Sidney's Divar Torah
By Neriah Bracha (Sidney) Chizzali

Who is Sidney ?

Pesach 5768



I wanted to do something a little different this week. I wanted to talk about Pesach.

Slavery to freedom, from being in pieces, we become one people. We as a people walked through the desert, for 40 years we walked. Together we suffered, together we lived, and together we walked.

This year I feel especially emotional about Pesach. I lost a friend, she was very young and took her own life, it shocked us all, and reading this week's parsha, made me understand something, each of us, have a life, and a soul to call our own. And in connection to Pesach, it makes me feel very much like I'm enslaved by my school, my friends, my homework, and I'm sure everyone feels enslaved in some way. My friend must have felt so enslaved that she was willing to die in order to get out of it.

It shows me that even when others see you, and think you are so free, and you can do anything, something inside is nagging at the back of your head. That is what Pesach is for, we need to remember, that every slavery, every dark place, ends in a bright sunny warm day. Our lives are extremely valuable, and we should never give them up, that is letting the objects take control of us. That is giving power to the thing that we feel enslaved by. It is letting it take our life.

This Pesach I hope everyone can let go of all their slavery feelings.

Blessings and Chag Sameach!
Neriah Bracha

And if anyone has time, to include into your prayers
Meytar Bat Sarah


Parshat Tazria 5768



Tell me, if the soul is what is holy, why do we take so much intrest in how the body looks? Even in this parsha, we talk about if something happens to the outside, and what we have to do to make the outside better. Tell me; does that affect our soul, does changing how we look on the outside change how our soul feels? Does a scratch make us feel worse? Well, if you think about it, yes, it does.

Our soul and body are both connected, that is why our body is so important, because it is a part of us. It contains our soul, without it, we wouldn’t have a soul. We can’t have one without the other, so our body is also considered very holy. That doesn’t mean we have to go out, and buy the designer clothes in order to make our soul feel nice. Actually it has nothing to do with whether we have designer clothes or not, it has to do with how we treat our body.

We can’t put ourselves out there, just for everyone to see. What we need to do, is put our soul out, that is one of the reasons we have the rules of Tzniut. We have to learn how to get peoples attention with our soul, and give everything directly from our soul. We each have so much knowlage to give from our souls! As I like to say, we each have a little piece of G-d hidden in us, and it is our job to make sure that as many people get our piece. But that piece can only come from the soul, so we need to learn how to capture people with our souls, and get them to understand our piece of G-d.

And so in conclusion, its very true that our bodies are extremely holy, but we need to learn how to keep them holy. That is what most of this parsha is about, how we can keep our bodies holy in order to hold that piece of G-d that is in all of us.

Shabbat Shalom,
Neriah Bracha


Parshat Tzav 5768


And the Kohen shall don his fitted linen tunic... and he shall remove the ashes.

Why is it so important for the Kohen to remove the ashes after a repentance sacrifice? Well, this shows us that in the Torah when a person sins, he gives what he is meant to give to show that he has recognized what he has done, then is given another chance, basically when the Kohen cleans the alter from his sacrifice, its like cleaning the past of this person.

It also shows us that when a person sins, he has basically an unlimited amount of chances to start over, to a certain extent. Which means, if G-d forbid, someone kills someone else, they will be punished, and also have to realize that what they did was wrong, but it shows us, that not only does G-d “pay attention” to each and every one of us, but he is merciful in his ways, and even when very dark sins are committed he is willing to give us another chance.

I also think that this is how humans should work. We all can think of someone who has hurt us in the past, and most likely we also know what it feels like not to be forgiven. Is that a good feeling? No, it most definitely is not. When someone you love hurts you, and you don’t forgive them, just remember you are causing them pain in return, and are only carrying more of a grudge around with you. And always take into mind, that even though it may have broke your heart, or left you crying for hours, we can make our own choice of whether or not to stand back up and move on, or hold this grudge and never forgive this person. By [holding the grudge], you are not only hurting yourself, but you might even be hurting those who you interact with day after day, so just be careful, and always remember that humans make mistakes, and you are also human and cannot be perfect either.

Blessings and Waiting for the Messiah,
Neriah Bracha


Parshat Vayikra 5768



This week’s parsha is very interesting, because if someone, who had never read any of the parashot before, started out reading this one, it may look to them as if G-d is nothing but a person. If you read this,

“And Hashem spoke to him” Or

“A satisfying aroma to Hashem”

This makes me think of a Human, human senses, human speech. What??!?? And why would we offer a Meal offering to Hashem? Humans and animals are the ones, who need to be fed food, so why does the Torah choose to use such language? It is said that the Torah speaks in the language of men. Because Hashem is so hard for us to understand that it just wouldn’t make sense, and it would make us literally go crazy if we tried so hard to understand the concept of Hashem. Try understanding this,

“Laksn, ans skjwidja. Abudfhs? Akjd js wnuahs.” That is most likely what we would get out of the Torah if it didn’t explain it to us in such a way. We are like the children of a great Rabbi. The Rabbi will explain things to his scholars, and they will nod, and understand, because they have learned for so long, and from the beginning. Some of us understand the concept of why we have in the Torah, these words referring to the human actions and speech. And some of us, just think it’s confusing. But one thing that we all need to understand is that, you can never understand everything. You cant, it’s not possible. If we were not to use these words, such as, spoke, walked, palm of his hand, such things, then what would we use? How would we explain it? How do you explain Hashem? How to you picture, or rather feel about Hashem? Sometimes its good to think about these things, and just sit down with yourself and remind yourself, who G-d is, and what it means to you, to talk to him.

Shabbat Shalom,
Neriah


Parshat Pekudei 5768



Why is it, that only the Aaron and his sons are to minister to Hashem? Why can’t we just pick out a few people who really want to do it? When we choose people for jobs, do we look for people who really want to work as a such and such? Or do we look for those who have skills and special talents in this area?

When me and my friends were talking the other day, I decided to ask a very peculiar question.

“Why can’t I be A Kohen? Why cant people Who want to be Kohens be Kohens?” The more and more I thought about it, the more and more I just got confused. Then I was reading in the parsha this week, and I realized why.

Each person in our world is different. Even identical twins are different. Every living thing is different from one another. One plants purpose might be to have a cow eat it. Or a lion might have a purpose to raise more lions, so they won’t go extinct. Its quite fascinating how we look around every day and we see the sunrise and over look it as just a normal day thing. I started to realize how complicated our world and its science really is! When we are born, we grow, and go through changes in our body, mind and even soul. We live by breathing air, which then enters our bodies and lungs and we still stay alive. Ok, not even the cleverest human being could have come up with something that complicated. We look around and see trees and we think….wow….a tree. But now that I see it, how does a seed know to become a tree? How does our body know when to move? How does the moon know how to shine? Where did all of these magnificent things come from? It all came from G-d, and everything has a purpose. Not one thing in this world is here for no reason. Nothing, not even those annoying mosquitoes, maybe the mosquito that bit you, and you went to the hospital, but then learned that you had a problem that if they hadn’t found out about it before now, you would have G-d forbid been dead. And every human being has a purpose why they are here. They have some special journey, or many special journeys to embark upon. Each one of us has our own bit of something that we must put out into the world. And when we see what that special something is, we will know, because even if you are in the most messed up financial state, and don’t have a car, you will be so happy that you will attract all good things upon yourself. When you put your special something out into the world, G-d will not fail to reward you, I’m not going to tell you that you will find a million bucks waiting for you at home, but I do know that giving to those you care about, is the most rewarding thing in itself.

Shabbat Shalom,
Neriah Bracha
Sidney Chizzali


Parshat Tetzaveh 5768



Now you shall command the Children of Israel that they should take for you pure, pressed olive oil for illumination, to kindle the lamp continuously. (Shemos 27:20)

When you read this you probably think, ok, so we have to use pure olive oil for the eternal light above the Ark for the Torah. And you are very correct. But, even more than that, we have to kindle our soul’s light with pure oil. We ourselves have to find the purist energizer’s that there are. Kind of like when you are so out of fuel and you want coffee, but you know its not so healthy for your body, but it helps your mind think faster. Well, we ourselves have to find the healthiest things for our soul. We have to feed our souls from the deepest and purist knowledge. We could go and “relax” and watch television all day, and waste our lives draining our brain with the moving colors inside a box, or we can get outside, meet new people, live a life, help our family. Which one sounds more fun, living a life, or watching someone else’s life go by, while you sit and rot on the couch? I will prefer not rotting thank you.

But its not only our body, its our soul. We can have the most fit, amazing body, and have an amazingly fun life, yet our soul yearns for something more, something deeper. It yearns for that pure oil to ignite its flame. We need that oil to run through out veins in order to live a full life. We need that oil to fulfill all our mitzvot. And more so, we need to help eachother find it inside ourselves. Because when one person, is giving up, and has lost their way, the other has to pick them up and sew together the ripped pieces. We are all here to help one another find and keep that flame going. We are all here under one sky, we look at the same ocean, and we belive in the same G-d. One people, forever, and one oil, we are all in search of.


Parshat Beshalach 5768



When you read this Parsha, do you wonder why Hashem chooses to interfere with the material world? Why he makes himself known to the Jewish people, and why he kills all the Egyptians if all he wanted was for them to know he was the one and only G-d, why did he kill them after they really started to believe he was the one and only? Why does G-d harden Pharaohs heart, if in the end, he will just kill him? If he wanted them to know he is the only G-d, why doesn’t he keep them alive to go to tell all of Egypt afterwards?

I don’t think the reason G-d hardened Pharaohs heart was for only Egypt to know, it was more so for the Jews to know that Hashem is there, and will always be there for them in times of need. Hashem is there, he is in every place we are, and can get too. But so is Pharaoh. When you decide something, you make you own choice, but Hashem will be with you no matter where you go. If you fall down to pharaoh and get sucked into the evil, Hashem is still there to guide you out of it, its only a matter of whether you want his help or not. Its not like a friend, who if you go this way they wont be your friend anymore, and wont want to help you out because you have made too many mistakes. G-d is always there, he wont ever leave you, so even in the darkest places, he will be there for you. Sometimes hiding, but he is there always.


Parshat Bo 5768



I know this parsha talks about many things, but one thing I never understood, was darkness. How is it, that in the sky of the Jews, it was light, and for the Egyptians it was complete darkness. How can that be possible? I could never imagine how, if they all were in the same land, and some on the same plot of land. It's just not logical. But then again, isn't a lot of the Torah illogical at first glance? I mean, who has ever split the sea? If you have, please let me know! I have made up my mind, that the Torah is teaching us life lessons. When you are in trouble, and you can't seem to see any way out of a situation, you look to G-d. That's what I got out of the story of the separation of the red sea. But what does darkness have to do with anything? Why did the Egyptians find it so hard to overcome? Didn't they have candles, anything they could have used for light?

A few months ago I was thinking about what I was going to do in life, and what kind of school I want to go to, how I want this time in Israel to affect me. After a few weeks, I realized, I wasn't doing anything to help figure out my life! Others where coming up with ideas, and trying to help me figure out what would be best, and all I did was sit there and do nothing about my life. I was sitting in the dark, I choose to sit there, so it was my fault, but I was still in the dark. I think that is what being in darkness means, being lost, being lost from the outside world, being disconnected from everyone. Being disconnected is not only about not seeing physically, but also not being able to understand your own thoughts.

A huge part of who we are is our consciousness, and if we don't understand that, we don't understand ourselves. When Egypt was put in darkness, I think they were not only cut off from light, but even more so, from their inner selves. It's a scary thought, not to know yourself. And I believe that's what the Jews were already past, they understood their selves, and even more so, their own people. I think the Jewish people understood there is a G-d, and that's what made them understand themselves. If you don't know who you are, who in the world would know?


Parshat Shemot 5768



When I read the parsha of Shemot for the first time, I did not realize what I was reading. I looked and read this specific parsha as though it were a chapter book. I zoomed through it just to know what happens in the end. And now when I read it, I ask myself, the end? How could I have thought it was the end? I was reading over all that happened through so many years. This is not a chapter book that ceases to go on in its story. This is a manual that is still not finished, and will never be finished.

This time I read the words “The Egyptians enslaved the Children of Israel with cursing labor.” And I could feel the horror creeping up on me, the pain of my family shoot my heart. These people had done nothing wrong, they were humans so yes they made mistakes, but they as a people had done nothing. So how come Hashem put this punishment on the Jews? That I cannot answer you, for now I understand, we are only to see Hashem’s back, and not him himself. I believe that, that means we are never going to see the whole picture, the whole plan that Hashem has for us, we are not ever going to understand him, but we as people have the ability to take that into account and realize that no matter how much money we have, no matter how much “power” we will never truly control our world. Our world would crumble if we were to put the power to one human.

Although, knowing that, we can fall away from Hashem easier, especially when we experience things that are extremely hard to understand in life. Take the Shoa (Holocaust) for example. So many lives were taken away by hands of hate, and yet still, the Jewish people are here today. We have Israel, we have Hashem, and mostly, we have each other. I believe that’s what Hashem was testing, love. Love for one another, love for your parents, love for your kids, and love for your people. I know, in times of need, people who have been hurt the most would know what to do. These people are strong, and respected and loved, we all are. And we are all a family, as my mother likes to put it, the Jewish people are one big dysfunctional family, and forever more are stuck together whether we like it or not. Stuck for eternity.


Parshat Vaigash 5768


Parshat Vaigash begins with the Plea of Judah to let him stay in Egypt as a slave rather than Benjamin. Why? I believe that the reason Judah decides this time not to sell his youngest brother to slavery, and not to let him go to his death, because, they saw 22 years earlier how hurt and crumbled their father was. No matter how much you think you hate someone, you will never be capable to hurt someone and move on, if hurting that person means you will have to cause pain to a loved one. That is Hashem’s way of punishing us. He will not let you forget the deed you had done, or how much you hurt someone you love, even if they don’t know it. This is the power of memory.

The next part is even more interesting. Why it is that Yosef could not contain himself about telling his brothers? He realized that Hashem had put him in Egypt, to help all of Israel. Now, a lot of times we are put in situations and in the end we have no idea WHY hashem HAD to put us through something like that. It is all part of one big plan, and if we astray from that path, we have to be put back on the right path again, and how ever complicated that is, it has to be done. It might take years but it will be done. Yosef wanted to share with his brothers, that he knew why they had thrown him into the hole. He knew he hadled astray from his path, and they set him straight on it again. I mean, he could have just out them all to death and been done with it, but no. He took his time, planning, and teaching them that it was wrong what they did, but what came out of what they did was for the best. And forever more, Family is Family, and that means a lot…..

Until they heard two words from Yosef, "Ani Yosef," (I am Yosef) - then everything became clear. All of the questions, wonders, and doubts lifted and what was behind the whole progression of events became apparent.

The same thing will happen at the end of world history. When the world hears those two words, "Ani Hashem," (I am G-d) all of our questions, doubts, and wonders about the events of our lives and of history will be answered. All that is still wondrous in our eyes will make sense as all of humanity together sees how the Hand of G-d has done everything for our greatest good.



Neriah Bracha (Sidney) Chizzali is 14 years old (I think) and lives in Zichron Ya'akov, Israel with her wonderful family : parents : Andreas & Laura, and siblings : Tobias, Katie, Kai. They went for a visit in June of 2006 and ended up loving the life, the land, the people and their new home in ZY. The family recently upgraded their conversion to an orthodox level in Israel. If any of you have met Sidney, you know she has always been an amazing young girl. Let me say this, that the reason they stayed in Israel could be mainly because of her heart (and Hashem's chesed). Sidney & Tobias quickly became fluent in Hebrew and active in school and community. They spearheaded the families conversion to orthodoxy.

To contact her : NeriahBracha@BoulderAishKodesh.org


 

Last modified: 2:26 AM 4/18/2008