THE NEVER-ENDING DWELLERS - A story of the Broken Passover Matzah

THE NEVER-ENDING DWELLERS

A Story of the Broken Matzah

With Passover just around the corner we are once again dealing with two forces. Opposing forces of slavery and freedom, abundance and poverty, independence and dual-statehood, life and death have never been so harshly defined as they have been now in 2012. Every day we hear about anti-semitic acts in our back yard - regardless of where we live.

Although it seems that the world is progressing technologically - iPad3, Facebook, 60 inch HDTVs - we seem to be stuck in exactly the same place as our ancestors. We are struggling to survive as individuals, as a nation and as a world that risks being wiped off the face of our galaxy by nuclear weapons.

The most recent struggle between good and evil happened in France. Yes, France - think Paris, Nice, Toulouse - the beautiful Eiffel Tower, the romantic walks, the small bridge over the canal, the lovely language. A country that has been featured in numerous movies and was once fit only for the kings and the elite. Moses would have split this canal in seconds to save our people.

France, however, like many countries in the world is rapidly changing and it's not for the better.


BROKEN LIVES

Seeing the images of the  murdered victims in Toulouse France has been shocking and painful to everyone that has a human vein in their body regardless of their level of religion or even their ethnicity. The lives of 4 people, namely of Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, his two sons, Aryeh (5 years old) and Gabriel (4 years old), and of Miriam Monsonego (7 years old), the daughter of the school's principal, Rabbi Yaacov Monsonego were taken by a monster.

Looking at the picture it is clear that each of the 4 victims had a very special purpose in this life. Light just shines from their pure smiles and warm hearted, kind faces. Yet, we are at war - we are at war with people who no longer see human beings as living things - they point and shoot at anyone that has any association with being Jewish. No logic. No reason. No heart.

Look at the picture again!

Many European media outlets tried to justify what happened. Some blame the influx of immigrants to France. Guess what? Most countries are made up of immigrants - that does not mean that the immigrants are animals. There is something different about a society of "immigrants" that breeds hate, murder, torture. We tell ourselves that this will never happen in our country, yet look at the statistics just for the last few days:

Ukraine
A Holocaust Monument and Hundreds of Jewish Grave Defaced with swastikas and graffiti with "Congratulations on the Holocaust" spray painted on the tombs and the monument.

United States Saint Louis, Missouri Washington University

Swastikas were scratched into two cars, and the tires slashed on two other cars, belonging to members of the Zeta Beta Tau a Jewish fraternity at Washington University in St. Louis. The attack reportedly occurred on March 15 or 16. The damage was discovered when the students returned from spring break.

We can no longer afford to ignore these acts because the PHARAOH during this Passover keeps changing his form. The Jewish people are dwellers. We are dwellers who are constantly kicked out of their homes.

"The Egyptians could run to Egypt, the Syrians into Syria. The only place we could run was into the sea, and before we did that we might as well fight"
-Golda Meir

 EVICTION is a common challenge that Jews have faced throughout our lives for centuries.

Sometimes it's because the PHARAOH takes the face of an unfair cruel landlord that exhibits harassing, bullying and lying behavior, scaring children into having nightmares - yet still accepted within our own community. In fact, this Pharaoh can pretend to blend in and sneak his way into the most intimate of friendships to feel the power to decide who stays and who goes - even at the risk of taking someones life.

But ultimately Hashem (G-d) is the only one who can determine who lives and who dies, who stays and who goes, who will face the penalty of the 10 plagues and who will not.

FRIEND OR FOE? - The NEW Passover questions

We often wonder why those that we welcome into our lives as friends, whether it's a country like France who welcomed it's "immigrants" or a smiling person pretending to be your "savior" turn out to be the very people that take our children's innocence and peace away from them. Yet we must be firm and do the best we can to PROTECT our children, our true friends and our world from the very people who so heartlessly destroy us for their own benefit.




We teach our kids to believe in miracles and ask questions about injustice. If Moses can make the impossible happen on Passover, we can make it happen everyday. We may not have a place to live or forced to live in "broken" homes, yet we must constantly strive to be an example of what is good and remove the Pharaohs from our lives for good.
It won't be easy, but as a society we should never try to go against each other - there are enough monsters that hate us simply because we are not like them.  In the words of a very smart little boy who was born on Passover - "Listen, listen, there is a siren outside" - we need to listen to the sirens of the universe and act accordingly to save our children.

With a tough economy where dog eats dog, as Jews we are taught to resist the temptation of revenge (leave that for Hashem (G-d)).  Yet our heart aches to see our own children hurt emotionally, psychologically and physically by people who have created a conspiracy theory in their head of something that is not true.

During Passover we break the Matzah and share it with everyone at the table - the underlying assumption is that every person sitting at the Passover Seder is someone you can trust. Yet, we must always protect the borders within our home from someone that only PRETENDS to be a friend. Even if we have only crumbs to eat, we have faith that the Hashem (G-d) will provide our food for the Seder and ensure each person has something that will enlighten them in spirit and give them an opportunity to ask QUESTIONS about the nature of human beings, slavery and WHY! Even if their homes will no longer be filled with the shining light of their children in the physical realm, we can always hear and see their presence in our souls.

We can co-exist as independent people and societies, but never give up fighting for justice and truth. These culpits will see their day in court - a court that will ultimately shed light on their evil nature, in this world or the next. The Pharaoh's case will be dismissed by Hashem, permanently, just like it was during Passover - enabling all of us to stop being slaves to our lives and be strong at the face of evil! Amen.

"Live well. It is the greatest revenge."
~ The Talmud

Dedication:

This is dedicated to the families of the victims in Toulouse. May you find peace in prayer and friendship and remember that our world is circular and we will all meet those that have passed away someday again. And for those that pretend to be our friends so they can evict us from our life, I say - we are not the same Jews form the 1940s - we will fight to protect our children, our elders and our society to the very end of our lives...and so will their children, and their children's children. We will never breed hate, only kindness and charity. 

Copyright@Ahuva Gershtein 2012. All Rights Reserved. Duplication and publication forbidden without written consent. Electronic distribution with link to blog permitted.

New Pharoahs, Timeless Fate

With Passover behind us we may have forgotten all about bad Pharoahs, plagues, miracles and wine. Sometimes as hard as we try to forget the evil Pharoah, the legacy of evil can haunt us forever.

The past few weeks have been filled with incredible stories, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Death of Osama Bin Laden, Israel's Independence Day and more. The news seems to be hitting us so fast that it's hard for us to digest what is really going on. We only have time for headlines on the web or Facebook messages, and before you know it - we are creating our own new RSS feed! With all this modern technology maybe we should forget what's in the past?

Why does what happened in the past even matter? Maybe we should let the past be the past? Leave your old life and the people you left behind alone! Right? WRONG!!! Many have a hard time realizing that how we approach the mistakes of the past often shapes our future.

Taking a scientific approach, we recall Sir Isaac Newton discovered that "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction". And what about propulsion? Propulsion is the concept that in order to move something forward, something else needs to move back - Like a balloon that you blow up and release, the air in a balloon will push it forward. OK..Enough with the science lesson.

In life nothing just happens, it always happens for a reason. Weather you believe that Hashem (G-d) creates your life as a test of your endurance and strength or you believe the little old lady across the street put her evil eye on you - the fact remains, your life was meant for YOU! It was meant to teach you to face the challenges of the past and embrace the hopes of the future. The challenge is that if you put the past in the past without your lessons learned, you will soon be faced with the same issues all over again. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is an act of G-d!

All this Osama publicity reminded me of 9/11. Do you remember the story about a child refusing to go to school on 9/11 and making his daddy late for the train? That was the very train that would have gotten his daddy to work on time - this could have been the last day this boy saw his father - but it was NOT! How about during the tsunami in Thailand? Animals were running away from the water, miles away! If only people would have listened to nature! If only had there been more understanding of the past!

With so much in the present and future, our senses have been muted. Why have we become so deaf to the outcry of our children? When have their tears stopped having meaning to us as humans? If that is our action, what kind of reaction can we expect from new governments, from growing economies, from families just starting their life? How will they treat our environment? Our elderly? Our sick?

Listen, learn, love - open your soul.

Speaking of someone who lacked having a soul...Osama died on Holocaust Remembrance Day! A day that reminds us that the past often comes to haunt future generations of Jews who lost their identity as people because of fear, hate, prejudice! But was this not in the past? Shouldn't we just not talk about it - it was horrible! Don't you just want to go on with your happy life and forget this sad segment in our history? NEVER FORGET! Never let your children forget! Talk about it, write about it, cry about it, but never, never forget.

A teenager recently commented that the date of Osama's death is ironic. Some debate on whether we should rejoice at the loss of his life - we dare not judge, but someone who causes pregnant women to jump from a burning skyscraper on 9/11..., was this person ever human? Hitler was in the past, Osama is now part of the past, how many more lessons do we need to learn to know that sometimes even 10 years of remembering will mean nothing without the precautions to make sure these mistakes are not repeated. We now have stronger armies (armies of those that pray as well as armies of those that fight). We now have better education for our children. But have we learned our lessons from the past? Or did we just leave our children behind without any knowledge of the past?

With Israel turning 63, a baby among nations, we must use our strength as humans to make sure no race is ever targeted to be wiped out by anyone! Golda Meir might have been just a girl from Kiev, Ukraine but she opened a lifeline for those that had none. She was not afraid - she used the past as a way to make her enemies understand that everyone deserves to return to their home! To our home! With the economy tumbling all over the world and Jews becoming scapegoats for world problems, we should never let anyone use us as human shields! We must help one another unconditionally and share what we have with those less fortunate. This brings us to this weeks Torah portion.

In this week's torah portion we are told to leave the corners of your harvest for the poor, so they can have something to eat. We are told to leave it for them, not to give it to them directly (since that may cause embarrassment). Personally, I don't have a harvest to pick - I don't even like gardening! So how does this apply to modern times? Giving something to someone anonymously is the best way to give. Why? You are just the middleman between G-d and the receiver. If every action has an equal and opposite reaction, if you give - you shall receive. This may not mean you will get a million bucks, but you might live a more fulfilling and happier life.

The past is never really in the past, there is an equal and opposite reaction in the future. Never forget the past and shape YOUR future by teaching your children kindness and assure them that no Hitler, Osama or the creep next door can ever hurt them because YOU are strong and brave enough to protect them with your life and at the same time soft hearted enough to give them a blessing before they go to sleep. Most importantly, hold yourself accountable for those words!

Dedication: This is dedicated to everyone that has been troubled by the haunting memories of the past. Know that it is not your fault that modern day Pharoahs uprooted your life. At the end every Pharoah has the same fortune - Not because you took revenge, but because Hashem (G-d) saw your struggle. Every person has a holy war going on inside between good and evil. May the good always win!  Don't cry over spilled wine, refill your cup of life to the rim and know that if you can only afford to fill it half way it's always half full and never half empty. Amen.

The Battle of the One Shoulder Dress

Spring is here! As we look around and find new trends for spring fashion, in 2011 we see the one shoulder dress make a come back.   It looks pretty, it may even fit nicely when you try it on. Doesn't she look hot in this dress guys or what? 

So what does this dress have to do with your life? You might NOT care about this dress or being fashionable. You may like to wear green or orange crocks and an old t-shirt with jeans. Who cares about this dress? What's the point anyway?
Who cares about what anyone wears? It's what on the inside that matters - right?

Sometimes people can be as asymmetrical as this dress. Outside they are nice, fun, honest but inside something is missing, maybe it's the other shoulder of their internal foundation, their so called dress. Two faces of the same outfit.

When the rest of the world is watching, some people act one way. In private, with their family they are a completely different person, putting their whole family to shame.

Taking the analogy a step further, we find that we have to watch out for the symbolic mask that people, countries and even whole societies wear. We are subconsciously forced to use our imagination to fill in the gap, following our internal gap analysis strategy to calm our complicated mind. There is something intriguing and powerful about filling in the gap and trying to imagine what the other strap of the dress might look like - a sneak peak at what's inside.

In this week's Torah portion we are taught the rules of keeping kosher. We are reminded that a pig may look like any other meat, but it's not healthy for you because it consumes garbage - on the inside, it's just filthy garbage. But this is not just about the food! Just because something or someone looks like a million dollars on the outside - a true super star, a real beauty, a winner - means absolutely nothing until that person can be good, kind, ethical and honest on the inside, a person that has strong principles and beliefs!

It's easy to deceive society into believing you are good and easily gain trust of those that are vulnerable, naive, trusting. What is much harder is to live every day of your life with an impeccable set of values and strive to be better each day. We see this on every level, from children in school to dictators of countries who condition their people to believe in them out of hope, fear, trust.

But the two faced people and two faced societies will one day lose the battle of the blue one shoulder dress. Sooner or later the asymmetrical strap will fall off and will be exposed for what it is, even if the person that wears this symbolic dress is seen as a superstar, their fame is short lived!

As humans we are programmed genetically to believe in symmetry (or harmony) because it's not only pleasing to the eye, psychologically it gives us a sense of stability. It is easier for our brain to understand and create an environment that is responsive to something we are biologically prone to achieve. This does not mean we need to stop being creative, it just means that we deserve to reach for having the complete power of showing the world the whole dress so that no one can claim a discrepancy between your inside and outside self.

Bottom line: BE YOURSELF and be your best both on the inside and outside!


Dedication: This is dedicated to people who seek truth and are not scared to express their complete opinion, create a debate, take a controversial view and don't compromise who they are - even if it means someone will not approve. We need to pick our battles but also prove that we are real! To my designer friends - I love fashion and no harm was done to any blue one strap dresses :)

4 month, 4 years, 11 years, 35 years, 36 years - Not just numbers

As we sit down to enjoy a family meal we often forget to look around to see who is at the table. Who are these people sitting next to us? Our children? Our parents? How old are they? Time flies so quickly as we watch them learn to walk and talk an go to school. Soon they become adults who build their own families and we watch our grandchildren grow. This can be a scene in any culture or religion. A mother cooking a meal for a birthday, a holiday, a graduation. A father blessing his children and giving them a kiss on the forehead. Now take a look at the photo of the Fogel family below. A nice jewish family, aren't they?

As the Fogel family sat down for their Shabbos dinner on Friday night, I am sure their home was filled with love and peace. Yes, PEACE - a word we so often forget. Say it again, PEACE. Just like all of us look into our child's eyes and see something beyond love, beyond joy, beyond peace - Udi and Ruth Fogel (only 35 and 36 years old, respectively) must have looked at their beautiful children and felt blessed to be living in Israel, in Itamar. They felt blessed for having a beautiful family and for having a wonderful Shabbos. The kids were probably thinking about Purim, about baking Hamentashen (triangular cookies for Purim) and even dressing up in fun costumes.

UNFORTUNATELY, something horrible happened on this peaceful night. Terror stuck the home of this family in the ugliest and the most unfair way. Not a tsunami like in Japan, not a fire, not a disease. It was by far much worse. Five people were massacred by a terrorist in cold blood. Even the 4 MONTH OLD baby! Udi Fogel, 36, Ruth Fogel, 35, and their children Yoav, 11, Elad, 4, and 4 month-old Hadas were stabbed to death in their sleep. These are not soldiers of the IDF killed while serving their country, these are not prisoners, these are victims of a horrific crime that has no justification.

In nature all animals fight for survival. But humans beings differ because they have a soul. A person that kills a little baby in cold blood is devoid of a soul and can not even be compared to an animal, let alone a person.
What is even worse, 12 year old Tamar found her family destroyed. This will forever be engraved in her memory as she tries to grow into being a normal teenager, a normal soldier, a wife, a mother - the horror of seeing a pool of blood in her home instead of being greeted by mom and dad as she walked into the house this past Saturday morning. Although Tamar was able to save Roi, 8 and 2-old Yishai - her family will never be the same, NEVER. NEVER.

How can PEACE ever be achieved if basic human ethics can not be followed. Even in war, there are rules of how to treat civilians - this is obviously NOT an intrusion (as BBC called it), it is a blatant act of terrorism. As Jews we must unite and use our heart, our mind and our strength to prevent these crimes.

We must share this with the world, both Jews and non-Jews and let people stop anti-semitism, hate crimes and murder.

Take a look at this map of world religions. Jews make up less than a quarter of one percent! If we were one family, there would be less than 14,000,000 of us (statistically, at the beginning of 2010 our population was assessed at 13,428,300 by Hebrew University). WE ARE ONE FAMILY with the Shabbos table stretching from continent to continent, but now there is tragically 5 less people at our table!

Looking at the map and thinking about all religions, including all atheists and agnostics it is still impossible to comprehend what kind of a society and religion permits murder of babies? I guarantee that this poor 4 month old victim was no threat to anyone in the neighborhood or in the world. But if this was a member in your family, would you not want to fight back with all your might? This IS a member of our family. All of us are in this together. This is not something that happened far away (even if you have never been to Israel). Each of us can play a role in educating others about the brutality of ignorance and brainwashing.

There is a debate about having settlers carrying weapons to protect themselves and building more housing in the territories. There are talks about peace, talks about war, talks about politics and policies.These are all very valid points. But the fact remains that the gift of life was shattered in this beautiful family. Now only lifeless bodies remain as a reminder of the gruesome murder.

Now go and look at your child in the eyes and bless them, hold them, kiss them. For those that do not have children, find a child in your family and spend the day with them. Remind them about the beauty of kindness and the ugliness of hate!

Dedication: This is dedicated to the Fogel family. Our thoughts are with you during this horrible time in your life. May G-d give you the strength to deal with this horrible loss. In addition, this is dedicated to our family in Israel who fight for our right to exist daily and make us proud to be part of the smallest ethnic group in the world. I believe we can really make the world a better, safer place but only through action!

Boundaries, Closures and Hope

How far are you willing to reach to be there for someone? In this weeks torah portion Batya saves Moses and makes a difference in the lives of future generations. She reaches out when it seems impossible by overcoming her seemingly unreachable physical boundaries and finds the strength to save a child, a child that will open the door to who we are.

As humans we often have a hard time defining our physical, emotional and spiritual boundaries. Some people have to face physical and health issues that they need to overcome. On occasion, we are surrounded by toxic people that we can not stop from poisoning our spirit and we need to stop them at any cost. However, we can only live in this physical world  - without the ability of  reaching out to someone that has fulfilled their purpose here, overcame their boundaries and moved on. We want to be able to touch that person, to have that final conversation, to tell them that the line between our world and theirs is very thin - but in reality, we can not do it verbally. Spiritually, however, we are eternally connected to those we love - something that we should remind ourselves on a daily basis.

This week, someone very special lost their life (may you rest in peace J.) in the most shocking, unfair way. Finding the strength to cope with this loss may be a lifelong journey for the rest of her family and friends. But as the Torah teaches us, we have to find the strength to deal with emotions and challenges that seem impossible. Just like Batya was able to stretch her arms and rescue Moses, we must stretch out our arms to those that are grieving and those that can not comprehend why life's challenges are so abrupt, cruel and unfair. The strength is within us, although the blinding pain is everlasting.

Today, so many people are in need of being emotionally and spiritually stronger that we must all help one another stand firmly on the ground. The post-traumatic effect of cruelty, pain, grief, abuse, death are everlasting (right Fr.?) - but we must find it within ourselves to get back up on our feet and be strong for those that are in this world. Just like Moses became the leader for our people, we all have to live a great life. Our lives are just grains of sand in time and we have to be there for one another unconditionally in order to survive.

After dealing with our grief and being able to set boundaries between the unfairness in life and the hope that it must go on, we live day by day and learn that eventually sorrow will be replaced by smiles again, the cold will be replaced by warmth and death will be replaced by the legacy and footprints of those that are gone.

In Hebrew the word "soger" means to close. This week I learned about the word "close" both in the literal sense and in the spiritual sense (thanks M.). When one door in life closes we look for another way to let light shine into our life, regardless of how dark and hopeless it may seem. And as long as we can overcome our hardships and  boundaries, be strong and leave a legacy behind we can live forever in the hearts of those we left behind.

G-d wants to keep good people for himself also (right F.?), and we will never understand why they have to be taken from us in such a cruel way - after all we are only human.

Dedication: This is dedicated to a beautiful, kind, wonderful young lady who was taken abruptly to the next world without any warning, leaving behind family and friends who love her eternally. There are no words, no explanation. We are all reachingg out to you spiritually and hope that you are at peace. Know we love you unconditionally. May you rest in peace dear. Amen.

Leaving a "Lot" behind

How would you feel if you had to just give up what you have and move to an unfamiliar environment? Would you feel different if you had a specific cause (lets say, saving the world?). Every generation has heroes that have given up their comfortable and familiar life to make a difference.

Those of Eastern European descent who were children during WWII often had to live in basements (think Anne Frank) or migrate from city to city. Then as adults they ran to America, the land of opportunity, to save their own children from anti-semitism. Now their children are running from city to city to find work and uprooting their families and sometimes they make Aliyah and move to Israel all together because that is what they feel will make a difference to their family. Most people I know moved at least 4 times in their life, many lived in different countries and changed who they were to survive!
What is your situation?

Abraham was no different. G-d asked him to give up his familiar surroundings and move. Just like many of our ancestors, he had no clue where he was going. He just knew he was doing the right thing. Maybe if he lived now and his home went into foreclosure (like many of us today), he would live with his mommy (like many of us today)...assuming she was still alive, because he was really, really old! To add to his troubles, he actually believed only in one G-d, not all those pretty shiny gold cows - so many people still worship all the shiny stuff. But for an old guy, he did pretty good. We are still talking about him right? Abe, do you hear us up there?

Even Lot, Abraham's follower and controversial friend, just went along with Abraham. However he never appreciated anything Abe did for him. This explains why he got in trouble with G-d later. People, if someone leads you in the right direction, even if it's out of your seemingly "happy" place - maybe you should try to listen. Appreciate your teachers, friends, significant others even though they are a pain sometimes. Respect your elders because we get wiser with age and see through a "Lot" of stuff the younger generations seem to forget.

Remember things just have a way of working out. Be open to getting out of your comfort zone and get moving. Not necessarily to another city, but to another state of mind. Open your mind to making a difference and don't stop! Run Abraham, run! You must save the world. And don't forget to honor those special people that helped you become a better person!

Good shabbos and get moving!

Noah's Arc - Are we Saved Yet?

Why is it that we constantly feel like we are drowning? The bills, the family responsibilities, the lack of sleep on Monday mornings? How do you think the creatures felt on the Arc? No, not the St. Louis Arc (although it's worth a visit!) - Noah's Arc. The formula is simple: build something that will float in water, put 2 of each creature in it and nature will take it's course! Of course if your creation ends up in one of the parallel worlds, please do not blame anyone!

Our lives are flooded by all sorts of things and all types of people that can cause our destruction. So who is going to save us? G-d is always watching, but if you sit on your...chair...and don't take action, my dear Adams and Eves, you might as well have been one of those creatures that missed the train to the the original Arc and forgot their iPhone at home.

This week reverse the flood of negative emotions into a flood of kindness towards other people. Just today I spoke to someone about job hunting , remember A2?. As we know the market is flooded with resumes - so how do you swim out? How does that Arc look so people can sign up? Well, you try and try again. You ask your friends for help. You interview.

What about those that are at home parents? Yes my dear A. and M. you! (Strangely enough more than 2 people have those initials so it applies ot all of you!) Family responsibilities can be challenging especially with little kids. Just delegate everything to your significant other...just kidding. Don't over do it. Kids need moms and dads that are there for them and are not flooded with the weight of the world.

So if you could speak to Noah right now (I just spoke to his wife a today, her name starts with M.), what would you ask? If you were on a boat and it was drowning, who would you save? If you were pouring a cup of wine would you let it overflow? Think about it.

Let's fill our life with good things and divine energy, but also keep in mind that if you pour a cup of wine that overflows, you might as well have poured some wine on the floor. Do what you can for others, but also take good care of yourself spiritually. Your family and friends will feel your spirit illuminating even when times are tough.

So this week have a little Challah (G. you will appreciate the humor) or something smaller if you prefer, but in either case don't over do it! Another P4 for M. on recommending G.'s book.

Blessings and Good Shabbos!