The extent of personal accountability

Hi,

"Know before Whom you will have to give an accounting for your deeds."

(Pirkei Avot 3:1)

The Maharil commented: The word, "before" דע "לפני" מי אתה עומד, is superfluous; it could have said "Know to whom you will...!"

Rather, "before" refers not to Gd, but to the fact that many actions impact not only upon the actor, but also upon the people who are present - "before whom he stands," as it were.

A person should realize that his actions do not take place in a vacuum, and that just as he will have to account for his personal deeds, so he will have to account for those upon whom his deeds impacted.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Torah of our Ancestors

Hi,

"We see that our ancestor, Avraham, practiced the entire Torah before it was given, as it is written (Genesis 26:5), 'Because Avraham listened to My voice, and he guarded My prohibitions, My mitzvot, My decrees and My teachings.'"

(Talmud, Kiddushin 82a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Promise of Zionism

Hi,


"The Jewish movement for nationhood is like a field which has been blessed by Gd.

"We have yet to see full results, due to the destruction wreaked in our exile, but this movement is fit to yield the world's greatest products via practical and spiritual work, to bring from it great and elevated souls which will illuminate the world with their glory."

(Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, Orot haTechiyah 12, 1920)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Gd's openness to prayer

Hi,

"Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Even an iron barrier cannot interrupt between the Jewish people and their father in Heaven."

(Talmud, Sotah 38b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Jewish Reincarnation?

Hi,

"One who does not fulfill all of the 613 Mitzvot will have to come back again."

(Vilna Gaon to Talmud Berachot 31)

"How does one know where he erred in a previous incarnation?

"There are two signs: (a) He stumbles many times in the same area in this incarnation, and (b) He has great desire for this transgression. He became accustomed to it in the past, and it became part of his nature. Therefore, some people desire one transgression more than another."

(Vilna Gaon to Jonah 4:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Israel and other lands

Hello,

"Regarding all lands, what one land possesses another lacks, but Israel lacks nothing."

(Midrash, Yalkut Shimoni, Mishlei 942)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

I am with you

Hi,

In Parshat Beshalach, as the Jews first begin their journey from Egypt to Israel, they run out of water. HaShem tells Moshe to go out to a stone, and strike the stone. As part of HaShem's instructions, HaShem says, "Behold, I will be standing in front of you, by the stone."

The Midrash Tanchuma comments, "Gd said to him: Wherever you find the mark of the feet of Man, I will be there in front of you."

(Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 22)

Have a great day,
Mordechai