Satisfaction
At Touro Synagogue
August 4, 2018
It was very warm in Touro Synagogue. In his brief words of Torah, Rabbi Mandel focused on one word in the parsha,
“There’s a famous song by the Rolling Stones called Satisfaction[https://youtu.be/nrIPxlFzDi0]. This song is about a person who goes through life and can’t seem to find satisfaction in every day living: this song speaks to us in our times. Are we satisfied with our lives or are we always looking for more, for something else? One of the main themes in today’s Torah reading is satisfaction.
“The parsha says you shall eat, you shall be satisfied, and you shall thank God for the food that you have eaten. This is the source for the mitzvah of birkat hamazon- the benching that we do after we eat.
“Here at Touro synagogue we are fortunate that Debbie and Jim Herstoff and family have donated beautiful booklets for birkat hamazon.
“The implication of this passage is you only have to thank God if you were satisfied after you’ve eaten that if you are not satisfied there is no requirement to say the prayer. The Talmud addresses this theme in Masechet Brachot, page 20b. God tells the angels, ‘the reason I have a deep affection towards Jewish people because even though the Torah says you only have to bench if you are satisfied, but the Jewish people are stringent and bench even if they ate less.’
“There is a popular phrase that sometimes ‘less is more.’
“Sometimes, even though we eat less, we are more satisfied. Let us hope and pray that we can learn the lesson of birkat hamazon that states less is more and let us hope and pray that in our everyday living we will find satisfaction.
“Shabbat Shalom!”
Among those in attendance was Rabbi Emeritus, Mordechai Escowitz. Visitors were also present from New Jersey, Florida, and London.
Like everything else, the Rolling Stones are subject to interpretation. A lot of the short lyrics criticize Madison Avenue and the blitz of advertising on the radio and television. The balance of the song ridicules musicians, and all of us, for our pretensions that we are the greatest, and that members of the opposite sex should be falling at our feet.
Shabbat Shalom from Jewish Newport!
@tourosynagoguenewport @jewishnewport @newportri
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