....But Joy Comes With the Morning!

Stand-Up Comedians famously lead with  one-liners or stories that look like they are headed one way....and then....there's that unexpected twist at the end that startles, takes us by surprise, and makes us laugh. 

In his Ted Talk, "The Power of Laughter", comedian Steve Mazan, told of his experience  performing for military troops. He described laughter as a "Reset button for the soul".

God obviously thought laughter was a key ingredient for a great story and an amusing way to bring blessings to the world.

This week in our Torah portion we were introduced to our forefather, Isaac, which means "he will laugh". 

Almighty God chose to create a nation starting with 100 year-old Abraham and 90 year-old Sarah. Their child's name is a symbol for joy/unexpected/ laughter inherent in the story of the Jewish people.

Isaac is a symbol of laughter because his very being is a surprise, nothing short of ridiculous. His existence and the existence of his descendants (Israel), is in opposition to all natural conditions of cause and effect and in opposition to all the laws of World History.

According to Jewish tradition, the 12 months of the year correspond to the 12 tribes, the 12 constellations, 12 parts of the body and the 12 powers of the soul. Laughter is the power of the soul that corresponds to the month of Adar( February-March). Adar alludes to the greatest possible laughter, the celebration of life snatched from impending death.

Every year in the month of Adar we celebrate Purim, the date slated for our demise which, obviously, since we are still here, didn't happen. Instead, the Jews went from being a hated people to a nation the gentiles wanted to join.

Unfortunately, the notion of killing millions of Jewish men, women and children is still as real today as it was 2,400 years ago in the story of Purim.

We are incredibly saddened to hear of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
  
This tragedy happened during the week our family collectively read the Torah portion about the birth of our forefather, Isaac.

From the beginning of existence to its end, mankind should grasp the concept of the miraculous existence of the Jewish people. It is also important to understand that the absurdity of evil is only allowed to exist by the free will of Almighty God.

In his article "How Do You Fight Evil", Tzvi Freeman says "Just as those possessed by evil did the wild and unreasonable.... so too, we must do kindness beyond reason."

Tzvi says this is the whole purpose of evil. It brings out our inner strength and a light so bright that "All evil melts in surrender, having fulfilled its purpose of being".

We look forward to the day when The Holy Temple will be rebuilt in the same place where Isaac's life was spared in a sudden twist of events. Through the use of foreshadowing, we can know how our story will end - in joy/unexpected/laughter and blessings for the whole world!

We're All in the Same Boat

I just heard a story about a man who lost everything and had to start over at age 62. His name was Karl Eller (obm). In his 20's he worked for an outdoor advertising company.  After ten years he started his own advertising company. Eight years later he merged his business with a radio and television company. Sixteen years after that he became chairman of Columbia Pictures. He then merged Columbia Pictures with Coca-Cola and by the time he was 55 he had amassed 500 million dollars. That was around 1983. Then he invested all of his money into Circle K convenience stores which became the second largest chain of convenience stores behind 7/11. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) in a two or three year period he lost everything. What took him forty years to build was gone. The good news is, his story doesn't end there. At 62, he decided there was still time and he could bounce back. He learned from all his mistakes and was able to get some money together and make new investments. This time it only took him  six or seven years to become a billionaire by selling his company to Clear Channel, Inc. He was best known for his ability to seize opportunity and to give back to his community.

Life is all about false starts, wrong turns,missed opportunities, and learn-it-the hard way experiences. This is exactly the way it is supposed to be. We are not robots. Mistakes can be transformed into learning experiences so in the end we ascend higher than the angels.

I think it's interesting that even God had to start over. Something went wrong - not with God, but with His partner- man - the "wild card" in God's investment.

After ten generations, the best mankind had to offer was a guy named Noah. Thankfully we had a righteous individual to represent us in that generation. So God didn't have to start his business completely over. Instead, He did a merge.

God took the best earthling and merged him with the purifying waters of heaven. The meaning of Noah's name tells us something positive was happening in the world, "Noach" is connected to the word for inner peace, comfort and resting. When God purified the world through the waters of the Flood, heaven and earth became integrated. The merge brought the world to a place of tranquillity.

The clouds, which are formed from the mist that rises from the ground, represent this transformation of the physical into something exquisite and unearthly. After the Flood, the clouds were thinner (allowing rainbows to form), symbolising  the ability for human beings to take another stab at partnering with God to purify the material world.



Each of the colors of the Rainbow represent a righteous man who personifies or integrates a godly character trait into the physical world:


Blue is for Abraham. Abraham epitomises Kindness  -  his journey of faith became a blessing to                                                                                                           others.
Red is for Isaac. Isaac epitomises inner Strength and discipline of his body and emotions.
Yellow is for Jacob. Jacob epitomises the Beautiful Balance between love and boundaries.
Violet is for Moses. Moses epitomises Eternal Victory in choosing the God of the Hebrews over                                                                                                    other gods.
Orange is for Aaron. Aaron epitomises Simplicity in Serving God for the sake of the people.
Green is for Joseph. Joseph epitomises  Foundational Truth needed to be proactive and reach                                                                                                                one's full potential.
Indigo is for David, David epitomises Humility and a desire to constantly connect with God.

(If you would like a more in-depth mystical study about the colors of the Rainbow and integrating heaven with earth, contact us at Torah for the Nations.)