Judaism's Best Mitzvah

Okay, it's been too, too long since I've been blogging, and I will try to get my drashot and more up soon.

Tonight I got to perform Judaism's best mitzvah.  Your not supposed to have a favourite mitzvah.  They're all equally important.  Still, I have a favourite, and my favourite mitzvah is mikveh.  Once a month, plus on a few special occasions I take time for me and God.  Another good part, God lets me focus on myself. Before I go to the mikveh I take 1-2 hours of me time.  Sometimes I take an entire evening to myself, sometimes I split the time.

Last night I took the time to give myself a reverse mani/pedi, taking off all my nail polish and taking care of my feet and hands.  Tonight I took some private time before prepping.  To got to mikveh you must first be fully clean.  It's a state of ritual and mental purity not cleanliness.  Teeth, hair, skin all must be clean.  It's nice to spend the time just taking care of me.

Then, it's off to the mikveh.  I go to the Sephardic Kehilla Centre, which is about two minutes from the house.  I'm in, a few more minutes for me, and into the mikveh.  It's bathtub warm and even when standing I feel as if I'm floating.  Dip once, bracha, dip a second time, yehi ratzon, dip a third.  I always take a extra minute in the mikveh.  I just enjoy the warmth.  I stand by the holes where the mikveh waters kiss the pool waters.  You can feel the cool water flow in from the mikveh pool.

After I recite the "Prayer Before Immersion."  Yes, I do recite it in the wrong order.  I'm a rebel.  The prayer asks for God's will in creating harmony between me and my husband, that we should appreciate each other, respect each other, and build a life and a family that will endure.  I enjoy this tekina (a traditional woman's prayer); it expresses a hope for the ideal that marriage can be, a true partnership built on love and mutual respect.  To think that this tekina with these ideals has been around for at least a century, maybe more, is inspiring to me.

Sean has a different take on mikveh.  For him it's erotic, but you'll have to ask him about that.  The Rabbis understood this.  For them mikveh wasn't about purity; it was about separation between a husband and wife creating desire and ensuring they were, at least one time a month, just like the day they were married.

I also leave the mikveh refreshed.  It doesn't matter how long the day has seemed, how hectic or frustrating, I emerge from the mikveh smiling, rejuvenated.  I attribute that to the few minutes I spend fully immersed in the water, the time I give to God.

A moment with God, a month of peace and romance.  Definitely the best mitzvah of all!

I now love Dominik Diamond

It's been way too long since I wrote in my blog, and I promise to catch up (I have a whole month of notes to transfer in- ugh!), but I  had to post this.  Dominik Diamond, evening DJ on Q107 posted for Megillah Mia.  He's my new best friend, and I love him.

Here's the link, http://www.q107.com/Blogs/ShineOnWithCrazyDiamond/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10356469&t=734#comments.  Check it out & come to the show.  Advance tickets available by calling (416) 667-1717.

Happy Purim! 

Parashat Beshalach- Time & Patience Makes Miracles

Vayomer Moshe el ha’am al tira’u hityatzvu ur’u et y’shu’at Hashem asher ya’aseh lachem hayomki asher ra’I’tem et Mitzraiyim hayom lo tosifu lirotam od ad olam. Hashem yilacheim lachem v’atem tacharishum.

 Moshe said to the people, “Have no fear.  Stand by and witness the salvation which Hashem will do for you today. The Egyptains whom you will see today you will never see again. Hashem will fight for you today; you will hold your peace.

I frequently write ain somcheim al ha nes;  do not reply on the miracle. It’s a value I believe is inherent in Judaism. We are a people of action. Parashat Beshalach is a perfect opportunity for this concept. Nachson Ben Aminadav, not willing to return to slavery, jumps into the sea before it splits. But this is midrash, and not actually in the text, and while action is important, we do know that the sea does split. In the end, the Israelites are saved by a miracle.

Still, this change is not instantaneous. Rambam teaches that miracles always occur within the natural order of the world. Nature is not speedy. Vayolech Hashem et hayam b’ruach kadim azah kol halailah vayashem et hayam lecharavah vayibak’u hamayim. And Hashem drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and turned the sea into dry ground. All that night- for the entire night, an eternity for the Israelites who could see the Egyptian army just beyond the pillar of cloud protecting them, the Israelites sat surrounded by that cloud. All that night the Israelites could not move. All that night they prayed, they cried and they hoped.

It’s unknown from the text whether the sea moved all at once or slowly like the tides or whether the Israelites could see the changes in the water level. What we do know is miracles take time- time and patience clothed in hope.

I’m writing this on a bus traveling through the Negev.  It is remarkably green this year.  I am traveling with the Masorti Movement on a mission working for a modern, pluralistic Israel. We are making amazing progress, but it will take patience- patience and time to build. It is also clear to all here that we’re not just working on internal issues, but also fighting for survival. After sixty years we’re still sitting, we’re still crying, and we’re still hoping that the world will realize Jews also have a right to national aspirations and deserve a homeland of our own. Everyday in Israel is a miracle. Be a part of it.

Saturday night we went skating.  Once at the rink Keren was overcome with a headache and sore throat.  It turned out to be strep throat, proving, once again, antibiotics used properly are our friend.

Meanwhile Gavi, Jesse, and Sean made their way around the rink.  It wasn't pretty.  None of them have a great gait, but they've got guts.  As a child I skated most weekends, but Sean grew up in Virginia.  Gavi & Jesse (and Keren too) spent too much time in warm climates where skating is unheard of.  Still, we're here now, and skating in part of the culture.

Gavi is fearless.  He falls, but just keeps going- around and around and around again.  He understands danger, but it doesn't matter.  Gavi sets his mind and gets going.  He amazes me, and everyone else.  He guts were a topic of conversation, although a different body part was mentioned.

Jesse is full of fear.  He fell once, hitting his head, and hasn't skated in a year and a half.  He understands danger, and wishes to avoid it.  Still, he caves, like any teen, to peer pressure when he knows he should (and stands up to it when should, thank God).  So there he was, timid, scared, but skating.  The circles got smaller and smaller as he moved from the boards to the centre of the rink, slow and steady.

It may not be pretty, but they get the job done.

Parashat Bo- Karma Sure Is A Kick In The Pants

“Bo el Paro ki Ani hikhba’d’ti et libo v’et lev avodav.” 

“Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants”

It has been a wonder throughout the centuries of commentary how Pharaoh can ignore the punishments being rained down upon the Egyptians. Here we are in parashat Bo; seven plagues have already passed, and still Pharaoh refuses to acknowledge that God is more powerful and he must allow the Israelites to go free. But even more unfathomable is the idea that God has made it so. Jews and other believers throughout the ages have had difficulty with this piece of text.  How is it that God prolonged our suffering in slavery? How is it that God caused extra suffering to befall the Egyptians? Does this mean that God took from Pharaoh that which makes us human, our freewill?

What does it mean to harden the heart of Pharaoh and the hearts of his servants?  Rambam explained that Pharaoh’s heart became hardened in response to the plagues. Pharaoh saw himself as a God. The plagues brought down upon Egypt as punishment were a challenge to this. Pharaoh had his free will. He, and his servants, chose to allow the conditions in Egypt to harden their hearts. They chose to harden their hearts in response to what they saw out their windows each day, in response to the suffering of the Israelites for 400 years and in response to the suffering of the Egyptians under the plagues.

3500 years later the Beatles summed this up beautifully on side two of Abbey Road, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” What we put out into the world will always turn towards us, even when we are too blind to see it. Ain’t karma a kick in the parts?