Rabbi's Blog

This weekly Dvar Torah is sponsored by Mr. Marvin Sloben

I have recently been traveling a little more than usual, some for Simchos, some for business, and at other times for personal matters. I would like to share some of my quirky observations regarding airplane travel. The first should come as no surprise to anyone, and that is that airline profits have soared into the billions of dollars not only at our expense but also at the cost of our comfort. We are being squeezed financially with baggage fees that have now become a standard charge, despite the original cause being the need to offset higher fuel charges. Well, as of today oil is at the lowest rate it has been in years, and yet we are still paying and will continue to pay for from now on. Extra charges for food, legroom, earphones, etc. are not only cramping our style;  it is at the point of being uncomfortable during a routine flight. On my last flight one of the sardines, I mean passengers, forgot to get onto the plane, leaving the window seat open.  I, who had been in a middle seat, moved over to that now-vacant seat; my co-passenger and I were so elated it was as if we had won the lottery just simply because we now had a little more room to stretch out.

The second and perhaps deeper observation is that the rows of a plane read from right to left, just like Hebrew, Lashon HaKodesh. Think about it: as you enter the plane and move up the aisle toward your seat you will find ABC on the right side and DEF on the left side. The window seat, which is furthest to the right, is A then the middle seat is B and the aisle is C, continuing to the other side. By the way, if you think that by looking from the back of the plane forward it reads left to right you would be correct. The only problem is that the rows are numbered from the front of the plane going to the back. When I first thought about this I was curious to learn how this was established. Then it hit me:  we always refer to HaShem being in heaven. That being the case, when we fly we are in the skies climbing closer to heaven and therefore God’s language must be spoken and read in that direction.  

Throughout my Jewish education there was among many one common denominator or message that we took away: that everything that happens in the world is because of the Jews. Whatever happens anywhere, whether involving Jews or not, it is still “All About the Jewish People”. Living through today’s times particularly with regard to what is happening in America, Iran, Iraq, and Russia somehow is all relates back to the Jewish people and to the land of Israel. The Jewish people undoubtedly is the primary centrifuge which keeps the energy of the world moving, but that is only with regard to the physical and spiritual sides of earth. While re-thinking, readjusting our world-view with the understanding that what happens in the world is connected to the Jewish People, we also need to understand that the ultimate purpose is for us to recognize that everything we do is not about us; it is  about HaShem.

There can be no greater purpose for us to contemplate upon than to realize that everything that we do,  whether physically or spiritually, is directed towards the fact that it is all for God. This coming Shabbos we will have three separate readings from the Torah (an occurrence that happens only once or twice a year if that) - the regular weekly Torah portion of Vayikra, the section for Rosh Chodesh, and the third for Parshas HaChodesh. The Haftorah is always linked to the last reading which discusses the month of Nissan becoming the first of all the months.

Despite HaShem’s presence in heaven, we know HaShem is everywhere (just ask any child where is God?). Even though HaShem’s presence is omnipresent, the Shechina is able to condense itself into an area that has some physical constraint. This took place in the Mishkan, and the First and Second Temples. The Haftorah for Parshas HaChodesh, taken from the Navi Yechezkel 45:18, describes some of the aspects of the future Third Beis HaMikdash.  The Malbim suggests that the consecration of the Third Temple will be much longer than those of the Mishkan and the Temples, just as the consecration of each of these three was longer than the one that preceded  it: seven days for the Mishkan in the desert, fourteen days for the First Temple, and twenty-one days for the Second Temple. Accordingly, the Third Temple’s consecration should be twenty-eight days. However, the Malbim suggests that aside from this period, the consecration of the Third Beis HaMikdash will also compensate for the fact that each of the other consecrations was shorter than the full twenty-eight days of the Third Temple. Apparently, in order for the Temple to remain forever it would need a full twenty-eight day consecration. Therefore, the desert consecration of the Mishkan was twenty-one days shorter than it ideally should have been, and so on. There are twenty-eight days of consecration for the Third Temple, plus an additional twenty-one days for the Mishkan, another fourteen days for Shlomo’s Temple, and another seven days for the Second Temple attributed to Ezra. The symbolism of these numbers added together gives us seventy in total, perhaps to reflect upon HaShem’s presence and Godliness, not only for the Jewish people but also for the seventy nations that comprise the world. This concept is supported by two examples: 1. We know that on Sukkos we offer seventy bull sacrifices on behalf of the seventy nations of the world. 2. Non-Jews were permitted to bring certain types of sacrifices and offer them to HaShem in the Beis HaMikdash. 

Just as we prepare ourselves spiritually to connect to Hashem in heaven we also will prepare ourselves physically to connect to Hashem down here on earth. As we are now only two weeks shy of Pesach, we begin to think of the seder plate that has an egg and a shankbone to remind us of two sacrifices that we brought and will eventually bring in the future. Perhaps if we take upon ourselves certain sacrifices of life to better our relationship with HaShem, then we will merit having the opportunity to see the vision of Yechezkel’s Third Beis HaMikdash B’Meheira B’YaMeinu, Amen!

Ah Gut Shabbos and Ah Gutten Chodesh

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky