Page 2 - The Jewish Voice - September '24

Page 2, The Jewish Voice

From the rabbi

Being Fully Alive and the next moment is more important than the current one. to recite the Shma Yisrael paragraph every morning
We can now appreciate why it’s a biblical mitzvah
Worrying about the future is admitting that to you,
Present in Each Moment Most humans are never fully present in this moment. and every evening. As we do so, we declare that we are
And sadly, they miss their whole lives, which are always commanded to “Love your G-d with all your heart —
By Rabbi Dovid Vigler “later,” “when I’m ready,” or “not now.” Conversely, you without complaining about our Space.” We say these
If only they wouldn’t can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that you leave words not because G-d needs to hear them, but because
hate the Jews so much. If your arms too full to embrace the present. we do. We need them in order to survive. Each time we
only we’d been born into a Imagine living your life with this degree of consciousness. say these words, we remind ourselves that wherever we
wealthier family. If only our Imagine a life where you are so fully present in each and are is precisely where we need to be. We are never alone.
spouse was kinder, our kids every moment — fully aware that this experience is what your G-d is always walking alongside us, carrying us through
more obedient, our health purpose is right now. With this mindset, we never feel sorry the darkest of times.
more resilient. If only we’d for ourselves; we never wish time away. Each encounter is May we never allow the sadness of our past or the anxiety
have bought that home cherished like a precious pearl, infused with the excitement about our future to ruin the serenity of our present!
when it was still affordable. of finding out why we needed to encounter it. Rabbi Dovid Vigler is the spiritual leader at Chabad
If only we had made the Instead of defining ourselves by what happens to us, we of Palm Beach Gardens and host of the Jewish Schmooze
flight in time or been given declare that we are stronger than our struggles. Don’t blame Radio Show. Email him at rabbi@jewishgardens.com.
the promotion — life would have been amazing. The list yourself and don’t declare yourself a victim. You are a man
of wishful thinking is endless and it’s enough to drive us or woman on a mission, and you’re going for gold!
positively crazy.
The pain becomes even more personal when we
reflect on our personal life stories and the challenges or
injustices we’ve endured. If only we’d have had more
loving parents. If only our abusers would never have been.
Life could have been so perfect if not for certain people
or experiences that we suffered. Why does it have to be
this way?
It’s here where Jewish spirituality lifts us and carries
us through our pain, infusing us with meaning, meditation,
and purpose.
In the most famous declaration in all of Judaism —
Shema Yisrael (Devarim 6:4)) — we affirm our most How much
foundational convictions. In the second verse, we are
called upon to “Love G-d, your G-d, with all your heart.”
The Oral Torah (Medrash Sifri) clarifies this to mean
“that we shouldn’t complain to G-d (Hamakom).” But the
word used for G-d in the Medrash is peculiar. Instead of
one of the holy names of G-d, G-d is referred to here as risk is too
“Hamakom,” which means “the space.”
In a profoundly uplifting clarification, the Medrash
(Breishis Rabba 68:9) explains that G-d is sometimes
called “The Space” to make us aware that no place
is devoid of His presence. Nothing happens to us by
accident; every experience is purposeful. Every space we much risk?
enter is sacred — as we arrived there not by chance, but
on assignment, by Divine dispatch.
Indeed, when our forefather Jacob is fleeing for his life
from the first anti-Semite, his brother Esau, the Torah tells
us that he arrives “at the space and slept there” (Genesis
28:11). The Chasidic mystic Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin Burns Wealth Management Group
(1738-1792) explains that the word “slept” in Hebrew
can also mean “complained.” Thus, he reads the verse as
Jacob complaining to G-d about his woes. He then falls
into a deep slumber where he sees the famous ladder with
ascending and descending angels. During that dream,
G-d promises Jacob that he will always accompany him
wherever he ventures, in both the ups and downs of his Robert Burns
life. Hence, upon awakening, it dawns upon Jacob that CFP , ChFC , CPWA ®
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his pain is not his problem, it’s his purpose! Thus he
emphatically declares, “Indeed G-d is present in this very Managing Director
Space and I was completely unaware!” (Genesis 28:16). Wealth Partner, Portfolio Manager
With this passage, the Torah explodes our spirituality to 3825 PGA Blvd, Floor 9,
new heights as we realize we are never displaced — we Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410
are always dispatched.
Of our three daily prayer services each morning, 561.694.5666
afternoon, and night, the evening service is the one robert.m.burns@jpmorgan.com
founded by our patriarch Jacob. Jacob, whose life story jpmorgan.com/burnswm
led him to discover the comforting presence of G-d in
the darkest moments of his life, is precisely the one
who inspires us all to find our Divine connection in our
nighttime as well — when everything is dark and gloomy
around us.

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