Extinguish the “Lo”: Optimism is Good for Your Health

Johns Hopkins University expert Lisa R. Yanek, M.P.H reports that people with a family history of heart disease who also had a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within five to 25 years than those with a more negative outlook.

The finding held true even among people with family history who had the most risk factors for coronary artery disease, and positive people from the general population were 13 percent less likely than their negative counterparts to have a heart attack or other coronary event. Researchers suspect that people who are more positive may be better protected against the inflammatory damage of stress. Another possibility is that hope and positivity help people make better health and life decisions and focus more on long-term goals. Studies also find that negative emotions can weaken immune response.

While I have never performed a study, my experience has demonstrated to me time and again, without exception, that people with a positive and optimistic disposition are happier people and are more pleasant to be around. I have yet to find a pessimistic and negative person who is at the same time happy and satisfied with their life. Approaching life with a negative attitude never changes a person’s predicament for the better. In fact the opposite is true: negativity and pessimism drag a person down, and it will often drag down other people within that person’s sphere. (Family might silently suffer with their pessimistic loved one. But it is common for more positively-oriented friends and acquaintances to distance themselves over time from negative people. Positive people don’t want to be around negative people because positive people don’t want to get infected by negativity.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Rebbe of Chabad, finds a lesson regarding this topic In Parshat Tzav it states (6:5): וְהָאֵ֨שׁ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֤חַ תּֽוּקַד־בּוֹ֙ לֹ֣א תִכְבֶּ֔ה which literally translates as “the fire on the alter shall be kept burning on it, it shall not be extinguished”. However the Baal HaTanya explained it to teach the lesson of positivity: The zeal of optimism shall remain burning inside him/ all of us. And we must try our best to extinguish the “Lo” ie the tendency to focus on the negative.

Pesach is the holiday with the most preparation and the most potential for stressors. While we cannot always avoid the stressors, our response to that stress is squarely within our ability to control. On this Shabbat Hagadol let us resolve to approach Pesach- and every day thereafter- without negativity and without pessimism; but rather with a sense of optimism, a sense of purpose, and a sense of joy.

Priests and Prophets

This week we begin to read Sefer Vayikra, Leviticus. The major theme of the third book of the Chumash is the sacrificial service. The sacrificial service in the Beit Hamikdash is called “Avodah”. We use this same term “Avodah” to refer to our prayers, especially the Amidah/ Shemonah Esrei prayer. There are many similarities between the sacrificial service and tefilah, “the service of our heart”.

 The Talmud (Berachot 26b) records a dispute as to the inspiration for prayer. One opinion is that the three daily prayer services correspond to the three patriarchs. Avraham woke up early and spoke to God. His prayer is the inspiration for Shacharit,. Yitzchak went out to the fields towards evening to meditate with God. This episode is the source for Mincha. Yaakov encountered God under the cover of darkness. His prayer is the origins of Maariv. Another opinion in the Talmud suggests that the daily prayer services correspond to the three sacrificial services performed daily in the Beit Hamikdash: Morning Tamid offering corresponds to Shacharit, the afternoon Tamid offering is represented by Mincha, while the late night burning of leftover fats and limbs is represented by Maariv.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks suggested that this Talmudic dispute refers to two aspects of prayer. The sacrificial service was overseen by the Kohanim. It was regimented and its performance needed to be precise. There was no room for personal expression during the sacrificial service, any deviation could lead to the sacrifice’s disqualification. On the other hand the Patriarchs were the first Jewish prophets. Every prophecy is unique, as it depends on the circumstances, the prophet and the message. Jewish prophets throughout history have been notable for their non-conformity and their expressive abilities.

The two sources for prayer are necessary to inform our tefilah experience. On the one hand we need structure and consistency. Just as the sacrificial service was the same every day, consistency must be the foundation of our tefilah experience. That is why the Rabbis instituted set times and a set text to our prayers. At the same time we need room for self-expression and the ability for the prayer experience to be different depending on our life circumstances. This is what the Patriarchs/Prophets origin of tefilah provides for us and encourages us to incorporate into our prayers.

What’s true about prayer is true about our lives more broadly. We need both structure and opportunities to express ourselves freely. We need both rules and creativity. We need boundaries and avenues to think outside of the box. It is only by emulating both prophets and priests that we are able to optimize the prayer experience and maximize our life experiences.

If Not One Place At One Time, Then At Least One Heart and One Cause

 Towards the beginning of Parshat Vayakhel the Torah states:

“Every man whose heart inspired him came, and everyone whose spirit motivated him (brought donations for the Mishkan building campaign).

This is the only place in the Parsha that these two descriptive terms are mentioned together: an inspiration from the heart as well as a motivation of spirit. The heart is associated with thought and emotion. The spirit is associated with spirituality and religion. People were getting involved in the project at this time both out of a sense of religious duty as well as an emotional pull to be part of this great campaign. Why were they so inspired and why specifically at this point?

Perhaps the verse right before can shed light on this matter.

“The entire assembly of Israel left Moshe’s presence.” The beginning of the Parsha describes how Moshe had gathered “the entire assembly of the Children of Israel.” This gathering of all the Jews was not just a practical step, it was an inspirational moment. Seeing the diversity of the people, and yet all gathered together by Moshe with common purpose and at one time was an incredibly inspiring scene. Moshe’s words helped the people understand the importance of the Mishkan project. But the show of unity demonstrated by all of the people inspired their hearts and motivated their spirits in a way that no speech could have ever done.

A quick search in the shul database shows that our congregation currently comprises 3090 individuals; men, women, and children. I have this recurring dream of gathering together in person all 3090 community members somehow and some way. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could create a moment in time during which every man, woman and child associated with Young Israel of Hollywood – Ft. Lauderdale would join together at one time on our shul campus? It would be a powerful moment of inspiration and unity. (It would probably be a great moment to launch our building campaign. At that moment everyone would agree that we need to expand our physical space.) I know that such a dream is far-fetched. First, not everyone is ever in town at the same time. Some people will always have conflicts or other obligations. Second, we are a diverse community with different interests and different priorities. It’s hard to practically imagine what event we could possibly orchestrate that would be appealing enough to bring everyone together at one time. If anyone is interested in exploring the possibilities of bringing my dream into reality, please be in touch. Even if we can’t all be together in one place at one time, we can still find ways to celebrate and put on display our Jewish unity, K’Ish Echad B’Lev Echad.

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We Need Everyone to take Part

Parshat Parah is read every year before Rosh Chodesh Nissan. It describes an important facet of the preparations for Pesach during the times when the Korban Pesach was offered: purification. Those who were ritually impure due to contact with the dead were disqualified from partaking in the Paschal lamb. Since the process of purification takes a week to complete, it was important for people to be reminded of these laws weeks in advance of Pesach. Today not only do we commemorate what once was (and what will be once again speedily in our days) but we also absorb the lessons contained within this mysterious ritual: the red heifer.

The pasuk states (19:2)

דַּבֵּ֣ר | אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֣וּ אֵלֶ֩יךָ֩ פָרָ֨ה אֲדֻמָּ֜ה תְּמִימָ֗ה

Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow

The Midrash teaches that from the phrase “have them take” we learn that the red cow must belong to the nation; ie it must be purchased with communal funds that had been collected from the entire congregation for upkeep of the Temple. Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (in Emek Netziv) notes that a donated red cow would be problematic. He wonders why this should be the case, and he suggests that the Torah is teaching an important lesson about community building. In order for the Parah Adumah ritual to have the full spiritual impact that it can, the campaign must be something that the entire nation is proactively engaged in. A donated red cow would seem to functionally suffice. However it is not valid because it does not include nor engage all of the people, as represented by communal funds.

This lesson from the Parah Adumah is an important one for us. In order to fully realize the potential innate within our community, and in order to fully benefit from the sense of purpose and belonging that comes with community- we must be proactive. We must be invested. We all must participate, attend and contribute- in our unique ways, according to our unique abilities.

Our shul’s annual Journal Gala will take place next Sunday March 19. I urge you to participate in this important fundraising event that celebrates our community and recognizes those who have contributed their unique abilities to the vibrancy of our shul. Please join Rebecca and me by registering to attend the dinner and placing an ad in the journal. (www.yih.org/gala )We look forward to celebrating with you.  

The Beautiful Fragrance of Individual Jewish Identities

The last Aliyah of Parshat Tetzaveh introduces us to the Mizbeach Hazahav, the golden alter upon which the ketoret, the aromatic spices, were offered. I can’t help but wonder: Nice to Meet You Mizbeiach Haketoret, where have you been until now? All of the other vessels of the Mishkan were introduced and described 4 chapters ago, in Parshat Terumah. Why is the Mizbeiach Hazahav introduced separately in the Torah so much later than all of the other vessels?

The Meshech Chochma explains (based on a Talmudic passage in Tractate Zevachim) that unlike the other keilim in the mishkan, the golden altar was not critical for the Temple service. You don’t technically require the golden altar in order to offer incense. In the absence of the Mizbeiach, the spices could be offered on the floor in the location of where the golden altar should have been.  This insight of the Meshech Chochma just sharpens the question: Why is the incense alter different than all other vessels in the Mishkan?

A pasuk by King David in Tehillim can help us answer this question. In Chapter 141 it says:

“My prayer shall be established like incense before You, the lifting of my hands as the evening offering.”

Ketoret symbolizes the personal relationship that man has with God. Like burning spices, one’s Jewish identity can be ethereal- we may not be able to see it or put our finger on it, but we cannot deny its presence and its impact. 

The major goal of the Mishkan and its vessels is to create a national focal point and to foster a national Jewish identity. The Mizbeiach Haketoret is mentioned separately because it serves as a reminder of the need we each have to also create a personal Jewish identity; our unique relationship with the Divine.

Maimonides in his Guide for the Perplexed wrote that the purpose of the ketoret was to create a beautiful fragrance for people to enjoy as they visited the Mishkan and, later, the Beit Hamikdash. Rabbi Moshe Schick, 19th century Hungarian Rabbi, explains that ketoret teaches us that our Jewish identities must be associated with pleasantness, meaning and inspiration.

Although it is written in last week’s Parsha, the blessing of V’Shachanti B’Tocham, that God will dwell amongst us, can only come to fruition when all of the Mishkan’s vessels, including the golden altar are constructed and appreciated. We are truly blessed when we carve out a personally meaningful Jewish identity while remaining a part of the collective.