This past week I was studying the parsha with a dear friend of mine and the conversation segued to talking about reincarnation, a subject that I don’t profess to be an expert in and avoid talking about on the podcast. The person I was studying with expressed incredulity and skepticism about the idea of reincarnation in general. Reincarnation sounds like such a spooky and strange subject that rational, free-thinking, intelligent people tend to view it with skepticism. Jewish sources maintain that reincarnation does exist. What is the best way to reconcile our justifiable skepticism surrounding this subject?

My solution is what I call the Demystify and Deconstruct Heuristic:

Suppose we accept the following principles:

1. God exists and He is good
2. We have free will
3. The Afterlife exists

These principles are a lot less controversial than the question of reincarnation. I would imagine that most believers would accept these principles as true. I think it’s logical for someone who accepts these principles as true to also accept the notion of reincarnation. Here’s why: God gives us free will. We get to choose if we favor our body or our soul. The choice to prioritize the physical or the spiritual is in our hands. In the event that a person chose to neglect their spiritual life, after they pass and their soul is untethered from their body, their soul is incomplete. It’s mission has not been fulfilled. How would we imagine that God in His benevolence would treat such a person? Isn’t it logical to say that the Almighty will afford such a person a second chance? Would we really consider that God wouldn’t give a person another opportunity to accomplish their mission? Of course the Almighty believes in second chances! By deconstructing the subject, it becomes much easier to swallow.

This subject also benefits from a useful Russell Conjugation. “Reincarnation” sounds scary and spooky. “Second Chances” is warm and fuzzy and makes us smile.

Animal Sacrifices

Another Torah concept that becomes more palatable when reframed in this fashion is animal sacrifices. The Book of Leviticus is replete with descriptions of all different kinds of sacrifices that must be done on regular intervals in the Temple. We don’t have a Temple, but we pray every day for its restoration and the concomitant resumption of animal sacrifices. There is no subject that I have encountered as much incredulity as the question of animal sacrifices. “Rabbi, do you actually believe that the Temple is going to be rebuilt on Temple Mount in Jerusalem and we’re going to resume doing animal sacrifices?!” To modern sensibilities, animal sacrifice feels barbaric. It seems so foreign and distant from the world that we live in. Yet tradition tells us that the Messiah will come and the Temple will be rebuilt and once again we will offer animal sacrifices.

This subject as well can be helped via this process.

Animal sacrifice sounds barbaric but beef is what’s for dinner. Those of us who are part of the 94% of Americans who are not vegetarian are obviously comfortable with the concept of killing an animal and eating its flesh. What’s the difference between animal sacrifices and steak dinners? One is delicious and the other is delicious and a mitzvah. Instead of thinking about animal sacrifices as barbaric ceremonies, when we reframe it to be steak dinners with a mitzvah it becomes palatable and even desirable.

This is not to suggest that there aren’t deep spiritual and Kabbalistic secrets in sacrifices (or reincarnation for that matter), but for someone who struggles with the notion of these foreign concepts and mitzvos, a simple reframing goes a long way in making them more palatable.

Where else do you think such a heuristic is helpful?

The Parsha begins with Joseph languishing in prison. It’s been 2 years since he correctly interpreted the dreams of his two cellmates, and the newly reinstated Royal butler forgot Joseph, and his situation was dire.

That all changed when Pharaoh had frightening dreams of 7 fat cows being consumed by 7 frail cows and 7 robust ears of grain being swallowed by 7 pitiful ones. These dreams caused Pharaoh to seek Joseph’s dream-interpretation services and when Joseph skillfully interpreted the dreams he was promoted to viceroy of Egypt.

The Ohr HaChaim makes a very precise and critical reading of the first verse. He notes that the verse does not say that after two years Pharaoh dreamt. Rather the verse indicates that for 2 years Pharaoh was dreaming. He explains that Pharaoh had the identical dreams each night for two years, which he promptly forgot upon awakening. And now, 2 years after the butler was reinstated, Pharaoh finally remembered the dreams and was desperate to seek an interpretation.

This seems like a very strange suggestion. If Pharaoh forgot the dreams each night anyhow, why was it necessary for him to have these recurring nightmares? If Joseph was destined to languish in prison for two more years it doesn’t make sense to subject Pharaoh to the dreams that were not needed. Why did Pharaoh dream about cows and grain each night for two years only to forget them upon awakening?

One of the Hasidic Masters suggested an answer that radically reshapes how we think about Divine intervention and Divine providence. The Midrash states that Joseph underwent a lapse in his reliance on God when he asked the Butler to bring his case before Pharaoh. A man of Joseph’s stature he should have relied on God totally and not sought the help of the Butler. As a result of his insufficient faith, Joseph was penalized with two more years of incarceration. After 2 years Joseph ceased to rely on the Butler helping him, and restored his complete reliance on God, and right away the Almighty sprung the plan into action and Pharaoh dreamt.

But what would have happened had Joseph restored his total reliance on God earlier? That is what the Ohr HaChaim is telling us: Every single night of those two years, Pharaoh had the precise dreams that would have resulted in Joseph’s freedom and ascent to monarchy. Everything was in place; everything was ready; all that was needed was for Joseph to get ready. And each night because Joseph was not quite there yet Pharaoh forgot the dreams. But once Joseph restored his total reliance on God, Pharaoh remembered his dreams, and that very same day Joseph received Pharaoh’s ring, was bedecked in the garments of royalty, had a triumphal cavalcade throughout the city, and became the king he was destined to become.

We know that we must earn our Divine intervention and providence, but we have it backwards. We assume that the Almighty is waiting for us to pray or to become spiritually worthy and then He will begin the process of giving us our salvation. Here we learn that it’s the other way around: everything is already in place. Everything is ready to go. The almighty is anticipating us to make the move, to submit the prayer, to spiritually earn the merit – and once we become worthy the Divine salvation was there, waiting for us.

The recently approved COVID vaccine is an example of this model. Under normal conditions, when an experimental drug is being tested the process follows a certain sequence: There are various rounds of experimentation and trials where the safety and the efficacy of the given drug is tested. Once the tests seem promising then it’s submitted for approval by various agencies, and after approval, production and distribution begin. With the vaccine currently being rolled out everything was done concurrently in order to speed up the timeline. Even before efficacy and safety were established, production and distribution plans were already underway. With God, it’s always Operation Warp Speed. The Divine intervention, the Divine salvation is already in place pending approval.

In 2015, then Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was interviewed on one of the late night shows about the company’s new business, Uber Eats. When asked to explain how it works, Kalanick explained how with other online delivery companies, the process is that you order, then they make the food, it’s put in a car and delivered it to you. Uber Eats is different: “We make the food, we put it in a car, and then you order it and we deliver it to you.” I don’t know if this is the way Uber Eats still works, but at the time they were trying to eliminate the most annoying part about ordering food – the wait. You’re hungry and you want food now and you don’t want to wait. With this system you wouldn’t need to wait. The food is ready, all you need to do is order and then it is delivered.

Uber Eats and the COVID vaccine are metaphors for this deep and wonderfully inspiring insight into how the Almighty intervenes and aids people. Just like Joseph, the Almighty has a plan for how each one of us can achieve our destiny and fulfill our purpose. He wants to give us salvation, He wants to answer our prayers, He wants to shower us with blessings and goodness, He wants us to accomplish the mission that we were sent here to do. He wants to help us, but we need to earn it. We need to become spiritually worthy of that Divine blessing. I find it deeply comforting and inspiring to know that our salvation is already extant; its all lined up and ready to go pending Divine approval. The vaccines are made and are ready to be shipped. The food is fresh and delicious and in the car ready to be delivered. Pharaoh has a standing dream of cows and grain being swallowed – everything is in place. We submit the order, we become worthy of the salvation, and it is promptly unlocked. Everything is ready to go. Are you?

During Chanukah last year, I was invited to give a lecture at Aish Toronto (we had gone to visit family in Canada during winter break).

The talk began with a comparison of the two mitzvos that relate to lighting candles: Each Friday afternoon, of course, we light the Shabbos candles, and during Chanukah, we light the Menorah and its candles for the duration of the Festival’s eight days.

Both of these mitzvos require us to light candles, but upon examination they appear to be radically different, almost opposite mitzvos. By my count, there are at least 6 differences between the Shabbos candles and the Chanukah candles:

1. Utility: We are not allowed to benefit from the Chanukah lights (which is why a Shamash is added). By contrast, the whole purpose of the Shabbos candles is to benefit from them
2. Nature: The mitzvah of the Chanukah candles is the kindling (if the candles get extinguished, you have already fulfilled your duty and don’t need to tend to it). Shabbos candles are not about the action, but about the result: having the light in the home
3. Timing: Shabbos candles must be lit before darkness, by contrast, Chanukah candles can only be lit after darkness
4. Positioning: The Chanukah candles must be facing outside for public exhibition; Shabbos candles are only meant for the people inside the house
5. Variability: The Chanukah lights are dynamic: The Talmud teaches us that there are three levels of the mitzvah: at a minimum, one candle for everyone in the home. The righteous who seek mitzvos have one candle per person in the home. And the super-duper-uber committed successively add another candle each night, culminating in eight candles on the eighth and final night of Chanukah. The Shabbos candles don’t have these different levels.
6. Primacy: Halacha teaches us that both mitzvos are so important that if you don’t have candles, you even need to knock on doors and beg to be able to acquire them. But regarding Chanukah candles the sources add that should you find no other way to acquire Chanukah candles, you must even sell your clothing to purchase them. The Shabbos candles do not make that requirement.

These two mitzvos are obviously very different.

I don’t want to spoil it for you but if you have the time to listen to the entire talk you will discover that the candles are representative of our Soul, which has a long and dramatic and even spine-tingling history. The essence of Chanukah is to take that candle that is submerged within us and to make it surface and shine forth brightly. Shabbat represents something very different.

If you don’t have the time to listen to it, I hope you find these differences intriguing and thought-provoking.

Question of the week

Since the beginning of the Jewish calendar year, the Parsha Podcast has featured a recurring segment at the end of each episode called A&Q. A&Q is the opposite of Q&A. Q&A is when the audience asks the presenter a question and the presenter offers a (hopefully satisfactory) answer. In A&Q the audience is presented with a question and they must supply the answer. At the end of each week’s episode, I provide a question on that week’s Parsha, and solicit answers from the audience.

The response to this segment has been off the charts!

Every week the incredible and indefatigable Parsha Podcast audience offer wonderful and diverse answers, many of which are featured in the following week’s episode.

My friend Paul suggested that I include the question of the week in the newsletter. I’m not promising to give any answers, but it’s a good thing to cogitate upon if you missed this week’s episode, and hopefully it will encourage non-listeners to join the Parsha Podcast community or at least to sample it.

So here it goes: Joseph undergoes many transformations in his narrative in the Torah, and all of them are initiated by dreams.

He has dreams of grandeur that amplify the enmity of his brothers. As a result of his seemingly megalomaniacal dreams, they hate him and want to kill him, ultimately settling for selling him as a slave.
In Egypt, Joseph is imprisoned, seemingly without any hope, and when he correctly interprets the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s aides his bona fides as a gifted dream interpreter are established.
In next week’s Parsha, Pharaoh has two bothersome dreams and when he is desperately seeking for an interpretation Joseph is ushered out of his incarceration. After he skillfully interprets the dreams, Pharaoh installs him as viceroy of Egypt.

it’s clearly not a coincidence that every transition in Joseph’s life is precipitated by a dream.

Moreover, the dreams come in pairs: he has two dreams that spark his brother’s hatred, the Butler and the Baker have a dream apiece, and Pharaoh has two dreams that spur him to find an explanation. Seemingly every step in Joseph’s development could have been effectuated by a single dream: He has one dream that causes the brothers to hate him; the Butler’s dream is correctly interpreted, and Pharaoh’s single dream is resolved by Joseph.

So here’s the question of the week: Why is every stage in Joseph’s progression caused by dreams, and why are the dreams all doubled? if you have any answers. email them to me rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

When people thank me for producing my podcasts, I always feel that I should be thanking them! It has been a true blessing of a lifetime and immensely gratifying for me to be able to teach Torah on a global scale and to become friends with so many incredible and talented and amazing people. Our nation is composed of such wonderful people, and it is the greatest honor that I get to witness a slice of some of this brilliance and genius and wonderfulness firsthand.

This joy and delight reached a fever pitch this past week when I was honored to officiate at the wedding of David and Chana Borowsky.

David was a listener of my podcasts when he, together with other members of his community in Harrisburg, PA, invited me to deliver a series of lectures in December of 2017. Over the course of my 24 hour visit, I gave three lectures (you can listen to them here, here, and here), and David and I really became close friends. We maintained our relationship afterwards, and began studying together over Skype. David is a brilliant young man, and I proposed to him to consider spending some time in yeshiva in Israel for a couple of months, explaining that the marriage between his incredible brain and advanced Talmud study would be absolutely symphonic. David ended up at Machon Shlomo, a yeshiva for the best and the brightest young minds of our nation. After spending a few months there, he emailed me and told me how there were a bunch of the students there who were also listeners of my podcasts (the yeshiva is full of bright and talented students, after all) and asked if I would be willing to give them a lecture over FaceTime. I agreed, of course, and we had a great discussion in which I shared with them reflections, stories, and lessons of my grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe. (it can be found here). After the discussion, I snapped a screenshot from my iPad.

Fast forward a couple of months. COVID hits, David returns to the States, he gets engaged to Chana, and invites me to officiate at the wedding.

People who know me know that I have an unfortunate weakness for microphones. When I saw that gorgeous microphone under the Chuppah, I just couldn’t stop talking! I hope I didn’t pontificate and drone on for too long! Thank you so much for inviting me to your wedding and for asking me to officiate. It was a true honor!

Mazal Tov David and Chana! May you share a wonderful life together and experience only happiness and joy and harmony and prosperity, and may you build a beautiful Jewish home together!

I always view the podcast audience as a big, globally distributed family. When there is a celebration in the lives of one of us, it is a joyous occasion for us all!

In addition to David and Chana, more podcast listeners got married this past week: Mazal Tov Michael and Daniella Rosen! May you share a life of nothing but joy and happiness together!

Things I am thinking about – Modern Insights in the Ancient Literature

One of the things that always intrigues me is when scientists, sociologists, and scholars in the greater world discover truths that are found in the Torah and ancient Jewish literature and have been part of the collective knowledge of our people for many centuries.

We believe that the Torah is the Almighty’s wisdom and the rules of nature and physics are His handiwork. Both the Torah and the world originate in the same source and it should come as no surprise, therefore, that they are going to mirror each other in all kinds of ways.

When we look at this week’s Parsha and the encounter between Jacob and his brother Esau, we find some examples of this. When Jacob sent his gifts to his brother as a bribe to quell his violent plans, he didn’t send them all at once. Instead, he divided the gift into many parts and spaced them out. Rashi explains that he did that in order to maximize the impact that it would have on Esau. You receive a gift, and it seems like that’s it, but then something else comes! And then something else and then something else! The way it is processed psychologically, Rashi tells us, is that the impact of the spaced out gift is amplified because each part of the gift creates a new excitement.

Whenever I read this I think of the study that was made recently with respect to waiters. Waiters of course always try to maximize the tips that they receive. They are thus incentivized to treat the patrons well in order to elicit a larger gratuity. So someone made a study that showed that when the waiter delivered a mint or a candy with the bill it raised the average tip size by 3% over the control group. When there were multiple mints or candies then the tip size grew on average by 14%. But here is what garnered the largest tips: when the waiter gave one mint and then left and then came back with a second one – when the gift was spaced out. Apparently, Jacob already knew the results of this study when he gave his gift to Esau organized in a way that’s most likely to bring about positive reciprocity

When Jacob prepares for conflict, he splits his people into two camps, saying that if Esau decimates one the other will survive. To me the sounds like the principle that we used in modern times called diversification. You don’t want to expose all of your assets to risk. Interestingly, the Talmud (Bava Metzia 42a) describes the ideal asset allocation of a diversified portfolio that is still today used by money managers the world over.

Obviously, these examples are two relatively minor ones, but something I am thinking about is how Torah is much more than ancient wisdom; it contains all the secrets of the world. We can discover truths about the world both from the Almighty’s mind and His handiwork.