Rabbi's Blog

We're all interconnected with the Divine through our essence, our souls. The Hebrew word for soul, neshama, shares the same origin as the term for breath, neshima. Every breath we take unites us with our soul.

However, there are moments when we detach from our oneness with the Divine. The world's attractions lead us astray, fostering a false sense of separation from the Divine. During these times, our task is to struggle against these worldly influences and rediscover humility, thus reestablishing our connection with the Divine.

We can do this by seeking out the dormant fragments of Divine essence in the physical world around us. Our attraction to these fragments is not solely due to their physical appeal, but even more so because they hold a spark waiting for us to elevate. Through using these physical objects for a Divine purpose, we transform them into conduits of Divinity and we uplift and liberate those dormant Divine sparks.

There are two primary approaches to achieving this: confronting our internal struggle or embodying G-dliness so profoundly that we naturally elevate the world around us.

The Chassidic masters guide us in understanding that Torah study brings us closer to Divine awareness, causing negativity and lack of G-dly awareness to disappear from our surroundings. Nonetheless, combating our internal struggle at times demands direct engagement, and this is where prayer comes in. Prayer calls for our exertion, a battle with our egos, and self-transformation to heighten our Divine consciousness and diminish self-centeredness.

Ideally, adopting the "Torah study approach" is more pleasant. However, when that's not feasible, we must persevere in the struggle and turn to prayer.

In essence, a balanced approach involves both study and prayer.

Which method resonates with you for attaining heightened spiritual consciousness?

Wishing you a peaceful Shabbos,

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman

Often when one is in a position of leadership, it seems like we don’t have a life of our own. We are just living for others. For our boss, for our parents, for our kids, and for our clients. When we lose sight of ourselves it's easy to experience burnout.

In this week's Torah portion, it warns that a Jewish king is not to accumulate wealth, not to wield power, and not to show off. If he is consumed with himself, he will destroy his soul and the country together.

What, then, is his purpose? Isn’t the goal of government leadership to become rich, powerful, and famous?

Moshe tells us that a king must “write for himself two copies of this Torah... And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the L-rd, his G-d, to keep all the words of this Torah and these statutes, to perform them….. So that his heart will not be haughty over his brothers, and so that he will not turn away from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, in order that he may prolong [his] days in his kingdom, he and his sons, among Israel." 

Moshe tells the king to live as a humble servant. One whose mind and heart are permanently open to Hashem and His Torah. Only when you are truly connected to a higher power, then and only then are you truly powerful. Only then can you be fearless!

When your power is the might of the “All Mighty G-d”, you aren’t using your own limited control, then burnout is not an issue. When you are deeply connected and feel honored that Hashem has trusted you with this role, you will be genuinely humble. Your behavior will be a model for the Jewish people, providing them a living example of how to live as a Jew.

A true leader is a conduit for something greater than themselves and one who feels honored to be given their role, be it a parent, spouse, employee, boss, child, client etc.

Isaiah describes the Jewish people as righteous while Moses designates them as royalty.

We are all kings. We have some control over our lives, our destiny, and our resources. When we view ourselves not as the person in control, but as a humble leader connected to Hashem and ready to implement His purpose for us, we become much bigger than ourselves. We practice both our business affairs and our Judaism proudly, fearlessly, honestly, and humbly.

We will give generously of the time and resources that Hashem has provided us. And we will feel honored to do so.

Are you ready to make the mind shift? Are you ready to act as a leader?

Have a good Shabbos!

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman

During the storm earlier this week, our power went out. One of my kids asked me to “just turn the lights on”. Being that that is BGE’s department, it took a few hours instead of a few minutes. We were blessed that it was a relatively short period of time. When the power went out again on Wednesday, thank G-d for a short duration as well, my son once again couldn’t understand why I wasn’t just turning the lights back on, although I helped with a flashlight ;). He is young and still doesn’t understand these things.

There is an adage attributed to the Baal Shem Tov; “one should learn something from everything he sees and hears”.

When this happened, I told myself, “I have my weekly email”. Whether it would be for a few minutes or a few days, I needed to stay calm and ensure that the kids were fed and taken care of.

When our spiritual lights are off, we do not feel connected to G-d. When we turn to our regular support team, and they are not able to light our spark, we just need to wait for the lights to turn back on. The question is how we deal with the time when it feels dark. Do we take care of things so that when the lights turn back on there is no long-term damage? Or do we throw a spiritual tantrum?

A couple days later, while studying this week’s Torah portion, the topic of severance pay came up. The Torah discusses whether a slave is required to be compensated when set free. The question then is asked if severance for a regular employee is required by Torah law? A lesson derived was that even if you aren’t required to give severance, it is a good and kind idea. It keeps the goodwill and appreciation for the good work that was done alive.

The spiritual message we can take is that even when someone doesn’t deserve severance, even when they are not involved spiritually, you should still give them something to make sure their connection to spirituality is not severed. Even when the “spiritual” lights are out, and you can’t turn them on, make sure you are a flashlight, lighting up their darkness.

Have a good Shabbos,

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman