Chanukah 5770/2009 - Jewish Infertility

SHAAREI TIKVAH/ CHANUKAH 2009
G-d, therefore, sends us snow; contemplating snow’s profound
meaning helps feel connected to Him once again.
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can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How
can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure
the amount of light present. Isn’t this correct? Darkness is
a term used by man to describe what happens when there
is no light present.”
Finally, the young man asked the professor, “Sir, does evil
exist?” Now uncertain, the professor responded, “Of course,
as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily
example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude
of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations
are nothing else but evil.”
To this the student replied, “Evil dose not exist, sir, or at
least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence
of God. It is just like darkness and cold – a word that man
has created to describe the absence of God. God did not
create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love, that exist just as does
light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man
does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the
cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that
comes when there is no light.”
The professor sat down. The young student’s name was
Albert Einstein.
The Mystical White Snow
R’ Baruch Leff/aish.com
Few experiences in life compare with waking up in the
morning after a snowfall and looking outside. The sight is
stunning, the landscape glorious and beautiful, and the
feeling one has is nothing less than sublime. Only after
modernity with its high-powered engines, tampers with
winters wonder, does the snow become filthy and unpleasant.
Where does this feeling of awe come from? What is this
unique creation - snow – that only appears in the winter?
First, another question. Why are all the biblical holidays
crowded into the spring and summer? Wouldn’t it
have made more sense to space the holidays more evenly
throughout the calendar year?
The Maharal, The great 16th Century philosopher,
comments that the Jewish calendar can be divided into
two sections. Half of the year, from Passover until Sukkoth
(spring through summer), has the force of spiritual Ohr
(light) as its primary power, while choshech (darkness)
rules the fall and winter months.
The implications are clear. The season for spiritual
Light is the spring/summer and it is only then that one
can actualize the greatest amount of spiritual energy.
Fall/winter is a time for Spiritual Darkness and is not ideal
for tremendous spiritual growth. In fact, the Maharal actually
describes the winter as being “outside of the realm
of time.” This is because winter does not offer growth, neither
agriculturally nor spiritually, thus in a certain sense
the winter cannot be acknowledged as being part of any
“real existence” due to its lack of spiritual developmental
value.
We can now understand the uneven arrangement of
the biblical calendar. The holidays mentioned in the Torah
all take place during the spring/summer months, because
it is then that the potential for a real, profound, spiritual
growth exists due to the power of ohr (light). G-d wanted
us to actualize growth during the summer and then to
maintain that growth during the winter.
The Maharal describes snow as being an illuminating
force that is tantamount to spiritual Light. People on
earth need to be reminded of God’s involvement in man’s
affairs. In the winter we do not experience biblical holidays.
It is our lowest point of spiritual inspiration.
G-d, therefore, sends us snow; contemplating snow’s
profound meaning helps feel connected to Him once
again. Snow descends and covers the ground as if to
shout, “Remember that it is G-d that is constantly “covering”
the ground and providing everything in our live.
Draw closer to Him!”
So the next time it snows, Instead of being upset that
you’re going to be late for work, be reminded of the deeper
truths of this world. It is wintertime; time to bask in the
glory of G-d, as reflected in the pure, white snow.