I'm not a huge do-it-yourself guy but over the last month I have even surprised myself.  You're probably wondering what our newest adventure in our new home is.  I’ll start from the beginning.  My mother is visiting for three weeks and so my wife and I have been taking the rare opportunity to go for an evening stroll after we put the children to sleep.  This past Monday after the kids were tucked in, we got bundled up for our walk.  I opened the coat closet, and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a slight discolouration on the floor just below the hot water tank and what looked to me like a thin layer of glistening water.  "Hmmmm," I thought to myself, "could the hot water tank be leaking?"

A twinge of nervousness mixed with anxiety quickly flowed through my entire body.  Should we cancel the walk and begin the investigation?  No no, it could surely wait an hour without any disastrous results (I hope…).  We enjoyed a nice walk and a game of billiards at the recreation centre in our complex and about an hour and a half later arrived back home.  Though I had been relaxed throughout the walk, I knew it was now time to get down to business. 

I took all the coats and shoes out of the coat closet and put them in the living room.  I turned on all the lights in the hallway and grabbed a mega flashlight.  I took my tool box out of the pantry and set it aside next to the closet so I could get to work.  I then tilted my head ever so slightly to the right and stroked my beard.  My wife came downstairs a few minutes later to find me standing and staring at the closet.  In as calm of a manner as possible, I gave her a rundown of the situation.  “So what’s the plan?  What are we (read: you) going to do?” Ettie asked.  “Well, I don’t actually know," I managed to stammer, "I don’t really have a plan.  I mean, what do I know about hot water tanks?” 

So we called the local plumber that we have used in the past and got an estimate on the cost of a new hot water tank and new pipes and accessories, and the labour involved.  It wasn’t cheap and given the time of the year, the earliest he could fit us in was the following Monday morning (a full week later).  The problem was that since it was leaking already, our tank could potentially burst at any moment and 175 litres of water can cause a whole lot of damage (G-d forbid).  Ettie called her father for his advice as he had previously managed a plumbing and electric company for 12 years.  He advised us to drain the tank as soon as possible in order to avoid the potentially disastrous results of the tank bursting.  He started to explain how to drain a tank: turning off the hot water tank electrical breaker in the pantry, shutting down the water to the tank behind the closet, connecting a hose to the safety valve on the front of the tank, unscrewing the valve with a screwdriver, etc.

I felt my face get flush and I guess Ettie noticed because she asked me what was wrong.  “I’m not a plumber.  I can’t do this, I’m too nervous.  What if I make a mistake?  What if I tighten the screw too much or loosen the knob too little?  I can’t do it.  What if I flood our house?  What if I flood our neighbour's house?”  Ettie began encouraging me, telling me how handy I was, and that she was sure I could do it.  I looked at her and simply stated, “But I’m not a plumber!”  To which she replied, “But right now, in this moment, you are.  You’re the person who can take care of this right now, whether you like it or not.  The perfect man for the job.”

So, at that moment, I became a plumber.  I put on my work gloves, followed my father-in-law’s directions and within an hour and a half, I had the tank emptied and disconnected, my tools put away, and the coats and shoes back in the closet.  After the job was done, while sipping a cup of tea, I thought about the experience; about the importance of recognizing the position we are put it in and using our abilities to conquer each challenge no matter how big or small. 

I pondered this week’s Torah portion, Vaeira, where Hashem instructs Moshe Rabbeinu to speak to Pharoah and tell him to let the Jewish people go.  Moshe responds to Hashem that he can’t do it.  Just a few lines later again Hashem gently tells Moshe that he should go to Pharoah and tell him to let the Jewish people leave Egypt, to which again Moshe replies that he just can’t do it; that he isn't fit for the job.  So Hashem lovingly encourages Moshe by telling him that he will be master over Pharoah, and essentially that Hashem would be with him, enabling him to do the job. 

What an incredible lesson we can learn from this.  If someone as great as Moshe Rabbeinu could possibly believe that he was not able to fulfill a task given to him by Hashem, how should we feel when we encounter challenges?  It’s simple.  We need to know that Hashem is, and will always be, with us throughout the entire experience, because the very fact that the situation has arose means that Hashem is asking us to overcome it and take the challenge out of Egypt and into the land of Israel.  That is to use the challenge as an opportunity for self growth.  In fact, there is no greater freedom than the ability to overcome obstacles that stand in one’s way.

So here we are.  It's been nearly a week without hot water.  We are showering at a friend's home, doing our laundry by my in-laws, and washing dishes in freezing cold water.  However, the hot water tank has been drained and disconnected and my tools were put to good use.  And for a short period of time, just over an hour, I embraced the moment, and I became a plumber.  And while the moment came and went, the confidence that developed as a result will surely last a lifetime.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Shabbos,
Rabbi Nuta Yisrael Shurack

As a new homeowner, I am learning that one of the pleasures of owning your own home is dealing with all the little challenges that seem to pop up at the most inopportune moments.  Our latest opportunity to hone our DIY skills occurred this past week.  Overnight, the weather quickly transformed from mild fall weather of around 10 degrees Celcius to a frigid 0 Celcuis.  Hello winter!  

We realized that due to our house having the original single paned windows, we were losing a tremendous amount of heat, and losing it quite quickly.  No matter how high we turned up the thermostat, it seemed as though it was being sucked right out the sliding glass doors and wall of nearly floor to ceiling windows.  And, though I like to do a good deed whenever I can, heating up my neighbours backyard seemed a bit over the top.  Installing double paned windows would be the ideal long-term solution, however we needed to fix this problem in time for Shabbos. 

We couldn't go on with the draft for much longer.  Our projected heating bill for the next two months was nearly $300 and I feared that we and the children would need to spend our days and nights wrapped in scarves and our winter coats.  I decided to do some research and find out how to insulate our windows, thus keeping everyone warm and saving us some money as well.  My trusted pal Google was a big help and provided me with several options and even brought me to some very detailed 'how to' videos with specific instructions on what I would need and where I could get it.  With so many options, all I had to do was decide which one to choose. 

One idea was to line the windows with bubble wrap.  Just spray some water on the window, press the flat side of the bubble wrap onto the window, and presto, you're done.  Then there was the idea of using a special plastic with double sided sticky tape.  Once the plastic was applied, you use a hair dryer to tighten the plastic.  Yet a third idea was to install a later of plexi-glass on the inside of the window as a second layer of protection.  After some thought and consideration, we decided to go with the plastic and sticky tape option.  It was the least expensive, most natural looking, and fastest to complete.  Triple win. 

After we put our children to sleep, my wife and I rolled up our sleeves and got to work.  Ettie measured the windows and sliding glass doors and I cut the materials.  Then Ettie attached the double sided tape and I pressed on the plastic.  Ettie trimmed the edges and I blow-dried the windows for a good seal.  After the installation was complete, we turned up the heat and waited with great anticipation to see if there really was a major difference. 

You can imagine how happy (and warm) we were when it became clear that the room was significantly warmer than it had been in weeks and there was no longer an uncomfortable draft blowing through our home.  We even compared our heating bill from the previous week and the current week, and it was halved.  I don't know if it was the satisfaction of having installed the plastic or the fact that I was no longer shivering, but I started to think about insulation and what it could mean in our own everyday lives.

For the majority of our days and weeks, we are engaged in various endeavours: work, cooking, shopping, cleaning, driving, banking, laundry, and so on.  We spend much time in mundane activities often surrounded by secularism and Westernized ideas.  How do we ensure that many foreign ideas at  best or unhealthy and unproductive habits at worst do not have a long lasting effect on our lifestyle and mindset?  The answer is simple: we need to insulate ourselves.  Like windows, there are many ways that one can choose to make sure that he/she doesn't lose their warmth.  Set aside a specific time to learn each day either by yourself or with another person, give charity every morning, listen to a lecture while driving in the car, take 30 seconds (or more) to reflect on ones day every evening before saying shema, if you have an extra minute while waiting in line at the supermarket say a few psalms of Tehillim.  The ideas are limitless. 

In this week's parsha, Shemot, we are told that Yocheved, Moshe Rabbeinu's mother coated his basket in tar and pitch before placing it in the river.  We also learn that Moshe Rabbeinu was nursed by his mother and taught by her for the first two years of his life.  So great was this insulation that his mother provided him that he was able to grow up in the most foreign of places, Paraoh's palace, and still remain steadfast and strong in his Judaism. 

This is a real lesson for us.  If we take even just a little bit of time every day and invest it internally, we strengthen our soul.  When we keep our soul warm, our body and surroundings are warmed by proxy.  And when we warm up those around us, that is the best heat of all.    

Wishing you and yours a warm Shabbos,
Rabbi Nuta Yisrael Shurack