Rabbi's Blog - Chabad of the Bay Area

"Jews, get out of France!"

Friday, January 31, 2014 - 8:00 AM

That was the cry at a large demonstration this week on the streets of Paris (see video).

Some 200 years earlier Napoleon's cry was "Jews come home!" as he tried to get the Jews of his time to integrate into French society.

What do they want from us? What do we want from ourselves? What is Jewish identity really all about, and can it thrive in the freedom of America as well as it did in the ghettos of Europe?

This is what our new course is all about. It is not another de-spiriting course about anti-semitism, rather it is a fascinating, invigorating and empowering examination of who we are as a people.

I invite you to check it out!

Shabbat Shalom,

- Rabbi Yitzi Schmukler

Rules to live by

Friday, January 24, 2014 - 7:27 AM

The Torah portions of the last few weeks have been very exciting - the Exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the sea and the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.

This week... well, it's all about laws! Laws. Laws about borrowers and lenders, accidental damage and negligence and so on. Coming from the high of the exodus, it seems like quite a downer, so mundane, so everyday.

The truth is that therein lies one of the most important messages of the Torah: Yes, there's a lot about holiness and trascendance in the Torah, but ultimately, what's most important is how we live our lives on a day-to-day basis.

Shabbat Shalom,

- Rabbi Yitzi Schmukler

We were there

Friday, January 17, 2014 - 7:49 AM

The start of Judaism is unlike that of any other religion on earth. While most religions inevitably start with a revelation of sorts involving one, or at most a few people, Judaism's revelation (The Giving of the Torah at Mt Sinai) happens in front of the ENTIRE nation -- millions of people -- men, women and children.

These people, our ancestors, related what they had seen and experienced to generation after generation of Jews, creating a direct, unbroken chain of testimony.

Food for thought: why, indeed, is Judaism the only religion to have this type of beginning (a revelation seen by the entire nation)?

Shabbat Shalom,

- Rabbi Yitzi Schmukler

Money or Manna?

Friday, January 10, 2014 - 8:58 AM

By sustaining us in the desert with Manna from heaven, G-d was teaching us a lesson for all time:

We are His creations and he takes care of our sustenance. In the Sinai desert he provided it through openly miraculous means. Today, he provides it through the cloak of nature and work.

Your boss, your employer, your client, is no more than a channel for G-d's sustenance to come your way. Sure, you must put in your effort, but only because that is how our Creator wants the system to work. But ultimately, the blessing comes from above.

So don't fret it. Whether you're working for money or gathering manna - it works the same way: Put your trust in G-d, make your best effort, and He will see to your needs.

Shabbat Shalom,

- Rabbi Yitzi Schmukler

Understanding 'Jewish time'

Friday, January 3, 2014 - 8:00 AM

You know how we tend to talk of Jewish holidays coming late/early in a given year? The truth is we’ve got it wrong: they’re always right on time!

Surprisingly, the very first commandment given to the Jewish nation – out of 613 commandments – was to 'sanctify the months' and establish the Jewish calendar. But why?

Living in accordance with the Torah’s values in spite of the many constraints of our physical world, can at times feel like an almost unattainable goal. Of those many constraints, the greatest and most fundamental constraint of all is, without a doubt, time itself.

The commandment – and thus empowerment – to sanctify time and create the Jewish calendar, tells a Jew that even the most unyielding aspect of physical life, the very dimension of time, can also be made holy through a Torah way of life.

So when does a Jewish holiday fall out? Absolutely right on time!

Shabbat Shalom,

- Rabbi Yitzi Schmukler