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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review Dec. 19, 2003 /24 Kislev, 5764

What is a spiritual high?

By Rabbi Hillel Goldberg

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How to get from here to There


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | Some of my favorite authors are people I did not have time to read when I first heard of them. I filed them away for years, sometimes even decades. I believe it was in 1988 or 1989 that I first heard of Shem Mishmuel, a Hebrew-language commentary on the Torah (Bible) by a Polish Chasidic master, Rabbi Shmuel Bornstein, the Rebbe of Sochaczev, a town in Poland west of Warsaw. His father wrote the famed work in Jewish law, Avnei Nezer.


In 1988 and 1989, our family spent Rosh Hashanah in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, at a meal hosted by the Mishory family (now in Denver), we heard a word of Torah from Yehudis Fishman (now in Boulder). She cited Shem Mishmuel. I do not remember what she said; I do remember being impressed. I made a mental note: Look into the Shem Mishmuel.


Like many people, I carry around a lot of mental notes, with little or no time to act on them. Some 15 years later — about a month ago — I ran across Shem Mishmuel: Selections on the Weekly Parashah and Festivals, rendered into English by Rabbi Zvi Belovski. (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.)


Many translations of Hebrew sacred works are awkward or inaccurate. I have not looked into Shem Mishmuel in the original Hebrew, so I cannot comment on the accuracy of Belovski's volume. I suspect it is very high, however, since Belovski's presentation is flowing, coherent, substantive, indeed elegant. I cannot recall another volume of this type so compelling and captivating.


The following comment on this week's Torah portion, by the late Rabbi Bornstein, is taken from Belovski's rendition.


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What is a spiritual high? The answer in Shem Mishmuel is surprising. Here is what he does not list: Yom Kippur, one's wedding, the Passover seder, a penetrating insight into the Torah, hearing an inspirational sermon, becoming a parent or grandparent, dancing on the Simchas Torah holy day, special kavvanah (intention) in prayer or the resolution of a spiritual doubt. None of this qualifies, according to the Rebbe of Sochaczev, author of Shem Mishmuel.


He asks a question. When Joseph has his first dream, he strains his relationship with his brothers. It doesn't take an expert in dream interpretation to see why. In the dream, Joseph and his brothers are binding sheaves in the field. The brothers' sheaves remain on the ground. Joseph's sheaf stands straight up. "Behold, we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, when, behold! — my sheaf stood upright and also remained erect" (Gen. 37:7). Obviously, Joseph sees himself as the leader of all the brothers. The question in Shem Mishmuel is this: After Genesis records that Joseph's sheaf stood straight up, why does the verse continue, "and also remained erect"?


In the Rebbe of Sochaczev's type of commentary, questions do not prompt answers. Questions prompt more questions, more verses, more topics. These must be analyzed in order to answer the original question. So rather than turn directly to the metaphor of the sheaves, the rebbe cites a verse from Psalms, asks a question about it, turns to someone else for an answer and only then returns to the sheaves.


The rebbe cites Psalms 24:3, "Who will go up to the mountain of G-d, and who will stand in His holy place?" His question is: Why the two parts to the verse? What is the difference between "going up" to the mountain of G-d and "standing" there?


Another Chasidic master, the Maggid of Koznitz, answers: First, one has to get up the mountain. First, one has to accomplish spiritually. That's hard. But then one has to stay on the mountain. To maintain one's spiritual level on a long-term basis is even more difficult than to achieve it to start with. People change. Circumstances change. Ideals seems to change. The forces that work against maintaining one's spiritual level over time are very great.


Who best retains his level? The pinnacle of humanity, the tzaddik, the pious. He (or she) is steady. Without deviation, his (or her) every word, thought and gesture reflect a high spiritual level. The soul, emanating from higher worlds, is unchanging; it is his soul that governs his life. That's why he does not change in the face of changing circumstances and temptations.


With this the rebbe returns to Joseph. His sheaf stood upright. Joseph achieved a high spiritual level. Good, but not good enough. Now, Joseph must remain there. He must maintain his spiritual high. This is what the second half of the verse indicates — "and [his sheaf] also remained erect."


What is a spiritual high?


Not getting there, but staying there.


A key is Shabbes, the Sabbath. It is, say the kabbalists, "the day of the soul," which is unchanging. Hence, Sabbath is the day on which we can sustain a spiritual high. If we really allow Sabbath to penetrate, it can also infuse the rest of the days of the week with sustained spirituality.


The rebbe again takes us back to the metaphor of the sheaves: "The brothers' sheaves bowed to Joseph's sheaf — when all of the week bows to Sabbath, its holy influence can permeate even the mundane weekdays, enabling us to go up the mountain of G-d and stand in His holy place throughout our lives."

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JWR contributor Rabbi Hillel Goldberg is executive editor of the Intermountain Jewish News. To comment, please click here.

© 2003, Rabbi Hillel Goldberg