The Rabbi on Mason

Dear Friends,

As we prepare for Passover, I wanted to share a couple of customs which we practice at our home. At the beginning of the seder, we pass the Elijah’s cup around the table and ask everyone to pour some of their wine or grape juice into the Elijah’s cup. Elijah is supposed to visit our seder in order to usher in an age of freedom and peace, marking the beginning of the messianic era. In this way, each of us feels as if we are contributing something toward the bringing of the Messianic era to our world. Depending upon who attends your seder, you may want to ask your guests what they can do to perform acts of tikkun or repair in order to improve our world.

We also pass around a Miriam’s cup, which is a cup that we fill with water. Miriam was responsible for nurturing our ancestors in the wilderness since she knew where to look for and find water. As water sustains us, so Miriam’s love sustained us during our journey. We mention women who have sustained us in our lives and/or who have nurtured us. Sometimes we ask those at our seder to mention a woman who is a heroine in the their lives so that we can learn about women who have made a difference in our world.

This year, we are going to begin a custom where we ask people to share a place where they will donate an afikoman gift, in order to brighten the world of someone less fortunate.

Finally, I hope that as you are cleaning your rooms, apartments, whatever… and getting rid of the chometz or leaven, you will take this opportunity to clean out the hametz from your lives. Sometimes we become consumed by the little frustrations and “crumbs” that fill our lives and lose sight of the big picture. I hope that we are liberated from those petty concerns that cause us to lose sleep and become tense and can be thankful for the blessings we have. As we prepare for the end of the semester, it is a stressful time, but keep looking at the big picture and remember that each of us is preparing for opportunities that hopefully will lead us to the promised land of meaningful careers and professional fulfillment.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft
GMU Hillel Rabbinic Advisor

Dear Friends,

I hope you are enjoying or have enjoyed a wonderful spring break. The following story came across my desk and I wanted to share it with you.

“Forgiving is rediscovering the shining path of peace that at first you thought others took away when they betrayed you.”

Story

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.
After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”

The other friend replied “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BLESSINGS IN STONE.

Forgiveness is not an act but a process – a direction, a path to walk on. There is no prescription for how long it might take or how long it should take. All I know is, people deserve the same kind of forgiveness that you would want…

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft
GMU Hillel Rabbinic Advisor

Dear Friends,

So how far are we willing to go in order to stand up for what we believe? Would you put it all on the line and risk your life? Would you compromise your own personal principles as did Esther (participate in a beauty contest, whatever she had to do…) in order to position yourself to someday help those who are important to you? Will we do the right thing when we are asked?

Purim is so important that when the Messianic age arrives, we will continue to celebrate this important day. We are reminded by Esther’s bravery that sometimes we are placed in situations where we can truly make a difference and it is up to us to respond. Think about how different the world would have been if Esther didn’t tell King Ahasveurus that she was Jewish. Are we willing to stand up and acknowledge who we are when our identities are being challenged? What does this say to us about our personal Jewish identities and our connection to Israel, when standing up for our Jewishness or to defend the state of Israel isn’t popular? How do we determine whether the cause is worth standing up for or whether we should back away from a particular issue?

These are some of the questions which the celebration of Purim raises for us. I wish to comment about a coincidence of numerical values. ( or maybe it is not a coincidence) We know that each Hebrew letter has a numerical value which one can learn more about by studying about gematria. The words ” blessed be Mordecai and cursed be Haman” (in Hebrew) add up to the same numerical value. There are many explanations for this, but the one I believe is relevant for us today is that each of us has some of Mordecai and some of Haman in us. It is up to us to decide upon which characteristics we wish to act. Are we going to follow a course of action that is praiseworthy and helpful? Or…are we going to follow a course of action that is destructive and leads to negative energy? Each of us is faced with challenges in our personal lives, our professional lives, our volunteer activities, and in all aspects of our lives. How do we respond? Are we brave like Esther and take risks? Are we worthy of blessing and praise by the ways in which we respond? Or…do we fan flames, listen to negative speech, and pursue actions that are closer to “cursed be Haman?”

What is so wonderful and timeless about this story is that it is all about us. I hope we can find inspiration from hearing the reading of the Megillah that will lead us to want to do the right thing in all different aspects of our lives.

And…remember it is a mitzvah to hear the reading of the Megillah, to celebrate Purim with a special meal and party (and drink RESPONSIBLY (and not drive) if it is legal for you to drink!!!, give food packages to your friends (Shelach manot), and help provide for the poor and those in need (matanot l’evyonim).

Hag Purim Sameach!
Rabbi Bruce Aft
GMU Hillel Rabbinic Advisor

Dear Friends,

This Shabbat we mark the occasion of Shabbat Zachor, the special Shabbat before Purim. We remember what Amalek did to our people as we anticipate another fight to stay alive during the time of the Purim story.

This week marked another tragedy in our world when a young man shot and killed three students at a high school in Ohio. We remember Columbine, Va. Tech, Northern Illinois University, and other places where horrible loss of life has occurred. Unfortunately, we are once again stunned by the horrors of young people dying.

I often wonder what we can do to try to ensure that these kinds of things do not occur again. I do not have the wisdom to give you an easy answer to this question. We often talk about bullying and how hard children, teenagers, and adults can be on each other. I guess that each of us needs to try to be aware of unkind behavior when it happens and if we are concerned that someone is a bit unstable, encourage that person to get help. If this doesn’t seem realistic, perhaps we need to let the appropriate authorities know if we are witnessing scary behavior.

When Mordecai told Esther that she had to act to save the Jewish people in Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther), she was reluctant to get involved. She is told that “help will come from some other place” that is a subtle hint that perhaps G-d will intervene to save the Jewish people if she doesn’t. Where will help come from to alleviate the pain that so many feel, if we don’t reach out? Will those who are hurting find faith in G-d that will help them deal with the challenges they face in their lives or will they pursue violence as a way of retaliation or dealing with these tough situations?

Last night I went to the Barns at Wolftrap to hear Peter Yarrow, from Peter, Paul, and Mary, who shared the words to the following song, “Don’t Laugh at Me” and also spoke about the following non profit organization, Operation Respect, which has a website that I hope you will peruse, in order to find ways to make our world a little kinder place.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft

PETER, PAUL AND MARY
“Don’t Laugh At Me”
(Steve Seskin/Allen Shamblin)

I’m a little boy with glasses
The one they call a geek
A little girl who never smiles
‘Cause I have braces on my teeth
And I know how it feels to cry myself to sleep
I’m that kid on every playground
Who’s always chosen last
A single teenage mother
Tryin’ to overcome my past
You don’t have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask

Don’t laugh at me
Don’t call me names
Don’t get your pleasure from my pain
In God’s eyes we’re all the same
Someday we’ll all have perfect wings
Don’t laugh at me

I’m the beggar on the corner
You’ve passed me on the street
And I wouldn’t be out here beggin’
If I had enough to eat
And don’t think I don’t notice
That our eyes never meet

Don’t laugh at me
Don’t call me names
Don’t get your pleasure from my pain
In God’s eyes we’re all the same
Someday we’ll all have perfect wings
Don’t laugh at me

I’m fat, I’m thin, I’m short, I’m tall
I’m deaf, I’m blind, hey, aren’t we all

Don’t laugh at me
Don’t call me names
Don’t get your pleasure from my pain
In God’s eyes we’re all the same
Someday we’ll all have perfect wings
Don’t laugh at me