Earlier is better than later, but better late than never.   Have you been to Israel yet?  Whether you're young, middle-aged or old (at what point does someone become old?), a trip to Israel should be on every Jew's 'bucket list.'   The Talmud tells us, "Avira d'Eretz Yisrael machkim" -- the very air of Israel brings wisdom.  The special qualities of Israel will spiritually invigorate you, and you'll return home inspired and changed.  Visit Israel -- better late than never.

Parshas Acharei /Kedoshim           Leviticus 16:1 - 20:27

Acharei begins with a lengthy description of the special Yom Kippur service to be performed in the Mishkan by the Kohen Gadol.  The service included the lottery selection from among two identical goats, one of which would become a national sin offering and the other would be pushed off a cliff in the desert as the bearer of the people's sins (the 'scapegoat').  We also find described the command that Yom Kippur and its laws of fasting and refraining from work be observed eternally by the Jewish people as a day of atonement.  Acharei concludes with a listing of the immoral and forbidden sexual relationships, and the command that the Jewish people maintain and ensure the holiness of the land of Israel.   

Kedoshim begins with G-d's command to the entire nation of Israel to be holy, emulating the supreme sanctity of G-d Himself.  The Torah goes on to delineate a multitude of mitzvos through which we can achieve sanctity, covering a wide variety of subjects, both positive commandments and negative injunctions, dealing with our unique relationships to G-d and our fellow man.  Amongst the highlights; revere your parents, guard Shabbos from desecration, have honest dealings with our neighbors, refrain from tale-bearing, don't hate your brother in your heart, and the well-known commandment to love your friend as yourself.  Kedoshim concludes with the commandment that we be a holy and distinct people from among the nations of the world.

Rabbinic Ruminations

Ten years ago last week NASA received the final communication from one of the most influential and invaluable space probes ever launched by humankind: Pioneer 10.  Carrying an explicit message from humanity to extraterrestrial intelligence that might encounter the craft, the Pioneer Plaque, affixed to Pioneer 10, was created by astroscientists Carl Sagan and Frank Drake.  The aluminum plaque shows the nude figures of a human male and female, and also gives easily decodable directions back to planet Earth.  The directions are in the form of a pulsar map.

Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars which emit beams of radiation. The Pioneer Plaque pulsar map looks like an erratic burst of lines radiating from a central point.  The center represents our sun, while each line represents the scale distance between our local star and one of 14 selected pulsars. The lines are binary (base-2) numeral strings denoting the unique period of each pulsar, so that aliens can know exactly which regularly radiating celestial object we’re using as a sign post.

Unfortunately, despite the extraordinary intellects working on the Pioneer Plaque, the listed period of one of the pulsars is wrong.  A math error that crept into the design, making it possible that little green men could take a gigantic cosmic wrong turn in search of our sun.  For those of us who make occasional math errors when balancing our checkbook, it’s nice to know that even the best pros are fallible!   In various places the Torah describes mistakes made by the greatest of our ancestors.  It takes courage and self-confidence to admit making mistakes. View the entire process of learning from mistakes as a course in gaining more wisdom.

Quote of the Week

One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that one's life has meaning, that one is needed in this world. -- Hannah Senesh

Joke of the Week

An atheist found himself in the woods when suddenly he heard some loud rustling of leaves.  He looked over his shoulder and was stunned to see a huge bear.  The atheist started running, but soon the bear was towering over him with a paw raised as if he was going to swat him.   However, just at that moment an incredibly bright light appeared, and a booming voice called out to the atheist, saying: 

“For all these years you have despised Me and now you call for My help.”

The atheist said, “I’m sorry G-d. If you can’t help me, can you at least turn the bear into a religious Jew?“

Then the light disappeared. The bear sat down and said,

"Baruch Ata Hashem, Elokainu, Melech haolam, hamotzei lechem min ha'aretz!"