Why is the Kaddish such an important prayer?

During our prayers we praise God constantly, but in the Kaddish we excel in expressing our praise to God, more than in any other prayer.

We say (or respond): yehe shemeh rabba... "May His Great name be blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, honored, adored, and lauded".

The rabbis were not impressed with the abundance of synonyms. On the contrary. They emphasized that the real praise comes in the following phrase: le'ela min kol birkhata.... "May His name be praised... beyond any blessing and praise... that could possibly be said in this world". The greatness of the Kaddish is that it makes us realize that no matter how many words we would use, we will be always short of grasping and acknowledging all He is, and even all He does for us. No matter how much we praise Him, for those of His actions that we are able to see, we admit that the full scope of His goodness is completely beyond our reach.

Let me illustrate: A five years old child can not not possibly realize all what his father or mother do for him. He might say 'thank you' for an extra candy, but a candy is only a small portion of all the parents do for their child: Love, care, attention, food, clothes, health, education, comfort, etc, etc, etc.

And we are like a child, that perceives only the 'candies', a small portion of all He does for us. The bigger picture of God's kindness, is hidden.

The Kaddish or our response to the Kaddish, is the opportunity to express that if we don't praise Him more, it is not because we are ungrateful, but just because we are limited to perceive all He does for us.

BERIT MILA: The steps of circumcision (Part 1)

The procedure of circumcision:

1. Sterilization: Although the public nature of the ceremony makes complete sterility virtually impossible, the Mohel (ritual circumcision surgeon) does everything in his power to maintain his hands, his instruments and the place of the Berit Mila as clean and sterilized as possible (see here for new recommended standards, by Rabbi Avi Billet)

2. The Magen: The Mohel then places a Magen (shield) on the organ, separating the foreskin from the genital, and protecting the later from the surgical blade. Then the Mohel pronounces the blessing and removes the foreskin with the blade.

Some Mohalim use a clamp, a device which closes on the organ exerting much pressure on it, to attain a virtually bloodless circumcision. The usage of a clamp (Gomco clamp, Mogen Clamp) is medically controversial (see here the FDA recommendations) and is traditionally not accepted in our community.

Other Mohalim do not use any kind of Magen and keep the separation between the organ and the foreskin by hand.

In practice, virtually all orthodox Mohalim use the traditional Magen

3. Peri'ah: The next step is called peri'ah, which means 'uncovering'. It consist of the removal of the inner preputial membrane (epithelium). The Berit Mila is considered done only when this membrane is removed, or permanently peeled back, to uncover the glans. This procedure is done by hand and it is one of the most difficult parts of the performances of the circumcision. Sometimes if this epithelium was not be fully removed by hand, it is necessary to severe the extra skin (tsitisn) by instruments. An expert Mohel recognizes when these extra strips of skin should be removed (me'akebin) and when not.

to be continued...

The blessing Shehecheyanu (Part 2)

Previously, we have explained that our rabbis established a blessing to be said when something happy happens to us. When we acquire something new, which brings us happiness we recite the blessing "Shehecheyanu" (see here ).

For example, if we buy or get as a gift a new suit, a new dress or any new clothing that we are happy to have, we say Shehecheyanu, acknowledging God as the ultimate source of our blessings and enjoyments.

The custom is to recite this berakha not when we buy the new clothes but when we wear them for the first time.

Similarly, when we eat a fruit from the new season we also recite the blessing Shehecheyanu to thank God Almighty for the beautiful world He created, and for the multitude of trees and fruits He fashioned, just for our enjoyment.

One of the spiritual benefits of this blessing is that it teaches us not to take small happiness for granted. To eat a fruit of the new season might seem a trivial ordinary act, but we Jewish people don't miss an opportunity to remember God and to thank Him for His blessing toward us. The more spiritual a person is, the more awe and amazement he or she will feel for the small things he enjoys. The more materialistic a person is, the more difficult will be for him or her to enjoy or appreciate God's daily gifts. A materialistic person, no matter how wealthy he is, gets his pleasure only in the pursuit of what he does not have.

The blessing Shehecheyanu teaches us to enjoy and appreciate what we NOW have.

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