Second Thoughts

Esav represents the predatory nature of civilization, the survival of the fittest, the exploiter and violent master who views kindness, sensitivity, and humility to others as fatal weaknesses of character

In describing the obligations of the Passover service at the time of the Jewish people's exodus from Egypt, it raises for the first time the overriding issue of doubt and faith, of the meaning of being Jewish, of life itself: "And when your children shall ask you, What meaning does this service [of Passover] have for us? You shall answer them..." Now, when the shackles of slavery have been broken and the long-sought-after freedom has been achieved, the Torah tells us that you may be certain that "your children shall ask you." For freedom creates the climate of inquiry and questioning, of probing and discovering and deciding. A hallmark of human freedom is that it spawns differences of opinions, encouraging it and providing the intellectual and spiritual parameters that allows the debate to be productive, ennobling, and eternal

Another lesson of Succos is that joy is not a singular, unique emotion that is achieved in a vacuum. The holiday of Succos has many mitzvos connected to it

Maimonides stated in the 12th century that the Jews should view Christianity essentially as a conduit for Torah ideas particularly messianism, but not necessarily limited to that to help reach and influence the large non-Jewish world. I think that the Church is basically fulfilling that role in our time. It is almost as though, after floundering around for two millennia searching for its true purpose and mission, the Church has now gained a new confidence and self-identity

I am impelled to relate the following anecdote: I delivered a lecture on this topic of loyalty to a large crowd in Miami Beach in 1996. In attendance was a young boy, now about 12 years old, who had attended some of my previous annual lectures. In the past, the boy would invariably come up to me after my lecture and ask me to autograph his book or notepad, which I did proudly. This year at my lecture, I was introduced by Alan Viengrad, a former offensive lineman and Super-Bowl-ring-wearer for the Dallas Cowboys. After my inspired words on the topic of loyalty, the young man made a beeline for the champion athlete and asked him for his autograph, completely ignoring me! I guess didn't make the point emphatically enough Note: That's me! #meandrabbiwein

Faith is not genetic. Faith comes from the depths of one's being, from the failures and disappointments of life, from the unanswerable paradoxes that fill our days, from the residue of resolve within us that daily life has not as yet chipped away. Faith has to be nurtured and enhanced, discussed and debated, inspected and cleansed. All of the hard questions of life, the how's and the why's, the maybe's and should-be's, have to be resolutely faced, even if they cannot be answered with satisfaction

Jacob does not ask them for details of the bloody shirt. They take an oath among themselves never to tell their father the awful truth. Long decades of painful, awkward silence and grief dominate the holy family of Israel. Jacob does not want to know. The brothers do not wish to tell. And now it all ends suddenly and happily. Joseph lives and is the viceroy of Egypt. The family is moving to Egypt to be with Joseph. Jacob never asks Joseph or his brothers what really happened on that fateful day 22 years earlier. He is satisfied with the results and prefers not to delve into the details of the process. Yet on his deathbed he confides to Joseph, "I know, my son, I know." The entire story has been revealed to him intuitively, Divinely. There are times in life when it is better not to know, and even if one knows, not to raise the matter till he is on his deathbed

Jacob knows that he will meet his brother Esau again and again in their intersecting journeys through history. Jacob is confident that at the end of time, "saviors will climb Mount Zion and judge Mount Esau." But that will not necessarily be a violent moment of confrontation, for the result of that judgment will be that "all sovereignty on earth will belong to G-d." That is Jacob's goal: not might or power or dominion, but understanding, truth, and service of the Creator. Even if we are forced by others to be warriors, we should realize that our ultimate triumph lies in the realm of the spirit and in the fulfillment of our Gdgiven mission of Torah and goodness in every facet of our lives

Possessions have a tendency to enslave us. The Torah bids us to "give freedom to the land," meaning not only to free land for return to its original owner, but to give ourselves freedom from that land, from the binding chains of materialism that often force disastrous choices upon us.

Unfortunately, history is strewn with the wreckage of people and nations who refused to believe that their worst scenario could ever materialize. Distressing predictions are never to be totally ignored. They have a bad habit of being fulfilled

One of the basic rules of Jewish jurisprudence is adam muad l'olam every individual is fully liable and responsible for his behavior

My best friend recently passed away in his Jerusalem home. I had seen him two weeks before his death. As is many times the case in such instances, we both sensed that this would more than likely be our last meeting in this world. Yet we did not discuss items of great import, satisfied rather simply to be in one another's company. I thought then that one of the great qualities of friendship is the ability to maintain a comfortable silence in conversation. The lack of embarrassment that often accom panies silence in other social situations is one of the hallmarks of true friendship. It is what we did not say to each other at our last meeting that mattered.