Good Shabbos, Good Shabbos!
This weeks Torah Portion is Parshas Chukas. Chukas is filled with laws about purity and impurity as well as the tragic passing of Both Aharon and Miriam. The Jewish People are devastated and begin to blame Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses for taking them out of Egpyt in the first place. We find that a major theme, and one of the most difficult to confront, of this weeks parsha is death. The Bostoner Rebbe of Blessed Memory, writes that the main focus of Jewish mourning practices is to instruct the living. The living community has an obligation to the deceased. We all have to learn and grow from each event that we experience whether fortunate or otherwise. Through our actions towards and around the one who has passed, (Good deeds or Torah learning in their honor) there is a spiritual benefit for the soul of the departed, as well as a benefit for us and our community. The Bostoner Rebbe writes that when a person dies, we often hear “Oh, why did this man die?” Yet how seldom do we hear at a birth, “Why was this baby born?” Surely the two are linked. How can we hope to discover the purpose of death, until we discover the purpose of life and LIVE IT accordingly! Our Rabbis often teach that a person can live on after their death, (through emotional, educational and spiritual influence) if they lived their life for a purpose. On the other hand, if a person is living their life without purpose, only for the “me” and the “now,” our sages have referred to such a person as not truly alive, even while they are part of this physical “living” world. Our holy heritage demands that we choose life! Choosing life doesn’t mean simply continuing to breathe, but rather it means to live life for a good and holy purpose. Our challenge is to live with both morals and deeds that we can be proud to pass on to the world. Through “choosing life,” we secure our space amongst the TRULY LIVING.
Have a great Shabbos filled with lots of good deeds, smiles, and lots of LIFE! Shabbat Shalom!!
Derek Gormin
West Coast Director of Education