thy co-creator of the yet unfinished symphony of cre- the soul spreads to the other component parts of the ation. body. May the flow of “new time” bring all of us the wis- On a cosmic level, the cosmic “breath of cre- dom and insight to carry out the processes of spiritual ation” also fills and expresses through its galactic construction, the Mitzvot, and bring about the realiza- parts, be these the physical phenomena of the solar tion of a new song of spiritual beauty that the world will systems and space in general, or through the spiritu- sing when our eyes are truly opened. al flora and fauna of the higher realms. Exercises: A more subtle expression of the soul of creation is MASTERY: All events take place in the “vessel of that of the dimension of time. Time, like space, is time.” They may seem simply a string of meaningless punctuated by differences of shape, form, and sub- unrelated occurrences. Yet you have the capacity, through stance. But the shapes of time are not visible to the consciousness, to elevate these by drawing insight from eye. These are sensed by the aptitude of wisdom and them, and raising them to a plane of meaning. Living con- insight. sciously and deeply means taking the moments of time and connecting them to your deepest awareness. Then not only Time too possesses a metaphorical head and are the events elevated, but the time of “here and now” body. The Hebrew month of Tishrei is the “brain” becomes sacred as well. through which the soul of time flows before spread- MEDITATION: Sit quietly and observe the changes ing its life force to the rest of the time-body. happening constantly around you. These may be move- Each of the Hebrew months is punctuated by a ment in the street, a fly buzzing at the window, or the gen- character — a spiritual shape. For example, the tle motion of your chest and abdomen as you breathe. month of Nissan reveals the spiritual thrust of What do these random events tell you? How do they speak national strength — hence it is also the month of the to you? Find meaning in the way they might inter-connect. .. exodus from Egypt. Sivan is the month for accept- Nothing occurs for no reason at all. The Baal Shem Tov ance of insight — hence the Torah was given during taught that even the seemingly random is filled with mean- this month on Mt. Sinai. Tishrei is the head to the ing for the observer. When you really see, not just look, body of the other months of the year. In the same then the waves of uncertainty collapse into a moment of way that we appreciate the wisdom of a great mas- true reality. Make your year truly real. Be conscious of ter and look forward to sitting at the master’s feet, ongoing creation. drinking from the fountain of insight, so we sit at the Follow-up resources: Angels, Souls, and Dreams (audio); feet of the month of Tishrei, seeking the creative Awakening To A New Dawn (audio); available at Rabbi Wolf’s Website (see link below) flow of time that this month brings. Rabbi Wolf is a renowned mystic, author and speaker. His daily But even a student sitting at the feet of a master meditations and weekly essays can be viewed on his website, www.laiblwolf.com

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology were actually written before September 11, 2001 — the problem of evil has always been with us, of course — yet they speak to our post 9/11 minds with equal poignancy. May G-d help us in the infinitely difficult task He has given our generation: to learn and grow also — and especially — from the horrible and the incomprehensible. A year should give us perspective. Three-hundred-sixty-five days in which to cart off the debris, get our bearings, and take the first small step on the Yanki Tauber path toward understanding. Editor, Chabad.org Magazine September 1, 2002 Of course, none of that has occurred. We are just as baffled, just as horrified, just as incredulous, as we were that September morning twelve months ago. And that, ultimately, is our beacon of hope, our island of sanity, our assurance that civilization will survive and goodness will triumph. If ours was a world in which such evil was credu- lous, in which such wickedness was comprehensi- ble, it would be an evil world. The fact that we have not — and never will — come an iota closer to understanding what happened on September 11, 2001 is the ultimate validation of everything we believe and stand for, the ultimate proof of the intrinsic goodness of our world, and our ultimate weapon against the forces of darkness. We will never understand — and it is good that it is so. But neither should we desist from the effort and the duty to reflect on what we have seen and take its significance to heart. We have seen unadulterated evil. And we have seen utter human goodness in the form of firefighters rushing up the stairwells of the burning buildings and men and women refusing to leave injured co-workers behind. Man has shown us how evil he can be, and how noble. We shall never understand, but we have much to learn. It is toward this effort to reflect, learn and share what we’ve seen and learned that we have compiled this collection of 9/11 articles which have appeared in Chabad.org Magazine. Some of these articles were written immediately following the murderous attacks and reflect the agony and the turmoil of those days. Others were written in the ensuing months, so that an ostensibly calmer tone prevails. Two of them

Lubavitcher Rebbe of righteous memory answered this many times, with clarity and certitude: Wanton Love. Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology Raw, cold-blooded, fanatical, baseless, relentless hatred can be matched and combated only with pure, Wanton Hatred, Wanton Love undiscriminating, uninhibited, unyielding, baseless, unsolicited love and acts of kindness. But we need not just plain love. We need love that costs us. Love that we get nothing back for. The barbarians willingly gave up their lives to sow their hatred. We need to be willing to lose sleep, to suffer losses, to be uncomfortable, to sacrifice our pleas- ures, in order to help another human being — with at Standing only a few hours before Rosh Hashanah, least the precision, determination and passion that when we pray to G-d to demonstrate His mercy to Evil’s compatriots of last week employed to fulfill their the entire world, please allow me to share with you mission of hate. some reflections about the recent events that have so Every one of us can make a difference. affected us. The Rebbe would always quote the Maimonidean We all look for consolation and we seek to con- adage: Each person should see himself as though the sole. But the sheer enormity of the evil we just expe- entire world is on a delicate balance and with one deed rienced is so hideous, so repellent, we’re left with no he or she can tip the scales. words. Only a few handfuls of terrorists turned our world Of course, we stand behind our military, our intel- upside down. Let us not underestimate the power of ligence agencies and our elected leaders in their each of us to turn it upright again. efforts to eradicate this evil. Every good act, every expression of kindness and But we shy away from personally looking this love, will be a thousand antibodies to neutralize the evil straight in the eye, we shrink from taking it on. viruses put in place by the forces of evil. Timidly, we prod and encourage each other to In response to darkness, we will fill the earth with “return to normal life.” light. To defeat evil we will saturate our globe with For how could anyone of us purport to combat good. something so grotesque and so awesome? And when we do our part G-d will surely do His part I’d like to propose, though, that we can and need to protect us and transform our world to the one we all to do just that. hope and yearn for, one that will be filled with His Much has been written about the motivation, the glory, like the waters fill the ocean. conditioning, the bloodcurdling ruthlessness, the precision of last week’s crimes against humanity. By Zalman Shmotkin, [email protected]; All accounts and hypotheses point to the same Rabbi Shmotkin is the director of Chabad.org simple truth: The primary motivation, the underlying force behind every action executed by last week’s murderers was: Hatred. Pure, unbridled, blind, indiscriminate Hatred. Hatred of freedom, Hatred of democracy, Hatred of “infidels,” Hatred of Jews, Hatred of anything and everything besides the murderers themselves. Wanton, simple hatred. It is this that we must combat. It is this that we must eradicate. What is the remedy to Wanton Hatred? The

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology in disbelief.

Today I Saw Evil This is what a satanic act looks like: Bright, metal- lic, swinging with ease across the sky, turning with complete mastery of the laws of physics, of the laws of life and death, of the laws of pain and fear. Evil makes a few calm course corrections, to insure full impact. Evil engulfs the innocent with a ball of fire and rises in a victorious after-dance. Evil removes thousands from among the living with one ideologi- I was working on my news report this morning cally-certain whoosh of flame. and there was a faint boom in my background. We live on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, right off I resolve today to point at evil and call it by its the FDR Drive that surrounds the island with a rib- rightful name. I resolve today not to euphemize the bon of five million cars each morning. Noise hap- truth, not be understanding of the plight that caused pens. Then my wife called and said there was a flesh and blood to degenerate into mass-killers, not rumor somebody tried to blow up one of the Trade to presume a spark of the Divine in people capable of Towers, could I go look? this horror. I resolve today to contribute as best I can to the eradication of the Islamic system of terror and Our living room windows feature a magnificent death, of the criminal Mullahs and Kadis and panorama picture, starting with the Empire State Ayatollahs who have raised a generation of dedicat- Building on the extreme right and ending with the ed murderers. East River and Brooklyn Heights on the extreme left. Smack at the center used to stand the two tow- Today I wish to belong to a civilized society that ers of American commercial resilience and might. turns on its enemies and pounds them to the ground They were still there as I was rushing to the living until they raise the white flags of surrender. Until, room, phone in hand, except there was a Dali-style like post-Nazi Germany, they take on the burden of gaping hole in the one on the north side, and sooty, proof that they belong once again to the Human race. black and brown smoke was billowing from it. (September 11, 2001) Then my wife was saying, on the phone, it was a By Yori Yanover, [email protected] plane that did it, crashed into the building. And as she’s speaking, I see another schmuck pilot coming way too close to the towers, about to repeat the mis- take of the first guy. He was moving south, green and sparkling in the benign morning sun, and I was sure there was something terribly wrong with the Air Traffic Control at La Guardia, or Newark, to have allowed two slips like that on the same day. But then it turned, corrected course and headed directly into the bright, reflecting side of the southern tower, and instantaneously an orange ball of fire erupted and grew ever bigger, and I knew it hadn’t been a mis- take all along.

Helpless and shocked I stood in my living room, the phone in my ear, and I was screaming and crying “Oh, my G-d” so many times, my voice mixing with tears until I wasn’t screaming any more, just staring

Voices - One Year Later: A Inside every person there is an incredible reser- 9/11 Anthology voir of hope and strength. I have seen it in our Armed Forces for 26 years. But September 11th A Soldier’s Boots exposed this hope in each and every person. I saw hope in a firefighter who stood on burning debris with his boots melting, hoping to find survivors. I saw hope in the eyes of a rescue worker who pulled a yarmulke out of the wreckage and gave it to me, hoping that I could find out to whom it belonged. One of the first tasks you learn as a soldier is how I saw hope in a volunteer who heard that I was to shine your boots. No matter where you’re sta- going to blow the shofar at Ground Zero on Rosh tioned or what your mission, your day begins with Hashanah. When she heard the notes of the shofar, polished boots. tears began to stream down her face. When the serv- When my men and I arrived at Ground Zero, fires ice was over, she gathered herself together, took a were raging out of control and the smoke was burn- deep breath and went back to work. ing our eyes. The first thing I noticed was the ash. I saw hope and strength in the Army combat engi- Cars, people, buildings — everything was covered in neers who built a sukkah at Ground Zero for rescue ankle-deep ash. Some time later it occurred to us that workers and families of the Jewish faith. I heard many people who had been inside the World Trade hope in the words of President Bush and Governor Center had been completely burned, cremated by the Pataki. I saw hope in the actions of Mayor Giuliani, intense heat of the explosions and fires. This ash was who was constantly with the workers, encouraging their remains. them and thanking them for their help. These ordi- I did not clean my boots that night. How could I? nary people, these rescue workers, these leaders, Would it make a difference? Within four hours I help give us hope and faith in a time when we need would be back outside, amid the carnage and it most. destruction. I have not shined my boots since A grandfather was talking to his grandson about September 11, and when my mission here is com- how he felt. He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves pleted and I am no longer needed at Ground Zero, fighting in my heart. One wolf is full of anger, these boots will be buried, never to be worn again. despair and hopelessness. The other is full of com- The question I hear every day, from soldiers, civil- passion, strength and hope.” ians, politicians and rescue workers is, “How could The grandson asked, “Which wolf will win this G-d allow this to happen?” They ask me this as I fight in your heart?” walk on the ashes, as I climb over destroyed buildings, and as I pass the constant stream of families in The grandfather answered, “The one that I feed.” mourning, peering over the barricades. I could tell If there is one thing we need most today, it is them that there are people who choose to do good hope. Feed the hope and faith in yourself and others and people who choose to do evil. But what do I say around you. Never give up. Never lose hope, as it is to the thousands of innocent people who are suffer- the essential ingredient with which we will rebuild ing, the victims and the bereaved? What can I offer? our society. Without it, we have buildings that can be I can only try to offer hope. destroyed. With it, we are one nation under G-d, Essentially, my job is hope. I am not trained in indivisible. desert warfare, I cannot fly an F-16, and I get stuck sometimes just trying to send e-mail. But I do know Originally published in Farbrengen Magazine www.far- the value that Judaism places on hope and faith. The brengen.com. Colonel Jacob Z. Goldstein is the chief chap- Talmud teaches us that even if the blade of an lain of the New York Army National Guard. He and his team enemy’s sword is at one’s throat, one must never were eyewitnesses to the tragic events of September 11th, and give up hope. one of the first military units to arrive at Ground Zero.

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology Face to Face Today, the two worlds, those who have traveled and those who stayed behind, stand face to face. Today we say to the screaming imams who incite The Manhattan skyscape changed yesterday. So their congregations to thirst for blood, to the did the world we live in. Let us count the ways: Mullahs, the Kadis and the Ayatollahs of the world, 1) Little Joanna Macdonald lost her father. He to those who have taken the Divine spark of Man went to work in Manhattan Tuesday morning and and twisted it into a missile of destruction, who have didn’t come back. One human life, the Torah tells us, taken human devotion and caused it to degenerate is an entire world. Tens of thousands of other worlds, into a disease of mass-murder, we say, “It is time for big and small, were similarly shattered or destroyed. you to be destroyed, to be utterly pulverized to the ground with all the vengeance of which the human 2) America entered global space. The same space soul is capable — or to renounce your ways and turn of the globe as London, Paris, Berlin, and yes, Tel to the path of dignity the rest of the human race has Aviv. The space where the destruction of war hits at chosen.” home, where you live. Yesterday, Joe Middle- America received his citizenship of the world. And we, us little people stuck in between, what 3) Terrorism is no longer a word. It is now a taboo. should we do? No longer can anyone dance on two sides of the fence. You’re either one of us who value human life, We should make our statement as well. We should or you’re a terrorist. go outside and plant more beauty in the ground. Teach our children to love and to do kindness. Build 4) NATO is at war. In fact, the entire civilized homes that cherish the Torah values that have so world is at war. With whom? With a Saudi multi-mil- much transformed the world. Give quietly to those lionaire in hiding? With those countries that shelter who have less than us, and lend a hand to those that terrorists? No. We — all of us who are for a world suffer. Gather with our community to study and to worth living in — we are all at war with those for pray with a single heart. Do all those things that heal whom the world is no more than a killing-field, for the world and bring out its beauty, that make it into whom suicide and mass murder are the doorway to a good place, a place of which it’s Maker is proud, a paradise. world as it was meant to be. And live in that world Let me put it this way: now, as much as we possibly can. About five hundred years ago, a great part of the In a few short moments, the darkness will vanish world slowly woke up to a journey. Not just a jour- and that new world will come to be in all its glory. ney to a New World across the sea, but a journey to And that will be our revenge against terror. a new world in the heart of Man. To a world of human dignity and worth, of social contract and A good and sweet year to all humankind. May this rights, a world of progress, a world worth building be the last year of sadness and horror and the first of and believing in. As Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman geulah and the liberation of the Jewish people and (Nachmanides) had predicted centuries before, all humanity. Adam awoke and humanity was born. Part of humanity refused to travel that road. They By Tzvi Freeman, [email protected] had also read the words of the prophets, the story of Adam, male and female, created in the image of G- d. But that’s where it stopped. Their leaders couldn’t buy into the idea that human life has value and that any good could come from this world. And their people had no chance to protest. Instead, a civilization that had just begun to flourish began to stagnate, in many cases to become parasitic. And to harbor the virus of terror that strikes today.

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology

Twin Towers - A ever punctuated by the deafening staccato of crum- bling buildings and of massive girders screeching in Spiritual dismay. No, I can’t make sense of it all. But I am deter- Reincarnation mined to give the events meaning — to honor the gut-wrenching dissipation of loving souls gruesome- ly disemboweled from their loved ones for ever. We were witnesses to mass murder, coming “live” My hand cannot reach across the ocean and com- into our living and bedrooms. Millions of viewers fort survivors and mourners. My wishful meander- like you and I watched in stark disbelief the cold, ings of mind and thought cannot mask the scream of callous, premeditated carnage. A mass murder inner torment deep within. But I believe with planned for years, was executed with brutal betrayal absolute resoluteness that you and I have been of life’s meaning. This was Nazi-like fanaticism at afforded a soulful wake-up call. The price has been its ugliest and most potent. Instant ovens with no high, too high. But I cannot bargain with the dead. I need for architectural planning and engineering cannot negotiate the terms or the coinage. I must pay finesse. the price of making their lives meaningful, their death a spur, their lives never reduced to futility. Or were we witnesses to an act of superb heroism How do I pay? By making my life (and I ask you to — freedom fighters prepared to nobly sacrifice make your life) one of contribution to a new society themselves for their faith and respond assertively to of empathy, peace and mutual understanding. foreign tyranny and subjugation? An act of pluck and courage arising miraculously from the downtrodden Utopian? I don’t think so. Just as there is a thresh- souls of suffering people, politically brow-beaten old of national psychosis that promotes audacious and financially whipped by western oppressors? terrorism, so is there a threshold of collective wisdom that yields a harvest of sweet fruits of compas- Would the real truth please stand up? And it will. sion and caring. You, and I, are very real digits of But why was I witness? Can I possibly understand spiritual energy that can tip the world across the the purpose of death, pain and suffering? No. But I threshold of moral fission — the point where person can choose to learn from it — or run away cowardly and person, nation and nation, beast and animal, all shrugging my shoulders and bearing a glazed look of synergise to multiply the powers of insight and wis- disbelief. The Cosmos is providing me with an inglo- dom throughout the world. Anything less is cheating rious chance to learn a most painful lesson — the the opportunity that the unchoosing martyrs are hard way, through the involuntary sacrifice of thou- offering to us. sands of souls. The temptation continues to wallow Let me share with you seven specific guidelines to in my pain; to torture myself with titillating addic- draw upon for personal and global transformation: tion to the scenes of human guided missiles explod- ing into balls of fire and body projectiles falling (1) Recognize that you are uniquely gifted from awkwardly to certain death, of two of the world’s Above. You are a spiritual configuration unlike any largest buildings imploding into dust and ashes that has ever existed, or will exist. Confer your spe- bathing anyone the in vicinity in ghostly shades of cialness on those who have been deliberately placed ashen dirt, hiding the sun above and the sun within. in your environ — and that includes everyone you Why am I witness? meet and encounter — friend or stranger. So I shake myself out of such daze and stupor. I (2) Nurture your human qualities of compassion, tear myself away from the image of that technologi- sharing, and contribution. Practice these all the time, cally frozen moment of impact, sharing disbelief like a musician practicing scales. Keep putting small with the curbside observers whose lives will be for- coins into charity boxes, dropping coins in the box of street buskers or vagrants. Pay compliments

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology Twin Towers - A Spiritual ness practices so that the soul enjoys a beautiful tem- Reincarnation ple as its abode and means of self-expression. (7) Choose to be a person of faith. Accept the axioms of the sanctity of life over abstract principle, of quality of life over quantity of possessions, of compassion over ego. Allow that faith to be prac- whenever the opportunity beckons. Offer random acts ticed mindfully, consciously, soulfully, at all times. of goodness by maintaining a mindful and conscious Each one of us is a microcosm of the macro-cos- awareness of life’s opportunities. (You will be amazed mos. When the world is in pain, it reflects our per- at the prolific openings that come your way to serve sonal pain. When the world experiences wanton others). destruction, it is when we practice spiritual self- (3) Respond to personal provocation and personal destruction through self-aggrandizement, self insult with a sense of wonderful opportunity to practice absorption, and self-centeredness. other-centeredness. When someone insults, hurts, or The Twin Towers were monuments to our quest to demeans you, you are witnessing their pain, their cam- touch the sky — perhaps a latter day Babel. Now we ouflage, and their fear. They are the ones in true pain, need to reach inwards — to touch the twin qualities whether knowingly or otherwise. Become a of humility and love. Allow these new twins to teacher/healer in that precise moment. Use your wis- emerge from the spiritual womb. Reincarnate the dom of words and silence to help heal them. souls of those torn so rudely from us, but as practi- (4) Practice compassion. Compassion is not the same cal visions for a much better, more caring, and truly as giving in, turning the other cheek, or simple submis- faithful, stance of love and humility. You count. Do sion. Compassion includes self-esteem, assertiveness, it and live it. You are a child of a living, pulsating, and wisdom. Compassion is the wisdom of giving compassionate Creator. wisely. Not all giving is wise. Sometimes giving spoils and denies an opportunity for the other’s growth. Wise Rabbi Wolf, a renowned mystic, author and speaker, lives giving provides the other with the opportunity for a in Australia and lectures worldwide on Kabbalah and growth spurt. This is true compassion. Jewish mysticism. His daily meditations and weekly essays (5) Nurture inner strength. Become strong of charac- can be viewed on his website, www.laiblwolf.com ter, of purpose. Identify your visions, for self and humanity. Formulate goals for their achievement. Strategize practices for the soul’s true expression — at home, at work, and in the world. Inner strength and self esteem include the courage to defend one’s integrity as a person, and property as a nation, but with tears streaming down our cheeks when a just war and battle are thrust upon us, or when punishing a recalcitrant child, or removing an anti-social presence from our midst. (6) Dedicate your heart, mind, and body, to graceful balance. Mind: accumulate data, share people’s life’s experiences, and reflect and meditate. Heart: practice empathy and spend a few moments in the other person’s genetic, environmental, and physiological “shoes”. Body: discipline yourself to health and well-

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology no further exploration or contemplation. Our Sages explain it as a truth that emanates to our conscious- The Sacred and ness from the spark of Divinity that lies within each of us. It is a truth that makes up part of our very The Good being, transcending belief or rationality. Our belief in the sacredness of life — and the manner in which we honor this belief in action — places us on the side of good. Because of it, we don’t A line was drawn in the sand. Good and Evil. murder and we abhor the destruction of life when it Which side are you on? is done by others. We don’t require murder and ter- Of course we are all on the side of good. On ror to take the lives of thousands of people before we September 11, in New York and Washington, the experience outrage and disgust. Even the violent, dividing line became crude, the divisions crystal premeditated end of one life is enough to put us into clear. If evil is the willingness to kill thousands of mourning and shock. It goes against what we innate- people who are innocently going about their daily ly know is the Divine intent. lives, then certainly they are on the side of evil, we In His intent, we are taught, the Creator gave to are on the side of good. each creation the inalienable right and privilege to But, as we know, between these two poles lies discover and fulfill its G-d given, individual pur- many gradations — both poles are parts of a contin- pose. And, from the depths of our heart we know that uum, both lie within a larger field that unites them. no one has the right to judge the value and purpose Indeed, if this were not the case, then we on the side of another’s life or to indiscriminately end it prema- of good could have no effect on evil. Our ability to turely, G-d forbid. affect evil is only because somehow we are all con- If this were not true then we would be like parts nected. of a machine that if destroyed could simply be From this perspective, the absence of good creates replaced. We would have to think of ourselves as liv- an opportunity for the advance of evil, while an ing in a mechanistic, soulless universe in which all abundance of good holds evil at bay. We all play a things are judged by their usefulness in a utilitarian part in the balance. world operating by machine-like rules. We could Our awareness of this connection and interplay then consult the operating manual to learn which of between good and evil allows us to take a bit of the us are replaceable in order to determine who could world back into our own hands. We can join the bat- be destroyed and who needs to remain alive. tle against evil without ever picking up a gun. Instead, we believe that life is sacred, that we are Through our actions we can have an effect on the all created by G-d who has imbued us with a spark total context that has allowed evil to surge to such of Himself and placed us in a world that has order, horrendous strength. value, and purpose. Nothing He creates is superflu- But to achieve this effectively, we must go beyond ous and all things in His world are necessary and of the crude dividing line of murder and terror. value. In other words, we are all part of a G-d-creat- Otherwise, we may feel some degree of satisfaction ed Whole that requires each individual existence. at observing the commandment “Thou shalt not From the perspective of this Whole, each of us is kill”, we may take pride in not being barbarians, but absolutely necessary. Simply put, we matter. we will have nonetheless left the world as it is. Thus, when life is snuffed out, we are all affected. Let us delve deeper and try to understand the We are shocked and dismayed. We know, sense and underlying difference between us and them. feel that the Whole in which we live has been shaken. The act not only claims a life or thousands of For us, life is sacred. To murderers and terrorists them — it is an affront to the very foundations of the it is not. world we live in. And we sense this. Don’t we? We The knowledge that life is sacred comes from know this from a knowing deeper than our ordinary somewhere deep inside our guts. It is part of what knowing. Don’t we? The tragedy of the Twin Towers makes us human. It is an absolute truth that requires felt as if our entire world, our trust, our foundation had been shaken. Didn’t it?

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology the Divinity, the sacredness imbued in each aspect of the world. This essential choice — to choose life or The Sacred and the Good its opposite — is the essential difference between those who choose to be on the side of good or, G-d forbid, those who choose the side of evil. To be on the side of good means much more than simply And it had. Because one of the foundations of our refusing to wantonly kill. To be on the side of good world — one of the laws that G-d put into our world means to “choose life”, to dedicate our lives to to keep it whole and healthy and functioning — is reveal and honor the sacredness of creation. Of time that life is sacred. And this belief, this innate knowl- and space. Of plants, trees and flowers. Of water and edge that G-d placed within us, is what separates sky and air. Of animals. Of our children. Our fami- those of us on the side of good from those on the lies. Our friends. Our communities. side of evil. It is the essence of being human that, The entire body of Jewish law and knowledge is when missing, makes a person less than human, or, devoted to teaching us how we can reveal the sacred- as we have seen, inhuman. ness imbedded in G-d’s creation; how to uncover And in the same way that human life is sacred and express the ultimate purpose and value, the because G-d created it, so is all of creation sacred meaning and importance of each thing, place, because G-d created it. G-d created time and space, moment or person that crosses our path. It teaches us and they too are sacred. G-d created animals, trees how to respect each other and the ground we walk on and stones, and these, too, possess a spark of G-dli- and the places we go to and the miracle that is our ness and sacredness. Each and every one of G-d’s body. It teaches us to value our time and continu- creations is imbued by its Creator with value, intent ously remember how G-d has both carefully por- and purpose. Each of His creations fits into His tioned out our days and given each of us myriad scheme of things, has its irreplaceable place in the ways to make our limited, prescribed lives meaning- order of the world, and is constantly watched over ful, crucial, irreplaceable. and cared for by Him. All of creation shares the And here — in this environment of sacredness — merit of being sacred, though its sacredness may be is where we have the opportunity to evaluate our- hidden or dormant waiting for us to reveal it. selves and our place in current events in a more In giving us the Sabbath G-d demonstrated that refined way, a more personal way, a way that allows time itself can be sacred. And He empowered us us to change and to choose and to affect the world so with the ability to sanctify every second of every that we can add to the good, add to the beauty, add day of our lives and to bring its Divine potential and to the sacredness of life. purpose to fruition. Yes, there were lines drawn in the sand on When G-d told us that the Land of Israel is September 11. But they are lines that can lead to G- sacred, as was the place where Moses saw the burn- d and to the refinement of the world. We can use ing bush and Abraham bound Isaac to the alter, He these terrible times to look at time itself and how we showed us that place too can be sacred, and space. use it, at life and how we live it, at place and space Jerusalem , we are told, is holy, the Beit HaMikdash and environment and how we respect and maintain (“Holy Temple”) even holier, and the Holy of it, and at ourselves and the choices we make as we Holies the holiest of all. Our Chassidic sages teach live out this gift of sacred life. that each of us is empowered with the ability to If we transform time into sacred time, place into make place and space sacred — to make holy our sacred place, and life into sacred life, then there will houses of study and prayer, our homes, and every be no place or time left for terrorism and terrorists to private and public space. By behaving in a manner roost. Instead, they will be like lifeless ghouls, wan- dedicated to and respectful of His purpose, we do dering aimlessly through a sacred universe unable to our part in creating a fitting place here on earth in find a doorway through which to pass, lest it be the which G-d can reveal and manifest His presence. doorway to hell itself. In the Torah, G-d gives us the choice between life By Jay Litvin, [email protected] and its opposite. He encourages us to “choose life”. Jay welcomes your questions and response. He empowers us to choose a path that will reveal Illustration by Chassidic artist Michoel Muchnik www.muchnikarts.com

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology The Jewish Approach to charity and prayer. That’s what the theme of these coming weeks will, indeed must, be. We will not lock our doors in Tragedy fear; we will not retreat into hiding and grief. Rather, we will enter a New Year filled with sadness, but also with purpose, with tears, but also with optimism and joy. This is the only fitting memorial we can cre- The enormity of yesterday’s atrocities has only ate for the thousands of lives shattered and lost. begun to slowly sink in. It hasn’t really — there’s no By each of us adding a little bit of light to the way that our minds can deal with so much raw pain world, we can hopefully ensure that our world will and suffering. never again be marred by pain and darkness, until There’s no way we can ever understand why such we merit the sounding of the great shofar, with the a thing could happen, nor how human beings could onset of a better time. possibly be torn to such extremes: the unfathomable hatred and depravity of the terrorists who threw By Rabbi Dov Wagner, [email protected]. Rabbi Wagner is away their lives in snuffing out so many thousands the Chabad representative on campus at USC; the above of others and those who support them and applaud message is from an e-mail he sent to his constituents. them, and the selfless bravery of the rescue workers who risked or gave their lives trying their utmost to save and help total strangers. We can analyze, theo- rize, and philosophize to no end, but what good would that do? The Kabbalah teaches that there is generally balance in our world, forces of both light and darkness, good and evil. Darkness serves but one purpose: to be transformed and converted to light. A great darkness has been released in the world, a series of coldly planned actions unprecedented in their wanton and random destruction. If we allow this darkness to engulf us, all of those people will continue to suffer, as will we all. But, we don’t have to give in. We have the ability, hard as it may be, to fight back: to build out of the ashes, and to create light out of the darkness. We can choose to add in acts of goodness and kindness, and to do random wanton acts of good in memory of, and counter-balance to, the horrors that have been perpetrated. The Jewish approach to tragedy has always been twofold. On the one hand, we grieve. There is no way any human being can ignore the terrible and tremendous pain being suffered by so many people. However, we do not allow the grief to become all- consuming. We must turn tragedy into triumph, and ashes into rebuilding. We cannot allow those who would destroy us to be successful, by being paralyzed by our sorrow. Let each one of us find ways to add in positive acts of goodness and kindness, of

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology response to the harrowing events of the Shoah is the Silence determined and energetic action to rebuild Jewish family life and Jewish knowledge. Through our power of silence we too, like Aaron, will merit Divine revelation. G-d will bring the Messiah, rebuilding the Temple and bringing lasting peace to the world.

Editor’s note: Dr. Lowenthal wrote this as a com- By Dr. Tali Lowenthal; Based on the teachings of the mentary to the Torah reading of Shemini, which Lubavitcher Rebbe describes Aaron’s reaction to the tragic deaths of his two elder sons, Nadav and Avihu. We find its message appropriate to yesterday’s tragic terror attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon.

And Aaron was silent Leviticus 10:3 Speech signifies comprehensibility. Melody is beyond language, expressing moods which words cannot describe. Silence is yet higher. The power to be silent at certain moments of life and of history is an important strength. It expresses the awareness that G-d is infinite, and cannot be encapsulated in our human conceptions of what should take place. The Talmud tells of an instance in which Moses himself was told by G-d to be silent. G-d showed him in a vision all future generations of the Jewish people, and the leaders of each generation. Moses was greatly impressed by the wisdom of Rabbi Akiva. Then he saw the way the Romans tortured him to death. “Is this the reward of his Torah knowledge?” Moses asked. G-d answered: “Be silent. Thus it arose in My thought”. This is not to say that the Torah advocates a fatal- istic approach to life. Before the event, one must do everything possible to prevent tragedy. But once it has happened, G-d forbid, through the acceptance and the silence we reach a special closeness to the Divine. Our Sages tell us that because Aaron was silent, he was rewarded by G-d speaking directly to him. In our generation, too, there is a need for this power of silence. It is not a passive power, but one that leads to vigorous and joyous action. The Jewish

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology instruments. This theme is repeated throughout the Torah. How Do You Fight When the snake approached Eve, the sages explain, she wasn’t ready to give it the time of day. In her Evil? world, the snake might as well not even existed. So the snake had to say, “Is it true you’re not allowed to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” Of course the snake knew this was a lie. But this way, Eve took notice of it. The snake became someone worth For decades, the word was taboo. If you spoke it answering. And therefore, empowered to make a on the radio, they would blip it out. Only fundamen- mess. talist preachers, stirring the fear of the hell and Similarly, Moses. Moses began his career as lib- damnation into their flock would use such a word in erator when he killed an Egyptian taskmaster who public. Or perhaps a vendor of perfumes, luring the was beating a Jewish slave to death. When he dis- darker side of its consumers. covered that his deed had become public knowledge, But today, it’s everywhere. the Torah tells us that “&Moses was afraid. And Pharaoh sought to have him killed. So he fled&” The word is ‘evil’. As one commentator put it, on First Moses was afraid. Only then did Pharaoh seek 9/11 the world had a moment of clarity. There, on the to have him killed. Without Moses’ fear, Pharaoh TV set, for all to see, was unadulterated, indismissi- had no power. ble, raw evil. Moral relativism died at 2000º Fahrenheit. All the more reason why 9/11 was our moment of clarity: Because we saw this no longer as an idea, But not so easy: Now that we’re all allowed to use but clearly acted out, a metaphor in action. the word again, what is it? These people who wish to bring us down in terror, Is it a real thing, with substance and power? Or is do they have any power of their own? Do they have it no more than the absence of truth, a vacuum of resources that can feed a populace? Ideas that can reality, darkness, a negation of light? If it is real, then thrust them ahead of our progress? Do they attack us how could G-d have allowed it in His world? But if with missiles of their own device and engineering? it is only darkness, how is it possible for darkness to defy light? No. They have nothing of their own. They were empowered by us through the bizarre machinations No answer will satisfy us entirely. Evil is too close of Cold War politics. They wield razor blades bought to us to see clearly; too painful to place a label upon. in our hardware stores, and with them they hijack We feel that perhaps we are callously justifying the airplanes we devised to better our standard of life. horrors that have befallen good people. Perhaps we They strike fear in our hearts with powder stolen are rationalizing G-d — and ourselves — off the from our laboratories. Dust. Knowing full well they hook. But, on the other hand, without any grasp of cannot infect a nation. But they can get us real what evil is, how can we be expected to fight it? scared. And for evil, that is already a victory. In Torah the metaphor for evil is darkness. No Because then, through our fear, evil has become real. more than the absence of truth. A void of reality. Like Knowing this is immensely useful. Once we have darkness, Evil has no power of its own. From where, found evil’s secret, we know how to deflate it. The then, does it derive the power to cause so much pain strategy is almost identical, whether it be the evil in the world? Generally speaking, from us, from our that sweeps the globe or within your community, or fear of it. That we consider it a “something” worth that lies in the darker recesses of your own heart, negotiating. waiting to terrorize you at any chance. With every spoonful of worry we foster it, with It is not a simple solution, because we have every glance of trepidation, every concession we already nurtured evil to the point that it thrives and make from our lives to acknowledge its threat — grows each day. At the beginning, Adam and Eve until Evil rises brazenly to attack us with our own

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology Because evil forces us to reach deep inside, to find How Do You Fight Evil? our inner strength, climbing ever higher, until reaching a brilliant, blinding light — a light that leaves no crevice for darkness to hide. Against that light, Evil melts in surrender, having fulfilled its purpose of being. For, in the beginning, darkness was made with a single intent: To squeeze out the inner light of the human soul. A light that knows no bounds. Fight evil with beauty. Defy darkness with infinite could have simply ignored it and it would have light. eventually dissolved into the sparks of G-dly light they revealed in the Garden. But once Evil has been fed and lives out of its bag, it can never be dealt with By Tzvi Freeman, [email protected], so smoothly again. author of Be Within, Stay Above. Nevertheless, our major weapon against Evil is still our disregard for it. This is perhaps the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s most common response to those who wrote asking for counsel to deal with the Evil in their daily lives — whether it be anger, temptation, disturbing thoughts, bad dreams&over and over, the Rebbe writes, “do more good and remove your mind from the issue.” Even in matters of health, the Rebbe advised, “Find a good doctor, who will be concerned with your problems. Then simply follow his instructions and remove your mind from the sickness.” On a global scale, Evil is not something to fear, much less negotiate with. That only gives it more power. Yes, there are times when you have no choice but to battle Evil — as the Maccabees did against the Syrian-Greek oppressor. But stoop to conquer Evil and you will only join it in its mud. Against Evil, you must march to battle on the clouds. You must trample it while never looking down. On the contrary, while in battle against evil, you must find yourself reaching higher and higher. That is why it is so important today for us to create more light. Even a little light pushes away a lot of darkness. For every shadow of darkness we have seen, we must produce megawatts of blinding light. Just as those possessed by evil did the wild and unreasonable, beyond that which the craziest doom- sayer could have predicted, so, too, we must do kindness beyond reason. In fact, this is the purpose of evil, why a G-d who is entirely good devised evil to be in His world.

Voices - One Year Later: A no room for anything else. You could destroy the 9/11 Anthology world with this belief. Hasn't Belief in For this idea to enter our world, another knowledge had to be married to it, a crucial fact about this G-d caused as One G-d: That He is in love with the world He has made, and especially with the people He has placed much Evil as upon it. The Long Answer: Good? For the “long answer”, let me tell you a story from the Holy Zohar, mentioned also in the Midrash Rabbah. A story I call The Aleph Files [to view “The aleph Files” Dear Rabbi, www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=43152] Turns out that monotheism is a solution to nothing. Before monotheism, we had barbarians. After By Tzvi Freeman, [email protected], monotheism, we have barbarians. Monotheistic bar- author of Be Within, Stay Above. barians. What’s the difference between them and us? We have one G-d. So do they. We pray to Him three times a day, they do five. We smash idols, so do they. Our goal is for all pagans to perish from the face of the earth; so is theirs. And here’s the scary part: They give up their lives in the name of Allah. Well, what do we have to say about that? We have martyrs galore! Why, Abraham was ready to sacrifice his own son for G-d’s sake. Then there’s the story of Chana and her seven sons. We even have a name for it: Kiddush Hashem — “the sanctification of G-d’s holy name.” They say it’s the highest level a Jew could reach. And he goes straight to heaven. Fact is, this wonderful monotheism of yours has made lush forest and pasture into desert, shackled the poor into their poverty, and closed one-fifth of humanity to the advance of humanitarianism. Of the thirty armed conflicts in the world today, Moslems are involved in twenty-eight of them. So what was the whole point of this one G-d idea? So that people could get blown up for eating pizza? So that Allah could delight in the smoke of the twin towers? How can you tell me that monotheism is such a great idea, when it brings to such hor- rifying catastrophe? The Short Answer: You’re right. Monotheism is a dangerous idea. The most dangerous idea there is, because it leaves

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology older people in our neighborhood shul — were so “normal”. Certainly, the Holocaust was a most trag- Transcending ic and painful disruption of their lives; but once it was over, they simply picked up what was left got on Fear with the joys and sorrows of living. These were not people who were indifferent to their physical existence. They cared about their homes and businesses, about their health and safety and savings accounts, as much as anyone else. But Fear has infiltrated our lives like a deadly white they knew that that’s not all there is. Their physical powder wafting through the soul of America. lives served a higher purpose; their physical world Perhaps this is the great change that everyone was an offshoot of a higher, eternal, indestructible senses to have occurred on September 11. reality. Whatever was going to happen was not “the Thousands have died, and thousands more have end of the world” since even the end of the world is been directly affected by their deaths. A wider circle not the end of the world. is bearing the brunt of the economic repercussions. The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef But the most wide-ranging effect is this new, awful Yitzchak Schneersohn, who spent many years bat- fear, this seeping dread that is slowly filling the tling the Communist regime’s attempt to eradicate space where our hearts used to be. Judaism in the Soviet Union in the 1920’s, recounts Is there an answer to this fear? Is there some way an incident which took place during one of his many to still this terror, to reclaim our supplanted hearts? interrogations by the NKVD and GPU (forerunners of the KGB). At one point, the interrogator bran- dished a revolver in the Rebbe’s face and said: “This When I was growing up, most of the grown-ups I toy does away with ‘principles’. Fear of it has knew were Holocaust survivors. Some had survived opened many a mouth, and even the dumb have the war years as young children hidden with non- become talkative before it.” Jewish families, warned not to ask for Mommy and “This toy,” the Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak calmly Daddy or to utter their real name. Some were in the replied, “strikes fear in the heart of a person who has camps. Virtually all had lost loved ones: parents, but a single world and many gods. But as for us, who bothers, sisters, children. have two worlds and one G-d, it makes no impres- They were also Torah-observant Jews. I don’t sion whatsoever.” know how “religious” or how “spiritual” they were — I don’t know what exactly they felt when they prayed, put on tefillin, or performed any of the other By Yanki Tauber, [email protected] mitzvot that defined their daily lives. But I know that they went about their lives with the quite conviction that they were doing what G-d wanted them to do, that their lives were part of something greater than themselves. Perhaps this explains the surprising normalcy of their lives. It was many years before I learned — from magazine articles, films and books — about the traumas that darken many survivors’ lives and even afflict their second and third generations. It was even longer before I realized that I should be wondering why all these people I know — my parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and all the

Voices - One Year Later: A 9/11 Anthology Why Does Esau Cruelty is implanted in the heart of man so that we should tap its intensity to fuel acts of kindness infinitely more potent than kindness itself could ever Hate Jacob? produce. Evil exists to be exploited by goodness. The soul of Esau knows this—that he exists sole- ly to serve his younger brother. That no matter how ferociously he resists this truth, that ferociousness itself will ultimately be Jacob’s. In Genesis 33:4, the Torah tells us about a kiss: That’s why Esau hates Jacob so much: because he after thirty-four years in which Jacob had fled his knows that his hate is not his own. brother’s wrath, and in which Esau had never ceased plotting to kill him, Esau has a change of By Yanki Tauber, [email protected]; based on heart. Seeing Jacob approach, Esau runs to him, the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe www.therebbe.org embraces him, and kisses him. But the word vayishakeihu, “and he kissed him”, has a line of dots above it, which is the Torah’s way of telling us that this was not a normal kiss. What was abnormal about this kiss? Well, the Midrash cites two interpretations. One is that the Torah is telling us that it was not a true kiss—Esau was really trying to kill Jacob by bit- ing his throat. The other interpretation is that Esau kissed Jacob with all his heart—that’s what was abnormal about the kiss, since “we know that it is a cardinal law of reality that Esau hates Jacob.” Either way you look at it, the bottom line is that Esau hates Jacob. No matter what Jacob does, Esau hates him. If Jacob appeases him, gives him gifts, acts towards him like the brother he is, Esau hates him even more. But why? Why does Esau hate Jacob? But first we should ask: Why does Esau exist at all? Why is there evil in our world? Why is there hatred and darkness? What would be wrong with a world consisting only of goodness, love and light? Evil exists because it is so much more powerful than good. Is there a lover in the world who loves with the intensity that a hater hates? Is there a light as bright as darkness is black? Has there ever been an act of kindness unleashed with the force and vigor contained in an act of cruelty? That is why, say the Kabbalists, G-d created evil. Darkness exists so that it should be transformed into light, resulting in a luminance infinitely greater than light itself could ever yield.

PARSHAH in a nutshell Rosh Hashanah Genesis 21:1-34; Genesis 22:1-24 September 6-7, 2002

G-d remembers Sarah and gives her and Abraham a son, who is named Isaac (Yitzchak) meaning “will laugh”; Abraham is 100 years old, and Sarah 90. Isaac is circumcised at the age of eight days. Hagar and Ishmael are banished from Abraham’s home and wander in the desert; G-d hears the cry of the dying lad and saves his life by showing his mother a well. The Philistine king Avimelech makes a treaty with Abraham at Be’er Sheva. G-d commands Abraham to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount) in Jerusalem. Isaac is bound and placed on the altar, and Abraham raises the knife to slaughter his son. A voice from heaven calls to stop him, saying it was a test; a ram, caught in the undergrowth by horns, is offered in Isaac’s place.

Rosh Hashanah Genesis 21:1-34; Genesis 22:1-24 September 7-8, 2002 Sarah declared, “G-d has made laughter for me, so that all that hear will laugh with me.”

Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as G-d had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was Reading for First Day of Rosh Hashanah born to him.

The Birth of Isaac The Torah then tells of a great feast that Abraham made “on the day that Isaac was weaned.” Exactly a year after the three angels visited Abraham and Sarah and delivered G-d’s promise that a son shall The Banishment of Hagar and Ishmael be born to them (as related in Genesis 18), Abraham already had a son, Ishmael, born 14 years G-d remembered Sarah as He had said, and G-d earlier to Hagar, the Egyptian maid whom Sarah urged did to Sarah as He had spoken. him to marry in her barren years. As had been predicted, Ishmael grows to become “a wild man—his hand Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his against every man, and every man’s hand against him.” old age, at the set time of which G-d had spoken Sarah, fearing Ishmael’s negative influence upon her to him. son, urges Abraham to “Banish this maidservant and her son: for the son of this maidservant shall not be The boy is named Yitzchak (“will laugh”), because, as heir with my son, with Isaac.”

Commentary THAT HEAR WILL LAUGH (YITZ’CHAK) WITH ME (21:6) The concept of Rosh Hashanah as the day of G-ds “coronation” as king G-D REMEMBERED SARAH (GENESIS 21:1) of the universe explains a most puzzling paradox in the nature of the day. On the one hand, Rosh Hashanah is when we stand before the “Remembrance” is one of the three primary themes of Rosh Hashanah Supreme King and tremulously accept the “yoke of His sovereignty.” (the other two being “Kingship” and “Shofarot”). For it is the day on On the other hand, it is a festival (yom tov), celebrated amidst much which “the remembrance of all of existence comes before You.” In the feasting and rejoicing—a day on which we are enjoined to “Eat sump- words of the U’nesaneh Tokef prayer: tuous foods and drink sweet beverages, and send portions to those for “On this day... You will remember all that was forgotten. You will open whom nothing is prepared, for the day is holy to our L-rd; do not be dis- the Book of Memory—it will read itself, and everyone’s signature is in tressed, for the joy of the L-rd is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). it... and all mankind will pass before You like sheep. Like a shepherd But such is the nature of a coronation: it is an event that combines trep- inspecting his flock, making his sheep pass under his staff, so shall You idation and joy, awe and celebration. For true kingship, as opposed to run by, count, calculate, and consider the soul of all the living; You will mere rulership, derives from the willful submission of a people to their apportion the fixed needs of all Your creatures, and inscribe their ver- sovereign. So the coronation of a king includes a display of reverence dict. and awe on the part of the people, conveying their submission to the “On Rosh Hashanah it will be inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it will be king; as well as the joy that affirms that their submission is willful and sealed: How many shall pass on, and how many shall be born; who will desirous. live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who (From the Chassidic Masters) before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst, who by storm, who by plague, who by strangulation, and who by stoning; who will rest and who will wan- IN ALL THAT SARAH SAYS TO YOU, HEARKEN TO HER VOICE (21:12) der, who will live in harmony and who will be harried; who will enjoy This teaches us that Sarah was superior to Abraham in prophesy. tranquility and who will suffer; who will be impoverished and who will (Rashi) be enriched; who will be degraded and who will be exalted...”

AND G-D HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LAD (21:17) AND SARAH SAID:G-D HAS MADE LAUGHTER FOR ME, SO THAT ALL This teaches us that a person’s prayer for himself is preferable to others

Rosh Hashanah Genesis 21:1-34; Genesis 22:1-24 September 7-8, 2002 wept.

Abraham is reluctant to do so until G-d intervenes, And G-d heard the voice of the lad; and the angel telling him: “In all that Sarah says to you, hearken to of G-d called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” her “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for G-d has heard the voice of the lad where he is…” Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, And G-d opened her eyes, and she saw a well of putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent water; and she went, and filled the bottle with her away: and she departed, and wandered in the water, and gave the lad drink. wilderness of Be’er-Sheva. And G-d was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt Their water, however, runs out quickly in the desert in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he heat, and soon Ishmael is faint with heat and thirst; dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother Hagar took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she The Covenant with Avimelech went off… the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Let me not see the death of the child.” And she Avimelech the king of the Philistines, who had earlier sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and driven Abraham from his country, now comes seeking a

Commentary into being!” praying for him, and is sooner to be accepted. (For though the verse If they refused Abraham would demand payment for the food they had speaks of Hagar’s weeping, it tells us that it was Ishmael’s cry which eaten. “How much do I owe you?” they would ask. “A jug of wine is G-d heard). one furlin,” Abraham would say; “a pound of meat, one furlin; a loaf of (Midrash Rabbah; Rashi) bread, one furlin.” When the guest would protest these exorbitant prices, Abraham would counter: “Who supplies you with wine in the middle of the desert? Who supplies you with meat in the desert? Who FOR G-D HAS HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LAD WHERE HE IS (21:17) supplies you with bread in the desert?” When the guest would realize The ministering angels hastened to indict him, exclaiming: “Sovereign the predicament he was in he would relent and proclaim: “Blessed be of the Universe! Would You bring up a well for one who will one day the G-d of the world, from whose providence we have eaten.” slay Your children with thirst?” “What is he now?” asked G-d. (Midrash Rabbah; Tosofot Shantz on Sotah 10) “Righteous,” said the angels. Said G-d: “I judge man only as he is at the moment.” (Midrash Rabbah; Rashi) What value, we might ask, was there in such an unwilling proclama- tion, extracted under duress? Was this not a mere mouthing of words, devoid of any conviction as to the truth of the One G-d or any desire to AND HIS MOTHER TOOK HIM A WIFE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT thank Him for His providence? (21:21) Said Rabbi Yitzchak: Throw a stick into the air, and it will fall back to But Abraham had a vision of humanity which convinced him that every its place of origin (the ground). It is written, “And she had a handmaid, positive deed, word or thought does have value, no matter how “super- an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar” (Genesis 16:1); therefore, “his ficial” or “hypocritical” it might seem to a less discerning eye. When mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.” Abraham looked at his guests, he did not see pagans and idolaters; he (Midrash Rabbah) saw creatures of G-d, men and women who had been created in the Divine image and possessed a potential, inherent to the very essence of their being, to recognize their Creator and serve His will. ABRAHAM ESTABLISHED AN ESHEL AT BEER SHEVA; THERE HE CALLED THENAMEOFG-D,G-D OF THE WORLD (21:33) Most often, a kind word and a helping hand will bring to light this inner potential. At times, however, a soul might be so encrusted by negative When Abrahams guests wished to bless him for his generosity, he influences and a corrupted character that a certain degree of “pressure” would say to them: “Has the food you have eaten been provided by must be applied to quell its resistance to a G-dly deed. (Of course, any myself? You should thank, praise and bless He who spoke the world use of such “pressure” must conform to the dictates of G-ds Torah,

Rosh Hashanah Genesis 21:1-34; Genesis 22:1-24 September 7-8, 2002 The Binding of Isaac And it came to pass after these things, that G-d did test Abraham. And He said to him: “Abraham!” covenant of peace with the Hebrew. “G-d is with you in all that you do,” says the king; let us swear to each And he said: “Here I am!” other that neither of us will show hostility to the other And He said: “Please, take your son, your only son, or the other’s offspring. the one whom you love, Isaac; and get thee into Abraham agrees, and gives Avimelech seven sheep as a the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt testimony to the resolution of a past controversy offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell between them over a well that Abraham had dug. The thee of.” place is thus named Be’er Sheva (“Well of the Oath” And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and and “Well of the Seven”). saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men Abraham establishes an eshel (wayside inn) at Be’er with him, and Isaac his son, and broke up the Sheva, where he “called the name of G-d, G-d of the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went world.” to the place of which G-d had told him.

Reading for Second Day of Rosh Hashanah Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his

Commentary that I be slaughtered, I would not refuse. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: “This is the moment!” whose “ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its pathways are (Midrash Rabbah) peace”—as in the case of Abrahams fully legitimate demand for payment.) Jewishness is not a matter of historical conscious, outlook, ethics, or Abraham understood that no human acknowledgment of G-d can ever even behavior; it is a state of being. This is the deeper significance of be “hypocritical.” On the contrary: a denial of G-d is the ultimate the debate between Ishmael and Isaac. When the Jew is circumcised on hypocrisy, for it is at variance with the persons quintessential being. the eighth day of life, he is completely unaware of the significance of When a creature of G-d proclaims “Blessed be the G-d of the world what has occurred. But this “non-experience” is precisely what circum- from whose providence we have eaten,” nothing can be more consistent cision means. With circumcision the Jew says: I define my relationship with his or her innermost self. with G-d not by what I think, feel or do, but by the fact of my (From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe) Jewishness—a fact which equally applies to an infant of eight days and a sage of eighty years. (From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe) AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTER THESE THINGS, THAT G-DDIDTEST ABRAHAM (22:1) Said Rabbi Jonathan: A potter does not examine defective vessels, AND HE SADDLED HIS DONKEY (22:3) because he cannot give them a single blow without breaking them. This is the very same donkey which Moses Rode to Egypt (cf. Exodus What then does he examine? Only the sound vessels, for he will not 4:20); and this is the very same donkey upon which the Messiah will break them even with many blows. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be arrive (cf. Zechariah 9:9) He, tests not the wicked but the righteous. (Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 25) (Midrash Rabbah)

AND HE BOUND ISAAC HIS SON (22:9) Isaac and Ishmael were engaged in a controversy& Said Ishmael to Can one bind a man thirty-seven years old without his consent? Isaac: “I am more beloved to G-d than you, since I was circumcised at But when Abraham made to sacrifice his son Isaac, Isaac said to him: the age of thirteen, but you were circumcised as a baby and could not Father, I am a young man and am afraid that my body may tremble refuse.” Isaac retorted: “All that you gave up to G-d was three drops of through fear of the knife and I will grieve you, whereby the slaughter blood. But lo, I am now thirty-seven years old, yet if G-d desired of me may be rendered unfit and this will not count as a real sacrifice; there-

Rosh Hashanah Genesis 21:1-34; Genesis 22:1-24 September 7-8, 2002 And an angel of G-d called to him out of heaven, and said: “Abraham! Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am!” young men: “Stay here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to And he said: “Lay not your hand upon the lad, nei- you.” ther do anything to him: for now I know that you do fear G-d, seeing that you have not withheld your And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, son, your only son, from Me.” and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and the knife; and they went both of And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked; and them together. behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, and offered him up for a burnt offering in place of “My father!” and he said, “Here I am, my son.” his son. And he said: “Behold the fire and the wood: but And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai- where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Yireh (“G-d will be revealed”); as it is said to this And Abraham said: “G-d will provide himself a lamb day: “On the mount G-d will appear.” for a burnt offering, my son.” And they went both The reading concludes with report of a granddaughter of them together. born to Abraham’s brother, Nachor, named Rebecca And they came to the place which G-d had told him (destined to become Isaac’s wife). of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

Commentary fore bind me very firmly.” (Midrash Rabbah)

AND ABRAHAM CALLED THE NAME OF THAT PLACE ADONAI-YIREH (22:14) Shem (the son of Noah) called it Salem, as it is written “And Melchizedek king of Salem” (Genesis 14: 18). Said the Holy One, blessed be He: If I call it Yireh as did Abraham, then Shem, a righteous man, will resent it; while if I call it Salem as did Shem, Abraham, the righteous man, will resent it. Hence I will call it Jerusalem, including both names, Yireh Salem. (Midrash Rabbah)

service of the Almighty.” Rosh-Hashanah ______From the Chassidic Masters: This particular question—what is it that sets apart the Akeidah from the countless other instances of human martyrdom and self-sacrifice—is raised by THE BINDING OF ISAAC almost all the commentaries and expounders of Torah. For the “Binding of Isaac” has come to represent The founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi the ultimate in the Jew’s devotion to G-d. Every Schneur Zalman of Liadi, once related: morning, we preface our prayers by reading the In Mezeritch, it was extremely difficult to be Torah’s account of the Akeidah and then say: accepted as a disciple of our master, Rabbi DovBer. “Master of the Universe! Just as Abraham our father There were a group of Chassidim who, having failed suppressed his compassion for his only son to do to merit to learn directly from our master, wanted to Your will with a whole heart, so may Your compas- at least serve his pupils: to bring them water to wash sion suppress Your wrath against us, and may Your their hands upon waking, to sweep the floors of the mercy prevail over Your attributes of strict justice.” study hall, to heat the ovens during the winter And on Rosh Hashanah, when the world trembles months, and so on. These were known as “the oven in judgment before G-d, we evoke the Binding of stokers.” Isaac by sounding the horn of a ram (reminiscent of One winter night, as I lay on a bench in the study the ram which replaced Isaac as an offering) as if to hall, I overheard a conversation between three of the say: If we have no other merit, remember Abraham’s “oven stokers.” “What was the specialty of the test of deed. Remember how the first Jew bound all suc- the Akeidah?” the first one asked. “If G-d had ceeding generations of Jews in a covenant of self- revealed Himself to me and commanded me to sacri- sacrifice to You. fice my only son, would I not obey?” Obviously, the supreme test of a person’s faith is Answering his own question, he said: “If G-d told his willingness to sacrifice his very existence for its me to sacrifice my only son, I would delay my doing sake. But what is so unique about Abraham’s sacri- so for a while, to keep him with me for a few days. fice? Have not countless thousands of Jews given Abrahams greatness lay in that he arose early in the their lives rather than renounce their covenant with morning to immediately fulfill the Divine com- the Almighty? mand.” One might perhaps explain that the willingness to Said the second one: “If G-d told me to sacrifice sacrifice one’s child is a far greater demonstration of my only son, I, too, would waste not a moment to faith than to forfeit one’s own life. But in this, too, carry out His command. But I would do so with a Abraham was not unique. Time and again through heavy heart. Abrahams greatness lay in that he went the generations, Jews have encouraged their children to the Akeidah with a heart full of joy over the oppor- to go to their deaths rather than violate their faith. tunity to fulfill G-d’s will.” Typical is the story of “Chanah and her seven sons,” Said the third: “I, too, would carry out G-d’s will who, seeing her seven children tortured to death with joy. I think that Abrahams uniqueness lies in his rather than bow before a Greek idol, proclaimed: reaction upon finding out that it was all a test. When “My children! Go to Abraham your father and say to G-d commanded him Do not touch the child, and do him: You bound one offering upon the altar, and I nothing to him, Abraham was overjoyed—not have bound seven offerings...” because his only child would not die, but because he Furthermore, while Abraham was prepared to sac- was being given the opportunity to carry out another rifice his son, in thousands of Akeidot throughout our command of G-d.” history Jews actually gave up their lives and the lives Rabbi Schneur Zalman concluded: “Do you think of their entire families. And, unlike Abraham, G-d this was mere talk? Each of them was describing the had not directly spoken to them and requested their degree of self-sacrifice he himself had attained in his sacrifice; their deeds were based on their own con- victions and the strength of their commitment to an

the Akeida with a metaphor: Once there was a untamed wilderness. Not a trail Rosh-Hashanah penetrated its thick underbrush, not a map charted its forbidding terrain. But one day there came a man From the Chassidic Masters: who accomplished the impossible: he cut a path through this impregnable land. Many trod in his footsteps. It was still a most dif- invisible and often elusive G-d. And many gave their ficult journey, but they had his charts to consult, his lives rather than violate even a relatively minor tenet trail to follow. Over the years, there were some who of their faith, even in cases in which the Torah does made the journey under even more trying conditions not require the Jew to do so. than those which had challenged the first pioneer: Nevertheless, as the Abrabanel writes in his com- while he had done his work in broad daylight, they mentary on Genesis, it is the Binding of Isaac “that stumbled about in the black of night; while he had is forever on our lips in our prayers... For in it lies the only his determination for company, they made the entire strength of Israel and their merit before their trip weighed down by heavy burdens. But all were Heavenly Father...” Why? What about the many equally indebted to him. Indeed, all their attainments thousands who made the ultimate sacrifice in reiter- could be said to be but extensions of his own great ation of our loyalty to G-d? deed. The same question may be asked in regard to Abraham was the pioneer of self sacrifice. And the Abraham himself. The Akeidah was the tenth and first instance of true self sacrifice in all of history final “test” in Abraham’s life. In his first test of faith, was the Binding of Isaac. Abraham was cast into a fiery furnace for his refusal For to sacrifice one’s self is not the same as to sac- to acknowledge the arch-idol of his native Ur rifice one’s life—there is a world of difference Casdim, the emperor Nimrod, and his continued between the two. commitment to teaching the world the truth of a one, non-corporeal and omnipotent G-d. All this before The human story includes many chapters of hero- G-d had revealed Himself to him and had chosen ic sacrifice. Every generation and society has had its him and his descendents to serve as a “light unto the martyrs—individuals who gave their lives for their nations” and the purveyors of His word to humanity. faith, for their homeland, and for virtually every cause under the sun. They did so for a variety of rea- This early act of self-sacrifice seems, in a certain sons. For some it was an act of desperation: to them, respect, to be even greater than the latter ones. A their lives were not worth living unless a certain man, all on his own, comes to recognize the truth and objective could be attained. Others believed that devotes himself to its dissemination—to the extent their deed would be richly rewarded in the hereafter, that he is even willing to sacrifice his very life to this so they readily exchanged the temporal benefits of end. All this without a command or even sign from physical life for the soul’s eternal gain. Finally, there Above. were those for whom their cause had grown to be And yet, the Binding of Isaac is considered the more significant to them than their lives: they had most important test of Abraham’s faith. The Talmud come to so completely identify with a certain goal asks: Why did G-d, in commanding Abraham on the that it became more integral to their “self” than their Akeidah, say “Please, take your son”? Answers the existence as individuals. Talmud: “G-d said to Abraham: ‘I have tried you In all the above cases, the martyr is sacrificing his with many tests and you have withstood them all. life, but not his self. Indeed, he is sacrificing his Now, I beg you, please withstand this test for Me, physical life for the sake of his self, whether it is for lest they say that the earlier ones were of no sub- the sake of the self projected by his obsession, the stance’” (Talmud, Sanhedrin 89b). spiritual self of his immortal soul, or a broader, uni- Again we ask, Why? Granting that the Akeidah versal “self” he has come to identify with. was the most demanding test of all, why are the oth- Ultimately, his is a selfish act; “selfish” in the most ers “of no substance” without it? positive and altruistic sense of the word—here is an The Chassidic Masters explain the significance of individual who has succeeded in transcending the

self for the sake of something beyond the scope of the most transcendent of identities. Had he not done so, no other act of self-sacrifice—previous or subse- Nitzavim-Vayelech quent, of his own or of his descendents—could be From the Chassidic Masters: presumed to be of any “substance,” to be anything more than a product of the self. But when Abraham bound Isaac upon the altar, the heavenly voice proclaimed: “Now I know that you fear G-d.” Now I narrow, material definition of “self” which domi- know that the will of G-d supersedes even your most nates in our corporeal world—but selfish nonethe- basic instincts. Now I know that all your deeds, less. including those which could be explained as self- Abraham was a man with a mission. A mission for motivated, are, in essence, driven by the desire to which he sacrificed everything, a mission more serve your Creator. Now I know that your entire life important to him than his own life. was of true, selfless substance. For many years he had agonized over the fact that So when we speak of the Akeidah, we also speak there was no heir to this mission, that his work of of those who trod the path this great deed blazed. Of bringing the beliefs and ethics of Monotheism to a the countless thousands who died for the creed of pagan world would cease with his passing from the Abraham, of the many millions who lived for its world. Then came the Divine promise: miraculously, sake. Their sacrifices, great and petty, cataclysmic at the age of 100, he will have a son, out of whom and everyday, may, on the surface, seem but the out- will stem the people of Israel. “You shall call his growth of their personal beliefs and aspirations: name Isaac,” said G-d, “and I shall establish My commendable and extraordinary, but only the fulfill- covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and ment of an individual soul’s identity. But the Akeidah with his descendants after him.” revealed them to be so much more than that. And then G-d told him to destroy it all. For Abraham bequeathed to his descendents the When Abraham bound Isaac upon the altar, it was essence of Jewishness: that at the core of one’s very not in the service of any calling or cause. In fact, it being lies not the self but one’s commitment to the ran contrary to everything he believed in and taught, Creator. And that, ultimately, one’s every choice and to everything he had sacrificed his life for, to every- act is an expression of that “spark of Divinity” with- thing G-d Himself had told him. He could see no rea- in. son, no purpose for his act. Every element of his self cried out against it—his material self, his spiritual Based on the teachings of self, his transcendent, altruistic self. But he did it. the Lubavitcher Rebbe, www.therebbe.org; Why? Because G-d had told him to. adapted by Yanki Tauber, [email protected] Abraham was the pioneer of self sacrifice. Before Abraham, the self was inviolable territory. Man could enlighten the self’s priorities, he could even broaden and sublimate it, but he could not supersede it. Indeed, how could he? As a creature of free choice, man’s every act stems from within: his every deed has a motive (conscious or otherwise), and his every motive has a rationale—a reason why it is ben- eficial to his own existence. So how could he be motivated to annihilate his own self? The instinct to preserve and enhance one’s self is the source and objective of a creature’s every drive and desire— man could no more transcend it than lift himself up by pulling on the hair of his own head. Yet Abraham did the impossible. He sacrificed his