Oops, I made a mistake

KUMZITZ this Saturday night!

Question of the Week:   I think I'm too sloppy for organised religion. I try to keep Shabbos, but often make a mistake and turn on a light. I do have a kosher home, but the amount of times I've accidentally put the milk spoon into the meat pot is embarrassing. I read the prayers but my Hebrew is so bad even G-d must have trouble understanding me. I'm not perfect and never will be. So why bother striving for perfection if I know I'll never get there? Answer: You are right. You should not strive for perfection. It's not the Jewish way. Improvement? Yes. But perfection? No. I learnt this truth many years ago. I was just eighteen, studying in a Yeshiva in Israel along with several hundred other students from around the world. I hadn't been there long, but was quickly swept up in the atmosphere of intense Torah study and idealistic spiritual growth. I was loving it. But then, one morning, a mini-crisis happened. Just after prayers, one of my friends came over to me with a concerned look on his face. "I think your Tefillin may not be kosher," he told me. (Tefillin are phylacteries. I don't know what phylacteries are.) I asked him what he meant, and he pointed out to me that my head Tefillin didn't look perfectly square. It seemed that one of the corners was not an exact right angle. This was serious. The hand-made leather boxes of the Tefillin are supposed to be square. If they aren't square, then they aren't Tefillin. They aren't even phylacteries. If my friend was right, if my Tefillin were slightly off, then I hadn't been wearing kosher Tefillin for years. I had been putting on unsquare unkosher Tefillin every day, which is as good as not putting Tefillin on at all.   I knew what I needed to do. I needed my head Tefillin examined. I rushed straight away to an expert in Jewish law. He was a senior rabbi who was famous for his decisive and clear judgments. I brought him my Tefillin and showed him the imperfect corner, fearfully awaiting his verdict. The rabbi inspected the Tefillin, looked at me with his kind and wise eyes and smiled. He responded with one line, a quote from the Talmud: "The Torah wasn't given to angels." I immediately understood what he meant. My Tefillin were just fine. When the Torah says to make your Tefillin square, it means you should make them as square as is humanly possible. We aren't perfect angels, and we can't make perfect angles. We are humans who can only do our best. And that is exactly what G-d requires from us. If G-d wanted perfection, He would not have created us fallible humans. But He did create us, so perfection is obviously not what He wants. He wants us humans, not in spite of our sloppiness, but because of it. Perfection G-d has already. Imperfection on the other hand only we can give Him, when we dedicate our imperfect lives to His service.   Our squares won't be perfect squares, and our angles won't be exactly right. Humans make mistakes and sometimes get it wrong. But that's alright. We are not angels. We are not expected to be. G-d wants your sloppy Shabbos. He wants your messy kosher kitchen. And He loves your attempt at Hebrew prayers. Doing your best, as imperfect as it may be, is perfectly human. Good Shabbos, Rabbi Moss  To subscribe CLICK HERE or email rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au THIS WEEK'S PODCASTS THIS WEEK'S VIDEOS live every Tuesday 8pm www.facebook.com/rabbimoss/live The 36 Hidden Saints What does the Zohar say about the 36 tzaddikim who keep the world going? Why that number and why are they hidden? SHABBOS SONGS AUDIO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To help you recreate the holy energy of shul in your home, here are recordings of the Friday night tunes we sing at Nefesh, created by the super-talented Zalmy Okunov. Download and listen to them during the week, so when it comes to Shabbos, you can be the chazan! Note: they are not to be played on Shabbos itself - nothing can replace your own voice on Shabbos. CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE. ENJOY!  SHABBOS SERVICES & COMMUNITY INFORMATION: CHUKAS-BALAK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Nefesh community looks forward to getting back together! In the meantime, make your Shabbos special by doing your own little service at home. Here are some instructions. Page numbers are from the blue Chabad Siddur. Don't have one? You can download it here and print it. We will run a minimal Friday Night Service tonight 5:30pm and minyan with Torah reading tomorrow 10am. To register CLICK HERE Friday 3 July - 11 Tammuz Light Candles............................................... 4:40pm Before 4:58pm:.................................. Mincha p101 After 5:26pm........... Shabbos evening service p154 Kiddush............................................................ p179   Saturday 4 July – 12 Tammuz   Morning Service for Shabbos: p5-25, p181-219, Torah readings for Chukas-Balak, Mussaf p234, Kiddush p248.     Virtual Lechaim 1:30pm - raise a glass and have us all in mind!   Before 4:58pm ................................... Mincha p253 Pirkei Avos ...................................... Chapter 5 p286 After 5:26pm ...................................... Maariv p161 Shabbos Ends.............................................. 5:39pm Havdala p297 Latest Shema this week.............................. 9:28am  Fast of the 17th Tammuz................ Thursday 9 July Begins.......................................................... 5:36am Ends............................................................. 5:29pm   This week’s online class with Rabbi Moss (Tues 30 June 8pm) sponsored in honour of Dovid Shmuel Hakohen Weinberger’s Birthday- Mazal Tov!       MAZEL TOV! Michael and Karen Martin on the birth of a baby girl! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Ethan Klein....................... 13 Tammuz/ Sunday 5 July Erykah Skimin.................. 15 Tammuz/ Tuesday 7 July Finley Zev Hasofer........... 16 Tammuz/ Wednesday 8 July HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Eric & Carol Melman........ 13 Tammuz/ Sunday 5 July   LONG LIFE FOR YORTZHEITS Sam Sharp for his late father Monty Sharp, Monish ben Zelik Ha'Cohen................................................. 12 Tammuz/ Saturday 4 July Carol Melman for her late mother Miriam Shapiro Miriam bat Zoendal............................................................... 13 Tammuz/ Sunday 5 July Jacqueline Eliovson for her late father Victor Behrman Avigdor ben Dov Getzel........................................................ 14 Tammuz/ Monday 6 July Moshe Moses & Adee Moses for their late father Sasoon Moses Sason Hai ben Mazal............................................................. 14 Tammuz/ Monday 6 July David Kessler for his late sister Nanette Kessler Genenda bat Avraham.......................................................... 15 Tammuz/ Tuesday 7 July Evelyn Tobin & Chaya (Clara) Ezekiel for their late father Abraham Ezekiel Avraham ben Masooda.................................................... 16 Tammuz/ Wednesday 8 July Erna Frankfurter & Ruth Cromer for their late husband and father Harold Frankfurter Yehoshua Leib ben Shlomo Meir.................................... 16 Tammuz/ Wednesday 8 July Eric Melman & Brad Melman for their late father and grandfather George Melman Gershon ben Yosef.............................................................. 17 Tammuz/ Thursday 9 July Ruth Lutman & Ronan Lutman for their late mother and grandmother Meda Sofer Mesuda bat Farcha................................................................ 18 Tammuz/ Friday 10 July If you would like Nefesh to include your Birthday, Anniversary or Yortzheit in our newsletter and send you an email reminder, just fill in this quick ONLINE FORM   

Nefesh | PO Box 7349, Bondi Beach, NSW 2026 Australia Unsubscribe shmuly77d@gmail.com Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!