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. Rab...

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. Th...

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...