New Yiddishkeit Courses click here or copy and paste: http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/591215/jewish/Programs.htm
Sara
Lee posted this which is a nice way to start a serious discussion with the
month of Elul and Judgement looming over us.
There's
a great joke about this (for those who will get it).
Reuven and Shimon were Chavrusas (study partners) for
years and years, studying the Talmud after Maariv every evening.
Soon Reuven noticed that Shimon never took any Kavod.
For example, when Reuven's daughter was married, Shimon refused to take a
blessing from the Sheva Brochos. And when it was Shimon's birthday, he backed
away from getting called to the Torah.
Finally, Reuven's son became Bar Mitzvah and Reuven
thought this would be his chance to honor his friend and study partner, so at a
stoppage in the Torah reading, Reuven called Shimon up to the Torah.
"Ya'amod Shimon ben..." and he looked at
Shimon expecting to hear Shimon's father name.
But Shimon adamantly refused to be called up. No
amount of pleading would get him to change his mind. Finally, Shimon decided to
reveal all.
"The truth is, Reuven, I am not a Jew."
Reuven was shocked.
"What?"
"It's true," continued Shimon. "I
just loved learning with you and never thought it would come to this. I've
always been pushing off my plans of conversion."
Reuven was shocked.
"But Shimon, you keep every Halacha, and you
know that a non-Jew isn't allowed to keep Shabbos! Yet I know you have been
keeping Shabbos!"
Shimon smiled. "I've always kept a key in
pocket, which I'd carry around with me outside so no one would know."
"You fool!" Shouted Reuven, "There's
an Eruv!!"
Shimon waved his arm. "Ach, I don't hold by
that Eruv!"
Noah L. posted this: 3
groups didn't participate in the golden calf when they thought Moshe died -
Chassidim, Breslov and Chabad.
Chassidim said "no worries, the Rebbe is
always late. Breslov said, " Who needs a Rebbe?!" Chabad said,
"No worries. He didn't die."
Parsha Shoftim
In an era where Judges are corrupted by societies with weak moral,
it is good to return the source and the Dayan Ha Emmes who gave us the
commandments in this Parsha. The Judges are supposed to be Chachamim and the
officers or policemen fearless Torah Scholars who are young and energetic like
I was in Yad LeAchim in my youth working to bring people closer and closer to
Torah and Mitzvos. Today I am four years away from being an elder and past the
energy of the Army of HASHEM. I might be able to carry a pack with supplies on
my back with a cane or walker for an aide from unit to unit but I cannot run
and jump as in my youth. That is why the officers or police were younger men to
keep law and order and men my age or older to be advisors and judges for the
people.
16:18 Judges
and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God
gives thee, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge the people with righteous
judgment.
Most of the tribes supplied six Judges to the Sanhedrin and the
reason for this is diversification. Everytime I go to the ballot box in FL, I
see judges running for office and sheriffs running for office. These leaders
might be responsible to the people but they are only as righteous as the people
in their voting district and not necessarily righteous in judgement. Modern
Governments tend to take the best politician as a judge and not the most
righteous man. Even the recent Chief Rabbinate election in Israel was full of
politics and non-observant people voting for whom the Chief Rabbi will be.
Last week on Thursday, I heard the most laughable thing. MK
Gaffney was on the radio. Years ago his party was criticized as being the least
democratic because only 30 Torah Sages chose who would be an MK. Today there
are parties in the Knesset where one man dictates who will be an MK vs. a
council of Torah Sages. The Prime Minister tries every underhanded trick in the
book to ignore the members of his own party to do what he wants and not
necessarily the platform that he ran on. In fact as we written in Sotah 49B
Emmes is absent. Long ago the truth left us and big lies are being spread among
the people.
The politicians consider the average person with perhaps a
righteous gut feeling a fool. So recently they passed a referendum status. How
do they deceive the people? The vote goes like this – are you willing to go to
war to keep Yehuda and the Shomron and be isolated by the world? It will not be
do you trust the Arab leader who like Sadat will be here one day and dead
tomorrow? Or do you trust in HASHEM and what is written in the Torah or the
words of the Arabs who have a Mitzvah to lie to their enemies?
In short, until the Moshiach comes there is no real justice.
Sometimes, on a fluke a Judge will be true and righteous enough to make a
correct decision but most of the time we can expect injustice.
19 Thou
shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou
take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words
of the righteous.
You can go before a modern judge with truth, passion and
conviction and be crushed the tongues of liars, lawyers and foolish judges.
Some people have no business being judges and a number have been caught taking
certain favors from females in back chambers. What about those who were not
caught? Respecting the eloquent, the rich, the poor or other things that can
blind a judge the poor Tzaddik cannot fight against in this world. Only in the
next will he see the true judgement and compensation.
You shall not pervert
justice: [This is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning. you
shall not show favoritism: Even during the statement of pleas [by the
litigants]. This is an admonition addressed to the judge, that he should not be
lenient with one litigant and harsh with the other, [e.g., ordering] one to
stand [while allowing] the other to sit, because as soon as one notices that
the judge is showing more respect toward his opponent, he cannot plead his case
any longer [because he thinks that it will be of no use]. And you shall not
take a bribe: Even [if you intend] to judge justly - [from Sifrei]. For bribery
blinds: As soon as he [the judge] accepts a bribe from him [a litigant], it is
impossible for him not to be favorably disposed towards him, to decide the
judgment in his favor. Just words: Heb. דִּבְרי צַדִּיקִים, just words, true
judgments.
Aside note: When Rabbi
Meir Kahana HY”D was banned from running for the Knesset he said, “If they were
going to debate an Abu …, a Jessie Jackson, etc. they would welcome their views
but I am banned because they fear me and what I have to say. They fear hearing
the truth said to the Jewish people. No Jew wants to hear that western
democracy and the Moshiach are incompatible so he flees from it and runs from
it.”… On racism – “I present to the Knesset a bigger threat than Yasser Arafat
because of what I represent.” …”If any
Arab were to convert tomorrow to Judaism, I would accept him as just as Jewish
as I. However, I am talking about a Jewish State… A Jewish State must be in the
hands of the Jewish People and there is a basic conflict between that and
western democracy.”…”I would have negotiated with Yasser Arafat long ago because
he represents the murders (Sunni vs. Shia vs. Druze vs. Christian) of the PLO.”
BUT WAS BANNING KAHANA DEMOCRATIC??? – Disclaimer I did not vote for him and
both my Roshei Yeshiva and I did not approve of some of his tactics but his
voice should have been heard. [As for democracy see below how it really works
in the Debka Article about El Sisi in Inyanay Diyoma. He took over by will of
the majority of the people but perhaps that is what they need a strongman
backed by a strong army.]
Is Martin Indyk a Just negotiator? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170522#.UfuNFlffrIU
20
Justice, justice shalt thou follow, that thou may live, and inherit the land which
the LORD thy God gives thee.
Justice, justice shall
you pursue: Seek out a good court. (Sifrei; San. 32b) that you may live, and
you possess [the land]: The appointment of fitting judges is sufficient merit
to keep Israel alive and settled in their land. — [from Sifrei]
This is also a qualifier on what behavior is necessary to remain
in Eretz Yisrael.
21 Thou
shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the
LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. 22 Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar, which the LORD thy God
hates
You shall not
plant…any tree, near the altar of the Lord your God: This is a prohibition
addressed to one who plants a tree or builds a house on the Temple Mount. —
[Sifrei]
Knowing this the Arabs planted trees on the Temple Mount and
graves on the eastern side of the Temple where the Moshiach is supposed to pass
through. I guess for the second part
they never heard of vaporization. You shall not plant…any tree, near the altar of the Lord your
God: This is a prohibition addressed to one who plants a tree or builds a house
on the Temple Mount. — [Sifrei]
This is not a border pillar of stones that Yacov Avinu set up
demarking Eretz Yisrael with the land of Lavan but throwing stones on certain
clumps of rocks designating crossroads to worship Mercury.
This is another example of the use of abomination which is rare. The first times are with homosexuality, last week with idol worship and this week with passing off a blemished animal as a holy sacrifice instead of the best of the best.
You shall not
sacrifice… or any bad thing: Heb. דָּבָר רַע. This is an admonition to one who
would make sacrifices disqualified (פִּגּוּל) through an evil [improper]
utterance דִּבּוּר רַע. And from this [expression] our Rabbis derived other
explanations as well, as they appear in [the tractate] Shechitath Kodashim
[early name for Zevachim]. — [Zev. 36]
2 If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that does that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing His covenant, 3 and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have commanded not; 4 and it be told thee, and thou hear it, then shalt thou inquire diligently, and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 5 then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who have done this evil thing, unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them with stones, that they die. 6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
Idolatry as was known in the times of the Beis HaMikdash has more or less passed from the world. Some remnant exists in the west with people kissing statues of their saints but it is not fully worship and the same in India but giving of milk to an elephant statue that drinks via a wind produced vacuum is semi-close to real idolatry. Modern astrology is not planet worship from Temple Times but should not be used by a Jew to become fearful or base everything in his life on it any more than the so-called Kabbala red strings. It seems that the Babylonian Sages (Berachos) were aware of astrology and would contra-act bad stars aka Mazel with extra Mitzvos, charity and good deeds.
8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, even matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose.
The rules for Rabbinical Cases are first try a local Beis Din. However, not all local Beitei Dinim have the experience or knowledge on how to deal with the case. Sometimes a more experienced or larger Beis Din is needed. (Example when Rabbi Mimran Shlita visited Lakewood NJ he came across a case. I offered him a possible solution. With his experience he offered the local Rabbi three possible scenarios and solutions.) In the times when we had a Sanhedrin of 23 or 71 the case like that of the five daughters wanting the inheritance of the first born man who died without sons.
9 And thou shall come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days; and thou shalt inquire; and they shall declare unto thee the sentence of judgment. 10 And thou shalt do according to the tenor of the sentence, which they shall declare unto thee from that place which the LORD shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall teach thee. 11 According to the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
Once qualified judges made a decision for which they were ordained for one cannot go against the Beis Din. However, if the judges were unqualified, the decision could be over-turned.
12 And the man that does presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that stands to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt exterminate the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
We understand according to Rabbi Akiva that when there is an ET in Hebrew we can learn something. Et Ha ELOKIM one should fear. The Et comes to add Talmidei Chachamim and all the more so in our Parsha Beis Din.
14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God gives thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein; and shalt say: 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me'; 15 thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose; one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou may not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother.
The Navi Shmuel was not happy about the people wanting a king over Prophets, Judges and a Sanhedrin. However, he spoke to HASHEM and then he acquiesced. He was afraid of bad things that kings could do with power. Among them was the behavior of Shaul towards David, Shlomo and his wives and Menashe. However, in the affairs of the world a central authority over the tribes, to conduct international commerce, to make standard currency and rule what are the standard weights and measures.
A King has to be from the Bnei Yisrael, wise and shall do right in the eyes of the L-RD. However, we must be in full possession of the land and are resting from wars that are all to frequent in Eretz Yisrael then we need a king to govern us in civil laws outside of the Torah like highway construction, port construction and worrying about a small army to defend the country if attacked prior to organizing the tribes.
16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you: 'Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.'
He is allowed enough transportation in modern terms such as aircraft, tanks, jeeps, cannons, cars etc. but not making a collection of vehicles.
17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Meseches Sanhedrin states that David Melech Yisrael had 18 wives and that is the maximum according to our Sages. Concubines are a different story but with State Matters being the way they are the king does not need to worry about which wife he will be with tonight or tomorrow. Shlomo had his head turned by his 700 wives and 300 Concubines. If he were to take turns at one a night the poor woman would not see him for another three years if at all! Shlomo spent a lot of time with his wives that despite his intelligence they managed to rack his brains until he did the wrong things in the eyes of the L-RD. Multiplying silver and god was achieved by kings via taxes, plunder and tolls which burdens the nation.
18 And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; 20 that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
The King’s Sefer Torah is an added requirement for the king only and another mitzvah for him to write one.
18:1 The priests the Levites, even all
the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel; they
shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His inheritance.
This section starts off with the gifts for the Cohanim and
continues with the prohibition of Avoda Zara of idolatry, plus:10 There shall not be found among you any one that makes
his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that uses divination, a
soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, or one that consults a ghost or a familiar
spirit, or a necromancer. 12. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord,
and because of these abominations, the Lord, your God is driving them out from
before you.
[For] whoever does
these [things] [is an abomination to the Lord]: It does not say, “one who does
all these things,” but, “whoever does these things,” even one of them. —
[Sifrei , Mak. 24a]
The word for Abomination but rather the Hebrew reads כְּתוֹעֲבֹת which
means likened unto abomination and then the abominations.
13 Thou
shalt be whole-hearted with the LORD thy God.
This goes to remind the Bnei Yisrael how one should serve HASHEM
and it should be with zest or in the worst case for a sick or exhausted person
with love and his strength to perform a duty for being human we are subject to sickness,
exhaustion by excursion or accumulated deprivation of sleep.
14 For
these nations, that thou art to dispossess, hearken unto soothsayers, and unto
diviners; but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. 15 A prophet will the LORD thy God
raise up unto thee, from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto
him ye shall hearken; 16. According to all that you asked of the Lord, your God, in
Horev, on the day of the assembly, saying, "Let me not continue to hear
the voice of the Lord, my God, and let me no longer see this great fire, so
that I will not die." 17
And the LORD said unto me: 'They have well said that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a prophet from
among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words in his mouth, and
he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto
My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet, that shall speak a
word presumptuously in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or
that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.'
Sometimes we are put to a test by HASHEM and our faith is tried to
the utmost both as individuals and as a nation. (The Prophet may be using the
Sidra Acher to show how such and such a god said this or that or some tricks of
the eye for example a Hindu god or like I saw a statue of some non-Jewish saint
of the Carl Bridge in Prague has the power to do this that or the other thing
or we should observe (heaven forbid) Islam and camel milk and meat is now
permitted.)
21 And if
thou say in thy heart: 'How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not
spoken?' 22 When a prophet
speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that
is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken; the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.
There is a case where the prophet of HASHEM does speak and things
do not come to pass because of repentance. The Rambam brings down the case of
Novi Yona who predicted the fall of Nineveh and it was saved by repentance.
However, a prophet who predicts a good thing and it does not come to pass is a
false prophet. [This excludes certain Kabbalists and Rabbis who take the
writings of real prophets and try to project a maximum date for the Moshiach. The
latest one floating around the grape vine is between now and 29th of
Elul 5776 which even without being an expert in Tanach, I could think of a scenario
with Iran or the Sunni/Shia dispute or the India/Pakistan dispute or some other
trouble spot with a weakened resolve of the USA and a miscalculation on the
part of an enemy blowing up into Gog and Magog.]
This chapter deals with manslaughter, the cities of refuge, the pursuer and the removal of evil from the midst of the nation.
20: 1 When thou go forth to battle
against your enemies, and see horses, and chariots, and a people more than
thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for the LORD thy God is with thee, who
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Anybody who has been near a real battle has a rise in adrenalin.
It does not matter if it is the clatter of tanks, the ground shaking from the artillery,
flares from the enemy over your head or vice versa, combat aircraft flying low
or helicopters hovering. It is a Mitzvah for a Jew in a Jewish Army defending
Eretz Yisrael not to fear. [This does not mean that on a quiet border or in
times of peace one should be complacent as there can be smugglers and various traffickers
that can be a danger to the average soldier or policeman on guard.]
2 And it
shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and
speak unto the people, 3 and
shall say unto them: 'Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against
your enemies; let not your heart faint; fear not, nor be alarmed, neither be ye
affrighted at them; 4 for the
LORD your God is He that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies,
to save you.'
Before the Shalom HaGalil Operation, Rabbi Grossman of Migdal
HaEmek addressed a group of soldiers and read them this Pasuk and fortified
them into saying the Shema and HASHEM HOO HA ELOKIM. He also organized in a
short time a party for troops returning from the war in the middle of the night
to refortify them after the battle. That is an example how a Cohain or Rabbi
should behave in a Jewish War. Paraphrasing Shlomo HaMelech – there is a time
for Torah Learning, Psalms and Prayer and a time for action. This is a morale
booster and after the battle Hakaros HaTov (giving thanks for a good deed).
5 And
the officers shall speak unto the people, saying: 'What man is there that hath
built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his
house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 And what man is there that hath
planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and return
unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit
thereof. 7 And what man is there
that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto
his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.' 8 And the officers shall speak further
unto the people, and they shall say: 'What man is there that is fearful and
faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart
melt as his heart.' 9 And it
shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that
captains of hosts shall be appointed at the head of the people.
According to the Halacha this is for a Milchemes Reshus (an
optional war such as conquests to expand the land or plunder for the king).
However, for a Milchemes Mitzvah such as fighting Amalek, defending Eretz
Yisrael or surprising an enemy preparing to attack you in the future, even a
groom from under the canopy we take. This is the way Lieutenant Aharon felt
during the operation in Gaza and returned the morning after his wedding to lead
his troops. He fortunately lived but was the worst injured of the war but has
made an amazing recovery.
10 When
thou draw nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
This is not for the Nations of Canaan but for other Nations such
as on the other side of the Yarden where we pursue peace rather than drive them
out.
11 And it
shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall
be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto
thee, and shall serve thee. … 20
Only the trees of which thou know that they are not trees for food, them thou may
destroy and cut down, that thou may build bulwarks against the city that makes
war with thee, until it fall.
There is an open Mitzvah and a hidden Mitzvah here. The first is
as written and the second implied is not to waste food of natural resources.
21:1 If one be found slain in the land
which the LORD thy God gives thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be
not known who hath smitten him; 2
then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto
the cities which are round about him that is slain. 3 And it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain
man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath
not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke. 4 And the elders of that city shall
bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which may neither be plowed nor
sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley. 5 And the priests the sons of Levi
shall come near--for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto Him,
and to bless in the name of the LORD; and according to their word shall every
controversy and every stroke be. 6
And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash
their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 And they shall speak and say: 'Our
hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Forgive, O LORD, Thy people Israel,
whom Thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst
of Thy people Israel.' And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So shalt thou put away the innocent
blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the
eyes of the LORD.
This is a special Mitzvah and is mentioned in Talmud Shabbos and
Sanhedrin for both measuring the distance from the towns in the area.
Miracle Alert: An old miracle story that I had never heard before sent from
Rabbi A. L.
You might have seen this: David Miller [name
changed to protect privacy], an observant Jew, was at Logan Airport getting
ready to board United Flight 175. He was going to LA on an important business
trip and had to make this flight. A lot depended on it. He boarded the plane
and sat down as the doors closed. Suddenly he remembered that he had left his
tefillin (phylacteries--ritual boxes with straps worn by Jewish men in prayer)
in the terminal boarding area. He politely asked the stewardess if he could go
back and retrieve his tefillin, which were sitting just a few feet from the
gate. She told him that once the doors closed, no one was allowed off the
plane. He asked to speak to the pilot to obtain special permission, but the
pilot simply restated the policy.
David was not about to lose this precious
mitzvah, or let the holy tefillin get lost, so, not knowing what else to do, he
started screaming at the top of his lungs, "I am going to lose my
tefillin!" The crew asked him to be quiet, but he refused. He made
such a tumult that the flight crew told him that they would let him off the
plane, but even though it would only take about 90 seconds to run out, grab his
tefillin, and run back - they were not going to wait for him. No matter. David
was not about to lose his tefillin, even if it caused him great inconvenience
or cost his business a loss. He left the plane, never to re-board.
This was United flight #175, the second plane
to reach the World Trade Center . The date was September 11 2001. David's
devotion to a mitzvah saved his life, but the consequences of his actions do
not end there. Originally, the terrorists wanted both towers struck simultaneously
to maximize the explosive carnage. Later it was learned that due to David's
intransigence, the takeoff was delayed, causing a space of 18 minutes between
the striking of the two towers. The delay made it possible for thousands of
people to escape alive from both buildings--because one Jew would not forsake
his beloved tefillin!
Submitted by Tova L. This Story is documented
in "Even in the darkest moments" by Zeev Breier
Laws of the Month of Elul by Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu Zt"l http://www.yeshiva.co/midrash/shiur.asp?cat=310&id=6213&q=
Days of Divine Favor
33. The forty days between Rosh Chodesh (New Month) Elul and Yom Kippur are more propitious for repentance than any other period of the year, for they are days of Divine mercy and favor. Though the Almighty accepts the repentance of his children all year, these days are most suited for repentance, for on Rosh Chodesh Elul Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the second tablets, and this was an indication and proof that God had accepted Israel's repentance and forgiven them for the sin of the Golden Calf and the breaking of the first tablets. Moses tarried on the mountain forty days during which he prayed to God to forgive Israel, and on Yom Kippur God said to him, "I have forgiven as you requested" and gave him the second set of tablets. Ever since that time, these days have been designated as days of Divine good-will, and the tenth of Tishrei has been observed as a day of forgiveness for the Jewish people.
34. Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (the Holy Ari) of blessed memory said: "It is written (Exodus 21:13), 'and if a man lie not in wait, but God cause it to come to hand, them I will appoint thee," etc. The Hebrew initials of the last four words of this verse (ina leyado vesamti lekha) spell out Elul, to signify that this is a propitious month to repent for the sins that one has committed the entire year. It further indicates that during this month one should also repent for sins committed unwittingly, for a person stumbles upon sins accidentally because of other sins he has committed intentionally Days of Divine Favor
33. The forty days between Rosh Chodesh (New Month) Elul and Yom Kippur are more propitious for repentance than any other period of the year, for they are days of Divine mercy and favor. Though the Almighty accepts the repentance of his children all year, these days are most suited for repentance, for on Rosh Chodesh Elul Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the second tablets, and this was an indication and proof that God had accepted Israel's repentance and forgiven them for the sin of the Golden Calf and the breaking of the first tablets. Moses tarried on the mountain forty days during which he prayed to God to forgive Israel, and on Yom Kippur God said to him, "I have forgiven as you requested" and gave him the second set of tablets. Ever since that time, these days have been designated as days of Divine good-will, and the tenth of Tishrei has been observed as a day of forgiveness for the Jewish people.
34. Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (the Holy Ari) of blessed memory said: "It is written (Exodus 21:13), 'and if a man lie not in wait, but God cause it to come to hand, them I will appoint thee," etc. The Hebrew initials of the last four words of this verse (ina leyado vesamti lekha) spell out Elul, to signify that this is a propitious month to repent for the sins that one has committed the entire year. It further indicates that during this month one should also repent for sins committed unwittingly, for a person stumbles upon sins accidentally because of other sins he has committed intentionally
33. The forty days between Rosh Chodesh (New Month) Elul and Yom Kippur are more propitious for repentance than any other period of the year, for they are days of Divine mercy and favor. Though the Almighty accepts the repentance of his children all year, these days are most suited for repentance, for on Rosh Chodesh Elul Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the second tablets, and this was an indication and proof that God had accepted Israel's repentance and forgiven them for the sin of the Golden Calf and the breaking of the first tablets. Moses tarried on the mountain forty days during which he prayed to God to forgive Israel, and on Yom Kippur God said to him, "I have forgiven as you requested" and gave him the second set of tablets. Ever since that time, these days have been designated as days of Divine good-will, and the tenth of Tishrei has been observed as a day of forgiveness for the Jewish people.
34. Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (the Holy Ari) of blessed memory said: "It is written (Exodus 21:13), 'and if a man lie not in wait, but God cause it to come to hand, them I will appoint thee," etc. The Hebrew initials of the last four words of this verse (ina leyado vesamti lekha) spell out Elul, to signify that this is a propitious month to repent for the sins that one has committed the entire year. It further indicates that during this month one should also repent for sins committed unwittingly, for a person stumbles upon sins accidentally because of other sins he has committed intentionally Days of Divine Favor
33. The forty days between Rosh Chodesh (New Month) Elul and Yom Kippur are more propitious for repentance than any other period of the year, for they are days of Divine mercy and favor. Though the Almighty accepts the repentance of his children all year, these days are most suited for repentance, for on Rosh Chodesh Elul Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the second tablets, and this was an indication and proof that God had accepted Israel's repentance and forgiven them for the sin of the Golden Calf and the breaking of the first tablets. Moses tarried on the mountain forty days during which he prayed to God to forgive Israel, and on Yom Kippur God said to him, "I have forgiven as you requested" and gave him the second set of tablets. Ever since that time, these days have been designated as days of Divine good-will, and the tenth of Tishrei has been observed as a day of forgiveness for the Jewish people.
34. Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (the Holy Ari) of blessed memory said: "It is written (Exodus 21:13), 'and if a man lie not in wait, but God cause it to come to hand, them I will appoint thee," etc. The Hebrew initials of the last four words of this verse (ina leyado vesamti lekha) spell out Elul, to signify that this is a propitious month to repent for the sins that one has committed the entire year. It further indicates that during this month one should also repent for sins committed unwittingly, for a person stumbles upon sins accidentally because of other sins he has committed intentionally
Selichot and Shofar
37. Sephardi Jews are accustomed to begin reciting Selichot (supplications for forgiveness) from the second day of Elul until Yom Kippur. Ashkenazi Jews start a few days before Rosh Hashanah (Rabbi Eliyahu discusses this matter in greater detail in his laws to Selichot).
38. Some Sephardi Jews have a custom to blow the shofar (Tekiyah, Shevarim, and Teruah) while pronouncing God's thirteen attributes of mercy during Selichot. And some have a custom to blow the shofar during the Kaddish before te'anuh ve-te'atruh. Some, however, do not blow the shofar at all.
39. Ashkenazi Jews are accustomed to blow the shofar from the first of Elul until Yom Kippur. The shofar is blown after the daily morning service. Some begin blowing the shofar from the first day of Rosh Chodesh, and some begin from the second day. If the shofar was not heard after the morning service it should be heard at the evening service (see Tur 581; Mishnah Berurah ad loc. 3). According to all opinions the shofar is not blown on the eve of Rosh Hashanah at all (Kaf HaChaim ad loc. 13).
40. We blow the shofar in this month in order to move the nation to repentance, for it is the nature of the shofar to stir the hearts and cause trepidation, as it is written, "Shall a shofar be blown in a city and the people not tremble Selichot and Shofar
37. Sephardi Jews are
accustomed to begin reciting Selichot (supplications for forgiveness) from the
second day of Elul until Yom Kippur. Ashkenazi Jews start a few days before
Rosh Hashanah (Rabbi Eliyahu discusses this matter in greater detail in his laws
to Selichot).
38. Some Sephardi Jews have a custom to blow the shofar (Tekiyah, Shevarim, and Teruah) while pronouncing God's thirteen attributes of mercy during Selichot. And some have a custom to blow the shofar during the Kaddish before te'anuh ve-te'atruh. Some, however, do not blow the shofar at all.
39. Ashkenazi Jews are accustomed to blow the shofar from the first of Elul until Yom Kippur. The shofar is blown after the daily morning service. Some begin blowing the shofar from the first day of Rosh Chodesh, and some begin from the second day. If the shofar was not heard after the morning service it should be heard at the evening service (see Tur 581; Mishnah Berurah ad loc. 3). According to all opinions the shofar is not blown on the eve of Rosh Hashanah at all (Kaf HaChaim ad loc. 13).
40. We blow the shofar in this month in order to move the nation to repentance, for it is the nature of the shofar to stir the hearts and cause trepidation, as it is written, "Shall a shofar be blown in a city and the people not tremble (Amos 3:6). The shofar is also blown in order to "confuse the Accuser." Another reason for blowing the shofar is that Moses ascended Mount Sinai on Rosh Chodesh Elul to receive the second tablets, and the Israelites blew the shofar in the camp as a way of announcing that Moses had ascended the mountain. This was done so that the children of Israel would not err again regarding the number of days Moses spent on the mountain as they had the first time, when they made the Golden Calf. And the Almighty ascended with that shofar blast, as it is written (Psalms 47:6): "God has ascended with a blast" (Tur 581, and see Mishnah Berurah ad loc. 3).
38. Some Sephardi Jews have a custom to blow the shofar (Tekiyah, Shevarim, and Teruah) while pronouncing God's thirteen attributes of mercy during Selichot. And some have a custom to blow the shofar during the Kaddish before te'anuh ve-te'atruh. Some, however, do not blow the shofar at all.
39. Ashkenazi Jews are accustomed to blow the shofar from the first of Elul until Yom Kippur. The shofar is blown after the daily morning service. Some begin blowing the shofar from the first day of Rosh Chodesh, and some begin from the second day. If the shofar was not heard after the morning service it should be heard at the evening service (see Tur 581; Mishnah Berurah ad loc. 3). According to all opinions the shofar is not blown on the eve of Rosh Hashanah at all (Kaf HaChaim ad loc. 13).
40. We blow the shofar in this month in order to move the nation to repentance, for it is the nature of the shofar to stir the hearts and cause trepidation, as it is written, "Shall a shofar be blown in a city and the people not tremble (Amos 3:6). The shofar is also blown in order to "confuse the Accuser." Another reason for blowing the shofar is that Moses ascended Mount Sinai on Rosh Chodesh Elul to receive the second tablets, and the Israelites blew the shofar in the camp as a way of announcing that Moses had ascended the mountain. This was done so that the children of Israel would not err again regarding the number of days Moses spent on the mountain as they had the first time, when they made the Golden Calf. And the Almighty ascended with that shofar blast, as it is written (Psalms 47:6): "God has ascended with a blast" (Tur 581, and see Mishnah Berurah ad loc. 3).
41. Ashkenazi Jews have the custom to recite Psalm 27: "Of
David, the Lord is my light and salvation" ("Ledavid, Adonai
ori") from Rosh Chodesh Elul (See Midrash Rabba Vayikra 21, and see also
Mishnah Berurah 581:2). Some recite this only at the morning prayer service,
some also recite it at the afternoon service, and some recite it at the evening
service as well. Those who follow the opinion of the Vilna Gaon (Maaseh Rav 53)
do not recite this psalm. Those who do not recite Psalm 27 should recite other
psalms. Sephardi Jews recite this psalm after prayer throughout the entire year
(Moreh B'Etzbah 37).
Charity
42. "Charity saves a person from death" (Proverbs 10:2) and it certainly saves a person from numerous other calamities. Therefore, one should give charity constantly, especially during the month of Elul.
43. One who gives charity throughout the year should not give away more than twenty percent of his assets; however, if one gives charity in order to atone for his sins, he may give more than this amount.
Tikkunim in Elul
44. Some have the custom to recite psalms publicly or individually during these days, for psalms have the ability to instill the heart with love for God and fear of Heaven. The custom is to recite ten psalms each day in order to finish the entire book of Psalms twice by Rosh Hashanah, 300 psalms, which is equal to the numerical value of the Hebrew word "kaper," atone (Matteh Ephraim 581:8; Mishnah Berurah 3).
45. The wise men of Jerusalem have a custom to study Tikkunei Zohar each day during this period according to their ability. The most important thing is to begin on Rosh Chodesh Elul and to finish the seventy Tikkunim on Yom Kippur. Some make a practice of finishing Tikkunei Zohar according to the daily portions that appear in modern printed editions of this work, however, this division is not binding (Kaf HaChaim 581:7).
46. Some have a custom to send greeting cards in the month of Elul, and in them they wish others to be inscribed and sealed in the book of good life. Some add this blessing to any letter they write during this period of time. The purpose of this practice is to impress upon ourselves the importance of praying for others, not only ourselves, and to increase love, brotherhood, peace, and friendship (Matteh Ephraim 581:9; see Kaf HaChaim ad loc. 18; see also Be'er Heitev ad loc. 10).
47. Men of virtuous practice are accustomed to examine Tefillin and Mezuzot during this month and to fix whatever calls for correction (Matteh Ephraim 10).
48. Between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur it is good and proper for a person to examine his ways and deeds each night before going to bed. If one's actions are good, he should consider ways to improve them. If not, "A wicked person should change his ways" by reciting "vidui" (confession) and repenting. Though in truth a person ought to do this every night throughout the year, one should at least make an effort to do this during these forty days (Chidah in Moreh B'Etzba 243, brought in Kaf HaChaim 581:24).\
Charity
42. "Charity saves a person from death" (Proverbs 10:2) and it certainly saves a person from numerous other calamities. Therefore, one should give charity constantly, especially during the month of Elul.
43. One who gives charity throughout the year should not give away more than twenty percent of his assets; however, if one gives charity in order to atone for his sins, he may give more than this amount.
Tikkunim in Elul
44. Some have the custom to recite psalms publicly or individually during these days, for psalms have the ability to instill the heart with love for God and fear of Heaven. The custom is to recite ten psalms each day in order to finish the entire book of Psalms twice by Rosh Hashanah, 300 psalms, which is equal to the numerical value of the Hebrew word "kaper," atone (Matteh Ephraim 581:8; Mishnah Berurah 3).
45. The wise men of Jerusalem have a custom to study Tikkunei Zohar each day during this period according to their ability. The most important thing is to begin on Rosh Chodesh Elul and to finish the seventy Tikkunim on Yom Kippur. Some make a practice of finishing Tikkunei Zohar according to the daily portions that appear in modern printed editions of this work, however, this division is not binding (Kaf HaChaim 581:7).
46. Some have a custom to send greeting cards in the month of Elul, and in them they wish others to be inscribed and sealed in the book of good life. Some add this blessing to any letter they write during this period of time. The purpose of this practice is to impress upon ourselves the importance of praying for others, not only ourselves, and to increase love, brotherhood, peace, and friendship (Matteh Ephraim 581:9; see Kaf HaChaim ad loc. 18; see also Be'er Heitev ad loc. 10).
47. Men of virtuous practice are accustomed to examine Tefillin and Mezuzot during this month and to fix whatever calls for correction (Matteh Ephraim 10).
48. Between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur it is good and proper for a person to examine his ways and deeds each night before going to bed. If one's actions are good, he should consider ways to improve them. If not, "A wicked person should change his ways" by reciting "vidui" (confession) and repenting. Though in truth a person ought to do this every night throughout the year, one should at least make an effort to do this during these forty days (Chidah in Moreh B'Etzba 243, brought in Kaf HaChaim 581:24).\
49. On the twenty-fifth of Elul the creation of the universe
began, and on Rosh Hashanah Adam was created. On the same day he was created he
also sinned, was sentenced to punishment, and was pardoned. It is therefore
good to read the Creation narrative from the twenty-fifth of Elul until Rosh
Hashanah. On the twenty-fifth of Elul one reads from "In the
beginning" until the end of the first day, and on each day that follows an
additional day of creation is read, so that on Rosh Hashanah one reads the
sixth day of creation (Kaf HaChaim 21; Birkei Yosef 581:19)
50. It is advisable for the shofar blower and his prompter to learn the laws relating to this task before Rosh Hashanah. They should know how to check the shofar to insure that it meets the requirements of Jewish law. This will insure that even if a mistake is made in blowing the shofar, they will know how to correct it, when to repeat and when not to, etc. (see Mishnah Berurah 581:11; Kaf HaChaim 39).
Fasts
51. Many have the custom to fast during the Ten Days of Repentance (Rema 70:2), and some are careful to fast for ten complete days. Because during the Ten Days of Repentance there are only six days on which it is permitted to fast (it is forbidden to fast on the two days of Rosh Hashanah, on Shabbat Shuva, and on Yom Kippur eve), those who wish to fast ten complete days fast on four days before Rosh Hashanah. In this case, preference should be given to Mondays and Thursdays, though it is permitted to fast on any weekday besides Friday (Shulchan Arukh 70:2; Kaf HaChaim ad loc. 55 and 562:14; Mishnah Berurah 581:6).
52. It is appropriate to fast on Rosh Hashanah eve itself.
53. On these fasts, when one must participate in a "seudat mitzvah" (a meal which accompanies a religious celebration), it is permitted to eat on that day and fast on another day instead. If a person knows in advance that he will be participating in a "seudat mitzvah," he should fast on some other day prior to the day of the "seudat mitzvah" (see Rema ad loc.).
54. These fasts are not obligatory, therefore, if fasting will cause a person to refrain from studying Torah, it is preferable that he learn Torah and not fast. Likewise, a frail person should refrain from observing these fasts in order to save his strength for the Fast of Gedaliah and Yom Kippur (Later Authorities).
55. One who wants to observe a private, non-communal fast must first accept upon himself to fast. This is done when one reaches the end of the Amida prayer (before the last "yihyu le-ratzon") of the Minchah afternoon service on the day before the fast. It is a good idea to recite the the declaration that appears in the prayerbook (Shulchan Arukh 562:6). If one forgets to accept the fast upon himself at Minchah, he may do so even up until twilight, so long as he has not prayed the Maariv evening prayer.
50. It is advisable for the shofar blower and his prompter to learn the laws relating to this task before Rosh Hashanah. They should know how to check the shofar to insure that it meets the requirements of Jewish law. This will insure that even if a mistake is made in blowing the shofar, they will know how to correct it, when to repeat and when not to, etc. (see Mishnah Berurah 581:11; Kaf HaChaim 39).
Fasts
51. Many have the custom to fast during the Ten Days of Repentance (Rema 70:2), and some are careful to fast for ten complete days. Because during the Ten Days of Repentance there are only six days on which it is permitted to fast (it is forbidden to fast on the two days of Rosh Hashanah, on Shabbat Shuva, and on Yom Kippur eve), those who wish to fast ten complete days fast on four days before Rosh Hashanah. In this case, preference should be given to Mondays and Thursdays, though it is permitted to fast on any weekday besides Friday (Shulchan Arukh 70:2; Kaf HaChaim ad loc. 55 and 562:14; Mishnah Berurah 581:6).
52. It is appropriate to fast on Rosh Hashanah eve itself.
53. On these fasts, when one must participate in a "seudat mitzvah" (a meal which accompanies a religious celebration), it is permitted to eat on that day and fast on another day instead. If a person knows in advance that he will be participating in a "seudat mitzvah," he should fast on some other day prior to the day of the "seudat mitzvah" (see Rema ad loc.).
54. These fasts are not obligatory, therefore, if fasting will cause a person to refrain from studying Torah, it is preferable that he learn Torah and not fast. Likewise, a frail person should refrain from observing these fasts in order to save his strength for the Fast of Gedaliah and Yom Kippur (Later Authorities).
55. One who wants to observe a private, non-communal fast must first accept upon himself to fast. This is done when one reaches the end of the Amida prayer (before the last "yihyu le-ratzon") of the Minchah afternoon service on the day before the fast. It is a good idea to recite the the declaration that appears in the prayerbook (Shulchan Arukh 562:6). If one forgets to accept the fast upon himself at Minchah, he may do so even up until twilight, so long as he has not prayed the Maariv evening prayer.
56. Some authorities hold that a person who is accustomed to
fasting during the Ten Days of Repentance need not accept the fast upon himself
prior to fasting (see Shulchan Arukh 562:2).
The Dead End
of Jewish Culture One-quarter of American Jews have rejected watered-down
Judaism in favor of full-strength Christianity. Why? by Sara Yoheved Rigler http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48899257.html
One December afternoon, my precious four-year-old niece
Jodi* walked into my mother's suburban New Jersey kitchen and asked,
"Bubbie, are you Jewish?"
"Yes, I am," my mother answered proudly. "So
am I," Jodi confided, "but don't tell Santa Claus."
I laughed when my mother told me this story, and I
chuckled every time I thought of it – for 22 years. Last week, Jodi got
married, in a Catholic church, kneeling in front of a huge gilded cross. I
stopped laughing.
Apparently, Jodi's perception of Judaism as a liability
grew with the years. At the age of four, being Jewish made her a persona non
grata to Santa Claus. At the age of 16, growing up in a town whose century-old
bylaws stipulated, "No Jews or Negroes," Jewish identity must have
been a social non-starter. At the age of twenty, as a sophomore at Boston
University, being Jewish must have threatened her budding romance with a
handsome Catholic senior.
But was there nothing on the asset side to balance Jodi's
Jewish ledger? After all, her Bubbie and Zaide were committed Jews. Her Zaide
was a life-trustee of his Conservative synagogue, an ardent check-writing
Zionist, a lover of everything Jewish, from Mollie Picon to Bernard Malamud.
Her Bubbie spoke Yiddish, made blintzes from scratch, and devoutly attended
Friday night services every Shabbat. Was there nothing of nostalgia or Jewish
tradition to stay Jodi's knees from kneeling before the cross?
Jews who defect to the religion of secularism are not a shanda,
a disgrace. Why couldn't Jodi and Brian* have celebrated their nuptials in the
neutral precincts of City Hall, or at the Botanical Gardens, or on horseback?
Obviously Brian felt strongly enough about his
Catholicism to insist on a church wedding. Was his grandmother's mince pie more
delectable than Jodi's Bubbie's knaidlach? Were their Christmas dinners more
festive than our Pesach Seders? Was his catechism class less boring than her
Hebrew school? How were Brian's parents able to transmit to their son an
allegiance to Catholicism which washed away Jodi's loyalty to her own Jewish
heritage like a wave dissolving a sand castle on the beach?
Shocking Defections
The problem is
not idiosyncratic to my family. According to the American Jewish Identity
Survey 2001, out of approximately 5.5 million American adults who are either
Jewish by religion or of Jewish parentage and/or upbringing, nearly 1.4 million
say they are members of a non-Jewish religion.
We are not
talking here about secularism, not about Jews who opt out of going to synagogue
in favor of a baseball game or the movies, but rather in favor of church. Since
the vast majority of American Jews are of Ashkenazic descent, this means that
25% of the descendants of European Jews who resisted the blandishments and
threats of Christianity for some sixty generations, often at the cost of their
lives, are now voluntary apostates.
American Jews
have been occupied for four decades in a desperate attempt to stay the tide of
assimilation and intermarriage (not to even speak of their more hideous
confrere: conversion). I remember as a teenager in the early 1960s sitting
through sermons where our rabbi pontificated on the various solutions to The
Problem. Yet exactly what is the Jewish leadership trying to perpetuate? Jewish
genes? Jewish culture? A fondness for kreplach and klezmer and Isaac Bashevis
Singer?
If so, no
wonder the Catholics are winning. They don't strive to inculcate in their
children a love for Catholic culture. They don't try to whip up enthusiasm for
the celebration of St. Patrick's Day nor spend millions to make sure that every
Catholic child decorates an Easter egg. They are propagating a religion,
complete with God and soul and afterlife. We are pushing a culture, complete
with Sholem Aleichem and Dreidels and lithographs of the Western Wall. But for
a culture, no matter how engaging, no one is ready to sacrifice one's life –
nor the love of one's life. Against Christianity we have pitted not Judaism,
but Judaica.
History shows
that substitutes for Halachic Judaism have a shelf life of four generations or
less. Reform Judaism's founder Moses Mendelssohn had nine grandchildren; eight
of them were baptized as Christians. Zionist founder Theodore Herzl's children
were not only not Zionists, they were not Jews. How many of the grandchildren
of the great Yiddish writer I.L. Peretz married under a Chupa? How many of his
great-grandchildren know what a Chupa is?
To perpetuate
Jewish culture, outside of museums and university courses, at the very least
you need Jews. But Jews, as all the population surveys prove, are rapidly
disappearing. The first step in the multi-million-dollar enterprise of passing
Jewish culture on to the next generation is to ensure that there will be a next
generation.
A Greenhouse Enterprise
The
"cut-flower phenomenon" illustrates the predicament of Jewish
culture. Cut flowers are doomed to die in because they are severed from their
roots, just as Jewish culture has been severed from its roots in the Jewish
religion. The solution is obvious: reclaim the religious roots of Jewish
culture. But roots are not the only thing a plant needs to survive.
During the
decade and a half I lived in New England, my favorite hobby was horticulture. I
particularly loved the arresting fragrance of gardenias; in early spring, I
couldn't resist buying gardenia plants, laden with two or three beautiful white
flowers and a dozen buds, usually offered for $3.95 at Woolworths. I would take
my plant home, position it in a window with eastern exposure, water it
copiously, and wait for the buds to open.
After one
glorious, fragrant week, the open flowers would turn yellow and dry up, and the
buds, reacting to the dryness in my heated house, would turn brown at their
necks. I would labor to rescue them, misting the plant with a green plastic
spray bottle every time I passed, a dozen times a day. One at a time, the buds
would fall off. I would be left with a plant with shiny green leaves. After
about six weeks, the leaves would start to turn yellow. I would run to the
local nursery, buy iron granules, and scratch them desperately into the soil in
the gardenia's pot.
In three
months, the plant would be dead. Every time.
Not to be
daunted, I invested in a small greenhouse, where the conditions would be
optimum for growing gardenias. I also grew hibiscus and jasmine. I assiduously
fed my plants with a solution of liquid fertilizer, meticulously regulated the
temperature and humidity, and valiantly battled white fly and scale. Despite
the gigantic expense of heating the greenhouse all through a snowy New England
winter, I was proud of my yield: four or five hibiscus flowers a week and a
couple dozen sprigs of jasmine in season. (The gardenias didn't bloom, but they
didn't die either.)
About five
years into my greenhouse enterprise, I took my first trip to southern
California. There, in Laguna Beach, I saw hibiscus hedges eight feet tall, with
solid masses of large red and pink flowers, and sprawling banks of white and
yellow jasmine. To add to my envy, no one was lavishing care or expense on
them. They were flourishing on their own, in their own natural environment.
"Jewish
culture" is a greenhouse enterprise. At best, after all the energy and
money is spent, it will produce a few prize specimens, like Cynthia Ozick and
Giora Fiedman. But to really flourish, Jewish culture needs its natural
environment: authentic Jewish life.
Authentic
Jewish life is characterized by the study of Torah, the observance of Shabbat
and Kashrut, and the thrice-daily worship of God. Not Shabbes leichter
as museum pieces, but a generation of Jewish women who light their candles to
usher in the holy Shabbat. Not klezmer concerts to evoke nostalgia for the
shtetl, but Jewish bands playing Jewish music at Jewish weddings where Jewish
communities are celebrating the beginning of a new generation of a Jewish
family.
I wish my niece
Jodi had had such a wedding. *Names have been changed for privacy.
Sara Yoheved
Rigler's life-changing teleconference workshop for single women aged 23-49 is
starting a new group. For more information see http://www.sararigler.com/theladder.php.
This is
a 2 hr. speech on the subject on the disaster of intermarriage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4S27FCxYycc
I have nothing against a non-Jew following his own religion and I
don’t try to convert a person in fact I try to discourage conversion by telling
people to be a ben or bas Noach. However if Missionaries bothering you about
the gave his only son stuff? Sefer Shemos (Ex) 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh: Thus says the LORD: Israel is
My son, My first-born. 23 And I
have said unto thee: Let My son go, that he may serve Me; and thou hast refused
to let him go. Behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.'—Devarim 14:1 You are the children of the LORD
your God.
Dan put
in the first electrical bus into service on route 5 in Tel Aviv. It costs twice
as much and must be recharged after 24 KM which is about 6 or so round trips
according to my estimate. Why not electrical bus/trolley types with overhead wires?
Coffee may be good for
you! http://www.ou.org/life/health/coffees-undeserved-bad-rap/#.UgCiWDPfrIU
Road
accidents are our biggest killer: http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Four-dead-dozens-hurt-in-Route-6-road-accident-322001
There
is a disadvantage to this but if you want to dodge the draft boy do you have a
great way of telling lies for years. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4412975,00.html
Righteous
non-Jew passes away (September 26,
1913 - July 30, 2013): http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4413132,00.html
From
Ruth: http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2013/08/03/doctor-sings-happy-birthday-to-every-baby-he-delivers/
This
plan might even be acceptable to the Charedim if they were taught courses
during Yeshiva Vacation. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170612#.Uf_-kVffrIU
The
Charedim do not believe in quotas for Yeshiva exemptions but only those who
learn Torah full time should be exempt (that is why my own son when to
Golani Unit Yeshiva Hesder) http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170620#.UgAAKlffrIU
Something
rotten in the Israeli Embassy south of the equator. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4414189,00.html
Never
Daven with an upside down Siddur: http://www.yourjewishnews.com/2013/07/n28246.html
Jews
protest the inability to visit the Temple Mt. in our own country: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170679#.UgKbp1ffrIU
In one
incident a Charedi Man was punched in the face for bothering a woman. In the
second, a Charedi Soldier was attacked by anti-Yeshiva Draft Protesters. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4415480,00.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4415654,00.html
Inyanay Diyoma
The
Sunni – Shia feud gets worst in Lebanon: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170517#.UfshZlffrIU
Syria
accuses Israel of aiding Al Qaeda and blasts our treatment in hospitals of the
wounded: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4412890,00.html
Al
Qaeda vs. the US so far it looks like terror has got them scared: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/US-to-shutter-some-embassies-Sunday-due-to-security-concerns-321862 related: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4413182,00.html
Egypt
will probably elect El Sisi. http://debka.com/article/23166/Egypt’s-military-strongman-Gen-El-Sisi-will-run-for-president
Obama
is driving Egypt back into the Russian Sphere of Influence. http://debka.com/article/23168/Putin-visit-to-Cairo-impending-El-Sisi-moves-to-outlaw-Brotherhood-US-in-blocking-mode
Chevron
what the Arabs consider peace: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170545#.Uf1ZkVffrIU
This
disturbs me http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/08/03/mystery-surrounds-rise-in-dolphin-deaths-along-east-coast/?test=latestnews
Thanks to Valerie EMP threat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iBfALe8X9C8
Somebody
told security that there are Muslims in Detroit, FL, Brooklyn, NJ and even in
Canada: Or maybe just plain duped: US officials reported that some of the
intelligence came from terrorist communications intercepted by the National
Security Agency over the past days. This too raises questions, considering that
al Qaeda leaders are wont to avoid electronic media and satellite phones for
their communications on operations, preferring couriers who are not susceptible
to electronic interception or eavesdropping. The Internet serves them for
propaganda and planting red herrings.http://debka.com/article/23170/Unexplained-conflicting-US-global-terror-warnings-now-extend-to-American-homeland-
Peace
or pieces? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170602#.Uf9OA1ffrIU
This
may occur before the date given in this article with Iran and weapons grade
Plutonium: http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Report-Iran-Arak-facility-to-have-nuclear-weapons-grade-plutonium-by-next-summer-322093
Egypt
uncovers assassination plot: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Alleged-plot-to-assassinate-Sisi-uncovered-as-Sinai-violence-resumes-322114
The
Hebrew Papers had this information a few weeks ago but now it is out in
English: http://debka.com/article/23170/US-sources-Terror-alert-prompted-by-suspected-suicide-bombers-with-implanted-explosives-
Ed-op
on Al Qaeda’s psychological victory: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4413249,00.html
US
presidential campaign for 2016 is starting now. Peter NSA Supporter King is
testing the waters in NH and the networks are already pushing Benghazi Failure
for President. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/rnc-hillary-clinton_n_3708062.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D353904
Our
leaders are unhealthy and the mentality of the people are healthy: http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Poll-Israeli-Jews-say-they-are-pessimistic-about-peace-process-322168
Stem
cell produced hamburger was demonstrated this week and now: https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/11-4
Al
Qaeda’s Chechnya branch captures Syrian Air Base: http://debka.com/article/23172/Al-Qaeda’s-Chechen-Caucasian-fighters-win-N-Syrian-air-base-execute-captive-troops
Back to
knives again: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170647#.UgFKe1ffrIU
According
to intelligence tomorrow, the Muslim holiday, is attack day: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4414321,00.html
Valerie
forwarded to me Aaron Klein’s article: http://kleinonline.wnd.com/2013/08/06/new-al-qaeda-threat-targets-u-s-in-saudi-arabia-egypt-countries-placed-on-high-alert-for-attacks-on-american-citizens-diplomats/
Put
more pressure on Iran: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4414543,00.html
The US
and Europe are caving in on Iran and Plutonium wise they will regret it as we
have HASHEM. http://debka.com/article/23174/Barring-the-IDF-Netanyahu’s-last-resort-against-possible-Obama-détente-with-Iran-is-US-Congress also see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-benmeir/time-for-us-iran-talks_b_3720076.html
I replied to the professor on his
Facebook Page as follows: I think this is only a ploy to stall until they have
250kg of enriched Uranium or 1kg of Plutonium or more and then it will be too
late.
IED
near Lebanon: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4415057,00.html
Kassams
lobbed into the Negev at night. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170691#.UgMMyVffrIU
Hezballah
to use civilians as human shields in future rocketing of Israel: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4415166,00.html
The FBI
issues a request for information regarding the Hezballah attack in Bulgaria: http://www.jpost.com/International/FBI-seeks-information-on-suspects-in-Burgas-bombing-322552
Syria –
there are refugees streaming towards the Israeli Golan Heights and Assad’s
airstrikes do not stop Al Qaeda near the Israeli Border: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170730#.UgQ7t20X62A
The
Egyptian Army has killed 60 terrorists in the current campaign and yesterday
there was a closure of the Eilat Airport due to security concerns but it
reopened after 2 hours: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170726#.UgQ8Pm0X62A
re: the airport http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4415654,00.html
Now for M. Wolfberg’s Good Shabbos Story “Everyone See”
Good Shabbos Everyone.
In this week’s portion Reeh, Hashem tells us “For you are a holy people to
Hashem, your G-d, and Hashem has chosen you for Himself to be a treasured
people, from among all the peoples on the face of the earth.” (Devarim
14:2)
Joe Velarde became the fencing coach of Columbia University in the 1940's-50s and was an early advocate of civil rights in sports, eventually retiring to California. He now tells his story of his contact with Jewish neighbors growing up in the 1930's and early 1940's, which illustrates the power of the chosen people behaving as they should.
Snow came early in the winter of 1933 when our extended Cuban family moved into the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. I was ten years old. We were the first Spanish speakers to arrive, yet we fit more or less easily into that crowded, multicultural neighborhood.
Soon we began learning a little Italian, a few Greek and Polish words, lots of Yiddish and some heavily accented English. I first heard the expression Shabbos is falling when Mr. Rosenthal refused to open the door of his dry goods store on Bedford Avenue. My mother had sent me with a dime to buy a pair of black socks for my father. In those days, men wore mostly black and Navy blue. Brown and gray were somehow special and cost more.
Mr. Rosenthal stood inside the locked door, arms folded, glaring at me through the thick glass while a heavy snow and darkness began to fall on a Friday evening.
"We're closed, already", Mr. Rosenthal had said, shaking his head, "can't you see that Shabbos is falling? Don't be a nudnik! Go home." I could feel the cold wetness covering my head and thought that Shabbos was the Jewish word for snow. My misperception of Shabbos didn't last long, however, as the area's dominant culture soon became apparent; Gentiles were the minority. From then on, as Shabbos fell with its immutable regularity and Jewish lore took over the life of the neighborhood, I came to realize that so many human activities, ordinarily mundane at any other time, ceased, and a palpable silence, a pleasant tranquility, fell over all of us. It was then that a family with an urgent need would dispatch a youngster to "get the Spanish boy, and hurry."
That was me. In time, I stopped being nameless and became Yussel, sometimes Yuss or Yusseleh. And so began my life as a Shabbos "Goy," voluntarily doing chores for my neighbors on Friday nights and Saturdays: lighting stoves, running errands, getting a prescription for an old tante, stoking coal furnaces, putting lights on or out, clearing snow and ice from slippery sidewalks and stoops. Doing just about anything that was forbidden to the devout by their religious code. (ed note: Within certain guidelines as detailed in the Shulchan Aruch, a non-Jew under certain circumstances may perform certain acts which are beneficial to Jews but would be forbidden for them to perform.)
Friday afternoons were special. I'd walk home from school assailed by the rich aroma emanating from Jewish kitchens preparing that evening's special menu. By now, I had developed a list of steady "clients," Jewish families who depended on me. Furnaces, in particular, demanded frequent tending during Brooklyn's many freezing winters. I shudder remembering brutally cold winds blowing off the East River. Anticipation ran high as I thought of the warm home-baked treats I'd bring home that night after my Shabbos rounds were over. Thanks to me, my entire family had become Jewish pastry junkies. Moi? I'm still addicted to checkerboard cake, halvah and Egg Creams (made only with Fox's Ubet chocolate syrup).
I remember as if it were yesterday how I discovered that Jews were the smartest people in the world. You see, in our Cuban household we all loved the ends of bread loaves and, to keep peace, my father always decided who would get them. One harsh winter night I was rewarded for my Shabbos ministrations with a loaf of warm challah (we pronounced it "holly") and I knew I was witnessing genius! Who else could have invented a bread that had wonderfully crusted ends all over it -- enough for everyone in a large family?
In retrospect, my innocent exposure to a different philosophy was the starting point of a journey that would also incorporate the concept of Tzedakah in my personal guide to the world. In what historians would later call.
My tenure as the resident Shabbos Goy came to an abrupt end after Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941. I withdrew from Brooklyn College the following day and joined the U.S. Army. In June of 1944, the Army Air Corps shipped me home after flying sixty combat missions over Italy and the Balkans. I was overwhelmed to find that several of my Jewish friends and neighbors had set a place for me at their supper tables every Shabbos throughout my absence, including me in their prayers. What mitzvos!
My homecoming was highlighted by wonderful invitations to dinner. Can you imagine the effect after twenty-two months of Army field rations? As my post-World War II life developed, the nature of the association I'd had with Jewish families during my formative years became clearer. I had learned the meaning of friendship, of loyalty, and of honor and respect. I discovered obedience without subservience. And caring about all living things had become as natural as breathing. The worth of a strong work ethic and of purposeful dedication was manifest. Love of learning blossomed and I began to set higher standards for my developing skills, and loftier goals for future activities and dreams. Mind you, none of this was the result of any sort of formal instruction; my yeshiva had been the neighborhood. I learned these things, absorbed them actually says it better, by association and role modeling, by pursuing curious inquiry, and by what educators called "incidental learning" in the crucible that was pre-World War II Williamsburg. It seems many of life's most elemental lessons are learned this way.
While my parents' Cuban home sheltered me with warm, intimate affection and provided for my well-being and self esteem, the group of Jewish families I came to know and help in the Williamsburg of the 1930s was a surrogate tribe that abetted my teenage rite of passage to adulthood. One might even say we had experienced a special kind of Bar Mitzvah. I couldn't explain then the concept of tikkun olam, but I realized as I matured how well I had been oriented by the Jewish experience to live it and to apply it. What a truly uplifting outlook on life it is to be genuinely motivated "to repair the world." And, when I argue issues of human or civil rights and am cautioned about showing too much zeal, I recall how chutzpah first flourished on Williamsburg sidewalks, competing for filberts (hazelnuts) with tough kids wearing payis and yarmulkes. Along the way I played chess and one-wall handball, learned to fence, listened to Rimsky-Korsakov, ate roasted chestnuts, and read Maimonides. I am ever grateful for having had the opportunity to be a Shabbos "Goy." Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: Mazal Tov to Reb. and Mrs. Tuvia Wolfberg of Los Angeles, CA, upon the bris of their grandson Yehudah Nissan to their son Avrohom Dovid In memory of R' Yaakov ben Naftoly, of blessed memory In Memory of Reb Yitzchok ben Reb Shimon (Friedman) of blessed memory Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta Refuah Shleima to Leah bas Tziporah
Joe Velarde became the fencing coach of Columbia University in the 1940's-50s and was an early advocate of civil rights in sports, eventually retiring to California. He now tells his story of his contact with Jewish neighbors growing up in the 1930's and early 1940's, which illustrates the power of the chosen people behaving as they should.
Snow came early in the winter of 1933 when our extended Cuban family moved into the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. I was ten years old. We were the first Spanish speakers to arrive, yet we fit more or less easily into that crowded, multicultural neighborhood.
Soon we began learning a little Italian, a few Greek and Polish words, lots of Yiddish and some heavily accented English. I first heard the expression Shabbos is falling when Mr. Rosenthal refused to open the door of his dry goods store on Bedford Avenue. My mother had sent me with a dime to buy a pair of black socks for my father. In those days, men wore mostly black and Navy blue. Brown and gray were somehow special and cost more.
Mr. Rosenthal stood inside the locked door, arms folded, glaring at me through the thick glass while a heavy snow and darkness began to fall on a Friday evening.
"We're closed, already", Mr. Rosenthal had said, shaking his head, "can't you see that Shabbos is falling? Don't be a nudnik! Go home." I could feel the cold wetness covering my head and thought that Shabbos was the Jewish word for snow. My misperception of Shabbos didn't last long, however, as the area's dominant culture soon became apparent; Gentiles were the minority. From then on, as Shabbos fell with its immutable regularity and Jewish lore took over the life of the neighborhood, I came to realize that so many human activities, ordinarily mundane at any other time, ceased, and a palpable silence, a pleasant tranquility, fell over all of us. It was then that a family with an urgent need would dispatch a youngster to "get the Spanish boy, and hurry."
That was me. In time, I stopped being nameless and became Yussel, sometimes Yuss or Yusseleh. And so began my life as a Shabbos "Goy," voluntarily doing chores for my neighbors on Friday nights and Saturdays: lighting stoves, running errands, getting a prescription for an old tante, stoking coal furnaces, putting lights on or out, clearing snow and ice from slippery sidewalks and stoops. Doing just about anything that was forbidden to the devout by their religious code. (ed note: Within certain guidelines as detailed in the Shulchan Aruch, a non-Jew under certain circumstances may perform certain acts which are beneficial to Jews but would be forbidden for them to perform.)
Friday afternoons were special. I'd walk home from school assailed by the rich aroma emanating from Jewish kitchens preparing that evening's special menu. By now, I had developed a list of steady "clients," Jewish families who depended on me. Furnaces, in particular, demanded frequent tending during Brooklyn's many freezing winters. I shudder remembering brutally cold winds blowing off the East River. Anticipation ran high as I thought of the warm home-baked treats I'd bring home that night after my Shabbos rounds were over. Thanks to me, my entire family had become Jewish pastry junkies. Moi? I'm still addicted to checkerboard cake, halvah and Egg Creams (made only with Fox's Ubet chocolate syrup).
I remember as if it were yesterday how I discovered that Jews were the smartest people in the world. You see, in our Cuban household we all loved the ends of bread loaves and, to keep peace, my father always decided who would get them. One harsh winter night I was rewarded for my Shabbos ministrations with a loaf of warm challah (we pronounced it "holly") and I knew I was witnessing genius! Who else could have invented a bread that had wonderfully crusted ends all over it -- enough for everyone in a large family?
In retrospect, my innocent exposure to a different philosophy was the starting point of a journey that would also incorporate the concept of Tzedakah in my personal guide to the world. In what historians would later call.
My tenure as the resident Shabbos Goy came to an abrupt end after Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941. I withdrew from Brooklyn College the following day and joined the U.S. Army. In June of 1944, the Army Air Corps shipped me home after flying sixty combat missions over Italy and the Balkans. I was overwhelmed to find that several of my Jewish friends and neighbors had set a place for me at their supper tables every Shabbos throughout my absence, including me in their prayers. What mitzvos!
My homecoming was highlighted by wonderful invitations to dinner. Can you imagine the effect after twenty-two months of Army field rations? As my post-World War II life developed, the nature of the association I'd had with Jewish families during my formative years became clearer. I had learned the meaning of friendship, of loyalty, and of honor and respect. I discovered obedience without subservience. And caring about all living things had become as natural as breathing. The worth of a strong work ethic and of purposeful dedication was manifest. Love of learning blossomed and I began to set higher standards for my developing skills, and loftier goals for future activities and dreams. Mind you, none of this was the result of any sort of formal instruction; my yeshiva had been the neighborhood. I learned these things, absorbed them actually says it better, by association and role modeling, by pursuing curious inquiry, and by what educators called "incidental learning" in the crucible that was pre-World War II Williamsburg. It seems many of life's most elemental lessons are learned this way.
While my parents' Cuban home sheltered me with warm, intimate affection and provided for my well-being and self esteem, the group of Jewish families I came to know and help in the Williamsburg of the 1930s was a surrogate tribe that abetted my teenage rite of passage to adulthood. One might even say we had experienced a special kind of Bar Mitzvah. I couldn't explain then the concept of tikkun olam, but I realized as I matured how well I had been oriented by the Jewish experience to live it and to apply it. What a truly uplifting outlook on life it is to be genuinely motivated "to repair the world." And, when I argue issues of human or civil rights and am cautioned about showing too much zeal, I recall how chutzpah first flourished on Williamsburg sidewalks, competing for filberts (hazelnuts) with tough kids wearing payis and yarmulkes. Along the way I played chess and one-wall handball, learned to fence, listened to Rimsky-Korsakov, ate roasted chestnuts, and read Maimonides. I am ever grateful for having had the opportunity to be a Shabbos "Goy." Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: Mazal Tov to Reb. and Mrs. Tuvia Wolfberg of Los Angeles, CA, upon the bris of their grandson Yehudah Nissan to their son Avrohom Dovid In memory of R' Yaakov ben Naftoly, of blessed memory In Memory of Reb Yitzchok ben Reb Shimon (Friedman) of blessed memory Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta Refuah Shleima to Leah bas Tziporah
A good Shabbos to all!
Repent now and avoid the Yom Kippur Rush less than 40 days to atonement left.
Rachamim Pauli
