What's wrong with David Gottlieb, or why we should stop G-d's advocacy

In a recent discussion on Facebook someone brought up David Gottlieb's brochure, named " Living up to the Truth" - as your Final Argument for the Absolute Truth of Torah and Judaism.
Before we examine some of the ideas in this brochure, let me explain to you why am I even bothered to address it, and why I think this issue is so critically important.
Gottlieb represents a particular tendency in the outreach world, that despite it's many failures and obvious wrongs ( both moral and factual ) - is still viewed by many of its adherents as some sort of a Magic Tool, that really "gets you there". Basic idea is this- let's " prove Judaism " to uneducated masses, and bring them forth to become true believers! And since we live in the age of science, all sorts of arguments are used, proving authenticity of the Torah from archaeology and history from natural sciences and statistics ( think of Torah codes and Discovery seminar )
Proponents of this approach fail to see, how often they cross the line of " end justifies means "- when your goal is so holy ( "making people frum" ) that you can use all sorts of arguments in the process, even if only partially true, or biased and selective at best- often going against consensus in the mainstream scientific community, and almost never accurate, if you examine them carefully.
On philosophical grounds, suggestion that We know all the Truth is simply delusional- you are not going to find anyone among major philosophers of today who would even take it seriously. Beginning with Kantian refutation of all "arguments for G-d", that were so popular in medieval philosophy, we are moving further and further away from this absolutist, one-truth-only picture of the world, and here comes a challenge to our conventional religious worldview- are we willing to become a bit more humble in our attempts "to figure out G-d" ?
These questions and tendencies of our Post-modernist world seem to pass unnoticed by our Kiruv Apologists. But my argument against "gottliebs" goes much deeper- I believe that such an approach is  theologically inconsistent and morally wrong ! 
And let me illustrate my point, by bringing a few ideas from Gottlieb's treatise " Living up to the
Truth ", which we shall analyze.

At first he makes an interesting argument that we can't ask a question whether "Torah is relevant"- and here's his reasoning
The only way in which I can ask if the Torah is relevant or not is to have already decided not to treat it as true, not to take it on its own terms, in terms of its own self-conception, but rather to set 
something else up as a standard of what shall or shall not be relevant. 
The Torah is that to which other things have to be relevant, if they are to be relevant at all. 
The question then becomes not: Is the Torah relevant to me, to mankind, to society? and so forth, but the question then becomes: Am I relevant to the Torah? Is my life a relevant life? I become the subject matter of the question, not the one who asks of the question.
Hmm, basically he says that Torah ( before he even brought us any arguments to support his claim that it can be proven True rationally )- is an absolute standard, by definition- and we humans must look at ourselves as mere "tools" to accomplish what the Torah tells us, basically turning our very
existence into machine-like Obedience to the Eternal Law.
 While I must admit that such way of thinking is becoming more and more popular in the Ultra-Orthodox circles ( to which Gottlieb himself belongs ), I strongly reject his claim that this is an authentic Torah-true view, which he clearly suggests.
Two points to consider-
1). Judaism starts with Abraham, who questions G-d and even argues with him, for the sake of humanity and loving kindness - something Noach failed to do, when he simply followed the orders, allowing  the Flood to happen- in other words, he was Gottlieb's role-model of Obedient "subject matter of the question", he didn't question G-d, and it didn't disturb him at all that all of humans are going to die - if G-d wishes so it must be right, he argued. But that's certainly not a Jewish way of thinking.
2). Rav Wolbe at the beginning of Aley Shur, ( volume 2 ) discusses this question, of "who comes first"- Torah or Man- and comes to clear conclusion from the Jewish sources, that although many think "man was created for the sake of the Torah ", in truth the opposite is correct- " Torah was
created for the sake of man" ! At the end of the day, we know this principle ( man comes first ) in our
Halacha- sages interpreted Torah's verse that man should "fulfill the law and live by it" as an
underlying principle- Torah Law is here to allow us live in this world- and should there be 
conflict between the Law and Life- Life comes first ! 
( many Halachic consessioms are based on this understanding- not just in laws of Shabbat )
Gottlieb continues his argument wth the following proposal-
The search for truth requires the rejection of falsehood. Religions contradict one another, so not more than one can be wholly true; to find one wholly true means the others are not. The idea of a common core to all religions fails since the contradictions between religions prevents the proposed core from having any content
This argument would lead him to prove that Judaism is the only true religion, and I'm not even interested in showing an obvious bias and selective thinking he's so notoriously showing there- rather I suggest to look into his argument above. There is just one Truth, he claims, and since religions all
contradict each other, there is only one true religion !
This desire to put G-d into "my box" clearly belongs to the past, and current paradigm in the multicultural world of today is that although we are all very different, we shouldn't look at the world as US and THEM! This way of thinking brought so much destruction and conflicts into the world, and  still continues to do so, by making that arrogant claim that " We are the only holders of the Absolute Truth"- and to make it really easy for us to see, let's think of ISIS for example-
  the only explanation to their violence and butchery lies in their absolute confidence that they are holders of Absolute Truth, and all others are simply heretics 
Rabbi Sacks in his "Dignity of Difference" made bold suggestion ( for an Orthodox Rabbi ) that other religions could also be True. We don't have monopoly on G-d, or as some would put it- G-d has no religion. Does it make us weaker in our claim for Truth? I personally don't think so- Judaism is our unique language and yet there are other languages in the world. Each tradition makes a claim to get all the way to the top of the mountain- and I think, if we share some moral and ethical ideas about what it means to do Good and bring Love and Justice into this world- we should judge them favourably. I may even suggest the following Paradigm of Coexistence between different religious
 traditions- consider Schools of Shammai and Hillel and their disputes. Famously,  Talmud concludes- these and those are the Words of G-d, however the Law follows the school of Hillel.
Hillel and Shammai represent conflicting points of view, and their argument according to Gottlieb should have only one side as True, the other being False. That's exactly the opposite of what Talmud suggests- G-d's Truth is much bigger than our limited perception of it, and even though logically it seems inconsistent ( how come both are right, aren't they saying opposite things? ) - yet that's the World of G-d- and will remain an Enigma, often going beyond our limited human logic.
At the same time, we cannot live in such paradox ( both are right ) when it comes to practice- and here we need to have certainty - Law follows the School of Hillel
Same principle can be applied in our conversation with the bigger non-Jewish world, and it's different religious traditions- we don't have to reject them in order to prove ourselves right  ( especially if we find their values compatable to ours )- however, we should follow our tradition, and nourish its great
and unique language of Truth, as it was revealed to our fathers!

Finally, although I'm not getting into details of Gottlieb's work, here's my last point- besides being philosophically outdated, theologically questionable at best, his approach is also morally wrong! 
In order to make things "that simple", proponents of this approach always have to cut corners to fit the world into their limited pattern of thinking where there is just one truth- and they know it all.
In his attempt to bring an "objective scientific argument " to support his claim,  Gottlieb resides to archaeology- very problematic field indeed, of which I happen to know ( I took a few courses as part of my tour guide training ). It's so problematic when it comes to factual part of the Torah that you have many religious archaeologists asserting that Exodus never happened- that's their scientific position - which I'm not sure how they're reconciling with their beliefs. I asked this question one of these professors, but his answer didn't comfort me- " I put religion aside when I'm dealing wth science"- he said . Not the best answer, I admit, but I think it's more intellectually honest than an attempt to persuade your audience that you possess an Absolute Truth, using in your argument very carefully selected and biased record of " scientific proofs "
My punchline here is really simple- let's stop being G-d's advocates, he really doesn't need it ! 
Nowhere in the Torah it says " be my advocates". Especially in view of Rav Kook's idea ( inspired by our Kabbalists ) that G-d is constantly renewing this world and gives each generation new insights, as this world undergoes constant process of evolvement and growth- we must carefully listen to his voice in the contemporary world, instead of attempts "to prove Him right "

Religion as Force of Change

Religion is often criticized for being dogmatic and resisting the change. Religious people find their inspiration in the great images of the past, and are often told to look up at them as role models for today. " If previous generations were like angels, we are like humans. But if they are deemed humans, than we are compared to donkeys "- famous and popular Talmudic quote.
Such mindset of looking back into the past naturally brings with it little desire to search for new ways of expression and generate new creative thoughts and ideas. Does it mean, that religion will always be "stuck in the past", only reacting to changes in the world - usually resisting them, and never initiating anything new?
If we examine this phenomena in a historical context,we should see that this was not always the case.
Judaism started with the great revolution of monotheism- and our forefather Avraham was certainly not looking into the past to keep the status quo - he became almost a synonym of a new type of religious leader- not your typical "yes-man", simply following the instructions, he had enough hutzpah to argue with G-d, standing for his ideals and principles- even if it meant defending those evil-doers of Sodom.
What kind of world would we be living in, if Avraham remained just a loyal servant of G-d, and not his sincere partner?
We would have been robbed I believe, and our religion would not teach humanity great ideals and concepts, that lately became known as "Judeo-Christian values "-
Individual Freedom, Sacred nature of humanity , Social justice,
Pursuit of Truth and Harmony - both in the world and in personal life- these ideas are so fundamental that should you take them away, and you will decent into abyss of darkness, where "might is right" of human greed is the only language
So why is it that today's Judaism is so often seen as an obstacle to progress ?
While there could be many answers to this difficult question, let me suggest mine.

We became self-assured that we "have all the answers".
And if you have all the answers, you don't need to grow, and you will resist any change.
Rav Kook gives very innovative definition of "Teshuvah"- usually translated as repentance and understood as a process of personal transformation from a "sinner" into a "righteous person". He says, that the energy of such transformation is an all-encompassing Divine yearning for perfection which is constantly changing and renewing this world. So when an individual "sins" he simply detaches himself from this Divine Source- and when he realizes his solitude and detachment, strong desire to reconnect to the Source of Life brings him back!
In this beautiful picture of the world portrayed to us by Rav Kook we cannot escape one clear observation- G-d WANTS CHANGE! In fact, He is the Eternal Change himself!
People of different faiths, Judaism including, saw G-d for a very long time as Static Big Father (SBF) - such G-d demands obedience, and encourages all sorts of dogmatic beliefs, that would never change- as change is the very opposite of the SBF!
Nowadays such concept of the Divine is seen as archaic and cannot attract any following- using the language of Ken Wilber, our understanding of the Divine evolved to a higher level - and we can't accept limited vision of the past anymore.
In other words, we have all the right to look into future and embrace change that makes us more aware of the Divine Presence in the world . Dare I say, this is our calling and religious responsibility !
However, we must establish clear criteria to distinguish "change for the sake of Heaven", one that will bring more Divinity into this world, and "change not for the sake of Heaven"- motivated by our egoistic desires ( greed, lust and power ) . Even as we cannot objectively see "the whole picture", we can test ourselves and others with a simple question-
Should you or anyone in your circle come to an idea of change- ask yourself ( or that person) - " Where is G-d in all of this? "
Ego always keeps G-d out of equation. Communism promised people equality, freedom and justice- and brought them terrible slavery and injustice of the Gulags! How could it happen? Maybe because G-d was never considered a factor!
Even religious institutions often fail the test, but in a more subtle way- think of the Crusades or modern day Islamic terrorism- both done in the name of G-d, and both pretend to put Him on the throne - so how are they wrong?
When we fail to listen to the subtle voice of G-d speaking to us in nature and history, and also in our own mind - it's because we are obsessed with Ego ( greed, lust and honor) And Ego of the religious person would wear very religious clothing, and would look super religious! Back then and now, Ego wants control and power, and it would use all instruments to get it- that's how religion can turn into monster!
Our task, it seems, is to bring the change that G-d wants us to bring- more Love, Unity and Harmony in this broken world, full of suffering and human tragedy.

Jewish Explorer- being a Jew in post-modernist world

These days I keep thinking of what it means being a Jew in the 21st century. Our times of almost unlimited access to information with very limited capacity to adequately absorb this vast ocean of knowledge bring about a significant paradigm shift in our thinking- all possible theories of "know-it-all" become obsolete, as they obviously seem to ignore the present reality.
Somehow humanity became more humble it seems- no one is making a claim that he possesses the Truth anymore - or at least, should be make such a claim, he most likely would be perceived as somewhat naive at best, or simply ignorant and almost irrelevant.
And yet, our religious tradition is based to a large extent on precisely such a claim-
We stood at Sinai, G-d gave us the Torah- the Book that represents the Ultimate Truth and gives us a clear path to follow it ! And despite all the difficulties with such an approach in our times, you can still find significant number of teachers that follow it, times and difficulties notwithstanding
Sure enough, Judaism opposes moral and intellectual relativism, that became so common in our days.
Yet it seems, we can't ignore the challenge of Post-Modernism, which is here to bring us to a point of greater understanding of the world and the mystery behind its Creation. As Rav Kook pointed out each new era brings with it new aspects of Divine Revelation, and if we live at such exciting times of the internet, time that gives us rather unique opportunity to explore the world without even making a step outdoors- basically putting the whole world at our fingertips- it should certainly be seen as a great challenge to our religious worldview, formulated and shaped to a large extent in times when our interaction with the world was very different.
Does it mean that we shall simply reformulate our religious credo and ignore all the aspects of our tradition, that seem to be in conflict with current understanding? As an Orthodox Rabbi I certainly cannot suggest such an approach. In fact, I believe any honest Jew who cares about his faith and tradition wouldn't accept such a suggestion- the moment something in your tradition doesn't seem to fit into "mainstream" of the world around- just dispose of it, as of outdated and irrelevant burden.
Some tried this in the past, and to a large extent they are totally lost to Judaism and to our people.
And if we believe in eternal message of the Torah and our destiny in this world - to make this world a better place, by bringing Divine Presence here, making  it manifest in all aspects of our life- we should certainly think again!
So here we have two extremes that are still so common in our attempts to deal with the ongoing crisis of Faith-
First approach suggests to ignore the challenge of today and deems it irrelevant, locking Judaism firmly within the walls of intellectual and spiritual ghetto. In my opinion, such an approach doesn't allow us to grow and in its desire to adhere to most "authentic" traditional forms, it often ignores the need to EXPLORE and SEEK G-d in this world !
On the other hand, we see various attempts to "water down" traditional Judaism, presumably making it more palatable for human consumption- but as a result, such "parve" Judaism fails to inspire
people, and doesn't give you any valuable message that you can implement in your life- nothing new, that you don't know from your mainstream culture.

We are the nation of Explorers and Seekers, starting all the way from Abraham. Our tradition should GROW and EVOLVE- as a tree, that grows all the way from its roots. This way we can make sure that it stays both authentic ( loyal to its own foundations ), and vibrant at the same time !
We desperately need a PARADIGM SHIFT in our thinking- and here's my suggestion.
In all our sources we find no clear definition of G-d, as here's BEYOND such definitions. We are called to emulate G-d and follow his ways- but how do we accomplish such a lofty mission ?
First of all, we need to consider our understanding of G-d- limited of course, and yet pointing out at our level of connection with Him. If in the past G-d was seen as STATIC- unchanging and unmoving ( Aristotelean view ascribed movement to imperfection - and Maimonides famously accepted this position ) - in our times we understand reality as a process of constant evolvement, orchestrated and managed by G-d. So G-d is not an unmoving Absolute, seating on his Throne of Glory ( something we can hardly emulate at all, with our very limited human qualities )- rather, he's an ULTIMATE
EXPLORER, constantly changing and renewing his world- " renewing with His goodness every day the Original Creation " ( my translation of the words in Siddur ).
Such dynamic G-d of change and renewal is calling us to EXPLORE the world, and make it a better place- this way we can truly fulfill the dictum of "in the Image of G-d" !
What does it mean practically speaking?
If we usually think of religious role-model as some sort of a " I know all the answers " type - here we 
come to discover fundamentally different character- I wish to call him JEWISH EXPLORER ( JE )
JE is in a constant state of BECOMING, he seeks to learn from everyone and sees his interaction with G-d in everyday Life, carefully listening to His subtle Voice- both in the outside world ( "what is this man doing in my life?" "Why am I here? " ) and in his inner world ( notice your "gut feeling", be in touch with yourself ).
As opposed to the great role models of the past, who were perceived as almost super-human, JE IS WELL AWARE OF HIS HUMANITY - which makes him humble and yet encourages him to keep growing !
JE values a good and honest question MORE than a half-honest answer, that pretends to "explain it all", cutting corners in the process.
JE is that part of us that wants more Truth, more Love and more G-d in this world

Thoughts after Israel's Independence Day - embracing the future

Israel just celebrated its independence, with many great accomplishments to be proud of- we are the only democracy in the Middle East, surrounded by hostile and militant neighbors, who deny our very right to exist. Not only we secured our almost indefensible borders, allocated to us by the the UN partition plan- we emerged strong and confidant, so that no one in the region can threaten our security, as Arabs did in 1948 and 1967 ( promising to throw the Jews into the ocean).
Israel of course can be proud of its more recent successes in economy and science and technology - with the highest number of start-ups in the world, low unemployment and top-notch medical services available to all it's citizens.
But as in the past, Israel is facing most difficult challenges it must overcome for its very survival.
Recent elections were mainly focused around internal issues- putting security and foreign affairs at the backstage ( possibly first time ever since the inception of the state ). This indicates, that Israel managed to assure its survival and is now facing new challenges- pretty much like in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we are ascending from the most basic levels of survival ( this includes food, shelter and security ) to the upper strata- that of emotional and spiritual needs. Maybe this would explain current obsession with the " equal burden" demand, which brought different groups of Israeli public together- the new political forces of the recent elections, and the main winners are precisely those who articulated this demand. Bennett and Lapid are representing new face of Israeli politics that's just emerging- reaching beyond the accepted sectoral boundaries, and formulating new goals and aspirations for the country- NATIONAL UNITY. And it's precisely this that all those who're left behind ( Ultra-Orthodox, Ultra-Left etc ) fail to realize.
What is it that lies at the core of Israeli identity, what is going to unite us as a nation- is the question that emerges. And undeniably, this is the highest level on Maslow's scale- that of Self-Actualization! Here we are struggling to address it on a national level- something really breathtaking, possibly a project that was never taken before!
But following Maslow's scheme, we need to remind ourselves of a missing step- before one can address self-Actualization, says Maslow, he needs to face emotional issues- love, belonging, self-esteem. In other words, before we formulate our National Goal, we need to deal with National Reconciliation.
Israel today is torn and divided, with many different groups of society not only living very different lifestyle- but in fact, almost never coming across each other. One cannot simply ignore this- it's a painful recognition of those who not only live a different lifestyle, but in fact don't share your value system- yet share this country with you. Religious and secular, Right and Left- dare I say-
Jews and non-Jews - we ALL BELONG HERE! This process of Reconciliation would challenge us on many levels, and as a result something truly beautiful would emerge-
"They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea.
( Isaiah 11:9)

Awakening

Following Purim we are approaching Pesach- time of Freedom and Awakening, as everything in the world is yearning for the new beginning. It's difficult to see the change when we are part of it, and it happens in a slow course of natural evolution, but I guess it's easier to notice in such a vibrant and dynamic country as modern day Israel. Living here since 1991, moving to Australia in 1996 and coming back four years later, and finally, leaving to New York in 2004, and coming back two years ago, in 2011,gives me perspective of the last 20 years plus, still not much for a state, but quite enough to notice the difference - when I first came here in 1991, as a young lad hardly speaking any Hebrew, I found myself in a large melting pot of Israeli society, that was struggling to absorb huge Russian Aliya. Ultra-Orthodox sector, where I was going to be " absorbed", was particularly " troubled" by the newcomers, who brought with them new reality of shops open on Shabbat and selling pork, and general disinterest to religion. It's not surprising then, to learn of the strong dislike towards Russians in the Ultra-Orthodox community. It went both ways- with Russian newspapers often attacking " backward Haredim " and publishing all sorts of stories of their corruption, etc. Secular-religious war was always an issue in Israel, but on the wave of Russian Aliya of early 90-ies it came to a new high! I found myself in a weird position of someone who belongs to both camps- which probably pushed me to think how to bridge the huge gap between them. In early 90-ies, Russian-speaking religious Jew was still a rare sight, and most of my Russian-speaking friends and family had a very hard time accepting my religious identity.
On the other hand, Russian influx also had tremendous effect to change the status-quo of Israeli politics- shifting it to the Right. If in 1992, following successful campaign of Rabin, many Russians voted for him, they wouldn't give their votes to the Labor again-following the shock of Oslo accords and the unleashing campaign of hatred to the settlers after the assassination of Rabin.
This was a time of great division in Israel- between the Right and the Left, the religious and the secular. Time of great hatred, one must admit, coming from all sides of the spectrum.
I'm far from saying that we cured this issue- and we saw some remnants of that old hatred played on again to gain some political dividends ( think of the notorious Shas ad, using conversion for incitement against " Russian goyim ") - but Israelis in large didn't buy it- and it was strongly rejected as non-kosher by all major parties. Disillusioned by the promises of the existing political powers, many Israelis voted for the new voices- Yesh Atid party of Yair Lapid, representing mainly the Secular Left, and the new National- religious party of Naftali Bennett. These two have much in common despite their obvious differences- both are arguing for the necessity of a major change and restructuring in Israeli society, to allow the struggling middle class to benefit from the good shape of Israel's economy, both are representing large groups of Israelis who wish to go beyond the existing conventional "rules of the game" - saying no to political maneuvering and sectoral politics of the small parties who only act as lobbying groups for their sector of society ( Ultra- Orthodox, National- religious, etc ). It's significant that Bennett managed to get large number of the secular voters, and Lapid got supported from both Right and Left.
New Israel is emerging in these elections- Israel that is seeking to redefine itself. Who are Israelis, what are they standing for, and what's our national identity based on? We don't have clear answers to these questions- but I think, we start to realize that THESE QUESTIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT- and maybe, this understanding is going to BRING NEW AWAKENING!
Finally, I can't overlook something that deeply moved me- the recent speech of MP Calderon, which already became famous. She pulled out the volume of Talmud, and said-
This book changed my life!
She argued that secular Zionists were building this country largely unaware of our Jewish heritage- and it's time to claim it back! Her remarks were both personal and sincere, and many MP's came to give her a warm hug afterwards. Granted, one speech is not enough- but let's hope it's a sign of a new beginning!

Fresh look at Amalek within us

These days we are commanded to remember the Evil of Amalek- often viewed as the Arch-enemy of G-d and his people. As we remember from the Torah, Amalek attacked the Jews at the point of their journey from Sinai to the Land of Israel, demonstrating his total rejection of any Divine intervention into human history, and even willing to cross the desert and confront the Jews, solely to show his animosity. Later we meet Amalek's descendant Haman in the story of Purim, and Haman's hatred of the Jews pushes him to seek the first Final Solution in the Jewish history. We celebrate our victory but should still remember what Amalek and his descendants did to us, fulfilling the Mitzva of " Mechiyat Amalek"- erasing his memory.
Here comes the question- by remembering Amalek, we seem to be doing just the opposite- we NEVER FORGET! So how are we erasing his memory then?
Another important question is " Who is Amalek? " With Sennacherib ( ancient Assyrian conqueror) mixing the nations of the world, we don't have any way to trace the original tribes of the past, so says the Talmud ( and our common sense strongly agrees ) So WHOM are we supposed to " erase" anyhow?
Answering this question, most contemporary Rabbis point to Amalek as a symbol- symbol of Evil, such Evil that acts out of no benefit, simply motivated by blind hatred. In our times of the horrors of the Holocaust many came to associate this with Nazism, and the like. Others explain, that we must eradicate Evil from our hearts and minds ( various explanations given usually pointing to different bad character traits that we must eradicate - Pride, Anger, etc )
I think we can actually combine both perspectives, if we ask the following question-
HOW THE HOLOCAUST BECAME POSSIBLE?
How otherwise decent people committed such acts of violence and despicable brutality on a massive scale? During the Nuremberg Trials, many Nazis claimed that they simply followed the orders. This brings forth another question- To what degree are we humans capable of doing Evil, when we are " simply following orders ", not seeing ourselves as personally responsible for the outcome of our actions?
This very question was asked by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, who conducted his world famous experiments on obedience to authority figures. His experiment was conducted in 1961, right after the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. Eichmann’s defense that he was simply following instructions when he ordered the deaths of millions of Jews roused Milgram’s interest. In his 1974 book Obedience to Authority, Milgram posed the question, "Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?"
Milgram was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person- how easily ordinary people could be influenced into committing atrocities for example, Germans in WWII.
In his experiment, the volunteer was asked to help in study of the effect of pain on human memory- and for this purpose was supposed to give an electro shock to the " learner" - each time increasing the voltage for every wrong answer. There were 30 switches on the shock generator marked from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 (danger – severe shock).
Before conducting the tests, Milgram polled fourteen Yale University senior-year psychology majors to predict the behavior of 100 hypothetical teachers. All of the poll respondents believed that only a very small fraction of teachers will be willing to administer severe levels of shock.
Yet the reality proved truly shocking results- about 65% of the "teachers" in the test administered the maximum level of shock ( potentially lethal ) to their " students" - this despite the fact that they clearly heard them screaming, knocking on the wall etc. This experiment was repeated in different countries, with similar results.
Here's what Milgram wrote about it in his book -
Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority.
This experiment seems to tell us something frightening about the human nature- when confronted with difficult moral questions, we often choose not to take responsibility and simply yield o authority.
Judaism brought into the world the idea of Man created in the Image of G-d, his Freedom of Will and thus Moral Responsibility for his actions. If this is what Judaism stands for, we can understand what the essence of Amalek is- essential Doubt that Man possesses such Greatness, stripping him from any G-dlike identity. After all, we are simply more advanced animals. It's not a coincidence, that Hitler actively promoted this vision ( later referred to as Social Darwinism )
“Truly, this earth is a trophy cup for the industrious man. And this rightly so, in the service of natural selection. He who does not possess the force to secure his Lebensraum in this world, and, if necessary, to enlarge it, does not deserve to possess the necessities of life. He must step aside and allow stronger peoples to pass him by.” - Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf.
And possibly this would answer our first question- we OUGHT TO REMEMBER, WE MAY NOT FORGET- what such vision of man and such philosophy does to humanity!
We ERASE Amalek's memory by recognizing the traits of his philosophy in our own hearts and minds! This paradox of remembering to erase the memory in fact is teaching us another lesson-
AMALEK WILL NEVER DISAPPEAR! Our human nature is in constant conflict between Good and Evil, and this would continue on- to help us make the right moral choices, and to elevate us to serve G-d with Love and Compassion, with our Free Will and desire to do Good, eradicating cruelty and herd mentality from our midst!
Happy Purim!

On Integrity and harmony

This post comes as a result of my reflection on the subject of Integrity- something we discussed recently on my facebook group, Jewish explorer. Integrity is an important value for me personally (possibly, I would put it on top of the list- which in fact, I did during my recent coaching session). In fact, I believe, Integrity and honesty on all levels is an essential ingredient of any meaningful interaction- and most important factor in bridging the gap between different cultures, and different people. So, naturally, I was challenged to look for a Jewish answer to the question of Integrity.
And here's my understanding of one of the fundamental teachings of Rabbi Yehuda ha Nassi (the Prince-that's the usual translation-although Nassi was an equivalent of a President those days). The author of this teaching, as you know, was most prominent Torah scholar (so no one can tell me, we are dealing with some "marginal case" here) , and also the compiler and codifier of the Mishna- huge undertaking never to be repeated in Jewish history in the scope of what was done [up until that point, Oral Torah remained oral and was never recorded]
Here's the text-
Rabbi [Judah HaNassi]* would say: Which is the right [Yashar] path for man to choose for himself? Whatever is harmonious [Tiferet] for the one who does it, and harmonious for mankind.
I included Hebrew words here on purpose, as this translation, although very close to the original, still fails to express all the power of the Hebrew text
So, Rabbi (that's how they call him- simply Rabbi- rabbi 'by default' is R'Yehuda ha Nassi)- is asking an important question- I'd say, if there's one question we are to ask ourselves- it's probably this one! How to live your life, which path is right, which one to choose? Notice, however, in the original Hebrew, this RIGHT path is called YASHAR- so to speak, something we can visualize as STRAIGHT path, something that we can follow
Maybe YASHAR also implies that it's relatively straight-forward- so, the answer has to be simple and clear!
Simple and clear it is- very YASHAR- Whatever is TIFERET (harmonious) for the one who does it ( stress is on the word DOES), and TIFERET for mankind
First, notice how straight this answer is- here you have an equation, on both sides of which is TIFERET- usually translated as beauty, but more accurate translataion will be Harmony. Harmony is supposed to be beautiful, but it's much more- it also has depth! It's a 3D beauty, beauty with the sense of purpose and direction! Here we have all three dimensions of life, based on Kierkegaard- aesthetic (beauty), ethical, and religious [although at this point we can only recognize the first two, we'll get to that later]
This equation presents us with the real challenge though- how often do we find, that our Internal Truth, our Tiferet of the first part of equation, comes into conflict with the second part- what society expects us to do?
Notice, however, that the word does appears only in the first part- whatever is Tiferet for the one who does it! One would expect, that the first part, which speaks of man to himself and recognizes this as an important sphere of life, would be more focused on thoughts and emotions, rather than action- and in fact, should we read- Whatever is harmonious for the one who follows it would probably make more sense- after all, one follows the path, and  is not doing it! This stress on action is imho, very precise here- it's NOT enough to have harmony in your mind and in your emotional world- the OUTCOME of that in the World of Actions is what counts in the final analysis!
With that in mind, let's move to the second part- here we have Tiferet for mankind- and if I'm not mistaken, this Tiferet for mankind is coming as a result of his actions- for that reason, no need to emphasize action again-it's been already accomplished in the first part! What counts now, is check and balance mechanism- and the word Tiferet, by the way, certainly is associated with balance- the challenge here is to see, how your actions, coming from your Inner Truth (there's a very deep connection between Truth-Emet- and Tiferet- harmony- which is well-known to all who are familiar with the Sfirot- Divine emanations- there Tiferet and Emet are interchangeable!)-how your Tiferet-based actions bring Tiferet to mankind? And we all understand, that this is not self-evident- what's good for me, and even right and straight in my eyes, may clash with the inner truth of others, thus bringing DISHARMONY- the very OPPOSITE of Tiferet!
So we have strong ethical considerations on both sides of the equation, i.e- Are my actions in tune with my Inner Truth (first part), but also- Are my actions in tune with the World? And this doesn't mean, of course, to simply become comformist- as this would compromise the first part! What it means, is to find the RIGHT BALANCE- not a compromise (again!)- but the TRUE TIFERET! We simply add an extra dimension to TIFERET- it has to be both Self and World- centered, in true harmony with the dual calling of Man- be true to yourself, and be true to your calling- and also, look at your mission AS PART of a GLOBAL WORLD evolution- thus, your calling will become even more noble, stripped of the layers of your Ego, that so often doesn't allow us to see, how all conflicts and all struggles in the world are but different colours of the rainbow, representing one True Colour of G-d! But of course, to get to this point of Transcending Unity, one needs the third dimension of Tiferet- Religious one!
This article is meant to be some sort of an 'appetizer', and I hope we will be enjoying the 'main course'soon!

         

Freedom and Holiness

These days I'm thinking how to bridge the gap between different groups within Israel- mainly, religious and secular. Very often, it seems, we are simply speaking different languages, and it becomes impossible to come on terms. We need to understand the difference of perspectives, and first, one has to be open minded and willing to accept the opinion and worldview of the other. This is far from obvious, when it comes to real life- all too often we choose to act self-righteously, and here in Israel, it's true on all levels- including politics as well. But my first interest here is to make some sort of a breakthrough in mutual understanding- and I do believe it's possible.
Taking into account the historical baggage we have on both sides, sticking to existing preconceived notions and stereotypes well too often stops any genuine search for Truth and Shalom- and in my humble opinion, we desperately need both!
So, here's my first observation- religious and secular world have different set of values- and this is what I call, different languages. In order to get engaged into any sort of meaningful discussion with the opponent, one needs to understand and respect his set of values- which of course, doesn't mean, to agree with everything he has to say. To the contrary, I strongly believe that such meaningful dialogue, with both sides truly interested in each other's perspective on tings, can enrich Jewish world tremendously, and in many ways I would compare such dialogue with the famous Talmudic dispute between the two schools- Hillel and Shammai. Talmud brings this argument between the two schools as an example of the argument for Heaven's sake (or, in simple English, for the sake of Truth). But to get there, huge effort is required on both sides-
Religious world would need to come to terms with the simple fact of life- secular world is here, and is not going to disappear. If we understand that G-d is playing in history, and is behind all major historical changes, we cannot simply treat this as some sort of an aberration or mistake- or as very often implied, sin on a massive scale- Rebellion against G-d and his people. This was the traditional position of the Orthodoxy in the beginning of the 20th century, and little has changed since then. Rav Kook was possibly the only great Rabbi of the generation who had enough courage to face the challenge of Atheism and Secularism-and truthful to his belief that any such change cannot be viewed as misguided rebellion, and even explained how Judaism and Jews are benefiting from it- Atheism raises very important questions, and collides with those aspects of religion that became resistant to any change, and thus not ready to accept the Light of G-d appearing in a new form and shape of Modernity .
Current approach to the secular world in Ultra-religious circles is usually two-fold-
First, you have those who would plainly state- "Hilonim (secular) are sinners, and we have nothing in common with them!"
 Then you have something called Kiruv- we need to encourage these "misguided'people to come back to their roots. Usually this is done with some tact and understanding (people are not going to change in one day)- but the ideology behind this approach is still the same- secularism is wrong and needs to be uprooted!
So, essentially, Ultra-religious are still holding the same ground, one can argue, out of inertia and lack of strong leadership, unwilling to acknowledge the New Reality- Secular Jew. This new character, child of the Modern Age, has his set of values,which we are yet to discover (later in this article),  and if Religious world wishes to deal with him, it needs to be brave enough to look into his face and see there the Image of G-d!
On the other hand, Secular Jewish world has plenty of stereotypes regarding religious Jews- and most importantly, is still unwilling to recognise his very own Brother there- albeit wearing different clothes, and thinking differently.
So here comes the question- once we established (at least hypothetically), that we have different expressions of G-d's Will on both sides of the argument, and are willing to look into each other's face, as equals and as brothers and sisters- what's next?
I believe, as stated above, we must establish and understand each other's fundamental values (don't ask me how to do it- I'm not there yet!)
In my opinion, if we are to define most fundamental values of religious and secular world, and are to pick just one on each side, we will have Freedom and Holiness. My strong belief is, that if we become aware of both, we WILL EVOLVE GREATLY AS HUMANITY!
Freedom is essential for the secular definition of Man- just take a look at all the great accomplishments our modern world is so proud of- freedom of speech, religion, freedom of thought, academic and political freedom, economic freedom, individual freedoms (such as freedom of privacy, freedom of movement, etc)- one can clearly see, that freedom defines the very core of our society, since the Enlightenment.  
What is religious perspective on Freedom?
On one hand, Judaism postulates free Will of Man as the greatest gift given to him by G-d- and thus, making him G-dlike! On the other, Judaism puts on us various demands, that would largely restrict our freedom- mitzvot are obligations, and if you fail to follow them, your behavior is considered wrong/sinful.  
To understand this apparent paradox, we may recall two expressions of freedom in Hebrew- Hofesh and Herut. Hofesh is largely similar to the secular definition of freedom- it's acting with no external restrictions, and is essential in freeing man from external slavery. Herut, as explained by Sages, is accomplished by submitting  your personal will and desires to the will of G-d- in Jewish context, as expressed in the Torah.
Very often, Herut and Hofesh are viewed as opposites- but I suppose, we should rather view them as COMPLIMENTARY!  Herut MUST be based on our clear expression of GENUINE INTERNAL DESIRE TO SEEK G-D- and if this doesn't happen (in other words, we only have Herut with no real Hofesh)- we have a robotic caricature on man, so often seen in our contemporary religious society!
On the other hand, Hofesh has to be elevated with the new sense of purpose, which Herut may provide. Hofesh as liberation of man from all external chains is not completed, unless it's imbued with high idealism and true desire to elevate mankind to the great summit of "Kingdom of Priests". Many secular thinkers would recognize how Hofesh without Herut is incomplete- but in order to understand where to take this energy from, we must now turn to the other side of equation- the religious one.
Religious world proclaims the value of Holiness- Kdusha- as the most essential value in life. There's absolutely no way to understand this on secular terms, we must add an extra dimension to Life- to see it's all elements in constant process of growth and evolution, imbued with direction and purpose- and I'm consciously not using the word G-d- as this word is very often taken to mean certain antropomorphisms and other ideas, we as society had outgrown. One does NOT need to be religious to recognize such value- and I just bring you one example of a contemporary mystic Etkhart Tolle, who influenced millions in the world by his groundbreaking teaching in The New Earth. He calls himself spiritual, but not religious (not associated with any particular religion- and in fact, often very critical of institutionalized religion). What is he coming to teach? His message is simple- living in the NOW. Go beyond your Ego, and embrace the mystery of Life- something religious person would call Holiness of life! If we can judge by the huge reaction of millions in the world to this message, it seems, Tolle found the right language to communicate to humanity the most important tool it requires today to grow and evolve- we, on Jewish terms, can relate to it as Kdusha!
 In conclusion, we live at a very special time of which our prophets spoke-
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth- and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind...and it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they yet speaking,I will hear...
they shall not hurt nor destroy in my holy mountain, said G-d" (Isiah, 65:17-25)
..               

Freedom of thought in religious world

Some of our recent discussions on facebook (Jewish Explorer group) brought my attention to the following comment, made by some blogger (certainly an  informed one) regarding the influence of Chassidic lifestyle on the Litvishe world. Here's what he is saying-

As noted the classic Litvisher Yeshivisher type is a rare bred today. For example no one at Ner Israel in the 1950's wore their tzitzis out. It simply was not done. No bachur sported a beard

Also, the burgeoning personality cults of Roshei Yeshiva has been adopted by the Litvisher world from the Chasidsher World. In the "old" days, no Poseik {Litvisher or otherwise} was treated as infallible by the Litvisher world. That has changed. The Mishnah Brurah has been canonized by the Litvisher world into something beyond the authority of any predecessor I can think of. Certainly the Chayei Adam or Shach, or Aruch Hashulchan were never treated as complete final authorities.

The old Litvishe world was more skeptical and talmidim challenged Roshei Yeshiva with difficult blistering questions. It used to be the role of the Yeshivisher Talmid to take his rebbe to task. Now it seems the role is to just to answer "amein gut gezukt" w/o any challenge lest one be considered disloyal.

As one of my Litvsiher rebbes admonised us - ich vill nisht keinfrum teira! {I don't want any pious learning - ie- think for yourself before you acquiesce to what I say!}

I am leaving this thoughtful post without any comments- as I think, it is quite self-explanatory, and very much thought-provoking- as to where are we going, and what should be our priorities 

Prayer

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr

Uncomfortable questions for comfortable Jews

Although the title (as some of you know), is taken from the famous book by R. Kahane, our topic is quite different- it's just a little insight on this week Torah portion.


Jews are taken out of Egypt (E.), and slavery's left behind- or so it seems- until they are to face their masters in hot pursuit, driven all the way to the sea, helpless, and miserable- WHY?
Why G-d is doing this to me/us- we all ask in such dreadful situation.

And here's the point- this question ASSUMES something- namely- that life is supposed to be COMFORTABLE - but the bitter truth is- IT IS NOT!!! Some of us are going to learn this lesson a hard way, as these days we are enjoying great level of comfort (possibly, unmatched in any given generation!)- and yet, when the world hits you back, you HAVE to face this UNCOMFORTABLE realisation- which eventually may become your stepping stone to greatness!
As R. Noach Weinberg puts it, this is the CHOICE Torah gives us- Life or ..Death.!
Really? I never understood that literally, but R. Noach is making a simple point- We choose between Comfort (staying where we are) and Action (ALWAYS uncomfortable, even painful- but certainly with a reward- no pain, no gain, as they say!). Now, what is the ESSENCE of this choice- what is the ULTIMATE COMFORT? Death! And Life is about Action! (This world is called Olam ha Asiya- the World of action- precisely for that reason!)

And yes, life is UNCOMFORTABLE- as our sages put it, both Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel came to that realisation. But from spiritual perspective, we can grow ONLY by making right choices- stepping out of our comfort zone- getting out of Egypt!

"Никто не обещал, что будет легко"- life is not meant to be easy- it's meant for GROWTH!

Greatness of Nahshon ben Aminadav, who stepped into the sea, became possible under the huge pressure of the dreadful situation Jews found themselves in- in other words, HUGE problem became a HUGE opportunity for greatness!

Our sages tell us, we should be doing what we are good at, and at the same time, should life present us with a challenge- let's remember- WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO DO WHAT IS UNCOMFORTABLE!

2 questions we can ask ourselves (to wake up!)

1. When was the last time I did something that was UNCOMFORTABLE- because it was the RIGHT thing to do ?

2. Is there something I'm AVOIDING that is the right thing to do- simply because it's uncomfortable ?



Let's cross the sea of our fears- to see it split!

The beauty of Simple Goodness

Yesterday at the bus stop, something truly beautiful happened in my life
I was totally in my own thoughts, and hardly noticed as someone approached me with a question.
"Must be, he needs some money, or simply asking for directions"- registered quickly in my mind-
But to my utter surprise, the stranger gave me his unused bus ticket (what they call here "kartis maavar"- they give you a transfer for the same price, which you can use only within a certain time limit).
"I'm not going to use it"- he smiled to me, noticing my astonishment. "That's what I always do"- he continued. It turned out, this simple act of kindness and attention from a total stranger totally changed my mood, and a cold winter day became so much warmer.
It doesn't take much to live your life in such a great way- I thought- all it takes is a little attention and good will
May we all become messengers of kindness and good will!
What a lovely day!

What's going on?

Yesterday at the bus stop, I was approached by two English-speaking ladies. They didn't speak any Hebrew, and needed help with directions. It turned out, they were taking a bus from the same stop. after a few-minute conversation on various topics (beer been the first- naturally, I opened a bottle of Israeli shandy- pretty cool mix of beer with lime- and mentioned a few good brands available locally)-one of the ladies looked at me, puzzled. She pointed at my yarmulka, and asked me- "Are you allowed to talk to us?" I was quite surprised, to say the least- it took me a while to understand what she was referring to- Dati (religious) is NOT SUPPOSED TO SPEAK WITH GOYIM! Well, that's what she told me- and when I inquired (politely) who told her that- her friend simply said- "Well, that's what we see all the time here"...


I had a long bus ride to think about this incident- and sure enough, it made me feel very uncomfortable- almost embarrassed...As a matter of fact, religious people in this country are perceived as very xenophobic and looking down at everyone who is not like them.

My only reaction to this is- WHAT'S GOING ON?

Day before Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is approaching- the most important day in the Hebrew calendar is knocking on the door...Are we ready?


With so many important things to do before the Day of Atonement, I would like to highlight a few things we may forget about-

On Yom Kippur eve, many Jews go to mikvah. It's an important custom brought down in Halacha, as we are reminding ourselves of a need to get purified before G-d. In fact, the whole day of Atonement is been described in the Talmud as "getting cleansed before G-d", and G-d is literally compared to mikvah, in which we are immersing ourselves on that holy day- "Mikvah Israel Hashem"- G-d is embracing us totally, with no rejection and separation, like the waters of the mikvah! How beautiful and magnificent!

Next, we are been told, in as much as it's a mitzvah to fast on Yom Kippur, one HAS TO EAT day before- Talmud even suggests, that this counts as another day of fasting! One can say, this is the only day of the year when one is actually required to eat and fulfills the mitzvah by doing it! It seems, our Rabbis were really concerned with our well- being. That reminds us of necessity not to take our health lightly- should one experience significant health related issues, he MUST terminate his fast. Usually, in light of the seriousness of the day, one is initially (if his health condition permits so) required not to break the Biblical prohibition, and eats shiurim- small amounts of food and drink (usually measured as around 50 gr of solids or around 100 ml of liquids to be consumed every 9 min) , thus violating only Rabbinical prohibition. However, one needs to consult with his Rabbi and/or his doctor, in case of serious medical condition- he may be allowed to eat and drink normally

Finally, in the mincha service before Yom Kippur, we are to say Vidduy- verbal Confession of our sins, which according to Maimonides, constitutes the main part of the most important mitzvah of the day- to do Tshuvah. Very often, in all the rush before the Big Day, we may totally overlook the importance of this Vidduy BEFORE the day starts-so that we enter the day with purity. According to many opinions, this Vidduy is an obligation for men and women alike. As we are saying Vidduy, it's certainly good to think of your individual and specific sins that you want to confess, but also to remember that we are saying it in plural, for all of Israel.

It is an ancient Jewish custom to do kaporos before Yom Kippur- and according to Kabbalists, one needs to do it right before the fast, as close to sunset as possible. Many have a custom of doing kapporos after Mincha. Although some people still insist on using chicken for this purpose, this was strongly critisized by our great Rabbis, and in light of it's being highly problematic from both Halachic and ethical perspective, one should certainly opt for a much better option- Kapporos on money. Generally speaking, in light of a somewhat mysticall spell of a ritual on so many of us, I think we need to remember, that in no way does this formula "this money goes to tsdaka, and I shall be signed for (good) life" substitute genuine Tshuva- real soul searching, that is of course much more challenging than any shortcut.

And here comes Yom Kippur- which so many of us associate with SUFFERING- NO food, NO drinks, NO sex,etc...And yes, Torah calls it suffering- suffering of our nefesh- our lower animalistic soul, our animal, that usually is so demanding and outspoken, that we hardly can hear the Other Voice- that of our angelic Soul...our Higher Self, something in us which is truly G-dlike. Now, my friends, THAT'S THE DAY WHEN THIS IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN- we shut the mouth of our animal, so that an angel in us may emerge and the Voice of Silence can be finally heard...May we all experience this great day to the fullest- so, that this year, we'll be getting a few steps closer to Heaven!

Evil Eye, Voodoo and Red Strings Judaism

Last week parsha made me think about some aspects of our religion , that may appear "uncomforable" for the civilised folks, living in our rational and sceptical age. Torah speaks about taking census of the Jews, and in no uncertain terms forbids us counting them directly- rather one should count half-shekel donations they are required to bring, TO ATONE FOR THEIR SOULS
What is this atonement for? No sin was commited, but Torah repeats its message twice-
"...every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul, when counting them, so that there not be a plague among them when counting them" (Exodus 30:12)
 "The wealthy shall not increase and the poor shall not decrease from half a shekel- to give the portion of Hashem, to atone for their souls" (Exodus 30:15).
Rashi explains as follows- an Evil Eye has influence over counted objects, and Or Ha Haim points out, that the phrase "when counting them "is repeated twice, to teach us that head count is forbidden for all times, and in fact, erring in this regard results in a terrible plague, as happenned at the time of King David, when he violated this prohibition and thus committed a sin!
BUT WHAT IS EVIL EYE EXACTLY?
Why are we so much concerned with some "witchcraft", or other forms of magic- it always bothered me, that Judaism for many people equals wearing red strings (against Evil Eye, we are been told), various "Hamsa" and other magical amulets- that in my eyes is more Voodoo, than it is Judaism!
Forget rationalism, even from purely Torah-true perspective this seems very puzzling- all forms of witchcraft and magic are strictly forbidden, and are considered outgrowths of idolatrous worldview, to which Torah and Judaism sternly opposes throughout its whole history- and RAMBA"M in his Guide makes his famous claim, that in fact this is the purpose and intention OF ALL THE MITZVOT- TO COMBAT IDOLATRY IN ALL ITS FORMS!
Here we MUST present an explanation, that will not only show the " Divine mechanism" behind this concept, but also will TEACH US how to IMPROVE OURSELVES- cause if that doesn't happen, than we are dealing with Voodoo! Pagans are afraid of some random evil forces, that can strike them for no good reason, and feel absolutely helpless and vulnerable in this world of injustice and disorder, their only hope being protection of their idols, which is not guaranteed  at all- and no amount of good deeds can ever grant personal freedom in this cruel world of an idol worshipper!
But Laws of Torah are all coming from Divine Love and Justice- certainly, we are  NOT supposed to be affected by Evil for no good reason- as EVERYTHING in this world happens for a reason- and is certainly coming from G-d! Human being, as we all know, is not just a toy in the cruel game of the forces of nature, but a Prince of G-d, created in his image!
First, let us consider the following- Evil Eye from non-magical, rational and psychological perspective, is simple jealousy- and jealousy may affect people in a bad way. Person who gets jealous goes against the Torah, and yet that negative vibe that he created, affects his friend...Why?
It seems, nothing happens randomly, and if we are to understand what can be learnt by a victim of an Evil Eye- we must conclude that something went wrong- and this wrongdoing needs to be adjusted!
Jealousy most often doesn't appear out of a blue moon- it grows on a fertile soil of arrogance, showing off and looking down at people, all of which provoke others to become jealous!
And here comes
LESSON NO. 1
Do not provoke others by being arrogant and showing off- if you were given many blessings, be grateful to G-d and do not consider yourself any better than others- thus, Torah tells us to bring EQUAL AMOUNT of half a shekel, no matter how wealthy we are- both rich and poor deserve the same respect and honour!
Unfortunately, we are all liable of violating this principle- in every society and culture, wealthy are given honour and privileges, and respect is being paid to people for their "big bucks"- in the old days, Prophets were constantly fighting this social malady, but in our age of conformism noone wishes to confront it.
But what about the unfortunate loosers in the rally of life- those who complain and are constantly jealous of their more well to do neighbours?
Here comes
LESSON NO. 2
Be a giver! Torah tells us to bring half a shekel as TRUMAH- contribution- a reminder of what our attitude should be. If you will become a giver, your whole perspective to life will shift from consumerism to altruism-
and you will NATURALLY seek more opportunites to contribute, and to be a true blessing to others- and again, we can certainly see how much  we are in need of this timely lesson! Our post-modernist  Western society is totally stuck in consumerism, which not only breeds jealousy, but also produces self-hatred and alienation, as a result of this stupid and mad rat race-who gets more things wins!
How do we break the chains of this claustrafobic world of hatred, jealosy and agression?
Only be becoming GIVERS in all possible ways- and giving brings forth Love!
Finally,
LESSON NO. 3
Everything counts! In a most revolutionary way, Torah proclaims absolute sovereignty of Man, his freedom, and responsibility-for himself and the world around him. There is NO INSIGNIFICANT PERSON- we are taught- everyone is needed for this huge campaign to build the Temple- every half a shekel counts! Symbolically- everyone is a Temple! Think about your unique talents and become excited- there is noone like you in the whole world!
Not only every person counts- everything does- every moment of your life, every little episode has its meaning and is another thread of this huge fabric of our destiny- and even if we fail to see its greatness and meaning behind it, we need to stay focused and remember- ALL THERE IS- IS JUST THIS LITTLE MOMENT! Lets give it all the energy, love and courage of our souls- that's our half a shekel contribution, that is going to build the Temple!  

    

Levels of Pleasure, Love and Fear

In his famous presentation "5 Levels of Pleasure", Rav Noach Weinberg (of blessed memory), puts into perspective all the pleasures of the world, clearly showing us how to travel the journey of our lives in the 1st class. We take a road from the most basic, physical pleasures, to the more subtle and sophisticated ones- Love, being Good, Creativity and finally, Closeness to G-d! (In case you'd like to read the whole article, here's the link-http://www.aish.com/sp/f/48965946.html )
It certainly makes alot of sense in our narcissistic age to address this pleasure-seeking world with this powerful message of the REAL pleasure that is here for us.
BUT HERE'S MY PROBLEM-
As we present this well-written and beautifully explained idea to the world as "Jewish approach" (in fact, this is the classical Aish presentation, part of their Discovery seminar), we are making the following statement- Judaism agrees with pleasure-seeking as the way of life. Which it does not, imho!
The choices we make in this paradigm are based on resolving the following conflict- Pleasure versus Comfort. Some would put it as follows- all choices that we make in life are based on either our desire for pleasure or an attempt to avoid pain. (This is how I overheard it presented today by one of the lecturers not related to Aish) . In my opinion, BOTH PLEASURE AND COMFORT ARE SECONDARY IN THE JEWISH PERSPECTIVE.
In fact, pleasure-seeking ideology of the past- Epicureanism- was seen by the Sages as the main opposition to the Torah approach. Pleasure-seeking is materialistic, egotistic, and it DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF with the most fundamental question of MEANING. Pleasure as the meaning of Life is a very shallow answer, indeed! (And in fact, that's why in 5 Levels you can't get higher than 4th without hitting meaning- to transcend Love one needs to have an IDEAL HE IS WILLING TO DIE FOR! You're welcome to look inside!)
SO, WHAT'S THE REAL CHOICE WE MAKE, FROM JEWISH PERSPECTIVE?
Torah tells us- it's CHOOSING TOV (Good) or RA (Evil). [And again, it's very difficult to associate Good with Pleasure and Evil with Pain- this effectively means becoming an Epicurean!]
Now, we need to be able to DISTINGUISH between Good and Evil. How do we know which is which? Let's try to establish a clear way to do it!
Classical definition of Good- that which makes you close to G-d, as G-d is the ONLY source of Good. Evil therefore, is the opposite- that, which makes you further away from G-d.
First distinction- as you are about to make a choice, ask yourself-
Is this going to bring me closer to G-d?
PROBLEM- well, we all know, how easily we are DECEITED by our own rationalisations- they can take us all the way from Good to Evil- with our best intentions, of course!
As the Prophet portrays to us this most common picture of human self-righteousness-
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isaiah, 5:20-21)
We are commanded to follow the Path of G-d,and this mitzvah is interpreted as doing Hesed. Hesed, or LOVE, thus, is seen as the main attribute of G-d and Good. On the mystical Tree of Life it corresponds to sefirah of Hesed and represents the Right Side of the Tree. The Left Side is represented by the opposite energy of Gevurah. Gevurah is the strict Judgement of G-d, and if it is separated , cut off from the Tree, it represents Evil. If Good is seen and experienced as Love, Evil is the opposite energy- that of Fear.
And indeed, we find in contemporary Trans-Personal psychology vast information on Fear as  the main source of self-imposed suffering and our unwillingness to grow spiritually. As we can see, both Love and Fear are experienced on emotional and physical level- positive/negative emotions, and bodily sensations [For example- take a note of the different breathing people have when they are calm or anxious respectively. Emotional state of Tranquility is accompanied by deep, calm and rythmic breathing, and Anxiety is associated with shallow, fast and arythmic one.] Thus, we are ready to formulate another approach-
Good/Evil distinction based on Love/Fear as emotional and physiological experience.
As opposed to logical questioning, which implies our objectivity and fails ("Man is close to himself"- and therefore not objective, by definition)- this time we propose very subjective feeling criteria- if mind tricks us into rationalising, our body cannot be tricked! It will accurately reveal to us what this particular choice means- Fear or Love!
Fear-based choices are coming from Ego- it's primier interest being survival and egocentrism, these are our main obstacles on the way to spiritual growth!
Love motivates us to step out of our self-imposed limitations, grow and learn, using every challenge as an opportunity!
Next time when you're facing dilemma, try to approach it as a Love/Fear question- and look at your emotions and bodily sensations, as you are checking the options.
Ask yourself- Does this choice come from Love? Does it come from Fear?
Be aware of your feelings and physical sensations- which of them are Love-based and which are Fear-based? 
  
           
   

Big Picture of Judaism- the beginning

In my previous post, the issue was just posited and formulated. WE NEED TO REDISCOVER THE BIG PICTURE OF JUDAISM.
Here is my first attempt to point out a few very important sources, and hopefully to develop a sense of contemporary understanding, which will be AUTHENTIC at the same time-in the spirit of  the Torah and our Oral tradition.
Sources
1). Mitzvot as a SYSTEM
a) We have an amazing attempt in the Talmud (Makkot 24a) to view all the huge body of the mitzvot as a UNIFIED SYSTEM, with an UNDELYING PRINCIPLE, stated in the Prophets- "Righteous shall live by his Faith". Of course, this needs to be understood- WHAT IS FAITH (EMUNAH)?
But as we say, "She'elat Khakham Khetzi Tshuva"- good (wise) question is already half-an-answer- and beginning of a research!
b) Famous statement of Rabbi Akiva- "love your neighbour as yourself is a GREAT PRINCIPLE of the Torah"-seems to point in a similar direction- since we are presented with a Mitzva, and not just an "idea"-
Love is presented as an underlying principle of the Law

2). Core principals as META-Ideas of the Torah
 Maybe less famous but certainly not less important- statement of Ben Azzai,  who apparently is arguing with the previously-mentioned R. Akiva, suggesting even more important CORE PRINCIPLE- based on a quotation from the Torah- "This is the Book of the Geneology of Adam- on the day that G-d created Man, he made him in the likeness of G-d" 
Here we encounter a totaly new idea- ALL of the Torah is seen as the Book of Geneology of Man- i.e-
Torah (as the Law,  the system of mitzvot) is there to SERVE this Man, where mitzvot are TOOLS and INSTRUMENTS for Adam to FULFILL HIS POTENTIAL, based on his G-dliness- in other words (contrary to the opinion of many)- Mitzvot are Means to accomplish the End- REALISATION of      G-DLIKE NATURE OF MAN AND HUMANITY!
And here we approach another very important point- Judaism as the WORLD RELIGION
has to be more than system of Mitzvot given specifically to the Jews- it has to have it's UNIVERSAL MISSION STATEMENT  
And if I'm not mistaken, following the reading of this Ben Azzai, it clearly gives us one-
REALISE YOUR G-dlike Potential as Adam- person, nation and humanity!

To be continued
     
   

The Big Picture of Judaism

As I said before, I'm truly convinced that we're living at the most interesting time in history. As things around us are changing with accelerting speed (well, think about internet- noone knew what it is just in mid 90-es! )-It's first time in human history that we have free access to almost unlimited resourses of knowledge!  And we are yet to see this huge quantity of new information to translate into quality!
New tendency of globalisation and networking on all levels finally brings home the great vision of all the esoteric teachings of  the ancients- World as One big Organism, where everything is interconnected, interrelated and interdependant! On Kabbalistic terms, this superstructure of the world is called Adam Kadmon.
And HERE COMES THE CHALLENGE- as modern science helps us to develop stronger understanding of the physical structure of the world, Modern religion has to give us clear and contemporary understanding of it's metaphysical structure!
In case of Judaism, that gave the world monotheism and through it's affiliates (I mean Christianity and Islam) introduced some very important concepts that shaped our society (such as Hesed-Loving Kindness, Justice, Equality in front of the Law, etc)- it seems, today we are in desperate need to address the challenge of post-Modernity and to rediscover the Big Picture of Judaism.
If you require some examples, there's a couple of them
1). Web yeshiva launched a new online discussion on "the Mission of the Orthodoxy". Although the topic clearly suggests the parameters of discussion- it's specifically addressing Torah-observant Jews that call themselves Orthodox- it already stirred some heated discussion- "what is it that makes us who we are"
If you're interested, you can follow this discussion here-
http://blog.webyeshiva.org/orthodoxy/the-mission-opf-orthodoxy-special-message/

2). More general question, addressing the issue from a broader perspective- something like "What is the Big Picture of  Judaism" is posted on Machanaim website (Russian) in a new article written by Pinchas Polonsky
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcjbfrwk_193d3hk3fgv

I think, it shows very important understanding of a REAL NEED- after hundreds of years of nitpicking and "specialisation", we are finally lost in this huge amount of data on the number of the trees, their details and various characteristics... BUT WHERE IS THE FOREST? What is the Big Picture of Judaism?

Here in this post, i just wanted to give you some "food for thought"...
This topic will be continued in my next posts