I remember that moment like it was yesterday.

I was in Oklahoma City, helping for the High Holy Days, when my buddy Ovadia, the local Shliach, barged into my room, heading up to his office, because something just happened in New York. My family was in New York, fear was real, phones were down, but within a few hours I knew that my parents and siblings were fine. Yet, I knew that our country was reeling, so many lives taken by Islamic terrorists; it would never be the same. That evening I joined Ovadia at the home of a local Jew, Dr. Joel Corn, to watch the evening news and see what was going on in NY, DC and Pennsylvania. It was hard to fathom this type of evil, barbarity, the same evil that we saw raise its ugly head twenty-two years later on October 7th in Israel.

Good people can’t understand evil.

This week’s double Torah portion, Nitzavim-Vayelech, which is always read before Rosh Hashana, introduces us to the possibility of Teshuva, to regret our past, change our ways and commit to a proper future. The verse says, “And the Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you may love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, for the sake of your life.” We work hard to rectify our past and when Hashem sees our genuine effort, He boosts our ability for change because He wants us close to Him. Teshuva is brutal, changing habits is difficult, but a living being must always grow. I look back at certain behaviors of my youth, including carrying grudges and being unforgiving, and I think about how awful that was and how glad I am to be changing and working to be more refined in my thought, speech and action.

If you’re looking to make a 5787 resolution, let it be this: It’s easy for most of us to condemn evil. It’s easy for most of us to walk away from institutions that promote Jew hatred, it’s easy to for most of us abhor cruelty and savagery. Yet, it’s a lot harder to change our own inner core to be brighter and healthier. It’s harder to find the character traits within ourselves that are detestable and willing to change them. Victor Frankel wrote that “When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves”. I would disagree. We don’t need to wait for the outside to be unchangeable to focus inward, we should start the change within and everything around us will change as a result. September 11th showed us the power of evil, our response should be to experience the power of good, starting from within ourselves.

We owe it to the victims!

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!

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Tis the season.

On Wednesday, Menny started Fall football at SMS. After the first practice, Coach Dave spoke to the parents, laying out the expectations for behavior, practices, games, and schooling for the players and their families. He was nice but firm; stay hydrated, get sleep, eat well, do well in class, head injuries are taken seriously, everyone will get a chance to participate in games, lightning within ten miles of the field ends the game/practice, be punctual and so on. For the players to grow in their athleticism and sportsmanship there must be structure to guide them to success.

It got me thinking.

In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Savo, we continue to read Moses’ words to Jewry before he passes away, and they enter the land of Israel. He reminds them that “the Lord has selected you this day to be His treasured people, as He spoke to you, and so that you shall observe all His commandments”. The reminder wasn’t just about making them feel good, “you are chosen, now go eat Rugelach”; it was to remind them that “chosen” title, to be G-d’s representatives to sanctify the world and inspire humanity, comes with immense responsibility to follow the invaluable structure that the Torah commands us to follow. It’s easier to remain unchosen, it easier to have less collective responsibility to change the world, but when chosen, in our case chosen at Sinai for a specific role, we can only succeed when incorporating healthy, Divine, structure.

I often wonder why when it comes to Judaism people Kvetch about the intricate rules, yet in every other aspect of daily living rules are the name of the game. Flying has a million rules from TSA to Airlines to baggage weight to bottled water through security. Logging into any tech device involves passwords and Face ID and various forms of security to ensure that I am me. Businesses and workplaces have structures that uphold the systems that bring success, governments have regulations for all citizens, and even the garbage companies tell you where and how to leave your cans out for pickup. So, if Judaism isn’t inspiring you, we must work on that and see what the core issue that is bothersome to you, but let’s not blame our apprehension on the rules, because it’s these G-dly rules that give our spiritual self the attention it deserve so that we can achieve spiritual wholesomeness.

Like football, rules make it a better, and fairer, game.

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!

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