Rabbis' Blog

On Tuesday, when I arrived at City Hall for the City Council meeting, I was holding an ARK giving box to give charity before delivering the invocation. City Representative Art Fierro said to me, "Rabbi, those boxes are everywhere!" He even displayed his ARK on the dais during the invocation and the pledge of allegiance. A month ago, Mayor Renard Johnson gifted these ARK giving boxes to 1,300 city employees in observance of Education and Sharing Day, and clearly, they are very popular because of the message they represent, which is connected to the hero of today’s holiday of Lag B’Omer.

We celebrate the legacy of the great Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a Talmudic scholar of epic proportions, best known for being the author of the Zohar and the father of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. When he was overheard criticizing the Roman Empire and was sentenced to death, he hid in a cave together with his son, Rabbi Elazar, for thirteen years.

When the decree was annulled, the two sages emerged from hiding, transformed men. Thirteen years of non-stop Torah study elevated them to unparalleled spiritual heights. Yet, despite his superior spiritual status, Rabbi Shimon inquired whether there was any way he could be helpful to the local population. The citizens of Tiberias suggested he visit their town to attend to a matter of significant inconvenience.

In this week’s parsha, we learn of the laws concerning Kohanim, the descendants of Aharon the High Priest who would serve in the Holy Temple. Required to be in a state of ritual purity, they are barred from attending funerals or being in close proximity to a grave (with few exceptions).

The main road of Tiberias was off limits for Kohanim because the marker of an old grave had vanished, and no one recalled its exact location. Hence, the local Kohanim were forced to make a long and inconvenient detour to circumvent the suspected grave. Miraculously, Rabbi Shimon located the grave, and the decades-long problem was finally solved.

What is striking about this episode is that, upon rejoining society, Rabbi Shimon immediately searched for ways to be helpful and worked hard to correct a problem that impacted very few people in town.

Instead of waiting to be asked, seek ways to give. Be alert for the opportunities that abound, and even if your efforts impact even one person, be grateful for the ability you have to put a smile on someone’s face.

This is why having a Tzedaka box in your home and office and putting small amounts of charity into it every day is so important. It helps us begin the day on the right note. Instead of asking ourselves each morning, “What can I make today?” we should ask ourselves, “What can I give today?”

The connection between Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai as the patriarch of Jewish mysticism and the paragon of initiating goodness and kindness is significant. His teachings are the primer for the awareness of G-d to reach every human being, which will happen when Moshiach comes, and increasing in acts of goodness and kindness is the best way to hasten the advent of that blessed era.

May the tremendous merit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai bring blessings to us all, and inspire us to our part in preparing the world for the ultimate redemption through Moshiach, when peace and tranquility will reign for all.

“G-d is in the details” is an idiom often attributed to a German architect whose buildings are masterpieces of proportion and detail. Although an appreciation for art and creative vision is necessary to craft beautiful things, the true grandeur of anything will depend on the mundane, tiny, and often hidden details.

As I studied the two Torah portions we read this week during Shabbat services, I realized this idiom is more accurate than we’d think. Not only are success and beauty in the details, but literally “G-d,” the realization of the purpose of creation and its perfection, is in the details of life.

The first portion, Acharei Mos, opens with the Holy Temple service of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. The Kohen Gadol (High Priest) represented the entire nation in the holiest place on earth, achieved atonement for them, ensuring a good and sweet new year. After describing the dramatic process, the Torah extolls Aharon the High Priest for following the formula meticulously, down to the minutest detail.

The second portion, called “Kedoshim” which means “holy,” opens with the statement “You must be holy, for I, G-d, your G-d, am holy.” What follows is a list of 51 Mitzvot that run the gamut of Shabbat observance and monotheistic devotion to having accurate scales and abstaining from gossip. If you thought holiness meant running away from life and meditating on remote mountain peaks, you must know that conducting your business honestly, helping the poor, and giving proper advice is the real deal.

This past Shabbat, Rabbi Shalom Lipskar of Bal Harbor, Florida, passed away. He was an iconic Chabad emissary who served as a mentor and inspiration for so many and was the embodiment of the possibility for the average guy to live life to its fullest. His accomplishments are legendary, and I have been spiritually enriched reading about him. For me, this story he shared from his teenage years encapsulates everything you need to know about living a life of meaning and purpose.

As a seventeen-year-old student studying Chassidic teachings and training in its application, Rabbi Lipskar started to engage in “Iskafya” – loosely translated as self-restraint – a fundamental aspect of spiritual refinement and divine service. Iskafya is promoted in Chassidus as the way to become holy and the formula for perfecting the world and ushering in the era of Moshiach. The problem was, his frame of reference for Iskafya was stories of legendary Chassidim physically depriving themselves, and living this way to an extreme was hurting him.

When he had a private audience with the Rebbe to receive a blessing for his birthday, the Rebbe explained that he had misunderstood Iskafya. “Iskafya means to not waste your time, to not do what you want, and to eat healthy,” the Rebbe said.

Iskafya is a principle, not a lifestyle. Appreciating that every detail of life can and should be harnessed in the service of G-d. Living this way joyfully sets you on a path to true spiritual fulfillment and holiness. Whereas in previous generations this service may have looked more dramatically ascetic, today it’s achieved through mastering the nuts and bolts of living a focused and productive life, because G-d is revealed through us in this world, specifically in the small details.