In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, “Mishpatim,” we learn that if a Hebrew slave does not want go free after his term of service had ended, he is brought to a door and his master “shall bore his ear though with an awl” (Shemot, 21:6). Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, of blessed memory, head of the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, used this example to describe the tragedy of Jews who lived in the Diaspora and didn’t want to leave:

HaRav Tzvi Yehuda was 100% faithful to his father's teachings.
mk

“It is a tragedy when Jews falls in love with the Galut” he told a group of Bnei Avika students visiting Israel from the Diaspora. “It is written in the Torah portion, ‘Mishpatim,’ that after six years, a Hebrew slave must go free. If he refuses, saying, ‘I love my master – I won’t go out to freedom’ (Shemot, 21:5), this is a terrible thing. Likewise, when a Jew falls in love with Galut, saying, ‘I love my master, the foreign gentile nation,’ this is a tragic catastrophe, both for him and for our nation.”

The students were speechless. Rabbi Kook wasn’t the usual kind of rabbi these young people were used to. He was the son of the famous HaRav Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook, a giant Torah scholar in his own right, and the founder of the Gush Emunim settlement movement in Israel, who had sent his best students out to the hilltops and mountains of Judea and Samaria, to resettle the Biblical cities of Hevron, Shilo, Beit-El, Elon Moreh, Gush Etzion, and many many others from the Golan Heights to Gush Katif.

To give our beloved brothers the benefit of the doubt, as we explained in the book “Torat Eretz Yisrael,” a Jew who was born outside the Land of Israel, and who spent his whole life in the Diaspora, doesn’t know any other reality. He readily becomes a creature of the foreign culture which surrounds him, and he becomes estranged from his natural connection to Israel, his natural homeland. Identifying with the culture where he lives, he doesn’t feel a need for his own Jewish government, or Jewish army, or Jewish land. The government of America, or Canada, or South Africa takes care of his needs. In the absence of Jewish nationhood, gentile cultures and pastimes occupy the dominant role in his daily existence. Thus the ingathering of the Jewish people to Israel, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the settlement of Eretz Yisrael, upon which the Redemption of the Jewish nation is based, become secondary issues in his life. He doesn’t experience his residence in a foreign country as an exile at all, and because of his alienation from the deeper levels of Torah and the goals of the nation, he doesn’t feel the pain and poverty of living in a gentile land.

In contrast, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda wanted this group of Diaspora youth to know that living in a foreign land was a terrible situation, indeed, not only in being a minority in someone else’s country, but even in the air that people breathe. Just as the food we eat influences our physical metabolism, we are careful to eat kosher food, because we understand that to live a holy spiritual life, we must observe the dietary laws which G-d decreed for the Jewish People. The food we eat has a direct effect on our souls. How much more so the air we breathe, and the country we live in! In Eretz Yisrael, we are surrounded by holiness, by the holy air and holy soil. Every moment we are here we are performing a mitzvah, as our Sages teach: “Everyone who walks four cubits in the Land of Israel merits a portion in the World to Come” (Ketubot 111A). In contrast, outside of the Land of Israel, the air is spiritually impure, the land is impure, even halachically, the Diaspora is categorized as possessing a defilement similar to that of a grave (Shabbat 14B, beginning “Yosi ben Yoezer….” See also, Nazir54B, Tosefot beginning “Eretz….” Also, Gaon of Vilna, “Likutei HaGra,” end of Safra D’Tzni-uta.)

“We mustn’t forget that the gentile nations do us a favor by allowing us to stay in their lands,” Rabbi Kook taught the youngsters. “Until the day comes when they throw us out. A Jew must realize that he is on a foreign soil there. It is not our society, nor government, nor historical homeland. Nothing there is ours. Only in Israel are we at home, with family, living according to our customs, and our uniquely Jewish year, living in the place designed for our holiness, for our psychological and physical health. We must return to our true Jewish selves, to our mental and psychological health, to our true national Israeli identity, as the Children of Israel, and turn away from unhealthy polluted places, and from our foreign masters, and from environments that are so foreign and disorienting that one forgets who he really is and thinks that it is normal to live amongst the gentiles. This is a tragic mistake” (See the book, “Torat Eretz Yisrael,” Ch.5).     

After this introduction, here, in my opinion, are the 10 hottest reasons for moving to Eretz Yisrael:

1. This is where Hashem wants us to be.

2. This is the place where you can get closest to G-d.

3. It is a Torah commandment to live in the Land of Israel.

4. You can observe more mitzvot here.

5. You can have a far more Jewish life here, breathing holy air, treading on holy soil, speaking your own holy language, instead of the language of the gentiles.

6. Your children will grow up proud, Hebrew-speaking Jews, sure to marry Jewish spouses.

7. Assimilation is steadily increasing in the Diaspora. If you send your kids to college in the Diaspora, what’s the chance that they’ll marry a Jew?

8. Anti-Semitism is on the rise in the Diaspora. And as they say, history repeats itself. Throughout the Exile, wherever the Jews lived, the persecutions and expulsions inevitably arrived.

9. When you stand in the Heavenly Court of Judgment, when Hashem asks you why you didn’t take part in the glorious, historic ingathering of the exiles and rebuilding of Jerusalem that He fashioned for us in our time, you won’t have to face the horrible embarrassment of explaining why you stayed in Brooklyn, or Toronto, or Melbourne.

10. …………….. (I’ll leave it open for my fellow Israelis to finish off the list.)

Shavuah tov!

A year ago, a Rosh Yeshiva phoned me, asking if I would meet with a depressed and troubled yeshiva student who had sought out his help in a private matter. The youth confessed to him that he had a big problem with masturbation. Before coming on aliyah from America, he had been to several Sexaholics Anonymous meetings, but it hadn’t seemed to help. The Rosh Yeshiva asked me to bring my book, “Secret of the Brit,” and sit and learn with the boy.

Every now and again, I receive similar phone calls. Although the problem is very widespread, most people are embarrassed to speak about it. The fact that this lad had the courage to admit his addiction was a good sign that he really wanted to be cured. Confessing one’s transgressions to a Torah scholar is a powerful step forward in the pathway of t’shuvah. The shame that the penitent feels effects a great cleansing. Since G-d is always willing to forgive those who return to Him in sincere repentance, the boy had already achieved a big chunk of his atonement. Like so many others, he simply needed a ladder to clutch onto, in order to climb out of the abyss into which he had fallen.

Though I have a long and impressive beard that may even seem formidable to some, I can still speak the language of the “chevre,” so I was able to put the boy at ease and make him feel that his problem was a common one that could certainly be overcome. Like so many others, he was a victim of Internet pornography, not the hard stuff, but the girly photos and clips that are everywhere available in cyberspace.

Nothing disconnects a person from G-d more than sexual wrongdoing.
mk

Typically, while the 20 year-old baal t’shuva had given up cheeseburgers and bacon, he was still addicted to pretty women and spilling semen in vain, considered to be among the gravest of sins. Many times, offenders simply don’t know the gravity of their wrongdoings, since the matter is not openly taught. So I explained to him many of the devastating blemishes which masturbation causes, including the feeling that one is caught off from the Torah, prayer, and everything holy, a feeling that he readily confirmed.

After getting an idea where he was holding and what remedies he could handle, we worked out a t’shuva program to help reduce the powerful sexual tensions which brought him to succumb again and again. First, he agreed to download an Internet filter without knowledge of the code, so he couldn’t by-pass the blocking of all erotic content. He also agreed to increase his Torah learning; immerse in a mikvah twice a week; followed by the recital of the “Tikun HaKlali” and a session of “Hitbodadut;” and to recite once a week the midnight lament, known as “Tikun Hatzot,” over the destruction of the Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash, to increase his giving of charity, according to his means, and to faithfully follow a daily work-out routine of jogging, push-ups, and any other exercise which he enjoyed. Finally, we spoke a little about the benefit and beauty of marriage, as the ultimate tikun.

A strong and healthy body is needed to overcome the hurdles.
mk

During the time we learned together, I explained to him the practical and mystical importance of these measures, and the importance of exercise in the battle against the “yetzer hara,” a struggle that demands a strong and healthy body to win the fight. After that initial meeting, he phoned me a few times with questions, and then I didn’t hear from him again.

B’kitzur, to be concise, he called me this week with the good news that he has been clean now for more than half a year and that he had gotten engaged!

It’s a difficult battle, but it’s a battle which can be won. Now, during the time of Shovavim, it’s a good idea for everyone to pick at least one of the items on the list and add it to his spiritual repertoire. Our Sages tell us that even the righteous amongst us are prone to fall in this area, so don’t pretend that you don’t need to do any t’shuva. Doing a little extra reading at www.jewishsexuality.com is a good place to start.

There’s only two more weeks to “Shovavim,” so if not now, when?

Shabbat shalom.          

Another mitzvah brought my wife and myself to Netanya. After we finished our mission, we strolled along the seaside park overlooking the ocean, enjoying the cool wind and sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

Netanya is probably the holiest seaside resort in the world!

Netanya is located a half-hour drive north of the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv. It doesn’t suffer from the car pollution that clouds the larger city, and it has a much more resort-town atmosphere. Usually when we have a vacation, the choice is between Netanya or the forests of the Galil. We both love the sea, and for me, the Hasidic community of Sanz is a short car hop away from the hotel, with its shteibel of minyans and a refreshing morning mikvah for only 5 shekels.

Sanz Mikvah, Netanya. Try it, you'll like it!

Plus there is a very nice beach for men only, where I can go for a swim, and enjoy an added mikvah in the sea, without damaging my eyeballs.

Whenever I'm in Netanya, I always go down to the beach and thank G-d for rescuing me from LA.

I have a special love for the beach because that’s where Hashem hit me over the head with a thunderbolt and gave me the Jewish brain transplant that set me off to Israel. Decades ago, I was sitting on a beach in Santa Monica, when an Israeli friend, who was trying to make it as an actor in LA, asked me why I didn’t know anything about Judaism. He himself had grown up in a traditional Moroccan family, and while he was taking a hiatus from the mitzvot in Hollywood, he still had a great love and respect for the religion. His question blew me away. I had studied and read up about everything, from philosophy to yoga, art history, world literature, psychology, and the I Ching. But I had never learned anything about Judaism! I remembered that Freud wrote that a person who avoids something close to him has a psychological block and must confront his unconscious fear head-on, in order to break on through, break on through, break on through….

The view from my pad in Santa Monica, when I knew absolutely nothing about Judaism.

So that very day, I purchased a Jewish Bible and returned to the beach, and started to read. “In the beginning, G-d created the heaven and the earth.” Uh oh, I thought! There’s a G-d, and I haven’t been paying any attention to him! I continued reading, flipping pages as if it was an exciting screenplay. First G-d tells Avraham to go to Israel. Then he tells Moshe to take the Jews to Israel. Then he tells the Jews over and over to take the Torah, pack up their bags, and live out its teachings in Israel.

At first, I was confused. I mean, Hollywood is swarming with Jews. So either the Bible wasn’t right about Israel being the Land of the Jews, or the Jews in Hollywood weren’t living where they were supposed to.

Anyway, to make a long story short, as Sholom Aleichem would say, I asked G-d to give me a sign what to do? Should I move to Israel or stay in Hollywood and try to write stories about the Bible and Jews? The very next morning, when I left my seaside apartment, I saw a travel brochure in my mailbox. It was addressed to me and the Kotel was pictured on the cover with the caption, “Jerusalem My Chosen!” I got the goose bumps all over.

"Jerusalem, My Chosen!"

Not only had G-d answered my prayer, He had known in advance that I was going to ask, because He had to arrange someone to send the mind-blowing brochure to me so that it would appear in my mailbox the very morning after I asked for a Heavenly sign!

I bought a ticket to Israel that day.

So that’s an added reason why I like Netanya, where I can walk down to the beach and thank G-d for the great miracle He did for me by opening my eyes to the truth of the Torah, and pulling me out of the cesspool of America and the make-believe world of being a Jew in a gentile land.

But even without that, Netanya is a wonderful place. So be sure to visit it when you get here!     

My wife and I went to Tel Aviv this morning to pay a condolence call. The family sitting “shiva” lives near the seashore, a few blocks from Dizengoff Street, so afterwards, we strolled around to enjoy the summer weather and change of atmosphere.

They all speak the Holy Tongue!

What’s amazing about Tel Aviv is that everyone speaks Hebrew! At first glance, it doesn’t seem like the most religious place in the country, but everyone there, no matter how weird or secular he looks, speaks the Holy Tongue. Even a drunk who approached us for a handout spoke to us in Hebrew! The only people we met there who didn’t speak Hebrew was a busload of kids from the Birthright program.

Tel Aviv is filled with beautiful boutiques, sidewalk cafes, theaters, and art galleries. Its architecture along the seaside is very modern and creative. It has a bohemian, Paris-like feeling about it. My wife noted that the women were very beautiful and fashionably dressed, though modesty wasn’t one of their strong points. I kept my glance down at my shoes, so I can’t confirm her report. I know there are many devout Diasporians who are always screaming “Gevalt! The immodesty in Israel is terrible! Gevalt!  There are so many heretics there! Gevalt!  Tel Aviv is worse than Las Vegas!”      

There is an interesting Midrash in “Yalkut Shimoney, Eichah” that describes G-d’s great anguish that His people are in exile, dwelling amongst the gentiles. “Gevalt!” G-d moans. “If only My children were with Me in Eretz Yisrael, even if they contaminate My Land with their sins.”

Our Sages tell us that G-d cries out at midnight with pain that His children are in foreign lands. “Woe to the father that has exiled his children!” In contrast, G-d is happy when His children are in Israel. Look what He has done in returning us to our borders! The city of Tel Aviv began as a sand dune. Today it is a booming modern metropolis, spreading for miles and miles in every direction. G-d has done all this!

Founding of Tel Aviv, 1910

Look what G-d had done! Tel Aviv today.

I know there are people who aren’t happy with this state of affairs. They don’t agree with the way G-d is bringing about the Redemption. If they were G-d, they would do things differently. For one thing, they would limit the Redemption to religious Jews only. But G-d loves all Jews, the religious and the not yet religious. So in his great love and wisdom, He decided to give the secular Zionists the great mitzvah of resettling and rebuilding the Land of Israel after an exile of nearly two thousand years, a mitzvah that is equal in weight to all of the commandments of the Torah!

The sad truth is that the majority of religious Jews didn't know how to hold a shovel, let alone a rifle. And very few of them were willing to roll up their longjohns and risk their lives drying up malaria infested swamps. So Hashem gave the great honor to the Zionists. 

I had a wonderful afternoon knowing that G-d loves Tel Aviv too! Look how He has raised it up out of the sand dunes and turned it into such a thriving dynamic city, filled with so many of His children, whom He has gathered together from the four corners of the world!

I Love Tel Aviv!

I can’t wait to go back there to visit!  

This Shabbat, we read about the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. We’ve mentioned that during these weeks of “Shovavim,” we rise from the 49th degree of impurity in Egypt to the 49th degree of purity, and the transcendental summit of the “Gate of Kedusha,” with the acceptance of the Torah.

This is the level of sexual purity, known as “Shmirat HaBrit.” If you haven’t already started, the final three weeks of “Shovavim” is the best time to pour out your souls to G-d, asking for His forgiveness over all of the holy energy, and holy life force, and holy souls, which we have squandered through our sexual wrongdoing.

Hitbodedut

Some people find it difficult to pour out their hearts to Hashem, as if their heart is like stone, preventing them from crying and expressing their remorse. One of the foundations of Rabbi Nachman’s teachings is the importance of “Hitbodedut” in serving G-d. The essence of Hitbodedut is pouring one’s heart out in personal prayer before one’s Maker. Rabbi Nachman emphasizes that this practice should be practiced in seclusion, and that it is especially effective when conducted outdoors in a field or a forest. In his books, “Likutei Tefillot,” and “Torot and Tefillot,” Rabbi Nachman’s devoted student, Rabbi Natan, presents many examples that can help every Jew rise to more fervent outpourings of the heart. Here is one such example which may help release all of the pain and yearning for G-d that is bottled up inside your heart:

“Please, most honored and awe-inspiring G-d, honored King, You who created the entire world for Your blessed honor, as is written, ‘Everything I created and formed and made, for my Name and My honor I created,’ help me in Your great compassion, that I merit to increase and elevate your praise and honor.

“Help me to nullify myself completely before You, and to diminish my own honor, that my own honor be as if void and non-existent. Help me that I do not raise myself up to declare my own honor in any way, but rather that I only endeavor to enhance the honor due You, and that all of my doings and thoughts and desires be directed exclusively to Your great and blessed honor alone.

“Assist me in your great mercy to shatter and remove all feelings of arrogant self-pride from my heart, that there shouldn’t rise in my heart any trace of conceit at all, and that I merit to achieve true humility. Give me the intelligence and wisdom so that I can find the way to true humility, and to flee from false humility, from humility which is really to win honor from others. Please help me in Your great mercy and kindness that I merit to attain true and absolute humility.

“Please, G-d, in Your infinite mercy, have mercy on Your creation, and open my mouth in prayer that I be able to pour forth my speech before You in a manner that awakens Your mercy to extend over me, that You have compassion on me this very moment and that You aid me to sanctify and purify myself in the holiness of the Brit, that I may be saved from this moment onward from every transgression against the Brit in the world.

“And for all of the blemishes in which I blemished the holy Brit until now, please forgive me, please forgive me and cleanse me in Your towering mercy and kindness, in everything that I blemished by my thoughts, and my speech, and my deeds, by looking at forbidden things, and hearing unholy matters, smelling unholy smells, and in all of my feelings, whether intentionally or unintentionally, whether willfully or unwillfully. In every way that I blemished the Brit, please forgive me and have compassion on me, and shatter, and weaken, and subdue, and nullify all of the ropes and knots and chains binding me to the Sitra Achra (Other Side), which were strengthened because of my numerous sins, which overcome me at every moment and seek to pull me from sin to sin, and not allow me to purify myself as I should, keeping me far from guarding the Brit in true holiness, as a Jew should, a son of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov, whom You chose.

“Master of the World, may it be Thy will that all of my transgressions be transformed into merit through my t’shuva, even though I have not even begun to return in true repentance. Even so, grant me the gift of Your forgiveness as a gratuitous gift, and have mercy on me in Your great mercy, and rescue me from the trials and tribulations that pursue me at every moment.

“And even if I myself am my worst enemy, for indeed I have free choice, and no one can force me to stray from the true path, and I confess that I am guilty, and that I myself am responsible for my transgressions, but what can I do for I am weak, and I don’t know how to escape from my pursuers, nor how to overcome all of the lusts and evil fantasies that overwhelm me at every moment. I have no hope if not for Your infinite compassion, that You help me and grant me the strength to overcome all of the lusts and fantasies, to subdue them and cast them into the dust, to shatter them and expel them from my mind, from this moment and forever after, that absolutely no evil fantasy enter my mind or thoughts at all, rather that my mind and thoughts be holy and pure at all times to the utmost measure of sanctity.

“And help me in Your great mercy to purify and sanctify myself, that I be able to sanctify myself in things that are permitted to me, and that I merit to add more and more holiness to my life until I achieve true holiness and separation from all evil things, that through me all the worlds be unified... may it be Thy will, amen.”

(Abridged from, “Torot and Tefillot,” Tefillah L’Torah, 11)