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Newsletter           October 7, 2010 - 28 Tishrei 5771
   

Turtle Riding


Turtle Surfing
Dedicated in honor of Menachem, Galapagos Suess, HaKohen
One day a ship's captain spied a sea turtle swimming in the seas that surround the Galapagos Islands. Or the Encantadas, as the sailors called the archipelago, bothered as they were by the inexplicable calmness. So this captain - his own ship stone still and stayed - tied a rope to his boy and sent him overboard to get the animal for the crew's table. As soon as the lad climbed onto the barnacled back, the wind picked up and the ship was pulled away. The last the captain saw, the boy was still clinging to the sea turtle and waving, not frantically, but farewell. - A Tale Told By The Merry Boys

I have wanted to go turtle surfing ever since reading this tale. I picture myself speeding through the seas while standing on top of my harnessed beast of the sea, waving to all I pass. I wonder if Noah wanted to stand on top of his ark waving farewell to all those who ridiculed his more than hundred year project to build the ark. "Bye guys! I warned you!" I would have. Noah never got the chance.

The Sages teach us that there was one person who went Ark surfing during the Flood: Og the giant, enemy of Abraham and Moses. "He grabbed onto one of the ladders of the Ark and held on, swearing to eternally serve Noah and his descendants as a slave." (Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer 23)

Did he enjoy the ride? Did he gleefully wave through the downpour to all the people drowning? Why did Noah agree to save him? Were Og's battles against Noah's descendants a punishment for saving the cruel giant?

Noah saw the Ark as an escape from death. He experienced his time in the Ark as a prison term. (Rabbeinu Tam - Sefer HaYashar) The Ark consumed more than a century of his life as an object of derision. It was an overwhelming burden, necessary to survive the Flood. When Og grasped onto the Ark and held on for his joyride, he transformed the Ark from a prison to an adventure. Og was better prepared for the future. He was the confident and joyous boy riding on the turtle's back. He suffered through the rains, but he lived that time with excitement. I can see him chuckling in self-satisfaction for having survived the flood.

Noah wasn't punished for saving Og; he was punished for not learning from Og's adventurous spirit. He too, should have gone Ark Surfing. It could have been a year of adventure. He didn't, and his life was forever tainted by the flood and the ark. Noah died a damaged person. Og lived on with magical longevity, always prepared for further adventures.

The Sages are asking us to picture ourselves on the turtle's back. Are we waving in frantic desperation? Or, are we waving in an excited farewell to life's burdens and challenges? Some of us are insecure riding the turtle. We are weighed down by our responsibilities. We do what we must, we observe the commandments and trudge on. We are riding in the Ark, but we aren't surfing.

Hopefully, most of us can ride the turtle with a joyous spirit of adventure, waving at life's burdens as they pass by. We can meet life's challenges with verve and excitement. There is adventure in every Mitzvah, every word of Torah, every moment of prayer. We can go turtle surfing and enjoy every step of the journey.

The holiday season is over. We are about to get back to our 'normal' lives. Let's go surfing! Our futures depend on it.

The Foundation Stone is happy to announce a new series of 10 teleconference classes for women given by Debbie Brenner on:
Derech Hashem
by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato

                                      Time:   Monday  - 9:30 pm EST
                              Start Date: October 18, 2010
                               Materials: Derech Hashem translation by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.

The series will cover Part I and go over the following topics:
                                          1. The Creator
                                          2. The Purpose of Creation
                                          3. Man
                                          4. Human Responsibility
                                          5. The Spiritual Realm

The class will focus in providing a thought structure to basic Jewish Philosophy and will last 45' and 15' additional for discussion. We are requesting a minimum contribution of at least $10/class. ($100 minimum for the whole series until December 2010).  Registration for the series will be through PayPal. Please, click on the link to proceed with the donation. Thank you.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg
President          
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