DEEP SECRET OF THE FOUR KINGS AGAINST THE FIVE KINGS IN PARSHAS LEK LEKA

                            

                Did you ever ask yourself what
is the deeper significance on a personal level of this weeks cryptic Torah
portion in Parshas Lech Lecha (14: 1 – 24) that relates the story of the four
powerful Kings whose armies after conquering the armies of the five kings took
Lot, the nephew of Avraham, as one of the captives?

                The four aggressive kings can be seen to
allude to the four powerful elements within our personalities, when they have
become our own worst enemies. How so? Just as the world around us consists of
the four major elements of earth, fire, water and air, so also on a microcosmic
level we have these counterpart natural forces within us.

            The earthly
attribute within us can either become the “fertile soil” to cultivate
productivity or if allowed to remain unattended due to idle laziness the
earthly nature within will remain arid and infertile thereby “burying the seeds”
of one’s potential.

            So also do
we find with the attribute of fire within us which can either serve as the light,
heat and energy of our enthusiasm and fervor or turn into a raging
conflagration of “fiery passions”.  

            So too the
attribute of water within us can either be used to quench our spiritual
“thirst” or if not properly channeled become a “tsunami – flooding” ones
lifestyle with corporal desires that then can all too easily “drown” ones true
potential.

            Lastly just
as fresh air has the power to rejuvenate and revitalize our soul/ body
connection, so also if the “whirlwinds” of the times are not properly harnessed
then these “tornado” like impulses can cause destructive havoc.

           Therefore perhaps we can see learn a profound
lesson in this Torah portion, that it is that the sacred responsibility of our
holy soul  – which corresponds to Avraham
Avinu – needs to take the initiative to besides working on conquering – ie.
transforming the four unhealthy (Kings) qualities of sluggishness, obsessions,
melancholy and arrogance (corresponding to the elements of earthliness, fire,
water and air) into the positive attributes of alacrity, holiness, joy and
humility; we also should pray that our five senses follow sensibility of  the Torah, so as not to become tainted and
corrupted, as did the five kings and their people who lived in the area of
Sidom.

           As to why
Avraham Avinu was specifically motivated to save his nephew is because Lot was
meant to be one of the genetic links to the Mashiach, whose soul is so holy
that he will orchestrate the salvation of the whole world. May it be soon in
our days.

All articles appearing on this blog are copyrighted by Rabbi Yehoshua Binyamin Falk. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share/download/copy this information as long as it is accompanied by the copyright. Separately authored/copyrighted materia

CONNECTING KIDNEYS, BANANAS, FREE RADICALS AND DA’AS

                      

                   We see them frequently – health articles that offer a seemingly simple prevention or even claimed cures for serious illnesses.  We may sometimes dismiss them as wishful thinking, but perhaps we shouldn’t.

The article that caught my eye recently was about how bananas can cut the risk of kidney cancer. [1]  By now many  of us know  that certain herbs with very exotic names like gotu kola or ginkgo now have documented medical preventive and even in some cases curative effects, but bananas . . .!   Nonetheless, the dietary study that was reported in a prestigious scientific journal was pretty impressive. It was conducted with some 61,000 Swedish people between the ages of 40 to 76 who were followed for an average of thirteen years. And what were the results?  Apparently the subjects who ate bananas four to six times a week had about half the risk of contracting kidney cancer as those who did not. Eating root vegetables such as carrots and beets, white cabbage, lettuce & cucumbers also greatly helped to protect against renal cell carcinoma.

            So this article was more difficult to dismiss then many undocumented natural health claims, not merely because it teamed up two such unlikely partners as kidneys and bananas, but because there are many things about this small organ that are fascinating.

In a 160 pound adult, the kidneys weigh only about three quarters of a pound, yet they do an incredible job.  The kidneys filter the blood at a rate of 45 gallons a day.  Since we have 7 or 8 liters or somewhat less then  two gallons of blood in our bodies, this means that the entire blood volume gets filtered approximately 20 to 25 times each day. 

What the kidneys are doing in this process is balancing the  composition of the blood by keeping the ratio of important substances constant.  They also keep the amount of water in the body stable, remove wastes and keep the acids and bases in balance. The kidney is the only organ in the body in which two capillary beds laid out in a series connect the arteries with the veins. Arteries carry oxygenated blood and nutrients to the cells while the veins  transport blood containing carbon dioxide and waste products discarded from the cells.

This physiological function, as amazingly complex  as it is, does not quite explain why or how David Hamelech “consulted” with his kidneys and Avraham Aveinu was taught by them and the fact that our Sages therefore learn that  the kidneys are the “seat of  the power of judgment and the source of  advice”.   

             Sounds interesting! But wait it gets even more interesting because these food stuffs that protect the body against various malignancies are, according to this research study, all common place vegetables. What is the secretive power hidden within these natural foods.

According to the scientists,  these vegetables work to help to protect against cancer because they contain antioxidants and antioxidant boosters.  Antioxidants  fight the scourge known as “free radicals.” Free radicals are  chemically active atoms or molecules that have an unbalanced number of electrons, that is instead of even numbers of paired electrons they will have either too many or too few.   To reach the necessary state of equilibrium, free radicals will scavenge the body either releasing or stealing electrons in an effort to rebalance themselves, and leaving, in their wake, more unstable products in a chain reaction effect.  This activity causes tremendous damage to cells, proteins and DNA.  Anti oxidants fight this process by stabilizing the radical before it begins to do its damage or by breaking the chain after it has been formed.   

Let’s see what comes out of all of this.  On the physical side the kidneys are the organs that mediate between the two major opposing components of the circulatory system: that being the arteries and the veins, as well as balancing the composition of the blood in the process, while its counterpart spiritual “kidneys” serve as the “organs of discernment”. How so? Just as the role of the kidneys are to mediate the divergent flows of the life force within us and neutralize any negative influence so as to rebalance the body, our “supernal kidneys” are given to us in order to maintain the health and balance of our souls.

May we all merit to strike the right balance and thereby speed up the final geula soon in our days.



All articles appearing on this blog are copyrighted by Rabbi Yehoshua Binyamin Falk. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share/download/copy this information as long as it is accompanied by the copyright. Separately authored/copyrighted materia

A LINGUISTIC JOURNEY ON NOACH’S ARK

                                   Have
you ever stopped to think about just how much in our lives depends upon (teivos)
words?  Although in theory, we could
manage the basic tasks of  survival
without them, it doesn’t take much imagination to appreciate that without
language we would probably function much as the animals do, but in a less
accomplished fashion, since we lack the instincts and physical prowess that
they were given.   Language is a
repository for human traditions and culture. Each nation uses words that convey
the collective cultural, historical and geographic experiences of its people
and their unique worldview.  These words,
however, are descriptive, but not creative.

(Lashon
Hakodesh) Hebrew
is a unique language in that it was the instrument with
which the Creator fashioned the creation. Thus the DNA,
the blueprint, of the created universe, exists within the letters and words of
the (Torah) Five Books of Moses.  
Consequently a word in Lashon Hakodesh not only describes the
subject, it literally creates it and continues to do so.  

When
(Hashem) G-d brought the flood waters to inundate the world, He directed Noach
to build a (teiva) Ark.  In Lashon Hakodesh, “ark” and “word”
are cognates, that is, they are both composed of the same letters.  This is not mere coincidence.  There is a profound spiritual message in that
equivalence.   Sheltered within that
“word-Ark”- were all of the precious letters and words which were going to
ensure the continued physical and most significantly the spiritual survival of
its hand picked human passengers and their ecosystem, the necessary animals,
birds and vegetation that made up their world.

This
“word-Ark” was constructed of certain specific dimensions. The dimensions of
the Ark were (shin)
three hundred (amos) cubits long; (nun) fifty (amos) cubits wide and (lamed)
thirty (amos) cubits high. The three letters, nun, shin and lamed,
which are embedded within these dimensions, form an(rashei teivos)
acronym for the three major motivators of human behavior – the (neshama)
soul, the (seichel) mind, and the (lev) heart. 

These
qualities are expressed through the personalities of the three sons of Noach
whose names were: Shem, Cham and Yafes. 
Shem personifies the (neshama) soul in all of us which ideally is
drawn to the spiritual and dedicated to learning and following the ways of
Hashem.  Cham personifies our (lev)
hearts through which the emotions are expressed.  Yafes personifies our (seichel )intellect whose
cultural and esthetic pursuits should ideally be directed at refining and adorning
a person’s good deeds and Torah study ( as it is written in the Zohar
Chadash
Part I  parashas Noach,
36a).

            Like the Ark – words, too, are a vehicle.  They are the repository for our thoughts,
ideas, dreams and hopes.  Just as the Ark had three
dimensions, length, width and height, language has three dimensions.  These dimensions in our verbal expression
provide the means for setting course and direction and maintaining balance and
stability in our lives.   The quality in
language which gives direction to our thoughts is our seichel,
our unique intelligence that assists us in navigating through life’s
challenges.  This attribute is expressed
through the Ark’s
shin amos length. The characteristic of language that provides
stability and guidance is our neshama which endow us with the
spiritual balance that keeps us at an even keel as we face adversity during our
voyage through the seas of this physical world. 
This attribute is expressed though the nun amos width of
the Ark. The
trait in language which provides the emotional coloration, the vitality and
enthusiasm is the lev – our heart.  This attribute is expressed through the lamed
amos
height of the Ark.

We
are all well aware of the power of speech which can either build or destroy
worlds.   When Shem, our neshoma, takes
the lead in our lives and focuses us upon the service of Hashem, and Yafes, our
minds which supplies the intellectual support for that endeavor and in
conjunction with Cham, our hearts providing the inspiration, we are able to
produce spiritually empowered  (siach)
speech spelled out in Loshen HaKodesh – the Sin of Sham,
the Yud of Yafes and the Ches of Cham
which becomes the vehicle for the Torah directed communication of ideas that
shapes and sustains the world.

             When Noach emerged from the
Ark, he
offered (korbano) sacrifices, to praise and thank Hashem.  Today, we accomplish this through our words
of (tefilla) prayer.  Indeed, when
we perform the (mitzvos) commandments and make them the primary focus of our
lives, they become the guiding light over all aspects of our neshama,
thereby transforming our siach, speech, into a sincere appeal for our
long awaited (Moshiach) true redeemer.  Moshiach spelled in the order of mem, shin,
yud, ches
alludes to the perfection of all mankind through our Mitzvos
guiding our neshamosShem – to its fulfillment, then directing
our intellect – Yafes to its fullest potential and thereby guiding our
heart – Cham – to its fullest potential. This will be one of the powers
of healing and rectification that the Moshiach will bring to the world.                                     

                                                            
   



              May we all fill our (teivos)
Arks
with (kedusha) holiness so that they can serve as a sanctuary
for us in our voyage through this world thereby meriting to complete our
passage through the storms of (galus) exile safely returning us to our
home port of final (geula) redemption soon in our days.

All articles appearing on this blog are copyrighted by Rabbi Yehoshua Binyamin Falk. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share/download/copy this information as long as it is accompanied by the copyright. Separately authored/copyrighted materia

GIVE EAR YOU HEAVENS – AND LET THE EARTH HEAR

                    The curtain rises on Creation, in
Parshas Bereishis, with the Torah’s opening proclamation heralding the beginning
of Hashem’s creation of  the heavens and
the earth. Then, in Parshas Haazinu, as the Torah approaches its yearly cyclic
climax, Moshe Rabbinu,in his eloquent prophetic revelation, proclaims:
Give ear, O heavens,
and I will speak; and may the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my
teaching drop like the rain, may my utterance flow like the dew; like storm
winds upon vegetation and like raindrops upon blades of grass. When I call out
the Name of Hashem, ascribe greatness to our G-d…
” (Parashas Haazinu 32:1-3) What is the meaning, intention and message of
these esoteric poetry that seemingly eludes the understanding of our rational
intellect?

Living at a revelatory time of satellite
photographs, moon ‘walks’  and manned
space stations, our  generation, unlike
any that came before, can see this physical world from a new vantage point. The
people of this generation can use this images as well as the vast scientific
breakthroughs of modern technology to come to acknowledge and appreciation of
the breathtaking sweep and scale of creation, thereby becoming awe inspired at
the glory and wonders of its Creator. Or it can take credit for their ‘genius’
in making these discoveries and ignore the Source.

Rashi  informs us: The heavens and earth were called
as witnesses to the  promise Hashem made
to reward us for our good conduct and punish us for our bad deeds. These ‘witnesses’
will not only testify but will actually become the vehicles for actualizing
Divine blessing or (Rachmana litzlan) the opposite. 



The blessing and the curse sent through the agency
of  the heaven and the earth can be
understood not only in meteorological and  ecological forms, but also in psychological
terms. As revealed by the holy Ari Z’L, there are aspects of the ‘heavens
and the earth’, in each of us. The
heavens – above the transcendent – correspond to the highest levels of human
consciousness, the place from which we develop and direct our focus in
relationship with Hashem and His creation. 
It is from this perception that we form our goals and plans, deciding
what to learn, how to understand it and how to use it to grow. It is attitude
that provides the impetus for disciplined conduct we need to implement our
goals. 

            
The heart, with its mosaic of emotive attributes such as kindness, discipline,
humility and endurance parallels the earth motivating us to implement these
goals.  Therefore, Moshe Rabbeinu  asks Hashem to allow us, the Nation of Israel,
to be able to absorb these teachings like the earth absorbs the rain and the
vegetation absorbs the dew.



 

These first three pesukim of Haazinu can be
understood as describing the ideal interaction between mind and heart – between
intellect and emotion.  First the “heavens”
— our intellect — need to
give ear
so that we can
focus and concentrate our
respectful attention upon the teacher. Once that is achieved, then the teacher
can
speak’ – that is he can be inspired to direct the
Torah’s teachings to the heart of the student 
in  a form  it can 
readily absorb.  When that happens,
the teachings resonate within the student
s very core. 
However,  learning is not complete
until the “storm winds” come, as the Sforno beautifully points out: For the
Talmud Chacham, who can absorb much knowledge, the Torah is like penetrating
rain and like the storm wind from which he benefits greatly. For others who are
less able to engage in the learning process at this intense level, the Torah is
sent like ‘dew and gentle raindrops’ which even in small amounts is still very
beneficial. 

The ‘flashpoint’ for this effort as it plays out
in our lives is perhaps best expressed through the last verse in our pesukim:
When I call out the name of
Hashem, ascribe greatness to our G-d.
  The Name
of Hashem represents the Infinite Transcendent Creator.  The name “G-d” is His presence as perceived
through nature. That is to say, the more we connect to the Infinite Creator
through our – tefilla – prayer – the more we reveal His presence in every
aspect of our physical lives.



         This
is perhaps one of the reasons the Torah
s opens with the words: “In the beginning of G-d
created the Heavens and the earth”. these words teach us that the entire
universe, for which the Torah is the blueprint, was created to educate, develop
and benefit us.

May we all “call out the Name of Hashem and
ascribe greatness to our G-d” thereby meriting the true blessing of the final
geula soon in our days.

All articles appearing on this blog are copyrighted by Rabbi Yehoshua Binyamin Falk. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to share/download/copy this information as long as it is accompanied by the copyright. Separately authored/copyrighted materia