Why Chometz?
Mar/100
Before Pesach we clean everything to make sure that we are not עובר בל יראה ובעל ימצא. However if you think about it, חמץ is really not so bad, חמץ is what we eat all year round, so why do we react the way we do? Why is חמץ so bad when Pesach comes around?!
A: So there is another way to view חמץ. Pesach is about going above and beyond and doing more than what we would normally do. חמץ is not normally אוסר, however comes Pesach and we have to go above what we normally do and get rid of the חמץ.
A משל is of 2 people drawing a picture. One person draws a stick figure and the other draws a real masterpiece with every minute detail. So in both cases the item drawn is there, however the one with more details is the one which will be more noticed.
So the same is true with עבודת ה’. Normally we are like the stick figure and we do what we have to do. However there are times when we draw ourselves with great details which is so much more beautiful and hard to accomplish, but this is what we want to be.
So this is what Pesach is about. Focusing on the details and being more than just an “Okay guy”, we want to be more like the masterpiece rather than the simple stick figure.
- Rav Pincus
Just like the Dot in “.Com”…
Mar/100
Dear Rabbi,
Why does the Jewish religion seem to fuss over insignificant details? How much matza do we have to eat, which spoon did I use for milk and which for meat, what is the right way to tie my shoelaces? It seems to me that this misses the bigger picture by focusing on tiny trivia. Is this nitpicking what Jews call spirituality? I actually already sent you this question over a week ago and didn’t receive a reply. Could it be that you have finally been asked a question that you can’t answer?!
Signed,
Rob
Dear Rob,
I never claimed to have all the answers. There are many questions that are beyond me. But it happens to be, that I sent a reply the same day despite the fact that I’ve been away from home on a rigorous speaking tour in the USA.The fact that you didn’t receive it is itself the answer to your question. You see, I sent you a reply, but I wrote your email address leaving out the “dot” before the “com”. I figured that you should still receive the email, because after all, it is only one little dot missing. I mean, come on, it’s not as if I wrote the wrong name or something drastic like that! Would anyone be so nitpicky as to differentiate between yahoocom” and “yahoo.com“? No, it’s not ridiculous. Because the dot is not just a dot. It represents something. That dot has meaning far beyond the pixels on the screen that form it. To me it may seem insignificant, but that is simply due to my ignorance of the ways of the web. All I know is that with the dot, the message gets to the right destination; without it, the message is lost to oblivion. Torah observance and mitzvah fulfillment contain a world of symbolism. And every dot counts. When the mitzvot are performed with precision, a spiritual vibration is emailed throughout the universe, all the way to God’s inbox. If you want to understand the symbolism of the dot, study cyber tech. If you want to understand the symbolism of Judaism, study Torah.
Memorable Quote
Feb/100
Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink. But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must steal, steal away from bad company. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away.
-Hitch
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