Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Why Can't I Get Married?

YIZKOR THIS SHABBOS if you can't make it respond to this email with names to be mentioned


Question of the Week:
  
I know I will get married one day. I just wonder why it is taking so long. I have friends who got engaged to the first person they ever dated, and are now married with kids. Yet here I am, many years and many many dates later, and I still haven't met the right person. Have I done something wrong, maybe in a past life, to deserve this as punishment?
 
Answer:
 
There are many possible reasons why you haven't found the right one yet. But the mere fact that you are still waiting doesn't necessarily mean there is something wrong with you.
 
The Talmud compares the miracle of finding a soulmate to the miracle of G-d splitting the Red Sea. When the Israelites left Egypt, on their journey to the Promised Land, a vast sea stood in front of them. The most unexpected miracle happened when a path opened up in the sea and they were able to cross it on dry land.
 
The truth is, the Red Sea is not along the direct route from Egypt to Israel. G-d led them on a detour, just so they could experience the miracle of the splitting of the sea. Walking on the dry seabed, with the waters standing as walls to each side, was a direct experience of the hand of G-d. Once it was done they could leave and continue on their journey, forever changed by the supernatural occurrence they witnessed.
 
A little known fact about this wondrous sea crossing is that the Israelites didn't cross the sea from one side to another, but they actually came out on the same side of the sea as they entered in. The path was a big U-shape, beginning and ending on the very same bank of the sea.
 
This means that not everyone spent the same amount of time traversing the sea. Those Israelites who were on the inside lane had a short sojourn in the dried-up sea, while those on the outside lane would have trekked a long way in and then a long way out to get back to the seashore.
 
Why did some have to be in the sea for longer than others? Perhaps some people needed to bask in G-d's miracle for longer to truly absorb it. Or perhaps some could handle more divine revelation than others. The longer they spent in the sea, the deeper the experience of the divine wonder. Either way, each person spent the exact amount of time in the sea that they needed.
 
So too with the search for love. Some have a quick path to finding their soulmate. Others take longer. Is that a punishment? Not necessarily. Some souls need more work to get to their Promised Land, because they have the depth of character to handle it. Other souls have a smoother path because they wouldn't be able to handle any more. But each soul goes on the path that is right for them.
 
So maybe you're on the outside lane, so the trip is taking a little longer. Hold on tight, you too will get through the sea. Even if you there's no end in sight, keep the faith, it may be just around the next bend.
 
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss

To subscribe CLICK HERE or email rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au



LAST DAYS OF PESACH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EREV YOM TOV
Thursday, 28 April 2016 | 20 Nissan
Eruv Tavshilin
Candle Lighting 4:59 pm 
Mincha 5:10 pm
Pesach Evening Service 5:45-6:15 pm

SHEVII SHEL PESACH (DAY 7) 
Friday, 29 April 2016 | 20 Nissan
Pesach Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: RABBI MORDECHAI GUTH from Mayanot Jerusalem
Children's Program 11:00 am
Priestly Blessing 12:00 pm
Candle Lighting not before 4:58 pm
Mincha followed by words of Torah 5:10 pm
Shabbos/Yomtov Evening Service 6:00-6:40 pm

ACHARON SHEL PESACH (DAY 8)
Shabbos, 30 April 2016 | 22 Nissan
Pesach Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Yizkor Memorial Service 11:30 am
Priestly Blessing 12:00 pm
Mincha 4:30 pm 
Seudas Moshiach for women at 128 Wellington St 4:30pm
for men at shul after mincha 
BRING YOUR OWN MATZA AND WINE/GRAPE JUICE
Yom Tov ends and Maariv 5:54 pm

Please allow half an hour before eating chometz that was sold.


Nefesh Shul, 54 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach, NSW 2026 Australia
Sent by rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au in collaboration with
Constant Contact

Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Son that Doesn't Know How to Ask

EREV PESACH/ FRIDAY NIGHT SERVICE 5:30pm TONIGHT

I present to you a collection of thoughts for the Seder.

Wishing you a Happy and Kosher Pesach, may we all eat the bread of true freedom!
Rabbi Moss


WHO IS TRULY FREE?
 
"G-d, You have given us the festival of Passover, the season of freedom"
 
Passover is supposedly the festival of freedom from slavery. But it seems ridiculous to celebrate freedom by not eating bread! Aren't restrictions the exact opposite of freedom? 
 
Well, it depends on how you define freedom. If being free means doing whatever you want, with no rules or limits whatsoever, then indeed, I am only free as long as no one tells me what to do and I can follow my every whim and fancy.
 
But is that really freedom? Aren't I then just a slave to my whims and fancies? What if my fancies are not really coming from me? Maybe I have desires that were placed in my head by others. Am I truly free if I follow those desires? What if I have instinctive drives that are harmful to myself? Can you call me free if I am bound to those drives? What about compulsive or addictive behaviour? Bad habits? Egotism? Can't you also be a slave to what you want?
 
Judaism defines freedom very differently. True freedom is the ability to express who you really are. If there are levels to your personality that have not been explored, if your soul has not had the opportunity to be expressed, then you are not yet free.  
 
The Torah is the instruction manual to our souls. Even its seemingly restrictive laws are only there to allow us to tap in to our inner self. Because sometimes it is only through restrictions that our true self can come out.
 
An example of restrictions being freeing is the game of soccer. Compared to other sports, soccer is very limiting, because you can't use your hands. So is soccer a frustrating game to play? For a beginner, perhaps it would be. If you constantly focus on the fact that you can't use your hands, then it would seem pretty annoying. But once you got the hang of it you would realise that precisely because in soccer you are restricted from using your hands, you are "free" to develop other skills - like kicking, chesting and headering - that otherwise you would never have known that you had.
 
Similarly, the underlying purpose of Jewish customs is not to tie us down. On the contrary, they serve to quieten the noise of our mundane, everyday existence and help us tune in to the deeper messages of life.
 
On Pesach, we eat Matzah, the bread of surrender that liberate our true self from the clutches of ego and self-inflation, symbolized by bread. Our souls get a chance to be heard, and nothing can be more freeing than that.
 
 
WHY IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT?
 
The Seder is not just a memorial to events of the distant past - it is a dynamic process of freedom from the challenges of the present.
 
We are slaves. Slaves to our own inhibitions, fears, habits, cynicism and prejudices. These self-appointed pharaohs prevent us from expressing our true inner self, from reaching our spiritual potential. Our souls are incarcerated in selfishness, laziness and indifference.
 
Pesach means "Passover". It is the season of liberation, when we pass over all these obstacles to inner freedom. On Pesach, we give our souls a chance to be expressed.
 
Reread the Haggada. Every time it says "Egypt" read "limitations". Replace the word "Pharaoh" with "Ego". And read it in the present tense:
 
"We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt" =
"We are slaves to our egos, stuck in our limitations."
 
How do we free ourselves? By eating Matza.  After eating Matza, the Israelites were able to run out of Egypt and follow G-d into the desert. Because Matza represents the suspension of ego. Unlike bread, which has body and taste, Matza is flat and tasteless - the bread of surrender.
 
Usually, we are scared to suspend our egos, because we think that we will lose ourselves. On Pesach we eat the Matza, we suspend our egos and find ourselves - our true selves.
 
This night is different from all other nights, because on this night we let ourselves go, we liberate our souls to follow G-d unashamed. We say, "I may not understand what this means, but I have a Jewish soul, and somehow that is the deepest layer of my identity."
 
That soul is the innocent child within us is waiting to be free. This Pesach, let's allow that child to sing:
Ma Nishtana Halayla Haze...
 
 
THE SON THAT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO ASK
 
Why we need to question
 
Many people think that questioning and belief are mutually exclusive - that a true believer doesn't ask questions, and that a curious mind lacks faith. In Judaism, it's not like that. Questioning and belief can coexist. They are two very separate and very necessary human traits. They happen in different places inside us, so they can both exist simultaneously.
 
We question with our mind. We believe with our soul. Just as the hand is used to write, the feet to walk, the heart to feel, so the mind is used to think, and the soul to believe.
 
When someone says, "I believe", they are really saying, "I feel my soul, and it's alive". And non-belief is a sense of detachment, not from G-d, but from our own soul. Our soul knows G-d already, because our soul is itself divine. It sees G-d all the time, and needs no proof.
 
Our minds, on the other hand, struggle to accept things that are beyond us. The mind wants evidence, it wants things to fit into a logical picture. So while the soul may believe, the mind may not be so sure.
 
G-d wants a complete relationship with us. He wants us to connect to Him with our entire self - not just our souls, but our minds too. So He wants us to question and investigate. That brings our minds into the relationship. Some questions we can answer, some not yet. But we can believe even before we have the answers, because belief is higher than intellect. Just as you can walk and think at the same time - because your feet are walking and your mind is thinking - so you can question and believe at the same time - question with your mind, believe with your soul.
 
And you should never stop questioning. In the Haggadah of Pesach, we read a parable of four sons: the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one that doesn't know how to ask a question. The first three sons ask questions according to their temperament. The last one is silent. He is not stupid. He just isn't bothered enough to question things. He follows blindly, and never stops to think. That's bad news, and that's why he is last of the four sons. Even the wicked son is better. He may be wicked, but at least he asks - he's using his mind, he's present.
 
Bob, if you think you're the wicked son, I'm not worried about you. As long as you're asking - and you really want answers - then you're in the picture. Keep asking, but don't let the questions hold you down. Look into your soul and who knows - you might find some answers.
 

 
 IS THE EXODUS A MYTH?
 
"We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt..."
 
Mythology is a great image booster. There's nothing like a good legend to lift a nation's confidence. That's why most peoples of the world claim to have powerful forebears, like great kings and mighty warriors. Some go so far as saying that their forefathers were demi-gods, born from cosmic mixed-marriages between divine beings and humans. These stories are self-serving, with little resemblance to actual history. But they are useful. During the lower points of a nation's history, at least they can reminisce on their noble and powerful past.
 
But imagine a nation claiming to come from lowly and ignoble origins. What purpose would that serve? Why would people invent an embarrassing legend about themselves? Yet the Jews proudly declare a most undignified beginning: we began as a slave nation. Every year we retell the Exodus saga, and say: "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt." Certainly not a great pedigree.  Even the escape from Egypt cannot be accredited to our own power: "G-d took us out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm." G-d had to "reach out" and save us. What an unheroic heritage!
 
People don't make up stories like that, certainly not about themselves. It must be true. And we can be proud of it. There's no need to cover up our humble beginnings. The Jewish belief is that greatness is not a thing of our past; it lies ahead. The Jewish story has the power to inspire, not by glorying in an illustrious past, but rather by promising a brighter future. We were slaves, but we have a destiny to bring freedom to the world.
 
The children of demi-gods are today subjects for archeologists and historians. The children of Israel, descendants of simple slaves, are alive and thriving. No matter where you come from and how low your starting point may be, G-d can reach out to you. You too can transcend your limitations, and become free. 
 

 

PESACH TIMES 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EREV PESACH
Friday, 22 April 2016 | 14 Nissan 
Shacharis 7:00 am 
Followed by Siyum for Fast of the Firstborn
Eat Chometz until 10:03 am
Burn and sell before 10:58 am

Candle Lighting 5:06 pm
Mincha 5:15 pm
Pesach/Shabbos Evening Service 5:30-6:20pm

PESACH, DAY 1
Shabbos, 23 April 2016 | 15 Nissan
Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Priestly Blessing 12:30 pm
Mincha followed by words of Torah 5:15 pm
Earliest Candle Lighting 6:01 pm - No second Seder preparations before this time.
Evening Service 5:50-6:40 pm
Begin counting the Omer 

PESACH, DAY 2 
Sunday, 24 April 2016 | 16 Nissan
Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Priestly Blessing 12:30 pm
Mincha followed by words of Torah 5:15 pm 
Yom Tov ends and Maariv 5:59 pm 

CHOL HAMOED SHACHRIS
Monday (Public Holiday) 25 April - 8am
Tuesday-Thursday, 26-28 April 2016 - 7:00 am

EREV YOM TOV
Thursday, 28 April 2016 | 20 Nissan
Eruv Tavshilin
Candle Lighting 4:59 pm 
Mincha 5:10 pm
Pesach Evening Service 5:45-6:15 pm

SHEVII SHEL PESACH (DAY 7) 
Friday, 29 April 2016 | 20 Nissan
Pesach Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Priestly Blessing 12:30 pm
Candle Lighting not before 4:58 pm
Mincha followed by words of Torah 5:10 pm
Shabbos/Yomtov Evening Service 6:00-6:40 pm

ACHARON SHEL PESACH (DAY 8)
Shabbos, 30 April 2016 | 22 Nissan
Pesach Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Yizkor Memorial Service 11:30 am
Priestly Blessing 12:30 pm
Mincha 4:45 pm 
Seudas Moshiach 
Yom Tov ends and Maariv 5:54 pm
Please allow half an hour before eating chometz that was sold.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
Gilda Cohen-Shapira......................... 15 Nissan/ 23 April
Asher Rosenberg............................... 17 Nissan/ 25 April
 
LONG LIFE TO
Charlene Klein for her later father Zelig Ber ................. 15 Nissan/ 21 April



Nefesh Shul, 54 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach, NSW 2026 Australia
Sent by rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au in collaboration with
Constant Contact

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Can You Be a Good Person Without G-d?

WINTER FRIDAY NIGHT SERVICE 6pm from now on


Archeological evidence for the Exodus? Movie night tomorrow night! - details below

Watch one minute trailer:

Question of the Week:
  
It seems that dipping is an important part of the Seder of Pesach. We dip the vegetable in salt water, and we dip the bitter herb in Charoset. I know the salt water represents the tears shed by the Israelite slaves, and the Charoset represents the cement they were forced to make. But I am looking for something deeper about the dipping. Any leads?
 
Answer:
 
The Israelites in Egypt suffered greatly. And while we can never fully understand the meaning of suffering, the Kabbalists have taught that sometimes we suffer in one lifetime in order to correct something from a past life. And this was the case with the Jews in Egypt.
 
The great Kabbalist known as the Arizal taught that the Israelites in Egypt were reincarnations of two previous generations - the generation of the Great Flood and the generation that built the Tower of Babel. This is why we see clear parallels between them. Just like the generation of the flood, Israelites were drowned in the Nile River. And just like the builders of the Tower of Babel, the Israelites had to make bricks and build buildings.
 
Reincarnation is the system of correcting past wrongs. Those two generations did evil, but in different ways. In the times of the flood, people were violent, dishonest and corrupt. Their sins were primarily against their fellow human being. In the times of the Tower of Babel, however, they treated each other kindly. Their sin was against G-d. They believed that humanity can exist without a higher cause. Their tower was intended to take over the heavens and supplant divine power with human power.
 
These two mistakes are still made today. There are those who believe that you can be a good person without being religious. As long as you are nice to people, as long as you don't hurt anyone, you are a good person and don't need a higher authority in your life.
 
There are others who believe that as long as you pray to G-d and follow religious rituals, it doesn't matter how you treat other people. You can be religious without being good.
 
Both are wrong. Being religious without being good makes no sense at all. If you love G-d, then you love His children. Every human is made in G-d's image, and so you cannot honour G-d if you dishonor humanity. You can't pray to the G-d that tells you to love your fellow as yourself and then treat your fellow like dirt.
 
But the other way is wrong too. You can't be good without G-d, because without G-d, the word 'good' is meaningless. There can be no such thing as absolute good without an absolute source. If morality is relative, then it can be defined however I want it to be. There can be no objective definition of right and wrong, only opinions. And without absolute morality, without an ultimate definition of good and evil, we each just fit morality into our preconceptions. Anything can be justified.
 
The Israelites were the first to recognize that living a divine life means living a good life, and to know what good is you need G-d. Unlike the generation of the flood who disregarded human decency, and unlike the generation of the Tower of Babel who rejected divine authority, the Israelites survived Egypt to establish a new society based on G-d-given goodness.
 
And so we have at the Seder table a reminder of these two misguided generations, the salt water that commemorates the floodwaters, and the Charoset that represents the bricks that built the tower. We have seen the tragic consequences of dividing between G-d and good. We must ensure that the two never part.
 
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss
Source: Arizal Shaar Hapsukim Shmos

To ask your question, or to subscribe, CLICK HERE or email rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au





VIDEO CLASSES:
The Secret of Elijah's CupThe Secret of Elijah's Cup
The Secret of Elijah's Cup
Reincarnated Souls in the Haggadah
Reincarnated Souls in the Haggadah




Is there archeological evidence for the Exodus from Egypt?
 
Does Pesach celebrate a historical event or just a nice folk tale?
 
This award winning documentary presents all sides of the debate with a new twist
 
Don't miss this one-time showing that every Seder will be talking about:


SERVICE TIMES AND COMMUNITY INFO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday, 15 April, 2016 | 7 Nissan 5776
Candle Lighting......................................... 5:14 pm  
Mincha....................................................... 5:20 pm
Friday Evening Service......................... 6:00-6:50 pm
Kids program.............................................6:15 pm
Followed by Kiddush sponsored in honour of the yorzheit of Peter Kantorovich A"H.

Shabbos, 16 April, 2016 | 8 Nissan 5776
Chassidus Class..................................... 9:00 am
Shabbos Morning Service........ 10:00 am-12:15 pm
Children's program................................11:00am
Followed by Kiddush sponsored in honour of the yorzheit of Peter Kantorovich A"H.

Mincha...................................................... 5:10 pm
Seudah Shlishis
Gematria and Story by Rev Amzalak............ 5:30 pm
Haggadah Insights for the Seder......................5:50 pm
Shabbos ends and Maariv............................. 6:08 pm
Followed by Havdalah.
 
WEEKDAY SHACHARIS SERVICES
Sunday ................................................................ 8:00 am
Mon- Fri.............................................................. 7:00 am
Latest Shema this week..................................... 9:04 am

WEEKDAY CLASSES
Chassidus..................................... Monday 8:00-8:45am
 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
Natalie Cromer .................................. 7 Nissan/ 15 April
Nisya Richman................................... 9 Nissan/ 17 April

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO
Elana Castle & Grant Smuts............... 8 Nissan/ 16 April
David & Joanna Landau....................... 9 Nissan/ 17 April
Sarah & Matt Michael........................ 9 Nissan/ 17 April

LONG LIFE TO
Jaqueline Eliovson for her late mother Bessie Behrman, Basha Bat Yaacov 7 Nissan/ 15 April
Nina Mekler, Arianne and Brent Maksimovich and Dan Mekler for their husband, father and grandfather Alexander Mekler Alexander ben Yaacov v'Sima 8 Nissan/ 16 April
David and Rene Bermeister for their late son Wayne Bermeister, Zeev ben David 9 Nissan / 17 April
Gail Simpson for her late mother Freda Kloss, Fruma Hannah bat Avraham 9 Nissan/ 17 April
Judi Berman for her late mother Ellen Schuftan, Leah Bat Yehuda  11 Nissan/ 19 April
Leslie Tanchum for his late brother Nathan Tanchum, Natan Nota ben Bentzion               12 Nissan/ 20 April
Adam Pisk for his late grandfather Erich Pisk, Yitzchak ben Shmuel Ha'Levi 13 Nissan/ 19 April



PESACH TIMES 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EREV PESACH
Friday, 22 April 2016 | 14 Nissan 
Shacharis 7:00 am 
Followed by Siyum for Fast of the Firstborn
Eat Chometz until 10:03 am
Burn and sell before 10:58 am

Candle Lighting 5:06 pm
Mincha 5:15 pm
Pesach/Shabbos Evening Service 5:30-6:20pm

PESACH, DAY 1
Shabbos, 23 April 2016 | 15 Nissan
Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Priestly Blessing 12:30 pm
Mincha followed by words of Torah 5:15 pm
Earliest Candle Lighting 6:01 pm - No second Seder preparations before this time.
Evening Service 5:50-6:40 pm
Begin counting the Omer 

PESACH, DAY 2 
Sunday, 24 April 2016 | 16 Nissan
Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Priestly Blessing 12:30 pm
Mincha followed by words of Torah 5:15 pm 
Yom Tov ends and Maariv 5:59 pm 

CHOL HAMOED SHACHRIS
Monday (Public Holiday) 25 April - 8am
Tuesday-Thursday, 26-28 April 2016 - 7:00 am

EREV YOM TOV
Thursday, 28 April 2016 | 20 Nissan
Eruv Tavshilin
Candle Lighting 4:59 pm 
Mincha 5:10 pm
Pesach Evening Service 5:45-6:15 pm

SHEVII SHEL PESACH (DAY 7) 
Friday, 29 April 2016 | 20 Nissan
Pesach Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Priestly Blessing 12:30 pm
Candle Lighting not before 4:58 pm
Mincha followed by words of Torah 5:10 pm
Shabbos/Yomtov Evening Service 6:00-6:40 pm

ACHARON SHEL PESACH (DAY 8)
Shabbos, 30 April 2016 | 22 Nissan
Pesach Morning Service 10:00 am - 12:45 pm
Children's Program 11:00 am
Yizkor Memorial Service 11:30 am
Priestly Blessing 12:30 pm
Mincha 4:45 pm 
Seudas Moshiach 
Yom Tov ends and Maariv 5:54 pm
Please allow half an hour before eating chometz that was sold.




Nefesh Shul, 54 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach, NSW 2026 Australia
Sent by rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au in collaboration with
Constant Contact