We are pleased to present our fifth online class in the “Torah in Ten” series, presented by the editor-in-chief of Kol Menachem, Rabbi Chaim Miller. To get this class to your inbox visit: www.torahinten.com
ParshaPix is a new feature brought to you by CrownHeights.info and AwarmFocus.org; which features photos submitted by anyone that relates to the weekly Sedra. Editing by AvrohomDesign.com
Walking along a steep cliff, Jake accidentally came too close to the edge and, alas, off he went. Grabbing at a tree branch, he was luckily able to break the fall, but Jake new his troubles weren’t over. There was no way he could climb back up the steep cliff; neither could he hang on much longer. No wonder that a single glance at the canyon’s 1,000 foot drop, elicited a frantic cry for help.
After calling for some time, a responding voice could finally be heard: “Jake? Is that you there?
“Yes, yes, it is I! Where are you, I can’t see you?
”I am the Lord, Jake. I'm everywhere.“
”Oh G-d, is that really You?
“Yes son, as much as it’ll ever be!”
“Lord, I promise I'll be a good person… I’ll never sin again; I'll be a loyal servant for the rest of my life… Just get me out of this place! Please!”
"Easy on the promises son. First let's get you out; then we can talk. Now listen carefully, here's what you need to do.
Walking along a steep cliff, Jake accidentally came too close to the edge and, alas, off he went. Grabbing at a tree branch, he was luckily able to break the fall, but Jake new his troubles weren’t over. There was no way he could climb back up the steep cliff; neither could he hang on much longer. No wonder that a single glance at the canyon’s 1,000 foot drop, elicited a frantic cry for help.
After calling for some time, a responding voice could finally be heard: “Jake? Is that you there?
“Yes, yes, it is I! Where are you, I can’t see you?
”I am the Lord, Jake. I’m everywhere.“
”Oh G-d, is that really You?
“Yes son, as much as it’ll ever be!”
“Lord, I promise I’ll be a good person… I’ll never sin again; I’ll be a loyal servant for the rest of my life… Just get me out of this place! Please!”“Easy on the promises son. First let’s get you out; then we can talk. Now listen carefully, here’s what you need to do.
The Rebbe says:
1. This week’s Torah portion tells us of the passing of Aharon HaKohen (Aaron the High Priest) and Miriam the Prophetess.
2. Our Sages tell us that the three sustaining elements of the Jewish people while they were in the desert were in the merit of their three leading characters- Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher), Aharon HaKohen, and Miriam. The Manna was in the merit of Moshe Rabbeinu, the Clouds of Glory were in the merit of Aharon Hakohen, and the Well of Water was in the merit of Miriam.
Our Sages continue on and say that when Miriam died the Well dried up and when Aharon died the Clouds of Glory disappeared. However they both returned solely in the merit of Moshe Rabbeinu.
This letter from the Rebbe, זי”ע, is addressed to Mr. Irving I. Stone, of blessed memory, the eldest son of Jacob Sapirstein. Jacob founded the American Greeting card company in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1906, selling picture postcards from a horse-drawn wagon. Together with his two younger brothers (all of whom Americanized their surname to Stone), Irving transformed American Greetings from a small family business into the world’s largest publicly owned greeting card company.
When his wife Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, of righteous memory, was cured of a sickness, the Rebbe did more than pay the physician. He thanked him for his success, which came from the true “Healer of all flesh and Performer of wonders.” With Gimmel Tamuz approaching, The Avner Institute presents this letter, courtesy of Rabbi Sholom Ber Weinberg and Mrs. Rishe Deitsch, where the Rebbe elegantly writes of the physician’s role and remittance due to level personal and professional care.
The earth beneath them opened its mouth and swallowed them and their houses, and all the men who were with Korah and all the property.
The Rebbe says:
1. In this week’s Torah portion the Torah tells us about how Korach incited the people against Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) and his brother Aharon Hakohen (Aaron the High priest). This comes after last week’s story of the Miraglim (the spies) who had their own agenda and reported to the Jewish assembly that the Land of Canaan was not for them, even though Hashem (G-d) had promised to take the Jewish people into the Land of Canaan.
The basic thrust of Korach’s argument was that if every single Jew is a part of one, “Holy Nation”, as Hashem calls us, why is there only one Kohen Gadol (Aharon)? Korach said, “Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?”
What finally pushed Korach to fight publicly with Moshe Rabbeinu was when Moshe appointed his younger cousin Elizaphan to be the Prince (Nassi) of the tribe of Levi and not Korach.
The following mindboggling incident, involving the saintly Chafetz Chaim, is related in the name of Rabbi Berel Wein:
Two people have become embroiled in an obsessive argument. The ugly dispute grew so out of control that it consumed their very lives and affairs, yet there was no end in sight, even after the sudden death of some of the quarreling partners’ children R’L.
Upon learning of the mysterious deaths, the Chafetz Chaim saw fit to personally intercede. He is said to have engaged one of the partner’s pleadingly: “Do you not see how this is harming your children! Don't you think it is time to stop?”
The following is the answer that the man is purported to have given: “I will bury all of them, but I am going to win.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The following mindboggling incident, involving the saintly Chafetz Chaim, is related in the name of Rabbi Berel Wein:
Two people have become embroiled in an obsessive argument. The ugly dispute grew so out of control that it consumed their very lives and affairs, yet there was no end in sight, even after the sudden death of some of the quarreling partners’ children R’L.
Upon learning of the mysterious deaths, the Chafetz Chaim saw fit to personally intercede. He is said to have engaged one of the partner’s pleadingly: “Do you not see how this is harming your children! Don’t you think it is time to stop?”
The following is the answer that the man is purported to have given: “I will bury all of them, but I am going to win.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –“He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Moses sent them to scout the Land of Canaan, and he said to them, “Go up this way in the south and climb up the mountain.” (Parshas Shelach, Perek 13, Possuk 17)
ParshaPix is a new feature brought to you by CrownHeights.info and AwarmFocus.org which features photos submitted by anyone that relate to the weekly Sedra.
If only G-d would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank. – Woody Allen (Without Feathers)
Abraham wants to upgrade his PC to Windows 7. Isaac is incredulous. “Pop,” he says, “you can’t run Windows 7 on your old, slow 386! Everybody knows that you need at least a Pentium or Celeron chip with a minimum of 3 GB of memory in order to multitask effectively with Windows 7.”
Amongst the varied items for which we seek forgiveness in the confession prayer recited on the holy Yom Kippur, is a somewhat odd class of transgression: “The sins which we have committed before You with the ‘Yetzer hara,’ (evil inclination).”
“But,” as my early days spiritual mentor would rhetorically muse, “Aren’t all sins preformed with the evil inclination? Surely there are no sins committed with the ‘Good inclination?’”
“The sins which we have committed with the evil inclination,” he would offer as a rejoinder, “Refers not to sins which the evil inclination had managed to drag us into, but rather to sins into which we had managed to drag our evil inclination.”
Brooklyn, NY [CHI] — Kol Menachem, the organization behind the critically acclaimed series of English Judaica, is announcing a new venture – Torah in Ten. In this go, go, go world we live in, it can be difficult to sit down and find time to study the weekly parsha. And when shabbos rolls around, we all wish we had studied more and could contribute to the conversation at the shabbos table. Not to mention our children, don’t we all wish we could provide them beautiful insights into the weekly parsha?
It's The Jews Again!
Jerusalem (SatireWire.com) Update — Jews, whose troubled, 10,000-year term as G-d's “Chosen People” finally expired last night, woke up this morning to find that they had once again been hand-picked by the Almighty. Synagogues across the globe declared a day of mourning.
Asked if the descendants of Abraham shouldn't be pleased about being tapped for an unprecedented second term, Jerusalem Rabbi Ben Meyerson shrugged. “Of course, you are right, we should be thrilled,” he said. “We should also enjoy a good swift kick in the head, but for some reason, we don't.
”Now don't ask such questions until you watch the news, or read history, or at least rent 'Fiddler on the Roof'.“
Much of the world's re-blessed Jewish community shared that feeling. ”It's always been considered a joke with us. You know, 'Please G-d, next time choose someone else,' ha ha," said New York City resident David Bashert.
It’s The Jews Again!
Jerusalem (SatireWire.com) Update — Jews, whose troubled, 10,000-year term as G-d’s “Chosen People” finally expired last night, woke up this morning to find that they had once again been hand-picked by the Almighty. Synagogues across the globe declared a day of mourning.
Asked if the descendants of Abraham shouldn’t be pleased about being tapped for an unprecedented second term, Jerusalem Rabbi Ben Meyerson shrugged. “Of course, you are right, we should be thrilled,” he said. “We should also enjoy a good swift kick in the head, but for some reason, we don’t.
”Now don’t ask such questions until you watch the news, or read history, or at least rent ‘Fiddler on the Roof’.“
Much of the world’s re-blessed Jewish community shared that feeling. ”It’s always been considered a joke with us. You know, ‘Please G-d, next time choose someone else,’ ha ha,” said New York City resident David Bashert.
The Rebbe says:
1. In this week’s Torah portion Hashem (G-d) commands us to take care of our brethren in need and loan them interest free money . Hashem finishes off this commandment by saying, “I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt…” .
Our Sages learn from this verse that, “Anyone who accepts the yoke of the commandment regarding not taking or giving interest, accepts the yoke of Heaven; and anyone who throws off the yoke of this commandment, throws off the yoke of Heaven. This is because anyone who complies with the Mitzvah (commandment) of “Ribbis” (not taking or giving interest) also admits to the fundamental principal of our exodus from Egypt; and anyone who denies the Mitzvah of Ribbis also denies our exodus from Egypt” .
In other words, there is something unique about the Mitzvah of Ribbis which has a special connection to accepting the yoke of Heaven and our exodus from Egypt more than any other Mitzvah. We must try to understand this.
“How do you figure we humans got here in the first place,” inquired a young girl of her mom. “Many years ago,” said the mother, “G-d created Adam and Eve. They had children and grandchildren and so it all began.”
A few days later the girl asked her father the same question. “That’s a truly complex question my child, let me try to explain: Hmmm. . . Where do I begin? Well, to make it simple, many years ago there were monkeys, the monkeys gradually evolved into humans. . .”
Confused, the child determinedly returned to her mother: “Dad says that humans came from monkeys, how come you told me they were created by G-d?”
Tonight, Monday evening, my siblings and I will commemorate the fifth yartzeit (anniversary of passing) of my dear father, Gershon Jacobson, who passed away five years ago on the 20th of Iyar, May 29, 2005.
With that special feeling reserved for people who were forced to watch the earth close up on a loved one, I will go to the synagogue and recite the kaddish prayers, connecting to my father’s zestful and inspiring memory.
And as I say Kaddish, I will have in mind a young friend of mine, Nosson Deitch, who was killed yesterday, on Lag Baomer, in a boat accident in Florida. A lump fills my throat as I write these words, about a beautiful, majestic and sincere soul, whose sudden death at the age of 21 is truly inexplicable and devastating beyond words.
3
