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February 22, 2012
Warren Richey: How Supreme Court ruling on Texas could reduce affirmative action across US
Philip Moeller: Hard time determining your current and future savings needs --- and even harder still, executing a plan? Here's what to do about it!
Menachem Wecker: In Tough Job Market, Law Grads Use J.D.s for Nonlegal Work
February 21, 2012
Michael Doyle: Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether a lie is protected speech
Neela Banerjee: NSC wants rules on research that could lead to biological weapons
Fred Weir: Fearing West, Putin pledges biggest military buildup since cold war
February 17, 2012
Kristen Chick: After surviving sectarian mob, Egyptian Christians expelled from village
Eryn Brown: Microchip is a new means of medicating
February 16, 2012
SeaWorld of Pain : Watch Wyatt Cenac, a black comic, confront "whale freedom rider" Lisa Lange of PETA and make her squirm ( LENGTH: 5 minutes)
Jason Koebler: Antibiotics Do Nothing to Cure Sinus Infections, Study Says
February 15, 2012
Jeffrey Fleishman: Women were at the vanguard in the protests that ousted Hosni Mubarak. Meet some who refuse to wake up from their dream --- the mullahs and military be damned
Richard Simon: 'The check is in the mail' could soon be a legal excuse
Liz Bowie: Debate on whether cursive writing should still be taught
Jason Koebler: Super Plants: Could Re-Wired Plants Be the New Cancer Killers?
Susan Johnston: Strategies to preempt unwanted calls or other communication from collectors
February 14, 2012
Dennis Prager: Chris Christie on Israel --- and What It Means to Be a Leader
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: Shariah's police? Interpol's honoring of Saudi warrant could lead to arrest of Americans
The Kosher Gourmet by Matt Armendariz: VEGETABLE CRUMBLE is a simple, satisfying dish of tender eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and onions crowned with a savory buttery topping and a sprinkle of fresh herbs
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
On gin joints and Divine destiny
By
Rabbi Dov Fischer
Interesting, how people journey -- almost aimlessly -- yet en route encounter their kismet
“And G-d said to Abram: 'Go forth, for your [best interest], from your land and from the place of your birth and from the house of your father to the land I will show you.'”
— Gen. 12:1
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Our Torah reading this week begins with G-d bringing Abram to an unknown destination, leading him away from the security of his childhood home, family, and the community where he grew up. He will encounter people and a culture foreign to the core of his being. He will not have parents nearby to babysit. In admittedly anachronistic terms, his favorite corner candy store, the newspaper stand down the block, the neighborhood ice cream truck and its jingle will be gone. The friends with whom he played childhood games — gone. The streets and avenues, the architectural styles, the local landmarks — gone. His childhood — gone.
At G-d's direction, he is abandoning everything he knows, the anchor of his security. And he is proceeding, with only G-d as his GPS guide, to encounter his destiny.
Abram soon will plant new roots in the Promised Land, but he never will assimilate the locals or their culture. Although they will deem him a great man — the Canaanite Hittites will call him "a Prince of G-d in our midst" (Gen. 23:6) — Abra[ha]m ultimately will insist, years later, that he wants his son Isaac to marry a girl from the Old Country, back across the river, and definitely not a Canaanite. When he will send his manservant and major domo, Eliezer the Damascene, decades later to find a wife for Isaac, Abra[ha]m will instruct him: "[S]wear that . . . you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell. Rather, travel to my land and to my place of birth [to] take a wife for my son Isaac." (24:3-8)
And yet G-d set Abra[ha]m's destiny in Canaan, the Promised Land.
Abra[ha]m's experience is not unique. Throughout our generations, the Divine leads people on journeys that just-so-happen to bring them frontally facing their destiny. Thus, the manservant Eliezer just-so-happens to encounter Rebecca, an atypically kind, even altruistic, young lady eager to draw heavy buckets of water both for the thirsty traveling servant and, even more strikingly, for his camels. Eliezer rapidly discerns that Hashem has brought him face-to-face with precisely the woman he prayed he would find for Isaac. (24:12-27)
A generation later, Jacob will be compelled to flee for his life, avoiding a vengeful brother set on murdering him. Of all the watering holes in the Middle East, he will find himself at the well where, moments later, the young Rachel is about to arrive to quench her father's sheep. (29:9-11)
Generations later, it is young Moses of Egypt. Fleeing a Pharaoh determined to execute him for his having killed a murderous Egyptian taskmaster, Moses just-so-happens to arrive at a well where the daughters of Midian's High Priest are about to arrive with their flock. From the resulting encounter that ensues, he not only marries Tziporah but gains a father-in-law who is theologically renowned and skilled with managerial experience that will prove critical later for Moses' mission as teacher and judge. (Exodus 2:15-21; 18:17-24).
Interesting — how people journey, almost aimlessly, yet en route to encounter their Divine destiny. In fiction and film, we recall Humphrey Bogart's great movie tag-line, as Rick Blaine in "Casablanca" contemplates the unexpected return of Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa Lund into his life: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
But the Torah is real life. And so is yours.
I look back on twists and turns in my life. I am a kid from Brooklyn and remain thoroughly a New Yorker. Though two decades in California, I still shamelessly root for the Yankees and Mets, football Giants and Jets, pronounce "Rhonda" with a Brooklyn "R" added to the end of the word, and compensate by deleting the "R' at the end of "sister." (Like any New Yawkuh in Califawnia, I note that our Govuhnuh speaks with an accent.) But my Brooklyn life took its unexpected turns, and California is the well where G-d brought me to chart a significant portion of my life and career. Looking back at each step that took me along that path, each turn could have led me instead to a different gin joint. But it was here, in California's Southland, that I heeded Yogi Berra's sage advice: "When you come to the fork in the road — take it." As a result, I found my wife here, helped found a yeshiva and two synagogues as a rabbi on the West Coast, became an attorney and practiced and still teach law here, and have been honored to touch and engage three Jewish communities throughout the Southland as their spiritual leader.
Are you sure that your life has been all that different? How did you end up in the community where you live? How did you encounter the one who most impacted your life? How did you meet your spouse? How did you end up working where you do?
In Greater Los Angeles, most L.A. Jews trace our and our parents' roots back elsewhere. Some of us came here from the East Coast or the Midwest for job opportunities. Some from Iran or the former Soviet Union fleeing persecution. Some from Israel. Some came here to connect with siblings or childhood friends. We had dreams, hopes — and we thought those motivators were the only reasons we came here. Yet, looking back, perhaps ten years later, perhaps half a century, we experience an awe that seizes us with a private and deep humility. It is the awe that one feels when he suddenly divines the Divine and His ways, realizing that something far deeper was unfolding in his life than he ever realized. Who knew, when Joseph's brothers sold him into ignominious slavery, that he was en route to becoming the Egyptian Viceroy who would save his family from a devastating famine? And did he himself fully realize, as Rabbi Avigdor Miller has noted, that his role as Viceroy was subtext to the greater purpose of bringing the entire Jewish people into Egypt so that the seeds could be planted for establishing the foundation that would lead to the miracles of the Exodus and the Divine Revelation at Mount Sinai?
In each of our respective lives and their unexpected turns, too, maybe — just maybe — there was higher purpose, the unanticipated destiny to which G-d Almighty was leading each of us, each on our respective journeys. Perhaps the job that drew us to move the family soon fell through. Maybe the relative who drew us to Chicago moved further West or back East. The friend with whom we partnered in business had a falling-out years ago, and the business floundered. And yet, having moved, we proceeded to chart some of our lives' greatest achievements. We met new friends, found new opportunities, saw our children flourish in ways we did not expect.
We did so, far away from our lands, birth places, and parents' homes. We walked with G-d, journeying towards a well He had prepared for us. From Abram's journey this week to our own, we have come to see — even through disappointments and setbacks along the way — that, when journeying to the well where G-d has set our destiny, all's well that ends well.
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JWR contributor Rabbi Dov Fischer is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and serves as the rabbi of Young Israel of Orange County.
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© 2010, Rabbi Dov Fischer
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