The Blind Golfer

Charlie Boswell was a great athlete who became blind during World War II while rescuing his friend from a tank that was under fire. When he returned to this country after the War, he decided to take up a sport that he had never tried as yet—golf. Years of practice and determination led him to win the honor of National Blind Golf Champion no less than 13 times. One of his heroes was the great golfer Ben Hogan, so it indeed was an honor for Charlie to win the Ben Hogan Award in 1958.

Upon meeting Hogan, Charlie was awestruck and told the legendary golfer that his greatest wish was to have one round of golf with the great Ben Hogan.

Hogan was duly honored, after all, he knew Charlie as the great blind player that he was, and truly admired his skills.

But suddenly Boswell blurted out an unexpected challenge. "Would you like to play for money, Mr. Hogan?"

"Charlie, you know I can't play you for money, it wouldn't be fair!" said Mr. Hogan.

Boswell did not flinch. Instead, he upped the ante. "Come on, $1,000 per hole!"

"I can't. What would people think of me, taking advantage of a blind man," replied the golfer who was able to see.

"Chicken, Mr. Hogan?"

"Okay," blurted a frustrated Hogan, "I'll play. But I warn you, I am going to play my best!"

"I wouldn't expect anything else," said the confident Boswell.

"You're on Charlie. I'll tell you what. You name the time and the place!"

A very self-assured Boswell responded: “Fine. 10 o'clock . . . tonight!"

A Strange Juxtaposition

In the portion of Bechokosai, G-d communicates to the Jewish people the idyllic blessings awaiting them if they live up to their covenant with the Almighty. This is followed by the warning, that if the Jewish people fail to fulfill their role in our world as the Divine ambassadors, they will become the victims of horrendous curses&nbsp;and losses described in frightening detail.

Immediately following this section, known as the “Tochacha” (rebuke, chastisement), the Torah begins a totally new subject—the laws of “erchin,” which means evaluation. These laws specify how a person might donate his or her own value or the value of another human being to the Holy Temple. The Torah specifies the exact sum one must contribute if he or she makes such a pledge. The sum is not based on the individual’s strength, or character, but rather it is a generic value for each gender and each age. For example, the “erech,” or standard value, of a Jewish male between the ages of 20 and 60 is fifty silver shekel (a silver currency weighing around 9000 grams of silver). It doesn’t make a difference whether the individual whose worth was pledged was a neurosurgeon or a street sweeper, no matter if the person whose worth I pledged was Moses himself, or some outcast, the amount donated is dependent only on age and gender. If I pledged to contribute the value of a five-year-old boy, I need to contribute 20 silver shekel (a silver currency weighing around 360 grams) to the Temple. If I pledge to contribute the value of a one-year-old boy, I need to pay to the Temple five silver shekel. (There is an entire Tractate in the Talmud, Erchin, devoted to this topic.)

[Obviously, these numbers do not reflect the true value of a human being. A person is priceless. Rather, these are symbolic numbers the Torah attaches to different genders and different ages representing certain generic features of this gender or age group. The details of this are beyond the scope of this article.]

The order in Torah&nbsp;is meticulous. What is the connection between the Tochacha, the stern and harsh chastisement, and the laws of evaluation, discussing the “value” of every single human being, man, woman, and child?

The Power of Charity

I will present two answers, one is numerical and moral; the other is psychological.

The Baal Haturim (Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, one of the great Medieval sages in Germany and Spain, 1269-1343) explains this as follows.

The Portion of erchin contains evaluations in this order: 50 shekel, 30 shekel, 20 shekel, 10 shekel, 5 shekel, 3 shekel, 15 shekel, and 10 shekel—for various age and gender groups. The total of all distinct categories comes out to be 143 shekel. This number matches the exact sum of the curses in the Torah—45 in this week’s portion, Bechokosai, and 98 in the portion of Ki Savo in the book of Deuteronomy. The Torah is, in effect, saying that the antidote for the Tochacha is the mitzvah of erchin, the mitzvah of charity. The 143 shekels of contributions cancel out the 143 chastisements.

This is the power of giving.&nbsp;

Still the Chosen People?

The second explanation, presented by the Kotzker Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern (Poland, 1787-1859), is this.

One of the greatest gifts of the Jewish people was that they did not allow the humiliation and persecution they endured by mighty nations to define their inner identity, dignity, and destiny. Like fearless lions, they left Auschwitz, and the next day they went to rebuild Jerusalem.

We know of many people or cultures who endured savage suffering, and as a result, they could never rehabilitate themselves emotionally. They remained eternal victims of their oppressors. And even after they were set free, it was merely external freedom, but their inner sense of identity and liberty has been obliterated.

Where did the Jewish people glean the strength to emerge from every disaster with the courage and confidence to rebuild and prosper? From the order in this week’s portion! After the Torah enumerates the suffering the Jews might experience from the nations around them, it goes right on to discuss the value of every single human being. No matter what happens to you, the Torah is intimating, you have value as an individual, and as part of a nation. And your value can contribute to the Holy Temple, to the revealing of the Divine presence in the world.

Still Chosen?

After the Nazis invaded the small village of Klausenberg, Romania, they began to celebrate the defeat of the Jews in their usual sadistic fashion. They gathered the Jews into a circle in the center of town, and then paraded their Rebbe, Rabbi Yekusial Yehuda Halberstam (1905-1994), into the center.

The Klausenberger Rebbe was later taken to Auschwitz, where his wife and 11 children perished. He survived the war and came to America, where he remarried, had more children, and built a grand Chassidic movement. He also built the beautiful Laniado hospital in Netanya, Israel.

The SS guards began taunting and teasing the Klausenberger Rebbe, pulling his beard and pushing him around. The vile soldiers trained their guns on him as the commander began to speak. "Tell us, Rabbi," sneered the officer, "do you really believe that you are the Chosen People?"

The soldiers guarding the crowd howled in laughter. But the Rebbe did not. In a serene voice, he answered loud and clear, "Most certainly."

The officer became enraged. He lifted his rifle above his head and sent it crashing on the head of the Rebbe. The Rebbe fell to the ground. There was a rage in the officer's voice. "Do you still think you are the Chosen People?" he yelled.

Once again, the Rebbe nodded his head and said, "yes, we are." The officer became infuriated. He kicked the rebbe in the chin and repeated. "You stupid Jew, you lie here on the ground, beaten and humiliated, in a puddle of blood. What makes you think that you are the Chosen People?"

With his mouth gushing blood, the Rebbe replied. "As long as we are not the ones kicking, beating, and murdering innocent people, we are the chosen people."

Rise Up

Many of us have experienced loss, abuse, and grief in our lives. There are individuals who from a very young age have been given the message that they are worthless and that their lives amount to nothing. For years they struggle to regain the inner confidence to create a blessed&nbsp;life for themselves.

Comes the Torah and teaches, that after you experienced turbulence in your life, after you endured a “Tochachah,” a harsh experience, make sure that you do not allow those experiences and messages to make you doubt your value. You may have been challenged, but let the fighter in you still remain.

True Dignity

It also works the other way around.

The true value and dignity of a person emerge in moments of pain and despair. The real quality of people, their depth and majesty emerge after a “Tochacha,” after a painful experience.

When Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rav (1887-1979), visited Israel, a Hungarian Jew came and asked him for a blessing before his departure back to the US. This Jew expressed the fear that after the Satmar Rav returned to America, there would be no one worthy to ask for a blessing. His Rebbe told him: "Go to any Jew that has a number tattooed on his arm and ask him for a blessing. When such a person is available, you do not need me to give you a blessing."

Violence in Schools

America is reeling from the school shooting in Texas, on May 24, 2022. 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing nineteen students and two teachers, and wounding seventeen people. What our youth in America needs more than anything else is a moral education -- an education about values and character, about the truth that the dignity of each life is absolute and non-negotiable.&nbsp;

Sure, it is absurd that an 18-year-old can just obtain a machine gun legally, without any investigation. Even if you are pro-guns, there must be limits. But beyond that, when each of our children is taught from the earliest age that we are responsible to G-d, and that He expects us to honor life, and to be kind to each other, murder will not be part of the language of a teen&nbsp;in pain.&nbsp;

The order in the Hebrew Bible is meticulous. What is the connection between the tochacha, the stern and harsh chastisement, and the laws of evaluation, discussing the &ldquo;value&rdquo; of every single human being, man, woman, and child?

The SS guards began taunting and teasing the Klausenberger Rebbe, pulling his beard and pushing him around. The vile soldiers trained their guns on him as the commander began to speak. &quot;Tell us Rabbi,&quot; sneered the officer, &quot;do you really believe that you are the Chosen People?&quot; 

<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 130%; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Charlie Boswell was a great athlete who became blind during World War II while rescuing his friend from a tank that was under fire. When he returned to this country after the War, he decided to take up a sport that he had never tried as yet&mdash;golf. Years of Practice and determination led him to win the honor of National Blind Golf Champion no less than 13 times. 

<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">But then came the day when he was challenged to play against the legendary golfer Ben Hogan.

2811_impos.jpg

jewish survival

dignity

self esteem

challenges

Are You Still the Chosen People?

Essay Bechokosei

The Fighter Still Remains

If not dealt with, molestation can ruin marriages, and affect one's functioning -- Lecture 1 of 6

202_man older.jpg

22_course_outline.pdf

rabbi_chaim_itche_drizin_child_abuse_class_1.360p.mp4

rabbi_chaim_itche_drizin_child_abuse_class_1.mp3

molested

molestation

healing

child abuse

sexual abuse

child molestation

If not dealt with, molestation can ruin marriages, and affect one's functioning -- Lecture 1 of 6

The Life-Long Effects of Child Abuse

Likkutei Torah Bamidbar/Shavuos Maamar Einyan Shenetnah Torah

2815_man in rag.jpg

22_inyan_shenitna_torah.2f4f.pdf

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_morning-shiur_chassidus_06022016-06032016-06062016.mp4

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_morning-shiur_chassidus_06022016-06032016-06062016.mp3

bitul

mt. sinai

humility

confidence

If Torah Demands Humility, Why Was It Given on a Mountain?

Likkutei Torah Baal Hatanya Einyan Shenetnah Torah

You Can't Serve G-d If You Feel Like a Shmateh

Child Abuse in Our Communities. Lecture 2 of 6

207_empowering our children.jpg

rabbi_chaim_itche_drizin_child_abuse_class_2.360p.mp4

rabbi_chaim_itche_drizin_child_abuse_class_2.mp3

protecting child

child molesters

Child Abuse in Our Communities. Lecture 2 of 6

Empowering and Protecting Our Children Beforehand

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday morning, 5 Teves 5777, January 3, 2017, At Ohr Chaim shul, Monsey, NY

4037_depositphotos_30784259_original.jpg

22_4037_yosef_sold_or_sent_vayechi_.73e7.pdf

21_4037_rabbi_yy_jacobson_confronting_your_pain_were_you_sold_or_sent_r02_.ae23.mp4

21_4037_rabbi_yy_jacobson_confronting_your_pain_were_you_sold_or_sent_r02_.ae23.mp3

yosef

vayeishev

vayechi

dispelling darkness

forgiveness

miketz

resentment

vyigash

happiness

yosef and his brothers

depression

How Could Yosef Forgive His Brothers for All The Suffering They Brought On Him?

Vayigash Women's Class 

Confronting Your Pain: Were You Sold or Sent?

Climbing the hotel

Bill, Jim, and Scott were at a convention together sharing a large suite at the top of a 75-story hotel. After a long day of meetings, they were shocked to hear that the elevators in their hotel were broken, and they would have to climb 75 flights of stairs to get to their room. 
 
Bill said to Jim and Scott, "Let's break the monotony of this unpleasant task by concentrating on something interesting. I'll tell jokes for 25 flights, Jim can sing songs for the next 25 flights and Scott will tell sad stories for the rest of the way." On the 26th floor, Bill stopped telling jokes and Jim began to sing. At the 51st floor, Jim stopped singing and Scott began to tell sad stories. 
 
"I will tell my saddest story first," he said. "I left the room key in the car."

No Stairs

This week's Torah portion, Yisro, capturing the most important and defining event in Jewish history, the covenant crafted between G-d and a people chosen to become the paragons of morality and holiness in an earthly world, concludes with a&nbsp;strange instruction (1): 
 
"You shall not ascend My Altar on steps so that your nakedness will not be uncovered upon it."

The biblical commentators explain (2) that the priests serving in the Temple wore short pants, spanning from the thighs to the knees. Ascending stairs requires one to take wide, extensive, and spacious steps, which would expose more of their body, and would not befit the reverence required in G-d's home. The Torah, therefore, required a ramp ascending to the altar, since this allows the priest to take small strides in a dignified and respectful manner.

The great 11th century French biblical commentator Rashi (3) explains this in greater detail: "Steps require you to take wide strides. Although this does not in actuality expose your nakedness… nonetheless, taking wide steps is close to exposing nakedness. Thus, by taking wide steps, you treat the stones of the altar in a humiliating manner." Rashi adds that this mitzvah teaches us an important moral lesson. "If regarding these stones which lack the perception to be hurt by their humiliation, the Torah says, 'Since there is a need for them, do not treat them in a humiliating manner,' your fellow human being who is created in the image of your Creator and is sensitive to humiliation, how much more so must you treat him with respect!"

The Climax

As mentioned above, this week's portion captures the most significant event in the history of the Jewish people and of the world — when G-d, in a moment never to be repeated again — revealed to an entire nation His existence, charging it with the mission of saturating the world with holiness. This was the moment when the Creator communicated to the world His universal laws of morality and ethics. If we believe that somebody created the world and cares about its destiny, it is fair to assume that at some point this Being communicated with its inhabitants His intent in creation. This is indeed what transpired at Sinai. It was the event that gave human history, in historian Paul Johnson's words, "the dignity of purpose." It paved the road in the jungle of history. 
 
One would expect that the closing sentence of this portion would somehow capture the power and grace of this extraordinary moment, one that in many ways shapes the moral history of humanity. Yet the Torah chooses to culminate this section with what seems to be a simple and mundane law: "You shall not ascend My altar on steps so that your nakedness will not be uncovered upon it." Why? (4)

Finding Your Own Truth

It is precisely in these final words that the Torah shares with us a moving lesson regarding the human quest to "ascend G-d's Altar," to climb the ladder of moral and spiritual enlightenment. 
 
Often in life, people experience a new awareness that inspires them to move their lives to a different level, to live deeper, and to love deeper. They are moved to make changes. 
 
Yet sometimes, as a result of a genuine longing to abandon a previous lifestyle of shallowness, falsehood, addiction, promiscuity, loneliness, or shame, people begin to take wide and expansive steps, determined to reach great peaks in short spans of time, craving to master elevated modes of consciousness and lifestyles. 
 
Thus, immediately following the most spiritually enlightening and earth-shattering event in history, when G-d shared Himself with humanity, the Torah culminates with this declaration: "You shall not ascend My Altar on steps, so that your nakedness will not be uncovered upon it." Do not become who you are not. Do not jump to places beyond yourself. Every movement forward must be internalized and integrated into your individual identity because when you take steps that overwhelm you, rather than elevate you, you may end up naked and exposed. You might fall down fast and hard. People who overestimate themselves, often end up underestimating themselves. 
 
Never disregard, the Torah is teaching us, the value of one small move in the quest for truth. Wherever you are in life, you can serve G-d genuinely according to your own potential and situation. You&nbsp;can discover the light of G-d within your present condition. Challenge yourself to encounter your own inner light and truth; you need not climb on the truths and experiences of others. Grow you must; challenge yourself you must. But take the ramp, not the stairs. Don't jump ahead of yourself, because your authentic self may be left behind. And when you discover that, you may fall down and lose everything. You might end up bare. 
 
King Solomon put it simply (5): "Do not stand in the place of the great." Why? Not because by stepping into the shoes of the great, you will be robbing somebody else of his or her place of greatness. Rather, by doing so, you will be denying yourself your own individual process, the one that is great for you. Real people are inspired by other people but never copy them. 
 
Of course, there are moments you make take a big jump that may initially seem frightening. Big things happen when ordinary people muster the courage to actualize extraordinary visions. The path to recovery and to healing always requires a drastic leap. Yet we must ensure that these big steps enhance our true identity rather than crush it; that they embody our inner calling, mission, and power, not a superficial emulation of other people's standards and behaviors.

“To Thine Own Self Be True,” is also true in the religious and spiritual life. Sometimes even more. G-d wants you to be you, not me. He wants me to be me, not you.

Wine and Vinegar

A Talmudic vignette: 
 
The Talmud&nbsp;(6) quotes one of its great sages, Mar Eukva, saying the following curious statement about himself: "I am, in comparison to my father, what vinegar is in comparison to wine. When my father would eat meat, he would wait a full 24 hours until he ate cheese. But I? When I eat meat, I eat cheese during the following meal" (around six hours later (7)). 
 
The obvious question is, if this Talmudic sage held his father's behavior in such high esteem, to the extent of seeing himself as vinegar compared to his father as wine, why didn't he change his behavior and follow his father's custom? Why didn't he turn himself into "wine?" 
 
The answer may be that Mar Eukva was keenly aware of the truth that his father was on a totally different spiritual level than he. Waiting a full 24 hours after eating meat before he would eat cheese would in some mystical way enrich his father's soul. For the son to engage in this behavior, it would be merely an act of copying and mimicking his father's behavior. For his soul, this would be a meaningless experience. 
 
Since according to Jewish law, after eating meat one needs to wait only six hours in order to eat dairy products, this sufficed for Mar Eukvah (8).

__________________

1) Exodus 20:23. 
2) Sefer Hachinuch Mitzvah # 41. Cf. Rambam's Sefer Hamitzvos Mitzvah Lo Saaseh #80. 
3) Rashi to Exodus ibid. from Mechilta. 
4) Also: A well-known axiom in Jewish thought is that every single mitzvah contains, in addition to its literal meaning, a psychological and spiritual interpretation (See Rambam end of Hilchos Temurah.)&nbsp;The physical and concrete dimension of a mitzvah may not be relevant anymore, yet its metaphysical message, transcending the boundaries of a particular milieu or location, remains timelessly relevant in our inner hearts and psyches.&nbsp;The same is true, of course, concerning this mitzvah. In the absence of a Temple and an altar, the instruction not to use stairs, is, practically speaking, irrelevant. But we must search for the spiritual idea behind this mitzvah, which remains as timely today as it ever was. 
5) Proverbs 25:6. 
6) Chulin 105a. 
7) See Rambam Hilchos Maachalos Asuros 9:28. Shlchan Aruch Yoreh Deah section 89 and commentaries ibid. 
8) This essay is based on Letorah Ulemoadim, by Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin, Parshas Yisro. For another spiritual interpretation of this mitzvah, see Or Hatorah (by the Tzemach Tzedek) Parshas Vayeizei p.&nbsp;850.

Why no steps going up the altar?&nbsp;

4109_stairs.0f68.jpg

yisro

altar

ramp

growth

individuality

mar eukva

steps

Why No Steps Ascending to the Altar?

Essay Yisro

To Thine Own Self Be True

How To Talk To Your Children- The Power the Words You Use Have on Your Children. Class 1 of 4 

180_kidsh.jpg

22_1_how_to_talk_to_your_kids.pdf

drizin_class_1.360p.mp4

drizin_class_1.mp3

How Words You Use Impact Your Children. Class 1 of 4 

How To Talk To Your Children

Child Abuse In Our Communities. Lecture 4 of 6

209_healing.jpg

22_letter_from_rabbinical_council_of_vicoria.pdf

rabbi_chaim_itche_drizin_child_abuse_class_4.360p.mp4

rabbi_chaim_itche_drizin_child_abuse_class_4.mp3

victims

recovery

Child Abuse In Our Communities. Lecture 4 of 6

How Can a Molested Victim Find Healing?

The Story of My Life -- How To Build Your Child's Self Esteem- We Are the Stories That We Tell, and the Stories Others Tell About Us. Lecture 2 of 4 

186_samarkandh.jpg

drizin_class_2.360p.mp4

drizin_class_2.mp3

We Are the Stories That We Tell, and the Stories Others Tell About Us. Lecture 2 of 4 

The Story of My Life -- How To Build Your Child's Self Esteem

Child Abuse In Our Communities. Lecture 5 of 6

210_understanding.jpg

rabbi_chaim_itche_drizin_child_abuse_class_5.360p.mp4

rabbi_chaim_itche_drizin_child_abuse_class_5.mp3

molester

Child Abuse In Our Communities. Lecture 5 of 6

Understanding the Motivation of the Molester

Rewriting the Script of Your Life: Labels Make Us Feel that We Are All of Whatever the Label Says We Are. But We Are Not All of Anything. Class 3 of 4

188_kidsplayh.jpg

22_3_rewriting_the_script_of_your_life.pdf

drizin_class_3.360p.mp4

drizin_class_3.mp3

identity

lables

script of life

Labels Make Us Feel that We Are All of Whatever the Label Says We Are. But We Are Not All of Anything. Class 3 of 4

Rewriting the Script of Your Life

It was a grand debate, a final verbal quarrel between the sixty philosophers of Athens and one Jewish sage. Who would triumph, the great Greek philosophers or the impoverished Jews? The nature of the debate: The Greeks took out two eggs; the Rabbi took out two pieces of cheese&mdash;and he won the debate.

A fascinating and cryptic Talmudic story takes us on a journey into the heart of the Jewish struggle for identity and survival in the first century CE, teaches us about the essence of &ldquo;The Three Weeks,&rdquo; and conveys the secret of resilience and endurance in times of crisis and destruction.

936_936_blackegggs.669d.jpg

22_toldos_5771.pdf

good and evil

athens

cheese

greek philosphey

eggs

The Secret of Jewish Resilience

Essay The Three Weeks & Tisha B'Av

Black Eggs & White Cheese

Rabbi YY Jacobson &amp; Sony Perlman on the podcast &quot;Brainstorm with Sony Perlman&quot;, Motzei Shabbos, 6 Adar II, 5784, March 16, 2024.

The conversation focused on the mental health crisis of our age, and the question if we have betrayed our youth by placing such overemphasize on emotions.&nbsp;How do we understand the soul and heartbeat of our generation? 

The interview explored also the burden of inauthenticity, understanding our coping mechanisms, healing our marriages, child abuse, and the Agunah crisis.

&nbsp;

For all the other&nbsp;episodes:

Spotify:&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/10sK1alOjYevtBKFNT0y0u?si=2TiYHoEwR_uvYzOa_UW8Lw">https://open.spotify.com/episode/10sK1alOjYevtBKFNT0y0u?si=2TiYHoEwR_uvYzOa_UW8Lw</a>

Apple:&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brainstorm-with-sony-perlman/id1596925257?i=1000649439737">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brainstorm-with-sony-perlman/id1596925257?i=1000649439737</a>

9272_rabbi_yy___sony_topaz___blur.ba69.png

21_podcast_with_sonny_perlman_edited.8190.mp4

21_podcast_with_sonny_perlman_edited.8190.mp3

The Burden of Inauthenticity; Understanding Our Coping Mechanisms; Healing Our Marriages; Child Abuse, and the Agunah Crisis

Sony Perlman in Conversation with Rabbi YY

Have We Destroyed Our Youth? Understanding the Heartbeat of Our Generation

Have We Destroyed Our Youth? Understanding the Heartbeat of Our Generation

The Burden of Inauthenticity; Understanding Our Coping Mechanisms; Healing Our Marriages; Child Abuse, and the Agunah Crisis

Class Summary:

Categories

Related Classes

Please help us continue our work

Sign up to receive latest content by Rabbi YY

Ways to get content by Rabbi YY Jacobson