11 December 2025
Rebbetzen Tziporah: Every Moment
Dear friends,
In the past weeks, many of my children and grandchildren have celebrated birthdays, and it led me to reflect on the deeper meaning of a birthday. Chanukah, too, is a time of renewal — a rediscovery of who we are as a people and what Hashem asks of us.
Kohelet tells us, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose.” Time is not a neutral flow. Every moment has a spiritual source. When people asked Rav Chaim Vital what kavanos the Arizal used in prayer, the conversation would go like this:
“Which prayer?” – Oh, say shacharis
“On which day?” – Oh, say Tuesay
“In which month?” – Oh, say Teves
“In which year of the Shemitta cycle?”
The man asking finally realized that no two moments are ever the same. Each moment carries its own mission, and that the Arizal was spirutally sensitive enough to discover the right kavanah for each moment.
The Greeks saw time as empty and directionless. We know the opposite: each moment is created, shaped, and filled by Hashem.
A birthday becomes a deeply Jewish opportunity: to say, like the Chashmonaim, “Mi laHashem elai — Whoever is for Hashem, come to me.” It is a day to take all your abilities, your experiences, your gifts, the influences that shaped you, and ask: What does Hashem want of me now, in the flow of my life?
Hashem brought you into the world through your parents, His messengers. Your father gave you the “white”: structure, bones, mind. Your mother gave you the “red”: flesh, warmth, vitality. This is not biology; it is identity. And beyond all this, Hashem gave you your neshama — eternal, pure, uniquely yours. And He gave you time…
Every month has its mazal — the spiritual flow Hashem places into time. These are not predictions, chas v’shalom, but pathways of avodas Hashem. Here is a brief guide: I used the essays in Bilvavi by Rav Itamar Schwartz as my primary source.
The Mazal of Each Month
• Nissan (Taleh / Aries): Renewal, fresh beginnings, courage, geulah-energy.
• Iyar (Shor / Taurus): Steadiness, healing, inner refinement.
• Sivan (Te’omim / Gemini): Connection, communication, Torah received.
• Tammuz (Sartan / Cancer): Sensitivity, inner awareness, guarding the eyes and heart.
• Av (Ari / Leo): Strength, responsibility, transforming harshness to compassion.
• Elul (Betulah / Virgo): Teshuvah, purity, inner clarity.
• Tishrei (Moznayim / Libra): Balance, judgment, harmony, building relationships.
• Cheshvan (Akrav / Scorpio): Depth, hidden potential, inner work.
• Kislev (Keshet / Sagittarius): Hope, light, trust in Hashem — the essence of Chanukah.
• Teves (G'di / Capricorn): Discipline, structure, channeling ambition l’shem Shamayim.
• Shevat (D’li / Aquarius): Growth, expansion, giving and receiving wisdom.
• Adar (Dagim / Pisces): Joy, softness, emunah, seeing Hashem behind the hidden.
Hashem places a unique light in every month, and each of us can draw from it. When you thank Him for every moment and use the gifts He has given you, life becomes joyful, meaningful, and connected.
Love,
Tziporah
Rebbetzen Tziporah: Step Outside
Dear friends,
Our recent trip to the kivrei tzadikim that my daughter Devorah organized was far more than a pleasant outing. It let us step outside the pace of our everyday lives and look at our own stories from a wider, deeper angle.
When you live your life day by day, you are usually focused on the next thing – getting up, getting dressed, davening, going where you need to go. Every interaction is a mixture of who you are in that moment and what you need to do next. Life moves quickly, and you rarely pause long enough to see the larger picture of what you are actually building. It is only when you look at someone’s life from a distance – from the broad arc of beginning to end – that you begin to see how a person shapes himself through choices, courage, and inner strength. Going to kivrei tzadikim can change the way you view the small choices that make a person the individual they emerge as when making big choices. None of these tzadikim knew the end of their stories as they lived their lives.
This feeling accompanied us as we began at the kever of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess. It is astonishing to think that he descended from Nero (Niron) Caesar, the Roman ruler whose brilliance and power were used destructively and cruelly. Rabbi Meir inherited that same raw intensity but redirected it entirely, transforming it into Torah, depth, and spiritual strength. The Shelah writes that his very name, Meir, (literally the one who gives light) reflects the light of his soul. The Gemara teaches that every unattributed mishneh is actually his. His story is one of fierce commitment and of extraordinary courage – physical, emotional, and spiritual.
We spoke about the famous story of Bruriah’s sister, who had been kidnapped and forced into a brothel. Rabbi Meir traveled to save her. The guard feared that releasing her would lead to his execution, but Rabbi Meir assured him that he would be protected and taught him to say “Eloka d’Rabi Meir aneini.” It worked – a miracle happened and he was saved – and Jews continue to say this tefillah when we need great heavenly help. Standing at his kever made this story feel alive, a reminder of what it means to use strength for goodness.
The site itself has changed over the years. It once had the atmosphere of a lively Sefardi folk festival – food stalls, vendors, ayin hara removers. (I’ll admit: I always loved that energy.) Today, thanks to the enormous investment of the Safra family, the area feels almost like a sacred palace – organized, calm, and full of dignity.
From there we traveled to the kever of the Rambam, another giant of Jewish history whose life shows us how Hashem shapes events. Born into generations of rabbanim and dayanim in Spain, he could have lived a quiet, scholarly life. Instead, the rulers of his time became viciously hostile to Jews, forcing his family to flee. After wandering through North Africa, he eventually reached Egypt, where he became the court physician of Sultan Saladin. His brilliance as a doctor became known throughout the non-Jewish world – but our deepest admiration for him comes from something else entirely.
He organized the entire Oral Torah with unparalleled clarity, and he gave us a concise, eternal summary of the foundations of Jewish belief: the Thirteen Principles of Faith.
Here they are:
1. Hashem exists and created everything, and continues to sustain everything.
Mussar: Notice the constant gifts in your life. Gratitude opens the heart to see His presence in even the smallest details.
2. Hashem is One—absolutely, perfectly One.
Mussar: When life feels scattered, remember that unity flows from the One. Bring your actions into coherence by asking, “What does Hashem want from me right now?”
3. Hashem has no physical form.
Mussar: We cannot confine Hashem to our limited images or expectations. Let go of the urge to fully understand God and focus instead on understanding what He wants you to become.
4. Hashem is eternal—He always was and always will be.
Mussar: Your challenges feel eternal when you’re inside them, but only Hashem is eternal. This reminds us not to panic; moments pass, but the relationship with Him endures.
5. Only Hashem deserves our prayers and devotion.
Mussar: Don’t give your heart to things that can’t give back—status, approval, image. Direct your hopes to the One who actually controls outcomes.
6. The words of the prophets are true.
Mussar: We often trust rumors more than truth. Strengthen your inner sincerity by seeking voices that elevate rather than distract.
7. Moshe Rabbeinu’s prophecy was on a unique, unmatched level.
Mussar: Clarity comes from humility. Moshe reached greatness not through brilliance but through being willing to stand aside for truth.
8. The Torah we have is exactly the Torah given to Moshe.
Mussar: Because Torah is pure and unchanged, our learning must also be honest. Approach Torah with integrity, without twisting it to fit your comfort.
9. The Torah will never be replaced or altered.
Mussar: Trends shift, but Torah’s wisdom is steady. Anchor yourself in something everlasting; let it shape your values instead of the passing winds of the moment.
10. Hashem knows every thought, word, and deed of every person.
Mussar: A person’s true self is who they are when nobody is watching. Cultivate inner honesty—your life is lived before the One who sees the heart.
11. Hashem rewards good and holds us accountable for wrongdoing.
Mussar: Every small act matters more than you think. Don’t underestimate the power of a quiet kindness or the damage of a careless word.
12. Mashiach will come, even if he delays.
Mussar: Hope itself is holy. When you act with faith – choosing patience, choosing goodness – you become part of the world’s redemption.
13. The dead will be resurrected in the time Hashem wills.
Mussar: Nothing in creation is beyond renewal. Even when your spirit feels tired or broken, remember: Hashem can bring life to anything – including you.
Standing by the Rambam, we felt how these ideas – simple in wording but immense in depth – have shaped our people for centuries. His life teaches that greatness does not come from comfort or ease, but from responding to challenge with responsibility, faith, and strength.
This trip gave us the rare chance to step outside our routine, to meet the stories of those who walked before us, and to think about the stories we are writing with our own choices.
With love and gratitude to Devorah for organizing it, and with love to all of you,
Love,
Tziporah
Stop Protesting……Enough ……. Bitul Torah........Sit in Yeshiva and Learn …..What Will Be Will Be!
Attempted Man-Slaughter!
Haredi Teen Injured After Car Strikes Protesters in Bnei Brak; Driver Flees
https://vinnews.com/2025/12/08/watch-haredi-teen-injured-after-car-strikes-protesters-in-bnei-brak-driver-flees/ Photo: Exceptional capture of moment of attempted man-slaughter
Receiving The Light from Shamayim
This is my interpretation of these events:
First of all, one must visit shiratdevorah to read:
Sun Getting Personal Now
Then visit myrtlerising and read:
Especially that of Rabbi Miller Zt”l…..And then allowed this message to filter thru your mind, heart, and bones.
ALERT: Rav Aharon Feldman Says STAY AWAY FROM Efraim Palvanov
Gadol HaDor Rav Aharon Feldman warning the public against the heretic Efraim Palvanov (yes the same heretic we got bashed by his listeners (i.e. victims) for exposing recently).
Baruch HaShem and may we always be in the company of Gdoley HaDor, even when it means we have to get bashed and insulted for it. Better to be insulted in this world by ignorant people, than in Heaven by HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Rav Aharon Feldman was asked to comment on the dubious teachings of Efraim Palvanov, and the Rav says to stay away. Efraim Palvanov is very popular, but teaching things against the Jewish tradition, like Torah She'Baal Peh (the Oral Torah) is not from Mount Sinai, wasting seed is allowed, tefillin is a Rabbinical invention, and other things that are clearly not in the Masoret and against Halacha. Rav Feldman emphasizes that Efraim Palvanov is not an authority on Judaism and his conclusions are false based on distortions of Jewish texts. HaRav Aharon Feldman is Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, Maryland and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages). Want to support our KIRUV work? Please partner with us to help Am Yisrael keep Shabbat and more! https://www.beezrathashem.org/donate Rabbi Yaron Reuven's short Torah Clips channel – Please Share The Video To Help Others Do TeShuva. AI RABBI by BeEzrat HaShem Inc. https://www.AIRabbi.org Answers To Jewish Torah Life Questions In 30 Languages. Discover Jewish Wisdom at Your Fingertips, Rabbi Reuven's AI Rabbi offers wisdom and guidance in multiple languages, drawing from trusted, reliable sources.
Reb Neuberger: Vayeishev
KEEP TOGETHER
In this week’s Parsha, Yosef and his brothers quarrel.
Sinas chinom begins here. Our troubles begin here! Churban Bayis Shaini begins here! Golus begins here!
We are one family; this is the essential description of Am Yisroel. This is exactly what is on Yaakov Avinu’s mind as he gives the final brachas to his children. “Yaakov called for his sons and said: gather yourselves as one! …. Keep together and listen, Oh sons of Yaakov.” (Beraishis 49:1-2) Yaakov Avinu’s parting words are: “keep together.”
Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch zt”l interprets: “Different though you are from one another, devote yourselves … to the one spirit that unites you…. Only when you [are] imbued with that one spirit will acharis hayamim (the End of Days/Moshiach) come. It will not come until [your unity] has become a reality.”
Moshiach and the Final Redemption are totally dependent upon the achdus of Bnai Yisroel!
We know a family who lives in a community in the south of Israel. They have heard many sirens and the boom of countless explosions. Recently, the mother asked her four-year-old why she was moving her lips when she put her shekel in the pushka, and the daughter replied, “Ima, I am davening for the Bais Hamikdosh!” Her Ima never told her to do this; she just does it. The father wears a kipa seruga and carries a gun. He is in charge of security for their community, as well as volunteering for Hatzalah. By profession, he is a cheder rebbe. The mother is a nurse who spends her days and nights doing chessed.
This family has a cousin from Lakewood who is studying at a seminary in Yerushalayim. She came to them for Shabbos last week. You might think she would have been “confused” by the difference in lifestyle, but she wasn’t confused at all. In fact, she was strengthened. The bonds are strong between her and her Israeli cousins despite their different lifestyles.
My friends, we have to stop being afraid of each other! We are not going to catch a “disease” from our brothers even if their minhagim differ from ours.
Several years ago Rabbi Rafael Rubin of Netanya made a powerful video before Tisha B’Av. He ended with a story: A young man came to see his rabbi.
“Rabbi, I am always failing with loshon hara.”
“Do you speak loshon hara about your father?”
“No!”
“Why not? Is your father perfect?”
“No.”
“So why don’t you speak loshon hara about him?”
“Because I love him!”
“My son, if you loved every Jew, you would never speak loshon hara!”
Am Yisroel is composed of twelve Shevatim: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher, Yissachar, Zevulun, Yosef and Binyamin. Each shevet is unique. Zevulun dwells by the seashore. Yehuda is a lion from whom the scepter shall never depart. Binyamin is a predatory wolf. Each shevet has different talents and responsibilities. Together they comprise the Holy Nation of Israel. When Yaakov Avinu blesses his children, each bracha is different, because each shevet is different.
Am Yisroel plays a symphony to Hashem. There is harmony only when each unique part blends with the others, like the spices of the Ketores or the colors of a rainbow. There is no harmony when each part is the same.
Are we afraid of our brothers because they are different? On the contrary! We received the Torah only because we are “K’ish echad b’lev echad … like one man with one heart.”
My friends, it’s time we grew up.
Rabbi Kalman Krohn zt”l was riding in a taxi in Yerushalayim. He said to the driver, who appeared totally secular, “You know, I am your brother.”
The driver laughed. “I’m not your brother.”
“Oh yes you are! My rebbe told me.”
“And who is your rebbe?”
“Adolf Hitler!”
When he heard these words, the driver almost crashed.
Our enemies do not distinguish between a black yarmulka and a kipa seruga. Every Jew is seen as a threat. The world is waiting to eat us up! On Friday night we sing, “Hashem …. Save your sheep from the mouths of lions!” We make this into a song on Shabbos because on Shabbos we are so elevated, but the wild beasts really do want to swallow all of us the way Esav wanted to swallow the “red red stew!”
There is only one way we can save ourselves: ahavas chinom! There is no other way. We are one nation singing one great symphony to Hashem. It’s time to shine the light of truth on our
neshomas. “Taher libainu … Hashem, please purify our hearts so that we may serve You!”
In Rabbi Rubin’s words: “Bayis Shaini was destroyed by Sinas Chinom. The Third Temple will be built with Ahavas Chinom!”
The Territories of the Twelve Tribes
GLOSSARY
Achdus: unity
Ahavas chinom: an atmosphere of peace among the children of Israel
Bnai Yisroel: the children of Israel
Cheder: elementary school
Churban Bayis Shaini: the destruction of the Second Temple
Golus: exile
Kipa seruga: knitted yarmulka
Loshon hara: speaking negatively about another Jew
Parsha: weekly Torah portion
Pushka: charity box
Shekel: Israeli coin
Shevet (pl: Shevatim): one of the twelve tribes of Israel
Sinas chinom: unwarranted hatred between one Jew and another
Tisha B’Av: 9th day of the Jewish month of Av, the day on which both Temples were destroyed
Parshas Vayeishev - A Slave's Success | Mr. Charlie Harary....Plus
Beneath my Dignity | Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer
Chanukah: Recurring Light {Chochmas Noshim}…Plus
The Chofetz Chaim on the Aspirations of the Chashmonaim
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