Fire and Water: the two staples of human life and development.

Without water, nothing can live; with water the possibilities are endless. This is why so much effort and money is being invested into discovering whether there is or was water on Mars.

And fire: at the very onset of civilisation, what distinguished Man from all other creatures was his mastery of fire. Fire is energy in its rawest state. And to control fire, was to control the world.

In Kabbalistic thought, Fire and Water represent
G-d’s first tools of Creation. The Talmud in tractate Chagiga explains the Hebrew word “Shamayim” (=heavens) is made up of two words: Esh (=fire) and Mayim (=water). According to Kabbalah, Water represents Divine Kindness (Chessed) whereas Fire represents Divine Judgement (Gevurah). Indeed the two most common names of G-d represent His acting in a manner of Chessed (Hashem) and Gevurah (Elokim).

Yet while fire and water are indispensable for Creation and the success of humanlife, they can, as in the case of tsunamis or devastating Australian bushfires, be responsible for Destruction on an enormous scale.

Indeed this is the manner in which G-d had created the world - the greater the potential for good, the greater the potential for evil. “This (referring to good) parallel to this (referring to evil), G-d did make.”

Another example of this is the drive for sexual gratification. On the one hand, it is the most infinite, creative and beautiful power which the human body possesses. Infinite and creative – because it gives the power to live on forever through progeny who are unique to us. And beautiful because it enables us to bond with the deepest intimacy with another human being.

But that same power which contains so much good, can also be the cause of much evil and suffering.

The Rabbis put it very well. They explain that the Hebrew word for Man is Ish, whereas the Hebrew word for Woman is Isha. Both these words contain the Hebrew word for fire – Esh. However the Hebrew word for Man also includes a Yud, whereas the Hebrew word for Woman also includes a Heh. When combined, Yud and Heh make up G-d’s Name. And so the Rabbis explain: If a Man and Woman merit – the Divine Presence (represented by the letters Yud and Heh) rests between them. If they don’t merit – a fire consumes them.

The very power that can make their lives Divine can destroy them.

In our own time we are in the midst of one of the greatest technological revolutions of mankind – the Internet. On the one hand it creates global links between human beings, grants unprecedented access to information and gives unimaginable power to the individual. On the other, if abused it can be the cause of great physical and spiritual destruction, may Hashem protect us!

And when it comes to human beings, our Rabbis quite clearly state: “the greater a person is, the greater his evil inclination is.” After all, it’s only fair that a person with the potential for greatness, should have an equal potential for its opposite. Otherwise, there would be a lack of balance, an absence of free choice in the world.

Although all human beings are special, we Jews possess a unique Divine Spark –Chelek Elokah Mimaal Mammash – literally a portion of G-d. It is because of this that G-d calls us in the Torah “ A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation”. With this spark we can achieve what no one else can achieve. And indeed we have. But we need to choose wisely, for as our Rabbis say concerning the Jewish People: “They are compared to the stars and they are compared to the dirt of the ground. When they rise, they rise higher than the stars, but when they fall, they fall lower than the ground.”

Let’s not kid ourselves. As human beings and especially as Jews, each of us has enormous, infinite and unique potential. We do however, have a choice: to use it or abuse it. And although most people would not choose to actively abuse their potential to do evil, many simply waste it.

And what could be worse than a person with the potential of being a spiritual giant choosing to be a midget?

This week saw the end of one era and the beginning of a new one for our Shul Office. We bade farewell to Jennifer Herman who has so capably, professionally and courteously run our Accounts Dept for over ten years. We wish her great success and happiness in her new endeavours. Thank You Jennifer!

And we welcome to the fold Mr Alex Ben who comes to us with 25 years experience in accounting and commerce. Alex believes G-d answered his deep desire to work in a Jewish organisation. Back in Russia there was no possibility of such work and here in Australia it's taken till now for Alex to be in the right place at the right time. He says " it was like G-d Himself called me"  .. welcome to the South Head Family Alex.  

The Art of Parenting began this week with  a number of people attending their very first JLI Course. Lesson One looked at Judaism's proven track record in ethical, religious and socio-moral domains and the time tested parenting formula that "stays in style" regardless of shifting popular trends.