Why All The Prayer?

Howard and I we're having lunch at the Kiddush one Shabbat afternoon. Howard was new in town, he had just migrated from overseas, and he has not been to a synagogue on Shabbat in many years.

Howard then asked me the question I new he would ask; the question that so many people ask the first time they take a careful look at the prayer book: "why are we spending so much time praising and thanking G-d? Is his self esteem so low that he'll have a bad weekend if we don't spend all Shabbat Morning praising him?"

I tried to answer to the best of my ability, but it did not seem to satisfy him. Well, what can I do other then continue eating my bagel.

Then we started talking about his children adjusting to life in the U.S.; he tells me: "Menachem, the problem with the U.S. is that the children here are so privileged yet they take it for granted and they don't appreciate it. Therefore all their blessings do not create happier children.

I said: "my friend, this may just be the reason why we pray and thank G-d so much. Look around this society, how many people take the time to appreciate their life, their health, their children and the blessing in their life. If we ant to appreciate life and enjoy it to it's fullest we must acknowledge the awesome blessing that is life itself. The more we thankful for the miracles that G-d performs for us every day, the more we will reap the fruit of the blessing". 

HaYom Yom 20 & 21 Tammuz

A very interesting contrast:

HaYom Yom is "Yeder Tog Iz Gelebt" with HaYom Yom every day comes alive! (Source?)

So on 20 Tammuz you 'get up' with there being 3 levels of contemplation (hisbonenus); during learning, before davening and during davening. And concludes that sometimes you may be able to have feelings for G-dliness without working on it but that's unusual. Generally speaking, when working on yourself, you need these 3 steps (ayin sham).

This seems to be a blueprint for a structure of how you work on yourself.

The next day on 21 Tammuz you 'get up' and discover that in exile, in golus, the structure is gone. The place (of the Beis Hamikdash) is still holy, your foundation is still intact but the building above the foundation is destroyed.

Weren't we working on the structure yesterday? To discover today it's gone?

Your comments would be greatly appreciated!

Drawing Down Intellect Into Emotions

HaYom Yom 22 Elul

"Before you rebuke you must cut your nails, for every shtach is klipah."

Presumably this means that not only should you not deliberately hurt the person. But that your words shouldn't sting.

"Then you wash your hands which means draw down intellect into emotions."

Seemingly we must approach HaYom Yom with the same way the Rebbe taught us to study Rashi. HaYom Yom is a Chassidic saying or custom for every day, for every Chassid. It's therefore understood that the saying must be understandable to every Chassid including, as the Rebbe put it regarding Rashi, even to the "Ben chomesh limikrah"- the five your old just beginning to study Torah.

Therefore when we see a saying that seemingly needs prior understanding we must ask how's does a "five year old" understand and relate to this idea?

What then does "draw intellect into emotions mean?

Perhaps we can understand this in 3 ways (this is without looking up the source of the saying):

1. When your rebuking your too emotional. You're too heated up and therefore after you take out the sting you must also temper the emotion. You got to calm down before you give the rebuke or else it might come out too harsh. When we draw intellect into emotion we temper the emotion. Our mind tames our heart.

2. Or possibly you're rebuke is coming from an abstract place. From your mind. You believe it's the right thing to do, but you're not in it. A cold, rational rebuke. You've removed the sting but you don't care either. Then you've got to bring it own to the emotions. You must awaken your love for the one your rebuking. If not then they're not words that leave the heart and therefore won't penetrate the heart.

3. After you "remove the nails" you must ask yourself, why? Why am I rebuking? For what reason? And how will I make sure that my words help instead of hurt? We got to draw down common sense so the rebuke has the strongest impact

Jerusalem

When the Jewish people were camped at the bank of the Jordan River, ready to enter the land of Israel, Moshe has already given them almost all of the law. Yet, curiously, Moshe passed away without telling them one crucial piece of information: what was the location of the spiritual capital city of Israel? Where should they build the Holy Temple?

It is surprising to realize that the Torah inform us of many details of the laws of the sacrifices, yet the place all this should happen is undisclosed. A number of times, in the book of Deuteronomy, Moshe uses the phrase “The place which G-d will choose to rest his name there”. Why did the Torah not disclose the location of “The place which G-d will choose”?

The answer is that G-d will choose Jerusalem only after the people themselves choose a place that they feel is appropriate for G-d's home. As the verse quoted above continues “You shall seek his presence and come there”. The verse teaches that only the human being, who is part and parcel of the physical reality, can create a permanent dwelling place for G-d in this physical world. Only once King David choose the site of Jerusalem as the place he felt would be the perfect home for G-d, did G-d, through the prophet agree with the choice making Jerusalem, and the Temple Mountain, the spiritual capital of the world.

It's fascinating to contemplate that all the places that G-d chose for divine revelation, Mount Sinai the location of the sanctuary while the Jewish people traveled in the dessert for forty years led by the cloud of , were all temporary. The one place that was picked by the human being as a place for G-d to choose achieves permanent holiness.

Perhaps this is a lesson on our life. The gifts we receive, from parents, friends, teachers, as well as inspiration directly from G-d, will not have a permanent affect on our life unless we choose to get involved and become a partner. The inspiration will not change you unless you commit to do your part to “seek his presence” and take part in the building of your spiritual Jerusalem.