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Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review

In quest of spirituality


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By Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski

A short but profound meditation on human potential — and pathways in realizing it

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | If a person took upon himself the vow of a Nazirite, the Torah (Bible) says ...


“He shall not come near a dead person. To his father or to his mother, to his brother or to his sister — he shall not contaminate himself to them upon their death, for the crown of his G-d is upon his head.”

  —   Numbers 6:6-7


Ralbag explains why the Torah forbids a Nazirite to come near the dead.

''The reason why a dead body contaminates is because it represents the defectiveness of the physical, and the Nazirite should avoid the physical things to which he may be attracted.''


Rabbi Henoch Lebovitz comments that to the contrary, being confronted with human mortality motivates a person to spirituality, as King Solomon says, ''It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for that is the end of all man, and the living should take it to heart'' (Ecclesiastes 7:2). We find repeated references in the Talmud that the contemplation of one's mortality discourages a person from physical indulgences. Why, then, does Ralbag say that the Nazirite, who takes a vow of abstinence in his quest for spirituality, should avoid contact with the dead?


Rabbi Lebovitz explains that there are two paths whereby one can strive for spirituality. One way is to focus on man's sharing of physical drives with lower forms of life, and that when he indulges in gratification of his bodily desires he is acting out his animalistic traits. The Midrash states that when G-d admonished Adam for his sin, Adam wept, ''Now my mule and I will be eating from the same trough.'' This is a humbling awareness that should motivate a person toward spirituality by distancing him from physical gratification. The second way is to realize the holiness of the Divine neshamah (soul) that he possesses, which is inseparable from its source in G-d. The realization of his potential for Godliness should motivate a person toward the pursuit of spirituality.


Both approaches are valid, and each has its place. The ethicists cite the phrase, ''His heart was high in the way of G-d'' (II Chronicles 17:6) as meaning that although pride is vanity, one may be motivated by pride to become more spiritual. Awareness of one's Godly component should make a person reach for the stars, because there is nothing spiritual that is beyond his grasp. As Maimonides says, ''Every person can be like Moses'' (Hilchos Teshuvah 5:2). The dignity of man should make him pursue perfection.


The Talmud tells of a young man who had beautiful long hair. Seeing his handsome reflection in the water, he feared that he might be drawn to physical indulgences. He promptly took a Nazirite vow, which would require shaving his head. ''I swear that I will cut this hair in the service of G-d'' (Nazir 4:2). One who accepts Nezirus for such a purpose is the ideal.


A Nazirite who is so dedicated to the achievement of spirituality should focus on the Godliness of his neshamah. He should be thoroughly absorbed in the spiritual greatness that is within his reach. There is no need for him to concentrate on his lowly physical component and be distracted from his potential greatness (Chidushei HaLev, Bamidbar p. 31).

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Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. is a psychiatrist and ordained rabbi. He is the founder of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh, a leading center for addiction treatment. An Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, he is a prolific author, with some 30 books to his credit, including, "Twerski on Chumash" (Bible), from which this was excerpted (Sales of this book help fund JWR). Comment by clicking here.

© 2004, Mesorah Publications, Ltd.