Reb Tziporah – Days 13-15

 Thirteenth day, Yesod of Gvurah (just rec’d)

Hashem’s covenant with us by the nature of being a genuine covenant means that we too have to guard the relationship. The way we connect to others is a reflection of who we are in the dee pest sense. This includes both the way the first aspect of the covenant that Hashem made with Avraham, circumcision (which by its nature is relevant to men). Guarding your speech (and the Talmud says that 9 of the 10 measures of speech were given to women) is another aspect of guarding the covenant (and is called “bris sfasaim” the covenant of the lips). The “weapon” you need to guard the covenant is the will to be a tzadik, to do things on Hashem’s terms even in the face of temptation. This is why Yosef is referred to as “hatzadik”. The desire to stay firm in your commitment to the covenant is called “yesod”- the foundation. It demands strength, “gvurah”. This is what is meant when it says, A tzadik is the foundation of the world.”

Learning to say no to instinctive and base desires strengthens your “tzadik “muscle. Its application includes observing fences to prevent falling (both the kind that each person makes for himself) and the ones established by chazal, for instance maintaining social tznius. Thus you may be familiar with the famous adage, “Wherever you find a fence against immorality, there is where you find holiness” 

BETWEEN PEOPLE

1-Be aware that looking for others to show you esteem and to give you status is also considered “desire”. Be careful when you are in a position in which other people show you honor that you may forget that your true goal is to be a tzadik, not to be acknowledged as one.

2-When you have guests over, be a model of the kind of awareness of Hashem’s presence, so that you touch the “tzadik” in them, and they are influenced by your example.

3-Recognize that the fences that are established are for your good, and be supportive of them. Part of the covenant is to affect others which involves both the power of speech and the way in which reproduction physically rather than as an expression of exploitive desire.

Limb-left hand (which is used to be active, but not aggressive. This is the opposite of the right hand, which hints at chessed and demands more vigor). 

Time- minchah

Tefillah- the prayer for peace, sim shalom

Divine Name, “Sh-a-day” (which Ramban tells us is the name used for “hidden miracles”)

Day 14, Malchus she’bigvurah

Malchut is kingship. The key to winning your battle with the yetzer hara is believing that you are capable of ruling over your inner kingdom. This is the time not to show weakness or to fall into the trap of compromise. In earlier times a king had absolute power- no one could tell him that he can’t do whatever he wants to do. If you know what you really want to do (which is to live with meaning on Hashem’s terms) you can use your yetzer tov (you love of good) to defeat your yetzer hara.

The strongest weapon you have to rule over yourself is tefillah. It says, “If not for Hashem’s help, you would not be able to prevail over him (the yetzer hara. Unlike a human king, you must realize that there is something to fear-not external enemies, but the barrier that sin erects between you (even your higher self) and Hashem. This is what real “fear of heaven” is about. Don’t weaken yourself by treating your choices lightly. Encourage other people to stand strong, help them believe that they can choose to let the self that they want to be prevail.

One example of this is the way that a Jewish farmer has to keep the laws that are specific to Eretz Yisrael. The yetzer hara will tell him that the fruit of his labors belongs to him, and that giving tithes or keeping shmitta equals deprivation. The yetzer tov will tell him that doing these mitzvos correctly demonstrates the clarity he has in his choice to draw himself closer to Hashem, and to make maximum use of the work he invested in growing his crops to achieve his genuine goal, living on Hashem’s terms. One choice (the one presented by the yetzer hara) makes him more materialistic and egocentric. The other makes him stronger, more self-ascendant and closer to Hashem. This example can also be applied to the way you relate to giving tzedakah.

LIMB- the left hand 

TIME-Try to give tzedakah and to show honor to those who learn (who you honor as your generals and officers in ruling your inner kingdom) in the afternoon

TEFILLAH- try to maintain focus whenever the kingdom of Heaven, or Dovid’s ruler ship is mentioned especially at minchah

DIVINE NAME- The name ADNY (which means master) especially at minchah.

15^th day Chesed of Tiferes

Think about the love and kindness that Hashem demonstrates moment by moment as He keeps the world alive. The ecosystem is so intricate that nothing is lost or there for no reason. Think of your own body, and what is happening “below the radar” for you to survive.  Let the brachah asher yotzar that you say when you go to the bathroom open your mind to the glory of Hashem’s ongoing chesed. 

Use this trait in your life by appreciating and mirroring His gifts to you and the world by treating His creations kindly. As you do so, praise Him. If other people admire your abilities, appearance, achievements, etc, praise the One who gave you what you have. This opens the gates and once open, the flow of Hashem’s love and kindness will be strengthened and He will give still more. This should inspire you to serve Hashem with love and enthusiasm and to thank Him for His Torah. The flow of wisdom will increase, and your appreciation of what a marvelous gift the Torah is. 

With Others,

Try for a really over-the-top amazing chesed that will inspire the one you are helping to praise Hashem. When you extend yourself to someone in need, do it with joy. If you are unable to do an over the top chesed today (it happens…) do whatever chesed you can with real simchah, a smile, and an open heart.

LIMB - Today, it is your entire body!

TIME - Daytime

TEFILLAH- The brachah for forgiveness, the greatest compassion of all, especially at minchah.

NAME OF HASHEM- Kel (aleph lamed) which means force.

Reb Neuberger: Kedoshim – ANSWERING THE HATERS

ANSWERING THE HATERS 

 

This week’s Parsha is a powerful exhortation to live a life of kedusha. Haftaras Kedoshim links the rejection of kedusha to Golus. If we Yidden fall into error – G-d forbid - then we are ejected from our Holy Land and thrown into the mouth of the lion.

 

“I shall scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands and remove all your contamination from you.” (Yechezkel 22:15) If we fail to act with holiness, then Hashem scatters us among the unholy nations, who are contaminated from head to toe. In their sickness, they hate kedusha, and that is why they hate us. Even if some of our brethren forget their innate kedusha, they still bear the Holy Name of Hashem, and this is what the nations are trying to stamp out.

 

What accusation against Am Yisroel is being heard in the world today? 

 

They accuse us of trying to exterminate those who want to kill us. I am not going to justify our actions because they need no justification. When someone tries to kill you, the Torah enjoins you to defend yourself, and that is what we are doing. 

 

When Hashem revealed Himself to our Father Avraham, He said words which echo through the centuries: “Him who curses you I will curse.” (Beraishis 12:3) 

 

The words of Hashem are more than words. They are actions. They are deeds.

 

The nations are cursing us today. They should be trembling with fear.

 

Without exception, from the beginning of time, every nation which has cursed Israel has been destroyed. “The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will plunder. I will satisfy my lust with them. I will unsheathe my sword.’ …. [But] You [Hashem] stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them… terror gripped the dwellers of Philistia... the chieftains of Edom were confounded; trembling gripped the powers of Moab; all the dwellers of Canaan dissolved…. Fear and terror [befell] them….” (Shemos 15:9ff)

 

Several years ago, my wife and I were in a public parking lot in Berlin, Germany. There, beneath the parked cars, beneath the asphalt and parking meters, lay the former bunker of Adolf Hitler, may his name be ground to dust. This is where the rasha, who imagined a 1000-year Reich, killed himself after causing a war in which 85 million people died. His entire motivation was the destruction of Am Yisroel, G-d forbid. 

 

Hatred of Am Yisroel is the direct cause of world destruction.

 

Love of Am Yisroel is the direct cause of every bracha.

 

When someone curses a Yid, he is destroyed. When a nation curses Yidden, that nation is destroyed. Those who hate us will be ground into nothingness by a Power which cannot be resisted. The Torah told the world thousands of years ago what would happen.

 

No one should be surprised when Hashem’s words are fulfilled.

 

 

At this time, I want to tell you about a great Jew who embodied kedusha. He left this world a few days ago to go to his great reward. Rabbi Yechiel Perr,Zaicher Tzaddik Livracha, was the Founder and Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway. There was no one else like Rabbi Perr.

 

He was my friend. 

In the year 2000, I was already in what people refer to as “middle age.” I had done many things, but I had yet to find that which I believed Hashem had put me in this world to accomplish. At that point, I decided to try to write the book which was “inside” me. This book told the story of how I had found Hashem after growing up as an alienated Jew.

 

The book took a year to write. Then I spent another frustrating year going from publisher to publisher. Who wants to publish this book by an unknown author? Everywhere I met rejection. Then one day, very discouraged, I found myself in Rabbi Perr’s holy presence. I poured out my heart, and he gave me simple advice: “Go to Jonathan David Publishers.”

 

“Who is Jonathan David Publishers?”

 

“It doesn’t matter. Just look them up. They will publish your book.”

 

Rabbi Perr knew things that other people did not know. In his calm, quiet way he just knew things, and I followed his advice. The end of the story is that “From Central Park to Sinai: How I Found My Jewish Soul,” was published by Jonathan David, a wonderful publishing house, and became the number one Jewish-English bestseller in the spring of 2001.

 

From that moment, my wife and I embarked on a career of writing and speaking all over the Jewish world. The first book was followed by five more and my wife and I have spoken in hundreds, perhaps thousands of locations in fifteen countries. We have connected with Yidden all over the world.

 

It all began with Rabbi Yechiel Perr, ZT”L the unique Rosh Yeshiva who left the world this week. He founded a great yeshiva and was the inspiration for countless bnai Torah. He was towering in physical as well as spiritual stature, but to me he will be remembered as a man who opened the road to life.

 

May his memory be a blessing to this beleaguered world. What an incredible loss that a man of such greatness is no longer among us! May we soon see the Day upon which a new light will shine forth from Tzion, a day upon which all tears will be wiped away, when the world will be filled with kedusha, a goal for which Rabbi Perr toiled his entire life. 

 

The Berlin Parking Lot

Rabbi Yechiel Perr zt”l

GLOSSARY

Golus: Exile

Kedusha: Holiness

Parsha: Torah portion

Rasha: Evil person

Master Hilchos Shabbos and Receive Smicha

 

‘ום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה תשס"ט- הרב לאו

 

Machon Shiloh

 

Rabbi Weissman – Liberate yourself from Erev Rav ceremonies and rituals

"President Herzog: Oct. 7 was not the Holocaust because today we have Israel and the IDF."

Rashi explains: The reason why more Jews weren't killed on October 7 when Israel let Hamas in and the IDF abandoned them was because of Israel and the IDF.

*   *   *

IDF brass set up the Jews to be massacred on Oct 7

At what point does a series of senseless policies and unfortunate coincidences become a deliberate, carefully orchestrated plan to have our people slaughtered?  

At what point will we stop supporting our tormentors?

If you stood silently like a fool while the state sounded a siren, because they declared that somehow this meaningless, un-Jewish ritual honors dead Jews, you're not there yet.

We need to liberate ourselves from Erev Rav statist rituals as a prerequisite to liberating ourselves from the Erev Rav altogether.

__________________________

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Rabbi Kahana: Kedoshim – AFTERSHOCKS

BS”D Parashat Kedoshim 5784

by Rabbi Nachman Kahana | May 6, 2024

Aftershocks

Remembrance of the Shoah, its atrocities and implication are never far from the Jewish national psyche. Notwithstanding this fact, the Israeli government declared the 28th of Nissan of every year as the memorial day for the millions of murdered Jews when the schools, media etc., focus on every evil detail that the Germans perpetrated against our people.

The Shoah was level 9.5 on the Jewish Richter scale. And like major earthquakes which are followed by unpleasant aftershocks, so too are all the anti-Jewish actions of the last 80 years aftershocks caused by the Shoah. Why?

The Shoah had two messages:

• The Jewish claim to be the Creators “chosen people” is empirically false, because if it is true then their god would have protected them!
• If you wish to protect your religion, then all Jews would have to be destroyed, either in the name of Yishmael or Aisav.

What happened on the Shabbat of last Shemini Atzeret, when the Islamic-Nazis converged on our towns and bases, where they murdered, raped, mutilated the live and the dead, and put children into lit stoves, was an aftershock of what the Germans did.

So, this eve of entering Rafah, “capital” of “Chamastan” in Aza, is an awakening for Jews wherever they are to the fact that Paro, Haman, Hitler, Stalin and all the rest are dead but their intentions are alive and kicking.

 

Resurrecting the Jewish Defense League

Due to the alarming rise in the number, intensity, and frequency of Judenhass (anti-Jewish) and “itbach al yehud” (murder the Jew – a frequent Arab call for action) in the U.S., there is a growing interest in resurrecting the JDL – Jewish Defense League , which was established by my brother, Rabbi Meir Kahana hy”d, in the late 1960s to protect local Jews.

I have been asked for my opinion on the matter.

Firstly, at the time when the JDL was being established in the U.S., My wife and I were already living in Israel for 5-6 years; so, I had no part in this initiative other than superficial updates from time to time in our brotherly correspondence. Hence my opinion is no more valid than that of anyone else.

Times have changed radically. The original JDL was created to react to local thugs of many colors and creeds, who would do annoying things, such as breaking car windows or stealing old lady’s handbags.

Today, Islamic Jihad has been brought into the equation. Jihadis, in the spectrum of sadism, will grow more extreme until they reach the level of murdering Jews just for being Jews, as they view themselves as the implementers of their psychotic, lunatic, deranged, demented, obsessed, delusional conception of what their deity desires of its adherents. A god of blood, anger and violence; of mutilation of bodies, rape and sadism, I’ll refrain from detailing the inhuman acts that these Islamic-Nazis did and would do again if the opportunity presents itself. God forbid!

Re-establishing the JDL is important, but one has to take into account, that like Newton’s third law of motion, every force has an equal and opposite reaction force. The JDL will cause the creation of a MDL (Moslem Defense League); and there is already an organization that calls itself the GDL (Goyim Defense League).

The inescapable fact is the inevitable conclusion: aliya to the promised land of Yisrael.

Meanwhile, while packing your bags, it’s good to have a JDL nearby that will be available to accompany your wife to the supermarket and your children to and from their Jewish day-schools.

But the effectiveness of such an organization would depend on the degree to which Ya’akov (Jacob – the Jew) adopts some of his brother Aisav’s characteristics: such as physical strength, determination, toughness, tenaciousness, unyielding strength, and no fear to physically  punish.

 

A World that Disappeared

Several years ago, I received a glossy magazine by the name of “Edim Sheketim” [Silent Witnesses]. The edition was focused on a survey of what became of the sites that served as yeshivot and synagogues in Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Hungary in pre-war Europe; with an announcement that in the future a similar edition would be published regarding Slovakia and Poland.

The publication shows Torah centers from before the outbreak of the World War II, whose names are etched in our memories even more so than the Torah centers of Sura and Nahardara in Babylonia. All have a common denominator: they no longer exist as Torah institutions.

In the building of the Slobodka Yeshiva, “Lithuanian women sew inexpensive jackets”. The building of the former Ponovezh Yeshiva serves as a government school. The Telz Yeshiva lies in ruins. The synagogue of the Holy Ruzhiner Rebbe is a carpentry shop. The Central Synagogue of Brisk is a movie theater, and the Yeshiva of Kaminetz serves as an induction center for the Belarus Army.

The sounds of Torah heard day and night in the yeshivot of Brisk, Navardok, and Baranovitz are nothing but a distant memory. The birds that flew over these holy places and were singed by the Torah learning of Torah scholars now fly without fear.

As things are quickly deteriorating in major Jewish population centers in the States, it is only a matter of time before a similar magazine edition could appear that will feature the buildings of what were once the Mir Yeshiva in Brooklyn, the Lakewood Yeshiva, Telz, Ner Israel, and my own Nevardik Yeshiva.

Let’s hope that it will be a painless transition.

 

Kedoshim

A word on this week’s parasha Kedoshim.

Moshe calls upon the nation to strive to be kedoshim, “holy”.

HaShem instructs Moshe to relate to the nation the message that HaShem expects them to be “kedoshim” – holy.

I understand that this message from HaShem came as a thunderous surprise to the newly freed slaves and even to Moshe himself.

I imagine that the predominant feeling among the Jews was that they were freed in order to perform HaShem’s will through the mitzvot, as was performed by their forefathers and mothers. But for a human being to enter the spiritual realm of Kedusha is beyond the HaShem-Yisrael relationship. A righteous Jew? Yes! But a holy Jew? No! Because a physical entity cannot pass through the impenetrable perimeter that separates it from the spiritual realms.

The message that Hashem sent through Moshe was that a gentile cannot be “kadosh”; however, not only can Jews achieve kedusha, they are commanded and expected to do so.

Torah commentators suggest, each according to his world outlook, how one can achieve kedusha – holiness.

There is little that I can add to their suggestions except for one comment that I can vouch for personally having been born and lived 24 years in galut.

A Jew can achieve Torah erudition through great diligence and inspiration anywhere in the world, but kedusha can be achieved only in Eretz Yisrael.

Shabbat Shalom

Nachman Kahana

Copyright © 5784/2024 Nachman Kahana 

What Brachos Will We Make When Moshiach Comes?

Rabbi Glatstein - The Rulings of Rav Chaim Filagi & Rav Shlomo Zalman

Sefiras HaOmer - What is a Stradivarius? {Torah Illuminated Series}

 Rabbi Glatstein [Premiered Apr 17, 2023 ]

"It Isn’t Enough to Say 'We Hear You'” By Tzvi Fishman

Dear President Herzog – It isn’t Enough to Say “We Hear You, We Care for You” to American Jewry. Words are important but this is a time for action.

Immediately we must send 100 “Aliyah Commandos” to 50 colleges and Jewish communities throughout America to alert Jewish youth of the new opportunities to receive college degrees in a variety of disciplines IN ENGLISH in universities in Israel.

The “commandos” will also shout out the message to American Jewry that it is time to come home! They will urge Rabbis and the Jewish leadership in America to face the writing on the wall that there is no future for Jewish youth in America. Assimilation is already a cancer which is devastating American Jewry at an ever-increasing pace. Now the spreading anti-Semitism is a malevolent genie which has escaped from the bottle and which no amount of TV and billboard advertising can ever contain.

Caring about the worsening situation in America won’t help the beleaguered Jews there. We have to act!

At last week’s Emergency Aliyah Conference in Jerusalem, some 20 grassroots Aliyah activists, including Jonathan Pollard and Rabbi Leo Dee, spoke passionately to a large gathering about the imperative to act now in order to help our brothers and sisters in America. New concepts in outreach and new strategies sounded from every corner of the hall. Grassroots Aliyah activists who have worked independently for decades to further the cause of Aliyah, activists whose websites and outreach in the social media cover several million Jews, are ready to fly to the United States to rally American Jewry around the flag of the one-and-only Jewish State.

Emergency Aliyah Conference in Jerusalem (can be viewed)

@ https://youtu.be/c8BJGdAK__s?si=4oKhondyLez3j2ve

An initial group of “Aliyah Commandos” will fly to New York this week to hand out pamphlets at the Israel Day Parade about new college opportunities in Israel and about the imperative of Aliyah. A recruitment drive for young activists willing to travel throughout North America during the summer to college campuses and Jewish communities to promote a deeper connection to Israel and to the eternal mission of Am Yisrael will soon, b’ezrat Hashem, get underway.

To our great chagrin, the Government of Israel has not met the challenge of providing an escape route for Jews still lingering throughout the Diaspora. Perhaps their absence at the conference, excluding the presence of Nefesh B’Nefesh, explains the sorry state of Aliyah to Israel and the pathetically small numbers of new Jewish immigrants. It seems that when it comes to Aliyah, we are a ship without any gasoline.

Indeed, Jonathan Pollard, who recently returned from Aliyah-related activism in France, expressed the apparently widespread opinion of French Jewry that the Government of Israel doesn’t care about their desire to make aliyah.

Even worse, other activists at the conference claimed that when it comes to a mass movement of Jewish immigrants from the West, the Governments of Israel for the past several decades doesn’t want them here. I pray that these accusations aren’t true. The fight for world Jewry is as vital as our victory over the enemies which surround us and those who dwell in our borders.

The war with Hamas fell on us like a meteor from out of the sky.

Today, the State of Israel is at a crucial crossroads.

When it comes to Aliyah we must not be caught unprepared like we were on October 7th. Plans must be formulated to evacuate the Jews from the Diaspora if such a need arises. Housing for the great numbers must be prepared in Israel. The urgency of the hours demands that we all act together, government agencies and grassroots soldiers. Together, with the help of G-d, we will prevail!

TODAY RIGHT NOW . . .NBN EXPO . . . 3 to 6pm

 

Just Six Days Ago...

 

 

 קטע מתוך

 השידור חי של מעמד הלל פסח תשפ"ד בירושלים

And a few days before that 

 כאן חדשות | לוחמי נצח יהודה נשמו לרווחה כששמעו שהממשל האמריקני חזר בו - ולא יטיל סנקציות על היחידה. בינתיים. השבוע, לוחמים ובוגרים של הגדוד החרדי, יצאו לקרב על השם הטוב שלהם. כשבדרך, שורה של אירועים בעייתיים שמטילים צל וביקורת בינלאומית על הגדוד. הכתבה של איטה גליקסברג מתוך חדשות השבת, 27.04.24