Parshas Ki Tisa: Parshas Parah: Taking the Bull by the Horns

We have a bull living in our house.  Our Adventuring Akiva was born with the bull as his star sign (Taurus).  Although we do not believe the mazal (fate) of Jews is dictated by the stars, we do believe that certain personality traits and characteristics can be read in the stars based on when we are born.

The stars are “closer” in a way to shemayim (heaven), which may be why we look up at them and call them “the heavens.”  But as a result, when our mazal comes down to this world, we can read it first in the stars.  As Jews we definitely believe in astrology, just not as it’s practiced today by all the charlatan out there.  But also as Jews we are forbidden from having our fortunes told, for a number of reasons I won’t go into here lest I digress.  Yet, we definitely do know certain basics, such as that certain character traits tend to be associated with birth during certain Hebrew months.

So, we have a bull living in our midst.  And he really is a little bull.  Sometimes I think he exemplifies the “bull in a china shop” phrase because he has a knack for getting into and destroying everything just because he is so enthusiastic about exploring it (although maybe that’s all babies!).  Nevertheless, I often look down as him and think that as he crawls around, he even looks like a bull.  He is so solidly built!  He’s also got the persistence of a bull – no matter how many times I try to distract him or take him away from something he shouldn’t have, he will always continue to go after it, whether he has to climb over, under, around, or through something else to get to it!

But of course, bulls are also famous for something else: their anger.  In sports involving bulls, it is always their anger that is exploited.  In bullfights, red capes are flashed before him to make him angry. And there wouldn’t be much point to a rodeo if the bull wasn’t so angry about having a person sitting on him!

In the Torah, anger is equated to idol worship.  When we become angry, we are in essence coming to worship our own egos.  We become angry when things just don’t go the way we think they should.  I think that driver should let me in when I signal but instead he cuts me off – I get angry.I spend hours cleaning and then my kids run through with muddy shoes – I get angry.  I spend hours putting together an elaborate cake and then my oven goes bonkers and it burns up – I get angry.  It’s all about what I think should happen, but then doesn’t happen.  It’s all about me and my ego.

So it should come as no surprise that the Jews came to worship the Golden Calf.  In essence, they are worshipping themselves.  In fact, it is the “erev rav,” the “mixed multitude” who were the ones actually worshipping the Golden Calf.  You see, when the Jews came out of Egypt, they didn’t come alone. There were a lot of hangers-on who followed after them.  It is they whom the sages blame for the idol worship.  Yet, it isn’t that easy to simply dismiss them because the “mixed multitude” was mixed, after all – mixed with us!  We couldn’t just point and say, “Those guys over there are to blame” because they were mixed in with all the Jews.  The erev rav symbolizes something much deeper – it symbolizes that part of us known as the yetzer hara, the evil inclination, that is mixed up inside of us, and which cannot always be distinguished.  And what is the main vehicle of the yetzer hara? You guessed it – the ego!

No wonder G-d was so upset when He found us worshipping the Golden Calf.  G-d’s responses are always just, and always measure for measure.  So fitting that he would become angry when he sees the Golden Calf being worshipped just after He has revealed Himself and raised us all to the level of angels.  How quickly we rose and how quickly we fell.  We just could not withstand the lure of caving in to our own egos.

But if the Jews who stood at Sinai could not maintain control over their own egos for even 40 days and nights, despite being at the level of angels, how can we expect to do any better? The answer is, we can’t.  We are flawed, weak human beings, but we have got one thing angels haven’t got: the ability to better ourselves.  To totally conquer our egos, we must abnegate our selfish, limited wills to the ultimate and supreme Will of our Creator.  The antidote to the Golden Calf is in our hands: the Torah.  It is up to us to take the steps, one at a time, to follow it more closely.  To decide that today we will not eat that forbidden food, we will not drive this Shabbat, and we will offer to help our enemy who is struggling to carry a heavy load.  Because all of these things require us to push our own egos down and, instead, to focus on becoming closer to the Divine.

So this week, think of at least one thing you can do to turn your ego down a notch and your closeness to G-d up.  Will it be a change in what you eat? What you wear? What you say?  We all have the power to stop the erev rav within us from worshipping the Golden Calf, if only we will try.

Shabbat shalom!

Apologies for my absence and the resultant lack of d’var Torahs over the past month.  Sadly, my laptop died an untimely death (it was going for a while) and I have not yet replaced it.  Without it, I have not been able to draft posts as I normally would.  In a spate of bad luck, the battery in Rabbi Ben’s laptop died and was only replaced this week.  Hopefully now I will be able to make posts using his laptop until I can replace my own.  Anyone with friends who work for Apple who’d like to help me replace it are more than welcome to speak up now!

In the meantime, I hope everyone is well and I am looking forward to resuming my posts… starting right now!

Rebbetzin Rachel (with Adventuring Akiva on my lap… he says o9nibo87a MQ,MA78A M,AMKAB7A8AVVYU 6TKQ76N!)

Megillat Esther was read by Hmong-Rabbi Ben along with the help of Adelaide’s Jewish Batman David Benveniste and Kermit the Frogs brother Timrek. Rebetzin Rachel and young Akiva joined along from their Hmong village in Northern Thailand.
The community enjoyed a BBQ seudah with sausages, salad, and apple cider.
Thank you to all that helped with the food preparation and for organizing the event.

If anyone is around in Adelaide and would like to join us:

Friday Night Spiritual Gathering
Call it an Oneg Shabbat, a Tish, or a Farbi
Join us  for an evening of singing, words of Torah,
and inspirational stories.
When: First Friday night of the month from 9.00pm – midnight
Where: 10 Windsor Rd., Glenunga
Who: For men and boys

Refreshments served

“Oneg Shabbat, (Hebrew: “Joy of Sabbath”), informal Sabbath (or
Friday evening) gathering of Jews in a synagogue or private home to
express outwardly the happiness inherent in the Sabbath holiday. Now
more social than religious, the group entertains itself with music,
drama, community discussions, lectures, or the singing of religious
melodies—all in keeping with the biblical injunction, “and call the
Sabbath a delight” (Isaiah 58:13). Usually refreshments are provided to
complement the congenial atmosphere.   -Encyclopedia Britannica

By a guest writer:

In reality, finding a holiday that’s cheaper than chips is like searching for a fortune long after the gold rush has fizzled out. But there are plenty of ways to grab a great holiday bargain – it’s just a matter of finding the one that works for you and your budget.

Many people associate low cost holidays with late deals, and this is certainly one great way of saving money. If you’re happy to jet off with just a few weeks’ notice, sometimes less, then a late deal could be for you. The best bet is to keep your options open. Availability is always limited when you book a last-minute getaway so try not to be too focused on a particular resort or hotel. Instead, stay open to new destinations and consider places that you’ve never tried before. This way, you can go where the deals are – and save a bucketload in the process.

Another useful money-saving trick is to think about what you’re most likely to do when you get there, and book your hotel board basis accordingly. Let’s say you’re heading to Tenerife and you’re happy to do nothing more than laze by the pool or sit on the beach; give or take the odd boat trip or half day’s excursion. If this is you, then a full-board or all-inclusive board basis will suit you down to the ground. This way you’ll get all of your meals included and, where all-inclusive is concerned, you’ll get drinks and snacks too.

If however you love exploring local markets and mingling with the locals, taking picnics for day-long self-driven excursions and eating out in local restaurants, then go for a bed and breakfast option. Or try a self-catering apartment. That way you can buy fresh local ingredients from the markets and cook up a tasty storm in the kitchen at night. Perfect!

Please note: Most of the post on Traveling Rabbi are to do with kosher travel. Sometimes however we like to share general travel information if we think it could be useful to our readers.

With regards to the article above, as a kosher traveller you could get a self catering apartment which makes it easy to prepare kosher food.