Lazer Brody's Blog, page 291

What if She Extends a Hand?

Israeli deputy Minister of Health Yaacov Litchman wouldn't shake the hand of his Belgian counterpart, causing a mini-dipomatic tempest in a teapot.

So what does an observant Jew do when a women extends her hand? 

Observe the Torah by all means, but let's do our best to avoid embarrassing others.

I try to keep a few hard candies in my pocket when on tour. If a woman extends a hand, I drop a hard candy in her palm. The potentially embarrassing situation turns into smiles.

Mitzva ATM

This coming Saturday night is the Shavuot holiday, when we receive the Torah anew:

"Ratzon", Will

Our ratzon - the will, efforts, and yearning to seek Hashem - is a prime vessel for the Divine illumination of emuna just as a crystal goblet is for a fine wine. We wouldn't want to pour a thirty year-old Chateau de Rothschild Cabernet wine in a broken or dirty glass, for the wine would either spill on the floor or become ruined. A fine wine necessitates a whole and immaculately clean goblet. By the same token, without proper vessels, a person can't receive Divine illumination. Hashem doesn't want to spill His "fine wine" on the floor – we must be able to contain it. -from the "Garden of Yearning"

29 Iyar: A Special Day to Pray for our Children

Today (Monday) is the 29th of Iyar according to the Hebrew calendar. Jewish tradition teaches that today is an opportune time to pray that our children grow up in health of body, mind, and soul. The best known prayer that our people have been using for hundreds of years is "A Parent's Prayer" composed by the holy Shl"a, a 17th Century Scholar and Kabbalist who is buried near the Rambam in Tiberias. As a service to our readers, Artscroll.com sent us a PDF with the prayer in Hebrew and English, which you can download here.

We've often said that the most important part of raising happy and successful children is praying for them. The 5 minutes that you take to say the Shl"a's prayer will be one of the best investments you ever made.

Lazer's Singapore Interview

Robin Stienberg, editor in chief of National Critic's Choice, interviews Rabbi Lazer in Singapore. We hope you'll enjoy this, and wish you a wonderful new week.

UK, We're on Our Way...

The Emuna Tattoo

My cherished and esteemed friend Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein from New York City is probably America's #1 rabbi for saving kids that have gone haywire and bringing them back into the fold. He's also one of America's best rabbinical speakers. In the clip below, he's telling a true story he heard from me. You'll love this:

Modeh Ani - the Jewish Spark

I now understand why Shlomo Artzi - back in my army days - was my favorite singer.

Shlomo, a so-called "secular", happened to meet Chassidic composer and arranger Muna Rosenbloom in a studio where both of them were recording. Muna was arranging a song with words by Rabbi Nachman of Breslev - "as long as the flame flickers within us (allegory for the soul), we can rectify". Shlomo said, "Hey, I know that song from my grandfather," who was a Yiddish-speaking religious Jew. He then grabbed the microphone and sang the melody in such a moving way that no one had dry eyes. All Jews - like Shlomo Artzi - have that spark within them; witha bit of emuna and fanning, the spark becomes a flame that reaches the heavens. Enjoy, and have a great Shabbat!

The Coolest Thing in Town

Mitzvot and Body Health

Hello Rabbi,

Does the performance or violation of the mitzvot affect the body? More specifically, I have a pain in my right leg that no doctor has been able to cure? Is there something spiritual I may have done wrong or a correction to make? Thank you! Wim B., Amsterdam

Dear Wim,

A 16th century CE scholar from Tzfat, Rabbi Elazar Azikari (who composed "Yedid Nefesh" and was a colleague of the famed father of Kabbala Rabbi Yitzchak Luria) wrote a monumental book called "Sefer Hacharedim", or The Book of the (G-d) Fearing. In this book, he takes each part of the body and lists the corresponding mitzva. There are 613 mitzvas that correspond to the 613 parts of the body. The fulfillment of a mitzva adds to the spiritual vitality of the corresponding body part, and the spiritual vitality strongly influences the physical health of that particular body part.

For example, tefillin affects the left arm and the front part of the head. Belief in G-d affects the heart. Eye problems can often be traced to stinginess (refusal to give charity) or to looking at forbidden things. It's quite noteworthy that cervical cancer is almost unheard of among woman who practice family purity. The list is long and elaborate.

The famed Shatzer Rov of London o.b.m, the grandfather of the Melitzer Rebbe of Ashdod, would go to the doctor when he was sick and simply request a diagnosis. Then, he would go home and improve his practice of the mitzva that corresponds to his sick part of the body in order to cure himself.

I often use the Sefer Charedim in helping others. I've seen it do things that the doctors can't do. All a person needs is faith. Physical sicknesses are rooted in spiritual causes, since the spirit is the life force. Therefore, many physical ailments can be cured by Teshuva, that is, correcting a mitzva that in turn healthfully influences a certain part of the body. That's it while standing on one foot.

As far as the pain in your right leg, ask Hashem in your daily hitbodedut sessions to enlighten you as to what has brought on the pain and to help you to make teshuva for the root cause. I'd also suggest that you check if you haven't insulted your father or fail to honor him in any way.

Stay healthy, Wim. Warm regards to all our friends in Holland. Blessings always, Lazer