Idan Raichel: ANZAC Day, Memorial Day, and Yom HaZikaron

Today is ANZAC Day here in Australia.  This is the day when we honor the fallen soldiers who gave their lives defending the amazing country of Australia.  It is the Australian equivalent of the US Memorial Day, although in Australia the shops are closed (yes, even the major grocery stores), rather than having big sales.  People spend the day with family, visiting farms, having picnics, going to concerts.

Israeli soldiers stand on a sidewalk in front of a walk painted with the American flag

With Yom HaZikaron just a few short weeks ago, my remembrance of our fallen Jewish soldiers is fresh in my mind.  In America, Memorial Day has sadly become commercialized.  Every store puts American flags on its advertisements… seemingly trying to convince you that American soldiers have died (and are still dying) for your right to buy an Italian leather couch, a new SUV.  Where is the true gratitude?

Even here in Australia, ANZAC Day is different from Yom HaZikaron.  True, in Australia, fallen soldiers seem truly to be honored.  I have seen graffiti painted on walls reminding us of ANZAC, reminding us of the lost soldiers.  When graffiti artists see this as the message they want to tag on walls, you know you have a country that honors its soldiers. The shops are closed in reverence. And yet, something is different.

I think the difference is that Yom HaZikaron is personal, for ALL of us.  I would venture to say that nearly every Jew in Israel knows or has known or met a soldier who died defending the country.  Thank G-d, given the number of attacks, the death toll is remarkably small.  G-d is with us, always.  Yet, it is a small country.  If one person from a moshav or a yishuv dies in combat, the entire town will feel the loss.

Israeli soldiers guarding Kever Rochel in Bethlehem, both secular and charedi

Even more, we Jews are more than just a country, a nation.  We are a family.  If you found out that you had a cousin you’d never met who was just killed in combat, you would feel the loss.  Now I will never get to know him/her.  Blood ties run thick.  Family, at the core of our Jewish values, connects us.  And all of us Jews are family.  It is the reason we welcome traveling Jews to our Shabbos table every week, or the reason we let Jews without a place to sleep stay in our home.  We don’t need to know them.  They are family.  If your long lost uncle showed up at your door with nowhere to go, would you shut him out? Your cousin? Your brother or sister? Of course not!

And that is why on Yom HaZikaron, we feel the loss so deeply.  Wouldn’t it be beautiful if every person in every country could feel this way for the soldiers who have died defending them?  If we could all tap into that sensation that we are all of one family?  In the eyes of G-d, in the teachings of Judaism, every life – every life, not just Jewish lives – is sacred.  If one life is lost, it is a loss to the world, and a loss to each and every one of us.

In parting, I will leave you with this letter from famous Israeli musician Idan Raichel.  He speaks about his experience of Memorial Day versus Yom HaZikaron… and I hope that, on this ANZAC Day and every day of commemoration, his words will give us pause.

Hello, Its me, Idan,

writing this morning from Tel Aviv: Exactly a year ago, I was sitting with friends in Atlanta, Georgia, and telling them why, in Israel, stores and shopping malls don’t have Memorial Day sales.

I tried to explain to them how, unlike in America, Memorial Day is filled with such deep sorrow that it’s not a day for shopping trips or picnics in the park. I told them how every Memorial Day, my mother rides her bicycle from our house to the cemetery for fallen soldiers in Kfar Sava to visit the graves of two of her high school friends who never lived to be 21. She’s been making that trip every year for over 40 years.

I tried to explain to my friends in Atlanta about the minute of silence on Memorial Day eve, and the two minutes the next morning, during which the whole country stands still. They refuse to believe that an entire country completely freezes for a moment of remembrance − they try to imagine the sight, and to them it sounds like a scene from a movie.

I tried to explain to them how in just one moment as Memorial Day ends, like the moment that ends Shabbat and begins the new week, we transition from mourning to the happiest day of the year. We emerge from our great sadness, and while giving thanks to those who made it possible for us to be here, we begin Independence Day, and fireworks light up our beloved country.

I tried to explain how our great joy, a joy that doesn’t know left or right, rich or poor, native-born citizens or new immigrants, is about one thing − celebrating the fact that we are here. We are here in this crazy country of ours, where there’s always breaking news, where everything is tense and seems to be always teetering on the edge, but also where we have everything, old and new: Just a 15-minute drive away from the spot which housed the First Temple, built to praise God, where the Western Wall now stands, someone is filming the Big Brother reality TV show, complete with celebrity contestants.

We have sacred and secular here: We have old and new, Hebrew and Arabic, Russian and Amharic, Moroccan and Yemenite and more. In this country we live and celebrate independence, and democracy. We celebrate with old-fashioned sing-a-longs on kibbutzim, and trance parties in the desert. Happiness floods this country of ours, which after all is barely a dot on the world map, but makes a great deal of noise − as only we know how. Every Independence Day in Israel, throughout the country, everyone takes to the streets for celebrations that could hold their own against those of any country in the world.

I miss the days when I would go with my parents and siblings to the main square in Kfar Sava to join in the celebration. To my regret, but also to my great joy, I’ve been a performing musician from the age of 12 and since then, I’ve only experienced Independence Day from the other side − up on the big stage, facing a sea of people, tens of thousands in every city. In those huge crowds there are native Israelis together with new immigrants from every corner of the world. Big crowds weren’t something one used to see very often in the Middle East − not until the past two years.

On this Independence Day, I think about the people who have taken to the streets recently: in our country, in Egypt, in Syria, and many others. Millions of people who want not only to survive today, but to dream about what is possible tomorrow. People who are looking for new meaning in their independence, or trying to return independence to its original meaning.

Independence, and great hope.

Yours,
Idan Raichel

Read more on Yom HaZikaron: A Prayer for Israeli Soldiers

Parshas Achrei Mot-Kedoshim & Yom Hatzmaut: Celebrating Israel

An Israeli flag flies on top of Masada, with the Dead Sea in the background

This week we’d like to wish a happy 65^th birthday to someone near and dear to all our hearts: Israel. Yom Hatzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, fell this week, and although we could not be in Israel to celebrate it with her, we have all celebrated in our hearts.

The land of Israel is special and important to all of us as Jews. It is the land G-d told our forefather Abraham He would give to him and his descendants, us. And indeed He did, after our escape from Egypt and our wanderings in the desert. But unfortunately, Israel did not remain in Jewish hands for long. We were exiled from our homeland and scattered across the world.

Today, we have returned to the land of Israel. This tiny sliver of a country – just the size of New Jersey in the United States – is the place we have to call home. No matter what may happen to us in other parts of the world, Israel will always welcome us with open arms into her motherly hug.

We Jews have a special relationship with the land. We turn to face it when we pray and every time we pray, we remember how we long to return there. And indeed, Jews began returning to the land of Israel since just a century after the destruction of the Second Temple. Now, with the establishment of the State of Israel, it has become safer to return than ever before, and Jews have been flocking there by the hundreds of thousands.

In this week’s parsha, G-d prepares the Jewish people to enter the land of Israel. He admonishes the Jews not to behave like the Egyptians (who raised them) or like the Canaanites (who then inhabited the land of Israel). Instead, G-d expects the Jewish people to behave and act differently, better. He provides a guide for proper social interaction in the form of His Torah. By juxtaposing this commandment with commandments against things like bestiality, improper relationships, and idol worship, G-d is highlighting the differences between the Jews and the outside world.

In today’s society, unfortunately, not much has changed from the Egyptian and Canaanite societies of old. Instead of idols we worship money, and improper relationships are flaunted or even encouraged. It is our job as Jews to stand out and behave differently. Each and every one of us can be a light unto the world.

Shabbat shalom!

Read more on Parshas Kedoshim

Read more on What to Say to a Jewish Mourner on Yom Ha’atzmaut

Parshas Tazria Metzora: Tzaraas: Sometimes a Bad Thing Can Be a Good Thing

This week’s Torah portion speaks about various physical blemishes and conditions which can afflict a person.  The tzaraas, which is commonly translated as “leprosy” is not really a physical malady at all, but rather a spiritual one.  From the sages we learn that it comes about as the result of evil speech, or lashon hara, and afflicts not just his body, but his clothing and his house as well.

The Talmud, in the tractate Negaim, which deals with these types of blemishes and conditions, notes that “a person sees all kinds of blemishes except for their own.”  Although being afflicted with tzaraas was undeniably something we would want to avoid, it is not necessarily a good thing that we do not experience it today.  Tzaraas was G-d’s way of showing people the error of their ways and giving them the opportunity to correct and improve themselves.

The Midrash relates that Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel asked his servant, Tavi, to buy him something good from the market. The servant returned with some tongue. Rabbi Shimon then asked his servant to buy something bad from the market. The servant returned with more tongue. “How can this be? I asked you to buy something good, you bought tongue; I asked you to buy something bad, you also bought tongue?” Replied Tavi, “It has good and bad. When it is good, it has a lot of goodness. When it is bad, it is very bad.”

Thus we see that our tongues and our mouths have incredible power.  We can use them to do incredible good, but all too often we use them for bad, too.  We speak badly of others or eagerly spread juicy gossip.  In essence, it is best to stick to the mandate, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Indeed, Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel taught, ”I grew up my entire life amongst scholars, and I did not find anything as beneficial to the body as silence; action is the main thing, not talk, and whoever speaks too much will bring sin [upon himself].” In the words of King Solomon, “Even a fool is considered a wise man if he remains silent.”  The more we speak, the more likely it is that we will stumble and accidentally begin to speak badly.

This week, let us all work on reducing the amount of lashon hara we speak.  This requires intense concentration on what we are saying. We must carefully watch our words.  It is a good start to pick one hour during the day and to work on not speaking badly during that one hour.  Then we can expand that hour to include two or three, until we become accustomed to being fully conscious of and in control of our speech. In this way, perhaps, we will earn the right not to need tzaraas anymore.

Shabbat shalom!

A New Healthy and Kosher Food Option When You Travel

When Rabbi Ben and I travel, we’re usually in it for the long haul.  When you are traveling long term, it is unwise to bring too much food with you because A) you probably will not be able to carry enough kosher food for the entire trip and B) your bags will be really big and heavy if you try to.

However, sometimes we do take shorter trips, and on those trips, we do take food with us.  When I did my trip to the Amazon rainforest, I spent a week there and a week traveling in Peru.  For two weeks, I could carry a reasonable amount of food just in my backpack.  I carried things like vacuum packets of tuna, basic condiments, instant oatmeal, and granola bars.  But that was over 5 years ago and today the number of kosher products has expanded. There is more available than ever before.

Recently, I reconnected with an old friend of mine from Miami.  She and I always had in common our interest in healthy, home-cooked food and exercise (especially on the Wii Fit!).  We shared many recipes, Shabbat dinners, and we would compete with each other on her Wii Fit.  I guess some things never change because we are both still interested in the same things! In fact, my friend recently started a website called Kosher Healthy Living.

One thing she pointed out to me that is really interesting is a kosher product available for travel that I had never heard of before.  It is a product called Shaklee 180 and it’s designed to help people lose weight in a healthy way.  Well, Rabbi Ben and I don’t need to lose weight, so maybe we’d eat two or three of these servings… but! Some of the products really are perfect for travel.

I haven’t tried it yet, but something like the “Meal-in-a-Bar” that’s available sounds similar to what I was trying to do with my granola bars on my short trips. Often I would eat just one granola bar to replace a meal. But I would almost always still feel hungry because granola bars are not really designed to be a balanced meal; they are more of a snack.  So if you are looking for a light and easy travel food, this might be a good thing to try.

There are other options, too, like Smoothee packets.  They are another easy meal substitute that won’t take up much room or weight in your luggage. All you have to do is mix them up with some milk or soymilk. (Be sure to check that the milk where you are traveling is reliable.)

So enjoy your travels, pack light, and maybe even lose some weight while you’re on the road.  Sounds like a good deal to me!

Parshas Vayikra: Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse

One of the trickiest things about travel is that every new place has its own laws.  Often, laws in different countries vary wildly.  In Australia, not only must you keep your child in a car seat until the age of seven, but the car seat must be “properly installed” – meaning, they want you to hire a professional to put it in your car!  But in other countries, like Thailand or India, car seats are virtually unheard of.  Not only do you not need a car seat for your child, but you can take your child – of any age, even new-born – on a motorcycle with you… without a helmet!

Of course, it’s up to the traveller to apprise themselves of the laws of the new place they’ll be visiting.  Are you allowed to make a right turn on a red light in the state you’re driving through when you’re on your American road trip? Are you allowed to use a radar detector? What about talking on your mobile phone – are you even allowed to touch it?  And those are just basic laws pertaining to cars.  Yet, the law touches every aspect of our lives and we are obligated to know about it and follow it, even if we are just visitors.

The same is true in Judaism.  Ignorance of the law is no excuse.  We are held accountable for our sins even if we commit them purely because we did not know it was a sin.  Perhaps we never heard that we are not allowed to cook on the Sabbath, or we did not know that what we were doing qualified as cooking. Or we simply did not know that it was the Sabbath in the first place.  Of course, had we known, we would not have done the sin.  But in not knowing, we are held responsible – it was up to us to learn the laws of keeping the Sabbath, and it was up to us to keep track of the days of the week.

In this week’s parsha there is a whole series of offerings described for unintentional sins.  Intentional sins are those we mean to do and involuntary sins are those we are forced to do.  Unintentional sins fall right in the middle, the gap between the two extremes.  For intentional sins sacrifice as atonement is generally not an option and for involuntary sins it is unnecessary, but for unintentional sins an offering will bring atonement.

You see, even unintentional sins cause a blemish upon the soul.  According to Nachmanides (Ramban), just as unintentionally brushing past a spot of grease leaves a stain on a shirt, so too does our inadvertent brush with sin stain us spiritually.  The sacrifice atones for the spiritual stain.

Not only that, but a sacrifice, which generally caused hardship to offer, reminds the person not to sin again in the future, cautions Abarbanel.  We must learn to be more careful, to look before we leap.  Furthermore, making a sacrifice gives one pause for introspection.  According the Ba’al Shem Tov, anything we see is meant to teach us a lesson.  How much more so are we to learn a lesson from our mistake, especially if the punishment for it is so severe!

Finally, notes Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, G-d would not even have allowed us to commit such a sin accidentally if it did not reflect a bigger failing on our part spiritually.  G-d does not allow even the animals of the righteous to sin, and protects the righteous man himself from sinning, even accidentally.  If we do not merit this protection, it means we need to improve and work on ourselves.

This year, when you learn about the animal sacrifices, look beyond the apparent brutality of it, or the sense that such activities have become obsolete.  Look deeper into the meaning and you will see that even today we still have much to learn from them.

Shabbat shalom.

Read more on Parshas Vayikra: The Inner Sacrifice