Mendel Bluming | Blogger

A lot of people call themselves "culturally Jewish." They feel connected to the Jewish people, are active in the community, advocate for Israel, and may attend shul on major festivals. But they don't keep Jewish law.   For example, when it comes to Shabbat, they will argue that the laws are not important, it is all about family time. If you come to Shabbos dinner, whether you walk or drive doesn't make a difference. As long as you eat chicken soup, it doesn't matter if it was cooked before Shabbos came in or after. These people believe it's all about the feeling, not the little details. Let's call them Chicken Soup Jews. On the other side of the spectrum, there are some Jews who are scrupulous in their observance of Shabbos, keep every law down to the last dot, but do it without joy. They keep Shabbos neurotically, obsessing over what you can't do and making the day of rest into a day of stress. Let's call them Chicken Coup Jews. Both are mis...

It is so hard to see a loved one fade after living a vibrant and active life. How we approach this painful stage will depend on our perspective. And the Jewish perspective on the end of life differs greatly to much of mainstream thinking today. To approach life and death the Jewish way, we need to make sure we have that perspective very clear.   It often happens that immoral ideas creep into the minds of even those who have otherwise good values. Usually, the way these concepts infiltrate is via catch phrases and clichés. First they enter our vocabulary, then they become a part of our mentality. One example is "dying with dignity." This is a phrase that deserves to die. True dignity comes from the soul. The good deeds we do in our lifetime, the meaning we bring to our days, the beauty and joy we bring to those around us all come from the soul. Your value comes from G-dliness expressed uniquely through your soul. Our body is the vehicle for our soul. It is through ...

The Jewish people can best be described as a spiritual family. We are connected by our souls, and every Jew is a part of this invisible web by virtue of our Jewishness. You can either be born into the family or join by choice. But once you are in, you are family, no matter what. If Jews are a family, the Torah is the family rules. It recounts the family history, defines the family identity, and lays out the expectations of how members of the family should behave and the good they can contribute to the world. Some of the Torah is universal, but much of it is about our particular family and its relationships - with our brothers and sisters, our ancestors, our homeland and the Head of the family - G-d. If you break the rules, you are still a member, because family is family. But those who keep the rules keep the family together. Those who reject the rules usually find their children or grandchildren will drift away from the family entirely, not even knowing what they are leaving beh...

The Mishna (Brachot 54a) teaches: Just as we bless G-d for good things, so should we bless Him for bad things. This seems to say that we should make no differentiation between good news and bad. Whether we just won the lottery or a major catastrophe just befell us, we should bless G-d in exactly the same way. But the Gemara elaborates: When we hear good news we say, "Blessed are You G-d, King of the Universe, Who is good and does good." When we hear bad news we say, "Blessed are You G-d, King of the Universe, Who is the Judge of truth." Those two blessings are clearly different. When we win the lottery, we praise G-d for His goodness. Not only is He good, but He does good that we can experience as good. However, when tragedy strikes, we humbly acknowledge that G-d is the one who decides our fate. So, the Gemara asks, what does the Mishna mean by "just as", implying some parity between good and bad tidings? Answers the Gemara: We should ac...

Every other creation was created ready to go. When G-d created camels and hippopotamuses and horses He created them, body and soul, united ready to do what they need to. Only human beings were created as a lifeless body and then as the Torah shares in Genesis 2:7: “G-d formed the human from the dust of the ground, and He breathed into its nostrils the soul of life.” He breathed a soul of life into that lifeless body to remind us that our soul is not (just) about animating our bodies, your soul is independent from your body. It existed before it was joined with your body and it will continue its journey beyond your body’s passing. Don’t get too caught up with the indulgences and fears and narrow vision of your body. Your body’s life is so fleeting while your soul’s relationships and vision and G-dly awareness are eternal. Mendel (Menachem) Bluming, Maryland

When lighting Shabbos candles, it is customary to wave our hands three times inwards before making the blessing. There’s a deep reason for this… Resting takes a lot of work. Many people are great at achieving, but find it hard to stop achieving. They know how to do, but don't know how to just be. Shabbos is the day of rest, and to do it right you need to know what resting means. Resting is not doing nothing. If it was, there would be no reason to feel rejuvenated after a rest. Not doing may not drain us, but why should it replenish us? True rest is the ingathering of our soul energies. After expending our powers outward, we draw our energies back inward. During the work week we are pulled in all directions, and our frantic activities drain our soul. The creativity and inventiveness that lies within has been exhausted, and so we need to draw our energy back to its source to be replenished and renewed. This is symbolized by the waving motion inward at candle lighting. We are ...

Remember when your little brother was born? After being in your mother's tummy for such a long time, he finally came out to be with you and the family. How exciting. You'd been waiting for so long to meet him and play with him, and then he finally arrived.   Your baby brother was very comfortable inside mummy's tummy, where it's warm and he had everything he needed. But he couldn't stay there forever.  When it was time, he came out to be with you. In a strange way, death is similar to birth. We leave the world we know and enter the great unknown world outside.  All the people who have passed away are in that peaceful and happy place. Just as you were waiting for your brother to come and be with you, the souls of past generations were waiting for your grandfather to join them. Now they are all together. We miss them. But there's nothing to be scared of. Remember you used to talk to your baby brother, even before he was born? He heard you, though he couldn...