Hi,
"There are days when all Jews fast because of the troubles that have beset them on those days. The goal is to awaken the hearts, to open the paths of repentance...
"As we remember these things, we will return to do what is right, as it is written, 'And they shall admit their sins and the sins of their ancestors...'"
(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Fasts 5:1)
Have an easy and meaningful fast,
Mordechai
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
What happened on the 17th of Tammuz?
Hi,
"In the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the famine strengthened in the city and there was no bread for the population. And the city was breached and the soldiers fled, and they departed the city via the gate between the walls by the king's garden, with the Chaldeans surrounding the city, and they traveled via the aravah."
(Yirmiyahu 52:6-7)
"Yirmiyahu spoke regarding the first Beit haMikdash, whereas in the time of the second Beit haMikdash the city was breached on the 17th of Tammuz. A braita corroborates this, saying, 'In the first Beit haMikdash the city was breached on the 9th of Tammuz. In the second, on the 17th of Tammuz.'"
(Talmud, Taanit 28b)
צום קל ומועיל,
Mordechai
"In the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the famine strengthened in the city and there was no bread for the population. And the city was breached and the soldiers fled, and they departed the city via the gate between the walls by the king's garden, with the Chaldeans surrounding the city, and they traveled via the aravah."
(Yirmiyahu 52:6-7)
"Yirmiyahu spoke regarding the first Beit haMikdash, whereas in the time of the second Beit haMikdash the city was breached on the 17th of Tammuz. A braita corroborates this, saying, 'In the first Beit haMikdash the city was breached on the 9th of Tammuz. In the second, on the 17th of Tammuz.'"
(Talmud, Taanit 28b)
צום קל ומועיל,
Mordechai
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The fast observed this Sunday
Hello,
The fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, observed on Sunday July 8th this year, commemorates five tragedies:
1. Moses descended from meeting Gd and receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, saw the Jews celebrating with the Golden Calf, and broke the two tablets Gd had given him.
2. The daily Tamid offering, which had been brought regularly in the Jerusalem Beit haMikdash [Temple] from the time the Jews built the Mishkan for over one thousand years, was halted during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem before the Beit haMikdash was destroyed.
3. The Romans invaded Jerusalem, prior to destroying the second Beit haMikdash. (According to the Talmud Bavli, the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem to destroy the first Temple on the 9th of Tammuz. According to the Talmud Yerushalmi, both invasions occurred on the 17th of Tammuz.)
4. A Greek or Roman official named Apostimos held a public burning of the Torah.
5. Idols were set up in the Temple itself; it is not clear what year this happened.
(Mishneh Berurah 549:2)
The 17th of Tammuz is actually Shabbat. Because we do not fast on Shabbat, the fast is pushed to Sunday, the 18th of Tammuz.
Be well,
Mordechai
The fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, observed on Sunday July 8th this year, commemorates five tragedies:
1. Moses descended from meeting Gd and receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, saw the Jews celebrating with the Golden Calf, and broke the two tablets Gd had given him.
2. The daily Tamid offering, which had been brought regularly in the Jerusalem Beit haMikdash [Temple] from the time the Jews built the Mishkan for over one thousand years, was halted during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem before the Beit haMikdash was destroyed.
3. The Romans invaded Jerusalem, prior to destroying the second Beit haMikdash. (According to the Talmud Bavli, the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem to destroy the first Temple on the 9th of Tammuz. According to the Talmud Yerushalmi, both invasions occurred on the 17th of Tammuz.)
4. A Greek or Roman official named Apostimos held a public burning of the Torah.
5. Idols were set up in the Temple itself; it is not clear what year this happened.
(Mishneh Berurah 549:2)
The 17th of Tammuz is actually Shabbat. Because we do not fast on Shabbat, the fast is pushed to Sunday, the 18th of Tammuz.
Be well,
Mordechai
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Know yourself!
Hi,
"Since a person's completeness depends upon his knowledge and understanding of the world around him, the first step is to know and understand himself, and not be a fool regarding himself."
(Maharal, introduction to Be'er haGolah)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Since a person's completeness depends upon his knowledge and understanding of the world around him, the first step is to know and understand himself, and not be a fool regarding himself."
(Maharal, introduction to Be'er haGolah)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Prepare yourself
Hi,
"A person can elevate himself to a trait of purity if he prepares himself for service of Gd and performance of mitzvot. This means that he doesn't enter into fulfillment of a mitzvah suddenly, without a settled mind and without first contemplating what he is about to do.
"Rather, one should dedicate himself to the purpose, and patiently prepare his heart until he enters the deed through contemplation, thinking about what he is going to do.
"When one enters a deed with this level of examination, it is easy to remove from himself the external motivations and establish in one's heart the true and desirable focus."
(R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Mesilat Yesharim Chapter 17)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"A person can elevate himself to a trait of purity if he prepares himself for service of Gd and performance of mitzvot. This means that he doesn't enter into fulfillment of a mitzvah suddenly, without a settled mind and without first contemplating what he is about to do.
"Rather, one should dedicate himself to the purpose, and patiently prepare his heart until he enters the deed through contemplation, thinking about what he is going to do.
"When one enters a deed with this level of examination, it is easy to remove from himself the external motivations and establish in one's heart the true and desirable focus."
(R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Mesilat Yesharim Chapter 17)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Monday, July 2, 2012
Battling violence
Hi,
"Force and violence rule in Nature; but between man and man the law is supreme; and only by standing united can human society represent and enforce the invisible and, in itself, powerless law against violence which scorns human personality."
(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, paragraph 348)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Force and violence rule in Nature; but between man and man the law is supreme; and only by standing united can human society represent and enforce the invisible and, in itself, powerless law against violence which scorns human personality."
(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, paragraph 348)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Sunday, July 1, 2012
How to make it to the next world
Hi,
"When Rabbi Elazar became ill, his students came to visit him. They asked him, 'Our master, teach us the paths of life, that we might merit life in the next world!'
"He told them: Be careful with the honor of your colleagues, keep your children from prattle and have them sit at the knees of Torah scholars, when you pray know before Whom you stand, and thus you will earn life in the next world."
(Talmud, Berachot 28b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"When Rabbi Elazar became ill, his students came to visit him. They asked him, 'Our master, teach us the paths of life, that we might merit life in the next world!'
"He told them: Be careful with the honor of your colleagues, keep your children from prattle and have them sit at the knees of Torah scholars, when you pray know before Whom you stand, and thus you will earn life in the next world."
(Talmud, Berachot 28b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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