Mailing List Service Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Friends: _________________________________________________ Parshat Vayelech For the week ending 5 Tishrei Elul 5762 / September 21 & 22, 2001 COSMIC HIDE-AND-SEEK "I will surely hide My face." Devarim (31:18) Once, there was a great rabbi who came upon a young child crying his heart out. "What's the matter, little one?" asked the Rabbi. "We were playing..." the child sobbed. "We were playing hide and seek; I was hiding." The boy looked up into the Rabbi's face. "Yes, I'm listening," said the Rabbi. "I was hiding, but..." "Tell me, please," said the Rabbi softly. Finally the boy managed to finish his sentence "...but nobody came to look for me!" After a few moments, the Rabbi smiled his warm smile and said, "You know, you shouldn't feel so bad. You're in good company." The child heaved a little, his tears abating. The Rabbi continued: "You're in good company indeed. G-d feels a lot like you - He's hiding, and not many people are coming to look for Him." This world is a cosmic game of hide and-seek: Who brought us here? Who sustains us here? What are we doing here? To make the game more challenging, and our success more meaningful and rewarding, there are various distractions, false leads, to take us out of the game. But our "Host" has not left us without a "crib sheet" to help us navigate this ultimate virtual adventure. He has provided a clear manual which is guaranteed to allow us to unmask Him and the purpose of our existence. This manual is called the Torah. But if we don't keep the Torah, He will hide himself more deeply; finding Him will be very difficult. "I will surely hide My face." There are two types of concealment. One type is where you know someone is there but you just can't see him. The other type is where you don't know if the person is there at all. In this second type, the hiddeness is itself hidden. This is the ultimate hiding. When people are aware that G-d is hiding, then, ultimately, He is not concealed, for they will eventually find Him. However, when the hiding is itself hidden, when people don't realize Hashem is there hiding, they'll never bother to look. Yom Kippur is a once-a-year opportunity to throw ourselves on the mercy of the King. If we search with all our hearts, we will find Him. The Sfat Emet in the name of the Chidushei HaRim in Mayana shel Torah; a story heard from Rabbi Zev Leff (C) 2001 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. _________________________________________________ Join the Fight Against Darkness Light Up This Friday Night September 21 with Sabbath These dark, troubled times now coincide with the 10 days that span from Rosh HaShanah to Yom Kippur. In Jewish consciousness, these 10 days are the time that God is very close to us. The premise of this call to action is that if we, the Jewish people, make a small effort to be closer to God, we can help restore the light and bring peace and security back into the world. This coming Friday night, September 21, is Shabbat Teshuva, the Sabbath of Return. You can be part of bringing purpose and meaning to the intrinsically bonded words, Shabbat and Shalom Sabbath and Peace. Here's how: Light two Sabbath candles - one candle for Shabbat and one candle for peace, Shalom. At sunset, join Jewish women around the world to recite the special prayer that follows, light your 2 candles* and then recite the traditional blessing over the Sabbath candles. (Candlelighting times for your city can be found at the end.) Before lighting your candles say, Dear G-d, Master of the Universe, We are here standing before you, humbled and frightened, united together in our longing for peace. As we kindle the Sabbath lights, may we help bring back light to the darkness, clarity to the confusion. Help us to feel the pain of our Nation and to join together with all those who are suffering. Through the light of our candles, may we merit an end to all our suffering. May the power and beauty of their glow awaken the light that is burning deep within us. And may this light from within burst forth and spread to all the four corners of this earth until the whole world is enveloped in Your light of Peace, in Your light of Joy, and in Your light of Redemption. Amen The Blessing after lighting your candles: Baruch Atah Adona-i elo-heinu melech haolam asher kidishanu b'mitzvotav vitzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat. Blessed are you, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of the Sabbath. Take time Friday evening to reflect, read a Jewish or spiritual book or article**, spend time with family and friends, or say a prayer. The Sabbath is a time for us to slow down and think about what we want with our lives and to appreciate the blessings we have. It is a time to share and celebrate with our family and friends. Even if you have other plans for the evening, take a few minutes for yourself and the Sabbath before you head out. As we cross the threshold into the new Jewish Year of 5762 and stand before our Creator who counts up all our deeds, may God bless us with peace while counting all our candles. BODY> _________________________________________________ Please send us your questions, comments, suggestions to kehilasmy@yahoo.com. We will be happy to answer them. Please tell about us your family members, friends, co-workers. Have a Good Shabbos, Isroel Akerman ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for reading about http://www.kehilasmy.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy books with 10% off from Artscroll and Artscroll will donate us 5% of your purchase: http://artscroll.com/linker/kehilasmy/home -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=lit.kehilasmy http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com