It was Shabbat Shuva, the day after Rosh Hashana, and we didn’t have a minyan. To the best of my recollection, St. Louis and the NY Mets were tied for first place and had to play a game to decide who would be in the pennant. The game wasn’t scheduled to begin until much later, but no one wanted to miss the pre-game show.

The tenth man appeared just as we were ready to say “Borchu,” and we continued as always. Someone came over to me during the Torah reading and said, “Rabbi! About today’s sermon..” I knew exactly what he was going to say (at least, I thought I knew); he wanted me to skip the sermon so he could rush home to watch the show.

I was wrong.

“I only came to hear you speak. I also know that you are upset about the situation, but please remember, we who are here, came. Don’t use your sermon to yell at us!”

How did he know? He was right, so I gave a (very short) speech about properly directing anger.

The attendance at one of my weekly shiurim had been dropping and I openly expressed my disappointment. By the time I arrived home, I had numerous emails from the people who were there apologizing for the poor showing. Why were they apologizing? They were there!

Had Caleb and Joshua taken that approach, they would have felt guilty about the other spies. Did they feel at all responsible for not somehow preempting the situation?

“We shall surely ascend!”(Numbers 13:30) “Even were Moshe to command us to build ladders to heaven, we could do it!” (Rashi) Those are not the words of someone who feels guilty. Rather than guilt, Caleb focused on possibilities and potential.

No wonder the blessings of Teshuva and forgiveness are immediately followed by a request for Redemption. There is no place for guilt, only for ladder building; rising to greater heights!

Author Info: 



Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

He was leaning into his piano as if it were a Gemara (volume of Talmud). He was playing with his entire body, not just his fingers. We would never confuse a jazz pianist with Rubinstein.

The saxophonist had one foot forward and was moving his body back and forth in a slow-motion Karliner shakel. I can’t picture him playing in an orchestra pit.

The trumpet player was shaking his head up and down while listening to the other musicians. He was in a different place when he expanded his cheeks and blew away. No, a jazz musician is very different from a classical performer.

The dance of the music, its flow and creativity, all demand that the musician sink into the music in a manner I’ve never seen in other forms of music. The Jazz musician is usually a “character,” whose formal skills are hidden by his total absorption.

“Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the entire congregation.” And then, the man who felt so helpless that he fell on his face, stands up to argue with God. One minute, he is falling on his face, overwhelmed by the challenge of the people. The next, he stands with strength and determination before God.

Moshe not only spoke with words; he was the jazz musician, using his body to express his message. The man who had the courage to shatter God’s Luchot (Tablets) did not need to fall on his face because he felt helpless. Moshe Rabbeinu – Our Teacher – lived Torah as the Shira – Song – it is. Everything he did, everything he said and how he said it, was to express the music of the moment; the joy and the devastation, the thrills and the fears, the highs and the lows.

Author Info: 



Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“If we were logical, we would resign ourselves to the evidence that our fate is beyond human knowledge, that every conjecture is arbitrary and demonstrably devoid of foundation. But men are rarely logical when their own fate is at stake; on every occasion, they prefer the extreme positions. According to our character, some of us are immediately convinced that all is lost, that one cannot live here, that the end is near and sure; others are convinced that however hard the present life may be, salvation is probable and not far off, and if we have faith and strength, we will see our houses and our dear ones again. The two classes of pessimists and optimists are not so clearly defined, however, not because there are many agnostics, but because the majority, without memory or coherence, drift between the two extremes according to the moment and the mood of the person they happen to meet.” (Primo Levi – If This Is a Man)

What Levi described about his bunk mates in Auschwitz is not unfamiliar to us. We see the drift, the Drunkard’s Walk, everywhere in life in the random motion of feelings incessantly bumping, and being bumped by their sister feelings.

If we would mark the inconsistent path of the Children of Israel from the time they left Egypt, and then crossed the Split Sea, complained about water and food, received Manna and Miriam’s Well, complained again, battled Amalek, experienced Revelation, built the Golden Calf and then the Mishkan (Tabernacle), complaining again, repenting, t and on and on, we would see a drunken man’s path through life. They weaved back and forth, up and down, but always moved ahead until…

The spies forgot all the inconsistencies and got stuck believing they were insects. (Fleas On My Mind) The nation went back and forth as a pendulum until they froze in their sense of inadequacy.

What happened? Why were they frightened of their fluctuations only now, as they were about to enter the Land of Israel?

Author Info: 



Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

I can’t catch this tiny thing! The computer screen’s light attracts it and it keeps on flying in front of me, and when I wave it away, it flies near my ear to make a tortuous sound. A tiny bug is proving a greater adversary than some much larger people.

Tiny bugs can be evil. In Balzac’s “Droll Stories” the nuns of the merry monastery of Poissy explain to a naive novice how one must go about telling whether the captured flea is male, female, or virgin, but finding a virgin flea is extremely rare “because these beasts are unmannerly, they are all lascivious sluts, who give themselves to the first comer.”

In the popular mind the flea, as for that matter, in the Talmud and Midrash also the fly, is related to the Devil. In “Faust,” at Auerbach’s inn, Mephistopheles is applauded by everyone when he starts to sing the song of the king who had a huge flea, loved it like a son, kept him as a child, and had a silk and velvet suit cut for him.

The flea is diabolic in its ability to escape capture with a leap so swift that it abruptly eludes the eye and seems to disappear. God may be, ‘inordinately fond of beetles,” (J.B. S. Haldane) but He certainly gifted the tiny flea with great powers.

The spies felt small and insignificant. They contrasted themselves to, “the sons of the giant from among the Nephilim,” (Numbers 13:33) and immediately were deflated into thinking of themselves as insects. They carried super large fruit with them and felt like Gulliver in Brobdingnag. The same man who was a giant in Lilliput was able to adjust to being the size of an insect, but the spies could not handle the adjustment.

Their mistake was not in perceiving themselves as insects, but in refusing to adjust to their new size. We all experience highs and lows. Our encounters with life are inconsistent. We have moments of great accomplishments when we feel like giants, and failures when we feel like insects. We adjust. The spies did not. They refused to adjust, which reflected a total lack of understanding all they had experienced thus far.

Author Info: 



Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

In honor of my brother-in-law, Miguel Banet, who works so hard to keep me consistent: In his “Memoirs,” Andrei Sakaharov cites the great Polish philosopher, Leszek Kolakowski, who wrote, “Inconsistency is simply a secret awareness of the contradictions of the world, a permanent feeling of possible personal error, or if not that, then the possibility that one’s antagonist is right.” Sakharov agrees with this limitation to belief, but adds “my only quarrel is with the word ‘inconsistency,’ which I would replace with one that conveys my belief that intellectual growth and social awareness should combine dynamic self-criticisms and a set of stable values.”

Kolakowski believes that awareness of possible error leads to inconsistency. I guess that you can’t possibly write, “Towards a Marxist Humanism,” without being aware that you are inconsistent.

Life experience has proven Kolakowski’s definition of inconsistency. Talmud study supports Sakharov:

It’s not difficult to meet people who are absolutely convinced of the truth of their beliefs. Religious leaders of all faiths are quick to condemn those who disagree. I once spoke before a gathering of rabbis and quoted a Midrash which made them slightly uncomfortable. Expecting a negative reaction, I brought a copy of the text with me.

As I returned to my seat, one rabbi yelled out, “There is no such Midrash!” I offered to show the text to him and he refused to look. “It doesn’t exist.” The Midrash clearly contradicted one of his most closely held beliefs, indicated that he was in error, or at least that his antagonist, me, was right. He could not look. He, a wonderful and usually quite reasonable fellow, faced the world relying on his rock solid beliefs. He waged a fierce war against anything inconsistent with his convictions, and, I suspect, feared internal inconsistency.

I must say that I found the entire story to be ironic: This rabbi is an “expert” in the laws of interpersonal relationships, and yet his fear of inconsistency caused him to behave in a manner totally inconsistent with his teachings!

I heard a “prominent” rabbi speak at the funeral of a 40 year old man, known for his generosity, religious commitment, and incredible hours of study. He said to the man’s orphans, “Your father’s life proves that God protects people who are charitable, observant and study Torah. If you emulate him, God will grant you a long life.” I was shocked: His words directly contradicted the facts of the funeral at which he spoke. The man died at a very young age. God did not grant him a long life.

The children were dumbfounded. They were confused. The audience, however, loved it. It seemed that everyone was so fearful of any contradiction or inconsistency in their beliefs that they were incapable of thinking through what the rabbi had said.

As I said, my life experiences have proven Kolakowski’s definition of inconsistency. The Talmud is an adventure in dynamic self-criticism and respect for the opinions of those who disagree combined with stable values. The Sages of the Mishna and Talmud are unconcerned that their willingness to listen to their antagonists will lead to inconsistency. Contradictions are meant to be resolved, not feared. A different view is an opportunity to gain a fresh perspective, and will always lead to the refinement of ideas and ideals. The Mishna and Talmud are never inconsistent. They laugh at the suggestion that an honest look in the mirror may lead to inconsistency.

Author Info: 



Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.

“They awoke early in the morning and ascended toward the mountaintop saying, ‘We are ready, and we shall ascend to the place of which God has spoken, for we have sinned.” (Numbers 14:40)

These people realized that they had sinned against God. They understood that they had allowed their fears to overwhelm them and they announced that they were ready to move ahead and fight with courage to enter the Land of Israel. Isn’t that what God wanted?

The process of conquering the Land of Canaan was to be a lesson in balancing human effort and relying on Divine help. These people announced their readiness to move ahead.

Where was their mistake?

“For we have sinned,” was their mistake. They did not say, “For we have learned our lesson.” They did not say, “We are ready to assume our responsibilities.” They simply wanted to repair a mistake.

How often do we realize that we have made a mistake and focus on repairing the error, rather than applying the lesson learned?

We make a mistake when we think of Teshuva as fixing our mistakes, rather than repairing our relationship with God. No wonder Moshe said, “It will not succeed!”

Success does not come from focusing on fixing mistakes, but from applying the lessons.

Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.