The Weekly Sedra – Chag HaShavous

The Rebbe says:

1. The Midrash (a great collection of Homilies) tells us: “The night before Hashem came down to give the Torah the Jewish people went to sleep because the sleep of Yom Tov is sweet and the night is short, and (to top it all off) they didn’t even get bitten by any mosquitoes. But when Hashem came down (the next morning) to give the Torah all the Jewish people were sleeping and Hashem had to wake them up. As the Torah says “(Hashem says) Why do I come and no one calls out for me? No one even answers My calls!” (see Isaiah, Chapter 50, Verse 2).

And this is why we stay up all night on the night before the giving of the Torah (the first night of the festival of Shavous).

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Bamidbar

The Rebbe says:

1. This week we begin a new Book in the “Five Books of Moses” called Chumash Bamidbar or as it is referred to as “The Book of Numbers”.

The first portion in Chumash Bamidbar is called Bamidbar, and we read this Torah portion every year on the Shabbos before the festival of Shavous (which is the anniversary of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai).

2. The simple reason why we read Parshas (the portion of) Bamidbar before Shavous is to make a separation between the curses which we read in the previous week’s Torah portion of Bechukosai and the giving of the Torah (Shavous). However since everything in Torah is perfectly exact (indeed our Sages learn out numerous Laws from one letter in the Torah), we must say that there is a reason why the portion of Bamidbar was specifically chosen to be the portion which we read before the festival of Shavous and not any other portion.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Behar Bechukosai

The Rebbe says:

1. Right in the beginning of this week’s Torah portion the Torah tells us that Hashem spoke to Moshe Rabbeinu (Moshe our teacher) on Har Sinai (Mount Sinai) and told him about the laws of the Shemitah year (the year of rest when you cannot work your land). As it says:

“Hashem spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai saying. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land which I give to you, the land shall be at rest- a Shabbos for Hashem. For six years you shall plant your field and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and you shall harvest its produce. But the seventh year shall be a Shabbos of rest for the land, a Shabbos for Hashem, you shall not plant your field and you shall not prune your vineyard…”.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Behar Bechukosai – Faith Vs. Anxiety

If you will say: “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we may not sow nor gather-in our produce.” (Leviticus 25:20)

Two men in the same town came into sudden wealth. They both decided to bury their treasure in their backyards. Each picked a landmark on their respective properties and paced 20 steps and dug a hole.

Chaim the more anxious of the two kept making sure that there was no one watching as he placed the treasure in the ground. Berel who was by nature more trusting, didn’t bother taking the same precautions. Unbeknownst to him, he was spotted by a dishonest neighbor who eventually stole the treasure.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Emor – Tailor Made?

The story is told of an elderly woman – an expert embroiderer – who approached a prominent Rabbi, with a magnificent mantel (Torah cover) that she produced for their Synagogue’s new Torah Scroll. Enamored by the beauty of the rich velvet and colorful embroidery, the Rabbi immediately rushed to the ark, removed the Torah and placed the mantel over it.
As they shared a moment of delight adoring the lovely new cover, the Rabbi, to everyone’s disappointment, noticed that the new cover was several inches shorter than the scroll.
Thanking the woman for her sincere thoughtfulness and effort, the Rabbi gently explained that although it was a true masterpiece it would not work, since it was too short.
“Rabbi,” exclaimed the woman, “I don’t understand, considering the quality and workmanship of this piece of art, couldn’t we just trim off a few inches from the bottom of the Torah scroll to make it fit?”
“I’m sorry,” said the Rabbi, “In this shul we don’t tailor the Torah to fit the Mantel!”

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Emor

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Torah portion Hashem commands the Jewish people to count the 49 days from the 2nd day of Passover till the giving of the Torah (Shavous): “You shall count for yourselves from the day after the day of rest (2nd day of Pesach), from the day which you will bring the Omer wave-offering (2nd day of Pesach), seven complete weeks they shall be (49 days). Until the day after the seven weeks (Shavous) you shall count 50 days and you shall bring a meal offering to Hashem” (see Leviticus, Chapter 23, Verses 15 and 16).

2. The Rebbe now begins discussing “the counting of the Omer”:

The Law is that if one forgot to count one of the 49 days between Passover and Shavous (the giving of the Torah) he continues counting the other days but without a Blessing.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Kedoshim – Break It To Me Gently

People misunderstand the meaning of tolerance. Tolerance doesn’t mean seeing someone harming himself and saying “live and let live.” That’s Indifference. Apathy.
If you see someone going the wrong way and you care about him, you’ll do everything you can to set him straight. Tolerance means that although you see his faults in all their ugliness naked before you, that doesn’t decrease by one iota your respect for him as a fellow human being, and for all the good he has within him…
Until you can see the good within a person, you are incapable of helping him.
– Tzvi Freeman, Bringing Heaven Down To Earth

In 1927, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok of Lubavitch was arrested for his “counter-revolutionary” work to preserve Jewish life throughout the Soviet Union. The harrowing ordeal of imprisonment and torture at the hands of Stalin’s henchmen greatly weakened the Rebbe’s health, necessitating his treatment at various sanatoriums throughout Europe.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Acharei Mos

The Rebbe says:

1. The first Verse of Parshas Acharei Mos says “Vah’yi’da’bear Hashem El Moshe Acharei Mos Shnei B’nay Aharon B’kar’va’sam Leefnay Hashem Va’ya’moo’soo – And Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of two sons of Aharon who brought an (unauthorized) offering before Hashem and they died”.

2. The Rebbe now questions the need for the last word in this verse:

Question: If the Verse already told us that Hashem is speaking to Moshe Rabbeinu (Moshe our teacher) after the death of two of Aharons children, why does the Verse conclude by repeating that the 2 children of Aharon died?

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Tazria Metzora

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Torah portion the commandment to circumcise a young infant is mentioned. The verse says “On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Chapter 12, Verse 3).

2. The Rebbe analyzes this:

The Torah tells us that we should circumcise our children and it should specifically be on the 8th day after their birth. Seemingly this means that if someone circumcises his son after the 8th day he would be missing out on the exact Mitzvah of circumcision (even if he was forced to postpone the circumcision because the child was not yet ready).

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Tazria Metzora – Skoopy Healing Your Words

The Torah section of this week, Tazria-Metzorah (Leviticus chapters 12-15), discusses the laws of tzaraas, usually translated as “leprosy.” Tzaraas was a spiritual illness whose identifying mark was a white patch or patches appearing on the skin of a person, the walls of a home or on a garment. This patch, plus several secondary symptoms, determined the person as being temporarily “impure” and required him or her to separate from the public and undergo an intense program of introspection and spiritual healing.

Once the symptoms of the illness were gone, a detailed process of purification would begin, following which the person was deemed pure once again and restored to his untarnished condition.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Tazria Metzora – This Too Is For Good

Rabbi Akiva, the Talmud relates, was accustomed to saying: Kol mah d’ovied Rachmono, l’tav ovied, meaning: Everything that the Merciful-One [G-d] does is for the good. Once, while he was traveling, recounts the Talmud, he was in dire need of lodging, he knocked on the door of a home in the village at which he had arrived, but was refused hospitality. Yet, instead of being discouraged, Rabbi Akiva declared “Everything that the Merciful-One does is for the good.”

He knocked on another door but the response was much the same and so too was his reaction: “Everything that the Merciful-One does is for the good.” His demeanor did not change even after he knocked on every door in town and was refused entry. Lacking a more favorable alternative, he encamped in a field on the outskirts of the town.

16 Years to the Sicha – “Do All That You Can”

Today, Chof Ches Nissan marks 16 years to the Sicha the Rebbe said unexpectedly in 5751 after returning from the Ohel. The Rebbe said with great pain “that all that I have done… it is up to you to do all that you can to bring Moshiach down here…” AD MOSAI?!

Click Here To Listen To The Sicha (Courtesy of Sichos.com)

Click Here to see a transcript of the Sicha in Hebrew (PDF)

A translation of excerpts of the Sicha can be read in the Extended Article.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Shemini – The Kiss Of Death

The Midrash records the story of when Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai lost his son. Upon hearing the news his students all came to comfort him. Each one cited another great individual who had lost a child. To each he responded, “You are not comforting me. You are, instead, giving me more to grieve about.” In the end, Rabbi Eliezer ben Azaryah was the one who comforted him. He presented the following analogy:

A king once deposited a very special object with a trusted subject. Every day, the man would anticipate the moment when he could return the precious object and no longer have to bear the responsibility. He was apprehensive that he might not return it to the king in perfect condition. How happy was he when the awaited day arrived, and he was able to return a perfect item to the king.

“So too,” said Rabbi Eliezer, “Hashem gave you a precious deposit. You nurtured it; you taught him Torah, and he left this world sinless, a pious scholar who took leave of his earthly abode much in the manner that he arrived – perfect. You should feel good that you returned the ‘King’s’ deposit in such exceptional condition.”

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Shemini

The Rebbe says:

1. The previous Torah portion (Parshas Tzav) told us about how the Jewish people inaugurated the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) for seven days. This weeks Torah portion starts off with telling us that “On the eighth day” Aaron the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest) and his sons the Kohanim (the Priests) were anointed to their positions (Leviticus, Chapter 9, Verse 1).

2. The Rebbe now asks a question which is asked by one of the commentaries called the “Kli Yakar”(Rabbi Shlomo Efraim of Luntchitz):

Question: The seven days of inaugurating the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) are one thing and the day of anointing Aaron and his sons is another, so why does the Torah call the day of their anointing the eighth day??

Livin’ the Soggy Life

Life is filled with projects. Projects we take upon ourselves to enhance our lives, to improve our selves, or even just to pass the time.

Anything from spiritual resolutions, to diet & exercise, to writing semi-interesting articles, to squashing a pigeon with a large hammer (vulgar, I know, but hey – these are your projects, not mine…)

Some have a higher frustration rate than others; some take a lot longer; some require a lot more patience and dedication.
But we do our best to try and work through them.

From Boredom… To Freedom – 15 Ways to Invigorate Your Seder

Passover, perhaps like no other holiday, captures the diverse spectrum of religious and spiritual experience, from one extreme to the next.

For the most observant, the Passover Seder is a solemn time, heavily filled with rules and regulations, rich with layers of customs and meanings, to be followed to the tee with all the stringency of Passover laws.

For many the Seder is not quite as intense. Rather it is a nice, nostalgic experience. A time to get together with family and friends. A time to remember history and celebrate our heritage.

Pesach Cleaning for the Soul

Those of you who are regular readers of my articles know that I try to find a lot of meaning in the holidays and the change of the seasons. While we all (especially the unwilling children) probably feel some measure of the rejuvenation and inspiration associated with Pesach-cleaning, I am also committed to putting that feeling into action in the form of Pesach-cleaning for the soul.