A Quick Torah Thought

 It would seem that the character in the megillah who experiences the biggest transformation is no other than Queen Esther. At one of the low points of her reign, she is admonished by Mordechai, "If you are silent at this desperate time, you and your family will be expunged from the annals of Jewish history." At that point, Esther, boldly calls for all of the Jewish people to fast. In essence, Mordechai has told her that her fate, and future are intertwined and interwoven with the Jewish people. Surely Esther would not have been killed by Haman, but her entire destiny, and purpose, were not mere survival, but rather, using her position to advance that of the Jewish people.  Having then realized that, Esther becomes the leader par excellence - and comes full circle at a later stage when the death toll for Shushan is presented to her by Achasveirosh. Esther could have well been complacent, thanking Achashveirosh for his largesse in protecting her people. But no, Esther takes it...

The Ramban takes a very heartwarming approach to the Mishkan, one that on the face of it seems to be less reflected in that taken by the Rambam. Whereas the Rambam sees the mishkan or Hashem's desert abode as a result of the Jewish people's sinfulness with the sin of the golden calf, the Ramban stresses Hashem's ever-present love for the Jewish people: "The deeper meaning of the mishkan," he writes, "is so that Hashem's glory which rested on the Jewish people at Sinai, should always be ensconsed among them." (Ramban's Introduction to Parshat Teruma) The idea the Ramban shares here, is a very powerful one. Hashem only revealed himself in full glory to the Jewish people once. Only once did our people - each and every soul - hear Hashem's voice reverberate within us. That echo, that heavenly voice - or bat kol - is something we hear within ourselves, and which we convey to our children, our students and all future generations. But what is it, th...

After I labored to clean the floor yesterday, a whole day full of pens, markers, scraps of paper and the like scattered about from a whole day of homeschooling, I joked with my two children, "You have a challenge, let's see how dirty you can make the apartment by the time I come home from work!" In a way, perhaps, I was complimenting myself - in my wife's presence - on how nicely I had cleaned the floor. Within 2 minutes, lo and behold, my daughters, managed to scatter pieces of the parts of the pita they didn't like all around the couch. I took away the remainder of what they were eating until they cleaned up the floor, and then, thought to myself why hadn't my daughters understood the veiled message I was trying to convey, "You better not make a mess! Or else!" obviously in good humor.  The fact that my daughters understood the very opposite of what I was trying to convey, in a sense, may dovetail with a message elucidated in this week's parsha...

 I saw a comment by Rashi on this week's parshah that I couldn't help but be astounded by. Yitro had come to the desert, with Moshe's wife and children in tow. Moshe goes out to greet Yitro, inviting him into his tent. He regales him with Hashem's exploits, and the tremendous victory the Jewish people experienced, having vanquished their enemy, eliminating any threat of reprisal.  Then, Moshe Rabbeinu, the founder of our people, the brother of the priest, Aharon, and the inheritor of his mantle of leadership hosts a festive meal to honor his father-in-law, and his reunion with his wife.  And against this backdrop, asks Rashi, "Where was Moshe?" "He was the waiter," answers Rashi, "serving Aharon, the elders and Yitro hand and foot."  If anything, at the present time in Jewish history, more than ever, we need to assimilate the humility of Moshe Rabbeinu, and Avraham Avinu. Seeing ourselves as agents who help others, and not ones who others m...