Page 4 - The Jewsish Voice - August '20

Page 4, The Jewish Voice

LocaL happenings
From the Rabbis from page 3
You Already Have the

Vaccine Palm Beach Synagogue

Unconventional Advice for Conventional Unity Event
Problems
Palm Beach Synagogue
By Rabbi Dovid Vigler recently assisted True Fast
The secret to ending Outreach, established by
pandemics was revealed Brother Robert Graham, with
to Moses while he was its weekly food distribution
on Mount Sinai! in their neighborhood.
Upon receiving During this commUNITY
the Torah, Moses was event, members and staff
brought gifts by all of Palm Beach Synagogue
the angels. The Satan brought pantry staples such
himself revealed to him as cereal, canned goods, rice,
the cure to the plague: and other items and assisted
offering incense upon the in making food parcels for the Rabbi Yosef Rice
altar. Indeed, when a dangerous plague swept through the community. Volunteers also
Jewish camp, Aharon, brother of Moses, offered incense donated clothing that was distributed to local families in need. Volunteers Yoseph Scheiner, Yehudah Tzvi Scheiner, Mendel
and literally stopped the Angel of Death in his tracks. The goal of the program was to bridge the divide between Scheiner, Charlie Simpson, and Sophia Simpson with
We can’t offer incense upon the altar today because communities and show that we are unified. Brother Robert Graham
it was never rebuilt after the Roman destruction of
our Temple; however, the mere recitation of the Torah
passages regarding incense is considered as if we offered
the incense. The Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya and
First Rebbe of Chabad, famously instructed a plague-
stricken community to recite these verses daily during a
plague in order to be protected from harm:
• Exodus 30:1–10 discusses the making of the
golden altar
• Exodus 30:22–38 discusses the making of the
anointing oil and the ketoret (incense)
• Numbers 16:31–17:15 discusses part of the
rebellion, the subsequent epidemic, and how they were
saved with the ketoret
Seriously? Palm Beach Synagogue Myra Gold and Rebbetzin Dinie Scheiner Rebbetzin Dinie Scheiner packs food items
You could be forgiven for being a little skeptical on congregant Stephen Peritz set up food items for distribution for a community member.
this one. It seems a little hard to believe that reading Torah
verses will magically cure us from a real, life-threatening
plague.
But if we’re willing to open our minds and hearts to
a powerful truth that we never realized before, the cure
of the ketoret will make perfect sense and we’ll become
conscious of an extraordinary power that we never knew
we had access to.
The holy Zohar (the foundational text of Kaballah)
reveals to us that, just as a contractor cannot build a castle
without building plans, G-d also could not have created
the world without a blueprint. That blueprint is the Torah.
Here it is in the words of the Zohar: “When G-d Yoseph Scheiner, Yehudah Tzvi Scheiner, Charlie Simpson, and
resolved to create the world, he looked into the Torah, into Sophia Simpson give Brother Robert Graham donations they
its every word, and fashioned the world accordingly. For had collected.
the Torah contains every phenomenon and every entity Sarah Dworcan, Program Director at Palm Beach
of every world. G-d therefore consulted the Torah and Synagogue, packs food items into a cart. Local Happenings on page 5
created the world.”
The implications of this are mind-blowing. If the
Torah is the blueprint of everything that exists, then the
Torah contains the secret to success in every detail of
our lives. Indeed when people in financial distress or
emotional suffering would turn to the Rebbe for guidance,
his advice always included encouragement to check
tefillin and mezuzahs, increase in regular Torah study,
and improve one’s kosher diet or observance of the Laws
of Family Purity.
Far from seizing the opportunity to sermonize, the
Rebbe’s insightful vision was able to recognize that
the source of all our blessings and success comes from
Torah, because Torah is the blueprint of every detail
in our lives. A healthy cause will result in a successful
outcome. Proper observance of Torah will inevitably lead
to prosperity, health, and peace.
Adopting this mindset exposes us to higher
consciousness. It allows us to have razor-sharp focus
on the reality that surrounds us. Instead of vision that is
skin deep, the Zohar opens our eyes to see the essence
of everything, as if we were wearing x-ray glasses.
Tapping into Torah is tapping in to our power supply.
It’s as important as charging your cellphone. The Zohar
is revealing to us the way to recharge our lives with the
limitless power supply that’s at your fingertips.
Perhaps the reason we are the People of the Book is
not purely due to our academic proclivities, but because
our ancestors knew that ink and paper are the vehicles
of our deliverance!
Studying Torah today is as easy as logging onto
Facebook or YouTube. It’s available to you in your
pajamas, and it’s there whenever you want it.
Rabbi Dovid Vigler is spiritual leader at Chabad of
Palm Beach Gardens and host of the Jewish Schmooze
Radio Show. Email him at rabbi@jewishgardens.com.