The Price We Pay

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“Seeing Israel thrive… is close to miraculous,” President Joe Biden once said during a trip to Israel. He was almost right. But the success of the modern State of Israel in spite of every single threat and obstacle it has faced and continues to face, is not close to miraculous, it is miraculous. We all know Who makes miracles happen but somehow we find it so hard to give credit where credit is due. Because when we know, we owe! So, instead, we pat ourselves on the shoulder and conveniently convince ourselves that our own ingenuity and persistence are the reasons we succeed.

This somewhat faulty mindset is common for nations and individuals. But the State of Israel is not like any other country nor are the Jewish people like anyone else. We know because we can see it with our own eyes and also G-d told us in the Torah: “…You shall be to Me a treasure out of all peoples….” (Exodus 19:5)

But if for some ignorant or arrogant blindness, we don’t take G-d at His word, then look at the facts on the ground. Jewish individuals have made significant contributions in various fields, including physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and economics. Relative to the number of Jews in the world, we have won a disproportionate amount of Nobel Prizes. There are approximately 2.6 billion Christians in the world today and 2 billion Muslims. As for Jews, there are only 16 million, which is 0.2% of the 8 billion worldwide population. Yet our voice is hardly muffled amidst the din. We are the tiny little David facing a schizophrenic Goliath, meaning one day the world loves us, most days they hate us. And yet, the Jew and Israel are still here, while the world’s great empires are now dust. If not for high school history we would never know they existed at all. (article continued below)

And yet as Mark Twain said: "All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?" Not Joe Biden!

Last year Biden said that Israel is a nation that will never dwell alone as long as there’s the United States. And yet that gracious tongue which offered such reassuring words of solidarity has yet to extend an invitation to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since he won the Israeli elections in November.

My friends, Israel and the Jewish people will never be alone because the G-d of Israel lives among us. If we let Him. Let me fill in the words which I replaced with ellipses in the Biblical quote above: “And now, if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be to Me a treasure out of all peoples, for Mine is the entire earth.”

We must admit that in all our worldly affairs we believe one hand washes the other. We work at our relationships to squeeze out the best results for ourselves. Yet when it comes to our relationship with G-d, we are ready to collect with both hands and serve with neither. What right do we have to the Land of Israel altogether if not for the holy Torah? But the Torah is not just an eternal land deed, it is the holy word of Hashem teaching us how to live our lives, i.e., keeping Shabbat, observing kosher laws, giving charity, being honest in business, keeping your hands and eyes off of someone else’s wife, etc. If we behave, there will always be ONE to rely on: “I shall raise my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come? My help is from the L-rd, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to falter; Your Guardian will not slumber.” (Psalms 121:1-3) (article continued below)

In this week’s Torah reading, we see how King Balak sought out Bilaam to curse the Jewish people. But Bilaam was unable to curse them. Why? Because the Jewish nation was behaving properly. “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel.” The Israelites left no void or crevice for curses to sneak in like an open wound accommodating infection. They were impervious to any harm because they didn’t open the door to Satan by sinning. As such, those who cursed them would be cursed, and the haters would drown in the deep end of their own hate and envy. Can we ever forget the complaint of a frustrated Hamas member years ago who said, “Their G-d changes the paths of our rockets in mid-air.”

Kabbalists teach that each act we do creates an angel—either one that serves as our advocate or as our prosecutor, depending on our deed or misdeed. To make that teaching more accessible or palatable, know that physics proves that no energy is ever lost, it changes form. Actions are energy.

And so, the question is: What kind of army of angels (or energy) are you building for yourself and our nation, good ones or bad ones? Are you building spiritual Iron Domes by keeping the commandments and following the Torah? Are you empowering G-d to help you, to help us?

That Six Million Jews died should not have us questioning, "Where was G-d?" But rather should instigate self-reflection, "Where were we?" That a calamity of such epic proportions can happen altogether, that Jews and Israel are still uniquely the target of opprobrium when all other types of disenfranchised groups have earned unprecedented acceptance legally and otherwise, that anti-Semitism seems to be as durable as Mark Twain’s Jew, that Jews and Israel have gained miraculous success, should have us reckoning with the fact that the Jewish people have been singled out for greatness, and what G-d wants from us is not simple. "And if you treat Me as happenstance [with casualness doing as you please], and you do not wish to listen to Me, I will add seven punishments corresponding to your sins."

You see, my friends, the Torah is not like a warranty from which we can opt-out because we would rather not pay the price. The Torah is the Book of Life and is the Divine guarantee that we will pay the price if we do dare opt out! Shabbat Shalom.

If Looks Could Kill

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" Jealousy, lust and the [pursuit of] honor remove a person from the world.” (Pirkei Avot 4:21)

I would imagine that the best way to know if you are getting an evil eye is to walk around with a big mirror and flash it before everyone you meet. If people start dropping dead like flies around you, there’s a good chance they’d wished you bad. Ah, but if only it were so easy to ward of all those ill-intentioned people who seem to be subverting our good luck. And so, instead, we walk around with red strings, hamsas, little plastic eyeballs and all sorts of idolatrous amulets meant to keep the demons from our door.

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But are soft little eyeballs really something to fear? Well, the Talmud teaches that a person can cause damage just by looking at another's property. It also says that 99 out of 100 people die prematurely from the evil eye. Basically, it means the graveyards are filled with those who were victims of envy. But what did the ancient rabbis know? Right? Weren’t they just as susceptible as everyone else to myth and wives’ tales? But then quantum physics came along and taught us that observation affects reality. The mere act of looking at and sizing up a particle changes it.  That certainly offers us something to think about.

Today it’s easier than ever to be jealous and to give evil eyes. All we have to do is spend an hour on Facebook to eat our hearts out reading people’s status updates. But those who cast evil eyes are not immune from backlash themselves; for the sages also teach that the act of giving an evil eye also takes a person out of this world early. The dispenser of poison is not immune to the poison it dishes out. No person is impervious to a daily diet of dioxin. And forgive me for having the temerity to offer up my opinion in the shadow of the great Talmudic rabbis, but I say giving an evil eye also makes one so darn ugly. Jealousy hangs on one’s face like a dreadful accessory that just does not match any decent outfit. 

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Jealousy/coveting never ends well. In fact, the Talmud teaches that anyone who places his eyes on that which is not his is not given what he desires and loses what he has, as we can see in this week’s Torah reading. Korach, after whom the parashah is titled, was Moses’ cousin as well as being extremely rich. He had 300 mules just to carry the keys to his treasures. But why should that be enough? He still envied Moses and Aharon and struck up a rebellion. The earth-shattering results from such mutiny were unprecedented: the earth itself opened and swallowed him up along with those who supported him.

It was not the first case of jealousy gone wrong nor the last: The rabbis teach that upon creation, the moon was envious of the sun and questioned why the sky needed two great luminaries, and so G-d diminished the light of the moon; Cain envied Abel’s sacrifice to G-d and as a result he was cursed by G-d; the primordial snake which once talked and walked, envied Adam’s relationship with Eve, with the result that G-d punished him and made him crawl the earth, eat dirt and caused hatred between him and the woman; And make no mistake about it, the moon, Cain, the snake and Korach each had tremendous potential and talents and each had great destinies of their own if they would have been busy being the best versions of themselves instead of trying to be someone else.  

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We are so busy with identity theft in the sense that we want to live the lives of others, look like another, walk and talk like them, dress like them, spend like them, that we become impostors, when our real very special selves are being smothered to death. In effect, we are really committing suicide and like aliens assuming others' identities. But make no mistake about it. We will always be the cheap wannabee knock off. All the while we feign living their life, thinking we’re living the “high life,” when in fact we are just a “lowlife”; for coveting is the biggest sin of all the Ten Commandments because it leads to the violation of all the others. If you envy you will eventually lie, cheat, steal, kill, betray, etc.

So, what is the remedy?

🐟Firstly, you can avoid looking like Cruella if you acknowledge and have faith that every person has exactly what G-d wants him to have, not one hair less or more. He knows what’s best for each of us and tests us each in a unique way.

🐟Secondly, try being happy for people when things go well for them. Instead of being like the people of Sodom, a society which begrudged each other the very air they breathed—be magnanimous. The Sodomites were consumed by their burning envy and it is no wonder that they were destroyed by sulfuric fire. In fact, we are instructed to pray for the needs of others before our own needs. Such beneficence toward others inspires Divine benevolence toward us.

🐟Thirdly, be like a fish. In the Talmud it says that fish are resistant of the evil eye because they are under the water—what is hidden is impervious to ill-wishers. What is hidden has a chance to be blessed like a seed that grows beneath the earth. The philosophy of “when you got it, flaunt it” may not be so cost efficient when it all adds up. Drape yourself in modesty and humility so that you don’t have to accoutre yourself with 100 pounds of ridiculous amulets to ward off ill wishes.

🐟Fourthly, as they say, "Be careful what you wish for." Not all things are as they appear. You covet your neighbor because your view is framed by ignorance. Know his full lot, understand his full package and you may soon find yourself pitying your neighbor instead.

🐟And finally, the best counter to all evil is keeping the commandments, doing good deeds, giving charity and studying the Torah.

Just put your ear to YOUR own life and hear your own calling.  Keep in mind that upon judgment day we will not be asked why we weren’t as good others but rather we will be asked, “Why weren’t you as good as YOU could have been?” Enough with jealousy and identity theft! Be the best version of YOU!  It will be pretty sad on Judgement Day when your own life story will be played before your eyes and you are not even in it and are costumed as someone else.

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Who's Writing Your Story?

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As I’ve written before, there is nothing harder for a writer to face than a blank white page. Its void seems to be more powerful than all the wisdom and words we have inside of us. And so, the Satan takes advantage of our insecurity and fills us with more insecurity and injects us with his toxic words, “You can’t do it, so don’t even try.” Personally, I’ve learned to recognize this enemy and stymie him; instead, I listen to the reassuring sound of my fingers clacking against the keys: Clack, clack, clack. The effort is ours to make; the results are in G-d’s Hands.

In this week’s Bible reading, Shelach, we learn how the Israelites, prior to their own entry, wanted to send spies ahead to scout out the Promised Land. They too were afraid of the “blank page” and the unknown that lay ahead.  Ten of the 12 spies came back and said the land and its inhabitants were unconquerable; they viewed their enemies as giants and superior warriors and by contrast themselves as grasshoppers believing their foe too viewed them as such. They also reported that the land consumes its inhabitants. However, two of the spies, in contradistinction said of the land, “We shall surely ascend and conquer it, for we surely can do it.”

Interestingly, all the spies observed the same reality on the ground; the difference between the naysayers and the optimists was self-confidence founded in faith.

Time has changed nothing; the lesson remains the same: If you think of yourself as a grasshopper, you will be regarded as one. “I think therefore I am.” If you think the challenges ahead will consume you, they will. The optimists and faithful, Caleb and Joshua, had faith in G-d and believed in the land’s “exceptionalism.” They were the only ones to reach their destination.

An entire generation succumbed to the doom-and-gloom tales of the ten spies and cried to go back to Egypt. As punishment, none of them were allowed to enter G-d’s precious land. And thus, an entire generation wandered for 40 years, corresponding to the 40 days the spies surveyed a land flowing with milk and honey and brought back curdled sour reconnaissance.

The fear to forge forward had them desperate to retreat--all the way back to slavery.  Before them lay a blank, but promising, G-d-blessed "page." However, they feared to write a new story for themselves. How many of us in our own lives are terrified of becoming and so instead we choose stagnation and stay put? We think what we are used to is keeping us alive while all the time it is burying us alive.

But life is not just about keeping a person breathing, it is also about creating and recreating ourselves to be better people and better Jews. Both in our spiritual and practical lives we must always keep moving and striving for growth, fearlessly.

Like the modern-day Israel that was transformed from a desert and malarial swamp into a blooming, booming and blossoming land by valiant pioneers and their descendants, we too must courageously cultivate the Garden of Eden within us. Don't tolerate the weeds, lest they strangle you. Don’t be a comfort-zone-Jew. The number one reason people bungee jump is because they want to step out of their comfort zones and feel alive. Ironic that people are ready to jump to near death, but not to life.

Friends, the beautiful thing about the blank page and your life is that they can be whatever you want them to be and read how you want them to read. Every day you have the opportunity to rewrite the story of your life.  Just because you were not brought up religious or you were brought up very religious, don’t believe the GPS--You have not reached your destination. And if you live in faith instead of fear you just might find you have invented the struggle altogether. And remember that at the other side of fear is everything you want.

This Parasha is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather Henri Aaron ben Avraham. May his soul have an Aliyah.