Do you have a Jewish Foot?

There are a church and a Jewish Temple next to each other. One day, the priest asks the Rabbi: “Why is it that you don’t have any mice in your Shul?”

The Rabbi answers: “Well, when they become 13 years old we make them Bar Mitzvah. After they become Bar Mitzvah, they don’t come to the Shul anymore.”

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Most probably you are reading this email while vacationing, as all good people do during the hot summer months. So in that spirit we’ll start with a story.

The Chassid Rabbi Nechemiah of Dubrovna told:

“I once saw a Russian soldier being whipped. His crime? While standing watch on a winter night, his feet had frozen in their boots. ‘Had you remembered the oath you took to serve the Czar,’ his commander berated him, ‘the memory would have kept you warm.’”

“For 25 years,” concluded Rabbi Nechemiah, “this incident inspired my service of the Almighty.”

You surely worked hard this year, and your body has been crying for a long-needed rest; granted. (That doesn’t explain why after vacation is over, we are so drained that we need another vacation…)

Excuse me for interrupting your relaxation, but a question begs to be asked. It may not be the most convenient and politically correct question, but what are you taking a vocation from? Has your religion also been on a summer break? How about your moral standards and modesty – is everything up to par? Is your body relaxing alone, or is it paired up with a relaxing soul?

The good old saying goes: Why do the high-holidays come in September? It’s because after all that went on during the July and August, our souls need some cleansing…

Eikev, is the name of our Parsha, and the verse literally means “because you listened to G-d’s commandments,”, but it can also mean “heel,” teaching that one’s heel should listen to G-d’s commandments. The entire body, head to toe, should be permeated with G-d and his Torah.

Judaism is not a High Holiday religion, nor is it a hit-and-run-never-to be-seen-again Bar Mitzvah event. We don’t “pay our dues” to the Divine by coming once in a while to the prayers. It is never ending; not a moment goes by which G-d does not expect you to maximize in order to better yourself and the world around you.

We eat for G-d, sleep for G-d, and work because G-d wants us to be able to support our family – so that they should have the peace of mind to remain committed Jews.

This may burst your vacation bubble, but it is truly a powerful and liberating thought: G-d is everywhere. There is no place lacking His presence; no situation devoid of His planning; no challenge in which His Guiding Hand can not be seen. And thus, always and everywhere, His commandments are relevant. Judaism encompasses all of time and space – even the “heel,” the nitty-gritty, the temporary – and the vacations.

Do something about it:

Do something about it:

Make every moment a Jewish Moment