Dear Friend,
Experience proves that which even your eyes cannot.
Moses’s father in law, Yisro, worshipped and represented practically every idol worshipping, pagan deity at that time, and knew all there was to know about religion and God’s at the time.
When he heard about the fall of the Egyptian empire and how an entire nation of slaves walked out of Egypt free and about the splitting of the sea and miracoulos survivol of the Jewish people throuought, he told Moses, “Now I know that G-d is greater than all other gods”.
It is written that G-d waited for Yisro to utter these words before he would give the Torah. Only after Yisro, who was the religion expert declared that this is true, was the world actually ready to receive the Torah.
Yisro saw in Judaism that even G-d is not too great for details and can be involved in every aspect of life because of his love for his creations. This was nothing he has experienced before.
G-d waited for an outsider to see the truth from personal experience, then the world was ready to receive the Torah.
We too should care about even the smallest of details in the life of the people we love, as they say “it’s the small things that matter”.
Shabbos Times
Friday, January 21
Candle Lighting: 4:42pm Evening service: 4:45pm
Saturday, January 22 Morning service: 10:00am
Kiddush Brunch: 12:00pm Evening service: 4:45pm
Shabbos ends 5:45pm
Kiddush Sponsor Dov and Tanya Goldman
In memory of Tanya's Mother
Zislya bat Aharon ob"m
Thursdays 4pm- 5pm Geared for boys and girls in grades 6th - 8th, MVP is volunteering and Mitzvah madness, while connecting with other pre-teens and having a meaningful impact!
MVP is open to all junior teens free of charge!
A BISSELE HUMOR
Taking his seat in his chambers, the judge faced the opposing lawyers. “So,” he said, “I have been presented, by both of you, with a bribe.” Both lawyers squirmed uncomfortably. “You, attorney Leon, gave me $15,000. And you, attorney Campos, gave me $10,000.”
The judge reached into his pocket and pulled out a check. He handed it to Leon … “Now then, I’m returning $5,000, and we’re going to decide this case solely on its merits.”
WEEKLY eTORAH
Why was the Torah given on Mount Sinai, the “smallest of all mountains”? Because, the Midrash explains, in order to receive the Torah, we must be humble, like Mount Sinai.
This raises another question: If humility is so important, why was the Torah given on a mountain altogether? Would it not be better for the Torah to be given in a plain or a valley?
In the Kabbalah, humility is synonymous with wisdom. That’sWhy was the Torah given on a mountain? because the key ingredient to wisdom is the humility to recognize that our own perspective is not sufficient, that we must seek deeper and higher understanding. Every intellectual breakthrough is dependent on us having the courage to tell ourselves, “Although I have a deep-rooted perspective on this issue, I may be completely wrong.” Without this humility, no new wisdom is possible.
This is true about all wisdom, and it’s even more true about divine wisdom, the wisdom of the Torah.
To receive the Torah, we must be humble and small like Sinai. To receive the Torah, we must be open to a completely radical paradigm shift. To grasp the divine logic, we must be open to a new perspective of reality, a perspective that is not self-centered but spiritually centered.
And that is why Moses was chosen to be the one through whom G‑d gave the Torah. Moses was chosen not because he was the smartest, or the brightest, or the best teacher, or the best communicator. Moses was chosen because he was “exceedingly humble, more so than any person on the face of the earth.” The greatness of Moses lay in his humility, his ability to put his perspective aside and view reality from G‑d’s perspective.
And yet, being Sinai-small is not enough. One must also be a mountain.
The Torah was given on a mountain and not in a valley, for to live the Torah, we must be humble on the one hand, but proud on the other.
Absolute humility is dangerous.
Absolute humility is dangerous the one that says, “G‑d does not care what I do.” It’s the one that says, “I am insignificant to the creator of such a vast universe.”
To follow the Torah is to understand how valuable we are in the eyes of G‑d. To live the Torah is to feel how the purpose of the entire universe's creation is in our hands.
To receive the Torah, we must be a Sinai, we must be both “small” and a “mountain,” humble yet proud.
