Our parsha begins as follows:
Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and say to him: “When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the menorah. Aaron did so; he lit the lamps toward the face of the menorah, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Why the superfluous statement that “Aaron did so”? Simply say that he lit the lamps as the verse continues.
Rashi comments that the Torah meant to praise Aaron that he did not deviate. He did not do more or less than what he was commanded, he did not look for new ways to fulfill the commandments. He just fulfilled it with simplicity.
It is not as easy as it sounds to do something exactly as we are told to. How much do we try to reinvent, reignite, re-inspire ourselves and own Judaism. How much effort to we put in to being up-to date and with it.
How about just taking pleasure from the simple directives and actions of the Torah. Doing a mitzvah simply, with heart. Our sages say, the reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself. The pleasure and uniqueness of the mitzvah is not the flash, excitement nor even ones depth of understanding of it- but simply the fulfillment of the mitzvah with heart for its own sake.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov stated beautifully that when Mashiach comes, those will have the first opportunity to greet mashiach will be those who served Hashem with a simple and sincere heart. So may we all learn to see the blessing of simplicity and be those first in line to greet mashiach!
Understanding Your Neighbor- A Story of Courage, Acceptance and Forging a Positive Path Forward
Sunday, June 14th at 7pm
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/8109156125
Please see flyer for details
Virtual Classes
1. Thursday at 4:30 pm- The Tales of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
2. Friday at 5:45 pm- Virtual Kabbalat Shabbat and Dvar Torah
3. Saturday Night- Havdallah 10 minutes after Shabbat
4. Sunday at 10 am- Contemporary Issues in Jewish Thought (based on The Torah of Truth and Kindness)
5. Tuesday at 1 pm- Parsha class