I wanted to share with you a great article that I read in last week's Jewish Week (written by Sara Noa's father). It talks about Jewish teens are "defying the norm" when it comes to sports tournaments, and how impressed other schools are with the derekh eretz that Jewish students show both on and off the court, as opposed to the violent competition usually associated with such events. I particularly liked the part about how at a recent SAR basketball tournament, each elementary school grade "adopted" a visiting team to cheer for.
I thought that this really stresses the point that being an observant Jew is not just about the external halakha that you keep, but also about developing a "religious personality". This means being conscious of the Kiddush Hashem you can make even in such ordinary events as a basketball or hockey game, and in allowing the Torah that we learn to affect how we behave even outside of the Bet Midrash. This is what being an Or LaGoyim is all about.
Finally, a question on the Parsha. Ibn Ezra asks a great question on the last of the 10 hadibrot: "Lo Takhmod". He asks (Ibn Ezra, Shemot 20:14), how can G-d command us to not be jealous of other people? People naturally are jealous of what they do not have. One can command someone to not ACT upon those feelings of jealousy, but how can G-d command us to not FEEL an emotion? Isn't true strength the fact that we decide not to act on certain feelings or emotions, even we have them? You can check out his perush for his answer, but I think his question is better then the answer he provides. I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on this; can G-d command us not to feel an emotion? Is this within our ability to control? Or should Mitzvot ultimately only control our actions?
Shabbat Shalom!
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