Parshas Terumah -- 30 Shevat, 5771 / February 4, 2011 -- Vol. 2, Issue 9
Why don’t I receive the same applause and enthusiasm when I do things compared with my 10 month old daughter Bayla? I know how to walk, I eat sweet potato, and I can clap my hands, but still no one seems to be impressed. Bayla, on the other hand, has the world captivated with her every move. It's not uncommon to hear people say, "Look, she's trying to pull up on the couch!" or "She's eating the cereal, wow amazing!" What is it about Bayla that is so endearing, exciting, and enthralling?
Besides the fact that Bayla is adorable beyond words and very inquisitive, everything is new for her, and therefore brings with it an air of excitement and freshness. Once we have mastered a task and it becomes habitual, the excitement wanes and the novelty wears off. This idea can relate to Judaism and one’s individual relationship with G-d. How does a person keep their Yiddishkeit from going stale?
There was once two men sitting in shul discussing how neither of them had enough money to afford the necessities in life. One had to pay for a wedding, while the other had no money for food for Shabbos. There was a wealthy man who happened to overhear the two men talking. He walked over to them and offered to help. For a period of one year, he would lend each of them (interest free, of course, as we learned in last week’s parsha) 1000 rubles so that they could get back on their feet.
One of the men, Reb Shmuel, right away invested the money in a bakery. He worked day and night to make his business succeed, and slowly but surely he prospered. By the ended of the year he had made back the 1000 rubles and had become quite wealthy in his own right. The other man, Reb Chaim went directly to the store and purchased new clothes for him and his whole family. He then bought a beautiful chariot with white horses so that he could travel in style. He sent gifts to his friends and spared no expense in his endeavor to live a lavish lifestyle. Eventually, he found himself once again without any funds.
At the end of the year, the wealthy man approached them. He commended Reb Shmuel on his tenacity, and as a reward for his willingness to work so hard told him that the loan had now become a gift. To Reb Chaim, he asked if he had the money to repay the loan. Reb Chaim was shocked; how come he had to repay the loan and Reb Shmuel didn’t? The wealthy man told Reb Chaim the following, “Shmuel used the money I lent him and invested it. He worked hard and toiled so that the original 1000 rubles grew and grew becoming much more than it's original worth. You, on the other hand, were only concerned with your immediate gain, and did not concern yourself with investing in your future, therefore your pleasure was short lived.”
Judaism is intertwined with our day to day living; however, we still need to invest in it. When a person takes on a new mitzvah or learns something new from the Torah, they feel motivated and alive. In this fashion, we keep our Judaism fresh and ripe. Mastering a skill is a wonderful experience, but endeavouring to keep it energized by either adding to it , sharing it with others, or learning more about it is a true accomplishment.
Besides the fact that Bayla is adorable beyond words and very inquisitive, everything is new for her, and therefore brings with it an air of excitement and freshness. Once we have mastered a task and it becomes habitual, the excitement wanes and the novelty wears off. This idea can relate to Judaism and one’s individual relationship with G-d. How does a person keep their Yiddishkeit from going stale?
There was once two men sitting in shul discussing how neither of them had enough money to afford the necessities in life. One had to pay for a wedding, while the other had no money for food for Shabbos. There was a wealthy man who happened to overhear the two men talking. He walked over to them and offered to help. For a period of one year, he would lend each of them (interest free, of course, as we learned in last week’s parsha) 1000 rubles so that they could get back on their feet.
One of the men, Reb Shmuel, right away invested the money in a bakery. He worked day and night to make his business succeed, and slowly but surely he prospered. By the ended of the year he had made back the 1000 rubles and had become quite wealthy in his own right. The other man, Reb Chaim went directly to the store and purchased new clothes for him and his whole family. He then bought a beautiful chariot with white horses so that he could travel in style. He sent gifts to his friends and spared no expense in his endeavor to live a lavish lifestyle. Eventually, he found himself once again without any funds.
At the end of the year, the wealthy man approached them. He commended Reb Shmuel on his tenacity, and as a reward for his willingness to work so hard told him that the loan had now become a gift. To Reb Chaim, he asked if he had the money to repay the loan. Reb Chaim was shocked; how come he had to repay the loan and Reb Shmuel didn’t? The wealthy man told Reb Chaim the following, “Shmuel used the money I lent him and invested it. He worked hard and toiled so that the original 1000 rubles grew and grew becoming much more than it's original worth. You, on the other hand, were only concerned with your immediate gain, and did not concern yourself with investing in your future, therefore your pleasure was short lived.”
Judaism is intertwined with our day to day living; however, we still need to invest in it. When a person takes on a new mitzvah or learns something new from the Torah, they feel motivated and alive. In this fashion, we keep our Judaism fresh and ripe. Mastering a skill is a wonderful experience, but endeavouring to keep it energized by either adding to it , sharing it with others, or learning more about it is a true accomplishment.
Parshas Terumah: Bringing the Zoo Home
The zoo is an exciting place for people of all ages, but what is it that makes it so great? Well, to tell you the truth, a lot of things. There are the live shows and demonstrations, the exotic animals from far off places, ferocious beasts that you can see up close, and of course the cute little penguins. It usually means a full day family trip, coolers packed tight with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, snacks, and juice boxes, and the bag of Cheerios that always gets left in the car.
Seeing those animals, birds, reptiles and mammals that you’ve only read about can be extremely inviting and alluring. Furthermore, it allows you to bring that which you learned in Perek Shirah to life! But what if those very same exotic and sometimes nearly extinct animals lived in your home? Would there still be the same excitement in seeing them every day or would it wear off?
My family went on a trip to the zoo this week and while there, I saw a young boy talking excitingly to his parents about the grizzly bear that he got so close to, even though the bear was a good 100 feet away. Oddly enough only 5 feet away was a grey squirrel eating an acorn, yet no one was interested. Why is seeing the bear, lion, tiger and other such creatures reminiscent of National Geographic Live while the squirrel and pigeon hardly evoke any emotion at all, except perhaps annoyance and irritation?
Those things which we only get a glimmer of once in a while inevitably appear striking and glamorous while those available to us on an everyday basis seem to be mundane and boring. As the saying goes, “the grass is always greener on the other side.” So how do we infuse the everyday with the once in a while? How do we transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, so it does not become laden with discontent? What about our day to day life? Is being Jewish, learning Torah, and doing mitzvahs exciting? After all, there are mitzvahs that are done on a daily basis, and moreover several times a day. Is there excitement in repetition?
G-d, in His infinite wisdom, gave us the answer in this week’s parsha. Hashem commanded the Jewish people to build a Beis HaMikdash (the Holy Temple) in which the spiritual would meet the physical, the material would meet the holy, and in essence was where heaven and earth would meet. It is there in the Holy of Holy’s that we would store our people’s most valued possession, the tablets with the 10 commandments inscribed on them. It is where we would bring our sacrifices and where we would hear the Leviim sing. The thought of attending services at the Beis HaMikdash is certainly awe inspiring and one can imagine the sense of sanctity in the air.
Hashem told Moshe in pasuk 25:8, “They shall make a Sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them…” The Hebrew words used, “v’shachanti b’socham,” allude to not only the physical building of a temple for the divine presence to dwell, but that each person is in fact a home for G-d’s presence.
By wording it this way, Hashem is teaching us a valuable lesson. Holiness is not a far off fantasy concept which only lends itself to excitement due to infrequency, suspense, and mystique. Rather, Hashem is involved in our day to day living, from large decisions in our life, such as where to live and whom to marry, to the most minute, such as tying our shoes and what to eat for breakfast. Our job is to reveal the sparks of holiness and unite the physical and the spiritual! Though there’s no admission charge for day to day life and your cat may not be as exciting as a sabre tooth tiger, remember the world is as thrilling as you make it, just don’t forget your cheerios.
Seeing those animals, birds, reptiles and mammals that you’ve only read about can be extremely inviting and alluring. Furthermore, it allows you to bring that which you learned in Perek Shirah to life! But what if those very same exotic and sometimes nearly extinct animals lived in your home? Would there still be the same excitement in seeing them every day or would it wear off?
My family went on a trip to the zoo this week and while there, I saw a young boy talking excitingly to his parents about the grizzly bear that he got so close to, even though the bear was a good 100 feet away. Oddly enough only 5 feet away was a grey squirrel eating an acorn, yet no one was interested. Why is seeing the bear, lion, tiger and other such creatures reminiscent of National Geographic Live while the squirrel and pigeon hardly evoke any emotion at all, except perhaps annoyance and irritation?
Those things which we only get a glimmer of once in a while inevitably appear striking and glamorous while those available to us on an everyday basis seem to be mundane and boring. As the saying goes, “the grass is always greener on the other side.” So how do we infuse the everyday with the once in a while? How do we transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, so it does not become laden with discontent? What about our day to day life? Is being Jewish, learning Torah, and doing mitzvahs exciting? After all, there are mitzvahs that are done on a daily basis, and moreover several times a day. Is there excitement in repetition?
G-d, in His infinite wisdom, gave us the answer in this week’s parsha. Hashem commanded the Jewish people to build a Beis HaMikdash (the Holy Temple) in which the spiritual would meet the physical, the material would meet the holy, and in essence was where heaven and earth would meet. It is there in the Holy of Holy’s that we would store our people’s most valued possession, the tablets with the 10 commandments inscribed on them. It is where we would bring our sacrifices and where we would hear the Leviim sing. The thought of attending services at the Beis HaMikdash is certainly awe inspiring and one can imagine the sense of sanctity in the air.
Hashem told Moshe in pasuk 25:8, “They shall make a Sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them…” The Hebrew words used, “v’shachanti b’socham,” allude to not only the physical building of a temple for the divine presence to dwell, but that each person is in fact a home for G-d’s presence.
By wording it this way, Hashem is teaching us a valuable lesson. Holiness is not a far off fantasy concept which only lends itself to excitement due to infrequency, suspense, and mystique. Rather, Hashem is involved in our day to day living, from large decisions in our life, such as where to live and whom to marry, to the most minute, such as tying our shoes and what to eat for breakfast. Our job is to reveal the sparks of holiness and unite the physical and the spiritual! Though there’s no admission charge for day to day life and your cat may not be as exciting as a sabre tooth tiger, remember the world is as thrilling as you make it, just don’t forget your cheerios.