Casually Pregnant- Bechukosai 2012

Insights and Inspiration

from the 

Holy Land

from 

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

May 18^th  2012 -Volume 2, Issue 28 –26^th  of Iyar 5772

41^st  Day of Omer

Parshat Bechukosai

Casually Pregnant

It was during one of my wife's pregnancies and I had just returned from Israel on a trip. She was at a rather early stage and so, as the custom in our home, in order to avoid any Ayin Harah/Evil Eye we had not told anyone before I had gone on my 10 day trip. However the good Almighty always has alternate plans, and while I was away my wife became slightly ill (another not so fun pregnancy custom in our house), required some help and the word slowly got out. So there I was getting picked up from the airport when my little son Yonah turns to me excitedly and says

“Hey, Daddy! Guess what? Mommy's pregnant!”

Biting back a smile and ignoring my friend’s who was driving us little comment about "see what happens when you go away for 10 days", I turned to my son with as much surprise as I could muster up and said "REEEAAALLY! Baruch Hashem!!" His response however touched my heart and soul.

"I just knew it would happen, Daddy! It's because I've been davening (praying) a lot and I sent a letter to Hashem and because you must have davened a lot when you went to the Western Wall-The Kotel in Eretz Yisrael to deliver it there."

I remember coming home smiling that night as I told my wife how cute my son was and the wonderful innocence of youth. In doing so however I caught myself. Is his statement and exuberance about the Hand of God and His answering- to- prayers- capacity a product of my son's childhood naiveté? Or is the lack of that emotion and faith an unfortunate testimony to his father's adult Divine callousness to the incredible miracle that was growing inside of my wife. Had I perhaps become so enwrapped in the natural expectations of "the way of the world" and fallen guilty to the sin of not appreciating the wonderful blessing I had been granted in response to my prayers.

This week’s Torah portion and the conclusion of the book of Leviticus discusses the blessing and curses associated with the fulfillment and non- fulfillment of the commandments. In the portion of the terrifying punishments that Hashem spells out in spine-chilling graphic detail (unfortunately most of which our history shows has been meted upon us generation after generation) there is one repeated cause for all these tzoris/troubles; one sin specifically that invokes a response from Hashem; a response of terror and tragedy.

"And if you will be have casually with Me and refuse to heed Me And I shall lay a further blow upon you seven ways like your sins……"

"If despite these you will not be chastised toward Me and you behave casually with Me then I will behave toward you with casualness and I will strike you even I seven ways for your sins)"

"And if despite this you will not heed Me and you will behave toward Me with casualness I will behave toward you with a fury of casualness; I will chastise you , even I, seven ways for your sins…."

"And you will confess your sins and your forefather's sins for the treachery with which they betrayed Me, and also for having behaved toward Me with casualness. I too will behave with them with casualness and I will bring them into the land of their enemies –perhaps then their unfeeling heart will be humbled and then they will gain appeasement for their sin."

Thankfully this portion concludes with the ultimate promise of redemption. With
Hashem "remembering" the covenant of our Forefathers and the remembrance of the Land of Israel,  to which will be fully and undisputedly returned to when we finally achieve atonement for our sin.

Perhaps one of the most difficult concepts for people to come to terms with in understanding or coming to terms with about God-run world is the untold tragedies that occur. Interestingly enough no one has that problem or question when blessings and good things befall them. The book titled "Why Do Good Things Happen to me?" has yet to be written and would probably never get published. It seems there is almost an expectation in life that the natural order of the world is that I deserve to have things going good. Although if you ask the average person if they have committed sins, if they have recognized regularly the Source of their blessing, if they truly feel they can approach an Almighty with clean deserving hands, most I believe would respond with an overall "Well I'm generally a good person" type of answer, rather than address the specific merits of the questions posed. An argument that would never hold its weight in any court when faced with a specific charge, nor one that would entitle anyone to getting a foundation grant, government assistance program, or even a job when asked for the merits by which they may be specifically worthy. Particularly because “generally good” is pretty subjective term.

Yet we feel that way. Why? Because we take God and goodness for granted, it's just the way its "spozed" to be. The greatest tragedy is that in doing so we lose out on the experience of the Divine nature, interaction and love by which we receive all that we have and by which we exist. We therefore more tragically lose out on fully appreciating the Divine nature of the significance of wha twe must have been given the capacity to accomplish. Imagine the wife who receives a beautiful diamond necklace from her husband (one day… Rebbetzin… one day…J) yet assumes that it just got there on the dining room table by itself. Imagine that tremendous potential for love that is lost. Imagine the message and knowledge of the incredible sense of love and appreciation her husband has for the value of their relationship that she could have taken from this gift had she only realized it was from him. Imagine the immense sadness of living a life not realizing how valuable and cherished you truly are because you just assumed with casualness that it’s the natural way of the world.

Hashem our ever loving Father in Heaven cares too much for us to let us lead that type of life. So He does that which always seems to get us recognizing and turning and begging for the return of His divine love and blessing. He separates and gives us exactly the type of relationship we are deserving of and have been behaving with, according to our lack of recognition, in order that we learn and appreciate how significant his blessing and love is in our lives.

We conclude this third book of the Torah Vayikra, the book that discusses sacrifices and the process of getting and integrating our closeness with our Creator with this powerful message. The Torah is teaching us that we are in a relationship with God. Our blessing and our existence are all not merely casual natural things that happen, rather they are a direct result of the caring love and significance by which we are meant to relate to the Divine and by which Hashem has a relationship with us. Perhaps even more significant is when we are faced with tragedies and challenges. We should never view them as products of the casual or circumstance. They are happening for a reason. A Divine reason. For they are coming from a loving God that wants nothing more than for His special children to turn to Him once again, whether in prayer or in our deeds and awareness and relate and appreciate the significance rather than the casualness of our lives.

Have an incredibly amazing Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

This week’s insights is dedicated in honor of my dear Rebbetzin Aliza who’s birthday is this week!! You are always my tremendous source of inspiration and the strength and the center of all that I have that is good. Thank you for all you are and do and for sharing life together with me. May Hashem continue to bless you and us with many more years growing younger, closer and greater together and may we both merit to continue to see all our dreams come true…

Mazel Tov!!

RABBI SCHWARTZ YOM YERUSHALAYIM YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS03Xkmaf3U


RABBI SCHWARTZ FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“BE KIND TO YOUR DENTIST. HE HAS FILLINGS, TOO.-Anonymous”

RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-
Museum of Rishon Li’Tzion- THE CITY APTLY NAMED RISHON LE’TZION WAS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL FARMING COMMUNITY STARTED IN ISRAEL IN 1882- LONG BEFORE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL. THE CITY WAS A BLEND OF EASTERN EUROPEAN RELIGIOUS JEWS THAT CAME TO LIVE IN ISRAEL AND WORK THE LAND, OLD YISHUV-NIKS THAT WERE MOVING OUT OF YERUSHALAYIM LOOKING TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES AND WESTERN EUROPEAN JEWS FUNDED BY THE ALLIANCE’- KOL YISRALE CHAVEIRIM THAT WAS DEDICATED TO SHOWING THAT JEWS COULD BE MORE THEN “BUSINESS MIDDLE MEN” AND COULD CREATE FROM THE SANDS AND INFERTILE GROUND OF ISRAEL AND FLOURISHING AGRICULTURAL WONDERLAND. WITH THE SUPPORT OF BARON ROTHSCHILD (AND THE CHALLENGES THAT CAME WITH HIS HARSH DEMANDS) THE MIRACLE TOOK PLACE. THE CITY GREW AND DEVELOPED AND IS TODAY THE FOURTH LARGEST IN ISRAEL. IN THE MUSEUM OF RISHON ONE CAN VISIT THE OLD REFURBISHED PERIOD HOUSES ALONG WITH MEETING MANY OF THE ORIGINAL SETTLERS (DRESSED AND SPEAKING AS THEY DID IN THAT ERA) WHO ARE HAPPY TO SHARE THEIR STORIES. ONE CAN VISIT THE HOMES WHERE THE HATIKVA WAS ESTABLISHED AND SET TO MUSIC, WHERE THE ISRAELI FLAG WAS FIRST UNVEILED, THE OLD SHUL-WHICH IS STILL IN USE AND EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND WHAT LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN LIFE FOR THOSE EARLIER PIONEERS WHO CAME WITH A DREAM OF HOLINESS AND DEDICATION TO BUILD OUR LAND.

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