Perhaps we can also learn another valuable insight from the fact that each of the twelve Shevatim traveled in their specified positions both through the Yam Suf as well as during the forty years in the Midbar. This can help to teach us never to feel envious if a sibling, fellow student, co-worker or neighbor looks to be in a better “position” in life, as illustrated by the following:  In a jewelry store, the gold and diamonds are placed behind the glass counters, while the silver ornaments are more frequently handled because they need to be polished. The conclusion that could be mistakenly drawn by a stranger unfamiliar with the values of precious stones and jewelry is that the silver items that receive the “shiny” attention are more valuable. Therefore a possible lesson that we can derive from the individual positioning of the Shevatim is to realize that following our perfectly divinely crafted pathways in life will lead us to the development of our own unique “golden” talents which are truly our most cherished possessions.

             May we all always merit to pass through our personal Yam Suf challenges with joy, gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to experience change and the growth that accompanies it, transforming ourselves into vessels worthy of holding the Torah. May our inner and outer essence be as pure as refined gold, inlaid with sincere humility.

               Zeh Keli V’anveihu!

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

                     It’s just a just time before takeoff, friends have dropped off packages of gifts for their loved ones. We wondered how we were going to fit them all into our bulging suitcases. Before we knew it the car service driver was beeping. We quickly stuffed our cases closed and hoped the zippers would hold out. At the airport, bags in tow we followed an interminable line weaving towards the ticket counter. Upon reaching what was to be the first of many checkpoints the flight security attendant said with a polite, but serious smile:  “How are you today”? Passports and tickets please! Where are going? Is this your first trip there? Where will you be staying? Do you have any relatives there? Oh yes, who? Where do they live? ” He made light conversation but all the while his eyes were locked on ours without a flicker. They felt like x-rays and we got flustered. Somehow we even hesitated over the names of the places are relatives lived.  

As the grilling continued all  that was needed was a strong white light focused in our eyes to turn  it  into a full blown interrogation. “Tell me, did any one pack your bags for you? Do you have any electronic equipment inside your bags? Where did you get it? Did you take it from a shelf of the store by yourself or did someone give it to you? Was the package torn? Did anyone give you anything?” 

After the initial screening the security officer directed us over to yet another line to have our suitcases ex-rayed in what looked like a giant MRI machine. After our bags came out unscathed with a negative diagnosis, we proceeded to the check in counter. As we struggled to lift our suitcases onto the scales, they seemed to feel quite a bit heavier than they did at home – maybe it’s the gravity at the airport we chuckled. Miraculously the employee did not impose a fine for being overweight and with a sigh of relief we set off to scale our next hurdle.

             Moving further along the assembly line we were required to place outer garments, hand bags and all metal possessions on a rolling conveyer belt which passed them through another x-ray machine. Now, hatless, shoeless, jacketless, feeling slightly vulnerable and somewhat intimidated, we walk through the metal archway, which will determine whether we will be “pat searched”. We fortunately passed with good marks but we couldn’t help but notice another frum passenger who was sent to the side for a full blown pat down. Admirably he never lost his pleasant smile as he chatted cordially with the officer, adding after he was exonerated his appreciation for the fine work that the security personal provided. This was a real Kiddush Hashem that both we and that guard will never forget.

          Since everything that exists in the world is founded in the Torah, where can we find a Torah source for the interrogation and search of travelers? Yes. The first such search was conducted by Lavan – Jacob’s father-in-law.  When Lavan saw that (Ya’akov) Jacob has taken his family and left , he  chased after them,  bombarded them with a barrage of questions  and then, unsatisfied with the answers, made his own intrusive and thorough search of their possessions – (Parshas Vayeitzei). Some years later, the sons of Ya’akov are subjected to an interrogation and search at the hands of the second most powerful man in all of Egypt, not realizing at the time that that imposing personage was none other than  their brother (Yosef). (Parshas Mikeitz).

What lesson could we possibly learn from these two similar events?  Perhaps the key lies in the intentions of the searchers even more than the search itself. Lavan is the prototype of a clever swindler whose expertise lies in appearing to be superficially (lavan) pure even while his intentions were self-serving and even nefarious. We of course should do our best to steer clear of such people but when unavoidable we should always make the best out of the situation as our forefather Ya’akov did in the house of Lavan.

Of course when well intended loving relatives, true friends and dedicated people “question” our intentions and “search” into our motivations, like Yosef had done with his brothers, we should not resent but actually cherish their words and actions. Now also before Pesach, while we are checking very closely our homes and possessions, let us also check (bodek) every “nock and cranny” of our attitudes for any “leavened” behavior that has become “chumatz  or saor”. This vital search and removal mission is one of the hallmarks of the Pesach transformation that helps free us from the bondage of corporeal constraints and limitations thereby allowing us to travel vertically up the Pesach “ladder”.

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

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

The rain 
washed down the windshield in torrents undeterred by the wipers. The
driver wiped his bleary eyes and the world swam. Only a few more miles, he
thought and I will be able to deliver the medicine from the pharmacy and go
home.  He glanced at the directions
scribbled on a wrinkled paper.  Here’s
the turn.  There’s the house.  He wearily unlatched the car door, hitched
his jacket over his head and moved quickly through the Spring storm to the
front door.  As the door bell rang , he
heard   the sound of small feet running
in his direction.

The third component of this event is time
which  plays the major role in our Pesach
preparations.  It is only time that
separates chumetz from matzah, for they both start with the same ingredients,
flour and water.  Chumetz, leaven, is
created through a process of fermentation that causes pockets of air to form in
the flour and water mixture, expanding the dough and making it grow large.  Like dough, egos can also be inflated.  The leavening agents can be  money, power, vanity or fame, together with the
flattery that catalyzes them into a bubbling brew that pumps up our sense of
self importance. One extra moment can mark the difference between leavened and
unleavened –one moment can be enough to transform  the mixture of flour and water from
permissible matzah into forbidden chumetz. And it only takes but a moment of
time for us to feel achieved and

congratulate ourselves for our accomplishments thus improperly taking personal
credit for that which Hashem has given to us.

              So as we make our bedikas
chumetz or any other mitzvah, we should try to do so with the un-self conscious
innocence, inspiration and joy of a child.

          Now with a better understanding of the need
for the bedika, let us ask but why search in the darkness of night? We might
think that it is not such a good idea as evening symbolizes the powers of the
dark side- the sitra achra.  However, on
this special night, we are given the assignment and ability to enter its realm
on a “search and destroy mission”.  In
those moments, that ner/candle is a holy spiritual beam that is able to
penetrate deeply to expose any sign of ego inflation. In the esoteric tradition
the Ner represents a vessel for the – shefa – the holy influence that channels
the Divine Radiance thereby illuminating any dark or hidden places, allowing us
find, identify and remove any impurities. Through the removal of any “excess
baggage” we are then prepared  to
receive  the special (kiddusha) holiness
that permeates  the night of Passover.

                  One final thought on the multifaceted
value of the bedikas chumetz. The ideal way to perform this minhag is to allow
some member of the house or close friend to hide some small portions of bread
or mezzonos. Many have the custom of 
placing ten pieces for esoteric reasons and also to insure the finding
of some chumetz in an already thoroughly clean home.  But this practical reason is not necessarily
the only explanation.

  This
hunt for chumetz is a joint mitzvah that gets everyone involved in an effort to
accomplish this task.       So in the years when my children were
young, we would use this night to send a not-so-subtle message to them.  Chumetz  would be put in places where old battles were
fought.  So, for the child who would
leave his shoes in the middle of the room for others to trip over, chumetz would
be put in that shoe.  For another

child, a messy closet
was the battle ground and she would find a piece of chumetz there.  We would all end our bedikas chumetz laughing
over things that frustrated us during the year. Pesach is a time of unity and
what better way to nurture this idealistic state than making a bedika  from within and without.  

   This
captivating ritual of bedikas chumetz,  one of the many heart warming mitzvot of
Pesach, transforms a mundane cleaning process  into a sacred and mystical rite. This creates
the atmosphere in which Pesach is renewed each year – And as Pesach is renewed
– so are we. As for the young delivery man who was standing at the entranceway,
may that glimpse into the Pesach experience be just the right “prescription”
for his transformation.

           La Shana Haba bi-Jerusalem  –  La
Shana Haba bi-Jerusalem

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

               In a few impacting verses (pesukim) in the beginning of the Book of Exodus (Sefer Shemos) , the Torah sets in motion the political and emotional forces that were to keep the children of Israel in bondage for the next two hundred and ten years.  These same forces have operated as a snare throughout history and are present today, only the stage setting has been specially designed to lure this generations unwary into its web of spiritual bondage. The mindset that led to their subjugation in Egypt was their yearning to be like everyone else – to assimilate into the culture of whatever country they found themselves in. There are those who in their eagerness to be a part of the culture, may mistakenly replace their service of the Creator (Hashem) with loyal service to the governing regime in a manner far beyond and above that which is required by the ordinary dictates of good citizenship.                     

1)      Pharaoh, who personifies the Jewish nemesis, the yetzer hara, understood that as long as the Jewish people were living in accordance with high standard of spiritual development referred to as the “Children of (Bnei) Israel,” he would not be able to subjugate them.  They were the beneficiaries of Hashem’s promise to Avraham our forefather (Avinu) – a promise which was to be eternally evidenced by the bris mila, covenant of circumcision. However, after Joseph died, some of the Jews stopped circumcising their sons because they wanted to emulate the Egyptians.  (Midrash Rabba I:8).  In order to prevent their assimilation, Hashem transformed the appreciation the Egyptians previously had into a feeling that the Bnei Israel had become a threat to them. The yetzer hara, in the guise of Pharaoh, then changed its form, face and presentation in order to subjugate the Israelites and turn them into servants of the state. 

To induce the Israelites to participate in their building program, the Egyptians hung a brick kiln around Pharaoh’s neck, inviting the Jews to join him in brick making.  Each man went to work making as many bricks as possible, which thereafter became the expected quota. The Jews thus became willing accomplices in their own enslavement, wooed and won over by this appeal to “love of country.” This technique, oft repeated in Jewish history, trapped them into a process of assimilation and distancing them from their connection to the teachings (Torah) of the Creator. 

              Modern society today poses a different but equally challenging test, by luring its citizens towards the ephemeral standards of the times. Their value scale of success is graded by such “yardsticks” as how wealthy and famous one is. The lifestyle that emerges from this philosophy can be as, if not more, detrimental to spiritual growth than the servitude imposed by the Egyptians.

                                         Addicted to Bondage

By the time the Israelites began to see the futility and hypocrisy of their alliance with Pharaoh, it was too late. The bondage had become an addiction.   The Bnei Yisrael were given the task of building arei miskenos, cities, whose names were Pisom and Ra’amseis. The word miskenos has the same root as the word miskein which means misfortune or poverty.    Pisom means sudden or immediate.  It also can refer to the mouth of the abyss, pi tehom (Midrash Rabba I:10).  Ra’am means loud, like a thunderclap.

            In our hectic lives, where sudden and immediate claims upon our time are an all too frequent occurrence, if we are not discerning, we may find that we are building Pisom.  We may also necessarily be building Ra’amses, since these calls to duty are usually loud and very difficult to ignore. One of the ploys of the yetzer hara is to persuade us that we must accomplish everything we have set out to do which can lead to feel overwhelmed. Pharaoh well understood that working without respite on purposeless tasks that could never be completed would weaken the physical, mental, emotional and most importantly spiritual health of the Nation.

         Acting too quickly and assuming excessive obligations without enough considered thought as to their value and purpose can make a person feel as if they are enslaved. The connection between poignant, distressing state of affairs and the bondage in Egypt is apparent. We can now readily see how these words of our eternal Torah apply to anyone at any time:  “They embittered their lives with avoda kasha, hard work, bechomer, with mortar and with leveinim, bricks, and with every labor of the field; all the labors that they performed with them were with crushing harshness” (Shemos 1:14).   The work was kasha, hard.  This word is related to the word for straw, kash, to hint to us that work is hard when it is like straw to us, that is, when it is commonplace and purposeless.   Mortar, chomer, which in Hebrew also means material, represents that which is stripped of spiritual content and inspiration.  Even without purpose and without inspiration we can still produce leveinim, bricks, but when one works under those circumstances they are reduced to field laborers (avoda basadeh) deprived of higher motivation, dignity and joy.

                                                            Salvation

But take heart; there is a way out.  There is an answer that may surprise us.  Moshe Rabbeinu told Pharaoh to release us because we are being called upon to serve Hashem.   Service of the Creator is not always easy, but it has all of the components that make it humane and perfect.  It provides meaningful obligations that have an eternal reward.  It provides periodic rest periods on Shabbos and Yamim Tovim dedicated to  menucahs ha-nefesh andsimcha.  Can a lifestyle that thrives on competition and stresses the importance of out -doing the neighbors in material acquisitions, compare with the eternal, meaningful rhythm of our beautiful Jewish lives? 

           When we stop and take stock of our options and our strengths, the time we have, the things we must do in order to fulfill our obligations as Jews as opposed to those things that we may be doing to serve some other cultural demand, we may be pleasantly surprised by the result.  We may be able to simplify our lives and our goals and live in greater harmony then we ever thought possible.  The job of the Egyptian taskmasters was to maximize the burdens upon the Israelites which ultimately shortened their servitude and enhanced their purification in the caldron that was Egypt.  It is precisely when the “task masters of time” bear down upon us that we have the opportunity to cull the necessary from the unnecessary and focus upon those matters that are essential to our avoda can be reached by sincerely asking for Hashem’s help in the process. 

This will actualize Pharaoh’s fear that we will  “go up [be raised up] from the land.”  “The land” which represents our physical and mental attachment to this world will no longer have a hold on us.  When we cleave to Hashem through His Torah, we will be elevated to a higher level of consciousness referred to as “the children of (Bnei) Israel.”

The Torah teaches us that the more the Jewish nation was afflicted the more they increased and spread out. This means that even during this period when we, as a nation, were far from reaching the perfect service of Hashem, His Divine Radiance was still with us.  In the dark and immoral environment of Egypt, Israelite slaves, who were deprived of all the benefits that culture and civilization are thought to bestow, were being forged into a holy nation.  The very harshness of the bondage actually strengthened the potential in each Israelite, so that when the time was ripe, Hashem would redeem us. The teaching here is very profound as it is a lesson to us that suffering and affliction can have very beneficial results. We do not ask for tests, but if they come, they can inspire our best performances. From this spiritual plateau we will not only be free from Pharaoh and Mitzrayim but we will be able to fulfill the will of the Creator in the holy land of Eretz Israel.

               May we merit this 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

                   Wars of liberation have been fought throughout history by captive peoples attempting to re-establish their autonomy.    Their strategy is fairly  straightforward.  Once diplomacy has failed,  they may take other , more extreme measures – secretly preparing an extensive escape plan –preparing to do battle if necessary  even though their captors may be much stronger.  They might use spies and subterfuge, and create a battle plan making the best use of men and materiel.  Each and every person would receive a specific assignment that would help to ensure success with the least amount of casualties. Many would serve as  front line military personal armed with weapons , each assigned to a specific area. Other people would serve as lookouts, messengers and  food  suppliers.

               Now let us look at the strategic approach the Bnei Israel actually took to free themselves from Egypt  and see if we notice anything unusual. The offensive military strategy seemed primarily to consist of removing all the chumetz  [leavened bread] in their abodes and preparing the Pesach offering and eating the Pesach offering the night of the outgoing from Egypt  while the defensive tactics  consisted of placing dam [blood]on the door posts and lintels at the entrance way of their homes.

                 Can we even imagine the reaction a military strategist would have when hearing how we prepared ourselves for the potential battle and ensuing Great Escape. Yet every Jew who followed this supernal protocol left safely filled with blessings. How can we explain this miraculous phenomenon?

            In Egypt, the Creator chose to utterly suspend cause and effect in a manner we perceive as miraculous.  However, even in our era, where open miracles do not occur, we can use this glimpse into spiritual technology to understand that those things that we assume are causing our successes or our failures do not represent actual causes.  It is the Creator who is the Only Cause and so when we observe His commandments, we achieve a spiritual release from  bondage to the cause and effect  paradigm of the natural world. Following the guidelines of the Torah offers us the opportunity to experience a panoramic view of supernal consciousness. This shift in awareness not only allows us to perceive the ethereal position of the soul’s relationship with the entire cosmos but also affords us the opportunity to delve deeply within and  effectuates our ability to choose to follow the guidance of  our Creator  so that we may be led to the proper path.

   We wish you a happy sweet Pesach.                   

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

            Purim is the perfect time to invite guests who think that Judaism is stodgy and restrictive.   As we stomp all over Haman’s name during the Megilla reading, and then sit down to a meal that’s more liquid then solid, I most enjoy watching Purim dismantling all of their pre-conceived notions.   I don’t tell my guests (who are having too much fun to worry about it) that even as we do something that seems strange or unusual, we are making a powerful statement that reverberates through time in order to bring the ultimate redemption.

            Stomping Out Haman 

             The custom of stomping at the sound of Haman’s name begins at the feet, so let us take off our shoes and examine the bottom of our “soles/souls”.  Most of us have a live and let live relationship with our feet.  If they do not bother us, we don’t worry about them.  We don’t usually buy special vitamins or minerals to enhance their functioning and at best we notice them because we need them as a place to put our shoes. 

Our feet don’t seem to  “kick up” much of a fuss about this attitude because they are too busy either standing or walking.  Walking is an amazing process, that we take for granted, which involves the foot’s ability to be rigid and calloused, yet flexible and mobile:  taking steps begins with the foot in a rigid state, the heel  hitting the ground, it then continues  with the foot unlocking and flexing so the knee can pass over it.  Our weight is then transferred to the ball of the foot as we propel ourselves over the toes whereupon the foot again becomes rigid to provide the momentum for the next step.  Although small in comparison to the body, the foot is able to support its full weight using muscles, tendons sinews and interestingly twenty six bones. 

The feet are furthest from the head and seem to be unconnected from all the other organs.  Yet according to a fairly popular alternative medical practice called reflexology, applying pressure to designated points on the feet can restore health and well being to each part of the body for a wide variety of ailments. According to this system, there are said to be, even more interestingly, 7200 hundred nerve endings in the feet which connect to zones so that each part of the foot corresponds to some part or organ of the body.  For example, the various organs and systems of the body are represented on the sole of the foot while the big toe relates to the head.  The ball of the foot relates to the lungs while the heal of the foot relates to the small intestine and bladder are located towards the heel.  

The feet also seem to be the farthest removed from that which is holy and pure.  Yet, it would be very difficult to interact with the world in the fulfillment of many (mitzvoth) specific good deeds without their assistance.  And it is that interaction with the world that Purim is so much about as this holiday begins with an awakening from “below”.

Our generation’s place in history lies on that end of Hashem’s time line that is embedded deeply within a mindset that often connects itself to self gratification, that is at the bottom end of  the  fourth of our four  exiles, [1] yet, we play a “pivotal” role.  Like the “soles” of the feet, most “souls” today are distant from the achievements of earlier generations, yet it is our duty to lift ourselves up, “striding” ever forward bringing the knowledge of Hashem into the here and now – which time is referred to as the (ikvei) [heels] footsteps of the HaMasiach.  Although this last exile like our heels has become somewhat calloused it is precisely that quality that gives us the opportunity to illuminate this epoch in time so that the ultimate redemption can occur.

Interestingly, our feet play a crucial role in this epic drama. They serve as the liaison between our “souls” and the ground. By having “our feet on the ground” – ie. in this material world, we are vulnerable to the nefarious plans of (Haman/Amalak) those who personify evil, but at the same time this positions give us a solid “foot-hold” in this battle.

Although our physical “soles” are connected to earthliness, our holy “souls” are unified with the true Source of All.  We therefore literally have the power to “stamp out” the influence and memory of  Haman  and Amalek with each “step” bringing us closer to their “de-feat” and the our ultimate redemption.

 Purim samayach!!!

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