Wednesday, March 25, 2020

There Will Come A Day

This is the most touching poem ever. Read and be inspired. 

There Will Come a Day
By: Yaakov Klein

They will be repaid
These walls
These cold, empty halls
For their unbearable pain
For their anguish

Cherubic faces of small children
Illuminated with excitement
Wide eyes of wonder
The beautiful curiosity of youth
Gave these walls a name:
"Classroom"
All dressed up with
Art projects, bulletin boards, a paper alphabet train
They exuded warmth, comfort, and security
So that their precious charges could learn
So that their precious charges could shine

Furrowed brows and open hearts
Swaying, singing, bowing figures
Bound together with a single goal
To heal the world with prayer
To communicate with their loving Creator
Gave these walls a name:
"Shul"
All dressed up with
Ornate wooden cuts, verses of faith, shelves of sacred texts
They exuded majesty, serenity, and sweet familiarity
So that their precious charges could connect
So that their precious charges could shine

Two souls floating down the aisle
To form an eternal bond under a canopy of blessing
Wide circles of exuberant dance
To music that is too loud
Joy that simply knows no bounds
Gave these walls a name:
"Simcha hall."
All dressed up with
Elegant moldings, elaborate light fixtures, glorious drapings
They exuded royalty, illumination, and other-worldly exultation
So that their precious charges could celebrate
So that their precious charges could shine

And then a virus came along and stole their charges away
Away to different walls, walls called
"Home"
An extreme precaution to stem the spread of illness
A near death-sentence, to these walls
They wept
They whimpered
Their identity threatened and all but shattered

But they did not collapse
No, they dared not collapse
Because they knew that
Difficult as this time-period might be
Spent cowering alone in the eerie silence
Their precious charges would be coming back
Coming back very soon
Very very soon

They stood tall
They stood proud
And they whispered to each other
Through the darkness
"There will come a day"

There will come a day
When the gates are unlocked
And the first busload of children arrive
They will have grown a bit, they will have matured
But their eyes will yet be filled with wonder
Slowly, uncertain in their excitement
They will enter their beloved walls
To join hands with friends
So much more excited
To discover life's answers
Than ever before

There will come a day
When the doors open wide
And the gabbai prepares the shteibel for the very first minyan
Congregants will gather together
The closer the better
Young and old, sephardi and ashkenazi, chassid and litvak
They will have developed immunity to division
During the time of their isolation
Linking arms, binding souls, they will call out
"Amen y'hei Shmei Rabbah"
With more energy
With more gratitude
Than ever before

There will come a day
When the entrance is unbolted
And the guests begin to arrive
Dressed in their finest
Hearts overflowing with the immensity of the celebration
A glorious chuppah saturated with emotion and prayer
The new couple's entrance into crowds bubbling over with joy
A snake formation, hands on each other's shoulders
Dancing the night away
Hearts lifted to heaven
More eager to praise
More eager to love
Than ever before

They will be repaid
These walls
These cold, empty halls
For their unbearable pain
For their anguish

For there will come a day
There will come a day

Saturday, March 21, 2020

The Pail-A Story

Someone shared this with me and the message is so perfect for now. 

I love this story and it seems very apt to share right now. Wishing everyone good health, strength and (yes) joy to get through this challenge. 

From Rabbi Yochanan Rivkin in New Orleans:

In light of everything that is being cancelled, including the prayers at Congregation Anshe Sfard of New Orleans, I want to share a Chasidic story.

The two brothers, the famed Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk and Rabbi Zushe of Anipoli, often wandered about together, posing as simple beggars. They would mingle with the masses, listening, teaching, speaking, helping and guiding whomever and whenever they could.

Once, while they were traveling with a group of vagabonds, members of the group were accused of being thieves, resulting in the entire bunch being thrown into jail. Confident of their innocence and eventual release, the two brothers sat quietly. As the afternoon progressed, Rabbi Elimelech stood up to prepare himself to pray the afternoon service.
"What are you doing?" his brother asked.

"I'm getting ready for minchah," replied Rabbi Elimelech.
Rabbi Zushe pointed at the pail in the corner of the room. "It is forbidden," he said, "to pray in this cell, because the odor coming from that pail makes the room unfit for prayer."
Dejected, the holy Rabbi Elimelech sat down.

Soon after, Rabbi Elimelech began to cry. "Why are you crying?" said Rabbi Zushe. "Is it because you are unable to pray?" Reb Elimelech answered affirmatively.

"But why weep?" continued Rabbi Zushe. "Don't you know that the same G-d who commanded you to pray, also commanded you not to pray when the room is unfit for prayer? Be happy that G-d has afforded you the opportunity to obey His law at this time, no matter what it is."

"You are right, my brother!" exclaimed Rabbi Elimelech, suddenly smiling. The feelings of dejection banished from his heart and mind, Rabbi Elimelech took his brother's arm and began to dance from joy as a result of performing the mitzvah of not praying in an inappropriate place.

The guards heard the commotion and came running. Witnessing the two brothers dancing, the guards asked the other prisoners what had happened. "We have no idea!" they answered, mystified. "Those two Jews were discussing the pail in the corner, when all of a sudden they came to some happy conclusion and began to dance."

"Is that right?" sneered the guards. "They're happy because of the pail, are they? We'll show them!" 
They promptly removed the pail from the cell!

*    *    *    *
As Jews, we need to know that refraining from a Jewish practice such as attending synagogue because of a danger to life and health is as much a mitzvah as engaging in those practices under normal circumstances. We need to joyously thank G-d for allowing us to fulfill his Holy Will, whatever it is. And, perhaps, in merit of that joy, He might just take the pail away...

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Real Success-Purim 2020


Purim is here, we feel it in the air,
It is a time of festivities as we are aware,
So as I like to do year after year
I’ll explain a deeper message and with you I will share.

On Purim we dress up in costumes and masks,
We hide our true selves for people to guess and ask,
It's part of the fun but there's something more,
There's a deeper aspect here that we can explore.

When we cover our faces on the outside,
We are allowing the external to hide,
And then we can focus on what's in our souls,
The inner part of us that it's special and whole.

The world we live in measures success,
By what can be seen by the eyes and how it's expressed,
A big house, lots of money or letters after one's name,
Are some things that show someone "made it" in this fake game.

But the Torah tells us true success is seen by,
The struggles we overcome that are hidden from the public eye
Changing our habits and improving our character traits,
Like overcoming negativity, laziness or anger make us truly great.

These internal successes don't get awards and aren't seen,
But that's exactly what counts in the greater scheme,
So on Purim we hide our face behind the mask,
As we challenge ourselves with this most difficult task.

Of focusing on fixing what's inside our hearts,
This day of Purim is the best time to start,
Because by removing the emphasis from success seen by all,
We can overcome internal struggles every time we fall.

Let's remember that the Torah values our efforts when we try,
And with Hashem's help we'll be able to soar and fly!
Let's all remove our masks and zoom in on what's inside,
And may we be proud of the perfected character we will find!

So c'mon, let's celebrate our internal successes that are true and real, 
So deep, inner happiness we will be able to feel! 

A Freilichen Purim!

Monday, March 9, 2020

Instant Insight Purim Poem

A Purim Instant Insights by Rabbi Feigenbaum

Since after Shabbos it will be Purim day,
A Dvar Torah on the Megilla is appropriate to say.
I know everyone likes it under two minutes for no one has time,
But please bear with me as we offer this Vort in rhyme.

It’s not my thought – though it is an aynfal,
I saw it in the sefer of Rav Galinsky zatzal.
It’s on Megilas Esther, Perek Vav Posuk Yud Beis,
Let me read it to you, so you know what the text says.

After leading Mordechai through the streets, poor Haman embarrassed to the core,
It was avel v’chafoi rosh that he entered through home door.
Avel means mourning, and chafoi rosh means garbage on his head,
The famous Medrash here teaches us what’s really being said.

As any school child knows, Haman’s daughter looked out the window with glee,
And took a pail of garbage to throw on the big loser she did see.
For it must be her father high up there on the horse,
And the poor fellow who is leading – oh that must be that rasha Mordechai of course!

So with a l’sheim yichud and great kavanah she picked up the pail,
Aimed it very carefully so this great mitzvah would not fail.
Down went that garbage - a perfect hit, a bullseye!
But then she looked a little closer and she gave out a sigh.

“Oh no what a mistake! It can’t be! That was not the plan!
I garbaged the head of my father – I hit the wrong man!”
But when garbage is thrown, it cannot magically come back up and rise,
So she jumped out of the window, and that was her demise.

Thus Haman was an avel, mourning for the daughter he’ll never again see,
And came home with garbage on his head, and now must leave for the Queen’s party.
Asks Rav Galinsky – this Medrash is entertaining,
But Chazal only teach us information if there’s some lesson we’ll be gaining.

Says Rav Galinsky – there is a lesson here for every member of our nation,
Like Haman’s daughter, we also judge others without sufficient information.
Oh we assume we know it all, we’ve heard, we read, we did see,
It’s right there on that blog, it was my best friend who told me!

Well, before you take that garbage and on another person’s head you do dump,
You better check it out carefully, or you might be the one who must jump.
Learn from Haman’s daughter – things are not always what they appear to be,
Dan l’kaf zechus your fellow Yid – don’t be so quick to judge what you see.

And just because someone has a blog, or knows how to post comments on the net,
Does not mean that by reading them, Olam Haba you will get.
Garbage that is thrown on another, makes a mess and makes a smell,
And cannot be taken back, and causes the one who threw it to end up in…. well --

 Like Haman’s daughter, who came to a sad and swift end.
But there is a way that sinas chinam in Klall Yisrael we can mend,
We can create achdus – we can all agree to disagree,
And just talk about the issues, and not about the others personality.

So if you have this great urge to forward, to post and to send,
Maybe pass on this poem – and sinas chinam we can end!

A Freilechen Purim!

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