Let's break the glass

I received this article from one of my Rabbeim, R' Lipman, I found it to be inspiring. I figured that I would share it...

The following remarks were given by Natan Sharansky under the chuppa of his daughter, Rachel, at her wedding last week. (January 2008)

In Jewish tradition after kiddushin and chuppa we take one step back, look at our personal simcha from a broader perspective, and break a glass in memory of Jerusalem. And here I want to say a few words.

This moment takes me back to our chuppa, Avital's and mine, 34 years ago. It was in a small, one room Moscow apartment where four friends held a sheet above our head. The number of guests hardly reached a minyan.

It was the first chuppa in our lives that we ever saw and all that we could do was simply repeat after the rabbi every move and every word - while hardly understanding many of them.

But when it came to breaking the glass, the rabbi spoke about Jerusalem and we became instantly reconnected to our reality. It was so obvious to us that we were in the very last stages, the final meters, of the thousands of years of struggle to return to Jerusalem. And this chuppa, ours, invigorated our determination to win this battle and made us feel powerfully that it was within our reach.

Today, we are standing here: You, Rachel, are the first sabra in the Sharansky family, and you, Micha, the first new immigrant in the Danzinger family. And we are in Jerusalem! The dream has come true.

But if we are here already, in the unified capital of the reborn Jewish state, what is the meaning today of breaking the glass? What is the dream we still yearn for? What is our - your - challenge?

When I compare your chuppa and our chuppa, I think that the challenge which you face is much more difficult. Our aim was so simple and so clear. We had to win the battle and nothing could deter us.

Today, on the one hand you have to be builders and guardians of Jerusalem, and at the same time guardians of the idea of Jerusalem. You have to physically build the earthly Jerusalem and keep alive the power, energy and uniqueness of the heavenly Jerusalem.

The power of unity, and connection to the generations of our people is in heavenly Jerusalem, of Yerushalayim shel ma'ala.

THE TWO of you met a year ago and immediately starting talking, and haven't stopped talking till today. And it was clear to all of us who enjoyed watching the beauty and intellectual and spiritual power of your talks that this union was made in the heavens.

Now that you are turning this union into a material and physical one and building your home in Jerusalem, keep the spiritual power of this past year throughout your life.

For Baba Ida, your birth, Rachel, was the most powerful proof of our victory over our enemies. She wanted to send your picture to the whole world, but first and foremost to the enemy.

I am sure that for Savta Ida and Savta Grace - who was excited to get the news of about the impending wedding just before she left us - as well as for all the generations of the Danzinger, Horowitz, Sharansky, Stieglitz and Milgrom families - this chuppa is their victory. It is the victory of all the generations who were true to the Jewish people's oath of Jerusalem.

Now let's break the glass.

The 10th of Teves - Lets Party!

Once again the 10^th of Teves is upon us and in our cyclical calendar we fast while experiencing the pain and anguish of a lost Temple.

In today’s day and age we have become desensitized to the loss of the Beis Hamikdash. For most, we cannot even minutely imagine a life with the Temple built in its full glory. We can’t picture the hordes of people coming from around the world to bring sacrifices to G-d three times a year.

Nevertheless, the (Gemara Sukka 51b) says, “Anyone who has not seen the Simchas Beis HaShoeva in his days has never seen happiness in his life.” The Gemara then continues to say, “Anyone who did not see the Beis Hamikdash while it was built has never seen an attractive building”.

While learning this Gemara, I was perplexed as to why the Gemara in Sukka juxtaposes these two statements next to each other. Granted the Simchas Beis Hashoeva was a happy occasion…and granted that as an architectural structure the Beis Hamikdash was a masterpiece, but what do they have to do with one another? I would assume that the reason why the event was filled with happiness had nothing to do with the beauty of the building that housed it.

It is written in Pirkei Avos that if “two people sit and proactively learn Torah together then the Shichina dwells among them”. This learning is not restricted to the learning of the texts themself but it is also when the Torah is being practiced. We are taught “Viahavta Lireacha Kamocha” “You shall love you friend like yourself”. Only when we love our friends like ourselves can the Shichina dwell amongst us.

The Gemara (Yoma 9b) says that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of Sinas Chinam, baseless hatred. The Jewish people are one and we all share a common goal. Every person is worthy of respect regardless of their beliefs or level of observance. There is something to be learned from everyone.

I would like to suggest that the reason why the Beis Hamikdash was so beautiful was because of the Simchas Beis HaShoeva, this is why they are juxtaposed to one another in the Gemara Sukka. When Klal Yisrael was respectful to one another and treated each other with the utmost admiration, (like during the Simchas Beis Hashoeva) then there was no building that was more aesthetically and internally beautiful than the Beis Hamikdash. When they didn’t however, then the Shichina could no longer dwell amongst them.

The only way to fix our problem is to realize that we have a problem. The key to true happiness is in the way that we treat others. The only way for the Beis Hamikdash to exist is if we have “happy” events.

HAVE AN EASY AND MEANINGFUL FAST!