News

(Part 2)

There may be nothing more enchanting, mystical, and mysterious than the wonder of music. In our previous article, we began to develop a deeper understanding of the concept of music, its cyclical nature, and the Torah ideas related to circles. To review, a circle represents spiritual death. It is a geometric anomaly; it is the only shape with no newness—no turns, no corners, and no changes. It has no beginning and no end. A circle is a cycle that goes nowhere; it lacks evolution and generates no growth. No point on the circle is unique, with each point equidistant from the center. A circle simply cycles back on itself without making any progress.

We all long to merit Olam Haba and attain the even greater level of becoming a Ben Olam Haba while still living in this world. The Gemara in Berachos teaches us that one who says Ashrei three times a day is assured to be a Ben Olam Haba. This clearly cannot mean mere recitation. Chazal are telling us that this reward is reserved for one who thinks deeply about what the pesukim in Ashrei are teaching us, and as a result, strengthens his emunah in Hashem.

All of Jewish life appears to be a system of cycles and circles. We celebrate the same holidays every year, as we pass through the same twelve months, as we go through the same cycle of reading the Torah. However, as we have explained thus far, the ideal is not to transcend this circular system, but to uplift it, to transform the circle into a spiral, and to find deeper ways of creating newness within the circular system.

We are often told of the importance of having emunah in Hashem, but what exactly is emunah? Emunah is often translated as “faith”; the dictionary defines faith as a “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” Faith is generally viewed as a “personal opinion,” a “subjective belief,” an “emotional decision,” or a “blind leap.”

The final eight pesukim in the Torah discuss Moshe Rabbeinu’s death.

Part 3

Emes is the root, the starting point and anchor of everything, but our connection and relationship with it is often fleeting. Emes is like a flash of lightning, a spark of inspiration. A powerful speech, an inspiring moment, or a profound idea can change our whole perspective on life. Suddenly, we see everything so clearly, we realign our goals, and everything falls into place. However, the very next day, we often find ourselves right back where we were before, as if nothing ever happened. What happened to the clarity of that emes, the power of that vision?