
THE KABBALAH OF TIME: The Jewish Calendar is the master key to unlock the hidden rationale behind the formal structure of ancient sacred texts, as well as to understand and experience the most profound mystical concepts, which reveal the spiritual energy of each week, serving as a practical guide for self-analysis and development.
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Living Likutei Moharan (Rebbe Nachman B'Kol HaShanah)
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Leaving Egypt: The Importance and the Danger of Foreign Influences and the Torah Portion of Yitro
This week's Torah portion begins by reintroducing the figure of Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law. Yitro gives keen advice to his son-in-law as to how to properly judge the people. He tells him that if he continues the way he's doing things, he will soon burn out. Instead, he should appoint other judges to handle minor cases. Yitro's words are readily accepted, and this entire Torah portion, which includes the Ten Commandments, is named after him. He is said to be the very first convert, having experimented with every type of idol worship before coming to the conclusion that only Hashem is the true G-d.
An interesting question arises: How can it possibly be that Moshe, who spoke directly to G-d on a regular basis, could be open to, never mind accept, advice from someone who, until now, was a complete outsider? Furthermore, previously, Yitro's influence on Moshe's family had been less than ideal. The Midrash teaches that Moshe's own first-born son, Gershon, was brought up by his idolatrous grandfather. Even though Gershon himself did not serve idols, his son, Yehonatan, became a "high priest" for the idol worship known as Pesel Micha, the very first major deviation from serving G-d after the Jews entered the land of Israel. (See more about this here) Imagine, Moshe's own grandson succumbing to idol worship. If it happened to him it could happen to anyone, G-d forbid.
In general, the question of how much to interact with the outside world is one of the most complex ones for Jews to handle. Just as in the post for last week's portion, the secret lies not in one extreme or the other, but rather in a proper balance. Too much exposure to foreign wisdom and culture is very likely to lead one astray. On the other hand, no exposure to the outside leads to inefficiencies and corruption from within.
The proper balance will be different for different people. Some may belong more in the "borders" of our culture, while others may require more insularity. As a people, the key is to have a leader that is humble and open-minded like Moshe. Someone that will know how to accept and utilize outside knowledge when necessary. Nevertheless, that person must also learn from the lesson of Moshe's own personal life, and value the importance of being free from too much outside intervention, especially regarding our children.
Again, just as in last week's portion, highlighting the importance of rules and order as well as the need for individuality and self-expression, the answers are not black and white. The challenges are ongoing. However, aren't these nuances exactly what make life interesting, colorful and beautiful? To overcome these challenges, there's only one true advice: prayer, and a lot of it. Hashem, out of his infinite mercy will show us the way of the Torah, the way of our ancestors, particularly that of our forefather Jacob: the way of Tiferet (beauty/balance).
Perek Shira from ZooTorah
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Blog Archive
HYPERLINKED TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tishrei
Week 1
book-1-to-raise-our-heads-choose.html
Week 2
book 1-to-relate-well-to-others-and-to.html
Week 3
book 1-to-be-happy-balanced.html
Week 4
book-1-to-take-responsibility.html
Cheshvan
Week 5
Week 6
book-1-to-impact-world-laying.html
Week 7
Week 8
book-1-not-to-lose-focus-on.html
Week 9
book-1-fighting-darkness-with.html
Kislev
Week 10
book-1-to-trust-in-g-ds-mercy.html
Week 11
Week 12
book-1-revealing-warmth-to.html
Week 13
book-1-book-to-publicize-miracles.html
Teveth
Week 14
book-1-book-to-believe-in-our-own.html
Week 15
book-1-giving-proper-value.html
Week 16
book-1-to-use-adversity-as-way-to-grow.html
Week 17
book-1-to-pay-attention-to-g.html
Shvat
Week 18
book-1-to-live-in-harmony.html
Week 19
book-1-to-feel-that-g-d-is.html
Week 20
Week 21
Adar
Week 22
book-1-to-complement-each.html
Week 23
Week 24
Week 25
Nissan
Week 26
book-1-to-be-humble-and-let.html
Week 27
book-1-to-purify-ourselves.html
Week 28
Week 29
Week 30
book-1-to-know-that-world.html
Iyar
Week 31
book-1-to-be-proud-of-our.html
Week 32
book-1-to-recognize-deep-in-our-heart.html
Week 33
book-1-to-recognize-spiritual.html
Week 34
book-1-to-work-in-focused.html
Sivan
Week 35
book-1-to-thank-g-d-in-unison.html
Week 36
Week 37
Week 38
Tammuz
Week 39
Week 40
book-1-to-fight-for-truth.html
Week 41
book-1-not-to-become-corrupt.html
Week 42
book-1-to-be-loyal-and-pursue-justice.html
Av
Week 43
book-1-to-pursue-enemy-and.html
Week 44
Week 45
book-1-to-raise-ourselves-up.html
Week 46
book-1-to-know-our-place-in.html
Elul
Week 47
Week 48
Week 49
book-1-to-bring-more-light.html
Week 50
book-1-to-know-that-there.html
Week 51
book-1-to-understand-that-we.html
Week 52
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