Mendel Bluming | Blogger

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