Archive for the 'Rabbi's Message' Category

R’Ay – Count Your Blessings

Published on August 5, 2010 in Rabbi's Message. Closed

There is a famous teaching found in the Talmud tractate Taanis 7a . It says a person learns a certain amount from their teacher, more from their colleague and the most from their students. I can attest to this because when I teach classes or one on one I am constantly challenged and forced to seek out more and better answers. Recently during one of my private study sessions with Lionel Kahn he mentioned his doctor telling him of a cell phone use study. The study was the effects of cell phone use on peripheral vision.
The Study:
Some background: Cell phone use and its distraction on a person’s cognitive ability to assess information from a complex visual task, such as driving, have been demonstrated. Does talking on a cell phone cause a decrease in visual field awareness?

The results: Forty subjects (21 women and 19 men) aged 22 to 71 (mean age, 39.9 years) participated in the study. Significant overall constriction between the visual field isopters plotted during cell phone use, when compared with no cell phone use, was shown. Analysis of individuals with visual symptoms (COVD-QOL score of 20 or greater), were compared with those without visual symptoms (<20 on COVD-QOL). Both groups showed significant visual field constriction with cell phone use. The percentage of constriction was not significantly different between the 2 groups. Subjects with visual symptoms initially measured a more constricted visual field than did the non-visual symptom group. The percentage of constriction of the non-visual symptom group, while using a cell phone, was almost identical to the visual field constriction of the visual symptom group without cell phone use.
The driving-while-listening condition produced a 37 percent decrease in activity of the brain’s parietal lobe, which is associated with driving. This portion of the brain integrates sensory information and is critical for spatial sense and navigation. Activity was also reduced in the occipital lobe, which processes visual information.
Inattention Blindness is summarized to be, “Even when participants [drivers] are directing their gaze at objects in the driving environment, they may fail to ‘see’ them because attention is directed elsewhere.”

I was reviewing the portion of the week R’Ay, which means “See” and it immediately reminded me of vision. R’Ay Anochi Nosein Lifneichem HaYom Bracha U’Klala. See, Behold today I present to you a blessing and a curse. The traditional understanding is if I want life to be a blessing then I will follow and fulfill the Mitzvos. If I choose not to follow the Torah and its ways my life will be filled with curse.
Rebbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (known as the Kotzker Rebbe) discusses why the verse opens in the singular but concludes in the plural. He says the Torah is given to every person in an equal manner, but every individual sees the depth and width of the Torah through their own insight. Furthermore, in the merit of the entire nation, even the individuals will come to see the proofs of the Torah.

God gives every person blessings and curses throughout their life. Sometimes a curse can be found in the blessing and the blessing can be found in the curse. Other times we aren’t sure as to which the blessing is and which the curse is. Finally, there are situations that a person is receiving a blessing from Hashem but it is being interfered by some other blessing. The person is being blinded (to a certain degree) of the main blessing. Cell phones are a wonderful invention and so is the ability to drive a car. But they don’t work well together and the blessing of one interferes with the other. The lesson of the parsha is to make sure we count each and every blessing that we have. Raising children can be looked at as a curse but then having children is a blessing. Difficult and strained relationships can be viewed as a curse but having relationships is a blessing. The difficulties in life aren’t always bad, they are necessary to bring out the good in every situation, thereby being a blessing in disguise. Sure there will be times that other blessings will interfere with the other. We must SEE every BLESSING in its entirety without being impacted by another blessing and for sure a curse. If we truly appreciate the obvious blessings and some of the hidden blessings and making sure they don’t interfere then we will be choosing a great life to live!

Ah Gut Shabbos
Rabbi Avram Bogopulsky

DEVARIM – CHIRP, CHIRP, CHIRP

Published on July 15, 2010 in Rabbi's Message and Uncategorized. Closed

As many of you know I am the proud father of two birds. For many years these feathered friends took care of themselves. All I would do is make sure they had food, water and enough air space for them to spread their wings. About six months ago one of the older birds passed away. I always felt the need for having two birds so they could have each other because most of the day the house was empty. Therefore, I purchased a new young whitish parakeet named Spunky to keep DoeDoe company. A few weeks ago we noticed this white scaly stuff growing on his feet and beak and the beak became a little disfigured.  After consulting with the greatest veterinarians on google we found out the bird has mites. If this condition is not treated it could lead to the demise of the bird.

I was able to treat the bird by giving him a warm bath every morning and soothing his feet with Vaseline. Within a few days his feet were back to normal but during the illness he lost two nails and they will hopefully grow back. The bigger issue was the beak. The mites have gotten onto the beak as well and therefore Spunky had stopped trimming and filing his beak. (Remarkably, birds and most animals take care of themselves). Since he wasn’t filing it down it kept growing like our nails do. One major problem was that birds use their beaks to climb and swoop up their food and in combined action with their lower beak, crack the seeds and grab the food with their tongue and discard the shells. I now have to wait and see if he can still eat despite the beak being overgrown and out of shape. If he cannot eat, then the question will be do we take the bird for some expensive treatment or just let it be. Finally, the sound of his chirping is altered due to the over growth of his beak.

I now began to realize the importance of how perfect Hashem makes something and how easy it is to mess it up. We are also blessed with our own type of beaks and that is our mouth. This week’s Torah portion begins with “Eileh HaDevarim asher Deeber Moshe…” These are the words that Moshe spoke. The coincidence of the birds mouth problem and Moshe “speaking” to the Jewish people and reminding them of all their sins that they committed in the desert by not mentioning the sins themselves but rather the places they occurred. Moshe wanted to be careful not to speak in such a harsh way and embarrass the people, and therefore chose a more delicate method of rebuke. Parshas Devorim is almost always read the Shabbos before Tisha B’Av the ninth day of Av. We are all aware that the second temple was destroyed because of sinas chinam, unwarranted hatred amongst the Jews. Sinas chinam is fueled by lashon hara, evil speech.

Unfortunately, we don’t realize that as we speak negatively against our fellow Jew, our beaks start to become deformed. Our mouth piece starts to lose its original beauty and shape. We need to constantly trim and refine our lips, tongue and even clean our teeth in order that only nice things about others are said. If we don’t take care of it and work on it then we forget about how it is even supposed to look and what its function ought to be.

When the Torah says about Moshe Rabbeinu “These are the Words that Moshe spoke” it is not only directed to the context of his rebuke, but also to the actual WORDS. These words are a reflection of the entire Torah, the words of the Torah must be spoken in a special holy manner.

Remember when we speak what it can do to our mouths and face. If we speak evil then the parasites affix themselves to our mouths and face and disfigure it and it forces us to continually speak evil. We must rather clean it, sharpen it and keep it healthy so that only Lashon Tov, good speech is formed and not Lashon Hara. Of all the days of the year to take care of our beaks, oops I meant our mouths it should be during these nine days and hopefully our words will be able to build the temple one brick at a time and be able to rejoice in the building of the third Temple speedily in our day.

Ah Gut Shabbos
Rabbi Avram Bogopulsky
www.bethjacobsandiego.org

Rabbi’s Message – Parshat Mishpatim

Published on February 11, 2010 in Rabbi's Message. 0 Comments

The past few weeks Torah portion has focused on the redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt. From the ten plagues, to the splitting of the sea and on to Mount Sinai and the giving of the Torah. Ultimately, we would be led to Israel to live as a free nation in our land and to follow the laws of the Torah. It only takes a small reminder that we are in golus, exile.

The Torah teaches us to follow the laws of the land and we are obligated to be good law abiding citizens no matter where. The laws of Dina D’Malchusa Dina, the laws of the land have to be followed. One major difference between the laws of the United States and the Torah is the implementation and the carrying out of the punishment.

In this week’s parsha Mishpatim the Torah says Makeh Ish Vames Mos Yumas, whoever strikes a man dead shall surely be put death. According to the Torah, in order to exercise capital punishment, the perpetrator had to be warned and be premeditated with witnesses, yet in America that is not the case. A sharp reminder that we are in the exile will be witnessed (hopefully avoided) this coming Tuesday, February 16th when a Jewish man is scheduled to be executed in Florida. Martin Grossman was only nineteen years old when he killed a wildlife officer in 1984.

The following is a letter from Alan Dershowitz to his fellow Jews regarding the plight of Martin Grossman: Michoel Yechiel Ben Miriam Sorah

As you may or may not know, a Jewish man is slated for execution in Florida next Tuesday.

Martin Grossman was convicted of killing Margaret Parks, a Florida Wildlife Officer, in 1984, when he was 19 years old.

He did so while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and in an act of panic, not premeditation.

He has conducted himself as a model prisoner since his incarceration some 25 years ago and has shown profound remorse and regret for his actions.

National Council of Young Israel has joined other Orthodox Jewish groups including Agudath Israel of America and the Orthodox Union, in asking Florida Governor Charlie Crist to grant clemency , from the death penalty to life in prison, to Mr. Grossman, and we have also requested a meeting in person with Governor Crist to discuss the matter.

But it is important that the Governor hear from the grassroots as well – certainly from people who live or spend significant time in Florida, but even from non-Floridians.

His e-mail address is Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com , his phone number is

(850) 488-7146 and he can be faxed at 850-487-0801.

Letters and calls should be polite to the Governor to take into account Mr. Grossman’s youth and impairment at the time of the crime and his good behavior and remorse in the years since.

And the request should be that Mr. Grossman be permitted to serve his debt to society by serving the rest of his life in prison.

May we have happier occasions to demonstrate our achdus and ahavas Yisroel.

“Even those who strongly support capital punishment would limit it to recidivists or people who commit the most heinous of crimes. Martin Grossman fits neither of those categories. He does not belong on death row. His crime, committed when he was a teenager, was unplanned, unpremeditated and impulsive—the product of a serious mental illness, that can now be proved by medical technology that was unavailable at the time of his sentencing. He has been in prison for more than a quarter of a century, during which time he has been a model prisoner who has shown great remorse for what he did. All that he is seeking now is a 60 day postponement of his execution, so that his supporters can martial the evidence and present his case for clemency. No one should be rushed to execution while doubts remain unresolved. Justice demands that he be given the 60 days to prove that he does not deserve to die at the hands of the state.”

PLEASE PRAY FOR MICHOEL YECHIEL BEN MIRIAM SORAH

WE ARE STILL IN GOLUS. LET MOSHIACH COME SPEEDILY IN OUR TIME

Shabbat Shalom, Avram Bogopulsky