Rabbi Johnny Ouzzan

Building a House of Mitzvot

In this week’s parsha, we learn that when a man builds a new house, he is exempt from going to war. At first glance, this seems puzzling. We can easily understand why someone recently married is not sent to battle — he hasn’t had the chance to live with his wife and build shalom bayit. But why should someone who merely built a house be excused? After all, the house will still be there when he returns.

The Torah is teaching us something deeper. In much of the world, a house is seen primarily as an external achievement — a symbol of wealth, success, or status. But in Judaism, the true essence of a home is not its exterior, but what takes place inside.

When Bilam attempted to curse Bnei Yisrael, the blessing that came out instead was: “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel.” Chazal explain that the holiness of our homes — filled with Torah, tefillah, Shabbat meals, and family life — was what stood out most. The orientation of our homes and the privacy they preserved spoke volumes about our values.

A home is more than four walls; it is a cocoon of mitzvot. Think of all that happens inside: Torah learned, children raised, kindness extended, Shabbat and Yom Tov celebrated. Each of these fills the home with kedusha and draws us closer to Hashem. That spiritual “ammunition” is what gives Am Yisrael its strength — even more than military power.

So when the Torah says that someone who builds a house should not go to war, perhaps the reason is that he has not yet had the chance to infuse his home with mitzvot. Without that foundation, he is not spiritually equipped for battle.

As we contemplate our lives and our homes in this auspicious month of Elul, our tefillah is that our homes be filled with Torah, mitzvot, and hachnasat orchim. May our homes be places where family, community, and guests all feel the presence of Hashem. And may the kedusha generated in them bring us one step closer to the ultimate homecoming — our return to Eretz Yisrael.

Shabbat Shalom!

REFLECTIONS FROM MY FIRST MARATHON

I will never forget this week's experience. Running with thousands of people in unison was such an incredible feeling! At first I worried about so many people passing me, but then reminded myself that I'm not competing against anyone but myself. In October of 2022 I was introduced to a very special individual, Rabbi Meir Kaniel, who would become my running coach. My first 1 mile run left me out of breath and I truly wondered how I'd continue with running. But with each run we added a little bit to the mileage and slowly but surely we reached the point where we were ready to go big and run the marathon in Houston! My coach even flew in from New York to be here for the occasion and run his own half marathon.

While my entire body is sore and my knees are aching, my spirit is high and I'm so excited to continue on this journey. The next step will be to improve on my speed (my final time was 4 hours and 50 minutes).

To me, this experience has underscored the vital fact that true growth, progress and success has to come in increments. There will be moments of hardship, there will be lows and even failures. But you can't make it to the final goal without going through the challenges that come with the journey. This is the adventure of life.

Hopefully we are all aiming and working towards becoming the ultimate versions of ourselves and maximizing our potential in this world. This process has taught me the importance of setting realistic goals and allowing the journey of growth to move at a slow and steady pace. I hope some of you will consider jumping on the running train and being part of this community with me! As my coach loves to say - we are custodians of our bodies. Hashem gave us our bodies and it is our duty to keep our bodies healthy so that we can be better humans, better Jews, better husbands/wives, children and parents! Shabbat Shalom my friends!

Rabbi Johnny Ouzzan

Free Will and Divine Wisdom: Unravelling the Paradox in Parshat Vaera

One of the core tenets of Jewish faith is the idea that all of humanity is imbued with free will. G-d created a world out of pure goodness, and that goodness would not be complete and perfect without including a being that could willfully choose to connect to its Creator.

So not only do we have this beautiful world, delicious foods, breathtaking vistas and natural wonders, but we also have the opportunity to go against our instincts and become like Hashem using our Free Will. This is something unique to human beings.

If that is so, we must ask the question: In this week’s Parsha we are taught that Hashem hardened Pharaoh’s heart - thereby forcing him, as it were, to refuse to let the Jewish people go.

How was it fair for Pharaoh to lose his Free Will? Sure he wasn’t a righteous person, and evidently he upset the Almighty in his treatment of the Jewish people, but what about the possibility that he might repent? Do some people deserve and merit Free Will more than others?

Yes and no.

One beautiful perspective that is given is that Pharoah was about to face such incredible Godly
power that he needed his heart to be hardened in order to withstand the pain and pressure and
thereby make a free Will decision to let the Jews go. Without hardening Pharaoh's heart, he
wouldn’t stand a chance, and he’d be forced to let the Jewish people go. But God’s objective
was to simultaneously punish Pharaoh, while also giving him the strength and opportunity to
intentionally and willfully choose to let them go, as that would be a greater manifestation of
God’s infinite strength and power.

Another commentary answers our original question quite differently. He says that an individual
can indeed lose his/her gift of free will if it is abused and used incorrectly. Notice how only after a few plagues does the Torah tell us that Hashem hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Originally, he himself was the one refusing to let the Jews go, and he was hardening his own heart! Eventually, Hashem felt the need to intervene, as His master plan and prophecy indicated that the Jews were to leave Egypt with wealth and glory. And so Pharaoh had his chance. And when
he abused the gift of Free Will, Hashem took it away.

Every single day we have the incredible gift and opportunity to use our free will in a way that brings us closer to Hashem. He wants nothing more than to shower us with blessings! Let’s make Him proud and inch closer and closer to Him, with each passing day and with every decision that we make, until we’re all reunited in Israel with the coming of Mashiach, may he arrive speedily in our days.

Shabbat Shalom!