By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend, My emotions have fluctuated this week. Won some. Lost some. But my spirit is strong, and I am optimistic. Unquestionably the Neshama, Jewish soul, that has been gifted us since Abrahams times, will emerge victorious. Good will prevail. G-d based morality will triumph. Ultimately, that is. When Mashiach comes. Then, at that time there will be only good news. Till then there is good news and not so good news. There are some moral and religious struggles that have successful outcomes, while others temporarily fail. The good guys don’t always win immediately. It is for sure though that eventually they will emerge successful. A quick recap of my week. On Monday I was in Rechovot, honored with being the ‘sandak’ at the bris of our grandson born to Devorah Leah and Shneor Brod. My heart was overflowing with joy, love and thanks to Hashem for this new addition to our family. Menachem Mendel, as the baby was named, was born in Israel to parents who are committed to living in Israel. Israel, what a vibrant, pleasant and Jewish-observance-friendly place. On Tuesday, as I landed back in Bangkok, I opened my phone and was greeted by the news of missiles flying around Rechovot and hasty trips to shelters. My heart was filled with concern and more than a smidgen of trepidation for our loved ones living there. Israel, what a challenging place to live. I consider every Jew who lives in Israel a tzadik! Location: Samitivej Hospital. Sad event. On Friday night we lost a dear Jew, a long-time member of our community, Richard Frankel. Richard greeted us so warmly when we first arrived and was the epitome of kind and gracious as well as learned and forever-giving mentsch. A truly gentle soul. May his memory be for a blessing. May his children and grandchildren be a source of nachas to his soul through their good deeds and may they carry the unbroken chain of their Jewish heritage with pride and inspiration. Location: same Samitivej Hospital. Joyous event. On Tuesday night, a new life was born. A new Jew joined Am Yisrael. Our daughter Mushka (Kaltmann) gave birth to a bouncing boy thank G-d. Post life: On Wednesday afternoon at the Bangkok Jewish cemetery a Jewish man was gently buried in the traditional shrouds and wooden casket. The event was inspiring, as it was attended by nearly twenty members of our Jewish community. None of us who had ever known Shimon Aaronson who was being laid to rest. Prayers were said, and the age-old tradition was perpetuated. On that same Wednesday afternoon, a different Jewish man was taken by his zealously-Buddhist second wife, to a temple. The proposed schedule includes chanting by monks, and may G-d protect him, planned cremation and scattering of ashes into the sea. It’s been a week with a lot of emotions. Overflowing happiness at the bris of our grandson in Israel. Sadness at the loss of a dear friend who was a great help during our early years here. Elation that we had managed to visit Mr. Shimon Aaronson in Hatyai and raise the funds needed for paying the hospital bill and subsequent burial. The non-practicing next of kin understood the importance of Jewish burial for a Jew and gave their consent. Deep and painful frustration at not being able to save a Jewish man, born into a Jewishly observant family some eighty years ago, from the harsh anti-Jewish rites of cremation. And painful cremation is. In Jewish thought, the body does not die entirely at death. The flesh of the body still contains some life. That life gradually dissipates as the body decomposes. To incinerate a body is according to Jewish thought a cruel act. For there is still some form of life in the body which should be treated with care. Burning the body is like killing that vestige of life that still lingers on in the body. The fact that cremation is so widespread or that some ask for this to be their means of final disposal, does not make it any more correct. There were many Nazis, including cultured and family minded people, who burned Jews alive. When something is cruel and wrong, the fact that many do it, does not change the immorality of it. (The even greater immorality of the ‘dying with dignity’ movement which makes it seem okay to choose to shorten life, is certainly something we must rally against. Click here to read more about the Jewish perspective. We must be unyielding in our commitment to affirming the sanctity of life as these immoral trends gain proponents). My dear friend, I know you are used to me being soft-spoken. Regarding these topics I hope I am coming across quite adamant. I have no choice. Some things must be said forcefully and emphatically! Life is sacred! Even when one is too sick to enjoy a quality of life. Cremation for a Jew is cruel and un-Jewish. ‘Rabbi’, someone told me, ‘don’t take it to heart’. Enjoy ‘your family simchas and happy occasions and don’t get disturbed if ‘lapsed Jews’ unrelated to you, turn their backs on their Judaism’ That kind of thinking is anathema to my life mission. The Rebbe who sent us here to Thailand, viewed every Jew as his family. He considered the most alienated Jew as dear to him as the disciples who drank from his fountain of wisdom. The Rebbe expects that those influenced by him adopt that same perspective. So, yes. It is painful. Even though the Jew awaiting cremation is not related to me by blood, I am aghast. Ironically, I am happy that I am deeply pained, for it tells me that I am not G-d forbid desensitized to the plight of a fellow Jew. I feel at fault for not having been able to reach him intellectually and convey a compelling enough message to have him insist on the right Jewish choice. Dear Friend, I don’t intend to leave you with a message of disappointment. Let’s do a transformative reframing. Remember, the greatest good can come where its least likely, as a result of challenge and apparent negativity. The situation in Israel? Let’s reframe it from a positive perspective. Hopefully things will be quiet now with the ceasefire. But as the missiles were raining down deep into densely populated central Israel, we are reminded that G-d promised in the Torah that Israel is a Divinely blessed geographical location. During the first Gulf War the Rebbe encouraged people to go to Israel, certainly not to leave. The Rebbe quoted the verses in the Torah that say that Israel is a land that ‘the Eyes of G-d are attentive to, from the beginning of the year till the end of the year’. ‘Israel is the safest place in the world’ said the Rebbe during that crisis. Indeed, the miracles in Israel abound. Missiles falling is absolutely unacceptable, yet we must not overlook the wonders. Somehow the damage to life from those bombs were miraculously small. The army may they be blessed, do fantastic work, and G-d provides miracles that are too numerous to count. click here for miracle captured by traffic camera. We must all pray for Israel and support our fellow Jews there, in any way possible! Nechama and I are overjoyed and honored that our daughter, son-in-law and their two children, our adorable grandchildren, are living in our Holy land of Israel. Our hearts are overflowing with thankfulness to Almighty G-d for the great gift of a new grandson born this week in Bangkok. We are so very excited to G-d willing have the pleasure of celebrating his Bris with our friends, here in our Bangkok Jewish community (please G-d it will be this coming Wednesday in the late afternoon at the Shul (double check to make sure of schedule)). The planned cremation? I am still praying for a miraculous change of heart by those who can affect the desired change. And I am now driven with more passion to intensify my efforts to EDUCATE people about the misconceptions that drive decisions to cremate. Click here for something basic on the topic. And finally, I am inspired by Shimon Ben Avrohom Aaronson whose funeral we were privileged to do on Wednesday. Here is why. Shimon lived in a Thai rural (‘shtetl’) village somewhere within the general region of Hatyai. Shimon’s mothers, mothers’ mother was a Jewess from Russia. His great-grandmother was Jewish. They all married non-Jewish men. The Jewish chain seemed all but snuffed out. How could it not be? It was so diluted. Yet, that Jewish soul that is transmitted matrilineally refused to sputter and die out. Inexplicably, and against all odds, Shimon was proud of his Jewish heritage and chose to reclaim it. To the extent that he changed his legal last name to Shimon Ben Avrohom Aaronson. According to his close friend and housemate, Shimon kept meat and milk separate and always spoke about going back to live in Israel. Shimon even made Challa in the hinterlands of Thailand. Click here (scroll down) to see his dialogue with the online recipe tutor. I have now gained a deeper appreciation for the efforts of my colleagues at chabad.org for developing very useful and engaging kosher cooking webpages. It seems that some Jews connect to their Judaism via the culinary path. Can you see why I am INSPIRED and ENERGIZED and feel incredibly blessed by the events of this week? I have seen with my own eyes, that the pact that G-d made with Avraham, Yitschak and Yaakov and the subsequent birth of Am Yisrael at the revelation at Sinai is ALIVE AND WELL! Nothing can vanquish or extinguish the spark of the Jewish soul and its attachment to the Eternal G-d. We need to add in Torah and Mitzvahs. As our good deeds of Mitzvahs, acts of devotion and lovingkindness bring us ever closer to that special day when death will be no more, goodness and G-dly morality will reign supreme and our very mortal eyes will soak up the revelation of G-d. We want Mashiach NOW. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Yosef Kantor
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