Overcoming obstacles

"The people stood far off, and Moses approached the thick darkness, where G-d was". (Exodus 20:21) At a moment of great revelation, the people were afraid. Only Moses approached unafraid. Rabbi Nachman connects this to the idea of obstacles. In order to make us worthy of approaching Him, G-d often sends us obstacles for us to overcome, and thereby grow. But most people, upon seeing the obstacle, will run the other way. But the man of wisdom and insight will understand that this is actually a gift, and that G-d Himself is in the obstacle. He will happily approach, and thereby find G-d.

Converts

There is a concept of "the Souls of Israel" as having a very special place in G-d's plans. But what about the converts? There are several views. One is that at Sinai, the Nations were also offered the Torah, but rejected it. However, each had some who wanted to accept it. These people return and eventually find their way to join us. Another explanation is that when the Tzaddikim (righteous) have relations with their wives that don't result in pregnancy, they beget the souls of converts. This is also an explanation of why converts are named son/daughter of Abraham and Sarah. Rabbi Nachman offers yet another explanation. When anti-semites do their hating, the Jews are deep in their minds and "guts". Thus, when they beget children, these come from their innards, and wind up becoming Jews. There have been many cases of haters of the people Israel whose children have converted.

New Moon

Although our present Hebrew calendar is mathematically calculated, in ancient Israel, the New Moon (and hence the new month) was declared by the Sanhedrin (rabbinic court). As the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar, and each lunar month is roughly 28 1/2 days, the first sliver of the new moon might appear either during the day of the 29th day of the month, meaning the next day was the first of a new month, or, if it appeared after daybreak of the 30th of the old month, people would only see it at night, with the following day being proclaimed by the Sanhedrin as the first of the new month. Each month, therefore could have either 29 or thirty days.Witnesses would appear before the court, testifying that they had seen the first sliver of the new moon, and the judges would rise to their feet proclaiming "mekudash, mekudash" (It is sanctified, it is sanctified). Rabbi Natan relates this to our lives. All too often, we wait until things are perfect ("full") before we celebrate. But the rabbis of the Sanhedrin declared the month to be sanctified at the first sliver, fixing the day as a celebration, confident it will grow from there. When we see a turn for the better in our lives, even just a sliver, we need to know that things are on the upswing, declare it holy, and grow from there.

What IS Torah?

What IS Torah? What does the term encompass? The word "Torah" means "teaching", not "Law" as it is often mistranslated. In Deuteronomy 5:19, we are told that at the Revelation we heard, "A great voice, v'lo yasaf." The latter term, ironically, can have two opposite meanings. It can mean, "and it didn't continue" or "and it didn't stop." Which is it? It's both! On one level, the revelation at Sinai was a one time, extraordinarily unique occurrence. G-d spoke directly to Man, communicating His will. We are told never to add to these words, nor take away from them. Even if a prophet should come, work miracles, but try to take us away from the Divine Teaching, he is subject to the death penalty (Deut. 13). So, on one level, the word "Torah" means exclusively the "Five Books of Moses," either in book or scroll form. It is indeed a "great voice...which didn't continue." There would be no new Torah. Yet, we are told in the Torah that there would be prophets, and, as long as their words don't contradict what G-d has said, we are to obey them. In fact, we are to obey the "elders" (rabbis) as well (Deut.17:8-13)! That is the second meaning of Torah: A voice that didn't stop. G-d speaks still through inspired men, prophets and sages. Some prophets heard the word of G-d directly, but not on the same level as Moses. The rabbis compare this to one looking through a translucent pane of glass, as opposed to a transparent one. Some prophets only saw symbolic visions, which needed to be interpreted. The age of prophecy ended shortly after the building of the Second Temple (5th century BCE) but there remained many who were inspired by G-d, even if they neither heard His voice nor saw visions. The sages of that era were faced with the task of determining which books were either revealed or inspired, and which were either false or simply human history and wisdom. Under the auspices of Ezra, Nehemiah, the last three prophets (Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi), the body of Priests and Sages began sorting through the books, deciding what was "in" and what was "out." They eventually settled on 24 books that were "in," (this took several centuries) although there were still debates on some until the first century BCE. Moreover, they had to decide on the authentic text. Errors had crept in. The Samaritan Torah has thousands of differences from ours, some extremely significant (the Samaritans are an ancient heretical offshoot of Judaism made up primarily of presumed insincere converts). For those who reject the Oral Torah, they must ask themselves how they can rely on the written Torah, when it was edited, and books chosen, by the body of elders specified in Deut. 17. But what is the point of the Prophets and Holy Writings if the Torah is immutable? The prophets elaborate on the Torah, exhort the people to obedience, tell of a bright future for those who follow G-d's word, and the ultimate downfall of Evil. No prophet has the right or the ability to change anything in the Torah. However, we do find practices and concepts in the prophets that are meant to ENHANCE our observance. For instance, Isaiah (58:13-14) tells us to "delight" in the Sabbath, and not to even speak of weekday concerns. This is not adding to the Torah, but "putting a fence around it." So, the prophets and Holy Writings are part of the Bible (Tanakh), but can add nothing new that isn't in the original Torah. When the prophetic era ended, the age of the Sages began. They would transmit, build "fences" and clarify the Word of G-d, in accordance with Deut. 17. Any teaching, insight or new interpretation made upon the foundations of the Torah is also Torah! So, when we speak of the Torah, it must be understood that there was the Voice that didn't continue: the Five Books that ultimately contain all. There was also the Voice that didn't stop: The words of prophets and sages, until this very day. This, too, is Torah.

Searching

There is a Talmudic ruling, accepted as the halachah (final legal decision), that if one is lost in the wilderness, and does not know when is Shabbat, he should do the following: If absolutely no idea, count six days, and make the seventh Shabbat. If one knows for sure that a certain number of days have passed (e.g., either three or four) since the last Shabbat, one takes the minimum, and counts the maximum number of days, to ensure that he has six weekdays. before Shabbat. However, since one isn't really SURE if he has the right day or not, don't do any labor on the other days that is not essential for survival. And since his Shabbat is doubtful anything necessary for survival may be done. The Talmud asks, so what's the difference (since all the days only life-preserving labors may be done, including his Shabbat.) Answer: To make kiddush (the prayer said over wine to consecrate Shabbat at its arrival) and havdalah (the prAyer said over wine sanctifying Shabbat at its conclusion). When one gets back to civilization, and finds out when Shabbat really is, he abandons his "emergency" Shabbat and rejoins the rest of the people in G-d's Shabbat. Rabbi Natan (student of Rabbi Nachman) interprets as follows: It is very difficult to discern Truth. There are many leaders who tech different approaches. We are "lost in the wilderness". What should we do? Find that spiritual leader closest to what appears to be the real interpretation of Torah. But since we really don't know who is right, or at least right for us, don't disparage others (Obviously provided that they, too, are guided by Torah), and don't be fanatic about your own leader either. So what's the difference? To "sanctify", to have someone to give you guidance, even if it's not the "ultimate". We can't spend our lives waiting for the ideal teacher. But, once we do find him, we attach ourselves to him. In the days of Moses, there were many great people among the Israelites. But only one Moses. Rabbi Nachman taught that a teacher is like a rubber stamp; best read when imprinted on something else. If a leader's students are righteous, kind, learned, living Torah and Mitzvot, we have the right address.  A blessed, meaningful search for all!