Shabbat Candle Times

Boker Tov: Good Morning!

How many times have you heard the saying, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life?" A lot? Me too. But like all sayings, it has meaning to it. As traditional Jews, the first thing we do when we wake up (before we get out of bed) is begin the Modeh Ani; a short, two-line prayer which opens by referring to Adonai as the eternal and living creator. It goes on to say that sleep was a minor death, in which our soul spent the night with G-d. It concludes by thanking the Divine for returning our soul back to us in a pure state, allowing us to live another day. Its also cool to know that G-d's proper name (Adonai / YHVH) isnt used in this prayer because the Rabbis believed it improper to speak G-d's name before ritually washing the hands.

Another morning prayer, Elohai Neshama, goes on to speak about how our souls are given back to us:

Elohai neshama shenatata bi t'horah hi.
My G-d - the soul You have given me is pure.
You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me, You guard it within me. You will, in the future, take it from me, and restore it to me at a future time. So long as this soul is within me, I thank You, Adonai, My G-d, G-d of my ancestors, Master of all creation, Sovereign of all souls. Praised are You, Adonai, Who restores the soul to the lifeless and exhausted.

Jewish belief is one that teaches us that our souls are always pure because they are a direct extension from G-d. Without G-d, our souls would not be able to sustain a physical form. So each morning, let us remember to always give thanks for a new day of love, a new day of peace and a new day of life.

Baruch HaBa B'Shem Adonai

 {Blessed is the Name of Adonai}

Being A Jew In A Christian Community

Having lived in a very nice area that had a lot of Jews in Los Angeles, California, I was very comfortable in my wearing a kippah everywhere, reading Torah on the train, and letting my Star of David necklace show all the time. I was able to go to the nearest bakery and request challah before Shabbat and was able to find a kosher deli within a five mile radius. Needed to find a Torah Study group? No problem, the nearest Shul was either in walking distance or a short drive away.

Then, we moved to Virginia and everything changed (Now I know how my ancestors felt when they were put in exile).

It is becoming a shtick, the many double-takes that I get when people see a mixed individual with a Star of David necklace. Or wearing my kippah into the movie theatre. But I see this move as a sign: a sign to study more, care more and engage more. I meet the stares of confused lookers with a kind smile and a quick and gentle wave. And when someone asks me, "What does that necklace mean?" or "Are you really Jewish?" the answer is always the proud and honest truth; 'Yes, I am Jewish'.  

Being Jewish means that I believe in One G-d only because the Torah states that there should be no other god(s) before Adonai (this is why I tell people Jews and Christians do not have the same deity since Christians believes that Jesus is their god). This number one mitzvah (commandment) has been a past debate with one of my best friends who is a deeply devoted Christian. And the reason why we are still best friends is because we know that our religions are just a piece of who we are, not the entire package. But Jewish teachings tell us that no other being participated in the work of creation. That when G-d declared to G-d's angels 'Let us make man...' we were created b'tzelem elohim; created in the image of the Divine (godly & angelically). Everything in the universe was created by G-d and only by G-d. Judaism completely rejects the dualistic notion that evil was created by Satan or any variation thereof. All comes from G-d. As Isaiah said , "I am the L-rd, and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I am the L-rd, that does all these things." (Is.45:6-7).

Being Jewish means that I believe the energy of the Universe, being so vast and deep, is interchangeable with G-d. G-d is all things and in all things. Being Jewish means that our greatest gift and our greatest challenge is free will. This is what makes us separate from angels, who have no other job but to continually sing praises. But we have the angelic nature deeply embedded into us which Adonai hopes for us to tap into. Even when things go wrong in our life, G-d wants us to say something- even if it is the only time G-d hears from us. Our feelings are G-ds feelings and with the comfort of knowing the Divine knows every part of us, we can understand that everything happens for a reason.

As a Jew, I believe the mashiach (the anointed one) has not come to us yet. This is why Judaism rejects the idea of Jesus being the mashiach since he did not fulfill any of the messianic prophecies (point of reference: Isaiah11:1-9; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 30:7-10, 33:14-16; Ezekiel 34:11-31, 37:21-28; Hosea 3:4). Although the Greek Testament traces the genealogy of Joseph (husband of Mary) back to David, it then claims that Jesus resulted from a virgin birth and that Joseph was not his father. Jesus also didn't return peace to Israel or bring the Jews back to their homeland. Rabbi Moses ben Nahman Girondi (also known as Nahmanides) noted that the prophetic promises of the Messianic Age, a reign of universal peace and justice, had not yet been fulfilled. On the contrary, since before and during the appearance of Jesus, the world had been filled with violence and injustice, and among all denominations the Christians were the most warlike. There are no mentions in the Torah of a second coming needed to fulfil the prophecies but that all the prophecies will be fulfilled the first time the mashiach appears to the world, ushering us into the World To Come. The mashiach will come to the world when we either need the mashiach the most or deserve the mashiach because we have learned to be pure of heart.
{Jews For Judaism has more on why the Mashiach has not come yet: The Jewish Concept of Messiah }

In this country which self proclaims to be a Christian nation, as a Jew, we must never let our voice be drowned out by others. Everyone should be open to learning about each other and about new things in order to understand and eliminate ignorance. We should work to tikkun olam (repair the world) in order to create justice and peace to our homes. It has been said that in every generation, a person is born with the potential to be the mashiach; so let us tap into our inner angel and illuminate the world with our godly light. Only in this act of love and kindness will we become closer and closer to Adonai.