Welcome to Beyond Twelve Gates.
In a recent NFL game Buffalo Bills wide receiver Steve Johnson dropped an
easy, game-winning touchdown pass in overtime. After the game, Johnson
tweeted: I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME !!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM
THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! THX
THO. Many in the sporting world and beyond were stunned by Johnson's
passive-aggressive challenge to G-d.
My hotline to Heaven is currently in the shop. But if it was working, I'm
certain the conversation would go something like this:
Me: "Master of the Universe, Steve Johnson said that the dropped pass was Your fault, and he doesn't know what to learn from the
experience. What shall I tell him?"
G-d: "Tell Steve -- next time, keep your eye on the ball."
Parshas Vaeira
Exodus 6:2 -- 9:35
G-d assures Moses that He will indeed redeem the Jewish people from slavery and
bring them into the land of Israel. After the Torah presents a detailed
genealogy of the tribe of Levi (Moses' family), Moses and Aaron go before
Pharaoh to request a three-day hiatus from work so that the Jewish people can
worship G-d in the desert. Moses' staff is miraculously turned into a
snake as a sign of their Divine mission. When the Egyptian sorcerers
counter by transforming their staffs into snakes as well, Moses' staff swallows
up theirs. Even so, Pharaoh adamantly refuses to free the Jewish people,
and the series of ten gruesome plagues begins.
The first seven plagues are described in this week's Torah portion; blood,
frogs, lice, a swarm of wild beasts, pestilence, boils and hail. Moses
goes down to the river to speak to the Egyptian king -- however, Pharaoh
remains in denial ('in d'Nile -- get it?') continuing
to refuse to free the Jewish people as his heart is hardened. The portion
comes to a close in the middle of these momentous events.
Rabbinic Ruminations
Mark McKee is lucky a Michigan library isn't charging him a late fee for
returning a book 76 years late. In 1934, the 13-year-old Mark McKee
checked out "A Dog of Flanders" from a public library.
Recently, McKee, now 89, said he discovered the book and returned it by
mail. In a letter accompanying the book, McKee estimated that overdue charges
would amount to thousands of dollars -- but that when he found the book, he
finally decided to do the right thing. Library Director Donald Worrell
Jr. said he was thrilled to get the package, and that McKee doesn't have to
worry about a fine. "We figure the story is better than the money,"
Worrell said. Instead, the library plans to put the book and letter on
display and to send a fresh copy of the book to McKee.
Why did Mark McKee, who is now a winter resident in Arizona, decide to return
the book? In his letter to the library he wrote, "My conscience took
over."
Our moral conscience, known in Hebrew as the yetzer
tov, is our spiritual compass that always points north -- to the
Almighty. All people were created with an intuitive recognition of right
and wrong. The heart of the Jewish understanding of free will is that we
have the ability to choose to follow our yetzer tov,
and we will all be held responsible for the choices we make. Mark McKee
is now sleeping better at night -- because there is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.
Quote of the Week
When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stone cutter hammering away at
his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in
it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it
was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before
-- Jacob Riis
(Danish social reformer and journalist, 1849 - 1914)
Joke of the Week
The Cohen family was on good terms with their Christian neighbors, the O'Briens. In fact, little Yaakov Cohen and
Christopher O'Brian from next door would play together from time to time. Or at
least they used to.
One late December day, Duncan O'Brien, the non-Jewish father, came storming
into the Cohen house holding poor Yaakov by the ear. "Your son is not going
near my Chris again; he just has no respect for us and our religion!"
"What's the matter; what did he do?" inquired Mr. Cohen. "I'll
tell you," said Duncan in a rage. "He saw our Christmas tree and
started making fun." "Really, what did he say?" continued Mr.
Cohen.
Duncan said, "He saw our tree and started asking all sorts of ridiculous
questions - what kind of pine trees can be used for a Christmas tree? What's
the minimum required height? How close to the window does it need to
be? Do too many decorations render it unfit? What if it's under a neighbor's balcony?!" (thanks to Menachem Szus for the joke)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are a community at Nusach Hari B'nai Zion, dedicated to outreach and to the
inclusion of all Jews. As such we strongly encourage you to be a part of our
social media presence. Along with email, Facebook and Twitter are the new
"word of mouth." If you are already a member of either one, please join
us there. In addition, it's essential that you encourage your family and
friends to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. The more people who join us as a
part of our social media conversation, the more people we have an opportunity
to reach.
To join us on Facebook go to http://bit.ly/dtIoA4 and click the
"Like" button.
To follow us on Twitter go to http://twitter.com/NHBZ and click
"Follow."
To follow Rabbi Smason go to
http://twitter.com/pepshortand click "Follow."
=============================================================
Everything Jewish in St. Louis - including Rabbi Smason's
column, community events, news, commentary and features for Jews of all ages -
can be found on our community website, www.JewishinStLouis.org This website is
a service of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis and features columns from St.
Louis Rabbis and community members.
==============================================================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Comments, questions, requests to be added to our email list or better jokes can
be sent to pepshort613@gmail.com or adarabba@hotmail.com Care to know more
about Nusach Hari Bnai Zion Congregation? Check us
out at www.nhbz.org If you enjoyed Beyond Twelve
Gates, please share with a friend. Thanks to Alan Haber for his assistance in
distributing BTG