Rosh Hashana: Coronation Night

Two elderly Jews who hadn’t seen each other in 50 years, met, slowly recognized one another and embraced. They went back to the apartment of one of them to talk about the days long ago.

The conversation went for hours. Night fell. One asked the other, “Look at your watch. What time is it?”

“I don’t have a watch,” said the second.

“Then look at the clock.”

“I don’t have a clock.”

“Then how do you tell the time?”

“You see that trumpet in the corner?” asked the second. “That’s how I tell the time.”

“You’re crazy,” said the first. “How can you tell the time with a trumpet?”

The second one picked up the trumpet, opened the window and blew a deafening blast. Thirty seconds later an angry neighbor shouted, “Two thirty in the morning, and you’re playing the trumpet?” The man turned to his friend and said, “You see? That’s how you tell the time with a trumpet!”

Rosh Hashana: A Sacred Marriage… VIOLATED

Overwhelmed with emotion, I lightly sway back and forth. I bring the siddur close to my face, breathing in the worn pages of the machzor. My lids are drawn closed by tears welling in the corners of my eyes. The day has finally come.

I stand before my G-d with both awe and the sinking feeling of a minute puzzle piece in the impressive puzzle of a Master. I take full stock of what I am. A TRAITOR.

I am a wicked, selfish traitor. I do not deserve this wonderful husband of mine. Time and again I have displeased him, caused Him pain and grief.

Our marriage is sacred. One no one can break. Yet, I have managed to violate that which I hold dearest and most holy. My marriage to G-d.

Rosh Hashana: The Drunken Prayer of A Sober Woman

In loving memory of my dear aunt, Esther (bas Batya) Twersky, whose beautiful soul ascended the heavens two years ago on her birthday, Rosh Hashanah.

A man was heading out of the synagogue one day, and as always the rabbi was standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. The rabbi grabbed the man by the hand, pulled him aside and said “You need to join the Army of G-d!” The man said, “I’m already in the Army of G-d, Rabbi.” The Rabbi questioned, “How come I don’t see you except for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?” The man whispered back, “I’m in the secret service.”

In the Haftorah reading of Rosh Hashanah, we recite a most interesting incident recorded in the Prophets[i] about Hannah’s prayer to G-d on Rosh Hashanah[ii]:

The Weekly D’Var Torah – Rosh Hashanah

Rosh HaShanna is the first and most important holiday of the year; it commemorates the exact date that G-d put the finishing touch on the world by creating man.

The main ‘Mitzvah’ of this day, the first of the year and perhaps the most important commandment in Judaism is sounding the Shofar.

Besides the fact that the Shofar announces that Judaism is the only religion that celebrates and sanctifies the creation of the world, it also commemorates and reminds us of the reason that man was created; namely to be partners with G-d in maintaining and improving the entire creation…. by doing His commandments!

The Weekly Sedra – Nitzavim-Vayelech

This Shabbat is a preparation for Rosh HaShanna.

Nitzavim –Vayelech means ‘Standing firm and Moving” which is very symbolic of Rosh HaShanna when we are all standing firmly before G-d; certain that He our king and our father and will bless us with a good new year, and also moving spiritually upward and forward into more genuine levels of service.

But we see something strange here. In this week’s portion G-d promises that the Jews will become idolaters!

He says to Moses (31:15) Behold….this people will stray after the gods of the land….and they will leave me and transgress my covenant. And Moses (31:29) repeats it, ‘I know that after my death your will surely sin and turn from the path etc’ . In fact, this is the reason he writes the coming Torah section called HaAzinu; to stem the idolatry.

The Weekly Sedra – Ki Tavo

This week’s section always falls in the month of Elul, the month of mercy.

Even the initials of this month show how good G-d is: Alef Lamed Vav Lamed stands for “I am to my beloved (G-d) and my beloved is to me (Song of Songs 6:3). G-d loves us!

Not only that but in this week’s section ‘Joy’ is stressed not once but twice – once in the beginning ”You should rejoice with all the good that G-d has given (26:11) and later in the middle “Serve G-d with Joy and a good heart from great abundance” (28:47).

This is the preparation month for the days of ‘Repentance and Awe’ Rosh HaShanna and Yom Kippur’; namely when we see and feel how much G-d loves us and wants to forgive us. It encourages to return to Him.

The Weekly Sedra – Ki Teitzei

This week’s section begins with the bizarre law of the ‘beautiful (gentile) woman’:

“When you go to war on your enemies and G-d will put it in your hand and you will take prisoners. And you see a beautiful woman and you take her for a wife etc.”

This is very hard to understand.

First of all, how can the Torah allow a Jewish soldier to take a gentile wife just because she is beautiful?

Even more; the only soldiers allowed to fight were those that had no sins and were completely righteous. Why would they even want to do such a thing?!

Thirteen Attributes of Mercy – An Elul Anthology

“Though summer still lingered and the day was bright and sunny, there was a change in the air. One smelled already the Elul-scent; a teshuvah-wind was blowing. Everyone grew more serious, more thoughtful… All awaited the call of the shofar, the first blast that would announce the opening of the gates of the month of mercy….”

So describes the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1920), the onset of the month of Elul in the town of Lubavitch. A month of trepidation on account of the approaching “Days of Awe” of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; but also a gentle month, softened by the reconciliatory prophesies of the “Seven of Consolation” read during this time and the vibes of divine compassion that linger from the time that Moses spent the whole of Elul on the summit of Mount Sinai procuring G-d’s wholehearted forgiveness for Israel’s first sin.

The Weekly Sedra – Re’eh

In this week’s Torah portion we find a clear hint at Jerusalem “And it shall be that the place in which G-d your G-d will choose to make is name abide. Bring your offerings etc.” (Deut 12:11).

Jerusalem is central and essential to Judaism. Not only was it the home for the first two Holy Temples and the direction to which every Jew in the world must face when praying today but it is there that Moshiach will rebuild the third Temple and gather the Jews.

So why isn’t it mentioned explicitly in the Torah? Why only as “The place that G-d chooses”?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe (Likuti Sichot Vol. 2 pp 617-6 19) asks this question and answers it from ‘Sefer HaChaim’ a book written by the brother of the famous Mahaha”l of Prague (1520-1609) as follows:

Chof Av: Yartzeit of R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, (1878-1944), was a Chabad Hasidic rabbi in Yekatrinoslav, Ukraine. He was the father of the seventh and last Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was born in 1878 in the town of Podrovnah (near Gomel) to his parents, Rabbi Baruch Schneur and Rebbetzin Zelda Rachel Schneerson. His great-great grandfather was the third Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn of Lubavitch.

In 1900, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak married Rebbetzin Chana Yanovski, whose father, Rabbi Meir Shlomo, was the Rabbi of the Ukrainian city of Nikolaiev. In 1902, their eldest son, Menachem Mendel was born. He was later to become the Rebbe of Lubavitch.

The Weekly Sedra – Eikev

This week’s section contains one of the most important paragraphs in the Torah. We are commanded to say it twice daily, and it is written in every Mezuza and every pair of Tefillin:

“If you do what I want; to love G-d and serve Him with all your heart and soul, then I will give the rain when you need it and you will gather up your grain, wine and oil and your animals will have grasses etc. (11:13)”

It is the second paragraph of the three-paragraph “MOTTO” of Judaism; “Shema Yisroel.”

But seemingly it poses a few problems:

Firstly: Isn’t it a bit disappointing that all the Torah promises for serving G-d with all your heart and soul, is grain, wine and oil?! Why not something a little more exciting like everlasting bliss or salvation?

The Weekly Sedra – Va’etchanan

This week’s Torah portion contains twelve commandments, among them: 1) Not to desire the possessions of others; 2) To unify G-d and know He is One; 3) To love G-d; 4) To learn and teach Torah; 5) To say the “ Shema Yisroel” prayer twice daily; 6) To put tefillin on the arm and 7) on the head; and 8) To affix mezuzot on all of one’s doors.

At first glance, all these commandments are understandable . . . except the one about loving G-d.

How is it possible to command us to love anything? For instance, if a person doesn’t like peanut butter or classical music, then all the commands in the world won’t make it click for him. He can pretend to love . . . like a movie actor or a con-artist does . . . but not really love.

Especially when the command is to love an intangible, infinite G-d!

The Ninth of Av – Tisha B’Av – Laws and Customs

The Fast begins at 8:06pm and Ends tommrow [Thursday] at 8:48pm [Times are for the Brooklyn Area.]

In a Nutshell

Mourning the destruction of the Temple and the exile of Israel, we abstain from eating and drinking, bathing, the wearing of leather footwear, and marital relations — for the night and day of Av 9 (this year, from sundown on August 2 to nightfall August 3, 2006). It is customary to sit on the floor or on a low seat until after mid-day. Torah study is restricted to laws of mourning, passages describing the destruction of the Temple, and the like. The tefillin are worn only during the afternoon Minchah prayers. Consult a Halachic authority for more specific guidance in observance of this day or read on for the laws in detail.

More in the Extended Article.

True Peace Around the World

During the farbrengen of Parshas Bechukosai, 19th Iyar, 5741/1981, the Lubavitcher Rebbe spoke very strongly about the world situation, “which is deteriorating, G-d forbid:”

“In the past, when someone wanted to cause great damage, he could not do it by himself. A group of people had to gather, make plans, and choose a leader. However, today events are occurring in the world that no one could ever have predicted. …We are talking about people and national leaders who have ‘human form,’ 248 limbs and 365 sinews, and they speak as if with wisdom. Yet, even so, their actual leadership is uncivilized. …And only through G-d’s kindness, where ‘the heart of kings and ministers is in the Hand of G-d,’ are matters conducted above nature!

The Weekly Sedra – Matot-Massei

This week’s double Torah portion finishes the book of Numbers. It falls in the second of the ‘Three Weeks’ of mourning for the destruction of the Temple and contains many stories, commandments and lessons in life.

But perhaps its most important message is found in its double name: “Staffs and Journeys”.

The Baal Shem Tov taught that G-d creates everything in the world constantly and with a purpose. There are no accidents and every detail in creation has a secret message…. especially when that detail is in the Torah; the blueprint of creation.

The Weekly Sedra – Pinchas

This week we read of how a Jew by the name of Pinchas jumped from obscurity, saved the entire Jewish nation and received two divine gifts from the hand of G-d!

Peace and priesthood!

Peace is perhaps the most precious thing on earth. It is the sign of the Messianic era and the goal of mankind. All strife will be reconciled and all creation will be transformed into a symphony of harmony and love. (Isaiah 11:6)

And priesthood means being able to bless others and serve in the Holy Temple!

But if we turn back a few sentences to the end of last week’s Torah portion we disappointingly find that Pinchas earned these two gems by viciously murdering two people!

Moshiach NOW!!!

The Weekly Sedra – Chukat-Balak

Near the end of this week’s first portion, Chukat, we read the strange story of the brass serpent.

When the Jews complained about the bland taste of Manna, G-d first sent serpents to kill them and then told Moses to make a statue of a serpent and raise it on a pole in order that anyone who looked at it would live.

Rashi quotes the Talmud andexplains that really it wasn’t really this statue that helped, but the fact that they raised their eyes to heaven.

This, of course, is very strange; if just looking at heaven was what saved them, then why didn’t G-d order Moses to tell the Jews to just look up? Why did he have Moshe make a serpent?