The Stubborn Independent

 

 

Posted on October 19, 2018 (5779) By Torah.org | Series: Lifeline | Level: Beginner

 

Are the values and opinions we hold dear really our own? We all take pride in thinking for ourselves, but are not many (all?) of our personal positions an echo of the culture we were raised in, or drawn from the last social media posting we read?

From the shop of Terach, the local sculptor of idols, there emerged a lone thinker who  dared to question his upbringing and the accepted norms of his world. Little Avram had   the Chutzpah to ask himself and others curious questions. “Where did the stars in the sky   at night come from?” “How did this stone figurine, which my father formed with his own hands, make the sun rise this morning — and exactly when did it form those mountains?” These were questions any child might ask, and its fair to assume many children of his time pestered their parents in a similar fashion. But Abraham stood apart from the rest by keeping his youthful curiosity and rebelliousness, continuing to ask into adulthood. He came to understand that there must be a Supreme Being above all else.

He held to this belief until G-d revealed Himself and gave Avram the directive “ Lech Lecha

— Go for yourself!” G-d said to him, “You believe with total conviction in Me and have demonstrated a willingness to die for Me, despite being the lone minority in an idolatrous world. Now it is time to leave your background behind you, and take your mission to question the world to its own home.”

 

Avram continued to defy all norms with his devotion to G-d. He was the true independent thinker, unflinchingly devoted to what he alone knew to be true. He became known as Abraham the Ivri — the one who stands apart from the rest.

We, today, face a similar barrage of cultural influences. We get daily updates in our pockets with the thoughts and opinions of friends and strangers. We even learn what they ate for breakfast. While sitting on a park bench down the road from his house, a person can bring  up Google Maps and wander the streets of Barcelona, Moscow, and Singapore, or pan out   on Google Earth to see the world from outer space. These endless technical abilities also bring endless exposure to the details of all that’s popular and trending. For us to think for ourselves in this highly informed global environment takes a strong degree of courage and honesty.

Since the day Abraham heeded the Divine call of “ Lech Lecha” to embark on a new life, the Jewish people have stubbornly stood up to civilization and chosen Torah over trend. The current onslaught of influence serves a unique challenge for anyone, but our forefather’s conviction serves as daily inspiration.

 

The Rainmaker • Torah.org

 

 

Posted on October 21, 2020 (5781) By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky | Series: Drasha | Level: Beginner

Noach lived through trying times to say the least. He survived not only a generation of spiritual chaos, but physical annihilation as well. However, Hashem walked with him and guided him. He instructed him every step of the way. He warned him of the impending  flood. He instructed him to build an ark. He told him to bring all the animals to the ark. Yet Noach is labeled as a man who was lacking in faith. The Torah tells us that, “Noach with

his wife and sons and his son’s wives with him, went into the ark because of the waters of the Flood” (Genesis 7:6).

Rashi quotes a Midrash which proclaims that Noach, to a small degree, lacked faith as he only entered the ark “because of the waters of the Flood.” The implication is that Noach did not enter the ark until the rain forced him to.

The obvious question is how can we say that Noach lacked, even to a tiny extent, faith? He had to believe! After all, he spoke to Hashem! He built the ark! He gathered all the   animals! He was the only one in his generation to worry about the impending doom!

 

Surely, he must have believed! Why is there a complaint against Noach? What is wrong in waiting until he had no choice but to enter? To what degree is he considered lacking in faith?

Rabbi Shimshon Sherer, Rav of Congregation Kehilas Zichron Mordechai, tells the following story.

In a small town there was a severe drought. The community synagogues each prayed separately for rain, but to no avail. The tears and prayers failed to unlock the sealed heavens, and for months, no rains came.

Finally, the town’s eldest sage held a meeting with prominent community rabbis and lay leaders. “There are two items lacking in our approach, faith and unity. Each one of you must impress upon his congregation the need to believe. If we are united and sincere, our prayers will be answered!” He declared that all the synagogues in the city would join together for a day of tefilah. Everyone, men women and children would join together for this event. “I assure you,” he exclaimed, “that if we meet both criteria – faith and unity – no one will leave that prayer service without getting drenched!”

There was no shul large enough to contain the entire community so the date was set to gather and daven in a field! For the next few weeks all the rabbis spoke about bitachon and achdus (faith and unity). On the designated day the entire town gathered in a large field whose crops had long withered from the severe drought. Men, women, and children all gathered and anxiously awaited the old sage to begin the service.

The elderly rabbi walked up to the podium. His eyes scanned the tremendous crowd that filled the large field and then they dimmed in dismay. The rabbi began shaking his head in dissatisfaction. “This will never work,” he moaned dejectedly. “The rain will not come.” Slowly he left the podium. The other rabbis on the dais were shocked. “But rebbe everyone is here and they are all united! Surely they must believe that the rains will fall! Otherwise  no one would have bothered to come on a working day!”

The rabbi shook his head slowly and sadly.

 

“No. They don’t really believe,” he stated. “I scanned the entire crowd. Nobody even brought a raincoat.”

The level of faith that the Torah demanded from Noach would have had him bolt into the ark on the very morning that the Flood was meant to come. He had no inkling of the ferocity that was impending at the storm’s first moments. Though it began as a light rainstorm his waiting until being forced by the torrents is equivalent to one who hears predictions of a tornado and stands outside waiting for the funnel to knock at his door.

Noach should have moved himself and his family in the ark at zero hour without waiting

for the rains to force him in. The instinctive faith should have kicked in turning the bright sunny day that he may have experienced into one that is filled with fatal flood water. But he waited to see if it would really come. And for that he is chided.

How often do we cancel plans or change a course of action on the say-so of the  weatherman, but plan our activities so in contrast with the predictions of the Torah? Even Noach, who built the ark under intense pressure, is held accountable for the lack of instinctive faith that should have been interred in his bones. And on that level of faith, unfortunately, all of us are a little wet behind the ears.

Good Shabbos!

 

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky

 

Copyright © 1998 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc.

 

If you enjoy the weekly Drasha, now you can receive the best of Drasha in book form! Purchase Parsha Parables – from the Project Genesis bookstore – Genesis Judaica – at a very special price!

The author is the Dean of the Yeshiva of South Shore.

Survival Syndrome

 

Posted on October 24, 2014 (5775) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

The main character described in this week’s Torah reading is naturally Noach himself. I think that the Torah wishes to illustrate, through Noach’s personality and his reactions to the impending disaster and to the world afterwards – the challenges of being a survivor.

Everyone who has ever survived a serious challenge or tragedy replays in one’s mind what might have been done differently, and whether the tragedy could somehow have been averted. There is always, as well, that element of guilt which every survivor carries with  him or her.

Noach had ample warning as to the arrival of the flood – a flood that would destroy civilization as he knew it. There are different opinions in the commentaries to the Torah as to whether Noach really tried to save his surrounding neighbors or whether he was mainly passive, hoping that somehow by publicly building the Ark they would get the message.

Whatever opinion we adopt, it is obvious that Noach was unsuccessful in saving his generation from destruction.

That stark fact must have undoubtedly weighed very heavily on Noach in the aftermath of the flood. It explains his superficially strange behavior – planting a vineyard, becoming drunk and being sexually abused – but it does not excuse it. Post-traumatic syndrome is today recognized as a medical disease – a psychological and physical problem.

Almost all servicemen who were engaged in actual combat suffer from it in one way or another. There are grief counselors to help people recover after personal tragedies in their families. But Noach was all alone in the world and there was no one to help him cope with his own survival syndrome.

Coping with sad and difficult events is ostensibly the true measure of a person and of life itself. It is perhaps what the Mishna meant when it described the ten trials of our father Avraham “and he withstood them all.” It was not only the trials that made him great but rather the fact that after so many trials he still stood tall and resolute, faithful and graciously kind to the end.

Avraham was also a survivor but his method of overcoming the survival syndrome was far different from that of Noach. This dichotomy was clearly seen in the past generation when the survivors of the Holocaust made choices regarding their future lives after their liberation. All of them were affected by the horrors they witnessed and in fact endured. Yet their choices as how to pursue life once more became the true mettle of their existence and

personality.

 

Choosing life, family, faith and entrepreneurial, social and national productivity was, for many a survivor, the road to rehabilitation and normalcy. The past was never forgotten and the events could never be erased, but rebuilding life took precedence over all other factors. Adam and Noach both could not overcome the tragedies that previously engulfed them.

They became reclusive and lost their drive for leadership and their ability to inspire others. By so doing, they compounded the tragedies that overtook them and forfeited the opportunity to forge an eternal people that would somehow be able to rise above all calamities and fulfill its historic mission.

Shabbat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

Make a Lasting Impact!

 

 

Posted on October 14, 2020 (5781) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

This week’s opening parsha of the Torah can be viewed as having bookends. There are two main characters in the story of humanity that are introduced to us. At the beginning of the parsha, the Torah tells us of the creation of Adam, the original human being, and the progenitor of all of us. Thus, the Torah records the tragedy of his life and he becomes, so to speak, the story of all human beings who are prone and susceptible to sin and temptation, who live on in regret and recrimination.

Even though Adam will live an exceptionally long life, almost a millennium, we are not told much about the rest of his life. According to midrashic tradition, Adam spent most of his   life in loneliness, isolation, sadness, and depression over his transgression, and this    affected not only him, but all humanity as well.

Jewish tradition teaches us that there were 10 generations, over 1500 years, between Adam and the generation of Noah and the great flood. These generations sank further and further into the abyss of idolatry, paganism, immorality, robbery, tyranny, and brutality. Adam,

who certainly was aware of what was happening, apparently was of no influence on these generations.

Instead of being an exemplary influence and a leader, he seemingly withdrew into his own isolation and sadness. We can certainly sympathize and even empathize with his behavior, but his non-actions do not, in any way, aid the cause of humanity, nor its spiritual and emotional development and growth.

At the conclusion of the parsha, we are introduced to Noah, who will be the central   character in the drama of the Flood that we will read about in next week’s Torah reading.   We see a somewhat similar story with Noah as we saw with Adam. After surviving the flood and having the opportunity to build the world in a more positive fashion, he also fails the test, and loses influence on his children and succeeding generations.

He also lives an exceptionally long life, almost a millennium, but extraordinarily little is revealed to us about the rest of his days, or what other accomplishments, if any, he  achieved. Noah, like Adam, remains an enigmatic figure, a reservoir of failed potential and human decline. We are taught there were, once again, 10 generations from Noah to Abraham and that these 10 generations – and Noah was alive for a great deal of them – simply sank back into the idolatry, paganism and immorality of the time of Adam. And,  once again, Noah apparently was of little of any influence in being able to stem this tide of evil and brutality.

It is only once we reached the story of Abraham and Sarah that we find people who not only were pious in their own right, as Noah certainly was, but who also had an enormous  influence upon their times and all later times, as well. And Abraham and Sarah are the example that is set before us. We all are people of influence, on our families, communities, and societies. We must see ourselves in that light, and behave accordingly, and reveal ourselves as examples and influence. That has been our mission from time immemorial     and remains so until today.

Shabbat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein

How to View a Natural Wonder

 

 

Posted on October 30, 2019 (5780) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

The Torah, in this week’s reading, describes the rainbow as becoming the symbol of G-d’s covenant with the humankind, that the world will not be destroyed by another flood. The appearance of the rainbow in the narrative of Noach and his emergence from the ark does not mean that the rainbow was created then. According to rabbinic tradition and the unchanging laws of nature, the rainbow existed from the time of original creation itself.

What is significant is that the Torah points out to Noach that the rainbow now has a great significance to humanity and is not to be observed and thought of as being merely another of the great many phenomena that we call nature.

Rather, when human beings see a rainbow, they should be reminded of G-d’s covenant with us and how we are all descended from one family that was the progenitor of humankind, as we know it today. One of the interesting things about the rainbow is that when Jews view it, they are bidden to recite a blessing. This is meant to teach us that the wonders of nature are constant reminders of our relationship to our Creator and our obligations that that entails. Because of this, Jewish tradition also teaches us that we are not to stare at length or directly at a rainbow because the rainbow represents G-d’s presence in our world and should not be subject to prolonged stares.

This lesson is true in all areas of human life and in our relationship to nature. Pantheism promulgated the idea that nature itself is G-d. That is a misrepresentation of the true relationship between the Creator and what was created. Judaism teaches us that we are to

see the wonders of the planet that we inhabit as part of G-d’s scheme in creating the world and that we react to seeing those wonders through the prism of the Torah that the Lord has granted to Israel.

Viewing nature without Torah insight and background is again reverting to pantheism. That is the meaning of the Mishnah in Avot that one should not interrupt one’s study of Torah in order to admire a beautiful phenomenon of nature. Nature is to be viewed through knowledge and understanding of Torah and not as something that is distinct and unrelated to Torah and its values.

Seeing nature devoid of any moral backdrop diminishes the wonders of nature and the grandeur of the world in which we live. A rainbow without the message of the Lord to  Noach loses much of its beauty and a great deal of its meaning. In the Talmud we find that great and noble people were themselves compared to the rainbow, because in a noble person one can also link the nature of the Creator that fashions that person. Everything in life and in nature, as well as our judgment of human beings should always be viewed from the perspective of Torah and eternity.

Shabbat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein

It's All Good • Torah.org

 

 

Posted on November 22, 2019 (5780) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

It is very difficult to sum up the experiences, worth and influence of an individual purely in words. That is why many times at funerals people who hear eulogies of the deceased feel  that somehow the words of the tribute really did not capture the essence of the individual being memorialized. In the Torah reading this week, Abraham is said to have eulogized his beloved wife Sarah. The Torah does not describe for us the words that he used in speaking about her. However, Rashi, in commenting as to why the Torah listed her life as consisting  of 100 and then 20 and then seven years, states that all of her lives – the one that was 100, the one that was 20 and the one that was 7 – were devoted to goodness.

That simple statement is the true eulogy for our mother Sarah. Everything was for the  good, and, therefore, all her life was devoted to being and creating good for her family and for others. When people say that the person was “a person of goodness”, that phrase encompasses many details and many actions. However, enumerating an individual’s  actions of goodness is really unnecessary, because we understand what a person of goodness is and does. This is a state of mind, an emotion of the soul that drives human

behavior and actions. When we say someone was or is a good person everyone immediately knows what is meant by that statement, and, therefore, no further explanations or illustrations are necessary.

We often mistakenly associate the trait of goodness with a certain weakness of character and a compromise of willpower. We think that good people must automatically be soft people, and in a world that is often harsh and hard, softness is not always a virtue.

Nevertheless, when we review the life of our mother Sarah, we cannot help but be impressed by the fact that she was a strong-willed and powerful personality. She took severe and painful steps to safeguard her son Isaac from the ravages of his half-brother Ishmael.

Even when her husband Abraham seemed to be in doubt as to how to treat the matter, she stayed firm, and, eventually, the Lord, so to speak, told Abraham to listen and obey whatever Sarah instructed him to do. Goodness should never be seen as weakness. Rather,  it is to be seen as the search for the ultimate benefit the person himself or herself and for  the general society. In a good society, justice is done, and corrective measures are taken to make certain that evil will is not allowed to flourish or go unpunished and unchallenged.

This is the type of world that Abraham and Sarah were striving to build, and it was the influence of their personalities that marked their generation and gave it a stamp of goodness and purpose. That task of accomplishing goodness has been the challenge to the Jewish people for millennia and remains our mission and goal in our time as well.

Shabbat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein

 

Where are You? • Torah.org

 

 

Posted on October 24, 2019 (5780) By Rabbi Pinchas Avruch | Series: Kol HaKollel | Level: Beginner

 

Nachmanides (R’ Moshe ben Nachman, 1194-1270, of Gerona, Spain, one of the leading Torah scholars of the Middle Ages; successfully defended Judaism at the dramatic debate in Barcelona in 1263) opens his renowned commentary on the Bible expounding on the narrative chosen to begin the Torah. Although the Torah is not a history book, rather it is a guidebook for life (“Torah” translates literally as “guidance” or “teaching”), the Torah starts with the creation of the universe and not the first  commandment  given  to  the  Jewish people as a nation, the declaration of the new month. Amongst the rationales tendered is    the lessons to be learned from all those who were expelled from their homeland (Adam,

Cain, the Generation of Dispersion after the Tower of Babel, all similar to the Jewish people in today’s exile) because they did not follow the word of G-d.

Two of the most famous sins in the history of the human race occur in this week’s Torah portion. The consumption of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge (by the way, it wasn’t an apple) by Adam and Eve and the murder of Abel by Cain are two acts that changed the course of world history.

Interestingly, greater punishment was inflicted for the evasion of responsibility by Adam   and Cain than for the sins themselves. When G-d calls out to Adam “Where are you?” after  he has eaten (Beraishis/Genesis 3:9), Rashi points out it is an effort to gently approach him so that he might repent for the violating G-d’s trust. How does he respond?

“The woman You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.” (3:12) An ingrate, Adam casts    the blame on the woman G-d had given him as a mate, afforded to him by G-d as an act of kindness. Nachmanides explains the ingratitude on the basis of the introduction of G-d’s punishment to Adam. “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate of the tree about which I commanded you saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,'” (3:17) indicates G-d’s wrath was directed at his foolishness in listening to her contrary to the command of G-d, that the ultimate blame lay at his feet. G-d gave Adam the chance to repent; he squandered it.

Rashi indicates that G-d gave Cain the same opportunity in His gentle query, “Where is Abel your brother?” (4:9) Kli Yakar (commentary on the Pentateuch by Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Lunshitz, c.1550-1619, Rosh Yeshiva/Dean in Lemberg and Rabbi of Prague) indicates that Cain understood the depth of the question, but he lacked an appreciation of his obligation to safeguard the well being of his fellow man. Nevertheless, explains Kli Yakar, common sense obligated Cain to comprehend that the human race had no future with unregulated homicide. He, too, had the chance to repent, but wasted it. But when his life sentence of endless wandering was felt to be too taxing, he begged G-d for mercy and leniency, and his request was granted. He may have discovered teshuva, repentance and return to the path of G-d, a little too late, but he did, eventually, realize that G-d always welcomes us warmly when we choose to return to His path.

Rosh HaShanah. Yom Kippur. Succos. Simchas Torah. We have spent the last many weeks discussing the inspiration to be drawn from these holidays. But the reality is that we do not live our lives in the cocoons of these holidays. We now venture out into our everyday world with our everyday challenges where our newly inspired selves must face the realities that come with everyday life.

There will be some failures. We will not rise to meet all the challenges we should. The Rosh HaShanah season may be over, but G-d is not a seasonal acquisition. Don’t shift the blame. Don’t squander the opportunity. He is always waiting with open arms, calling to us, gently, invitingly, “Where are you?”

Have a good Shabbos!

Copyright © 2001 by Rabbi Pinchas Avruch and Project Genesis, Inc.

 

Kol HaKollel is a publication of the Milwaukee Kollel Center for Jewish Studies 5007 West Keefe Avenue; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 414-447-7999

An Imperfect World

 

 

Posted on October 24, 2019 (5780) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

The Garden of Eden is portrayed for us as being the perfect place. Mortality had not yet entered the way of the world and our aged father and mother lived in an environment where everything was provided; food, shelter and freedom from external dangers. Yet, in this most idyllic of situations – one that we cannot begin to contemplate or imagine – temptation lurked even in this setting.

Humans are the union of the body and soul, and as such, perfection cannot be achieved. Humans are destined to always be unsatisfied. We desire foods and pleasures that we do not need, and in fact are not beneficial to us, but we want them just because we haven’t acquired them yet. Once having achieved our goal and desire, so to speak, we are always disappointed and look to find another area of seeming pleasure, in order to satisfy our unquenchable thirst to attain more..

There was a famous comedic skit that was popular in the United States many decades ago about a very wealthy man who built an enormous mansion with many more rooms that he could ever populate or use. Nevertheless, he invited all his friends to the housewarming dedication of his mansion and gave them all a tour of this enormous building. As everyone was showering compliments upon him for having created this monstrosity, he was heard to remark: “This is nothing! Wait to you see the next house that I am going to build for   myself.” His Garden of Eden was certainly still not enough.

 

The rabbis of the Mishnah accurately observed that the more one has, the more worries one acquires. Though Judaism does not preach poverty or asceticism, it does emphasize moderation and for satisfaction not to be found in material items and pleasures alone.

When Adam and Eve were driven from the perfect world that they had originally inhabited and were sent out into the dangerous and less-than-perfect world that we now inhabit, they never lost the original human drive that brought about their expulsion from that perfect world.

Wise men and women throughout the ages have always defined the struggles of society, its wars and decisions, its lack of fairness and the presence of so much evil, as being the futile attempt of humans to try and batter down the gates of that garden and reenter and create a perfect world. The obvious inability of human beings to do so only adds frustration and disappointment. It destroys societies and political  systems  and  destabilizes  seemingly great and powerful countries and nations.

But there is an inner voice that reminds us that we do have within us a piece of that perfect world, a system of morality and human goodness, kindness and obedience to the moral   code that our Creator has fashioned for us. This enables us to survive and thrive in the imperfect world in which we now live.

Shabbat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein

The Easy Way Out! • Torah.org     Posted on October 15, 2009 (5770) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner   And it was from the end of days, Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground; and Hevel he also brought himself of the firstlings of his flock and of the choicest. HASHEM turned to Hevel and to his offering, but to Cain and his offering He did not turn. This  angered Cain exceedingly and his countenance fell. And HASHEM said to Cain, “Why are  you angry and why is your face fallen. Surely if you improve yourself you will be forgiven,   but if you do not improve yourself sin squats by the door. Its desire is against you but you  can conquer it.” And Cain spoke with his brother Hevel, and it happened when they were in the field that Cain rose up against his brother Hevel and killed him. (Breishis 4:3-8) Here we have such a terribly tragic episode so early in human history; one brother kills another. How did such a thing happen? What was the motive? The answer can be summarized in one word, “Jealousy”. Cain was upset that his brother Hevel excelled in an area that he initiated and gained the ultimate, a cosmic ovation from The Creator. His reaction can be described in clinical terms as “angry and depressed”. He was in need of   some serious psychological intervention. Who came to the rescue? None other than HASHEM! From here we can learn the art of good counseling. Our sages tell us that the question of the wise is half an answer, and so HASHEM asks, “Why are you angry and why are you depressed?” What’s so brilliant about that question? The Ha’emek Davar the Netziv cleverly points out that there are two questions here. 1st- Why are you angry? And 2nd-    Why are you depressed? What difference does it make that there are two questions? Are these not two conflicting emotions? Let’s see! What makes someone angry? One is brought to experience anger, I would suggest, when something or someone frustrates his power.   When somebody suddenly usurps your parking place or behaves against your will, a   fighting rage may be aroused. Here is an area where you feel empowered and someone has curbed your clout, thwarted your will, or disregarded your expectation. The result is anger. Who was the object of Cain’s anger? He felt betrayed by and he blamed Hevel. Over whom does he have real power? Who is the only one that he truly has control of? Isn’t it obviously true that he is only fully responsible for himself!? Why does someone become depressed? Is it not when all hope is lost, at least in the imagination of the thinker!? The person feels de-energized at the news from the doctor or lawyer that there’s nothing more to do. Concerning whom has Cain given up? He’s given up on himself. Who is the only one that he has full control of? You guessed it! Why then     should he give up on himself? Why should he try to control his brother? Rebbe Nachman ztl. said, “When you try to break a “mida” – a character trait, you end up with two broken character traits.” Cain had two strong responses to his brother’s meteoric rise to stardom. One was energizing, the other enervating. While trying to boost the battery of a car the positive and negative cables must be properly aligned. If the wires are crossed  the result can be disastrous. Cain’s wires were crossed, so he was told to take control of his own destiny. “Surely if you improve you will be forgiven”. The talent and tendency to “let   go” is for Hevel. Why then did he fail? Cain’s jealousy over Hevel’s success was a sign of his own potential. Cain could have and should have allowed himself to become inspired. He had three choices, though. 1) Improve. That’s hard. 2) Accept the status quo. That hurts. 3) Chop Hevel down. That’s the easy   way out. DvarTorah, Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Label Lam and Torah.org.   Be Creative • Torah.org     Posted on October 5, 2018 (5779) By Torah.org | Series: Lifeline | Level: Beginner In the beginning G-d created the Heavens and the Earth… The High Holiday prayer books have been shelved, the Sukkah is stored away (or at least that’s the plan), and we start reading the Torah again from the beginning. The custom of restarting the Torah readings at this time seems designed to neatly line up with the inspiration and growth we’ve had over the High Holidays and Sukkos, and gives us the opportunity to start again from our own beginning. Ahead of us is a new year. Genesis chronicles the steps G-d took to create a new universe, and we are now tasked with the creation of our year, ourselves — our personal universe. The story is told of G-d’s desire to create, and man, “in G-d’s image,” has an innate desire to create a life for himself. G-d’s creation was a complete change from its prior state of nothingness, to a world of something-ness. The G-dly image within us desires the same — to model the Divine by making changes in our lives. This desire, however, is most often expressed in a drive to earn more money, to buy more things, to “accomplish” in our material pursuits. The Alter of Slobodka wisely said in Yiddish, “ Ah mentch vort besser un shayner, uhber nisht anderish” — “Man likes better and nicer, but not different.”   But what our souls truly seek is a very different form of growth. We have the ability to make something from nothing; to do things differently this year, and live closer to our values and those of the Torah. (Sefer MiShulchan Gevoha, HaRav Aharon Kotler ztl) May G-d give us the strength and the courage to make our new beginning.