GOOD
MORNING! Oftentimes people ask me, "Where is the spirituality in Judaism?" People want to transcend the mundane, to connect with
God, to be transported in a feeling of spiritual ecstasy. Some flock to Kabballah, but Kabballah is the icing on the cake and icing alone is not only insubstantial, it is not filling and can make one sick if he eats too much. So, where is
spirituality in Judaism? Spirituality is IN the mundane. The trick is
to raise the mundane and by doing so, you raise yourself.

I used to live in Israel. One time while riding on an Egged Bus (that is the name of the bus company) I noticed how grumpy the driver was and what misery he was spreading to everyone who boarded his bus. I figured he saw each passenger as an intrusion; if there were no passengers he could just drive his route in peace. I
made up my mind to change his perspective.

"You know," I said to the driver, "you are doing a wonderful thing!" "What do you mean?" grumbles the driver. "You are helping a lot of people -- you help a woman to take her son to the doctor, a man to visit his elderly father, the soldier to return to his bases, the little boy to go to school; you have a wonderful job -- just by driving the bus you can do so many acts of kindness!" "Gee,"
the bus driver said, "I never thought of it that way. You're right!"

And then I explained to the bus driver that our Torah (in Israel most of the bus drivers are Jewish in the Israeli bus companies) the Almighty commands us to "Love our neighbor as ourselves" "To emulate the Almighty" "To do acts of kindness." You
are already fulfilling these mitzvot through your actions, imagine the pleasure you will have if you focus on the fact that you are fulfilling the Almighty's will! With just a little bit of focus you can raise the mundane to the ultimate in spirituality -- doing the will of the Almighty! And the driver said, "You're right! Thank you!"

Most Jews are familiar with the blessing over bread "...
hamotzie lechem min ha'aretz." It is surprising to many that there
are blessings before and after every type of food. There is a
blessing over fruits from the ground, fruits from a tree, flour products
like cakes and cookies, and a general blessing "... shehakol nih'yeh
b'dvaro" (that all things should be according to His word). Why do
Jews make blessings before and after each type of food?

On one level, the blessing before the food is requesting
permission from the Almighty to eat the food and the blessing after
eating is to give thanks for the food. I think this is easy to relate to --
in my home if a child doesn't say "please" when asking for a food to
be passed to him, he is often ignored until he remembers his
manners. If the candy man in the synagogue gives my child a
lollipop, I make sure that my child says, "Thank you" to the man. On
a basic human level, we realize the importance of manners, of
showing respect and appreciation. This also applies on a spiritual
level with regards to our relationship with the Almighty.

On another level, the blessing itself raises the spirituality of
the act of eating. Instead of responding to animal-like need to eat
with an animal-like response of "wolfing" down food, we stop to
focus that there is a God who created this world and everything in it
for our pleasure. The blessing itself teaches us this every time we
say it (if we focus on what we are saying). Every blessing starts out
with the words "Blessed are you, Lord our God." In Hebrew each
name of God is different and conveys a different meaning. We are
commanded to focus on the meaning of the each name of God
when we make the blessing. The first name "Ah-do-noy" means
"He was, is and always will exist." The second name, "Eh-lo-hei-
nu" means that "He is the Master of all creation and Master of all
possibilities."

Every time a Jew makes this blessing, he is reminding
himself that there is a God Who created the world, Who loves us,
Who has the power to help us. The blessing connects one to God.
It takes the mundane and makes it sublime. All it takes is focus.

So, if you want spirituality, find out what the mitzvot,
commandments of the Almighty are; purchase the book The 613
Commandments by Rabbi Chill. There is every possibility that you
are already doing many mitzvot! Also, if you would like to raise your
level of spirituality through making blessings, get a copy of the
NCSY Blessing booklet or look in the Artscroll prayerbook. (All of
these are available at your local Jewish bookstore or by calling toll
free to 877-758-3242.)

Torah
Portion of the Week
Shelach

Dvar Torah
based on Growth Through Torah by
Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

When the spies gave their evil report of the Land of Israel they said, "The Land ... is a land which devours those who dwell in it" (Numbers 13:32). What homiletical interpretation may we learn
from this verse?