Podcasts about parashat

Parashat Vayeseh begins: "Yaakob left from Be'er Sheba, and he went to Haran." Many commentators addressed the question of why the Torah needs to tell us here that Yaakob left from Be'er Sheba, his hometown. The ensuing verses tell of his experiences along the road as he journeyed to Haran, and upon arriving in Haran. The important point here is where Yaakob was going, not where he was leaving from. Moreover, this entire verse seems unnecessary, as we are already told at the end of the previous Parasha, Parashat Toldot (28:7), that Yaakob, obeying his parents' instructions, left home and made his way to Haran to live with his uncle. Why, then, did the Torah need to repeat now that he left his hometown and headed to Haran? An especially fascinating answer to this question is offered by Rav Azariah Figo (Italy, d. 1647), in his Bina Le'ittim, where he closely analyzes the events that unfolded after Yaakob's departure. As Yaakob traveled to Haran, he slept along the roadside, and beheld his famous vision of a ladder that extended to the heavens. During this vision, G-d spoke to Yaakob, and promised to care for him and to bring him safely back to Eretz Yisrael. Yet, when Yaakob arose, he made a pledge, promising to give one-tenth of his possessions to G-d if G-d would protect him, care for him, and bring him back to his homeland. Surprisingly, Yaakob was uncertain whether Hashem would care for him and return him safely home – despite having just received an explicit promise to this effect. Why? Furthermore, we read in next week's Parasha, Parashat Vayishlah, that when Yaakob was making his way back to Eretz Yisrael, he received a report that Esav was approaching with an army, and he was overcome by fear (32:8). Once again, we must wonder why Yaakob did not trust the explicit guarantee Hashem gave him that he would be protected and would return safely to his homeland. Rav Figo answers all these questions by positing that Yaakob questioned whether the dream he dreamt truly constituted a prophecy. For several reasons, he had reason to suspect that this was simply a dream, and not a prophetic message from the Almighty. For one thing, the Rambam writes that one of the prerequisites for prophecy is a joyful spirit, and Yaakob's current condition – fleeing penniless from his brother who wanted to kill him – did not lend itself to the necessary feelings of joy. Secondly, when a prophet receives prophecy, Hashem normally brings sleep upon him, and he then awakens immediately after the vision. Yaakob, however, did not wake up immediately after his dream. Rav Figo explains on this basis why the Torah tells that in the morning, Yaakob arose "Mi'shenato" – "from his sleep" (28:16). At first glance, this seems unnecessary; when somebody wakes up, he obviously wakes up "from his sleep." Rav Figo writes that the Torah here is telling us that Yaakob did not wake up immediately after beholding his vision, but rather continued sleeping until he woke up in the morning – and this led to his uncertainty as to whether what he saw was just a dream, or in fact a prophetic vision. Rav Figo applies this same approach to explain the first verse of the Parasha. Normally, with rare exceptions, prophecy is given only in Eretz Yisrael, and not outside the land. As Yaakob had left his home in Be'er Sheba, and was heading outside the land, to Haran, he was, in a sense, considered to have already left the Holy Land. This, too, contributed to his doubts regarding the nocturnal vision that he beheld. The Torah told us that Yaakob was making his way to Haran, leaving the Land of Israel, as an introduction to the story of Yaakob's dream, explaining why Yaakob was unsure whether this was a prophecy or an ordinary dream. In the end, of course, it became clear that Yaakob's dream was, in fact, a full-fledged prophecy, and Hashem fulfilled all the promises He had made during that prophetic vision. This understanding of the verses shows how Yaakob serves for us as an inspiring example of humility. Although he beheld a clear vision, during which G-d promised to protect him, and named him as heir to the covenant with Abraham and Yishak, Yaakob remained uncertain about his standing. He did not jump to conclusions, or rush to assume that he had earned G-d's blessings. We have much to learn from Yaakob Abinu's example about avoiding overconfidence. While we must of course take pride in our accomplishments and in all the good that we do, we must also ensure not to take this pride too far, to remain ever cognizant of our deficiencies. We should never feel too spiritually confident, certain that we do everything correctly, that we know better, that we always get it right. We are to live with the humility to acknowledge our imperfections, so that we are always working to correct them and continuing to grow and improve.

In this week's parasha, Toledot , we are introduced to the wicked ways of Esav harasha . Yet although he was so wicked, he merited to rule over our people throughout history until that great day of ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשיו. What did he do to merit all of his blessings? The mitzvah of kibbud av v'em . And although he did excel in many aspects of this mitzvah, he was far from perfect in it, as can be seen explicitly in the pesukim . Furthermore, he was only careful with kibbud av and not kibbud em, as the Rambam explains. Yet, with all of his rishut and all of his deficiencies, he was still rewarded for generations in the merit of this one mitzvah. How much more so will the reward be for even the simplest Jew trying his best to serve Hashem, doing dozens and even hundreds of mitzvot every single day. Of course, we know the real reward for mitzvot is paid in the Next World, while here we only receive their dividends. Every single effort we make is appreciated by Hashem. A rabbi told me he wanted to do the mitzvah of kibbud av v'em and visit his parents who moved to Israel. This rabbi learns half a day and teaches half a day. And so buying plane tickets for him and his wife was a major expense. The travel agent told him the best he could get for two tickets at this time of year was $3800. He then offered him $500 less if he would take a stop-over. The rabbi accepted and booked the tickets. A few hours later, he realized that with the stop-over he was going to miss praying Shacharit with a minyan , as well as his entire morning seder of learning. Then he thought to himself, is it worth $500 to miss minyan and Torah? Of course not. He called the travel agent back and switched to the direct flight. In the end, his flight back had to land in another country because of a technical problem and, due to the delay, he ended up getting back after his morning seder . The airline gave him a $2400 credit for the inconvenience that they caused. He said to me, it was clear that for whatever reason he was meant to arrive in the afternoon that day, but baruch Hashem, he chose Torah and tefila over the money. And as a bonus, Hashem gave him an extra $2000. Our mitzvot are so precious. Even the objects that we use in their performance become holy and thereby bring about yeshuot . I read a story about a young rabbinical scholar who lives in Israel who accepted upon himself to go every Friday to the Shaarei Tzedek Hospital with his accordion and play Shabbat songs to the patients and bring them joy. One day his car broke down and the cost to fix it was more than the worth of the entire car, so he left it. He couldn't afford a new one, but he was worried. How would he continue his mitzvah of bringing joy to the sick on Fridays without a car? He decided he was going to go above and beyond and lug his big accordion on two separate buses to get to that hospital. He continued this week after week and month after month. A couple of years ago, he came into the room of an elderly patient in a coma who the doctors had already given up hope on. When he played his accordion and started singing Shabbat songs, the patient made a very slight smirk and the family began to celebrate. They called the nurses in to see. The following week when he came back and played again, again the smirk came back. On the third week, a miracle took place. While he was playing the song, her eyes opened. He kept playing and, finally, she said a couple of words. The children were so thankful to this young rabbi and asked him more about himself. He told them about his weekly chesed and how he has been doing it with extra effort since he lost his car. They were so moved, they chipped in and bought this rabbi a new car. A week later, their mother was out of the hospital. Our mitzvot are wondrous. The rewards for them are unimaginable and the kedusha that we bring about through their performance is great. Shabbat Shalom.

Rav Fábio em uma mensagem atual da parashá (porção semanal)

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One of the reasons that we are required to make hishtadlut when trying to accomplish something is because Hashem wants us to camouflage His involvement in it. We are to do as much as needed to make it appear that we are the ones accomplishing, but realize that, actually, our actions are not what bring results. Only Hashem does. This is one of the big recurring tests in life. We must be cautious during our hishtadlut that we don't believe that we are the ones getting it done. One of the ways that we can test ourselves is by seeing how much effort we are putting in. If we already did enough to accomplish the goal, yet we continue to put in more and more effort, that is an indication that we really believe we are the ones producing. If we are able to stop when we feel we did enough, then we are showing that we believe it's Hashem. The Brisker Rav pointed out a beautiful lesson in hishtadlut that we learn from this week's parasha, Chayeh Sara, from Avraham Avinu. Avraham sent his faithful servant Eliezer on a mission to find a wife for Yitzchak, but there were some things that were not going to be in his control. And so Eliezer asked Avraham, what if the girl does not want to come back with me? Now we must know Eliezer was the son of Nimrod, who was able to ensnare the entire world with his ability to persuade. Eliezer must have had some of that ability himself. He was also coming with an exorbitant amount of money. When Eliezer asked Avraham what to do if the girl doesn't agree to come, Avraham could have easily told him, don't give up so easily, be stubborn, use your wits to persuade her. If need be, you could buy them with money and gifts, whatever it takes, make sure that you don't come back without her. This would have been a very understandable and logical hishtadlut, yet that was not the response that Avraham gave. Avraham told him, if the girl doesn't want to come back to you, then you are absolved of your mission. You don't need to persuade or buy anyone. All you need to do is enough hishtadlut to get the job done in a natural way and that's it. Avraham understood we are not the ones who produce results and we never have to take desperate measures to get what we want. This is a vital lesson for life. Of course, we need to make hishtadlut, and we can't be lazy about it. It has to make sense that the effort we are putting forth should be enough to produce the desired results. However, more than that is detrimental. Furthermore, our hishtadlut must be accompanied by genuine tefila which shows that we understand Hashem is producing the results. Making the right hishtadlut with the right intentions is a great zechut which will help bring about more Heavenly assistance. Whenever we make any hishtadlut in any area, we must remind ourselves of these concepts. If we really believe that Hashem is in charge, we'll never do anything shady to bring about results. We'll never make too much effort and we'll never act desperate. Avraham Avinu was confident that Hashem was in charge of the shidduch. In the end, Eliezer did not need to do any persuading. Even though Rivka's father and uncle tried to stop the shidduch from happening, Hashem foiled their plans and brought the shidduch to fruition. Hashem is always in charge. He is always the One bringing the results. We must truly internalize this and have it show in our actions. Shabbat Shalom

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RAB MARCO KASSAB-Parashat Jaye Sara: Juntos para siempre! by FOOD 4 OUR SOUL

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Parashat Hayei Sarah - Avraham's Journey by Rabbi Avi Harari

The Torah in Parashat Hayeh-Sara tells the story of Eliezer, the trusted servant of Abraham Abinu, who was sent to find a suitable wife for Abraham's son, Yishak. Abraham told Eliezer to go to his homeland, Aram Naharayim, and choose a girl from there. Upon arriving at the well outside the town, Eliezer prayed to G-d for assistance, asking Him to arrange that the chosen girl would be the one whom he would ask for water, and who would then respond by offering water to him and also to his camels. Sure enough, Ribka – the daughter of Abraham's cousin, Betuel – came to the well, and after Eliezer approached her to ask for water, she drew water also for his camels. Ribka brought Eliezer home, and he explained to her family why he had come. He related to them his experiences at the well, and they had no choice but to conclude that this was Hashem's doing, and Ribka was destined to marry Yishak. Rav Meir Simcha Ha'kohen of Dvinsk (843-1926), in his Meshech Hochma, notes a subtle discrepancy between the Torah's account of Abraham's charge to Eliezer, and the way Eliezer reported it to Ribka's family. Abraham told Eliezer not to bring a girl from the peoples in Canaan, and to instead go bring a girl from Abraham's homeland (24:3-4). Apparently, Abraham sensed that the girls in Aram were worthier than the girls in Canaan. In speaking with Ribka's family, however, Eliezer said that Abraham told him to go to "my father's home" and "my family" (24:38). Rav Meir Simcha explains that Abraham did not actually care whether or not the girl was from his family; he cared only that she came from Aram, as the people of Aram were of a better character than the people of Canaan. Eliezer therefore decided to choose the girl who showed that she was kind and generous, worthy of marrying Abraham's daughter. His concern was only the girl's character, and not whether or not she belonged to Abraham's family. But when he arrived at Ribka's home and spoke with her family, he feared they might feel offended if they realized that Abraham was not looking specifically to choose someone from their family for Yishak. Eliezer therefore said that Abraham instructed him to go to "my father's home" and "my family," so they would feel honored by Abraham's wish to have someone from their family marry his son, and would not take offense. The Meshech Hochma notes that this explanation answers a number of other questions, as well, including the question of how to reconcile Eliezer's actions with the prohibition of "Kishuf" – sorcery. It seems that Eliezer made a random test to find the right girl, which is prohibited, as the Torah does not allow making decisions in this manner, saying "If X happens then I'll do Y." The Meshech Hochma explains that this prohibition applies only if there is no logical connection between "X" and "Y," in which case this constitutes a form of witchcraft. In Eliezer's case, however, a clear, logical system was arranged, as he wanted to find a girl who excelled in the area of kindness and generosity, and who was thus worthy of marrying into the family of Abraham Abinu. When we study this story, and we see the thought and effort that Eliezer invested in order to ensure to find the right match for Yishak, we come away awed and inspired. The Sages teach that Eliezer had a daughter whom he very much wished would marry Yishak. As such, he had vested interest in the failure of his mission. If he would not find the right girl, or if the girl's family would not allow her to go to Canaan to marry Yishak, this would leave open the possibility of his daughter marrying Yishak. And yet, Eliezer did everything he could to ensure the success of his mission, to find the right girl and see to it that her family would agree to the match. We learn from here that under all circumstances, we are to do the right thing, even when this seems to entail considerable sacrifice, and trust in Hashem to make everything work out. When Torah observance appears to not be in our best interests, we must learn from Eliezer's example, and have the faith and conviction to do the right thing anyway. Fulfilling Hashem's commands is always the most beneficial thing we can do, even when it seems detrimental, and so we must be prepared to obey despite the sacrifices entailed, trusting that Hashem will bring the most favorable outcome.

Eliezer y su mandato

La Gueula en la Parasha de la semana Jaiei Sara

The Gemara says in Masechet Sotah that we have a mitzvah to emulate Hashem. And one of the ways in which we do this is by visiting a person who is sick, just like Hashem did in this week's parasha Vayerah when Avraham was home, healing from his brit milah . Our greatest Rabbis would take away time from their Torah study to go visit sick people. When we do bikur cholim , we are connecting to Hashem. The Gemara says in Masechet Nedarim that when a person visits the sick, he brings life to that person and part of the mitzvah entails praying for the person to be healed. The Gemara says the Shechina rests right above the bed of a sick person and therefore, we are able to pray for the person there without even mentioning their name. If the visitor can give the sick person any words to lift his spirits, it makes the mitzvah infinitely greater. When Hashem came to visit Avraham, He gave him the ultimate chizuk , as explained by the Maharshak. The Rabbi asked, why did Hashem send all three angels to Avraham's house? One of them was just there to go overturn Sedom. Furthermore, why did Hashem leave Avraham in pain for three days? Once He was going to heal him anyway, why didn't he heal him right away? The Rabbi answered,לפום צערא אגרא – according to the pain is the reward. If Avraham would have become healed immediately from the brit milah , it would have detracted from the value of that mitzvah. Moreover, every day that a person serves Hashem the way he is supposed to, he creates an angel. The three angels who came to visit Avraham, said the Rabbi, were the three angels that Avraham created by doing the avodah that was expected of him during those three days. By Avraham accepting the pain he was going through, yearning to perform mitzvot despite that pain, he accomplished world changing events. On the first day, Avraham created an angel that was going to save Lot, who was going to be the father of the Mashiach . On the second day, Avraham created an angel that was going to inform him about the birth of Yitzchak Avinu. And on the third day, he created an angel that was going to rid the world of the evil of Sedom and, some say, the angel who came to heal Avraham. When Hashem came to visit Avraham, He gave him the ultimate chizuk. He revealed to him what he was accomplishing by going through the pain of that brit milah and how great it was that he was accepting it with love. Every sick person endures a great deal of yissurin . They have no idea how much they are accomplishing with their suffering. If they are able to do what they can spiritually, while they are sick, and they accept what they are going through with love, they will also be creating angels and those angels may be changing the entire course of history. We don't know how valuable accepting yissurin is, but one day everyone will be able to see how much they accomplished by doing their jobs despite being in a state of affliction. Sometimes all the job entails is not complaining. Everyone has a mitzvah to visit the sick and thereby emulate Hashem. Each visit will add more life to the patient. May Hashem bring רפואה שלמה לכל חולי ישראל. אמן.. Shabbat Shalom.

Los angeles que visitaron a Abrahamavinu y la prohibición de mezclar carne con leche.

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La Gueula en la Parasha de la semana Vaierá

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The pasuk says in this week's parasha, Lech Lecha , ויוצא אותו החוצה . Avraham Avinu, who knew how to read the stars, told Hashem that he saw he was not going to have children. Hashem told him to go outside of his astrology, because אין מזל לישראל . It doesn't matter what the stars say, because we are above the stars, and things can always change. These words have given so much hope to people who have been told throughout the generations that in the natural way of the world they would be unable to have children, or unable to accomplish something they hoped to accomplish. Our tefillot and our emunah can transcend nature. Sometimes people get their hopes up and pray hard, but then they get let down, and they want to give up. The emunah that a person portrays after a letdown is such a great zechut. It could be that the entire letdown was created just for the person to have emunah at that time, because that emunah can be the catalyst for his ultimate yeshua. We never know which tefila or which avoda will change a mazal. Every one of them is valuable, and we should never underestimate any of them. A young man who learns in kollel told me he had been married for two years without children and things were not looking good for them. Last year before Sukkot, they felt uneasy about spending time with their families, with all of their other siblings already having children, and perhaps pitying them for not having. They had wanted to go for a long time to Eretz Yisrael, to pray by the kotel, and pray by kivrei tzaddikim and get berachot from gedolim. They decided this would be the perfect time to go. It was expensive, and they didn't have that much money, but they knew they needed a lot of רחמי שמים , and heartfelt tefilot in מקומות הקדושים was a great way of getting it. The first couple of days there, they went to the Kotel, kever Rachel, Ma'arat Hamachpela, and prayed for a long time at each place. They went to a couple of more places during chol ha-moed, and they had their main full schedule planned for after the holiday. But then came Shemini Atzeret, October 7th, and the tragic news began to spread. Their prayers changed from focusing on themselves to focusing on Klal Yisrael. Their plans were canceled. They spent the rest of the time there, indoors, including a few bomb shelters. Of course, their hearts were with all of those people who were suffering so much, but they couldn't help but also feel that their chance of having children was also getting ruined. This was their one chance in Eretz Yisrael to get the yeshua they had been desperately seeking. They decided to strengthen their emunah and accept that now Hashem wanted them to pray for others rather than themselves. They fully accepted the situation Hashem put them in and were happy with it. The very next night, at the house of the people they were staying by, their child who has Down syndrome turned to this couple and said, "You're going to have a baby." They were awestruck. Baruch Hashem, just two weeks later, they discovered that they were indeed expecting a child. There were many scares during the pregnancy, but Baruch Hashem, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Things don't always happen the way we want or plan or hope, but our job is to always embrace the will of Hashem and do the job that He wants us to do. We never know what Avodah will bring our yeshua, but we do know that no matter what, we can always be helped, and we need to hope and pray with that attitude. Shabbat Shalom.

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La circuncision espiritual.

La Gueula en la Parasha de la semana

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We read in Parashat Lech-Lecha of Hagar, an Egyptian woman who become the maidservant of Sara Imenu. The Midrash teaches that Sara was actually a princess, Pharaoh's daughter, and Pharaoh gave her as a maidservant to Sara upon seeing Avraham and Sara's greatness, and realizing what a privilege it would be for his daughter to work in their home. Later, after Avraham and Sara lived together for many years without children, Sara had Avraham marry Hagar. Hagar immediately conceived, resulting in tensions between her and Sara. Sara mistreated Hagar, and Hagar fled. She ended up meeting an angel, who urged her to return to Avraham and Sara's home, despite the hardships she would face there. Hagar complied. Hagar's return to Sara conveys a powerful lesson to each and every one of us. She understood the immense value and benefit of joining Avraham and Sara, even when this entailed a degree of hardship. It was difficult for Hagar to live in the home, given the tensions that arose between her and Sara, but she nevertheless accepted the angel's advice, coming to realize that it is worth enduring this unpleasantness for the sake of the great privilege of living with Avraham and Sara. The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (31a) tells the famous story of a non-Jew who came before Shammai and said that he would convert to Judaism if Shammai could teach him the entire Torah in just a few moments, within the amount of time he could stand on one foot. Shammai sent the man away, figuring that he could not possibly be serious about embracing Judaism if he demanded to learn the entire Torah in just a few seconds. The gentile then came to Hillel, and said the same thing – that he would convert if Hillel could teach him the entire Torah while he stood on one foot. Hillel warmly embraced him, and said, "That which you dislike – do not do to your fellow." He explained that this concept encapsulates the entire Torah. This story is often understood as contrasting the approaches of Hillel and Shammai, showing how Shammai followed a stricter policy, whereas Hillel was more patient and tolerant. However, I would like to suggest an additional angle to this story. Perhaps, the gentile's experience with Shammai is told not as a point of contrast with his experience with Hillel, but rather as the background to his experience to Hillel. Meaning, Hillel quite possibly accepted this prospective convert as sincere and well-meaning precisely because he continued in his quest even after being rejected by Shammai. The fact that the man did not relent, and persisted in his attempt to join the Jewish Nation, even after a rejection, demonstrated how highly he regarded the privilege of being a Jew. His perseverance testified to his sincerity, showing that he was prepared to go through a lengthy process for the priceless opportunity to join Am Yisrael. He in fact was not just looking for an easy route; like Hagar, he was prepared to do whatever it took to become part of the Jewish People. We declare each morning during the Shaharit service, "Ashrenu Ma Tob Helkenu, U'ma Na'im Goralenu, U'ma Yafa Me'od Yerushatenu" – "We are fortunate, how good is our portion, and how pleasant is our lot, and how exceedingly beautiful is our inheritance!" At the beginning of every day, we are to remind ourselves of how privileged we are to belong to Hashem's special nation, to be able to devote our lives to His service. We remind ourselves that no matter what we will have to do deal with over the course of the day, we've won the lottery of life, we have received a precious gift. Yes, throughout any given day, a Jew is going to confront challenges. He might struggle with a challenge to his faith, a challenge posed by his sinful inclinations, the hardships that arise when seeking to meticulously observe the Misvot, or the hostility so often shown to us by other peoples. Belonging to Am Yisrael is not always going to be easy. But we can and must look to Hagar for inspiration, to be reminded that we are truly fortunate, that any difficulties that we endure are a small price to pay for the great privilege that we have been given to serve the Almighty.

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Parashat Noah

Parashat Noah

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Why did Noah have to build an ark? Clearly, this was a very difficult and complicated way for Hashem to save Noah and his family from the flood. Not only did Noah have the go through the trouble of building this enormous edifice – a project which, according to tradition, took over 100 years to complete! – but it also subjected Noah and his family to grueling hardship. They lived together with all the animals, enduring great suffering. For one thing, we cannot even imagine the stench in the ark from all the waste produced by the animals. And, Noah was responsible for feeding every animal – such that he could never rest, as he needed to ensure that every animal was fed on time, and the different species all have different feeding schedules. This was an unfathomably challenging experience for Noah and his family. So why did Hashem save them this way? Hashem had an infinite number of ways to rescue Noah and his family. Why did He choose to have them live on an ark? The Meshech Hochma (Rav Meir Simcha Ha'kohen of Dvinsk, 1843-1926) answers that the ark was necessary in order for Noah and his family to experience what we might call "detox." As the Torah describes, the people of Noah's time were sinful, corrupt and degenerate. The society was overrun by greed, immorality and violence. People were concerned exclusively with the pursuit of self-gratification, completely disregarding the needs of others. And although Noah and his family were righteous, they were undoubtedly affected by their surroundings. Living in a society makes it all but impossible to avoid the influences of that society's value system, beliefs and culture. To some small extent, Noah and his family were influenced by their society's culture of selfishness, wanton indulgence, and cruelty. In order for this culture to be completely eliminated, Noah and his family – who would rebuild the world after the flood – needed to be purged of this influence. And for this reason, the Meshech Hochma explains, Hashem commanded them to spend a year in the ark. During this year, they were compelled to act precisely opposite of their contemporaries. They had no possibility of indulging in food, as their food supply was limited without ever being replenished. They could not live in comfort. And, they spent the entire year caring for animals, extending themselves on behalf of other creatures. For an entire year, Noah and his family were completely immersed in selflessness – thereby purging themselves of all traces of influence from the immoral society in which they had lived. Sadly, we, too, are living in a degenerate society. Our generation has embraced corrupt ideas, and inverts right and wrong. Throughout the last year, Israel has consistently been depicted as the villain, while the Hamas terrorists are seen as the helpless victims. Good is turned into bad and bad is turned into good. Basic morality is ridiculed and shunned, as are the values of self-discipline, self-restraint, and dignity. Wanton pleasure-seeking is encouraged as an ideal, and any limitations are frowned upon. Like Noah, we need to build an "ark" for ourselves – and, far more importantly, we need to make the most of this "ark." Our modern-day "ark" is our community institutions – our yeshivot, Bateh Midrash, synagogues, and communal learning programs. In this "ark," we immerse ourselves in Torah values, in morality, in spirituality. We "detox," reminding ourselves of what's right and what's wrong, of which lifestyles are appropriate and which are inappropriate, of which relationships are proper and which are improper, of how a family should look like, and of how we are to live our lives. Of course, we cannot spend our lives in the "ark." Just as Noah and his family were eventually told to exit the ark, we, too, need to spend time outside our "ark" and interact and engage with the world around us. Therefore, we need to make the most of the time spent in the "ark." Youngsters in our community's educational institutions need to be encouraged to maximize their learning and their participation in educational programming. Adults need to be fully engaged when they come to synagogue and Torah classes, recognizing the great importance of this "detox" process, of inoculating themselves against the pervasive influences of our society. Only this way can we hope to protect ourselves and our families, to retain our loyalty and devotion to Torah values, and successfully maintain our precious Torah tradition and transmit it to the next generation.

10/28/24