Life Changing or Great Story

I would like to thank my Thursday morning Navi class for inspiring these words.


Recently, on Manhattan Island overlooking the Hudson River, one of the most memorable reunions in the last decade took place. All 150 passengers and the 5 members of the flight crew of “the miracle on the Hudson” returned to the location of where their plane safely landed in the middle of the Hudson River. The reunion marked the one-year anniversary of the miraculous emergency landing, where all the passengers of the flight survived. Many shared how that short few minute experience has permanently changed their perspective on life. One person talked about how every morning when he wakes up he is truly grateful for the opportunity to live another day.
Throughout our lives we have all experienced, witnessed, or heard about an event that we felt was truly uplifting and inspirational. We have all proclaimed from that point on we are going to improve and become better people. Unfortunately, for many of us our new path to greatness ended with our declarations. As time progressed the experience shifted from inspirational to a great memory or a fun story to share. We are failing to seize the moment. Typically, while we feel the joy of inspiration we declare tomorrow I am going to be better. The key is to change on the spot while we feel great. At that moment we have to let the inspiration propel us into action. We must take the steps forward at that very moment.
In this weeks Torah portion (Beshalach) one of the most amazing and inspirational events of all time took place on behalf of the Jewish people. The Jewish people were standing on the bank of the Sea, trapped as their Egyptian nemesis headed their way with the intentions of returning the Jewish people to slavery. At that very moment G-d split the sea and the Jewish people were saved. The Jewish people immediately responded to this awesome experience with song and praise to Hashem. They did not wait until the next day, rather the Torah tells us “Then Moshe and the Children of Israel chose to sing”. The Children of Israel understood that they needed to choose and commit themselves to spiritual growth immediately.

The Olympics: Uniting the World Through Competition

This evening is the kickoff of the winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Olympics is an international sporting event where a large portion of the world comes to together for “friendly” competition. The two week long event generates millions of dollars, creates intriguing story lines, and turns athletes into heroes. As much fun as the Olympics may be, I must admit that I struggle with what the purpose of the Olympics are.

One may suggest the objective of the Olympics is world unity. However, when your goal is to unify a group of people; competition is not the ideal path to take. The opening ceremony of the Olympics proves this point. The Olympians parade into the stadium waving the flag of the country they represent. The athletes are not thinking one world one people. They are thinking our country is the best and we are going to win more gold than any other country. Throughout the world as people watch the event on television they are rooting for their country. They are taking pride when they hear their national anthem being played as their fellow countrymen receive a gold medal. They are not thinking “wow, we have so much in common with everyone else in the world, it is about time we put our differences to rest.”

In this weeks Torah portion (Mishpatim) the Torah commands the Jewish people to travel to Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate the Festivals together. People from every tribe, from every region throughout the land of Israel must come and celebrate the holidays together as unified people. The pilgrimages teach us an invaluable lesson: regardless of where we live, what we look like, and the language we speak, all Jews are on the same team with the same goal. Our goal is to live by the word of the Torah and strengthen our relationship (as one people) with our Creator.