Who's Doing the Walking?

When we were children, my brother had a distorted old pair of running shoes which he refused to throw away because they were so comfortable. My mother, to no avail, kept telling him that distorted shoes affect your walk and can misshape a growing foot. She also had her own theory for me too. She’d say, if you walk around in very baggy clothing all the time, you’ll grow into them and won’t feel yourself getting fat. Now, this is no blog on orthopedics or weight, but the running shoe and sweatpants admonishments have become symbolic life lessons for me. Where she was a pragmatist, I was a philosopher.

How often in life do we fall into what is comfortable for us instead of what is good for us? Too often! But, the comfort zone, dear readers, is not your friend. It’s a place where we lull ourselves with excuses, cower in fear, and stop seeing who we are and what we are becoming. In the “bagginess,” the details get lost, and there is no valuable reference frame to measure our lives, our growth, and, G-d forbid, our failures. But we can't fear failure. It is a teacher after all, not a death sentence.

It's sad—no, it’s tragic—how many of us get too comfortable in jobs that are beneath us or “love” relationships that diminish us, or body sizes that inhibit us, or habits that kill us. We even grow comfortable in our misery and toxicities that we can no longer notice due to familiarity. 

In this week's parashah, we read about the traits that make an animal or species kosher or not. Doing so involves scrutiny and isolating traits that qualify a potential food source. We have to review our own lives and our own traits with the same scrutiny and start cutting out the things, friends, habits, etc., that are inhibiting our reach for excellence, including spiritually.

Click to watch Aliza's Torah videos on YouTube

Yes, it’s intimidating to dip one’s toe in the big wide world because even as we get inspired, we really think everyone else is better than us, smarter than us, more capable than us. Basically, we are afraid of life. But as the book Outliers portrays via data, “geniuses” are made, not born. Few are greater than us naturally. The proof is that the self-help market is a multibillion-dollar industry. Without ever opening a self-help book, merely acknowledging the size of that industry should be an instant cure for all our insecurities. It’s telling us, rather shouting at us, that everyone is in the same boat. Everyone is afraid or insecure on some level.

Click to watch Aliza's Torah videos on YouTube

In a few weeks, we will be entering the month of Elul on the Hebrew calendar, which is a month of introspection wherein people try to improve themselves prior to the upcoming high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. But change can never really come if we don’t hone in on what needs to be changed. This week’s Parasha Re’eh opens with the words, “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.” We think the choice should be clear and easy. But the evil inclination starts blurring the lines between choices, and we very often grab for the curse because it’s comfortable.

We are told that G-d doesn't recognize the Jewish people from one Yom Kippur to the next. The pure souls that left the synagogue a year earlier have returned in a blemished state one year later. My prayer for all of us is that next year G-d won’t recognize us once again, but only because we are better, brighter, happier, healthier, and holier than ever before.

And as my mother taught, stop falling into things that mask your faults or accommodate them, and choose the blessings--choose life.

Who Are You? & Why They Hate Us

Pulling out my calling cards made me feel important: ABC News, Fox News, Lifestyles Magazine—no shabby affiliations by any means. As a journalist, I must admit that at the start of my career, meeting prominent people was intoxicating. There it was: my name in the byline next to world-famous headliners, congressmen, journalists, and rock stars. I was initially proud—feeling like a superstar by association. When you rub shoulders with such people, what really rubs off?

As we know, all that glitters is not gold. For the most part, it was a fake world, both bamboozled and paranoid with itself. Some of the people I interviewed and met have been indicted and have committed serious offenses. Am I now guilty by association? It seems only fair, given that I gained honor from their klieg lights. At what cost, I ask, do we cling to our titles, prestige, and illusory visions of ourselves? A whole life can pass without truth. We cling to status symbols, striving for more, without deeply contemplating who the real audience is.

I consider myself fortunate because, for every "star" I’ve pursued, some fallen, I was keenly aware of the presence of a Higher Power above them—Hashem. When I realized I was living in a vapid world of make-believe, there was something real and unchanging for me to grasp onto—G-d and His Torah. Scrolled up in the heart of every synagogue and within every Jew is the true infinite source of light, not one that switches off when the show ends or burns out midway.

Our egos and pride have become massive scaffolds holding up our house of cards. But when life huffs and puffs, it will blow our "house" down. The eye-opening antisemitism of the past year, reminiscent of the hatred preceding the Holocaust, has served to knock down our scaffolds. Despite our significant contributions across every echelon of society, the Jew is still hated. Despite all we’ve contributed scientifically, monetarily, or otherwise to improve the world, we remain targets of hatred. The simple question of why should not be beyond our inquiry. Both the Jewish people and their tiny country are uniquely targeted for opprobrium.

Here's why!

Have you ever known someone who achieved great success, only to be criticized for “forgetting where they came from”? That’s us, the Jews. We have forgotten our origins and what we are meant to do on this planet. G-d told us we are His special chosen nation, and our job is to behave like Jews and be a light to all the nations. Being a Jew means being honest in business, keeping kosher, giving charity, and representing G-d with class, grace, and integrity. But we’ve come to love ourselves too much and serve our own desires instead, causing our holy charge and all that comes with it to disintegrate in the tantalizing process of assimilation—a people trying so hard to fit in when we were born to stand out.

We have modern-day role models, but perhaps it’s best to look toward figures whose names still inspire thousands of years later—like Moses. Moses didn’t need titles. He was the most humble person who ever lived. The greatest prophet in history, who spoke face-to-face with G-d, did not have business cards that read Prophet-in-Chief or CEO of the Torah. Moses was called a servant of G-d. King David’s humility, too, made him the greatest king in history: "And I am a worm and not a man" (Psalms 22:17). I'm not knocking achievement, just forcing the question: Who are you serving?

If antisemitic governments and institutions can expel Jews or expropriate their possessions, what remains of us? What can we pass to the next generation? When we leave a job, retire, or get fired, and our business cards become obsolete, who are we? Do we just become sad, pathetic old stories of what we used to be? To understand who we are, we must know where we come from. We are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are the students of Moses and the trustees of the Divine word chosen by G-d Himself. We are Jews, deliverers of light. That is our job and duty. So, stop focusing on the calling cards and listen to your calling. Don’t make G-d shout. Because, in case you haven’t noticed, the discontent is getting louder.       Shabbat Shalom!

The Weight of it All

Listen to article on Spotify:

 We live in such an egotistical, self-absorbed world that it is no wonder that it is falling apart. It’s fractured by the pull of each man for himself. From selfies to the social media platforms which broadcast them, the obsession with self is nothing less than suicidal.

 

We deem others along with their ambitions and successes as threats to our own survival, and as such, everyone feels like an enemy and no one like a friend.  And so, the world is unhinging from its axis and is on quick course to an unprecedented global transformation of some nature. Egoists would love to know that we are at the center and impetus of it all.

Click to watchAliza's  videos on YouTube 

I recently heard a fable which I liked very much. But as a writer, I thought that I could do better (there’s full blown ego for you!) and so I here’s my version:

 

There was a special island whose inhabitants were not people, but rather, positive emotions: Love, Serenity, Forgiveness, Joy, Hope, Inspiration and a few others.  One day, Ego came to town to show off.

 

Shortly thereafter, a terrible storm was about to hit. The inhabitants of the island realized that they would have to escape to survive.

 

Love took a proactive role and made a boat to save everyone. All the emotions jumped on board. The boat was strong and ready to set sail. Suddenly, Love realized that Ego was missing. She quickly jumped out of the boat and went looking for him, only to find him in a bar crying over a drink.

 

“Quick!  Hurry up! We have to leave before the storm hits!” cried Love.   

 

Ego was adamant, “I’m not going. I should have been the first one to board the ship since I am a guest in this town.”

 

Love begged Ego to change his mind, but he was very stubborn. Love then tried a tactic to which Ego could relate.

 

“If you stay here, you will die.” said Love.  

 

Ego, wanting nothing more than to preserve himself, agreed. When he reached the boat, Ego once more revealed his ugly disposition and ordered everyone to get off the boat so that he could board first.

 

All the positive emotions were happy to oblige and jumped out. Then Ego proudly got in. But just as he did, the boat sunk and cracked destroying the only escape made by the hands of Love. The storm struck and everyone died. If only Ego had left his attitude ashore, they might all have survived. But the weight of his arrogance and attitude which he brought aboard wreaked destruction for all.

 

How often in our own lives do we let ego destroy our relationships, opportunities and important occasions? The Book of Proverbs warns us that, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (16:18)

 

In this week's Parshah, Bo, we read about Pharaoh’s persistent refusal to let the Israelites go. There are many egomaniacs in the Tanach:  Haman, Avimelech, Absalom, etc., and Pharaoh was among them. Pharaoh deemed himself a god. He believed then he created the Nile and that he created himself. He rejected the omnipotent G-d Who created the world with Ten Utterances. Thusly, with precise retribution, God delivered ten plagues to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. His punishment was like a ten-step program to break egocentricity. But unfortunately, not everyone is mended in “rehab.” Pharaoh was one such failure.

 It is significant to note that G-d sent none other than Moses, the humblest man who ever lived, to liberate the Israelites. Moses was a reluctant leader who begged G-d to send someone else.

 

Furthermore, we also learn humility from the location upon which G-d gave the Torah -- Mount Sinai. G-d did not pick the highest mountain in the world to bestow the loftiest gift ever given to mankind.   He chose a humble mountain as the backdrop for the giving of His Torah, a Book that would render His people holy and transform them from Pharaoh’s slaves to servants of His will and masters of their passions.

 

But just as Pharaoh’s gigantic ego was sinful, so too is having a lack of sense of self. We have to be aware that the spirit of G-d lives inside us if we are to accomplish our missions in this world.  

 

How many of us are afraid to achieve our dreams and aspirations because we have fragile egos?  

 

“If I fail, I’ll look so bad. What will people think?”

 

But the Torah does not let us off the hook. We have to try. Where there is fear, there is no faith. Even though Moses had a speech impediment, he was the deliverer of the Divine word.

 

Even though King David was small in stature and a mere shepherd, it was he who took down Goliath.

 

Moses’ Egyptian adoptive mother reached for the basket that was well beyond her reach, but God extended her arm and she rescued none other than Moses.

 

A nation came to the shores of the Red Sea while the Egyptians pursued them from behind. Survival seemed impossible and death imminent. One man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, jumped into the waters and the sea parted.

 

You see, my friends, results are not in our hands, but God demands that we take action.  Miracles only transpire when man makes the first move. There is no instance in the Torah where things transpire differently.

 

Make your move. A kosher move. G-d is with you. We would never fear if we knew Who walked beside us. 

 

But there is a place where G-d does not walk. G-d does not dwell among arrogant people.  This makes perfect sense because two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time. If you are full of yourself, there is no room for Him.

 

So, let's work on shaping our egos both our gigantic ones and our fragile ones (sometimes they are just about the same thing.) For an arrogant man knows not his place in this world and a meek one will never make his place.

 

When we serve God, we are empowered; we find our courage; we find our words; we find our rescue; we find our mission; we find our voice; we find our backbone; we find our feet; we find our true selves; And then most certainly, we find our blessed way.

 

May G-d be with you! Shabbat Shalom!

Copy Cat

Follow Aliza on YouTube 

 My whole life I always hated it  when people copied me. Those who love me know it well and hopefully don’t love me less because of it. But I always deemed it as a form of identity theft. I know some will say imitation is the highest form of praise. But for me, imitation is the highest form of irritation.  And I’ve often racked my brain as to why it bothers me so much. Was I afraid that if you wore the same hat and ring that I would mistake you for me? At what point do I risk losing my unique identity altogether? And then I think about it another way and question whether those things which are copyable are really me at all. Some advise and say if you’re being copied then you must be doing something right. But I’ve concluded that if I am copyable then I’m doing something very wrong. For each one of us is a unique soul and if I’d be truly pressing my soul to extricate what is uniquely me it would be as inimitable as a thumb print.  Not for the first time my grievance would become my teacher. 

One day as I was out and about doing errands, a cashier complimented me on my shoes. The vanity in me was of course happy to hear it. After all, they are my favorite shoes. But were they Aliza?  What do they really have to do with me? The day I throw them away will there be less of me in the world? Of course such a compliment is nothing to write about. But I am because what came just before stood in beautiful contrast. 

As I had pulled into the parking lot, a woman just getting back into her car was looking suspiciously at something. The terror in me quickly rose. Oh no, what's behind me? A gunman? A cop? A mugger? I asked her what she was looking at and she pointed out that a blind man seemed to have lost his way.  I turned and saw he was headed right into a somewhat busy street. In my way-too-high shoes, I dashed over to him and asked him if he needed help. I thought I'd just be crossing the street and then I’d go back to shopping. No, he needed help getting to Citibank. For many weeks I'd been avoiding the Florida sunshine and the hateful freckles it leaves me as souvenirs. But here, mid-day, with the merciless sun beating on my head, I found myself walking half a mile; the blonde was leading the blind with me asking him for landmarks to know whether we were going in the right direction. It turned out he was Jewish and had been blind from birth. I just wish I would trust in G-d even more to lead me to the right place as the blind man trusted me. I can't help but think he was there to show stumbling, bumbling me the way to faith. Upon replay, I thank him now for two things. One, he gave me the chance to do a mitzvah and second, his blindness made me see clearly that the Aliza that is copyable is not Aliza at all. He couldn't see anything about me except who I really was. The hour I spent in front of the mirror getting ready was meaningless to him. I concluded that that day my shoes really earned any compliment they ever got because they worked in the service of G-d and doing a mitzvah. And that's life. It's all about who wears the shoes and how you walk in them. 

In this week’s parasha, "Vayechi," the last in the book of Genesis, we read about the imminent death of Jacob who with foresight at the impending moment blessed his sons, the future tribes of Israel. His parting words were by no means a blanket blessing to wish his sons a one-size-fits-all good luck and farewell. Each son received a unique blessing which was intrinsic to his soul and his idiosyncratic and divine destiny. Each tribe would ultimately be represented by a precious stone embedded in the breastplate of the high priest when serving in the Holy Temple. Could the sapphire representing Issachar imitate the pearl which represented Zebulun? Could the emerald representing Judah imitate the turquoise representing Naphtali? Each gem has its own beauty and brilliance to reflect in the world.  Ultimately, scholars descended from Issachar, seafarers from Zebulun, leaders from Judah, judges from Dan, priests from Levi, etc.  Why even bother having 12 tribes if each was destined to be like the other.  Obviously, they were not. “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel...each man, according to his blessing, he blessed them.” (Genesis 49:28)

When we become the best and highest version of ourselves, no one can steal our thunder because we own the sky.  Don’t tell Cecil B DeMille, but the Sages teach that when the Jews left Egypt the Red Sea didn’t split into two, it actually split into twelve paths, providing a distinct path for each of the twelve tribes. Each one of us should to take an honest, deep look at ourselves and find the gem within that is distinctly us--and polish it. Life is not only about living a purpose-driven life; it is about living, in heightened form, our own unique purpose. I walked away from the mirror and what I thought was me was no longer reflected. Here I am now at my laptop, writing only what I can write. It is my purpose, it is my soul, it is my thumbprint, it is Aliza. Who are you?

Follow Aliza on YouTube

Breathtaking Times

 

As an emphatic way to describe an experience, people will say, “It took my breath away.” I too, like everyone else, am moved by things and happenings. But, in honesty, I seem to be wired for bad news, and I can’t say that anything ever took my breath away other than a cardio workout.

But then, two things, unfortunately, did. My father's death and October 7th, 2023, the day Satan's executioners, Hamas, a terrorist organization slaughtered over 1200 Israelis including mothers, children, and just everyone, without discrimination. The only discriminating factor is that they were aiming for Jews. These killers were equal opportunity destroyers. They killed youngsters at parties, raped them, dismembered people, cut off baby's heads burned people alive, and forced families to watch as they perpetrated sadistic crimes on other members of the family. They took hostages of every age. We've heard and documented so many accounts of their subhuman atrocities that

it's so darn difficult to catch one's breath. Then the streets of the world fill not with expressions of solidarity and mourning with and for the Jewish people, but rather with calls to victimize them further. People call for a ceasefire while simultaneously calling to fire up the gas chambers once again, to kill Jews. 

So many of us are no left breathless.

 I can't recall which rabbi said the following, but his words became my new oxygen: “If one cannot catch one’s breath, how can one claim to be connected to Hashem and to be living in faith? We overload our system with fear instead of faith. Worrying about tomorrow, we strive to seize breaths not yet allotted to us, attempting to fit a year's worth of breaths into a single day. 

We read in the Book of Genesis how G‑d breathed the breath of life into Adam. G-d’s breath is our animating force. Yet, often we forget this and become burdened by grief, fear, and disappointment, disconnecting from G-d and going breathlessly through the motions of life as the world unravels around us. 

We can learn an empowering life lesson from our forefather Jacob in this week’s Torah portion of Vayishlach. Jacob’s life story is marked by heartache and challenges. His life could be turned into a Netflix drama with at least seven seasons. Yet, true to his name, Jacob, meaning the heel of a foot, he propelled himself forward in life. His heartaches did not become his Achilles heel, nor did he use them as excuses to spurn G-d. 

Jacob breathed because he believed. 

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” But if you want to climb it, you have to breathe, let go, and let G-d. 

It's written in our Tanach that in the messianic times, all the Jews will gather from the four corners of the world and return to the Promised Land. Have we ever in our lifetimes seen such a driving force? With that thought, I catch my breath. It's written in messianic times that the whole world will turn against the Jews, and we will have only God. Have we ever been so close to that in our lifetimes? With that, I catch my breath. It's written that truth will be abandoned; have we ever seen that more than now? With that, I catch my breath. It's written that there will be unbridled irresponsibility on the part of authorities and impudent leadership. Have we ever seen such incompetence and a conscious dereliction of duty as we do now? With that, I catch my breath. Live in faith, keep close to God by doing mitzvot. Now is not the time to sin while our trial is playing out. 

I'll end with lyrics from a song written by an English rock band called The Police. Just pretend it’s G-d singing them to you: 

Every BREATH you take

And every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

I'll be watching you.

From where will my help come?

What does G-d want from us?" "What do our haters want from us?" These questions have become ever more popular since the war in Israel. But they've been around for thousands of years.

These are spiritually-driven questions, yet we, the askers never seem satisfied with spiritual answers. Tell people it's all about stopping their sins and elevating the world through Torah, tell them it’s about loving your brother Jew, and they will roll their eyes, shut you up. Torah? Nah! There has to be another way," is a reply I've often heard from those trying to avoid any religious duty that might interrupt their daily routines. We opt for alternative means to fill the void, pursuing materialistic ornaments, promiscuity, Botox, yoga, body sculpting, travel, shopping, decorating, golfing, and various distractions, and another day passes without the creation of light. And if you think when this war is over, if it ever is, that we can revert to our old misbehaviors think again.

The question, "What does G-d want from us?" remains puzzling to me. When we read articles about diets, we comprehend what dietary changes we should make. When we read self-help books, we understand the recommendations for a better life. So, why is it that when we read G-d's book, we suddenly become illiterate and struggle to understand our native tongue? We have had the Torah for over 3,334 years--and yet we fail to grasp what G-d wants from us?

When it comes to the truth, we cannot go shopping for the answers we prefer, as if they were items on eBay. The Torah is the only truth, the blueprint for all creation, G-d's architectural plan for the world. To understand the world and our place in it, we must refer back to the original "user's manual." Failing to do so renders us not "truth seekers" but voluntary obfuscators, guilty of manufacturing our own darkness.

So, how can we extricate ourselves from the ever-deepening black hole? One way it through prayer! It is a powerful tool, like a sharp-pointed arrow that can pierce the heavens and save us. Just as pulling a bowstring closer to your heart propels the arrow farther, heartfelt and truthful prayers reach greater heights. When we pray to G-d with all our hearts, souls, and might, we can draw closer to our Maker and even alter the course of nature. Praying and reconnecting with G-d is the ark of our survival. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for "ark," as in Noah's ark, also means "word," alluding to prayer. Prayer is what kept the ark sailing and impermeable.

If our voices can activate Alexa, why would we doubt their impact on the heavens? G-d, like a parent, eagerly awaits to hear from us. Prayer teaches us to be deliberate and articulate in our requests, just as we resent communicating with people who are preoccupied with their phones. G-d, too, wants our undivided attention. Pray as if you care about your relationship with the Divine, not impatiently to get it over with. As Rabbi Doniel Katz pointed out, "How you pray is how you live your life."

As we suffer now through this dark time of war, we can still find and create the light. If we want to fix the world, then we have to return to the user's manual written by God. If you wanted to fix your oven, you wouldn’t read the manual for your washing machine, so why continue seeking for remedies and solutions and answers in all the wrong places. 

Don't think, 'What can I do? I'm only one person.' Remember, Noah was just one person too, and if he would have chosen not to be part of the solution, there really would be nothing to talk about. Mankind would  be extinct and there'd be no one to read this article -- or to write it.

“Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”

Where is the Light?

 

In a world marked by division and conflict, the wisdom of the Torah has the power to serve as a guiding light in this dark hour. The devastating and homicidal terror attacks in Israel have shaken the very foundations of the Jewish community. The refrain of “Never Again” has been fatally edited. The word “never” has been deleted, and now the Jews pay by the word — with their blood. We look into each other’s faces for answers and comfort only to find reflections of our own anguish, grief, and fear. But now, however regretful of the reason, we are looking at each other as family, as fellow Jews, and not turning a cold shoulder, not demonizing the other. A nation that was becoming ever divided has united again in common purpose. And in that unity, we are already beginning to see the light. Israel, the Jewish people, and the Torah are one. Disqualify any pieces, and the entirety is fractured and vulnerable.

The opening chapter of Genesis recounts the creation of our world in six days which evolved from disorder to order, from darkness to light. “And G-d saw the light, that it was good; and G-d divided between the light and between the darkness.” It reminds us that, even in pitch blackness when chaos seems to prevail, there is a Divine plan at work that is aiming for the light, wanting the light, preserving the light. But the work is left no longer for God alone to do. We must play our parts too. In a fractured, evil world, our primary mission is to fill it with light. That light is found in the Torah.

Jews are destined to be a light among the nations. Well, what exactly do we have that can light the way? Is our DNA fluorescent? What we have is the holy Torah that is the torch for humanity. But too many of us have shoved the Book on the shelf. We are too cool and too modern for God. Too busy, too ambitious, too practical, too important, too rich, too gorgeous. But every time we forget we are Jews, while mistaking ourselves for whatever else, our enemies successfully remind us.

In this week’s Torah reading, God says, "Let us make man." Who is the "us"? We are the "us"; we are the partners in creating ourselves. This week the world has changed forever. The future of humanity is being reset; now, what will we emerge as out of this chaos? What will we make of man. The world is now in a war between good and evil; compassion and hatred; light and darkness. We have perhaps our last chance to get it right now.

The truth is we are a people who glow in the dark. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after receiving God’s word, his face was illuminated with Divine light. The Torah can change our DNA --Epigenetics has revealed that DNA is not static but can undergo modifications and changes -- and all of us can glow by keeping the mitzvot in the Torah. But if we ignore our duty as Jews now, we will surely be submerged in spiritual darkness in tunnels of darkness. We are being dragged underground, but that is not where the light is.

All religions believe that we are reaching or living through messianic times. Now is the time to get it right. Life will never go back to what it was; a new age is upon us. We can’t hide in Netflix or Prime Video anymore. Because the darkness is coming for us all, and it’s imperative to choose which army you are fighting for. Iron domes, missiles, tanks; wonderful to have, but they will not save us. "The Lord is a master of war; the Lord is His Name." And He is the General we must count on. We have to attach ourselves to His light, the only light. Like Victor Hugo once wrote, "They confound the brilliance of the firmament with the star-shaped footprint of a duck in the mud."

Take upon yourselves to do a mitzvah, the real brilliance, not the mud. Be proud to be a Jew. We've tried it our own stubborn way over and over again, and the result is the same every time. An enemy emerges, and we say: “Here we go again.” Well, Einstein said that repeating the same thing and expecting a different result is insanity. It's time to see the light, be the light, and share the light. Or, we will find ourselves in a never-ending night. If we don’t live by the word, we will die by the sword.