Weekly Parsha

Refuah Sheimah: Nahum HaLevi ben Bracha, Chaim Moshe ben Esther, Yehuda Baruch ben Sarah, Stephen Waczkiewicz (Shimon ben Sarah), Yossefa (Josie) "bat Sharon", Rafael ben Gladis e Esther Bracha "bat Sarah".

Continue praying for: Teddy Welz, Miriam Hanna (Mariana) "bat Zulay", Adina (Heidi) "bat Sarah" e Yosefa (Josie) "bat Sharon"

Pray for the  "Refuah Shleima"  (rapid recovery) of "  our community" . May G-d deliver us from this crisis quickly and grant a full recovery to those who are sick, Amen!

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim

Leviticus 16:1-20:27

Acharei Mot includes the Yom Kippur service where the Cohen Gadol cast lots to designate two goats -- one to be sacrificed, the other to be driven to a place called Azazel after the Cohen Gadol - the High Priest - confesses the sins of the people upon its head. Today it is a very popular epithet in Israel to instruct another person in the heat of an argument to "go to Azazel." (I don't believe the intent, however, is to look for the goat...)

The goat sent to Azazel symbolically carried away the sins of the Jewish people. This, I surmise, is the source of the concept of using a scapegoat. One thing you can truly give credit to the Jewish people -- when we use a scapegoat, at least we use a real goat!

The Torah then proceeds to set forth the sexual laws -- who you are not allowed to marry or have relations with. If one appreciates that the goal of life is to be holy, to perfect oneself and to be as much as possible like G-d, then he/she can appreciate that it is impossible to orgy at night and be spiritual by day.

The Torah portion of Kedoshim invokes the Jewish people to be holy! And then it proceeds with the spiritual directions on how to achieve holiness, closeness to the Almighty. Within it lie the secrets and the prescription for Jewish continuity. If any group of people is to survive as an entity, it must have common values and goals -- a direction and a meaning. By analyzing this portion we can learn much about our personal and national destiny.

"My ordinances you shall do, and My statutes you shall observe, to walk with them, I am the Lord, Your G-d." (Lev. 18:4).

What does the Torah mean "to walk with them?"

The words "to walk with them" mean that a person needs to walk from one level to the next level. That is, a person should constantly keep on growing and elevating himself.

It is not enough to keep on the same level that you were on the previous day. Rather, each day should be a climb higher than the day before. When difficult tests come your way, you might not always appreciate them. The only way to keep on elevating yourself is to keep passing more and more difficult life-tests. View every difficulty as a means of elevating yourself by applying the appropriate Torah principles.

At the end of each day, ask yourself, "What did I do today to elevate myself a little higher?" If you cannot find an answer, ask yourself, "What can I plan to do tomorrow to elevate myself?"

You must improving (elevate) yourself constantly. No rush. The fruits of rushing are regrets.

If you had all the money in the world, there are 2 things you can't buy: good health and a friend. Good health is a combination of physical and spiritual food. (Torah and it's dietary laws). And a friend is the one who helps you to grow 

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. Because only those with courage will be able to succeed.

Shabbat Shalom!

R. Tank

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Rabbi Tank is a professor at the American Jewish College in New York, where he teaches classes on Talmud, Jewish History, and Contemporary Jewish Law. Rabbi Tank is dedicated to finding modern utility and meaning in ancient wisdom texts and is pleased to provide spiritual, cultural, social and educational programming to communities around the world. 

Rabbi Tank was educated at Yeshivas in New York and Miami. He studied Biblical Archeology at Bar Ilan University and Jewish Studies at Harvard University. Rabbi Tank has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and he is also graduated in International Economic Development from the University of Oxford. 

Rabbi Tank is actively involved in peace negotiations and relief operations. Rabbi Tank is the director of international affairs at the World Jewish Confederation in the United States and He is member of the White House National Religious Leaders , an Executive Office of the President of the United States in Washington, D.C.