Lazer Brody's Blog, page 344

Unsupportive parents

Dear Rabbi,

My name is Sherrie. I live in California, and I became a baalas tshuva last summer, after attending a religious music festival (religious Jewish musicians are the greatest; I'm writing you because one of them told me that you rock!).

My parents are, in short, not particularly supportive of my decision. They think my keeping Shabbos is a waste of a day that could be spent on homework (I'm going into my junior year in high school, just turned seventeen), and that keeping kosher is a hindrance. Now, I have a lot of family issues - we don't have particularly great family dynamics in general. Anyway. So I wanted to ask your advice. Oh wait - I also go to public school and wear a kippah full-time. I got the impression from my musician friend - who's one of your fans - that you're not egalitarian, so I don't know if you like that, but it's what I've chosen to do. 

I've got to go. My mom is yelling at me. Thanks for listening!!

~Sherrie~

Dear Sherrie,

The way to get your folks on your side is to avoid any disrespect, and simply be a model daughter, just sweet, considerate, and loving; that'll be a showstopper! Disrespect to parents is worse than eating treif. Let them see how observant Judaism is simply making you a better person, but under no circumstances should you compromise on Shabbat, Kashrut, modesty, or what you know and believe is right (when in doubt, ask a rav that you trust). Be careful never to lose your temper, and even when your folks get all over your cage, simply grin and bear it - it'll cleanse your soul.

As for the egalitarian business, I'm not going to tell you what to do; if you're really searching for the truth, Hashem will help you get there. Most importantly, talk to Hashem for an hour a day in your own language. Make sure you read The Garden of Emuna too. Judaism without emuna is like a car without an engine - you won't get so far. May Hashem bless you always with all your heart's wishes for the very best, LB

Learning Morals from an Ant

If you see an ant, don't stomp on it; observe the little critter - he's carrying a message from Hashem:

Go to the ant, sluggard; see its ways and become wise. (Proverbs 6:6) [Perek Shira, Chapter 6]

Let's view an example of nature's classroom, the divine wisdom within each creation. Look at an anthill. Ants teach us three main lessons - honesty, faith, and diligence. Observe closely, and you'll see why.

Ants are invertebrates - they don't have a spine. Most invertebrates overheat and dehydrate in full sunlight; therefore, most of their activity above ground level is either in early morning, in late evening, or in full shade. If an ant tells a lie, his peers execute him immediately.

In bright sunlight, we don't see any ants crawling around. If we were to cast a shadow over the mound, a leader ant would peek his head out of the main entrance and walk around freely in the shade. Then, he'd return to the edge of the hole to call his buddies to come outside and join him. Meanwhile, if we were to remove the object that cast the shadow, and the emerging ants would not find shade, they'd kill the leader ant for lying to them. Ants don't tolerate the slightest form of dishonesty.

An ant lives for approximately six months, yet a grain and a half of wheat is sufficient food for its entire lifetime. If we were to dig down to the central warehouses of the anthill, we'd find about three hundred grains per ant. Each ant gathers enough food for two hundred years!

An ant never stops working, because he has faith that The Almighty will grant him a lengthy life. An ant never steals nor covets. The moment he takes a bite from a grain, the grain acquires the unique odor of its owner's saliva. No other ant will dare touch the grain of a comrade. So, by observing ants, we learn about honesty, diligence, and faith.

Shouldn't we demand from ourselves the minimal moral standards of an ant?

Advice for a Duckling

All we want is to live a quiet life of Torah and emuna in the holy Land of Israel. So many people - including the local secular media - seem to want to swallow us alive. Yet, with emuna, we take everything in our stride with a big smile on our face too.

This all reminds me of a pack of hungry wolves who saw a little duckling. Each claimed the poor little thing for their supper, so they began to fight each other in a ferocious melee of blood and fangs. Each clamping on to the other's jugular, until they all dropped dead in a puddle of their own blood. When everything quieted down, the duckling crawled out from his hiding place under the table, and resumed his happy life as normal.

Advice to all ducklings: hide under Hashem's wing; it worked for King David (see Psalm 17:8) and it'll work for us. 

The Ostrich Syndrome

Intelligence gathering and spirituality are amazingly similar. In both areas, there is a right way and a wrong way to draw conclusions and form a plan of subsequent action:

The right way - first, one does as much objective fact-gathering as possible, draws a well-founded conclusion, and acts accordingly.

The wrong way - first, one begins with a preconceived agenda, then discards or ignores any information that disproves the preconception, and acts accordingly.

If a person's pre-conceived agenda includes swindling, cheeseburgers and the neighbor's wife, he'll both discard and ignore Torah. That doesn't mean that the Torah isn't true, Heaven forbid; it means that the person doesn't want to hear. So what does he do? Sticks his head back in the ground... 

High and Dry

Seven years ago, the London Guardian reported about a secret Pentagon report that was suppressed by President Bush, warning that imminent climatic changes and natural disasters will destroy the USA and much of the world, and that large areas will sink under rising seas. Read the entire article here, it's an eyeopener.

For hundreds of years, Kabbalists have been saying that entire continents will disappear under water as Redemption Day approaches. Today, scientists around the world are carefully monitoring earth's rising waters. Things are changing, just as our sages have predicted.

Worried? The Talmud says (tractate Kiddushin 69a) that Israel is the highest of lands. Many nonbelievers use the above statement as "proof" to the inaccuracy of Talmud. When the rest of the world will be under water, and Israel will be high and dry, all shall see the universal and eternal truth of every letter in the Gemorra.

This time, you won't need an ark. Start thinking about moving to Israel.

The Gemara also teaches us that the Beis HaMikdash is the highest place in Israel - that makes it the highest place on earth! Above poster courtesy of www.judaica4me.com .

Photosynthesis: The Creator's Simple Brilliance

One of the best ways to strengthen emuna is to open our eyes and observe Hashem's marvelous creations. The fact that the universe functions in such beautiful harmony leaves us with the only possible conclusion that One Master Creator is responsible. If everything were random - as some spiritually-blind people would contend - then the stars and planets would be colliding in space all the time. But, they don't! The Creator gives each star and planet its own unique path, making sure that they stay out of each other's way.

Look at photosynthesis; this exquisite natural process is mind-boggling in its simple brilliance. Simplicity and brilliance is The Creator's signature.

In case you never enjoyed botany or life sciences, but you'd like to learn about Hashem's world, then here's a lesson about photosynthesis in a nutshell:

Photosynthesis is the process that Hashem uses to feed most of the earth. By way of photosynthesis, green plants make carbohydrates such as glucose, using water from the soil, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and sunlight. Animals that consume plants also make use of this energy, as do humans that consume both plants and animals, thereby benefitting from photosynthesis both directly and indirectly.

Photosynthesis performs another vital function in addition to manufacturing food: It generates the oxygen that oxygen-breathing animals need in order to survive. But here, we animals repay the favor. We exhale the carbon dioxide that plants need for photosynthesis.

Click here for a flash presentation that's educational and enjoyable for the whole family. You can spend some quality time together, while learning about Hashem's wonderful secrets of the universe. Shabbat Shalom!

The Gift of Trees

This coming Wednesay night and Thursday is a very special day in the Jewish calendar: it's Tu B'Shvat, the New Year for trees.

Why do Jews celebrate the New Year for trees? Trees are exemplary in many ways. If your roots aren't deep like a cedar's, then you easily wither. When you're flexible like a date palm, you can survive strong winds, the rough times in life. Trees only do good - they give shade, fruit, prevent soil erosion, and shelter animals and birds. In survival school back in my regular army days, a carob tree was my home for three days up in the mountains of the Galilee. Not only did it provide me with shade, shelter, and a good hideout, it fed me as well. We humans should imitate trees.

In case you haven't noticed, I love trees. My major at the College of Agriculture at UM College Park was deciduous orchards. When I was a farmer, I planted thousands of trees in the foothills of the Shomron ridge and in the Golan, Negev, and Sharon Valley as well.

Now, dearest brothers and sisters, I have presents in advance for each of you in honor of Tu B'Shvat:

For women: The best face cream in the world - take a ripe avocado, peel the skin and take out the pit, mash it in a dish and add a squeeze of lemon juice (natural only, no substitutes). You now have the best facial treatment in the world. Let it sit for half an hour while you're reading your favorite book or listening to a relaxing CD, and wash it off. Your face will now be young, radiant, and replenished with an abundance of vitamin B6, which retards aging and keeps your skin soft and smooth.

For men: Need a super charge of energy before an important meeting, on the tennis court, or at the office? No time to eat? Put down the junk food! Take a dried date, open it up, remove the pit, and check it for worms. Insert a whole toasted almond, and close it like a sandwich. You now have a tasty snack with readily available high quality carbohydrates and protein to supercharge your system.

For Kids: The Brody's have a dynamite natural non-chocolate chocolate spread: Take a cup (180 cc)of organic whole-seed tehina (sesame paste), add a heaping tablespoon of organic carob powder and four tablespoons of honey. Mix all the ingredients together. You get a fantastic spread that's both super-healthy and tasty. Instead of other sweets, use this spread on bread like you would peanut butter or chocolate spread.

Enjoy!

Without the Branch, There's no Fruit

Dear Rabbi Brody,

I became an observant Jewess about 3 years ago, when I was 17. Today, I have a wonderful schedule and I love my life and learning - I'm studying to be an optometrist in the morning, and in the late afternoon I attend classes at a Jewish Women's Seminar. But, I have a fly in my ointment - my parents.

My parents are lovely people, but their world is still at the level of 9 to 5 followed by dinner and popcorn in front of the television. Although they respect me, they embarrass me all the time. I've told my father a million times that he can't shake hands with my girlfriends, but everytime I bring one home he sticks his hand right out. I've tried to explain to my mother the severity of slander and idle gossip, but she says everything about everybody. Even worse, all this gives me a nasty guilt trip; after listening to lectures from the best Torah teachers one could wish for, I come home to two people who only seem to be interested in what's for dinner and what's on TV. It's hard for me to respect them, and that's a big test, since I'll be living at home at least for another two years or until Hashem sends me my intended (please make a blessing for me). Please give me some advice on how to accept my situation with emuna. Thank you for being there, Rabbi. With sincere appreciation, Karen from New Jersey

Dear Karen,

First of all, I'm glad that you're still at home; the advantages of your sanctity far outweigh the peripheral aggravation you have from little details at home. Please forgive me, but I must take exception with the "fly in the ointment" metaphor. Maybe your mama isn't a Lakewood rebbetzin and your dad isn't a Rosh Yeshiva with a Homburg on his head, but I'm sure that they're wonderful people to merit a daughter that's devoting her life to Hashem. Remember, they are simply the products of their environment, much like babies that grew up in captivity. They never cast away Yiddishkeit, for they never had it. There's a lot of headway to give them the benefit of the doubt.

You can influence them best by being a kind, considerate, understanding and loving daughter. Please don't preach and don't look down on them. Concentrate on your own soul-searching and self-improvement. The more you show compassion for your parents, the more Hashem will have compassion on you - that means you'll find you bashert (intended) with considerable less hassle.

You don't have to respect your parents' lifestyle, but Halacha requires you to give them absolute respect. Since this is the month of Shvat, let me explain in terms of a fruit tree: Fruit can't develop on its own; it must grow on a branch. You, as a baalas tshuva with a bright future, are the aromatic fruit. Your parents though, are the branch you grow on. One doesn't eat the branch, but without it, there's no fruit. Don't forget that, and you'll be fine - I'm glad you wrote. May Hashem send you your true soulmate in the nearest future, amen. Blessings always, LB

Grapefruit blossoms, Ashdod - without the branch, there's no fruit

An Emuna Story about a Star-Spangled Gopher

Here's the story I promised to tell you about how a cute little Star-Spangled Gopher helped a young lady learn emuna. Enjoy it!

Meet the Star Spangled Gopher

Meet the Star Spangled Gopher, aka the Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel. He lives up on the prairies of the Dakotas and Manitoba. G-d willing, tomorrow, we'll tell you the true story of how one of these cute little critters brought a young lady in South Dakota closer to Hashem. Meanwhile, let's get to know one of Hashem's cute little creations:

Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel from Wildlife Matters on Vimeo.