Parshas Shemini

The pig is non kosher even though it has one of the qualities of a kosher animal. When it stands, it sticks out its split hooves as if to show off and say, "Look at me! I have one sign!" 

Hashem has gifted each of us with many things. We shouldn't feel the need to flaunt the good we have. When we are satisfied with our blessings and acknowledge that our talents come from Hashem, we won't need to show off. We can feel grateful and even share the good we have with others!

May we be able to use the good we have been blessed with to bring happiness to other people and never feel the need to flaunt the extras that we have!

Parshas Tetzaveh

Hashem commanded Moshe Rabbeinu to build a mizbei'ach for the burning of the ketores, a mixture of spices. If one spice was left out, the whole ketores was not kosher. One of the spices, chelbina, had a bad smell. But when it was mixed together with all the other spices, it was considered pleasing before Hashem. 

We see from here that we must have unity between all types of Jews. Hashem loves when we are together, regardless of our differences. We should never think another Jew is bad enough not to be considered one of us. We shouldn't have a "holier than thou" attitude. It's when we are united that Hashem takes the greatest pleasure in us.

May we be able to love and accept all types of Jews, regardless of their outer appearance or our judgement of who we think they are! 

The Dreidel

Someone sent this to me and I want to share it with you. 

The dreidel has an important message. It spins and when it falls we can only see the one upper side of the dreidel. 

Life seems to be spinning and we are sometimes caught up in a whirlwind. We have to remember that just as when the dreidel falls, we can only see one side of it, so too in life we can never see the full view. With our very limited vision we can only see and perceive one angle, but we know there is far more than meets the eye and that Hashem always has a master plan. There is far more to the picture than we can see, so we put our faith in Hashem. We know and believe He is the One who turns the wheel of life and He Who creates and can see the whole picture can perform for us Nissim which to us with our limited vision may seem impossible.

So if things is life don't seem to be falling on Gimmel, DON'T GIVE UP - the One Who keeps the world spinning can also spin miracles - בימים ההם בזמן הזה.

Why Eat Kosher?

Q: What is the difference between kosher candy and non kosher candy what is so bad about it? is it made out of any specific ingredients that are very unhealthy what happens when someone eats non kosher candy?

A: A candy would be non kosher if it has ingredients (such as fat or juices) from a non kosher animal.

Our rabbis tell us that when a person eats something that is not kosher, it is "metamtem halev" which means it stuffs up the heart and prevents the person from being able to accept spirituality on a deeper level. If someone is having a hard time with their Judaism, many times they will be told to be extra careful with the foods that they eat - to make sure they are certified kosher by a good, upstanding rabbi.

The reasons behind eating kosher are many but one of the elements behind it is that there are certain spiritual characteristics of the animal that enter a person's soul when they eat from the non kosher animal. There are specific impurities in animals that make them spiritually unhealthy for human consumption. This means that when a Jewish person eats something that comes from a non kosher animal, the spiritual deficiencies, those negative character traits that the animal possesses can enter the person's heart and have a dangerous spiritual effect on them!

Someone who is struggling with her Torah observance can take upon herself to be extra careful with the foods she eats, always making sure that it is certified by a good rabbi and then they may start to see that they will be able to accept Torah and mitzvos on a deeper and better level and their struggles may get a little easier!