Mendel Bluming | Blogger

The nature of worry is to enlarge the importance of the matter at hand and exaggerate it in one’s mind until it reaches a point where it seems to be an insurmountable obstacle. The result is that we just continue to worry without being able to do anything constructive about the matter.    King Solomon states in his Book of Proverbs: “When there is worry in a man’s heart 'yesichena'; let a good thing gladden it” (12:25).  One meaning of the word ‘yesichena’ is to suppress and divert. In the context of ‘suppress-divert’ it means not to let the mind think about it since the core of worry is exaggeration and the more one thinks about it the more it is magnified.  But how do you succeed at doing this? The second phrase of the verse explains: by diverting the mind to a positive or ‘glad’ matter.  Diverting the mind by thinking of a joyous matter is attainable because we naturally want to feel good. Once we focus on a happy thought it reduces the matter we are worrying about t

The Talmudic sage Rabbi Yochanan taught: There are three keys that G-d holds, and never hands over to anyone else. They are the key to rain, the key to childbirth, and the key to revival of the dead. No matter how advanced our society becomes, no matter how much progress we make in technology and science, and no matter how many superstitious magic tricks we perform, some things are simply out of human control. The mystery of creating new life still baffles us. The greatest doctors cannot explain why some people conceive a child with ease, while others have so much difficulty. We are privileged to live in a time with so many options for assisted fertility. But in the end only G-d can decide when a baby is to be born. The key to life is in His hands. As with the beginning of life, so with its end. Despite all the medical advancements and extended life expectancy, we still can't bring someone back from the dead. We believe the time will come when G-d will revive the dea

Take a dreidel and spin it. It's fascinating. You never know which side it will land on. It could fall on the Gimmel, which means you win, or the Shin, which means you lose. It seems totally random. You just spin and something happens. But really it isn't. Every spin has an exact amount of kinetic energy to cause a measured number of turns. The table surface provides an exact amount of friction, and the air pushes the dreidel in a certain way, so it falls exactly as it is supposed to. Nothing is left to chance. Life is like that. It may seem random sometimes. Things just happen, you win or you lose, it falls this way or that for no apparent reason. But that is not really so. There is a divine hand spinning the world. Every turn is deliberate, every experience you have is supposed to happen, and whether you win or lose, there is a reason behind it. There are no self-spinning dreidels. There is always a hand behind the spin. And you are exactly where you are meant t

On Chanukah we celebrate the menorah that is the central symbol of the holiday, not the astounding military victory and attainment of freedom. Because freedom is only worth what you do with it, how you live your life as a result. Because you are free do you kindle the menorah of spreading light and holiness in the world? Money and freedom are just energy... how you use them is what matters. Rabbi Mendel Bluming serves the Jewish community in Potomac Maryland. Menachem Mendel Bluming and his wife invite you to join the communal menorah lightings

You’ve shared with your secretaries that you will double their pay because of their good work... Two possible responses:  #1 "Well it's about time you paid me what I deserve!"  #2 "Wow, how generous & kind of you... This makes me feel so much more dedicated to the work." How would you feel after your secretary gave you the first response, how about after the second? After the second you might ask yourself why you didn’t give the raise sooner!! Think about that: What is our response to G-d's generous goodness to us?? Rabbi Menachem Mendel Bluming is a Potomac Maryland rabbi who leads the Chabad Shul of Potomac. Mendel Bluming and his family have lived in Potomac since 2000.

Would you rather marry a perfect spouse who will feel no connection to you or an imperfect spouse who will love you? In human relationship how long can marriage last if there is no feeling... When it comes to G-d our action is key. Feeling enhances our mitzvoth/deeds greatly but deed counts most. Hamaaseh hu haikar/ ist is the deed that counts most (Mishna Avot) Rabbi Mendel Bluming leads the Chabad Shul of Potomac. Chabad of Potomac and Menachem Mendel Bluming’s vision is to serve as a conduit for your Jewish relationship’s growth

“I’m dating and everything adds up; she seems to be exactly what I am looking for on paper. Just one thing... the love is absent. What do I do!??” Love can only blossom in an open heart. When our heart is closed we cannot feel affection, even when that affection really is there. And what closes a heart is fear. You're scared. You're scared of your dream coming true. You have finally met a girl who could really end up being your wife. This is what you have prayed for, waited for, and hoped for, for so long. And now that it is in front of you, you're gripped with fear. It's scary to say goodbye to single life. It's scary to accept that you will marry a real person with flaws and issues, not an imaginary perfect dream person. It's scary to realize that now you're growing up, and about to start the next stage in your life, with all the joys and challenges that will bring. This is why your heart is blocked. Fear and love cannot both be felt at a

The experience of loss arouses several emotions. On the one hand, death is a tragedy. A loved one is lost to their family and friends, who are left feeling a profound sense of separation and distance that seems beyond repair. For this reason, we observe a seven day intense mourning period, during which the family sits at home and feels the pain and loss, followed by a year of mourning. This helps them slowly accept the new reality; that their loved on has passed on. But often, the mourners feel that it isn't really true, it didn't really happen, they haven't really gone. This is not just denial. In a way they are right. Death is not the end. Our souls existed before we were born, and they continue to exist after we die. The souls that have passed on are still with us. We can't see them, but we sense they are there. We can't hear them, but we know that they hear us. On the surface, we are apart. On a deeper level, nothing can separate us. So we tear our gar

We have all been deeply affected by the shooting in Pittsburgh. There is a great danger ahead. The danger is that Jews become intimidated into hiding away. In the wake of such a tragedy, avoiding shul is far riskier than attending. You risk giving your kids the wrong message. I will never forget something that happened when in Jerusalem during the 2001 intifada. One Thursday afternoon, the busy Sbarro pizza shop, became the target of a Palestinian suicide bomber. He stood amongst the crowds innocently eating their lunch, and exploded himself, killing 15 people, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and injuring 130. It was an unspeakable tragedy that shook the Jewish world. It hit me hard too. But what stuck with me was what happened in the aftermath of the attack. Within a few weeks, the pizza store was open for business again. Construction crews worked around the clock to clean up the wreckage and rebuild it like new, as if nothing had happened. A bustling eatery h

Abraham our forefather was well known for his hospitality. He set up a center of “Aishel” which included lavish food and drink and also accompanying his guests on their way. In fact the Talmud, Sotah 46b teaches us that this is a acritical part of hospitality and in the words of Maimonides one who accompanies his guests fulfils a mitzvah that is greater than all the other parts of hospitality. Why must guests be accompanied on their way? You see hospitality is not just charity. Charity is to provide another with their needs. Hospitality is to give another the gift of not feeling alone. They are traveling and far from home and you dispel the feeling of loneliness by welcoming them in and by walking with them on their way. Today more than ever hospitality is so needed. We are in a generation where so many feel alone and your accompanying them on life’s path is more meaningful to them than most anything else. As the rabbi of Chabad Shul of Potomac, Menachem Mendel Bluming

Adam and Eve had everything, yet the snake drained their happiness. The snake said: you are missing something that would make you so much happier (the forbidden fruit)... When your life truly has everything, don't fall for the snakes who deplete you and entice you to feel lacking. Mendel Bluming serves as rabbi of the Chabad Shul of Potomac, Maryland.

Not really... If it was, why would it be a mitzvah to have a conversation with your friend or eat your breakfast in the sukkah. There is nothing religious about those activities. Judaism is not a religion it is a relationship and conversation with G-d. He relates to you through the totality of your life. From breakfast to your business, from your marriage to your child rearing. So, Judaism in one word? Totality. Mendel (Menachem) Bluming is the rabbi of the Chabad Shul of Potomac Maryland. Mendel (Menachem) Bluming has been serving the community since 2003.

Did you know that there is only one mitzvah that you are exempt from if you are uncomfortable and that is dwelling in the sukkah? If the sound of the shofar is uncomfortable to you, sorry but tolerate it. If not eating for 25 hours is uncomfortable to you, you are still required to fast on Yom Kippur. Why would you be exempt from dwelling in the Sukkah if it is raining?! Sukkah is G-d’s embrace. He embraces us as we are, without us doing anything religious. We eat, we drink, we chat with friends and that is sanctified by G-d when enveloped in the Diving Embrace of the Sukkah. In fact the verse “His right arm embraces me” refers to the sukkah. Unlike the days of awe when we pray and fast, on Sukkot He embraces your life as you are, inviting your personal life to be imbued with sacredness. An embrace is not an embrace if it makes you uncomfortable. Sukkot is too personal to obligate you if you are in agony. Then again how can someone be in agony when embraced by G-d, ev

Have you ever wondered why you are drawn to a synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?! Why are so many Jews who do not ordinarily attend synagogues feel the need to be there on the High Holidays? There must be a deep reason beyond tradition, guilt and the honey cake kiddush… listen in: A king had a dream one night… He was in the woods just roaming around alone, enjoying the pleasant nature, the chirping birds and the comfortable breeze, when from afar he heard a young child playing a beautiful melody on his flute. Not wanting to disturb the beautiful music, the king sat down on a stump and allowed the mesmerizing music to saturate his soul. It was so sweet and engaging, soulful and uplifting, it made him feel so wholesome and fulfilled. The king could not pull himself away from listening to this beautiful music. Ee! Ee! Ee! Ee!… Suddenly the disturbing noise of his alarm clock woke him from this sweet dream, he desperately tried to recall the melody but alas he could not rememb

So here’s a twist on an old story that has been circulating for years: A young girl held two apples which she planned to dip into honey on Rosh Hashanah, as we do traditionally. Her mum came in and softly asked her little daughter with a smile; my sweetie, could you give your mum one of your two apples? The girl looked up at her mum for some seconds, then she suddenly took a quick bite out of one apple, and then quickly of the other. The mum felt the smile on her face freeze. She tried hard not to reveal her disappointment. Then the little girl handed one of her bitten apples to her mum, and said: mummy, here you are. This is the sweeter one! This one is for you! No matter who you are, how experienced you are, and how knowledgeable you think you are, always delay judgement. As the Mishnah (Avos Mishna 1:6)  teaches:  always judge another favorably. On Rosh Hashanah we ask that of G-d and He expects us to exemplify that with each other. Rabbi Mendel

Death is one of those topics we usually prefer to avoid. It is not pleasant to be reminded of our mortality and of those whom we have lost. And yet, it is a part of life that we cannot avoid. A healthy attitude towards death can in fact be life-enhancing. The washing and non-drying of the hands helps to illustrate this. There are several reasons given for washing and not drying the hands after a funeral or visiting a cemetery. 1. A corpse is ritually impure, and anyone who's been close to a dead body contracts some of that impurity. Washing the hands cleanses us of this touch with death, and we don't want to pass this unholy spirit onto a towel, so we leave our hands to dry themselves. 2. We want to arouse kindness and mercy on behalf of the departed when they are judged in heaven. Water represents kindness, as it falls from the heavens to irrigate the earth. So pouring water on our hands symbolizes the kindness that we pray should rain down on the departed in hea

In Jewish tradition  naming your child’s Jewishly  is not just an arbitrary choice . The center  letters of the Hebrew word for soul, neshamah, are shem meaning ‘name’. The name essentially carries code for the spiritual life force of this child’s soul energy. It is for that reason that a Jewish name is considered divinely chosen and the parents' choice should not be overly swayed by others because specifically parents are given the ability to identify the code for their child’s soul. Mazel tov!  As part of Rabbi Mendel Bluming’s position in Potomac, Maryland, he officiates at life cycle occasions including Brisses and baby namings and encourages all Jewish parents to give their children a traditional Jewish name.

Rabbi Mendel Bluming guides the Chabad Shul of Potomac, Maryland. Chabad’s motto is to increase understanding in and connection to the service of G-d. So here’s a thought to provide more understanding as to why we wash before bread. In the times of the Temple, the Kohen tribe of priests would survive off of donations of produce from all the farmers, called the Terumah. This food could only be given to a Kohen and his family, and had to be eaten in a state of ritual purity. So the priests would ritually wash their hands before eating to ensure that they were pure. From then it became customary for even non-priests to wash their hands before eating, in deference to the Kohanim who had an obligation to do so. And even though today we unfortunately don’t have those foods that need to be eaten in purity, we continue to wash our hands before bread. Why did our sages require us to wash our hands the same way the priests did? The Kohanim did not work outside in the fields. They s

As a rabbi in Maryland since 2000, Rabbi Mendel Bluming, is turned to regularly with the quest of how to find happiness in life. In fact it is a question that is central in Jewish life because the verse in Psalms 100 teaches that one MUST serve G-d (do their mission in this world) with joy! But how is that possible when life is often full of agony, loss and setbacks?! And that’s why it’s given to us as a mitzvah. Happiness is not a reaction to a wonderful life but rather an action, a commitment to living with joy regardless of life’s circumstances. But how? Here’s a thought: Rather than looking at happiness as being a product of our circumstances, see it as the driver of our circumstances. Joy has the power to break down obstacles. A happy and positive viewpoint can bring about happy and positive results. Not that happy people never have grief. But happy people don't allow suffering define them. And that gives them the gift to see through tough times and come out the

In the Torah we are told that Jacob remained alone (Breishis 32). Abraham was called Ivri due to the fact that he was on the “other side” of all of mankind, he stood alone. Elijah famously stated I am the only one left, alone (Melachim Aleph 18). The Lubavitcher Rebbe was very comfortable to stand alone. He was given criticism for his campaign to put tefillin on with men on the streets, for urging women to light Shabbat candles even if they did not keep Shabbat yet, for his views on Israel and on halachic conversion and of course on his Moshiach fervor and so much else. He was willing to stand alone and he shaped a Jewish renaissance as a result. G-d stands alone. The mystics enlighten us that "One who is alone" is the level of the Divine Infinite Light that does not manifest in relationships. As in the prayer of adon olam “Livado yimloch”. Isaiah 2: G-d will be exalted alone. Do you have the inner strength to brave standing alone rather than cave for acceptance of

Spirituality and healing are fundamentally intertwined. Modern medicine has opened its mind to the power of the mind to help heal the body, and the impact of a patient's spiritual state on the healing process. Any attempt to better our physical health should be coupled with an upgrade in our spiritual health. On many levels, the body and soul go side-by-side. A medical treatment will only be effective if it is well-matched for the patient. Factors such as blood type, genetic make-up and family history will help make a determination whether a particular treatment is appropriate for a particular person. A practitioner would be negligent in their duty if they did not first investigate the patient's background prior to deciding how to treat them. The same applies to remedies of the spiritual nature. Your soul's family history must be thought about before embarking on any spiritual path. If your soul’s DNA is Jewish, it needs Jewish spirituality to be healthy. Heal

In the words of Isaiah carved in the wall of the United Nations: “…they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks- Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2-4) But it is a little hard to see that happening in today’s world... how will it come about? The Messianic era, which we have been praying for ever since the Temple was destroyed 2000 years ago, will usher in an unbelievable reign of peace. All nations will bond under one G-d with a singular moral purpose. There will be no more hostilities, no famine, and no slow internet. While religious and national unique qualities will remain, the hatred between them will be gone. No blood need be shed to attain this. The force of ideas, not the might of weapons, will bring about the redemption. This means some ideologies will need adjustment and certain beliefs rejected. But this can be done through self-examination from within rather than at

Traditionally freshly laundered clothing is not worn for the duration of this period (other than Shabbat), however that is only if they are changed because of comfort or pleasure. Those who are accustomed to changing their shirts regularly due to dirt or perspiration in the heat of summer, may do so even during the nine days, even if the shirt has previously been freshly laundered. Menachem Mendel Bluming quoted from Rabbi Goldstein at ShulchanAruchHarav.com who sources this in Kinyan Torah 1:109; Piskeiy Teshuvos 551:17

When Rabbi Mendel Bluming came to Potomac he was approached by a local newspaper with the question as to the need of so many synagogues, shouldn’t one joint one be enough?! Here’s a new thought on it. It reminded me of a similar question: Why are there so many diners in our neighborhood? Shouldn't there just be one place to go out to? I have counted 12 on one street! Would it be better with just one big restaurant? I think foodies would not agree. One person loves Thai, another prefers Italian. The formal dining experience in one place works for some, while others seek a casual night out. Family friendly fast food locations will not attract the fine diners, and fancy plates with a tiny little gourmet morsel in the middle will not be popular with hungry adolescents. Vegetarians don't seem to enjoy steak houses. Steak lovers don't always go for quinoa burgers. The varied choice of restaurants caters to all the varied tastes and moods. There can't be a one eatery f

Here’s an idea: Ask him for help. When you contact him, set aside the illness as if it wasn’t there for a moment, and ask him for some advice. Think of his area of knowledge and talent and tell him that you need his assistance. He is a builder and you are thinking of renovating. Ask him about some issues you are having. This will be more than just telling him "you matter and you are needed", it will be actually making him needed. Now obviously we are talking about someone with some serious health issues. They won’t go away with one little conversation. It might not change anything at all. He may not even be receptive to being asked, or maybe he can’t respond. But if you have even the slightest possibility of getting through to him, it is worth a try. It might give him the opportunity of not being absorbed in his own issues. If he can focus on another person for even a short time, that may serve as a little breath of fresh air, and he may be lifted, if even t

Rabbi Mendel Bluming, who serves the community through the Chabad Shul of Potomac, is often challenged with this question. Below is a thought based on Jewish philosophy: Good is so because G-d made that choice. G-d is not bound by anything, and could have chosen differently. He could have said "Thou shalt steal," and "Do not help the poor and needy." Helping old ladies cross the road would be the wrong thing to do, but mugging them would be o.k. Now you could argue, anyone with a healthy conscience knows that stealing is morally wrong and helping the needy is a righteous and decent thing to do. But our conscience was too created by G-d. If morality would be on its head, we would be wired accordingly. Fortunately for all those old ladies trying to cross the street everywhere, G-d chose the former way around. Does this mean good isn't good in actuality? Is morality nothing more than a fanciful fancy? Not at all. Only humans are whimsical and rando

There is a theory believed by many that we can learn all we need to know about a person in the first few seconds of meeting them. It is a decent theory. There is only one problem with it however... it’s not true :) A person is so much deeper than meets the eye. We are multi-layered. We have thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams, quirks and faults. Everyone has a past and everyone has a soul. You can't see everything at first glance. How many times have you been impressed by someone's first impression, only to be disappointed after a few conversations? And the opposite is true too, how many people have you spoken to and not particularly appreciated, only to be pleasantly surprised after spending more time with them? Even looks are misleading. A person whom you find unattractive originally can grow on you as their complete picture unravels. I am certain you would agree that no one can know what you are all about by speaking to you once. The same is true for others

A convert is allowed to marry a king. A convert can also marry a prophet and even a rabbi, the highest echelon of Jewish society (if you ask me :). So there is no sense in saying that a convert can't marry a cohen because they are second class citizens. There has to be some other reason. Here’s a thought to reflect on: When the Torah says no to a marriage, it is never because one party is not good enough for the other. The reason is as the parties are not matched to each other. They are simply not soulmates. In the case of the cohen and the convert, the dynamics of their souls clash, with spiritual energies contradicting they can't marry. The holiness of a cohen is inherited. If your father is a cohen, then so are you. Priesthood is a birthright that is not reached through a person's effort nor deserved through a person's righteousness. It is an honor that is imparted at birth. The sacredness of a convert is the exact opposite. It is completely earned. T