Earlier this week we enjoyed our second Mensch Men’s Club. Hosted at the Sypes Canyon home of Howie Levine and led by Rabbi Mendel, twenty-two men came together to enjoy delicacies for the body, nourishment for the soul, with deep nuanced Jewish conversations ranging from the history of secular Zionism to the values of a Torah-based love of Israel. While in discussion, Dimitri brought up the topic of the post October 7th awakening, and how so many Jews of all ages have been pushed back into the arms of their Jewish family because their gentile “friends” have alienated, and hated on, them. It’s a real thing and I have the Monana numbers to prove it.

In this week’s Torah portion, Tetzaveh, we read about the oil used for the Menorah in the Tabernacle. We are instructed to utilize only clear, pure, oil, but we differ on how far we must go. Rashi teaches that it’s only the olive oil that needs clarity, ensuring that it’s sediment free, but the Ibn Ezra teaches that the olive themselves must also be beautiful and wholesome. The Midrash teaches that just as one must crush an olive to enjoy its oil, so too to appreciate the Jewish people, for their inner deliciousness to be revealed, it must undergo a good crushing. When life is smooth and the world tolerates us, we tend to assimilate or get too cozy, but when they come for us, when they spew blood libels at us, we shine, we unite, we serve Hashem.

During the Purim era Jewry was assimilated. They partied with the psychotic king at a Treif gala, and, unlike Mordechai, bowed to Haman. Yet, when Haman came to annihilate them, when they felt like they were being crushed, the inner Jew awakened like a lion and followed Mordechai and Esther’s instructions, sticking with G-d, and the rest is history. Since October 7th the floodgates of Jew-hatred have opened and as a result the Jewish soul has come back to life. From Townsend to Wilsall, from Ennis to Bozeman, the Jewish people are experiencing a renaissance. So, my dear haters, your Haman moment will come soon enough but, in the meantime, thanks for the crushing, the oil is incredible.

A Freilichen Purim!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!

I dropped into Queens for a day to attend the wedding of Tova Wolfson and Tzvi Hauben. Tova is the daughter of our dear friends Daniel and Estie, and she is also a beloved counselor at Camp Simcha, and, as a result, knows our Zeesy. While there, I visited the Rebbe’s Ohel for some prayer and visited the graves of my beloved mom and Bubbe who are buried next to each other. Every time I am there, I reflect on my blessing to have grown up in the presence of two incredible women, who, with genuine Jewish femininity, raised and guided my siblings and I with a unique worldview that is a combination of Chutpazh, sensitivity, kindness, wisdom and bold Jewish spirit.

In this week’s Torah portion, Terumah, we read about the contributions donated to the construction of the Tabernacle. How the Menorah was built, what design and materials were used for the beam sockets, the thoughtful layers of tapestries with animal imagery that adorned the structure, the perfection of the rings holding down the curtains, and so much more. Interestingly, the Torah teaches that the women not only donated to many aspects of the Tabernacle, but that they were superior to the men, showing up to donate even when it wasn’t obligatory. To the men it came mostly by command; to the women it came from their heart. This is a foundational concept brought to life by Jewish women throughout the generations.

As I sat at the Chuppa, on the 21st floor of Terrace on the Park, observing this young couple begin their journey to build a Jewish family, a Jewish home, it dawned upon me how blessed we are that Torah teaches us how to value the women in our life. When I sing Aishes Chayil each Friday night, it’s easy for me to think of Chavie who epitomizes those values, and of course to think of my mother, Bubbe, and all the Jewish women that came before them. When Benny Friedman sang these words of the Sheva Brachos to the bride and groom, “L-rd our G d, let there speedily be heard in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and the sound of happiness, the sound of a groom and the sound of a bride..”, I paused to marvel at how lucky this young couple is to begin their marriage with the phenomenal outlook, embedded in Judaism, on how they are to see, and treat, each other and what each of them brings to the relationship.

Kol Sason, Vekol Simcha!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!