Remembering and Eradicating Evil

Remember what Amalek did to you…don’t forget. (Deuteronomy 21:10–14)

Amalek was the tribal nation that symbolized pure evil. They attacked God’s nation far from their borders, in the desert, for no reason except to spite God. Real evil exists in the world, and it must be rooted out completely. Although this idea has become popular again during the war against terrorism it has always been a part of the Torah. How can we eradicate evil?
If the nation of Amaleq doesn’t exist today, how are we supposed to understand this mitzvah? We could understand it as talking about eradicating all evil, not by killing, but by educating. We need to teach everyone morality and ethics and thereby eradicate evil. Evil exists in the form of taking advantage of the weak, oppressing, killing and persecuting other people needlessly. Lying cheating and stealing. We must develop society and educate it to the point where these practices are eliminated.

The Ladder to Heaven

The Talmud in Nedarim 35 quotes Rabbi Yochanan as saying that God only rests his spirit on a person who possesses the following: wisdom, physical might, and financial wealth. Rambam, the great Rabbi, doctor and philosopher, discussed this concept in the Laws of Prophecy.[1] He describes a lower level of prophecy as requiring the following traits: Wisdom, total control over desires, and an extremely broad intellect. A prophet is a person who sanctifies himself or herself to be in tune with the spiritual world.

Our forefather Jacob had a dream (Bereshit 28:12): Jacob was on his way to his uncle Lavan’s house. While camping out in the fields one night, he saw a vision of a ladder, with its base resting firmly on the ground and its head in the heavens, angels were climbing up and down the ladder.

There are many interpretation of the symbolism of this dream:

1. The angels are spiritual entities that accompanied Jacob to protect him on his travels. Rashi explains that there are different angels for different areas of the world i.e. different states of Divine providence depending on where one lives. When a person leaves a certain place their spiritual auras also change some for the better and some for the worse.
2. The ladder represents the timeline of Jewish history. The angels climbing up and down the ladder represent the nations who will become great and ultimately fade away. God was on top of the ladder as He ultimately watches over human history.
3. This ladder also represents human beings. We are a synthesis of the material and the physical worlds. Our feet must rest firmly on the ground, we need to be practical. But our heads – our intellect should be up in the clouds i.e. in contact with the spiritual.

Our physical existence is important and has to be provided for, but our visions and aspirations the angels should be directed upwards to the holy to realize that spiritually we can go either up or down the spiritual escalator of life.

[1] Yesodei Hatorah 7:1, see Kessef Mishnah.

Welcome to the Rat Race

There should be a large sign when entering New York or parts of New Jersey warning us: “Welcome to the Rat Race!” There are so many things going on in our lives that prevent us from devoting ourselves to spirituality. We are always running, always under pressure to make a living another dollar here another dollar there: to pay the mortgage, tuition, rent, utilities, health and all the other bills that surround us, we have no time to think about Hashem our Creator, no time to think about our purpose in the world, no time to learn Torah, or to devote proper time for prayer, to attend minyan, no time to contemplate spiritual matters no time even to say a very short blessing properly. Or we spend our time on internet games that totally absorb and encompass our persona every second of the day. Or we spend our time on many other modern and not so modern distractions that pull us away from thoughts spiritual.
Here we are on the eve of Rosh HaShannah and we are still spiritually asleep still caught in the whirl of our routines of life, “We’d like to learn more, we’d like to pray slower, we’d like to be better Jews, but we can’t because of our lack of time”.
The answer: Make time! It doesn’t have to be very long a couple of minutes here and there do add up try for a half hour in the morning and a half hour at night.
The Talmud says that one of the questions a person will be asked when they get to heaven after a hundred and twenty years is: “Did you fix times to learn?” One is not asked at first how much a person learned rather “Was Torah an important integral part of your day, did you allocate a fixed time to it?”
Rambam has a very interesting section entitled the Laws of Learning Torah part of Chapter Three follows:

Halacha 1
Three crowns were conferred upon Israel: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty. Aaron merited the crown of priesthood, as [Numbers 25:13] states: “And it will be an eternal covenant of priesthood for him and his descendants after him.”
David merited the crown of royalty, as [Psalms 89:37] states: “His seed will continue forever, and his throne will be as the sun before Me.”
The crown of Torah is set aside, waiting, and ready for each Jew, as [implied by Deuteronomy 33:4]: “The Torah which Moses commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.” Whoever desires may come and take it…
Halacha 2
Our Sages declared that even a Torah Sage who is a mamzer deserves precedence over a high priest who is unlearned, as [implied by Proverbs 3:15]: “It is more precious than pearls.” [That verse can be interpreted:] more precious than the High Priest who enters the innermost chambers.
Halacha 3
None of the other mitzvot can be equated to the study of Torah. Rather, the study of Torah can be equated to all the mitzvot, because study leads to deed. Therefore, study takes precedence over deed in all cases.
Halacha 4
[The following rules apply] when a person is confronted with the performance of a mitzvah and the study of Torah: If the mitzvah can be performed by another individual, one should not interrupt their studies. If not, the mitzvah should be performed and then return to the studies.
Halacha 5
The first aspect of a person’s judgment [in the world to come] will center on Torah study, only afterwards their other deeds.
Accordingly, our Sages would say: “A person should always occupy themselves with Torah study, whether for God’s sake or even if not for God’s sake, for from [the study of Torah which] is not carried out for God’s sake will come [the study of Torah which] is carried out for God’s sake.
Halacha 6
A person whose heart inspires to fulfill this mitzvah in a fitting manner and to become crowned with the crown of Torah should not divert attention to other matters…The task is not incumbent upon you to complete, nor are you free to desist from it. If you have acquired much Torah, you have acquired much reward, and that reward is commensurate with the difficulty.
Halacha 7
Perhaps, one will say: “[I will interrupt my studies] until after I gather money, and then I will return and study, [I will interrupt my studies] until after I buy what I need, and then, when I can divert my attention from my business, I will return and study.” If you consider such thoughts, you will never merit the crown of Torah. Rather, make your work secondary, and your Torah study a fixed matter. Do not say: “When I have free time, I will study,” for perhaps you will never have free time.
Halacha 8
It is written in the Torah [Deuteronomy 30:12, 13]: “It is not in the heavens….It is not across the sea….” [This implies:] “It is not in the heavens” – i.e., it is not found in the proud spirited. “It is not across the sea” – i.e., it is not found in those who travel across the sea. Therefore, our Sages said: “Not everyone who is involved in business will become wise.” Our Sages also commanded: “Minimize your business activities and occupy yourself with Torah.”
Halacha 9
The words of Torah can be compared to water, as [Isaiah 55:1] states: “Behold, all who are thirsty, come to the water.” This teaches you that just as water does not collect on an incline, but rather flows from it and collects in a low place, similarly, the words of Torah will not be found in the arrogant or in the hearts of any of the haughty, but rather in the humble and lowly, who sit in the dust at the feet of the Sages and remove the desires and pleasures of the times from their hearts. They do only a minimal amount of work each day [to earn] their livelihood if they have nothing else to eat. The rest of their days and nights are involved with Torah study…
Halacha 12

Our Sages declared: A covenant has been established that anyone who wearies himself in Torah study in a house of study will not forget it quickly. Anyone who wearies himself in Torah study in private will become wise, as [Proverbs 11:2] states: “To the modest will come wisdom.”
Whoever raises his voice during his studies will permanently acquire the subject matter. In contrast, one who reads silently will forget quickly.
Halacha 13
Even though it is a mitzvah to study during the day and at night, it is only at night that a person acquires most of his wisdom. Therefore, a person who desires to merit the crown of Torah should be careful with all his nights, not giving up even one to sleep, eating, drinking, talk, or the like. Rather, [they should be devoted to] the study of Torah and the words of wisdom.
Our Sages declared: “The song of Torah can [be heard] only at night, as [Eichah2:19] states: ‘Arise, sing out at night…’”
Whoever occupies himself with Torah study at night will have a strand of [Divine] favor extended over him during the day, as [implied by Psalms 42:9]: “During the day, God ordains His kindness and, at night, His song is with me, a prayer to the living God.”
[In contrast], any house in which the words of Torah cannot be heard at night will be consumed by fire, as [implied by Job 20:26]: “All the darkness is hidden away from His treasures; a fire that need not be blown will consume him.”
[The verse, Numbers 16:31,] “He scorned the word of God,” applies to someone who pays no attention to Torah at all. Similarly, anyone who has the potential to occupy himself with Torah study and does not, or who has studied both the Written and Oral Law and turned away to the vanities of the world, leaving behind his study and ignoring it, is included in the category of “those who scorn the word of God.”
Our Sages declared: “Whoever neglects Torah study when wealthy will ultimately neglect it amidst poverty. Whoever maintains the Torah in poverty will ultimately maintain it amidst prosperity.” This concept is explicitly mentioned in the Torah [Deuteronomy 28:47-48], which states: “Because you did not serve God, your Lord, with happiness and good feeling when there was an abundance of everything, you shall serve your enemies,” and [Deuteronomy 8:16] states: “so that you shall suffer…so that ultimately He will make you prosper.”
May Hashem bless us with a year of Redemption and Salvation, a year of Peace and Serenity for us and for all the House of Israel.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-judaism-spirituality/id558509322?mt=2#

The Four Kinds of Perfection – From Rambam Maimonides Guide to the Perplexed

The ancient and the modern philosophers have shown that man can acquire four kinds of perfection:
The first kind of perfection, the lowest, in which people spend their days, is perfection as regards property — the possession of money, garments, furniture, servants, land, and the like. The possession of the title of a great leader belongs to this class. There is no close connection between this possession and its possessor. It is a completely imaginary relation when, on account of the great advantage a person derives from these possessions, he says: “This is my house, this is my servant, this is my money, and these are my workers.” When he examines himself he will find that all these things are external, and their qualities are entirely independent of the possessor. When, therefore, that relation ceases, he that has been a great king may one morning find that there is no difference between him and the lowest person, and yet no change has taken place in the things that were ascribed to him. The philosophers have shown that he whose sole aim in all his exertions and endeavors is the possession of this kind of perfection, seeks only perfectly imaginary and transient things; and even if these remain his property throughout his lifetime, they do not give him any perfection.
The second kind of perfection is more closely related to man’s body than the first. It includes the perfection of the shape, constitution, and form of man’s body; the utmost evenness of temperaments, and the proper order and strength of his limbs. This kind of perfection must likewise be excluded from forming our chief aim; because it is a perfection of the body, and man does not possess it as man, but as a living being. This is in common with the lowest animals; and even if a person possesses the greatest possible strength, he could not be as strong as a mule, much less can he be as strong as a lion or an elephant. He, therefore, can at the utmost have strength that might enable him to carry a heavy burden, or break a thick substance, or do similar things, in which there is no great profit for the body. The soul derives no profit whatever from this kind of perfection.
The third kind of perfection is more closely connected with man himself than the second perfection. It includes moral perfection, the highest degree of excellence in man’s character. Most of the mitzvot (precepts) aim at producing this perfection; but even this kind is only a preparation for another perfection, and is not sought for its own sake. For all moral principles concern the relation of man to his neighbor. The perfection of man’s moral principles is, as it were, given to man for the benefit of mankind. Imagine a person being alone, and having no connection whatever with any other person, All his good moral principles are at rest. They are not required, and give man no perfection whatever. These principles are only necessary and useful when man comes in contact with others.
The fourth kind of perfection is the true perfection of man; the possession of the highest intellectual faculties; the possession of knowledge of G-d. With this perfection man has obtained his final object. It gives him true human perfection; it remains to him alone. It gives him immortality, and on its account he is called man.
Examine the first three kinds of perfection, you will find that, if you possess them, they are not your property, but the property of others. According to the ordinary view, however, they belong to you and to others. But the last kind of perfection is exclusively yours. No one else owns any part of it, ” They shall be only your own, and not strangers’ with thee ” (Prov. 5: 17). Your aim must therefore be to attain this [fourth] perfection that is exclusively yours
Jeremiah, referring to these four kinds of perfection, says : “Thus says the L-rd, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glory in this, that he understands and knows me.” (Jer. 9. 22,23). See how the prophet arranged them according to their estimation in the eyes of the multitude. The rich man occupies the first rank; next is the mighty man; and then the wise man; that is, the man of good moral principles : for in the eyes of the multitude, who are addressed in these words, he is likewise a great man. This is the reason why the three classes are enumerated in this order.