Pathways in Progress - Chabad Jewish Center of Jupiter

The moon is the secret of the Jewish people...

Friday, January 15, 2016 - 7:29 AM

The Jewish people were still slaves, subjugated and persecuted by the stubborn Pharoah when G-d chose to grace them with their very first commandment. On the threshold of liberation, prior to the very last plague, the Jews were given the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, sanctifying the new month according to the siting of a new moon. From this day forward, our calendar became linked to the rhythms of the moon. More importantly, it was at this juncture that G-d indicated that the Jews would forever be defined by the lunar existence.

In the aftermath of 9 plagues, just before the last one would strike, G-d chose to announce this truth. Because the moon was the secret to breaking through the final shackles of Egypt as well as any future communal or personal constraint.

The moon experiences a growth cycle, waxing to a peak, but slowly waning into oblivion, only to begin the cycle once again. The sun, by contrast, doesn't deviate from its stable and consistent daily pattern.

The Egyptians chose the sun as one of their pagan deities. They worshiped the predictable and strongly resisted change. Despite the utter devastation caused by the plagues, Pharaoh refused to alter the status of the Jewish people. No matter how self destructive, he simply could not shift his thinking to allow the Jews to leave Egypt. Once a slave, always a slave. Egypt, known in Hebrew as Mitzraim literally means constraints. Clearly their name referenced their restrictive and stifling mentality.If Egypt craved confinement, stagnancy and finality, the Jewish spirit needed to move out and break through. If Egypt followed the sun's constant pattern, the Jewish spirit was entangled with the moon's movement.

As a people, we have had our fair share of ups and downs. At our lowest points, just when it looked like we would fade away, we experienced am incredible resurgence. As individuals, we've had moments of weakness and indifference, inspiration gone dry. However as people of the moon, we dust ourselves off and begin to imagine and dream. We move forward with more resolve than ever.

As we dare to envision the full moon ahead, the result we want, it begins to take shape. Just as the new moon had to be sited to be celebrated, we must site the dream for it to become our reality. Visualization, G-d tells us, is the window to manifestation.

May our visions for all things positive come to fruition!

Have a great Shabbos!

Blood, Frogs, Lice, Animals, Oh my!

Friday, January 8, 2016 - 9:30 AM

So this Shabbos, we may see fewer joggers on Central Blvd as our family walks the 2.8 mile stretch to Shul. But it's been a week since New Years, and the excitement of the new year's resolutions may have died down. A week later, many may have given up on their aspirations.

How do we hold on to the goals that seemed so attainable while we committed to them, but so far from reality today?

Seven of the Ten Plagues are introduced in this portion, and the redemption of the Jews from slavery is about to unfold.

The plagues not only served as lessons for Pharaoh and the Egyptians, they were also intended to educate the Jewish people on how to prepare themselves to be free. Torah's messages are eternal and guide us in our every day struggles. Today, we can benefit from the same therapies to liberate ourselves from the constraints of our own psychological Egypts.

Let's examine the first few plagues:

The Nile turned hot blood bath, the first plague, can represent the fire and passion we may have while we feel motivated. Let's call the blood our resolve. Let's call it our sudden desire to attend servicesl this week. Let's call it a wave of inspiration to do a mitzvah, or a firm resolution to become physically fit. We need to act upon this positive urge, or it can fizzle out in a matter of hours.

Because blood soon turns to frogs and in comes a cold blooded creature as the second plague. Excuses, doubt, skepticism and indifference quickly cool the temperature of the sacred moment.

Where do these doubts come from? Well that's where the plague of lice comes in. Lice, small but pesky bugs, represent us feeling tiny, unworthy, unfit, or unqualified for the job. The lice are the things we tell ourselves about our resolutions that make us feel small. The voices from within that quickly dismiss our noble goals. The hope they we lose that undermines our ability to rise to the challenge.

However, with the plague of wild animals that follows, comes the solution. We cultivate our inner animal, our ambition. Like a bold lion, the king of the jungle, we can gather our strength to counter these unhealthy "perfectionist or nothing" feelings. We can courageously attack the demons within us who try tell us that we are not armored enough and not ready enough to commit to greatness.

Don't forget my name!

Friday, January 1, 2016 - 1:41 AM

I get what you're doing. I know that you are reading from a script. You were told to casually insert my name intermittently throughout our exchange.

Still, I find it hypnotic and endearing, yet invasive and annoying!

When I hear my name, I feel connected, somehow, to you. You have carved out a space in my heart. You have created a bond.

My name holds the key to my essence, my soul. When it is used, my energy radiates.

Perhaps that is why the name of this week's Torah portion is Shemos - Names. (It is referred to as Exodus but that isn't the literal translation of the word).

The port ion opens: "Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt with Jacob; every man and his household they came. Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulan and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. And all the souls . . . were 70 souls."

The Tribes came to Egypt with their names. They came with a strong sense of identity. The medrash explains that the Jewish people eventually merited to be redeemed from slavery because they held on to their Hebrew names. They stayed true to themselves and did not fully assimilate.

The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim. That word means constraints.

When I stay true to myself I have no constraints. That is true freedom. To be myself.

Sometimes, people, myself included, work so hard to fit in that we are enslaved to a way that is not our own.