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We begin the Torah again this Shabbat, beginning the book of Bereishis (Genesis), with the parsha that tells us WHO and WHAT we are! Yes, we are "dualistic," folks, we are the utterly unique being in all of Creation that is a composite of body (physical) and soul (spiritual). We can reach beyond the heights of angels, or we can descend below the level of animals. The choice is relentlessly, thrillingly and constantly OURS!!

We are getting ready to close out an incredible 3-week period of closeness to Hashem, starting with our "REbirth" on Rosh Hashanah; our "REturn" on the days of teshuva afterwards culminating in Yom Kippur; our "RE-joicing" on the festival of Sukkot...and now our ending the cycle of the Torah reading and RE-starting it once again on the incredible (and not-so-well known) holiday of Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah!! Hashem holds us back for one more (deliriously happy) celebration before we skate off--yes, the ice is still smooth--into the new year ahead!

Do you feel lighter today post Yom Kippur?? I do... physically yes (I can button my sport coat now, for real!), but more importantly, in a spiritual sense. The weight and stain of our transgressions lifted off/wiped away! Our purified selves. Let's take advantage of our new lightness to do great things: acts of chesed (kindness), Torah study, and mitzvot...including getting ready for Sukkot, which NOT COINCIDENTALLY, comes 5 days after Yom Kippur. So we can BUILD on (and with) our newly regained purity.

Yom Kippur, the holy Day of Atonement, is almost here...a day when we transcend our physical selves and pleasures, and taste the (even deeper) PLEASURE of closeness to G-d, to our spiritual essence, and to our fellow Jews and human beings. EAT (and drink) WELL today--it's a mitzvah--so you can have the strength to RETURN in love to a state of At-ONE-ment.

The Talmud teaches us that we should always see ourselves--and the entire world--as equally balanced between merits and transgressions. Do one single mitzvah NOW, and you save yourself and the entire world! Do one single transgression NOW, and....well....you fill in the blank. We are presently in the 10 Days of Return (teshuva) that culminate in the holy and sacred day of Yom Kippur, day of atonement. These are days of judgment, when our lives are hanging in the balance. Let's not be scared by this awesome thought, let's get inspired to TIP THE SCALE (together) with good deeds and words that can bring life and salvation for us and this beautiful world!!

No time to sit back and relax...it's time to DO!! More than usual. Why? We are in the awesome and powerful period known as the 10 Days of Return, which began on Rosh Hashanah, and continute until Yom Kippur one week from today. Every bit of extra energy put towards doing mitzvot, kind deeds (chesed), prayer (tefila) and giving charity (tzedaka) help us to "do teshuva," to RETURN to our true selves and purpose in this world. What we do now has more power to elevate us--and all of Creation--AND bring us close to G-d than at any other time of the year! Do...More (good) NOW.

It's a busy day, as we all make final preparations for the joyous, and awe-inspiring, holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Here's a quick "last-minute" overview of these first TWO super-powerful days that kick off the new year...and which are themselves part of the incredible period called the "10 Days of Return (teshuva)." I like to call them, "Zamboni days," because the (spiritual) ice is smooth and fresh, and we can zoom ahead faster than any other time of the year. And don't worry about slipping or falling: Hashem ismright out there on the rink with us, ready to catch and embrace us. Wishing you a k'siva v'chasima tova, may we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for a sweet, healthy, happy and growth-filled year.

Rosh Hashanah is a serious day, a time of din and mishpat (judgment), when the Holy One, Blessed be He, REMEMBERS and JUDGES each of us. Sounds quite hairy and scary...But it shouldn't be. Because that very King and Judge--Who sees and remembers everything, and Who wants us to take the day (and our lives on this earth) very SERIOUSLY--is also (primarily) our loving FATHER. He remembers us FOR GOOD, and wants us to return to Him and His Torah....and to our true selves.

"Remember us for Life," is what we beseech Hashem--not only on Rosh Hashanah itself but on ALL of the 10 days of teshuva (return) culminating in Yom Kippur. Now is the time to really start to think more deeply about life, our livesy--my life, your life. Why we really want it. Welcome to Rosh Hashanah Prep on this, the final Monday of the Jewish year 5786!

Each one of us has a choice before us: life or death, good or evil, blessing or curse. Every year, every day...really every minute!! Always. Let's finish the year strong and listen to Moshe Rabbeinu's words in this week's Torah portion, Nitzavim (always read immediately before Rosh Hashanah), spoken on the very last day of his earthly life: "See, I have placed before you today, the life and the good, the death and the evil...and you shall choose life....to love Hashem, your G-d, to listen to His voice and cleave to Him..." [Deuteronomy, chapter 30]

Rabbi E returns after a long hiatus!!!! Get busy running, skating ("Zamboni Days" = smooth spiritual ice) and BUILDING your new world as we get ready for the new Jewish year of 5787!

We go on lots of journeys in this world--small and big, to the mountains and to the beach...and sometime to far-off lands. But we learn from this week's Torah portion, Massei, which describes the Jewish people traveling and encamping in the Sinai desert--that the true purpose of all the journeys that Hashem leads us on in our lifetimes (and He IS leading us) is spiritual: to serve G-d, wherever and however we are--battling our negative traits, and expressing our positive ones, to elevate ourselves and all of Creation!

Today is a fast day, the 17th of Tammuz, and it ushers in a period of sadness in the Jewish calendar year, culminating in the Fast of the 9th of Av (Tisha b'Av)--the day on which both Temples were destroyed (not to mention other calamities). Is this about wallowing in the sufferings of the past? No, rather, we are truthfully acknowledging that the world is NOT where we want it to be, and coming to terms with how we Jewish people-chiefly through the transgression of sinat chinam (baseless hatred)--brought about the destruction of the Second Temple! In these three weeks, we mourn the dimming of that divine light in the world...so we can LONG for its return, and take personal responsibility to lead better and more righteous lives that will bring that about.

There is much to learn from the disruptive effects of the Canadian wildfires on the lives of people (including me, Rabbi E) hundreds and thousands of miles away. One main lesson is that we are profoundly interconnected on a physical (and environmental) level. But Judaism teaches that we are SPIRITUALLY interconnected as well. Every good deed we do (or word we say) helps to create a purer, more illuminated and holy spiritual "atmosphere" throughout all of Creation! And the opposite, G-d forbid, is true as well: the negative and hurtful deeds we do (or words we say) create--as it were--a foul, light-blocking SMOKE that negatively affects all of Creation, reducing the spiritual light that G-d intends for us to bring into this world...and polluting the atmosphere for everyone. Let's try to make wise and good choices, and choose mitzvot and deeds/words of righteousness and kindness, so that we all can breathe better!

Is there a Jewish holiday that celebrates the very PURPOSE of existence? I'm glad you asked...The answer is YES. (And it begins in a few hours.) Shavuos, the time of the giving of the Torah. We Jewish people relive the awesome and utterly unique event of the Revelation at Mt. Sinai. Our entire nation was elevated to a level of prophecy, hearing the 10 Commandments directly from Hashem (or at least the first two--that's a discussion), and perceiving with absolute clarity that Hashem is the One and Only true Being, source and sustainer of all existence. AND author of the holy Torah, which He lovingly GAVE to us in order to instruct us on how to elevate ourselves and all of Creation...and connect it back to Him. "For the sake of the Torah, Hashem created the heavens and the earth." Yes, indeed, Shavuos celebrates the true PURPOSE of Jewish existence...and of all Creation. SO, get your cheesecake ready and enjoy this somewhat RAW and loose episode of Rabbi E in 3, recorded live in the Great Outdoors--though not in the Wilderness of Sinai! (Note: the custom to eat dairy foods on Shavuos has many beautiful ideas associated with it, some discussed in this episode, including that Torah is the quintessential nourishment for our souls, to keep them growing and glowing...just as mother's milk does for our young bodies.)