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Well, sometime back, I shared that I was planning on trying to get a Network+ certification. I did it! I’m officially certified! (Baruch HaShem)My hope is to continue in studying and acquiring different certifications, so that I will be able to be self employed.
Currently, I’m studying toward MCDST (Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician). This is fairly easy for me, since I deal with the Windows XP operating system on a daily basis. After I get this Cert, I will begin marketing my services, and see what kind of doors open up.
Later this summer, I will take classes for the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) Cert. I expect this one will be a bit more difficult for me, but we’ll see. I’m really anxious to get out & begin working with some of the skills that I’m learning. I’m sure that when that happens, learning different networking strategies and hardware will come to me much more easily.
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It has been a while since I’ve had the chance to write. Hopefully this post will make up for lost time. Tonight, I have spent a fair amount of time studying this week’s Parasha, Shemini. It is packed with great stuff. Whether it is the inauguration of the Aaronic priesthood, the judgment of Nadab and Abihu, or the giving of some of the laws of kashruth (food laws), we can learn a lot.
I have really been desiring more out of my study of Torah than usual as of late. Tonight, when I began to study, I asked God to show me His character in the Parasha. I have to tell you, I got way more than I bargained for. Let me explain just a little bit.
As I began to read about the laws of kashruth, I really began to sense God wanting to show me some stuff. I believe that He has given us these laws as a practical means to health, but I know that there is much more than that.
After telling us how to determine a kosher versus non-kosher animal, the Torah tells us that there are a few animals that have one characteristic of being kosher, but not the other. It is interesting to note that when the Torah describes one of these animals, it always lists the kosher trait first. The sages teach us that this is because having only one kosher trait is worse than not having any. Not having both distinctions of kashruth is like a man who wants recognition for his occasional good deed or display of virtue. The pig lays with its feet facing forward as if to say to onlookers, “Hey, I’m kosher.”
I have to tell you. I can be a real pig sometimes. It is so easy to get hung up on the externals, that my heart is polluted by all kinds of unclean thoughts. My attitudes can begin to smell like the pig farm that I lived near when I was growing up. I can often be very inviting to people on the outside, but inside, I am a “white-washed sepulcher.” The next group of animals that is discussed in the Torah is fish. I have to be honest here. I didn’t get much out of studying this group of animals until I checked out the parasha commentary at the Chabad site. Check out this brief teaching by the Lubavichter Rebbe.
The student of Torah is comparable to a fish in water, as in Rabbi Akiva’s famous parable. His fins are the means by which he moves forward through the water–the intellect and study skills with which he advances in wisdom and increases the Torah and makes it great with his own contributions (chiddushim) to Torah learning. His scales are his protective armor against predators and adverse elements–his fear of Heaven, which shields his learning from error and distortion.One might think that the primary requirement for success in Torah is the fins, while the scales serve a secondary function. It is the fins that move the fish forward, while the scales merely preserve what is. After all, learning is an intellectual exercise; piety and fear of G-d are lofty virtues, but are they any use in navigating the complexities of a difficult Tosafot?In truth, however, the very opposite is the case. A scholar with fins but no scales is a non-kosher fish. He might swim and frolic with his talent and genius, but his learning is corrupt; it is not Torah, but his egoistic arrogation of the divine wisdom. On the other hand, the Talmud tells us that while there are fish with fins and no scales, all fish with scales have fins. If a person approaches Torah with an awe of its divine author and the commitment to serve Him, he will certainly succeed. Regardless of the degree of his intellectual prowess, he will find the fins with which to advance in his learning and contribute to the growth of Torah.
I think that he sums it up pretty well.
Finally, as I was reading through the list of unclean birds in the Chumash, I found it very interesting that the Hebrew name for one of the birds is chassidah. A chassid is a kind person, and one who is very zealous to follow the Torah of Hashem. Because of that definition, I had to ask myself, “why is this the name of one of the un-kosher birds?” Thankfully, the commentary contained within the Artscroll Chumash answered my question: “Why is it called chassidah? Because it displays kindness (chesed) toward others of its species by sharing food with them (Rashi: Chullin 63a). If it is so compassionate, why is it stigmatized as a non-kosher bird? The Rizhiner Rebbe responded that this is because it directs its kindness exclusively towards its fellows, but will not help other species…”
Food for thought (pun intended)
