Hendel does Israel

While I may no longer technically be in Israel, I have no intention of stopping who I am or what I am about. We all know the timeless Chabad teaching of "Mach Doh Eretz Yisael" - its very empowering. I'll let you know about my journey, my struggles and my dreams. JaHbless.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Burn Baby Burn!




Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Breaking free from...?

Back in the day, in Egypt, we knew we were slaves, we knew that our imposed masters wanted us to build their pyramids and graze their cattle. If we refused to comply, than, we were struck with whips or beaten to the ground...

But, now, 3000 years later, in Melbourne; Jerusalem or New York;

How am I a slave?
Who is my master?
Where is my punishment?

Let me explain: I was driving down the street last week with my sister. I stopped at a red light, and, in front of me was a massive billboard, I'm talking, as big as a two story building, with a picture of two half naked models. These models were staring at us, with a half smirk, half smile.

I turned to my sister and asked her "what do you think they want from us?" She didn't really know. Neither did I.

So then, prehaps, the slavery of today, is the unknown. It is the world around that seeks to cover up and contradict the truths we know and hold so dear. We are bombarded, by demands, advertising, million dollar marketing campaigns. Why? To what end? What do they want from us? And, more importantly, why does G-d allow it, and put all these stumbling blocks in our way?

Answer: So we can get over them, and through that, get over ourselves!

A connected idea: During the Seder night, we make a brocha on the karpas, and then have in mind the maror, we don't want to make another brocha later on, so we are careful, we don't want to eat more than a kezyais. I always wondered why? Why can't we have another piece of potato? After all, we are hungry at the seder, what’s the big deal if we make another brocha later!? The reason is, that we don't want to make a brocha on the marror. Even though we have to eat it, its part of the seder, its part of what we need, we don't make a brocha on it. The bitter times, the hurdles, they are real and need to be addressed, but, not blessed to the point of making an entire ritual out of them.

The Freidiker Rebbe said: You don’t fight darkness with a stick (or a rock perhaps) rather, reveal more light!

So, in our lives, when we see marror, when we see hardships and bitter times, lets not give them too much importance, lets just jump right over them. When the world demands too much from us, lets demand from our selves to maintain our integrity, our truths and our purpose.

Lets ignore the distractions and focus on marching through the red sea, right back to the Holy Land!

Have an amazing, liberating Pesach!

Amen & JaHBless.