Rabbi Abrams Blog

Two events happened that really made me think about life and what I’m doing with it. There is a famous story of the Alter Rebbe (founder of Chabad cir. 1800). He was imprisoned by the Russians for anti-government activity (sending money to poor Jews in Turkey-occupied Israel). During interrogations, one of the interrogators, who was well versed in the Bible asked, “In Genesis, after Adam and Eve ate from the fruit, G-d asked, “Where are you?” Didn’t G-d know where Adam was without asking?” After giving the simple explanation from Rashi, the Alter Rebbe continued, “When a Jew, X amount of years old (and he named the exact age of the interrogator), G-d askes him, “Where are you in life?” What have you accomplished? What are you making of yourself? Celebrating the Bas Mitzvah of our daughter, Chanaleh, is a big milestone. Until now, I’ve celebrated my own milestones, including marriage, birth of children, thank G-d etc. But this is different. My daughter is entering her teen years. This i...

Haman’s reason for killing the Jews was “There is one nation spread out among the other nations and they have a different religion.” The simple meaning is that he wanted to kill the Jews because they are different. There’s another explanation though. It’s talking about two kinds of Jews: “One nation” are the Jews who stick together and keep the traditions. “Spread out…” are the Jews who drift for whatever reason. On the outside, they may not even be recognizable as Jews. Haman looked at all Jews the same. If they were religious, he hated them because they were religious. If they were secular, he hated them because they were secular. The end of the story is that the Jews took this to heart and internalized that we are one, and Haman became a cookie (Hamantashen). We celebrate Purim with brotherly (and sisterly) love though the four mitzvos of the holiday. Sometimes it takes an anti-Semite’s appreciation of how much we are really one to internalize it ourselves.

We’re being led to believe that the world is falling apart and that things are getting worse and worse by the day. There may be some truth to this notion, but it’s mostly false. For a full month, the Idaho murder story has dominated headlines, and this story demonstrates my point. It perked my interest and I started reading up on serial killers, and noticed an interesting trend. They all seem to have been from the 70’s. The fact that a PhD in criminology, who had no crime history, was tracked down in a month is testament to how far DNA and detective work has come. The infamous serial killers went on for decades and killed many, many times before being caught. Of course, it’s important to remind ourselves that this individual in Idaho hasn’t been convicted, and we should let the court work through it’s course.  But the point is true nonetheless. Why aren’t there any serial killers of the 2020’s if the world is getting worse and worse by the day? Because would-be serial killers are g...

  "In the end it all works out, and if it doesn't, it's not the end..." I'm sure you can relate.  Life has ups and downs, successes, and failures.  Good times and bad times.  Happy times and sad times.  And most of it is just a reflection of what's happening from within. We did not reach our goal.  Yet... But don't worry.  We're not gonna sell the property and move to NY or try to get a refund on the plans (yeah, right). We're in it for the long haul.  Natanya and I dedicated our lives to the Jewish community of Temecula and a failed campaign will not change that.  Our vision and plan is ambitious, but I think it's also responsible.   The world won't end. The project might take a little longer.  But it will happen. From the beginning of the fund-raising campaign I knew something was off.  I felt too much pressure.  On the one hand, I was consumed with it, but at the same time, I struggled to actual...

This past week on Tuesday, two major things happened in the world. One of them scientific and one of them spiritual. The Rebbe taught us that science & spirituality come together. He spoke about how the industrial revolution happened at the same time the Baal Shem Tov, Maggid of Mezritch and the Alter Rebbe started revealing Chassidus (the secrets of Torah) around 1760-1812. This week, a major scientific breakthrough was announced on Yud Tes Kislev, the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. For the first time, they were able to create a net energy gain on a nuclear fusion reaction. I’m no scientist, but my layman understanding is that by fusing two atoms into one, a tremendous amount of energy is released (nuclear fusion is the type of reaction that powers the sun). This breakthrough is Messianic. It will lead the path to virtually a limitless supply of cheap & clean energy. Once this science is refined and the infrastructure is built for commercial use, one cup of hydrogen (the most abu...

The Shluchim convention two weeks ago was a breath of much needed fresh air for me. A spiritual tune up. Five days surrounded by Judaism, Rebbe & Chassidim was just what I needed. One of the main themes of the convention was “Hakhel,” which I’ve written about before. Hakhel is the year of gathering. For six years, we “work the land” in Israel, and on the seventh, the land rests. In the beginning of the eighth year, there is a big gathering. In temple times, it was a gathering in a specific place, by a specific person, at a specific time, with a specific ritual. Now that we don’t have a temple (specific place) or a king (specific person), the Rebbe taught that Hakhel can be fulfilled by anyone at any time during this year. Any gathering which furthers “awe of G-d” counts as a Hakhel gathering and is a big deal. At the convention they pointed out, that the lions share of the Rebbe’s major initiatives were introduced during “Hakhel” years. The famous Tefillin campaign, Tzedakah campai...

  I took a trip to Washington D.C. to visit my step-uncle and aunt and comfort them for the  loss of their daughters . Torah teaches that visiting mourners, especially in their home, is comforting to the mourners  and to the deceased. Indeed, the process of death is painful not only to the family of the deceased, but to the deceased themselves. The ability to do productive work, help people and do mitzvahs is only possible while alive in this physical world, and this is why death is painful (unlike what most people think, that death is the end of pain). We mourn  with  the dead over the lost opportunities to give light to the world. On the way back, I stopped in Dallas, TX for a day. It made $$ sense and gave me the opportunity to visit a couple good friends and supporters who have moved there. Here are some observations and reflections from the visit: Texas was very different than I expected. I wasn’t expecting the toll roads and traffic. Instead of Ford and Ch...