Just Do It

The beginning of the secular New Year is an opportunity for people to undertake resolutions or commitments. It can be an overwhelming endeavor, as we might not know where to begin the process. There are so many areas where one can improve, and just contemplating bringing positive change is daunting. As always, profound lessons from the Torah are insightful on this topic. In a somewhat bizarre incident, Yosef brings his two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, to his ailing father's bedside for a final parting and for the two young grandchildren to get a blessing from their sage grandfather. Yaakov stuns Yosef when he places his right hand on the second brother, Ephraim, and his left hand on the firstborn son, Menashe. This is met with resistance from Yosef, who not so gently reminds his elderly father that Menashe is the firstborn and thus deserves the right hand placed on him. (This is somewhat ironic considering that Yosef, who was not the firstborn, was considered the preferred son, and now he is taking offense that his firstborn son was not receiving his due honor). What was it about Yaakov's insistence that Ephraim was the recipient of the preferred bracha? Not only that, but Yaakov designated the gold standard of blessings as "May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe."Why was it so important that Ephraim precedes Menashe? The Nesivos Shalom writes based on a famous verse in Tehillim/Psalms: סור מרע ועשה טוב /Desist from Evil and Perform Good. This is the formula that King David taught us toward the path of character development and improvement. First and foremost, it is important to desist from wrongdoing and only then to engage in mitzvah or good deeds. The only problem with that approach is that a person can always be busy with desisting wrongdoing and never get to perform one mitzvah or good deed -- for who can actually say that I have no baggage left in the closet and now I am free to pursue mitzvahs and good deeds? One of the best ways to desist from wrongdoing is just to do a mitzvah or good deed. This is illustrated by Menashe and Ephraim's story. In Parshas Mikeitz, the reason why Yosef named his two sons Menashe and Ephraim is stated. His first son was named Menashe for, as he put it, " God has made me forget the toil." In essence, that is the value of desist from wrongdoing. His second son was named Ephraim for as he put it "G-d made me fruitful in the land of my affliction". In essence, this is the value of Asei Tov /Doing a Mitzvah or good deed. That was Yaakov's deeper message in designating his two grandsons. Although in an ideal world, it is important to first get away from wrongdoing, it is imperative that one just perform a mitzvah or a good deed as activation energy. Sometimes, it is precisely one small positive action that can be a catalyst for much greater things to come. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch

Finding Light in the Darkness

It is not as easy to make the journey to Israel from America these days. As most airlines have stopped flying to and from Israel because of the war, one has to undertake a degree of creativity in planning an itinerary. I flew from Jacksonville to Miami to Dubai to Tel Aviv to arrive for my grandson's Bris in Jerusalem. It was a whirlwind, and I could not be more grateful to be in the Capital of our ancestral homeland to observe how this young infant, representing the newest link in the chain of thousands of years of Jewish tradition, would enter the eternal covenant. As I began the journey back to my current residence in Jacksonville, I found myself at the Dubai International Airport for an extended layover on the first night of Chanukah. I had packed candles in my carry-on and was on a mission to find a place to light the Chanukah candles. I did not pack a lighter or matches as I did not want to cause an international incident by having that contraband in my possession. My initial plan was to go to the Duty-Free, buy a carton of cigarettes, and ask them to throw in a lighter. I have never bought a pack of cigarettes in my life, but if this gave me a lighter to be used for lighting the candles, I would break my nearly five-decade tradition of not owning cigarettes. After learning that the Duty-Free did not have any lighters or matches to distribute with cigarettes, I needed to resort to Plan B. I discovered Plan B when I walked by the smoker's lounge and saw people smoking. I braved the cloud of smoke in the lounge and asked someone if I could use his lighter, and he graciously gave me his lighter. I took out my candles and set them up in the smoker's lounge. I stood up and recited the blessings before lighting the first candle for Chanukah. The person in charge of the lounge asked me what I was doing, and in a matter of fact manner, I responded that I was lighting Chanukah candles. He wished me a Happy Chanukah and even offered to get me a beverage of choice! I stayed there until the candles went out, and I reflected on the most interesting turn of events. In a larger sense, I was really taking the message of Chanukah to a new level. A primary message of Chanukah is to bring the light into an increasingly dark world. The world is dark and cold in many ways, and we become increasingly anxious and frustrated with the onset of more news reflecting pain and suffering. While we cannot do everything to eliminate the darkness, we are empowered to light a candle. Lighting a candle or lamp during Chanukah represents the larger message of bringing the light of G-d into our mundane lives. Every time we undertake a Mitzvah we are essentially continuing to bring this light into the darkness. While we can question what our efforts of lighting these candles can accomplish, I am reminded of the saying, "There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle.” That lesson was reinforced to me this year at Dubai International Airport. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch